Wednesday, February 10, 2016

ROCOR and the "Catholic Church of the East" - It's not looking good

OK, it is all over the web. And since it has been the topic of discussion on multiple recent posts on this blog... here is the latest, less some of the more salacious details. The hoped for reception of the self identified Catholic Church of the East into Holy Orthodoxy has hit a major speed bump and is now in doubt. Metropolitan Hilarion is directly involved and dealing with the situation.

Let's keep the comments classy and avoid unnecessary gossip. Prayers for all involved would be appreciated.

9 comments:

Prior Martin said...

Needless to say, I'm not surprised nor am I not surprised to find no reference on the ROCOR website concerning the latest controversy. From where do you get your information?

John (Ad Orientem) said...

I got some, though probably not all, of the story from a well informed source who asked that the details not be spread around. Most of what is going on is not the sort of thing that should be broadcast on church websites. But yeah, there is a serious problem and I doubt the mass conversion is going to happen.

Clear Waters said...

Thanks for keeping us informed.

The Anti-Gnostic said...

"Metropolitan Hilarion is directly involved and dealing with the situation."

You bet he is. "Protecting the brand" is serious business.

From the Russian side of the table, I wonder if the continuing series of minor trainwrecks in OCA and ROCOR are what's driving the agenda for the Council more than "diaspora" issues in general. I get the sense (this is sheer speculation) that Moscow may be searching for a way to un-ring the bell and fold in OCA, ROCOR and reassert some institutional controls.

[NB: None of this is meant to slight OCA or ROCOR, both populated by many good and holy people.]

Prior Martin said...

I once thought Orthodoxy, particularly its Western Rites, would been the salvation of many shipwrecked Catholics and Anglicans. However, the ROCOR WRO debacle was probably the last nail in the coffin. Now this! Who can blame the Traddies and Continuing Anglican for staying within their own milieu, I certainly do not.

Prior Martin said...

I don't expect you to break a confidence, so I'll ask a rhetorical question? Does in involve boys, money or both?

John (Ad Orientem) said...

My understanding is that Fr. Elias was suspended by the Metropolitan following a credible allegation of serious misconduct. The allegation does not, as far as I am aware, involve criminal behavior. If there is an expectation on the part of trad Anglicans or Catholics that we should stop receiving converts because some of them will be sinners, or that we should turn the church's website into an electronic version of Page 6, then I have to agree. They should stay where they are.

The Church is a hospital that is here to help the spiritually wounded. We take in all kinds of people. But saints are few and far between.

Gregory Manning said...

Why couldn't the whole western rite agenda have been left with the Antiochians? They seem to have a handle on it. I just don't see that ROCOR needed this.

David said...

Well, now Ramzi Musallam’s Facebook Page has changed again (as of Feb. 17, 2016) -

https://www.facebook.com/bishopramzi.musallam

Now instead of calling himself “Rt. Rev. Archbishop Ramzi Musallam” (as he was listed until the last few days) he is now calling himself “Father Elias Musallam” . (he was supposedly ordained as a ROCOR priest — Fr. Elias — in July or August of 2015 ... how could it have taken this long for him to change his Facebook name from "Rt. Rev. Archbishop Ramzi Musallam" to "Father Elias Musallam" ?)

Now he lists himself as working for some outfit called the “Palestinian Orthodox Church” instead of “Catholic Church of the East” . So , what exactly is the Palestinian Orthodox Churc ? Is that supposed to be ROCOR ? If it’s supposed to be ROCOR then why not just plainly say ROCOR ? Sorry, but Ramzi still seems to be sneaking around the fringes , playing fast and loose with who he really is and who he is associated with … word is that he was suspended from the priesthood of ROCOR by Metropolitan Hilarion , so has Ramzi now created a new fake jurisdiction called “Palestinian Orthodox Church” ? And if he’s Palestinian or Arab Orthodox , then why didn’t he try to go with Antioch to start with ? (or did he and they quietly turned him down ? )