Thursday, August 15, 2019

Report: OCA to go under Constantinople (dubious)

Details here.
HT: Dr. Tighe

This is so implausible that I had to check to see if it wasn't April 1st on some obscure calendar. Alas not. That said, I am highly dubious and would encourage this rumor be taken with a very large grain of salt pending further development.

There are far too many reasons why this is unlikely to happen. The history of the relationship between the OCA and the EP has been chilly... at best. The OCA has strong historical, cultural and canonical ties with the Russian Church. Given the current schism between Moscow and Constantinople, such an act might well end in a break in communion with the OCA's mother church. Indeed the OCA would almost certainly have to recognize a schismatic entity in Ukraine. (That would have me packing my jurisdictional bags and heading for the door.) A huge percentage of the OCA's membership is of Russian decent. I don't think they would put up with such a move. And lastly the idea that the OCA has been engaged in secret negotiations of this sort is astonishing at the very least. If true, I think it would infuriate both the rank and file clergy as well as the laity.

For these and so many other reasons, this strikes me as simply incredible in the classical sense of the word.

2 comments:

BorisJojicj said...

If the rumours are true, it won't fly with many folks. There will just be more divisions, more splits. So much for Orthodox unity here

Archimandrite Gregory said...

Never ceases to amaze me how the guardians of unity of faith areoften the sources of more divisions. Lord have mercy.