Religion
Watch – January 2002
A schism has developed in the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), one of the larger
exile Russian Orthodox churches, over leadership issues and
the prospect of rapprochement with the Russian Orthodox Church
(Moscow Patriarchate).
Links
to ROCOR related websites
Following
the retirement of Metropotitan Vitaly Ustinov (b. 1910),
who had been the Primate of the ROCOR since 1986, the Council
of Bishops elected Metropolitan Laurus Skurla (b. 1928) as
its new first Hierarch on 24 October 2001. During the previous
months, Metropolitan Vitaly – in fragile health and suffering
memory losses – had signed a number of contradictory statements.
On the day after the election of Metropolitan Laurus, some
visitors persuaded the retired Metropolitan Vitaly to leave
the Synod's headquarters. Subsequently, in late October, Metropolitan
Vitaly signed a declaration withdrawing his retirement and
declaring the members of the Council to be usurpers. Metropolitan
Vitaly was encouraged in this attitude by a group of clergymen
and faithful who suspect ROCOR's new leaders of – among other
things – being eager to unite with the Moscow Patriarchate.
With the assistance of controversial, French-based
Bishop Varnava Prokofiev (who had already dissociated himself
from the Synod), Metropolitan Vitaly ordained three bishops.
The group considers itself as the legitimate continuation
of ROCOR. ln Europe, the pro-Vitaly branch has a strong
foIlowing among ROCOR parishes in France: most of them commemorate
Varnava, who has now been elevated by Vitaly to the rank of
Archbishop of Western Europe. The situation in North America
and other parts of the world is not yet entirely clear: it
seems that a few parishes in the USA as weIl as a number of
parishes in Canada have decided to foIlow Metropolitan Vitaly,
although most of ROCOR parishes around the world remain under
the jurisdiction of the Synod in New York.
[Update
April 2002: Directory of parishes in the Synod under
Metropolitan Vitaly, click
here.]
ln order to distinguish itself from
ROCOR, the new group adopted in November the name of Russian
Orthodox Church in Exile (ROCE), then reversed its decision
a few days later and came back to the name of ROCOR. It is
now called ROCOR (V) – for "Vitaly" – in order to
prevent confusions with the main ROCOR. According to sources well-acquainted with the case, members of ROCOR
(V) have different agendas, and it seems unlikely that they
will manage to maintain unity among themselves in the long-run.
The ROCOR numbers today less than 150,000
faithful worldwide, but it has played an important role in
the history of contemporary Orthodoxy. It was formed in the
1920s by Russian Orthodox exiled bishops and faithful, who
could no longer communicate with the Patriarch in Russia,
and subsequently were unwilling to submit to a church administration
which was under the control of the Soviet regime. The ROCOR
attempted to keep the Russian Orthodox heritage alive abroad
during those difficult decades. ln the 1960s, it also became
increasingly critical of the ecumenical movement.
Following the end of the Cold War and the
fall of the Soviet Union, many questions arose regarding ROCOR's
future role. Relations between ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate
remain uneasy. That the Patriarchate has partially succeeded
in taking over ROCOR properties in various places around the
world has not helped the situation. The creation of parishes
under ROCOR in Russia has also caused conflicts. The current
Synod under Metropolitan Laurus seems however willing to take
into account positive signs in the religious life of Russia
and to develop a cautious dialogue with the Patriarchate.
(JFM)
This
article was originally published in the monthly newsletter
Religion Watch. Jean-François Mayer is a Contributing
Editor of Religion Watch. For more information about
Religion Watch, see our presentation
(in French) in the Links and Resources section.
