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 Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject: Jurisdictionalism News |
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Galina Note: As many of us know, mostly through a newsgroup member who
belonged to one of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem parishes in the US, the
Patriarch of Jerusalem, along with the Moscow Patriarchate and many
other jurisdictions, has established mostly English, but sometimes
Arabic speaking parishes in the US. In this case, these parishes were
neither under the Antiochians, the home for most partly Arabic speaking
parishes, but under Jerusalem. As the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, as well
as the Patriarchate of Constantinople, is subject to ratification by a
foreign power, in the case of Jerusalem by the officially Jewish state
of Israel and in the case of the so-called Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople by the nominally secular state of Turkey, neither of
these jurisdictions is free from foreign influence in their existence.
Still, the development allows at least one of the rivals to the
autocephally of the Orthodox Church in America to fall away, even as it
challenges it by affecting growth of a foreign run jurisdiction.
Priest Against New Vicariate - *The National Herald*
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August 17, 2008
By Theodore Kalmoukos
Special to The National Herald
BOSTON -- Fifteen Palestinian and Jordanian Orthodox communities in the
United States refuse to accept the recent agreement between the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Patriarchate of
Jerusalem, according to Rev. Nicola Matar, a priest who serves the
Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Anaheim, California.
According to a news release issued by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America on August 5, they will be under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction
of the Ecumenical Patriarchate through the Archdiocese and their new vicar.
A little less than 30 years ago, the above-mentioned communities had
sought to place themselves under the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which
had sent Archbishop Damaskinos of Iopes to look after their interests
(e.g., offering counsel on canonical matters), though he was not an
exarch, but acted as an official "visitor" without technical
jurisdictional authority.
In February 2006, Archbishop Demetrios of America and Metropolitan
Meliton of Philadelphia traveled to Jerusalem on behalf of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate and worked out an agreement with Patriarch
Theophilos of Jerusalem -- but without consulting or notifying the
parishes in question, Rev. Matar told the National Herald in an interview.
The Palestinian/Jordanian communities had alerted Patriarch Theophilos
that they would not accept transference to the Archdiocese, but their
pleas and demands went unheeded, according to Rev. Matar, who said he
speaks on behalf of the Palestinian communities.
This past August 5, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese issued an official
news release announcing the administrative transfer of the 15 parishes
in question to its ecclesiastical, canonical and spiritual oversight.
The news release states that, "after a long process that began in 1993
related to the ecclesiastical status of a portion of the Palestinian and
Jordanian communities in the U.S., the portion connected to the
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, there has been a final agreed decision by the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Patriarchate of
Jerusalem concerning these communities. The Ecumenical Patriarchate and
the Jerusalem Patriarchate have agreed that the canonical and pastoral
supervision of these communities and their clergy should belong to the
canonically established jurisdiction in the United States, which is the
Eparchy of the Ecumenical Throne in America: that is, the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America. Henceforth, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem no
longer asserts any jurisdiction in the Western Hemisphere."
The news release also stated that, on April 1, "His All Holiness
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received His Beatitude Patriarch
Theophilos III of Jerusalem, together with the senior member of the Holy
Synod of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Metropolitan Vasilios of Caesaria
(Palestine) and other clergy. Final details for the implementation of
the agreements were completed, with a mutual decision that these
communities come under the canonical jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of
America. Following the meeting at the Phanar, His Eminence Archbishop
Demetrios of America was directed to proceed with the implementation of
the agreements by the creation of a vicariate for the inclusion of the
clergy and communities within the Archdiocese of America. The official
name of the vicariate is: 'Vicariate for Palestinian/Jordanian
Communities in the USA.' The clergy and communities of the Vicariate
will be directly under the Archbishop of America, and will report to the
Archdiocese through its Vicar. Through the Archdiocese, all of these
clergy and communities will be able to participate in the programs and
agencies of SCOBA (Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in
America)."
In a recent letter to the priests of the 15 Jerusalemite communities in
question, Archbishop Demetrios announces the agreement between the
Patriarchates of Constantinople and Jerusalem, and instructs them to
sign an official declaration; otherwise they would be proclaimed
uncanonical.
In that letter (dated August 4), Demetrios states, "Please be aware that
no letters of release will be issued by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem to
any clergyman. Canonical status of every clergyman depends on entering
the Vicariate, and to that end, your help will be essential."
The letter instructs them to also commemorate the name of Archbishop
Demetrios in their Divine Liturgy and holy services.
Demetrios concluded his letter by saying that, "as your Archbishop, I
would like to visit your communities in person in the near future."
Demetrios appointed the Very Rev. George Jweinet, pastor of Saint George
Church in San Francisco, to serve as vicar of the new Vicariate and
intermediary between the Jerusalemite parishes and the Archdiocese, but
those parishes, including his own, do not recognize him, according to
Rev. Matar.
"All the churches of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, including Father
George Jweinet's church, are standing against the agreement between
Constantinople and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He is the only one who
is accepting it because there will be a board meeting on Wednesday, and
he will very much have a problem with his own parish," he said.
According to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem's official website
(http://jerusalemusa.org), nine of the 15 parishes are on in California;
one is in Seattle; one in Arizona; one in New York (Long Island); one in
Pennsylvania; one in Massachusetts; and one in Georgia. They consist of
some 1,500 families, Rev. Matar said.
"I disagree with Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of the Antiochian
Archdiocese of America who says that those parishes belonged to him. No
parish existed here for the Patriarchate of Jerusalem when the people
left the Antiochian Orthodox Church," he said.
Asked why Metropolitan Philip claims those parishes to be his, Rev.
Matar said, "I do not like to say it, but I think his memory is not
clear. Everything was running fine when we had the Vicariate under the
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, but when Patriarch Theophilos was elected, we
heard he had an under-the-table agreement with Patriarch Bartholomew to
give our churches to Constantinople. A year later, we heard that our
(former) vicar, Metropolitan Damaskinos, resigned and that there was an
agreement and things like this."
Speaking about Archbishop Demetrios, Rev. Matar said, "He never called
us, but just five days ago, we started receiving certified letters in
the mail from the Greek Orthodox Archbishop, who wants us to sign a
declaration of this, and of course, all of us are standing very firm
that we are not accepting it, and some of us do not even accept the
mail. We returned it to the sender. I am one of them."
Asked why he does not [accept] the agreement between Theophilos and
Bartholomew, he said, "Our roots come from there, and we feel that we
should belong to our Mother Church, just like everyone else here in
America, including the so-called 'self-ruled' Antiochian Archdiocese of
America. We feel that, in 1948, Palestinians and Jordanians were thrown
out from our land, and now it is being done again by our Patriarchate.
We are not Greek. We are Palestinian and Jordanian Orthodox from the
Holy Land, and we have the right to belong to the Patriarchate of
Jerusalem today, tomorrow and forever."
Rev. Matar also said, "We were in Jerusalem two months ago, and we had a
meeting with Patriarch Theophilos, and we told him to his face that we
heard of such-and-such agreement, and he said, 'There is no agreement;
there is understanding that I like to have order in the Church. I want
to respect the jurisdictions of all the Churches, so please try to make
peace with Archbishop Demetrios.' We told him that we want to stay with
Jerusalem, and we are not changing our minds.
"We told him we are staying with Jerusalem. He kept telling us, 'You are
my children. I do not throw you away or abandon you, but I have to
respect the jurisdictions in America, and I do not want problems with
the other Orthodox. I do not want other jurisdictions to come to my
jurisdiction and establish their own jurisdictions.' I do not understand
what he meant by jurisdictions in America. Everybody is here, and why
does only Jerusalem have be under Constantinople, and everyone else is
not under Constantinople?"
The Jerusalemite communities in question have formed a committee, Rev.
Matar said, "and we are staying with Jerusalem for ever and ever."
Asked why he feels Patriarch Theophilos did not tell him the truth, he
said "Today, I do not want to call my Patriarch a liar, but I do not
believe that there is such an agreement the way they are saying to us,
or I do not believe that this was passed through the Synod because we
have evidence that the Synod knows nothing about it."
The Palestinian communities have sent letters to Archbishop Demetrios
and to all the Patriarchates and the autonomous Churches that they do
not accept the Agreement, and that they want to stay under the
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, according to Rev. Matar.
Asked if he has thought about going under former Patriarch Eireneos in
case Patriarch Theophilos insists on placing the 15 communities under
the new Vicariate, Rev. Matar said, "I love Patriarch Eireneos, and I
care a lot about him, but I will not do anything before I will make sure
I do it canonically, because I am a canonical priest, and I will not do
anything uncanonical. Before I do anything, I will have the professors
in Greece to give us their opinion. I pray to God for Theophilos to
recall his decision because it is doing great damage to our Church, and
a patriarch should not do damage, but peace."
Originally published August 15, 2008 |
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