News of the ROCOR-A
Metropolitan Agafangel will visit North America March 11-22. Additional details will be forthcoming soon.
This coming weekend, February 5-6, volunteers will be at work restoring the Holy Transfiguration Monastery at Mountain View in New York. Additional hands would be welcome.
The Saint Innocent Orthodox Mission Church in Pottstown (Pennsylvania) celebrated its Feast Day Sunday, January 30. Archbishop Andronik performed a Hierarchical Liturgy assisted by Fr. Daniel Meschter, ProtoDeacon Job (Chimeras), Sub Deacon Andrew (Frick), sub Deacon Paul (Daniels). Mother Agapia was also present. The blessing of the water was
at 8:30 AM and the greeting of the Bishop at 9:30 AM.
The next English Liturgy at Holy Trinity Church in Astoria (New York)will be seNewsrved by Father Macarius at 10 AM on Saturday, February 10.
We enclose below a short message from Archbishop Sophrony regarding
efforts by the Moscow Patriarchate to seize, through the Russian legal
system, ROCA property in Zhabory, Russia:
“The Court of Appeal of Vologda held its session on January 25, 2011 and
recognized our parish as a third person involved in the case related to
property usage in the village Zhabory. Thus, the court assigned the case
for trial on appeal by the rules of First Instance on 24.02.2011
“Using non-legal terms, this means that the trial will start from the very
beginning (as the first instance), but with the participation of our
parish, which now has full legal rights as a third person acting in court.
“The plaintiff (the parish in the village Zhabory MP) did not appear in
Court, but he had sent his response to our appeal, which read in part:
“… Thus, the independent religious organizations – Epiphany monastery in
Vishgorod – has its own structure and jurisdiction, and no way is related
to the Russian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate ( IN CONNECTION WITH
THOSE THAT DID NOT ACCEPT THE “HISTORIC REUNION” WITH THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX
CHURCH OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA YEAR 2007 ) …». Probably they hoped to soften
the court and make it cry, but what has this statement to do with the fact
that we use this building?
“Indeed, an administrative resource is somehow related to all these
actions and affects the course of litigation. Local authorities (on a call
from a higher level), had issued a certificate to the Court that the
administration knew nothing about that building and who was living there.
Only after I threatened with legal proceedings to testify the origin of
the document, suddenly another certificate appeared, which stated that the
building had been inspected and it was found that two families were
occupying the building.
“A minor mystery happened during the session also. It turned out that a
document disappeared from the archive of the Court, which stated that the
parish had been registered since 1994. Sometimes it happens, I had the
same document with me and provided it to the Court with the words: ‘I hope
now it will not get lost in court.'”
