Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (Diocese of Suzdal). Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church Suzdal Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (abbreviated ROAC; until 1998 - Russian Orthodox Free Church) - one of the religious organizations of (alternative) Orthodoxy of the Russian tradition; is not recognized by any of the Local Orthodox Churches and does not have Eucharistic communion with them.Considers himself as the legitimate heir to the historical Orthodox Russian Church.
In the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the media has the designation "Suzdal Schism".
The First Hierarch of the ROAC is Theodore (Gineevsky) with the title "Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir". At the beginning of 2009, about 90 parishes and about 60 priests, as well as the Suzdal Theological School, belonged to the jurisdiction of the ROAC. The ROAC in the USA is represented by Bishop Andrey (Maklakov) of Pavlovsky. Since the mid-2000s, in connection with the transfer of priests and parishioners to other jurisdictions, as well as in connection with the seizure of churches from the ROAC, the number of parishes has decreased.
Vladimirskaya Church on Bozhedomka - Yaroslavl parish of the ROAC 
Church of the ROAC at the Golovinsky cemetery in Moscow
Russian Orthodox Free Church under the jurisdiction of ROCOR
Tsarekonstantinovskaya Church in Suzdal, former ROAC Cathedral
The basis for the emergence of the ROAC was the “Regulations on Free Parishes” adopted on May 15, 1990 by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), which proclaimed the course of the ROCA to establish its own (parallel ROC) church structures (dioceses, deaneries and parishes) within the USSR. In April 1990, Archimandrite of the Suzdal diocese of the ROC Valentin (Rusantsov), who had previously refused to fulfill the decree of Archbishop Valentin (Mishchuk) to transfer him to another city, transferred to the jurisdiction of the ROCOR along with his parish, in view of which, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the ROC, he was banned from serving.
The acceptance of Archimandrite Valentine into the jurisdiction of the Russian Church Abroad received wide public outcry and served as an example for several dozen parish communities in various regions of the country (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Siberia, Kaliningrad, Bryansk, Penza regions, Stavropol and Primorsky Krai and others).
By decision of the hierarchy of the Russian Church Abroad, the Russian Orthodox Free Church (ROCOR) was proclaimed on the basis of Russian parishes, and Archimandrite Valentine was appointed Exarch of the ROCOR Synod of Bishops in Russia.
Initially, the Russian Orthodox Free Church consisted of three communities:
at the Tsarekonstantinovsky church in Suzdal and 2 communities in the Suzdal region, which made up the Suzdal diocese.
By the ROCOR Synod of Bishops, Valentine was ordained bishop with the title of Suzdal and Vladimir.
Bishop Valentin, gradually distancing himself from the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR, on June 22, 1993, together with Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko), who had been illegally nursing members of ROCOR in the USSR since 1982, left the jurisdiction of ROCOR, remaining with her "in prayerful union and Eucharistic communion" , after which Valentine and Lazar were sent to rest by the ROCOR Synod. In March 1994, Valentin and Lazar announced that they were moving to autonomous self-government, after which, without the knowledge of the Church Abroad, they ordained three new bishops and created the so-called "Provisional Higher Church Administration of the Russian Orthodox Free Church" (VVCU ROCC). In connection with the threat from the Synod to be banned from serving, in the winter of 1994, at the Council of Bishops in France, Bishops Valentin and Lazar offered repentance to the Church Abroad by signing the Act on the dissolution of the illegal VVTsU. However, upon their return to Russia, they announced their non-recognition of the decisions of the Council and the further activities of the All-Russian Higher Art Church, after which, on February 24, 1995, the ROCOR Synod for leaving the schism banned all 5 bishops from serving, and the Vladimir-Suzdal and Odessa sees were declared widowed. On March 14, 1995, at a meeting of the All-Russian Orthodox Church Church, the bishops banned from serving announced that the definitions of the ROCOR Synod of Bishops were not recognized as "contrary to the holy canons." The Synod of the Church Abroad followed with a warning that in case of non-repentance, all bishops who had gone into schism would be defrocked. After that, Archbishop Lazar, the chairman of the VVTsU, and his newly ordained vicar bishop Agafangel (Pashkovsky) returned to ROCOR with repentance. Bishop Valentin and the rest of the bishops of the ROCA ROCA refused to repent and were defrocked by the ROCOR Council of Bishops in 1996.
By this time, the Russian Orthodox Church had 6 bishops and about 150 parishes. The basis of the clergy were former clergymen of the Moscow Patriarchate. Among those who transferred to the new formation was Mikhail Ardov, who left the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate in the summer of 1993 and became a clergyman of the Suzdal diocese.
After separating from ROCOR
After Archbishop Lazar repented and returned to ROCOR, the ROCA was headed by Bishop Valentine, who was soon elevated to the rank of archbishop. His Suzdal diocese became the center of the new church. In October 1998, the old name "Russian Orthodox Free Church" during registration was replaced by the ROAC. According to Mikhail Ardov, the word "autonomous" had to be added to the name ("it was slapped on us in the Ministry of Justice"), since the name "Russian Orthodox Church" was assigned to the Moscow Patriarchate.
In 2001, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church decided to raise Archbishop Valentine (Rusantsov) to the rank of Metropolitan with the right to wear two panagias.
In 2001, the former secretary of the synod, Archpriest Andrey Osetrov, and Protodeacon Dimitry Krasovsky broke away from the ROAC, who went over to the Russian Orthodox Church and became critics of Metropolitan Valentin.
In 2002, a scandal erupted: In February, the Suzdal City Court began a hearing on the case of Metropolitan Valentin (Rusantsov), who was accused of sexual crimes involving minors. The process received increased attention from the press. The metropolitan was given a suspended sentence in 2002, but was fully rehabilitated in 2004.
In 2004, Bishop Gregory (Abu-Assal) does not obey the requirements of the Synod and creates the ROAC in America. By the beginning of 2006, most of the parishes in the far abroad (USA, Bulgaria, England) were lost, and in most cases this was due to the metropolitan's incompetent personnel policy.
In the fall of 2006, a process began in the Arbitration Court of the Vladimir Region, the basis for which was the requirement of the territorial department of the Federal Property Management Agency to withdraw 13 Suzdal churches from the use of the ROAC.
In May 2007, a new, alternative center took shape in Bezhetsk (Tver region) - the "Provisional Church Council" (VTsS ROAC) under Bishop Sevastian (Zhatkov) of Chelyabinsk, which united several parishes that had left the ROAC synod. The Synod of the ROAC did not recognize this body, and canonical punishments were applied to its members, up to and including the anathematization of Sebastian.
On February 8-11, 2008, the first Bishops' Council in the history of this church jurisdiction was held in Suzdal.
On November 5, 2008, a final schism occurred in the ROAC, as a result of which Sevastian (Zhatkov) and Ambrose (Epifanov) transformed the "Provisional Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" into a new non-canonical religious organization, which received the name "Bishops' Conference of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" and on the next day, hegumen Gregory (Lurie), banned by Valentin (Rusantsov), was ordained "bishop of Petrograd and Gdov." The latter was elected Chairman of the "Bishops' Meeting of the ROAC". As of the end of 2011, three parishes in Chelyabinsk, Zlatoust and St. Petersburg, as well as individual lay people living in other cities, are subordinate to the "ROAC Bishops' Conference".
Seizure of temples
On February 5, 2009, the Arbitration Court of the Vladimir Region, on the suit of the Federal Property Management Agency, decided to confiscate 13 churches from the ROAC due to the lack of an agreement for their use. In the acts of the inspection of churches, presented to the court by the State Property Office, "violations in the operation of religious buildings" were noted. Representatives of the ROAC stated that they did not intend to give up the temples in any eventuality. On August 12, 2009, the Suzdal Diocesan Administration of the ROAC was visited by bailiffs of the Office of the Federal Bailiff Service for the Vladimir Region and officially announced the initiation of enforcement proceedings against the Suzdal Diocese of the ROAC in favor of the Vladimir Territorial Administration of the Federal Property Management Agency and presented writ of execution issued by the Vladimir Arbitration Court.
On September 11, 2009, the Office of the Federal Bailiff Service for the Vladimir Region completed enforcement proceedings on the decisions of the Arbitration Court of the Vladimir Region on the release of 10 churches in the city of Suzdal from the ROAC communities occupying them: officially, the churches were completely freed from their former owners; at the end of the service, the official representative of the Vladimir Regional Administration of the Federal Property Management Agency, Elena Kostrova, entered the Tsarekonstantinovsky church (ROAC Cathedral), which had been cleared of movable property, and announced that her department had taken over the management of the building. By October, 14 churches in Suzdal were confiscated from the ROAC in favor of the state, and proceedings were underway for six more, located in the vicinity of the city. Buildings erected in the 15th-19th centuries were returned, according to the plaintiff's representatives, in poor condition. Rosimushchestvo spokesman Vladimir Gorlanov said that the buildings began to collapse despite the fact that large sums were transferred for restoration from abroad. It should be noted that in the early 1990s The ROAC (then the Suzdal diocese of ROCOR) received them in a state of ruins.
At the end of November, the acting head of the Vladimir Territorial Directorate of the Federal Property Management Agency, Vladimir Gorlanov, sent a letter to the Suzdal police department with a request to initiate a criminal case against the ROAC and its head. The document refers to the “violation of wall structures” in connection with the dismantling of the heating system in some churches, the “destruction of ancient frescoes” and the application of new ones that do not correspond to the historical painting, and the incisions on the frescoes of the Church of John the Baptist. The notches on the walls of the Church of St. John the Baptist, turned into a warehouse in Soviet times, were, according to the former owners, made by representatives of the authorities during the plastering of the frescoes.
On December 4, 2009, a lawsuit was filed with the European Court of Human Rights. In December, three churches in Suzdal, confiscated from the ROAC, Kresto-Nikolsky, Lazarevsky and Antipevsky, were transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church. Archpriest Anatoly Sigida has been temporarily appointed rector of churches.
On January 7, 2010, a new temporary church of Tsar Constantine was consecrated in Suzdal, under which the attic of a two-story diocesan house on Vasilyevskaya Street in the center of Suzdal was converted.
On February 16, 2010, the Vladimir Arbitration Court ruled to satisfy three claims of the Department of Property and Land Relations (DISO) of the Administration of the Vladimir Region against the communities of the ROAC; According to the court decision, the ROAC must vacate and transfer to the DIZO the churches of St. Ephraim the Syrian in the village of Omutskoye, St. George the Victorious in the village of Krapivye, and Archangel Michael in the village of Ivanovskoye, Suzdal District, Vladimir Region.
On February 24, 2010, the Arbitration Court of the Vladimir Region issued a decision to confiscate the Church of St. Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky in the village of Ves.
On June 9, the Vladimir Arbitration Court issued a decision to confiscate from the ROAC the churches of St. Basil the Great in the village of Borisovskoye (rector Father Arkady Makovetsky) and St. John the Baptist in the village of Pavlovsky, Suzdal region.
Current state
In October 2010, three of the 11 priests that the ROAC had in Suzdal and the region moved to the Moscow Patriarchate.
In February 2011, 2 episcopal consecrations took place.
In June 2011, the only parish of the ROAC in Argentina moved to the RTOC.
On January 16, 2012, the First Hierarch of the ROAC Valentin (Rusantsov) died.
Hierarchs
Theodore (Gineevsky), Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir;
- Seraphim (Zinchenko), Archbishop of Sukhumi and Abkhazia;
- Victor (Kontuzorov), Archbishop of Daugavpils and Latvia;
- Hilarion, Archbishop of Smelyansky;
- Timothy (Sharov), Bishop of Orenburg and Kurgan;
- Irinarkh (Nonchin), Bishop of Tula and Bryansk;
- Andrei (Maklakov), Bishop of Pavlovsky;
- Jacob (Antonov), Bishop of Sukhodolsk;
- Trofim (Tarasov), Bishop of Simbirsk;
- Mark (Rassokha), Bishop of Armavir and the Black Sea
Former hierarchs
Arseny (Kiselev), Bishop of Tula and Bryansk (April 16, 1995 - summer 1996);
- Alexander (Mironov), Bishop of Kazan and Mari (April 1995 - November 1997);
- Gregory (Abu-Assal), Archbishop of Denver (banned in 2004);
- Anthony (Grabbe), retired (died in 2005);
- Sevastian (Zhatkov), Bishop of Chelyabinsk (banned in 2007, anathematized in 2008);
- Ambrose (Epifanov), Bishop of Khabarovsk (declared his administrative independence in 2008);
- Anthony (Aristov), Archbishop of Yaransky and Vyatka (died in 2009);
- Valentin (Rusantsov), Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (died in 2012).
Synodal Temple of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God. Synod of Bishops of the ROAC
Copyright © 2015 Unconditional Love
schismatic " Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) (“Valentinovtsy”) in Tula
On the territory of the Tula region there are communities of the so-called. "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" (ROAC). Representatives of this schismatic organization are called "Valentinovites", after the organizer of the ROAC, "Metropolitan" of Suzdal and Vladimir Valentin.
The Tula "Valentinovites" have their own "bishop" - Tula and Bryansk Irinarkh (Nonchin).
"Bishop" Irinarkh (Aleksey Nonchin)
According to the pro-schismatic electronic magazine VERTOGRAD, the Tula region in the post-revolutionary period was the center of the "catacomb" movement. At that time, believers moved to an illegal position, due to the fact that the main positions in the Tula diocese were occupied by the Renovationists. The author of the article in this publication, who did not wish to be identified, reports on the persecution that the “catacombniks” were subjected to by the authorities. He claims that in the archives of the KGB in the Tula region there are many materials about the destruction of the "catacomb" monasteries in the 30s. And in 1943, on Stalin's personal order, several hundred "catacomb" Orthodox Christians were taken from the Tula and Ryazan regions to Siberia. Many of them died. For the most part, the remnants of the "hereditary catacombs", and those who rejoined them, are fed today by the ROAC. (1)
Brief historical background (2)
Among the numerous modern schismatic groups, the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church is one of the most scandalous and odious.
The prerequisite for the emergence of the schismatic "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" can be considered the adoption on May 2/15, 1990 by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) of the so-called "Regulations on Free Parishes". This Regulation allowed the establishment of parallel ROC MP church structures (dioceses, deaneries and parishes) within the USSR.
In the spring of 1990, immediately after the publication of the Regulations, Archimandrite Valentin (Rusantsov), rector of the Tsarekonstantinovsky Cathedral in Suzdal, came under the jurisdiction of the ROCOR together with his parish. The motivating reason for his act was self-will, which led to a conflict with the ruling bishop, who at that time was the Archbishop of Vladimir and Suzdal (now Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk) Valentin (Mishchuk).
Several dozen parish communities in various regions of the country followed his example (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Siberia, Kaliningrad, Bryansk, Penza regions, Stavropol and Primorsky regions, etc.). By the decision of the hierarchy of the Russian Church Abroad, the “Russian Orthodox Free Church” (ROCOR) was proclaimed on the basis of Russian parishes, and Archimandrite Valentine was appointed “exarch” of the ROCOR Synod of Bishops in Russia. In February 1991, Archimandrite Valentin (Rusantsov) was consecrated as Bishop of Suzdal and Vladimir. In the same 1991, the ROCOR Diocese of Suzdal was registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation as a diocese of the "Russian Orthodox Free Church".
Subsequently, Bishop Valentine (Rusantsov), for a variety of reasons, came into open conflict with ROCOR. In response, the ROCOR Synod of Bishops removes Bishop Valentine from the state without the right to manage the diocese. He, at the Suzdal diocesan congress, held in 1993, announced his withdrawal from the jurisdictional subordination of the Russian Church Abroad, while maintaining Eucharistic communion with her.
A new step towards distancing the “Russian Orthodox Free Church” from ROCOR was the decision of the IV Congress of the Clergy and Laity of the Russian Orthodox Church, which took place in March 1994 and proclaimed the formation of the “Supreme Provisional Church Administration of the Russian Orthodox Free Church” (VVCU ROOC). The VVTsU was viewed as an organ of supreme church authority, an alternative to the ROCOR Synod of Bishops.
The ROCOR Synod of Bishops, for its part, forbids Bishop Valentine from serving. Also, the consecrations of new "hierarchs" performed after the schism were not recognized as valid. In the context of the developing conflict, the Synod of the Russian Church Abroad decided to ordain a new bishop to manage the Russian parishes. The choice fell on Archimandrite Evtikhiy (Kurochkin), who was consecrated Bishop of Ishim and Siberia.
In 1994, after some thaw in relations between ROCOR and the ROCA ROCA, again a series of regular internal scandals led to their complete split. Instead of the VVTsU ROCC, the "Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Free Church" was created. The further evolution of the schismatic grouping of Bishop Valentine took place under the conditions of a complete severance of church ties with the Russian Church Abroad. With this in mind, the Council of Bishops of ROCOR, held in September 1996, decided to depose Bishop Valentine from the priesthood. A similar decision was made at the Bishops' Council of the ROC MP, which took place in February 1997 and deprived Valentin (Rusantsov) of all degrees of the priesthood. In 1998, the "Russian Orthodox Free Church" was registered with the new name "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" (ROAC).
As of 2008, about 100 parishes on the territory of the Russian Federation were under the jurisdiction of the ROAC, some of which do not have state registration. In addition, there are parishes in Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, USA, Switzerland, Israel, Argentina and Bulgaria.
IN Tula region, the ROAC has its own "catacomb" monastery (3) . It is known that it is located in the city of Bogoroditsk. Due to the closeness of the religious communities of the Valentinians, it is rather difficult to establish the exact location of the monastery and the "liturgical" premises belonging to them. According to some information, the ROAC monastic community in Bogoroditsk is currently not large. There are no more than 10 people in total.
Interesting for us is the message of the above-mentioned "Valentino" electronic magazine "VERTOGRAD", where in one of the issues it was reported about the trips in 1999 of the Suzdal "bishops" to the "monasteries" and "parishes" of the ROAC in the Tula region:
“On the eve of the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, on October 13, 1999, Bishop Feodor of Borisov and Saninsky, accompanied by priest Konstantin Koretsky, arrived at the St. Elisabeth Convent in the city of Bogoroditsk, Tula Region, where he was met by Abbess Sophia and her sisters. The sisters of the monastery keep the cenobitic monastic charter; the focus of their spiritual life is the daily round of statutory Divine Services performed exactly on time, the indefatigable Psalter, the reading of akathists and patristic literature. The monastery is also visited by lay people who have departed from communion with the Moscow Patriarchate”…
... “The next day, October 15, Bishop Theodore visited the city of Efremov (Tula region), where the faithful, who had gathered in the apartment of the nun Pelagia, were waiting for him. In the conversation that took place, Mother Pelagia told the story of her long life and the reasons why she became convinced of the absence of Orthodoxy in the MP. Vladyka Theodore visited the city cemetery, where, at the request of the faithful, he served a funeral litia”…
... “Another Suzdal vicar, Bishop Seraphim of Sukhumi and Abkhazia, who ministers to the catacomb communities of the Suzdal Synod, made a pastoral trip to the catacomb parishes of Voronezh and Tula from December 24 to December 30, 1999, accompanied by Priest Konstantin and Shegehumenia Euphemia ... In Tula, Bishop Seraphim visited the catacomb monastery in the name of St. New Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth, led by Abbess Sophia, as well as about five catacomb communities in the Tula region, having served two Divine Liturgies in house churches and performed several rites "... (4)
There is another trip of the Valentinian hierarchs around the Tula region, made by them in 2006:
«… On the morning of December 5, Vladyka Metropolitan and His Grace Irinarch departed for the city of Bogoroditsk, Tula Region.
Along the way, the Right Reverends arrived in the city of Lokot, where they visited the stone church built by Deacon Viktor in honor of the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God.
In Bogoroditsk, distinguished guests were greeted with bread and salt in the catacomb convent of Abbess Sophia and her sisters. In the evening, the Right Reverends prayed at Vespers and Compline, in the morning after Matins and the Hours of Met. Valentin and Ep. Irinarch performed the Divine Liturgy. A choir of sisters sang in the kliros, Igor Borisenko read. On December 8, Metropolitan Valentine and Bishop Irinarch arrived in Suzdal" (5)
On November 23, 2007, "bishop" Irinarkh again visited Bogoroditsk. The reason for this was the death of "nun" Sophia, the aforementioned "abbess" of the female "convent" of the ROAC in Bogoroditsk, "consecrated" in honor of the New Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.
Here is what was reported about the "Valentino" abbess Sophia on the official website of the ROAC:
“Abbess Sophia, in the world Alexandra Timofeevna Kozlova, was born in 1927 and, despite godless times, was brought up by pious parents in the Orthodox faith.
In 1941-45, on the “labor front”, she fell ill with tuberculosis of the bones of her legs, but miraculously received healing through prayers to the Mother of God. In gratitude, she vowed to Her not to marry.
Alexandra often found herself in the midst of monastics and received spiritual guidance from them. Often attending divine services in the church, she soon mastered the liturgical charter and became a psalm-reader-regent on the left kliros of the church in Bogoroditsk. Having the ability for icon painting, she worked a lot in the painting of nearby churches, not yet closed by the authorities. In 1982, after the death of her mother, Alexandra was tonsured into a mantle with the name Sophia. Delving into the reading of St. The Fathers, the canons of the Orthodox Church, the letters of the New Martyrs of Russia, she saw that the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate had chosen and was following a different path, the path of violating and apostasy from the Orthodox faith. Mother Sophia established a written relationship with the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Vitaly, and soon broke off her prayerful communion with the Moscow Patriarchate (1988) and her former confessor, to whom she wrote: “You reproach me for the Church Abroad, allegedly I am listening to Her “from behind a hillock.” I answer that the Church Abroad did not look for me and did not impose her obediences on me, but I myself have been looking for the truth for many years: where is it, this Truth? And the Lord did not leave me. He pointed to me with the finger of those experiences and cases the non-Orthodoxy of the church where I served - the Soviet-Sergian, not knowing who she, this church, and what it is. The first God's Finger of God's direction was to me in Zagorsk, when I was horrified, in the Trinity Cathedral, I saw how the royal doors opened and from them the monks of Zagorsk released the Catholic cardinal, who, leaving the altar, went up to the shrine of St. Sergius, laying his hands back, looked at the reliquary and the relics, and departed ... ". (6)
For some time Sophia lived and prayed at home alone, fulfilling her monastic rule and continuing her correspondence with Metropolitan Vitaly. Soon she learns about the opening of parishes of the Church Abroad in Russia under the direction of Bishop Lazar and Bishop Valentin. Together with the worshipers gathered around her, Sophia visited "Vladyka" Valentine in Suzdal and was received into the "Russian Orthodox Free Church". She was accepted into the newly built monastery of St. John of Shanghai in Suzdal. In 1996, Sophia organizes a convent in Bogoroditsk, and the following year, the "Metropolitan" of Suzdal and Vladimir Valentin delivers her there as abbess.
“In the Elisabeth Convent, the sisters invariably complete a full liturgical cycle every day, as well as the “unsleeping psalter” is read and prayers are raised for the persecuted Russian Church and all Orthodox Christians. Liturgy in the house church at one time was performed by the priests of the ROAC, the last years of the sacrament were performed by the Bishop of Tula and Bryansk Irinarh " (7)
On November 25, "Bishop" Irinarkh performed a liturgy in the temple of the "cloister", then the rite of monastic burial. The deceased "abbess" was buried at the city cemetery in Bogoroditsk, next to her parents. At present, there are about ten elderly sisters in the “convent”. With the blessing of the "bishop" Irinarkh, the "novice" Tamara was appointed as the elder sister.
The attitude of the “Valentinovites” towards the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is negative. Thus, in his interview with the well-known pro-sectarian portal "Credo.ru", the "bishop" of Tula and Bryansk Irinarkh spoke about the ROC MP as follows:
“As Bishop of Tula and Bryansk Irinarkh (Nonchin), the new ROAC bishop for clerics from Trubchevsk and Surazhsky district, noted in an interview with the author, “ordinary clergy seek, first of all, light and purity, but they see the opposite - the world is pulling the Moscow Patriarchate towards itself. Business and the politics that are being pursued not only in the Bryansk diocese, but also in the leadership of the ROC-MP, repel priests and laity." According to Vladyka Irinarkh, the priests(ROAC - ed.) is driven by the desire to "preserve Orthodoxy in purity, and not in a whirlpool" (8)
These words of the "bishop" Irinarkh about "purity" and so on. sound very strange in light of some of his deeds. So, in 2014, one of the firms engaged in the production of equipment for church candles received an order for the manufacture of an expensive mold for candles. The order was discussed over the phone. The caller introduced himself as "bishop" Irinarch. The customer did not make an advance payment, he said that he would pay on the spot. After completing the order, the "bishop" Irinarkh came to this company with some Pavel Petrovich and began to offer for the work performed an amount half that agreed. Naturally, the representatives of the manufacturer did not agree, because they made these molds in 3 shifts. All families, children. As a result, the dialogue did not work. Thus, Irinarkh uses the following technique: he calls on the phone, introduces himself as a “bishop”, places an order, lowers the price by half upon the fact of making an order (9).
In 2016, in Suzdal, employees of the Federal Security Service detained the “primate” of the Russian Orthodox Church “Metropolitan” Feodor (Gineevsky), as well as the “bishop” of Tula and Bryansk Irinapx (Honchin). They were detained in the course of a search that began in the "Synodal House" of the Russian Orthodox Church. Law enforcers suspected the ROAC of the involvement of its adherents in committing acts of an extremist nature. As reported, the security forces were interested in the facts of earlier extremist statements by individual representatives of the ROAC, aimed at inciting enmity, hatred and humiliation of dignity on the grounds of being related to a social group. These actions were committed publicly in the process of religious meetings. It was also reported that the followers of the ROAC had previously been repeatedly seen in carrying out extremist actions. (10).
It is difficult to judge the number of home churches and communities of "Valentinovites" in the Tula region because of their closeness and the small number of parishioners. It follows from the above that there are definitely groups of "Valentinovites" in Efremov and Bogoroditsk at the present time. In the nineties of the last century, they distributed propaganda leaflets in the city of Suvorov. They repeatedly visited other cities of the Tula region in order to attract believers. But no significant results were achieved.
Sectainfo, 2017.
(1) Interview with Bishop Irinarch of Tula and Bryansk (ROAC) //. http://vertograd.narod.ru/440.htm - Access date: 09/14/2009.
(2) According to materials: Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church // Anti-schism. Electronic resource.- 2009.- Access mode: http://www.anti-raskol.ru/grup/55т - Date of access: 10/19/2009.
(3) Interview with Bishop Irinarch of Tula and Bryansk (ROAC) //. VERTOGRAD. Orthodox magazine. Electronic resource.- 2004.- Access mode: http://vertograd.narod.ru/440.htm - Access date: 09/14/2009.
(4) Pastoral trips of Suzdal bishops //. VERTOGRAD. Orthodox magazine. Electronic resource.- 1999.- Access mode: http://vertograd.narod.ru/0200/orthodox04.htm - Date of access: 14.09.2009.
(5) The First Hierarch of the Russian Church and His Grace Bishop Irinarch of Tula and Bryansk visited the parishes of the Tula-Bryansk diocese//. RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. SUZDAL DIOCESE. Electronic resource. - 2006. - Access mode: http://www.rpac.ru/article/46/ - Access date: 14.09.2009.
(6) The abbess of the Elisabeth Convent of the ROAC died. RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. SUZDAL DIOCESE. Electronic resource.- 2007.- Access mode: http://www.rpac.ru/article/89/ - Date of access: 15.09.2009.
(7) Ibid.
(8) Dictate of Theophylact. The policy of the new bishop of the ROC MP split the Orthodox in the Bryansk region and turned the authorities against society //. Portal-Credo.ru. Electronic resource.- 2005.- Access mode: http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=news&type=forum&id=34047 - Access date: 09/15/2009.
(9) Based on materials: Irinarkh (Nonchin) "Bishop of Tula and Bryansk" / / Anti-schism. Electronic resource.- 2010.- Access mode: http://www.anti-raskol.ru/pages/369 - Access date: 10/19/2014.
(10) Suzdal: The First Hierarch of the ROAC and Bishop Irinarkh were Delivered for a Conversation at the FSB // Portal Kredo.ru. Electronic resource.- 2016.- Access mode: http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=news&id=121984 - Date of access: 10.10.2016.
"Themes"
"Bishop of the ROAC"
1. Theodore
Archbishop of Borisov and Otradnensky
2. Seraphim
Archbishop of Sukhumi and Abkhazia
3. Victor
Archbishop of Daugavpils and Latvia
4. Hilarion
Archbishop of Smelyansky
5. Timothy
Bishop of Orenburg and Kurgan
6. Irinarch
Bishop of Tula and Bryansk
7. Andrey
Bishop of Pavlovsky
8. Jacob
Bishop of Sukhodolsk
9. Trofim
Bishop of Simbirsk
10. Mark
Bishop of Armavir
News
INTERVIEW:
Metropolitan First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
Suzdal and Vladimir FEODOR about their plans in connection with the criminal
persecution and how fragments of the relics of
Suzdal saints
Metropolitan Theodore: I'd rather read you the text of the warning about criminal prosecution, so that everything is accurate:
"Warning
head - debtor - centralized organization Russian
Orthodox Autonomous Church, centralized religious
organizations Suzdal diocese of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous
Churches. Article 315 criminal liability warning
Criminal Code of the Russian Federation No. 1.
link: http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=news&id=97305
Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church loses lawsuit again
How
informs Portal-Credo.Ru the Vladimir Regional Arbitration Court
satisfied three claims of the regional department of property and land
relations with the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church.
link: http://gorod33.ru/art/14346/
Consideration
materials on an administrative offense against the ROAC
postponed to December 14, and Metropolitan Theodore was given a second
prosecution warning
Repeated warning of criminal liability under Art. 315
of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was handed on December 7 to the First Hierarch of the Russian
Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) Metropolitan of Suzdal and
Vladimirsky Theodore. According to the correspondent of Portal-Credo.Ru, in
On this day, the Primate of the ROAC visited the Department of the Federal Service
bailiffs of the Russian Federation in the Vladimir region (UFSSP), accompanied by
representatives of the Church.
link: http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=news&id=97265&cf=
Metropolitan
The ROAC issued an official warning to Theodore about a criminal
persecution, and heavy
fines
Bailiff-executor Anna Filippova, leading executive
proceedings under the decision of the Vladimir Arbitration Court on the withdrawal from
Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) and its Suzdal
diocese of the relics of the saints, delivered on November 29 to the First Hierarch of the ROAC Metropolitan
Suzdal and Vladimir Theodore (Gineevsky) official
warning of criminal liability under Article 315 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,
reports the correspondent of Portal-Credo.Ru.
link: http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=news&id=97114&cf=
The First Hierarch of the ROAC celebrated the liturgy in the church at the Golovinsky cemetery in Moscow
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC)
Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir Theodore celebrated on December 9, in
Week 27 after Pentecost, solemn Liturgy in the church of St.
Tsar-Martyr Nicholas and All New Martyrs of Russia on Golovinsky
cemetery in Moscow, according to the correspondent of Portal-Credo.Ru. Temple
is under the jurisdiction of the ROAC and is the center of the Moscow deanery
Suzdal diocese of this Church.
link: http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=news&id=97298&cf=
Federal
Arbitration Court of the Volga-Vyatka Arbitration District of the Russian Federation took to
the cassation appeal of the ROAC and its Suzdal diocese in the "case of
relics"
Judge of the Federal Arbitration Court of the Volga-Vyatka District of the Russian Federation D.The.
Chernyshov issued on November 29 a ruling on acceptance for production
cassation appeal of the Centralized religious organizations Russian
Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) and the Suzdal diocese of the ROAC on
decision of the Arbitration Court of the Vladimir Region dated May 31 and
decision of the First Court of Appeal of September 19 on
seizure from the ROAC and its Suzdal diocese of the relics of St. Euthymius and
Euphrosyne of Suzdal, according to the correspondent of Portal-Credo.Ru.
link:
On May 6, 2012, the First Hierarch of the "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" (ROAC) "Archbishop of Vladimir and Suzdal" Theodore (Gineevsky) was endowed with the title of "Metropolitan" and the right to wear two bishops' panagias.
At a meeting of the Council of Bishops of the "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" (ROAC), held on January 23, 2012 in Suzdal, "Archbishop of Otradnensky and the North Caucasus" Theodore (Gineevsky) was elected First Hierarch of the said non-canonical religious community with the title of "Archbishop of Vladimir and Suzdal ". The elevation of "archbishop" Theodore to the rank of "metropolitan" will take place during Bright Week this year.
On January 16, 2012, at the age of 73, the First Hierarch of the "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" (ROAC) "Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir" Valentin (Rusantsov) died. The cause of his death is called progressive heart failure, postinfarction cardiosclerosis and severe diabetes mellitus.
On February 10, 2011, on the execution of the decision of the ROAC Council of Bishops, the "episcopal" consecration of "archimandrite" Mark (Rassokhi) took place, in which eight "bishops" took part, headed by the First Hierarch of the ROAC "Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir" Valentin (Rusantsov). It is noteworthy that the newly ordained "hierarch" was endowed with the title of "bishop of Armavir", vicar of the North Caucasian diocese.
On February 4, 2011, the Council of Bishops of the non-canonical religious organization "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" (ROAC) took place in Suzdal, at which a decision was made to ordain two new "bishops". The cleric of the Iberian Synodal Church of the ROAC "archimandrite" Trofim (Tarasov) was elected "bishop of Simbirsk", vicar of the Suzdal diocese...
Cleric of the Suzdal diocese of the "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" "hieromonk" Seraphim (Sibinin), detained for possession of drugs.
"Archbishop" Theodore copied some fragments of his message from the Paschal message of the Archbishop of Saransk and Mordovia Barsanuphius for 2001, published on the official website of the Saransk-Mordovian diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate Paschal; sermon by Archpriest Vyacheslav Reznikov, published on the official website of the Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. However, it is most noteworthy that the First Hierarch of the ROAC included in his Paschal Epistle borrowings from heterodox authors: the sermon "Easter of Victory", authored by the Baptist preacher Viktor Semyonovich Ryaguzov, "A sermon on the feast of Easter" delivered by a preacher of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, brother Ramil, a note by a dark-skinned neo-charismatic Sunday Adelaja, as well as fragments of a sermon by a Catholic monk from the Redemptorist order, Fr. Stanislav Podgursky CSsR.
The need to form an independent pseudo-church structure, claiming succession from the pre-revolutionary Orthodox Russian Church, prompted the leadership of the ROAC to conduct a number of episcopal consecrations. In 2001, the Synod of the "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" decided to raise Archbishop Valentin (Rusantsov) to the rank of metropolitan with the right to wear two panagias, which, according to the schismatics, raised the status of the most schismatic organization to the metropolitan district. However, the bearer of the white klobuk not only did not increase the authority of the religious organization he created, but a year later drew public attention to the ROAC with a grandiose scandal...
Among the numerous modern pseudo-church groups, the "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" is one of the most scandalous and odious. She attracted the close attention of the Russian public with a noisy deviation into a split in the early 1990s, a sexual scandal in the early 2000s. and no less high-profile scandal of the late 2000s, connected with an attempt to keep the temples that had been torn away into schism in their jurisdiction. The prerequisite for the emergence of the schismatic "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" can be considered the adoption on May 2/15, 1990 by the ROCOR Council of Bishops of the so-called "Regulations on Free Parishes"...
As of September 2009, the "episcopate" of the "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" consisted of the following "hierarchs":
* Valentin (Rusantsov), "Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir"
* Theodore (Gineevsky), "Archbishop of Borisov and Otradnensky"
* Seraphim (Zinchenko), "Archbishop of Sukhumi and Abkhazia"...
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The head of the church is the Metropolitan.
Brief history of the church
Jurisdiction began in July 1993, when Archbishop Lazar (who ministered to the former Catacomb parishes) and Bishop Valentin (who ministered to parishes that had joined from the Russian Orthodox Church and were registered as the "Russian Orthodox Free Church"), who ruled over ROCOR parishes in the post-Soviet space, were removed from their chairs. . After their requests to reconsider the decision were not heard, in March 1994 the bishops switched to autonomous self-government and ordained three new hierarchs, the Supreme Church Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church was created. Most of the catacombs from the "Victorian" branch passed into this jurisdiction. In the winter of 1994, a temporary reconciliation with ROCOR was achieved, and on February 24, 1995, the ROCOR Synod banned all 5 bishops from serving, which again provoked a split among the post-Soviet ROCOR parishes. In June 1995, the Supreme Church Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church was restored, this time with Archbishop Valentin, whose diocese in Suzdal became the center of the new jurisdiction. In October 1998, the old name "Russian Orthodox Free Church" during registration (at the request of the authorities) was replaced by the "Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church" (ROAC). In 2001, a group headed by Archpriest Andrei Osetrov broke away, who became one of the ideologists of the persecution of Metropolitan Valentine. In 2002, a trial took place over M. Valentin, accusing him of pedophilia (convicted, but later the conviction was expunged), which was accompanied by active persecution in the media, but this did not affect the size of the church. Only in Suzdal, the ROAC had 19 churches, six more parishes operated in the Vladimir region, Suzdal is the spiritual center of the church.
The church includes a large number of former catacomb parishes (a significant number of them remained in an illegal position), as well as a part of those who transferred from the Russian Orthodox Church. The Sukhodolsk diocese unites believers in Belarus and Ukraine, 12 parishes are united into an autonomous church in Latvia, in early 2001 parishes appear in the USA, and in 2003 one parish in Bulgaria (subsequently the number of Bulgarian parishes increases). In 2004, the American Bishop Gregory (Abu-Assal) did not comply with the demands of the Synod to explain his behavior and communication with him was interrupted. Gregory founded the ROAC in America. From 2005 to 2008, the formation of a new jurisdiction was delayed - the Bishops' Conference of the ROAC, formed around Father Gregory (Lurie). In 2007, a wave of church persecution began. In 2007, a lawsuit began, the purpose of which is to take away from the church the temples that it had taken over in the early 90s. On February 5, 2009, the Arbitration Court of the Vladimir Region decided to seize 13 churches from the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church. By October 2009, 14 churches had been confiscated from a church in Suzdal and its environs. In 2010, the courts seized six more churches located in the Vladimir region from the church, and in October 2010, three priests of the region moved to the Moscow Patriarchate. In January 2012, the First Hierarch of the Church, M. Valentin, died, and on May 31, 2012, the court decided to transfer the relics of St. Euphemia and Euphrosyne of Suzdal to the Federal Property Management Agency, and for failure to comply with the decision and refusal to transfer the relics (which is regarded as an administrative offense), in relation to M. Theodore, criminal prosecution, fines are issued to churches. On January 24, 2013, the Federal Arbitration Court of the Volga-Vyatka District canceled previous decisions on the removal of the relics, leaving them in the possession of the church. However, on August 30, 2013, the service of bailiffs broke into the Iberian Synodal Church during a divine service and, using force, tried to seize the relics of the saints, St. Euthymius and Euphrosyne.
On the territory of Russia there are 55 parishes and a number of catacomb communities, several parishes and communities in Ukraine and Belarus, a diocese in Latvia, five parishes in the United States (of which three are English-speaking).
Supreme Church Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church, Head
Lazar (Zhurbenko) (March - winter 1994)
Valentin (Rusantsov) (June 1995 - 2001)
First Hierarch
Valentin (Rusantsov), Metropolitan (2001 - January 16, 2012)
Theodore (Gineevsky), (Metropolitan since May 6, 2012), (January 23, 2012 -
Bishops:
Theodore (Gineevsky), Archbishop of Borisov and Saninsky (March 19, 1994 - January 23, 2012), Archbishop of Suzdal and Vladimir (January 23, 2012 -
Seraphim (Zinchenko), Archbishop of Sukhumi and Abkhazia (March 20, 1994 -
Victor (Kontuzorov), Archbishop of Daugavpils and Latvia (June 21, 1995 -
Hilarion, Bishop of Sukhodolsk (1998-2001), ep. Smelyansky (2001-
Timofey (Sharov), Bishop of Orenburg and Kurgan (November 24, 2000 -
Jacob (Antonidiadi), Bishop of Sukhodolsk (February 10, 2008 -)
Irinarkh (Nonchin), Bishop of Tula and Bryansk (November 24, 2002 -
Andrei (Maklakov), Bishop of Pavlovsk, Vicar of Suzdal (administers parishes in the USA) (June 21, 2006 - July 18, 2013), Archbishop of Pavlovsk and Rockland (administration of parishes in dispersion) (July 18, 2013 -
Trofim (Tarasov), Bishop of Simbirsk, Vicar of Suzdal (February 6, 2011 -
Mark (Rassokha), Bishop of Arzamas, Vicar of Suzdal (February 8, 2011 - January 23, 2012), Bishop of Armavir and the North Caucasus (January 23, 2012 -
Bishops who have previously been members of the Church:
Valentin (Rusantsov), Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir (March 1994 - January 16, 2012)
Anthony (Grabbe), Retired Bishop in the United States (August 28, 2001 - September 12, 2005) (deceased)
Geronty (Ryndenko), Bishop of Sukhodolsk (February 6, 2001 - February 1, 2008) (deceased)
Anthony (Aristov), Bishop of Yaransky and Vyatka (May 24, 1999 - March 1, 2009) (deceased)
Alexander (Mironov), Bishop of Kazan and Mari (April 1995 - November 1997)
Arseny (Kiselev), Bishop of Tula and Bryansk (April 16, 1995 - summer 1996)
Gregory (Abu-Assal), Bishop of Denver and Colorado (December 2, 2001 - July 22, 2004) (until October 18, 2002 - suffragan metropolitan, since June 2004 archbishop)
Sevastian (Zhatkov), Bishop of Chelyabinsk (July 17, 2003 - February 17, 2007)
Ambrose (Epifanov), Bishop of Khabarovsk (November 26, 2000 - 2004)
