Milan Synod First Hierarch Resigns Episcopacy

The first hierarch of the Old Calendrist Milan Synod, Metropolitan Evloghios of Milan, together with his auxiliary, Archbishop Abbondios of Como, have both resigned from the episcopacy and begun to serve as priests in preparation for reception into the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. The status of the other three hierarchs still belonging to the Milan Synod is unclear. More (in Italian) here.

Old Calendrist Metropolia Consecrates Bishop for Miami

The 'Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of North and South America and the British Isles,' formerly the North American diocese of the Milan Synod, has a new hierarch, consecrated by the Metropolia's head, Metropolitan John (Lobue) of New York, and its Bishop Fanourios (Michael) of Lincoln. The new bishop, Christoudolos of Miami, has been assigned by the Metropolia to head its missionary outreach in Cuba and Latin America. More here.

Russian Old Calendrists Consecrate Bishop for Serbia

An Old Calendrist schism from the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian True Orthodox Church under Archbishop Tikhon of Omsk, has consecrated a bishop for a synod of five Old Calendrist parishes and monasteries in Serbia. The consecration is the first of its kind, though some schismatics in the country have hierarchical oversight in the person of the deposed Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren. The new bishop, Bishop Akakije of Resavska, was consecrated at the Lesna Monastery in Normandy. More here.

Milan Synod Archbishop to Visit Chisinau, San Francisco

Archbishop Abbondio of Como, auxiliary to Metropolitan Evloghios of the Old Calendrist Milan Synod, is set to visit Metropolitan Vladimir (Canterean) of the Moldovan Orthodox Church next month in Chisinau, after which he will make a pilgrimage to the relics of St. John the Wonderworker in San Francisco. The agenda for Archbishop Abbondio's meeting with Metropolitan Vladimir has not been announced, but doubtless pertains to the reception of the Milan Synod into the Moscow Patriarchate. More (in Italian) here.

South Ossetian Orthodox Bishop Retired

The Old Calendrist 'Holy Synod in Resistance' of the Greek Orthodox Church has granted the head of the Orthodox Church in South Ossetia, Bishop George of Alania, retirement due to his ongoing health issues. Bishop Ambrose of Methone, an auxiliary to the first hierarch of the Synod in Resistance, has been appointed locum tenens of the Diocese of Alania. More here.

HOCNA in Canada Considers Union with Genuine Orthodox Church

Following the loss of its Metropolis of Portland to the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece the Old Calendrist 'Holy Orthodox Church of North America,' a grecophile schism from the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, is now apparently facing the possible loss of the parishes comprising its Metropolis of Toronto to the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece. There is no official confirmation from either the HOCNA or the Genuine Orthodox Church about such a transfer or whether the HOCNA's Metropolitan Makarios of Toronto is leading the move to the Genuine Orthodox Church in his diocese. More here.

HOCNA Metropolitan, Bishop Accepted into Genuine Orthodox Church

Metropolitan Moses of Portland and Bishop Sergius of Loch Lomond of the 'Holy Orthodox Church of North America' (HOCNA) have been accepted into the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece as hierarchs. They will soon travel to Greece to finalize their union with the Genuine Orthodox by concelebrating with Archbishop Kallinikos of Athens. In North America the heirarchs will become part of an eparchial synod headed by the current head of the Genuine Orthodox Church on the continent, Metropolitan Pavlos (Stratigeas) of Astoria. More here.

West Coast HOCNA Petitions to Join Genuine Orthodox in Greece

Metropolitan Moses of Portland and his auxiliary, Bishop Sergios of Loch Lomond, of the 'Holy Orthodox Church of North America' (the HOCNA, a Greek Orthodox Old Calendrist schism from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia) have petitioned to be received into the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece, a large Greek Orthodox Old Calendrist synod with a heretofore minor presence in North America. More here.

In his statements on the matter Metropolitan Moses rejected the "gerontocracy" that has ruled the HOCNA since its founding as a jurisdiction effectively governed out of Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, Massachusetts. His comments on the issue and his reasons for appealing to the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece for reception into its jurisdiction can be found here.

Nuns Tonsured in Kenya

Two nuns were recently tonsured to the great schema at Kenya's first Byzantine Rite monastery in Kaanja, St. George's Monastery under the Holy Synod in Resistance of the Old Calendrist Greek Orthodox Church. More here.

Greek Court Rules Against Esphigmenou

A Greek court of appeals in Thessalonica has confirmed a ruling ordering the eviction of the monks of Mount Athos' Esphigmenou Monastery because of their refusal to commemorate Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople. More here.

Although a number of Mount Athos' smaller communities do not commemorate Patriarch Bartholomew, Esphigmenou has so far proved to be the only of the 20 'ruling' monasteries to steadfastly refuse to commemorate him (in the 1920s all the monasteries with the exception of Vatopaidi stopped commemorating the ecumenical patriarch and several refused to do so until after the 1960s).

North American Daughter of Milan Synod Recognizes Broken Communion

The North American daughter of the Old Calendrist Milan Synod today recognized that it is no longer in communion with the Milan Synod due to its efforts to unite with the Russian Orthodox Church (more on that here). The North American metropolia remains in communion with the Milan Synod's sister churches in Bulgaria, Greece, and the former USSR. More here.

Elder Cleopa of Sihastria on the Calendar Controversy

Some interesting comments from Elder Cleopa (Ilie) of Sihastria in Romania on the calendar controversy and the schisms that have come from it can be found here (the site links to the Romanian-language original as well). I certainly agree with Elder Cleopa's comments on the unhealthiness of the Old Calendrist movements' oftentimes sectarian spirit, but conversely I find it troubling that he does not mention the persecution the Old Calendrists suffered at the hands of both the state and, at times, the world Orthodox Churches in Greece and Romania at the time of the calendar change.

As with so many schisms, there may well be more gray involved than either we in the mainstream Orthodox Churches or those in the various Old Calendrist synods would like to believe. Hat tip to Mystagogy for posting a link to a link to a link to the original of this ;-). Some of the comments on Mystagogy's posting are worth the read while others, especially one regarding the decision of Patriarch Meletius (Metaxakis) of Constantinople to recognize the "Living Church" as the true Church of Russia in the 1920s, are most definitely not...

Milan Synod in Europe Confirms Desire for Union with Russian Orthodox Church

Archbishop Abbondio of Como, an auxiliary to the First Hierarch of the Milan Synod in Western Europe, has confirmed that the Milan Synod is pursuing reception into the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church and does not have any ties with the various Old Calendrist and traditionalist movements in the former USSR. He noted in particular the Milan Synod's apparently close ties with Metropolitan Vladimir (Cantarean) of Chisinau. More here.

The day before Archbishop Abbondio's comments vis-a-vis the Milan Synod in Europe and the Moscow Patriarchate the Milan Synod's sister church in North America reaffirmed its opposition to communion with the mainstream Local Orthodox Churches. More on that here.

Pictured is Bishop Abbondio at a recent service in Milan, Italy.

New Milan Synod Metropolitan

The Milan Synod has elevated one of its North American hierarchs to the rank of metropolitan and will be consecrating two auxiliary bishops to assist him in his pastoral duties despite the rather small size of the Synod's North American flock. More on that here.

The Milan Synod also recently posted a rather confused and confusing statement on one of its news websites saying that it is "not in fraternal relation with any Russian churches ('in the catacombs'), only the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Rus'." How this can be when the Russian Orthodox Church does not have any communion with the Milan Synod is unclear.

Update: According to Milan Synod sources the new metropolitan will head a self-governing/autonomous church with jurisdiction over the British Isles and the Americas. Archimandrite Fanourios (Michael) has already been consecrated auxiliary Bishop of Lincoln. Archimandrite Michael (Acosta) will be consecrated at a later date. More on that here. The newly autonomous church under the Milan Synod in North America lists 31 parishes, missions, and monastic communities on its website.

Takeover of Astoria Monastery Complete

The takeover of what was once a preeminent monastery of the Greek Orthodox Old Calendrist movement in the United States, St. Irene Chrysovolantou's in Astoria, New York, appears complete. In the wake of the sexual scandals involving the Monastery's former abbot, Metropolitan Paisios (Loulourgas) of Tyana, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has appointed mainline Greek Orthodox hierarchs and clergy from outside the Monastery as its abbot and legal trustees.

St. Irene's together with a number of other Old Calendrist communities in the USA were received into the Church of Constantinople in 1998. At the time there was unease in some of the Monastery's dependencies regarding Metropolitan Paisios' submission to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but the Monastery was guaranteed its self-governance under its metropolitan-abbot and the right to remain faithful to the Julian calendar. What the future holds in the aftermath of the recent scandals remains to be seen.

More here.

HOCNA Metropolitan Participates in Genuine Orthodox Meeting

A hierarch of the Holy Orthodox Church of North America, Metropolitan Moses of Portland, was invited to observe the recent meeting of the Metropolitan Council of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece's North American metropolis. The two Old Calendrist jurisdictions, the former a break away from the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and fairly large in size, are separate from one another, but have grown increasingly close in recent years. More here.

Meeting of the Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church in Resistance

In a regular meeting last month of the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church in Resistance it was decided to leave the newly widowed Diocese of Sydney vacant until a suitable candidate could be found for election to the episcopacy. The church's increasingly close relationships with its sister Old Calendrist churches in the former USSR, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Russian Diaspora were also reviewed and plans were made for publishing a concrete statement on the position of the Greek Orthodox Church in Resistance, the Bulgarian Old Calendrist Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad of Metropolitan Agathangel, and the Romanian Old Calendrist Orthodox Church vis-a-vis the world Local Orthodox Churches. More here.

New First Hierarch of the 'Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece'

Also under the heading of old news, the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece has a new first hierarch, Archbishop Callinicus of Athens. His enthronement was celebrated on 17 October in Athens' Church of St. Athanasius.

The Genuine Orthodox Church is a rigorist Old Calendrist schism and one of the larger Old Calendrist movements in Greece, deriving its hierarchy from the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR) and the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in Western Europe. Although the first Greek Orthodox Old Calendrist bishop in North America, Bishop Peter (Astyfides) of Astoria of the ROCOR, eventually joined this synod prior to his death, its presence in North America is rather limited numerically.