Recordings from the Consecration of Bishop Matthias of Chicago

Recordings from the consecration and enthronement of Bishop Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago and Midwestern America are now available from Ancient Faith Radio here.

AFR Interview on Metropolitan Nicholas of the ACROD

Ancient Faith Radio has posted an interview with Protopresbyter Frank Miloro, chancellor of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese (ACROD), about the newly reposed Metropolitan Nicholas (Smisko) of Amissos here.

The AFR Interview with Seyidna Philip and Autocephaly

As a follow-up to my last post on Ancient Faith Radio's interview with Metropolitan Philip, I must confess to find myself appalled that a hierarch of the Church of Christ could flippantly refer to having millions of dollars and to being the sole overseer of those millions. Discretionary accounts to take care of particular needs are one thing, but millions of dollars? Given to a hierarch for use in the Church? Somehow it seems like such sums should be in the Archdiocese's name, not the metropolitan's.

More and more I wonder how different Orthodoxy in the New World is from Orthodoxy in the East. Anyone who says we're not ready for autocephaly is just wrong. After all, we have all of the Old World's vices (wealthy hierarchs, the abuse of the canons, sexually abusive priests being transferred from place to place) AND also a conciliarity born of both the All-Russian Council of 1918 and the New World's democratic values. What's missing? Intercommunion with non-Orthodox? I know of at least one parish where the priest gives Communion to Episcopalians or Roman Catholics (one or the other - can't remember which) with the blessing of his bishop. So we're set! Whatever your take on everything, autocephaly is possible in our times. There's no need to wait...

AFR Interview with Seyidna Philip

It seems like everything in the Church of Antioch is about the wording. There's no concern over the reality behind the words; that can change at any moment! What's important is that everyone be happy with the wording and that the wording itself be vague enough to mean whatever every individual involved wants it to mean.

That aside, the only other generally significant thing I got out of Ancient Faith Radio's rather disappointing interview with Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) was that there is no self-rule or autonomy or whatever you want to call it for the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. There is no real local synod and the next Metropolitan of New York of the Church of Antioch will not only be confirmed by the Holy Synod, he will be elected by it too. Seyidna Philip tried to dodge the question by saying no autonomous Local Orthodox Church elects its own first hierarch, but this simply is not true - the Japanese, Ukrainian, and Finnish Orthodox Churches as well as the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia are all examples of this. The choices of their local synods are subject to the ratification of their holy synods, but they do not send their holy synods lists of nominees - they send them the name of the man they have elected.

It's pretty rich that the metropolitan of one of North America's Orthodox Christian jurisdictions best known for playing fast and loose with the canons can claim that in his metropolis "we practice the canons of the Church perfectly." God help us all if that's the case! And people are surprised when clergy and laity from the Church of Antioch on this continent leave for other jurisdictions and even for schisms...anyways, the whole interview with Metropolitan Philip can be found here. Please pray for the Archdiocese, which is close to my heart (I became a catechumen in an Antiochian Orthodox parish in high school), and for Bishop Mark of Toledo, who has endured much persecution in recent years for his good conduct as a shepherd of the flock God has given him.