Yakov Krotov's LJ

Yurisdiction: update
I try not to write about personal matters due to the combination of the old ideas of intelligentsia concerning humility (modesty) and even older ideas of Christianity concerning humbleness. Does this means that I enjoy speaking about myself and only restrain? Well, no difference! Freud must know his place (very moderate.)

Still, recently I've changed jurisdiction. It happened so that in the "catacomb" Church where I've been ordained in 2002 one bishop became married. A sort of Milingo's case. -) The Pope punished Milingo for his marriage, and Rev. Gleb Yakunin (who is the spiritual leader of this branch of the Catacomb Church) behaved the opposite way. He insisted that Apostolic Russian Orthodox Church make the marriage of the bishop part of her tradition. I objected and left peacefully.

Actually, I am not against married bishops or woman-priests. I am against reforms when they replace the real life or, better to say, when the lack of the real church life is "compensated" with reforms. What the sense to serve the liturgy in vernacular of there are no parishioners? First things first, and marriage of the bishop is not the firstiest thing at all. (I understand that "firstiest" is a neologism, but I don't understand whether it is suitable or felt like a mystake only; tell me, please.)

In March of 2007 I was received as a priest into the jurisdiction of Archbishop Igo' Isichenko. He lives in Ukraine in Kharkiv, he is the bishop of the diocese of Kharkiv and Poltava (this is the eastern part of Ukraine.)

The church situation in Ukraine is very complicated, Ukrainians are eager to have an independent national Church and Moscow opposes the idea. Bishop Igor' thinks that the case must be solved by the Patriarch of Constantinople, because Ukraine canonically never left jurisdiction of Constantinople. He recognize Metropolit Constantine Bagan of the Ukrainian Church in the USA as the spiritual leader, and Metropolit Bagan is under the jurisdiction of the patriarch of Constantinople (http://www.uocofusa.org/admin).

Patriarch of Moscow several years ago made an official protest to the Patriarch of Constantinople: he asked to repudiate Bishop Igor'. Constantinople answered in the best Byzantine traditions: writing "yes" and doing "no."

So during the liturgy I pray for the Patriarch Varfolomey of Constantinopole and for the Archbishop Igor'.

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