ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

Exarchate of Parishes of Russian
Tradition in Western Europe

A Personal View of the Clergy-Laity Assembly of the Vicariate, 7 June 2008

Graham Whitaker, Community of St Nicholas, Dunblane

The assemblies are held twice a year, and currently take place in St Andrew’s Church, Holborn, the church currently used by the Parish of the Dormition of the Mother of God. It was one of the City churches damaged but not destroyed in the Blitz and the interior has been sympathetically restored. The acoustics are not ideal for the purpose of a meeting, but responded well to the singing of the Troparion of the Ascension with which the meeting opened and closed. ‘Eternal remembrance’ was also sung for Father Patrick Radley who had passed away since the last such meeting in December 2007.

Inevitably at such meetings there are formalities that have to be observed both in the conduct of the meeting – to establish that it is properly quorate, for example – and in the framing of the agenda. The initial business is concerned with the minutes of the previous meeting and matters arising, and these may involve further discussion or clarification, or be referred to meetings of the Presbytery, as appropriate.

The report given by Bishop Basil forms a major part of the proceedings. On this occasion he drew attention to four main matters. The first of these was the work being done by the Panel on Ordination. Deacon John Musther (Keswick) and Christopher Knight (Walsingham) were to be ordained as Priest and Deacon, respectively, and two further candidates for ordination were being considered. Bishop Basil spoke of the task before the Panel: vocations needed to be identified, but the job of priest or deacon would never be an easy option, given the huge commitment necessary – not least because the need to earn a living was additional to this commitment.

The second matter raised by Bishop Basil was the relationship with the Archdiocese, particularly in relation to recent developments concerning the St Sergius Theological Institute in Paris. At an Extraordinary General meeting of the General Assembly in Paris (which took steps to secure the future of St Serge as a public trust under French law), Archbishop Gabriel had referred specifically to the strong and very positive impression he had gained from the Vicariate Conference at the end of May. The participation of the Vicariate in the General Assembly was also important in securing a quorum. Bishop Basil also noted that the Archdiocesan Assembly provided welcome opportunities to meet with the clergy of other geographically-dispersed areas of the Archdiocese – he mentioned Scandinavia as an example.

The third matter was the recent Conference, and Bishop Basil invited Barbara Bates to review this. She felt that there had been a welcome emphasis on practicality in some of the workshops and discussions, and drew attention to highlights in the programme of talks. The venue was generally agreed to have been highly successful and had now been booked ahead for five years. The development of the children’s programme was widely welcomed and was now a vital adjunct to the summer camp. The majority of the discussion however centred around a comment made initially by Father David Gill that too many of the talks were too long or too high-powered, or both. These made heavy demands on the attention span in a way that might be justified at an academic conference but was out of place at a general gathering, intended to appeal to an audience not necessarily deeply versed in theology. This was one of the aspects that the Conference Committee would take forward for consideration. Kelsey Cheshire reminded the Assembly of the forthcoming conference on the life and work of Metropolitan Anthony.

The final matter was the Chapel of St Seraphim at Walsingham. Bishop Basil reviewed the history that had led to a trust being formed to purchase and preserve it as an Orthodox presence in an important centre of pilgrimage. The work of the trust was supported by the local community but required further funding; the best form of support was however to go there and visit St Seraphim’s. A liturgy would be celebrated there on 1 August.

The finances of the Vicariate are of vital importance at this stage in its existence, so that the Treasurer’s report was eagerly awaited. Seraphim Alton Honeywell was able to report that the appeal for monthly standing orders to be opened had been successful, to the extent that a regular income was now being received and that this would be boosted now that the Vicariate had been registered as a charity, and could therefore claim Gift Aid. More was needed however to achieve a working income that would fully meet running costs, and he urged members to give if they had not already done so, or to consider increasing their initial donations. There were obligations on the Vicariate: a contribution to the Archdiocese and the need to finance the housing of  our Bishop. It was felt that the situation over the latter required some clarification and discussions would be held with the Treasurer of the Oxford parish, which was currently bearing the whole cost. The Conference had broken even and separate accounts were now established for that and for publications.

A valuable feature of the Assembly is a themed discussion, since it gives both a focus to the meeting and a chance to speakers whose voices might otherwise not be heard to develop the theme in question. On this occasion Alexei Skorobogatov and Giles Milton spoke on what it means to be Orthodox in Britain today. Alexei drew on his experience of ‘private’ Orthodox practice under the Soviet Union, before coming to Britain in 1989; he spoke of the great influence of Metropolitan Anthony’s sermons that were broadcast to Russia and of the closeness and willingness to share things, often born of circumstances, found among Eastern European Christians. Giles talked about his experience and drew attention to the situation faced by small communities with less frequent priestly visits. Added to this were the problems of developing adequate English translations of the liturgy, work that was still in progress. The following discussion reflected on these and other points in relation to community and individual worship within the Vicariate.

The lunch-break provides a welcome opportunity to meet with friends from other parishes and communities and to learn about their current experiences or problems – or just to relax in the middle of what can be a lengthy meeting. We were also joined after the break by Father Leonid Kishkovsky, Moderator of the Religions for Peace network who was in London for a meeting at Lambeth Palace. He discussed the network and the work of the Inter-Religious Councils, on which the Patriarchate of Constantinople is represented. He also referred to the current difficulties experienced by the Orthodox Church of America.

Father John Marks reported on the last meeting of the Presbytery, at which Archbishop Gregorios had been present and where there had been discussion of cooperation with other jurisdictions. Discussion had also taken place on twinning arrangements between parishes in Britain and other parts of Europe. The recruitment of clergy was a major topic. Other matters for report followed: the child protection policy of the Vicariate; the ecumenical work done by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI); and work on religious education, in particular by the Religious Education Council and its review of the National Curriculum.

The last major item on the agenda was a report by Jessica Rose on the current legal situation as it involves the Diocese of Sourozh. The situation, both complex and fluid, was outlined with admirable clarity by Jessica and brought members attending the Assembly up to date with what continues to be a painful issue. The Treasurer had previously drawn attention to the financial aspects of the case and appealed for further strong support to meet the likely financial burden. By the time of the next Assembly meeting at the end of November the whole process will have moved on; one can only hope that it will have moved towards an equitable outcome.