Encyclical
of the Holy Hierarchal Council of the Serbian True Orthodox Church
Honorable
Clergymen, Venerable Monastics, Pious Brothers and Sisters, Faithful Children
of St. Sava’s Serbian Church,
In regards to the resolution made at
the Church-Laity Council of the Serbian True Orthodox Church in October, 2013
AD, we the hierarchs of the Serbian True Orthodox Church publish the following:
CLARIFICATION
In the Homologia (Confession of Faith) which was adopted and published by
the Church-Laity Council of the STOC
(15/28 October 2013), the following decision was made concerning the
matter of reception of Orthodox faithful into the True Church from the fallen
ecumenist churches:
In the
instance of receiving those from the heretical and schismatic communities, the
Serbian True Orthodox Church follows the practice of the Serbian Orthodox
Church for reception until the Second World War, along with that of the Russian
Church Abroad and their historically continuous local church practice and
conciliar resolutions which were based on the ecclesiological principle of
oikonomia, so that, according to the words of the First Hierarch of the Russian
Church Abroad St. Philaret (Vosnesensky), “many not be repelled from the
Church.” We determine that those from
the Belgrade patriarchate who enter the True Church should be received by
oikonomia through repentance, and clergy with the performance of a
supplementary laying-on-of-hands (cheirothesia) by hierarchs of the True
Orthodox Church for the purpose of fulfilling the ordination which the
clergyman received from the heretical hierarchy of the Belgrade Patriarchate.
As it is well known that, in the past,
under the influence of the Greek Old Calendarists, we received those from the
fallen Belgrade Patriarchate by chrismation or baptism, some may be surprised
by the change in practice and think that this represents a weakening of our
stance against ecumenism. The remainder
of our Homologia, however, clearly
conveys the knowledge that we have not changed our position.
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