Deanery

A pastoral assembly convened by his Eminence Archbishop Jean de Charioupolis in his pastoral letter of April 22, 2019 was held on May 11, 2019 in the premises of the St. Sergius Institute of Theology with the assistance of the parish St Sergius.

This initiative follows the disarray caused by the decision of 27 November 2018 of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to close down the Exarchate and by the spontaneous debate that has developed regarding the future of our Archdiocese.

A delegation, composed of Archpriest Alexander Fostiropoulos (London), Archdeacon Vsevolod Borzakovsky (Rome) and Professor Cyrille Sollogoub (Paris) was warmly received by His Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in the presence of Metropolitan Emmanuel of France.

The delegation handed over to H.H. the Ecumenical Patriarch the letter written by the Council of the Archdiocese, following the Extraordinary General Assembly of 23 February 2019, which refused to acccept the dissolution of the Archdiocese by nearly 93% of the votes.

The Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA) of the Archdiocese, made up of all members of the clergy and lay parish delegates, met in Paris on 23 February, 2019, to deliberate on the Ecumenical Patriarchate's decision to “reorganise the status of the exarchate”, published in the Communiqué of 29 November, 2018 of the Holy Synod.

This is a reminder that the Extraordinary General Assembly has been convened in response to the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to change the status of the Archdiocese, that is to say, to withdraw its title of Patriarchal Exarchate. It is certainly the responsibility of the Patriarchate to grant or not the status of Exarchate to our Archdiocese; on the other hand, it is the responsibility of the Archdiocese and, in this case, of its sovereign statutory body, the EGA, to decide on its dissolution.

This act revokes the Patriarchal and Synodal Tomos of 1999, and arranges the illegal plundering of the parishes and of all the institutions of the Archdiocese by the Greek Metropolitans of Western Europe.

Our parishes, forming part of the GOVERNING UNION OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ASSOCIATIONS in Western Europe, have a duty themselves following the meeting of the General Assembly on 23 February 2019 to determine according to the statutes the canonical continuity to provide for the future of the Archdiocese.

Your All-Holiness,

In recent days, many priests and deacons of the Archdiocese have received a letter from the Greek Metropolitan of the country where they reside, ordering them to cease commemorating their own Archbishop, to join the clergy of the Greek Metropolia, to consider that our parishes and communities are already part of these Metropolia and finally ordering them to hand over all relevant parish documents and records.

In this regard, the Council of the Archdiocese refers to its communiqué of 30 November and offers some clarifications.

The Holy and Sacred Synod convened under the chairmanship of His All-Holiness for its regular sessions from Tuesday, November 27, to Thursday, November 29, 2018.

Following the Pastoral Assembly held on 15th December at the Church of St Sergius, in which nearly all the clergy of the Archdiocese took part, His Eminence Archbishop John of Charioupolis, ruling Archbishop of the Orthodox Churches of Russian Tradition in Western Europe, in consultation with the Council of the Archdiocese which met immediately after the Pastoral Assembly, has convened an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Diocesan Governing Union of Russian Orthodox Associations in Western Europe, of which he is the President.

You are reminded that the Pastoral Assembly which is to meet on Saturday 15 December 2018, with the participation of members of the clergy and to which the lay members of the Archdiocesan Council are invited, does not constitute a statutory decision-making body regarding the future of the Archdiocese. It is an occasion for consultation and communion by His Eminence the Archbishop in charge with his clergy, indispensable for the exercise of the episcopal ministry.