THE THEOCACNA STORY - IN FULL
Popess Joany
North America (OCCNA)
by Joe Swaydyn
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This author first encountered the Orthodox Catholic Church in North America
(a shortening of “The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church of
North America”) by accident while searching through Webspawner’s Search
Engine for sites with the word “Orthodox” in them. It was an interesting
little page on Webspawner I found that discussed the idea of becoming an
Orthodox Catholic priest. Having found a similar page previously (which cost
about $600, as the ad put it “less than what some spend on cigarette
smoking”) I decided to have some fun and laugh this one through. I figured
this had to do with a Bishop Aftimios Ofiesh (who was apparently the reason
the other page existed; the people on that page viewed this man as a saint.)
So I looked for the price tag for the “ordination”. I found none. It was
apparent that this was actually a missionary group-- they seemed to have
little to no desire for money. It was made clear that this church viewed
itself as a missionary Church-- and nothing else. The seminary was online
(and actually being constructed when I was looking about.) The ordination
turned out to be tactile after all (I’ve heard enough stories of mail-order
ordinations)-- you had to travel for altar training and ordination.
My next move was simple. I decided to call upon one of the Bishops listed.
As I was from New York (and at the time really wanted to go back) I decided
to call their Bishop of Philadelphia, Bishop Paul (Dolan). He turned out to
be a rather kind fellow who seemed to know everything in the world about the
famous Aftimios Ofiesh. Turns out he had even interviewed his widow. (He
sent me tapes of the interview.) “Widow?” says the typical Orthodox reader.
And that’s where the story begins.
Aftimios Ofiesh and Jurisdictional Politics
Archbishop +Aftimios (Ofiesh, 1880-1966) is best known for being one of
major figures in the development of “Independent” Orthodoxy. I put this in
quotes because there is certainly no indication in his own life that such
was his actual intent. A young Syrian monk who seemed to basically get into
trouble for being too nice to people, Aftimios was eventually selected by
the Russian Church to be the senior hierarch for America and develop an
autonomous American jurisdiction in 1927 (known as--yep-- “The Holy Eastern
Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church of North America” or “THEOCACNA”).
Communism had taken over in Russia and in one of the last free acts of
Metropolitan Sergius of the Russian Church, Aftimios was given complete
jurisdiction over all of the Churches in America.
However, in 1927, jurisdictional politics were not quite as “pretty” as they
are now. Greeks and Russians openly debated who had primacy over America,
and soon the Syrians (to whom Aftimios was originally sent to minister to)
entered the fray. The Anglican Church in America at the time viewed herself
(!) as the Orthodox Church in America as well. So when Aftimios’
jurisdiction, canonically given by the Russian Church (who had the right to
release America and make her autonomous--but not autocephalous) came into
being, no one really wanted to accept it.
So the next phase began in what would ultimately become Orthodoxy’s greatest
missionary disaster. Lawsuits and slander campaigns brought down the number
of Aftimios’ parishes to five. Aftimios himself became concerned with the
issues of moral depravity in his diocese, and in response, married. He
seemed confident that although he would suffer temporarily, a council would
vindicate his action (he was basing his view on the Scriptures, the
Apostolic Canons, Orthodox History-- and as much as many “canonical”
Orthodox hate to admit it, the surrounding Orthodox. The Russians under
Bishop John Kedrovsky--recognized today as the “Patriarchal Parishes in the
U.S.” in SCOBA) were under a married hierarch-- the discussion of the
married episcopate came up in the same synod where the New Calendar was
proposed, as well.)
Well, this was really the last blow that was neccesary to bring down
THEOCACNA. The other Orthodox Church leaders declared that Aftimios was
“retired” (which his widow clearly denies; it seems a better way of putting
it would be “starved into obscurity”.) The problem solved supposedly, the
other hierarchs, who clearly had no interest in unity, continued to tear
each other apart. And the jurisdictionalism grew. More accusations were
levelled, and it is claimed that the Russian Synod deposed Aftimios (but for
some reason, Bishop Paul (Dolan), mentioned earlier, has searched the
country for information on Aftimios and has never seen such a document.)
Bishop +Ignatius (Nichols), one of the three remaining bishops of THEOCACNA,
however, decided to marry as well, seeing no reason to obey the other
jursidictions, as he had become the ranking hierarch. The number of bishops
increased, and Bp. Ignatius died within two years of Aftimios’ marriage. As
the number of bishops increased, however, so did the number of churches
staking claim to be THEOCACNA. As the splintering continued, and as the
ethnic jurisdictions in America realized that THEOCACNA was no longer a
threat Aftimios died in 1966.
Independent Bishops continued to use the lineage argument and the 1927
charter to prove that they were the THEOCACNA. They pointed to lines of
succession to prove their point. Aftimios became a pedigree, a show to prove
that a real consecration had taken place. The Church continued to survive,
weakened by splintering, as the American Orthodox Catholic Church (AOCC).
A Colorful Anastasis
According to the testimony of a funeral service and pilgrimage in 1989, two
bishops and a priest of one of the remaining jurisdictions visited the grave
of Aftimios and described it as such:
“The funeral services for an hierarch were celebrated over the Saint's grave
by two Bishops and a Priest of his Church. Funeral services were also
conducted immediately thereafter in the same cemetery for a bereaved Syrian
couple who had not been able to obtain the services of a Priest for the
husband's mother; in gratitude, they promised to pray regularly at the
Saint's grave, not 30 yards from the mother's grave. Archbishop Denis
received a spontanenous and instantaneous healing of an intractable skin
ailment on his left hand when, in kneeling to reverence the Saint's
headstone, his hand merely touched the grave.”
This sort of divine protection seems to be precisely what has brought the
OCCNA where it is today. Many of the groups based on the AOCC lineage speak
of him as some anomaly by which they were brought into existence-- the OCCNA
speaks of him as a loving father, and deservedly, as a Saint.
Out of all the Independent jurisdictions, it seems the least concerned with
particulars. Search the massive website (now at "http://www.occna.com") for
jurisdictional politics. There are none. Orthodoxy, as Aftimios envisioned
it (and the Church Fathers as well), is a mystical, but natural way-- the
true faith not codified, but lived. In that one sense, the OCCNA has
preserved something very few of the others making the claim do-- it’s
preserved the idea of the Orthodox Church as something everyday, and not a
"concept". The priest is not an intellectual elitist who has been to the
finest seminary in Rome-- he could well be the local carpenter. Or
tentmaker. Or doctor. Or cab driver.
Hence-- seminary is minimalistic. (Before some of our U.S. converts cringe,
remember that in some Orthodox countries, they ordain priests in a week.)
Parishes are small-- the parish is secondary to the service the priest
renders the community as the local priest or bishop.
The Everyday Church
The hierarchs come from a number of places-- with different reasons,
lineage, and liturgical usages. Western Rites are not only common in the
OCCNA, but encouraged because of its Western location. (St. Aftimios himself
was Eastern Rite-- but approved the use of Western texts modified in an
Orthodox manner.)
The Old Roman Branch of the Church is headed by Archbishop DENIS (Garrison),
who uses an interesting rite known as the Old Roman Rite. What is
immediately noticeable about the rite is that it is extremely efficient and
direct. He oversaw its development in the 1980’s; it is based very carefully
(and far more so that the Roman Catholic Novus Ordo which makes the same
claim) upon the Liturgy of St. Hippolytus of Rome. He is also the author of
the standard canonical defense of married hierarchs used throughout the
Independent movement.
Bishop PAUL (Dolan) uses the Franco-Carolignian rite, which is basically the
Tridentine Rite pre-schism. As mentioned earlier, he is the researcher par
excellence on St. Aftimios, and I am forever indebted to his help.
Archbishop ANDREI (Brennan), the senior hierarch for Canada, was originally
a missionary bishop for the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Having
established jurisdiction in Canada, he applied for and became a standing
member of the OCCNA. He uses the Byzantine Rite.
Abbot-Bishop MAELRUAIN (Dowling) has one of the most fascinating stories in
Orthodox America (although he seems to by rivalled, in that sense, only by
the other Bishops in the OCCNA!) Originally Eastern Rite, he began
translating the liturgical works of the pre-schism Celtic Church, which by
the eleventh century, was decimated by Frankish Rome. As he began to use
them exclusively, he saw the need to continue the existence of the rite. He
was consecrated into the bishopric primarily by Archbishop +Andrei.
Effectively, he is the first Celtic Orthodox Bishop alive in 900 years.
Metropolitan Archbishop PAUL II(Stoms), the Byzantine Rite Exarch, hails
from Germany. A Military chaplain from the Orthodox Church in Germany, he
was recently the victim of an intense slander campaign (which fell apart
recently and quietly on the part of the accusers. His Eminence would like to
see this end as quickly as possible. Update 2/21/99: It seems that the State
of New Jersey is clearly the persecuting party in this mess. His Eminence
PAUL has saught legal assistance in the matter, and he has a strong case.
The fact that state governments are still getting involved in religious
issues that have nothing to do with the LAW, despite our constitution, is a
sad testament to the human failures in an otherwise excellent governmental
system.)
And so on.
“That These Dead Bones Rise”
Archbishop DENIS, recorded as Primate XVII of the Church from St. Aftimios,
seems to be more concerned with the maintenance of the original sees of
THEOCACNA. This makes perfect sense-- but considering the size of the
Church, it’s extremely inconvenient. Convenience, however, is not the issue
with any of the Church’s members.
In that sense, the issue of the survival of the OCCNA seems far larger than
that which it appears. Within its small size (although I have now watched it
double in size in a year) is the dream that America will one day be just
like the rest of the Orthodox world-- fully Orthodox in her heart. It’s a
dream that supersedes even many of our modern views....patriotism has not
been a strong point with this writer, and religious relativism has touched
every American. But this Church, though virtually dead at a number of points
throughout its history, comes back.
There is an eschatological dimension to this Church as well. Because of its
size, it is fairly uncompromising on moral issues (those in the small Old
Calendar jurisdictions should be able to grasp this fact well) and seems
realistic toward the popular perception of Christianity. The Church’s
members are quite aware that their position of refusing to give up on
America but also refusing to just join the crowd of other Orthodox in areas
of ecumenism places them in position to be the front line of fire when
Christianity is attacked on a popular level.
But in this way, the Church is quite unworried. When your Church buildings
have been taken away by your brethren, you have nothing to lose except your
soul. The clergy of the OCCNA don’t seem keen on giving up that easily.
These men are fighters-- and resist even making their own existences
comfortable.
When I started this study months ago, I brought the “Ofieshites” up to an
OCA priest I knew. He said that these folks knew how to “regularize”
themselves, that they knew how to square with the rest of Orthodoxy. But as
I thought about it: what if Mark of Ephesus, who refused to submit when the
Orthodox world bought into a union with Rome, “regularized” himself? What if
Maximos the Confessor, the lone bulwark against the heresy of Monothelitism,
“regularized” himself?
What does "regularizing" mean? Joining SCOBA? Denying their own existence
for the sake of a comfortable parish lifestyle? Going to a seminary for 8
years to become "accredited"-- but having trouble remembering a simple fast
day?
Sadly, in America, this is so. This is "regularizing" people. Turning our
priests into professors. Spending $20,000 on vestments for a feastday in
Russia-- but letting a homeless man starve. Making sure our Orthodox temples
are perfectly faced East-- and paying an extra ten thousand to fix five
inches. Yelling about the heresies of "non-canonical" Orthodox-- and then
giving Monophysites Holy Communion. That good priest I spoke to was right.
These are not "regular" Bishops.
Thank God.
I daresay an “irregular” bishop--or a bunch of them, in a time of
ecumenistic syncretism and apostasy based on worldliness and greed, makes
for a very regular Orthodoxy. When the Church worldwide, and as a whole in
America, begins to sit and join those to whom Christ made clear must be
avoided, the Church metamorphasizes-- and slowly restores herself to health,
based on the purity of Orthodoxy, lived through right mind and behavior.
That's the concept I joined the Church on-- that the faith is the standard
by which we judge.
NOTE: I really was not biased when I started this.
Nick Theodorakis
(1) According to this page:
http://www.freeyellow.com/members8/churchnews/page2.html
they no longer claim to be in communion with OCCNA:
-----------------------------------------------
The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North
America,Inc. [sm] is alive and well, so do not be fooled by the many
independent groups claiming they are this church under any name.
Copyright 1999 - Victor Prentice
The church has a service mark on the corporate name shown above and
claims a service mark on the short name (American Orthodox Catholic
Church) and Synod name. When "sm" is used by a name or design it shows
the item is publicly claimed as a service mark and meets the
requirements of the Patent Trademark Office.
There are many different groups around claiming to be the Church Abp.
Aftimios "Founded", "Chartered", "established" and so on. They make
bogus claims of being his church, claim others have left them and
started their own church and much more.
The OCCNA is one. The claimed to be this church with our (name) behind
theirs and claimed they had the authority to change the name. This is
false. Many of these claims are groundless. . . .
-----------------------------------------------
(2) Here is a claim that they are, however, in communion with a group
called the Continuing Episcopal Church (they're sort of like the
Episcopal equivalent of theococna)...
from:
http://www.The-Episcopal-Church.org/pr14b.htm
Orthodox Mandate, Episcopal Warrant, and Condordat
Whereas The Episcopal Church USA [ECUSA] and Church of England [CofE]
now attempt to ordain women as priestesses, to consecrate lesbians as
bishops, and to perform homosexual marriages,
Whereas ECUSA, and CofE by silence, have joined in organic communion
with denominations and pagan sects, such as Lutherans and Methodists in
USA, outside the Historic Church,
Whereas ECUSA and CofE share the altar with women, homosexuals, and
laymen from outside the Historic Church,
Whereas ECUSA and CofE have abandoned the historic episcopate by the
abominations above and no longer have a valid sacrament of Holy
Communion,
Whereas ECUSA and CofE practice and teach heretical doctrines in strange
liturgies, such as the 1979 Convention Prayer Book,
Whereas ECUSA and CofE have abandoned faithful Episcopalian Churchmen
throughout the world,
Therefore The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in
North America, Inc. [THEOCACNA] declares the necessity for:
1. An Episcopalian body to be preserved as part of the Historic Church
to minister and serve the faithful continuing Episcopalian Churchmen,
2. Such Episcopalian body to answer and agree minimally to "A Basis for
Orthodox Consideration of Unity" by Archbishop Ofiesh of THEOCACNA of
1926,
3. Such Episcopalian body to have right of secession without cause from
any agreement with THEOCACNA, and vice versa,
4. Such Episcopalian body to be in communion by necessity with and under
the omophorion of THEOCACNA,
5. Such Episcopalian body to meet the above declarations is The
Continuing Episcopal Church [CEC].
Agreed to on this day of our Lord 15 September 1999 by:
_/ss/_________________________
Metropolitan Victor Prentice
Primate of THEOCACNA
_/ss/_________________________
Mar Kepha
For the Synod and Church Council
_/ss/________________________
The Most Rev'd Colin James III
Presiding Bishop of The CEC
--
_______________________________________________
| Nick Theodorakis |
| nicholas_t...@urmc.rochester.edu |
| (previously theo...@gusun.georgetown.edu) |
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Penis-le...@popess.gr
> From: "Popess Joany" <ro...@med.net>
........................^^^^^^^^^^^^ Duuuhhhhh
> Newsgroups: alt.religion.christian.east-orthodox
> Subject: THE THEOCACNA STORY - IN FULL
> Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 20:35:50 +0300
> Organization: A veeeery big Yacht
> Lines: 250
> Message-ID: <7tt77h$3ad$1...@newssrv.otenet.gr>
....................................^^^^^^^^^ Marina Mary Robb is mad about her
excommunication
> NNTP-Posting-Host: athe530-d116.otenet.gr
> X-Trace: newssrv.otenet.gr 939663409 3405 195.167.118.116 (11 Oct 1999
17:36:49 GMT)
> X-Complaints-To: ab...@otenet.gr
...................^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ cool, she forgot to supress this in the
headers when she forge them
> NNTP-Posting-Date: 11 Oct 1999 17:36:49 GMT
> X-Priority: 3
> X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
> X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2014.211
> X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2014.211
> Xref: news alt.religion.christian.east-orthodox:83446
defaming THEOCACNA is toast ..
Anyone know who Joe Muhammud Swaydyn is? He is a victim of the Miami ghetto
because he was a crack baby. Cool scholarship.
Nice try Marina; go back to trying to be a Popess.
Marina
lack. Always a sign of psychosis - lack of a sense of humour.
The whole world now sees exactly what kind of "Christian" you people
are. In fact, I'm getting together a little collection of quotes with
the kind of colourful language you use. Most of it is quite sexually
charged; it seems like you have a problem.
Maybe we'll do a special THEOCACNA liturgical language page...
Oh, and we can always set Costa Zissiades on you!!
Marina aka Popess Joany in her lighter moments
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Nick Theodorakis
Of course everybody who can read a header knows it was Marina; the fact
that she put stuff in the header such as "Organization: A veeeeery big
yacht" indicates she is expecting people to look at the header and get
the joke! Or does Vic think that maybe we'll be fooled into thinking
that she actually owns a big yacht?
In XC,
Nick
Marina
Of course it's bigger than the AntiPope's blow up dinghy! Why it is of
Medeterranean Cruise Liner proportions -- (something Onassis was
selling off cheap) !!
It's a Yachta Yachta Yachta (called Seinfield) - whereas the Antipope
has Know Alota Yacht and Baron Kevin "Ich habe kein Boot" of the
Teutonic Orthodox Roman Catholic Church is, as the name states,
Yachtless , not that there's a lot of sea around Saxoiny and Bavaria
these days!!
What a question!!
Popess Joanie
Cruising in the Med.
Ready to ward off the boat full of Irish cult members who wanted to
commit suicide in Israel, were deported, refused from Cyprus, and are
now heading towards Rhodes -- nobody told them the Millenium was four
years ago!! Now that is the really worrying thing about religious
fanatics!!
Marina/ Μαρινάκι
Nick Theodorakis <nicholas_t...@urmc.rochester.edu> wrote in message
news:7tvhk7
> >
>
> Of course everybody who can read a header knows it was Marina; the fact
> that she put stuff in the header such as "Organization: A veeeeery big
> yacht" indicates she is expecting people to look at the header and get
> the joke! Or does Vic think that maybe we'll be fooled into thinking
> that she actually owns a big yacht?
>
> In XC,
> Nick
>
>
And who says I don't??
:)
Nick Theodorakis
GS
Constantin Stefanou
that... :-)
Constantin
Marina <marinarb...@otenet.gr.invalid> wrote in message
news:2750ac20...@usw-ex0101-001.remarq.com...
joesw...@my-deja.com
sucks that you and your cronies took out my site. Expect a phone call.
I think we should chat, don't you?
Sorry Marina. Don't know you, but you seem like a nice person, so
allow me to politely tell the pric- ahem, writer of this message to go
to hell.
In article <381b50c6....@news.alt.net>,
baron...@unitedstates.com
the Libyan desert by the fleeing remnants of the Afrika Korps after the
El Alamain debacle! At least that's what Gunter, my head of security
here at the Kaiserbunker, said! I remember this nice old guy - his real
name is just Aftimios - one name, just like the entertainer Charo - and
the Ofiesh was a nickname provided to him by Berber tribesmen who he was
always asking to play the card game "Go Fish" with him. Kind of like how
Italians will call a son Joey Potatos if the lad has a real lust for
tubers. Anyway - the interesting thing (and the real evil of this)
about Aftimios is that he learned his favorite card game on the YACHT OF
THE AVIGNON ANTI-POPE! He developed such a taste for "Go Fish" (and
expensive Cognacs) that he spent the rest of his life obsessed with it.
Such is the destructive power of the Anti-Pope of Avignon, and his
accursed Yacht of Horrors. Beware!
Baron Kevin
joesw...@my-deja.com
In article <7vvf03$7bo$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,