Holy Assumption church in Stafford returns to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
Several weeks ago, Priest John Trepatschko, rector of Holy Assumption Church in Stafford, VA, USA, addressed a letter to Archpriest Victor Potapov, dean of the Capital Region of the Eastern American Diocese, regarding the return of his parish to the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
Several weeks ago, Priest John Trepatschko, rector of Holy Assumption Church in Stafford, VA, USA, addressed a letter to Archpriest Victor Potapov, dean of the Capital Region of the Eastern American Diocese, regarding the return of his parish to the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
The community of Holy Assumption Church split from ROCOR in 2007, after His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus signed the Act of Canonical Communion between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
On January 1, 2021, Fr Victor visited the parish where he was shown the church and talked with the clergy and parishioners. Convinced of the sincerity of their intention, Fr Victor recommended that they send a formal request for being received into ROCOR to Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, the ruling bishop of the diocese.
Having considered the request, Metropolitan Hilarion invited Fr John to the Synodal headquarters in New York City on January 4 for confession and joining the ranks of the ROCOR clergy.
The official website of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia concluded the news with the following words: ‘We rejoice in having received these new brothers in Christ, with whom we may now pray together “for the peace of the whole world, the good estate of the holy churches of God, and the union of all,” and for good sense to prevail among those who are still outside of the communion of the Church.’
Patriarchia.ru (source: ROCOR official website)/
DECR Communication Service