Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America Suddenly Resigns His Office: Why?

7/11/2012

(Page 2 of 2)

overcome the divisions that separate us, so that we can stand united in one mind and one heart, confessing that God has come in the flesh to raise us to heaven. We must live according to the moral and ethical commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ enshrined in the Gospel, and reject sin and recognize its corruption.

"This is the orthodox faith of the Fathers, the Ecumenical Councils and the undivided Church. We will have to accept the scorn and derision of those who are of this world, even those who call themselves brethren, being cast out of their synagogues and ridiculed, sued in civil courts, and count all things as worthless that we have lost for the sake of Christ. This, my friends, is our cross. We have to support one another in bearing it. The closer we come, the greater our mutual support will be, and we will not lose heart, or forget that Christ has already won the victory: He has overcome the world. By accepting to go by way of His Cross, we too will share in His Victory."

Readers of my articles will quickly see why I took such hope in the work of this young Orthodox Metropolitan. You will also see why I am saddened to report that he has resigned his office. Here is the official statement

Metropolitan Jonah tenders resignation

SYOSSET, NY [OCA]

In a letter addressed to the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops dated Friday, July 6, 2012, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah tendered his resignation as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America. His Beatitude composed and signed the letter at his residence in Washington, DC, in the presence of Archpriest John Jillions, OCA Chancellor. On Saturday, July 7, the letter was presented to the Holy Synod in the course of a conference call in which all of the hierarchs participated, except His Eminence, Archbishop Alejo of Mexico City. The text of His Beatitude's letter reads as follows.

"To the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America,

"Brothers,

"As per your unanimous request, as conveyed to me by Chancellor Fr. John Jillions, I hereby tender my resignation as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, and humbly request another Episcopal assignment. I had come to the realization long ago that that I have neither the personality nor the temperament for the position of Primate, a position I never sought nor desired.

"It is my hope that due consideration will be made for my financial situation, both in any interim and in consideration for any future position. I am the main financial support for both my parents and my sister, beyond my own needs.

"I will appreciate your consideration in this, and beg forgiveness for however I have offended you, and for whatever difficulties have arisen from my own inadequacies and mistakes in judgment. Asking your prayers, I remain faithfully yours,

Metropolitan Jonah, Archbishop of Washington"

*****

I invite our readers around the globe to pray for Metropolitan Jonah and for the Orthodox Church in America. His letter seems to depict a sadness of spirit. It also raises a number of questions and concerns. I would welcome any further information and insight into this story and what prompted his resignation. I haver reached out to friends in the orthodox Church whom I deeply respect. Sadly, the reports emerging in the blogosphere indicate there may be more behind the former Metropolitan's decision. For example, former Catholic become Orthodox Christian Rod Dreher opined

"They finally got him. What they don't understand is that they probably signed the OCA's death warrant in so doing - not because Jonah was necessarily an exceptional metropolitan (he had his problems as an administrator, and though a very good man, was temperamentally ill-suited for the job), but because the sleazy, corrupt way the Synod has handled this from the beginning shows them to be a pack of ravening wolves."

Those are very harsh words. Pray for authentic peace for the Orthodox Church in America and pray for Metropolitan Jonah. Finally, pray that his successor continues to stand prophetically and courageously in this age which cries out for authentic collaboration between those who bear the name Christian.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Jonah, Manhattan Declaration, ecumenism, unity, orthodox, catholic, culture, abortion, homosexuality, unity, synod, Primate, Deacon Keith Fournier

NEWSLETTERS »

Previous Page 1 | 2

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 7 of 7 Comments

Boris M. Garsky
9 months ago
It seems to me that Metropolitan Jonah was endorsing the Church become more of an activist Church. We should not stand idly by while a secular society dictates its own sad amorality to our children and ourselves. We're not only believers in our Lord, but we are taxpayers and citizens. We have a constitutional right to worship as we please. Our voices must be heard and if necessary, our voices must be loud. Did not Christ overturn the tables of the money changers who made the church into a den of thieves? We must be as Christ had commanded the Apostles; to be unafraid. There is no doubt that homosexuality has caused a tremendous destruction to our family structure and traditional values. The Church must be active in it's condemnation of this sin or will fall along the lines of the episcopal and protestant churches. People are coming to our Church because they want the traditional family structure; they want to live and breathe the Gospels and the teachings of Christ. We cannot deny them, nor our families the living breathing word of Christ. We must build a strong Christian Orthodox community, not only with deeds, but also with words if we are to survive.
Diane
10 months ago
I am mystified as to why this occured and yet it does seem sad. I have prayed for the Orthodox for a long time and love them very much. I'll continue to pray for Jonah and all the Orthodox. My favorite prayer for Catholic- Orthodox unity is " We fly to thy patronage O most holy Mother of God..."
dmd53
10 months ago
The author confuses me. Speaking as a life-long Orthodox Christian coming from an Orthodox family with close ties to the Eastern Catholic community, I have to say that the author frankly confused me with his presentation. He made it seem as if Metropolitan Jonah were giving a message seldom, if ever, heard in an Orthodox Church. Quite the contrary. . The words of Metropolitan Jonah from the speech quoted at length would not seem odd or foreign to any of us who have been in the mainstream Orthodox Church throughout our lives. His efforts to form a common bond among varying Christian entities is not unique to him. From the earliest of the post-war episcopacy beginning with the Greek Archbishop of New York, Archbiship Athenagoras (later the Ecumenical Patriarch) through his successors, the late Archbishop Iakovas (remember the famous Life cover of him with Dr. King at Selma?) through the current Archbishop, Dimitrios and many, many other Orthodox bishops too numerous to mention the message has been the same. The attitude of people like Dreher astounds me and frankly, offends me. Learn more about us before assuming that the message in a new wrapper is a new message. Learn about the five decades of progress made between the American Catholic community and the American Orthodox community through the North American Theological Consultation which has produced volumes of work over the years regarding that which unites, rather than divides us as Christians. The problems within the OCA are longstanding and difficult to understand, but they do not break down along modern American partisan lines.

Thank you and God be with you.
Judy Claar
10 months ago
Amen to the first two posts! Ever since the birth of Our Lord, "modernism" has been with us. It is just that now we are living in such a fast age, we can hardly keep up with ourselves. And here is part of the difference, dear brothers and sisters: Real True Christians, do have, and make the time for Him and Know Him. As I read Metropolitan Jonah's words, I was reminded of a few secular instances I had in public school (1950's-60's). I hadn't thought of it until now. I guess that's part of the reason why I'm for Catholic school? Home schooling? I see and hear today's age. it is 100x worse. I know, I've said it before. PARENTS: Who is the first to teach your Child, your most Precious Gift? Remember, that whatever is put in that precious head, or eyes, or ears, will be stored in it's brain: the memory banks of it's own little computer. Vote and Pray and Volunteer wherever and whenever you can. How do else do we snuff out secularism? Prayerful Blessings...Last but Not Least, Thank you for this article!
DLL
10 months ago
For Catholics,the Catechism of the Catholic Church represents Orthodoxy and Dogma, I confess that this is our guide to understanding obedience to God and it is a well written catechesis. The Church is full of good Orthodox Priests now. Eucharistically based Catholic and Orthodox Churches survive and serve God best with Orthodox catechesis. The alternative is the modernistic teaching of advocates for anti catholic viewpoints of those of a vice president Biden or a Nancy Pelosi.
abey
10 months ago
What the early Church Fathers warned off is what it is "Modernism". When Modernism is applied to faith, the faith becomes "contained" in time, but since GOD sans time the faith in & to Him also sans time. In short Modernism applied to Faith, that which is supposed to be eternal, makes the faith into an Error called the "Error of Modernism", set to doom.
Rev. Fr. Nicodemus Gromoff, HSM
10 months ago
I am truly saddened to read that His Beatitude JONAH is "resigning" his obedience of Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America. Nay, not just saddened but bewildered! He is the FIRST Metropolitan that ascended to the Metropolitan throne who is not only a convert, but also not of any "traditionally" Orthodox ethnicity. e.g. Russian/Slavic.Greek, African, Arabic, Middle and South Asian, etc.

I hope and fervently pray that the OCA will be very circumspect, prudent, thoughtful, and above all, PRAYERFUL in choosing His Beatitude's successor, eschewing any "political correctness" and so-called "modernism."

God help us all and keep the Evil One far at bay as the OCA and their hierarchy consider what is incumbent upon them in choosing a successor. May our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ forgive our "willy-nillyness" in relation to the Great Commission and send down His most Holy Spirit to guide and succour is! Amen.

In His Love,
Rev. Fr. Nicodemus Gromoff, HSM +
Russian Orthodox Churh Outside Russia, of The Holy Patriarchal Orthodox Church of Russia

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment