The Act of Canonical Communion

In May 2007, by God’s mercy, full Eucharistic unity was restored within the ancient body of Russian Orthodoxy, which for most of the preceding century had been broken due to the post-revolutionary captivity of so many of the historic Slavic lands to Communist political powers and atheistic ideologies. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), called into existence by Patriarch Tikhon in 1920 in order for the free part of historic Russian Orthodoxy to exist independently and preserve, without political hindrance, the culture and Faith of pre-revolutionary Russia, has exercised this mission diligently ever since. Sorrowfully, this meant that for most of the twentieth century the bonds of Eucharistic unity with the Russian Orthodox Church within Russia (most often known as the Moscow Patriarchate) were hindered and even broken. Eucharistic unity refers to the ability of faithful to partake of the Holy Eucharist and other Sacraments in other Orthodox Churches, and has been a critical ingredient of the unity of the Church as a whole since the time of the Apostles. During the long decades of Communist oppression in the historic Orthodox lands of Eastern Europe and Russia, the ROCOR accepted that this breach in sacramental communion was a cost of the mission with which she had been charged: to preserve the ancient faith in freedom from all connection to States that would see her pressured to adopt political positions or influence, during the complex but God-inspired history of the Church in the twentieth century. For a time this meant that communion with her fellow Orthodox Christians in the old lands, as well as in other parts of the would, would not be possible; but she prayed always that one day such Eucharistic unity would again be restored.

In the 1990s, as Communism began to fall in the various lands of the Soviet Union, the opportunity for that prayer to be fulfilled began to arise. The ROCOR was and remains committed to maintaining the self-governance and independence she has possessed since her foundation by Patriarch Tikhon, so there was never a question of amalgamation of the ROCOR with the newly-liberated Church within Russia, as the latter began to restore the free expression of her Patriarchal history; but continuing to live amidst a severance of Eucharistic communion, now that such was no longer required in the exercise of our freedom, was clearly not in accordance with the Will of God, Who established the structures of Orthodoxy precisely to be in sacramental communion with one another, even as each part of the Church retains its autonomous governance and life.

Thus it was that, in May of 2007, after many years of prayerful preparation, the two parts of historic Russian Orthodoxy — the ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate — agreed upon the wording of an Act (the full text of which is found below) that would, at long last, restore this longed-for unity in the Sacraments to the faithful children of both churches. Signed on their behalf by the Primates of the two churches (His Holiness Patriarch Alexey II, First Hierarch of the MP, and His Eminence Metropolitan Lavra, First Hierarch of the ROCOR), having been authorised to do so by their Holy Synods and the Councils of each, a right relationship of full sacramental communion was restored; and by this Eucharistic reconciliation, that same sacramental communion was restored between the whole of Russian Orthodoxy and all other parts of the canonical community of Local Orthodox Churches throughout the world, which had also been affected by the disruptions of the twentieth century.

The wisdom of the 2007 Act of Canonical Communion is that it restored full sacramental unity to the long-divided faithful whose Eucharistic unity had been interrupted by the vicissitudes of history, without amalgamating the two parts of historic Russian Orthodoxy to which the past century had given birth, or setting one in subjugation to the other, or collapsing their histories into one. For centuries prior to the Russian Revolution the life of Russian Orthodoxy had been monolithic: a single entity with a single administration. But that history changed after those years, and the 2007 Act confirms that both the ROCOR and MP are equally parts of the living history of Russian Orthodoxy, and that each should and will retain the autonomous lives that have been lived for over a century — only now, they will do so in sacramental communion, rather than utter division.

The Act specifies that the ROCOR and MP remain administratively and pastorally distinct, asserting that the ROCOR is ‘an indissoluble, self-governing part of the Local Russian Orthodox Church’ which is ‘independent in pastoral, educational, administrative, management, property, and civil matters, existing at the same time in canonical unity with the Fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church’. The Act spells out that the supreme and highest authority on all matters within the ROCOR is her own Council of Bishops, while the Patriarchate has its own Council of Bishops which holds a similar position of authority for the MP. The ROCOR has her own Synod of Bishops and Primate, which she elects according to her own statutes, just as the Moscow Patriarchate has its own Synod and Primate, the Patriarch, elected according to its regulations.

In other words, the Act made clear that the ROCOR and the MP would remain ever independent, self-governing churches within the broader fulness of historical Russian Orthodoxy, living and functioning autonomously, yet not in a manner that separates the faithful or clergy in the participation in the Holy Sacraments. Additionally, the Act established canonical relations between the Churches according to traditional Orthodox custom: while the ROCOR, for example, nominates, elects, ordains and appoints her own Bishops and Primate, the Act specifies that such ordinations are ‘confirmed’ by the Patriarchate. This ancient canonical principle does not imply that the Patriarchate has oversight or influence over the selection of Hierarchs in the ROCOR, but rather that what we do in our autonomy we do not consequently do in isolation. It is an ancient practice of Orthodoxy that the appointment of Bishops is shared with other Local Orthodox Churches, in order that the canonicity of all parts of the Church are confirmed by others.

It is in the blessed state of unity with the whole of the Orthodox Church, through the healing of a sacramental rift that had emerged in the previous century, that our self-governing Church Abroad continues to exist today, continuing to bear witness to our unique heritage and traditions, administrating our own life and affairs through our own independent structures, while at the same time drawing the faithful of our Dioceses into Eucharistic unity with their brethren of other Patriarchates and Local Orthodox Churches throughout the world. This relationship of fraternal love, and of unity in autonomy, is one of the great gifts of the past decades. As the First Hierarchs commented within the text of the Act itself: ‘The reestablishment of canonical communion will serve, God willing, towards the strengthening of the unity of the Church of Christ, of her witness in the contemporary world, promoting the fulfilment of the will of the Lord to “gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad”’.

We, the humble Alexy II, by God’s mercy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, jointly with the Eminent Members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, having gathered at a meeting of the Holy Synod on 3 / 16 May 2007 in the God-preserved city of Moscow; and the humble Laurus, Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, jointly with the Eminent Bishops, Members of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, having gathered at a meeting on 5 / 18 April 2007 in the God-preserved city of New York;

being guided by the effort towards reestablishing blessed peace, Divinely-decreed love, and brotherly unity in the common work in the harvest-fields of God within the Fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church and her faithful in the Fatherland and abroad, taking into consideration the ecclesiastical life of the Russian diaspora outside the canonical borders of the Moscow Patriarchate, as dictated by history;

taking into account that the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia performs its service on the territories of many nations;

By this Act declare:

1. That the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, conducting its salvific service in the dioceses, parishes, monasteries, brotherhoods, and other ecclesiastical bodies that were formed through history, remains an indissoluble, self-governing part of the Local Russian Orthodox Church.

2. That the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is independent in pastoral, educational, administrative, management, property, and civil matters, existing at the same time in canonical unity with the Fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church.

3. The supreme ecclesiastical, legislative, administrative, judicial and controlling authority in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is her Council of Bishops, convened by her Primate (First Hierarch), in accordance with the Regulations [Polozheniye] of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

4. The First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is elected by her Council of Bishops. This election is confirmed, in accordance with the norms of Canon Law, by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

5. The name of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and the name of the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are commemorated during divine services in all churches of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia before the name of the ruling bishop in the prescribed order.

6. Decisions on the establishment or liquidation of dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are made by her Council of Bishops in agreement with the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

7. The bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are elected by her Council of Bishops or, in cases foreseen by the Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, by the Synod of Bishops. Such elections are confirmed in accordance with canonical norms by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

8. The bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are members of the Local Council [Pomestny Sobor] and Council of Bishops [Arkhiereiskij Sobor] of the Russian Orthodox Church and also participate in the meetings of the Holy Synod in the prescribed order. Representatives of the clergy and laity of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia participate in the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in the established manner.

9. The supreme instances of ecclesiastical authority for the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are the Local Council and the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church.

10. Decisions of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church extend to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia with consideration of the particularities described by the present Act, by the Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and by the legislation of the nations in which she performs her ministry.

11. Appeals on decisions of the supreme ecclesiastical court of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are directed to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

12. Amendments to the Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia by her supreme legislative authority are subject to the confirmation of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in such case as these changes bear a canonical character.

13. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia receives her holy myrrh from the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

By this Act, canonical communion within the Local Russian Orthodox Church is hereby restored.

Acts issued previously which preclude the fullness of canonical communion are hereby deemed invalid or obsolete.

The reestablishment of canonical communion will serve, God willing, towards the strengthening of the unity of the Church of Christ, of her witness in the contemporary world, promoting the fulfillment of the will of the Lord to “gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad” (John 11:52).

Let us bring thanks to All-Merciful God, Who through His omnipotent hand directed us to the path of healing the wounds of division and led us to the desired unity of the Russian Church in the homeland and abroad, to the glory of His Holy Name and to the good of His Holy Church and Her faithful flock. Through the prayers of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, may the Lord grant His blessing to the One Russian Church and Her flock both in the fatherland and in the diaspora.

+ Aleksei, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
+ Lavra, Metropolitan of Eastern-America and New York, President of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

In the city of Moscow
on the day of the Ascension of the Lord
4 / 17 May 2007