Correspondence between Reader Daniel Everiss (+2023)

and Bishop Ambrose of Methone on the Synod in Resistance

To: Bishop Ambrose

From: Reader Daniel
Saturday Feb 17/March 1, 2008
Subject: What Do the Cyprianites Really Believe? / HELP VLADYKA AMBROSE!

Dear Vladyka Ambrose, Bless Master!

My name is Reader Daniel Everiss, who is loyal to our Vladyka Agafangel, and I live here in Oregon, U.S.A.

I often must explain to others, the total case in favor of our bishop and his continued-ROCOR, and thus too,
WHY/HOW we are in full communion with your Synod in Resistance… which synod… many critics near and far,
deprecate and proclaim as "heretical", etc. … ad nauseum!

I have searched your official Synod in Resistance web[site], but no where can I find a simple / direct answer to the
three main charges which critics make against you:

1) your Synod was declared by all the other Old Calendar Churches, as "heretical/uncanonical"

2) that your "doctrine" of "the sick and healthy parts... of THE Church" is uncanonical/heretical, and

3) that your clergy... routinely... give your communion to... new-calendar laity (& clergy?)... as a POLICY of your
synod.

Please Vladyka, if you have the time, please give me your answers to these 3 pertinent accusations so that I can then
USE them, to respond to OUR mutual attackers.

One fact that is for sure, the precise history of your "Greek Old Calendar" movement vis-a-vis the Official State Greek
Church (New Calendar)… has many differences with… the Russian-experiences... since the Bolshevik revolution...
up to now. And yet, our two churches have also MUCH in common, as regards matters of the Orthodox Faith, etc.

If you have time and if you will, please Vladyka Ambrose, give me a short explanation of this matter, so that I can
share it with others, for their edification and enlightenment. As your Grace well knows, these days, we are surrounded
by a great cloud or rather a SMOG of... self-appointed/armchair "Experts on Canon law"… who are… doing much
damage to our Orthodox people, as they tend to USE their often off-balanced and out-of-context-PRIVATE
interpretations of "the canons" to attack and destroy and harm each other, and thus...our entire Orthodox Church. God
save us from these "canon-law experts"!!!

With much esteem and respect, and asking Your Grace's Blessing, I remain -

Reader Daniel Everiss, in Oregon

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 Response from Bishop Ambrose of Methone

Subject: Re: What Do the Cyprianites Really Believe? / HELP VLADYKA AMBROSE!
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 17:26:18 +0200

Dear Daniel, I will try to answer your questions briefly (time is always a problem!). If you knew
Greek, you would be able to find quite a quantity of apposite material on our website, but not all
has been translated into English, and, unfortunately, still less into Russian.

... 1) your Synod was declared by all the other Old Calendar Churches, as "heretical /
uncanonical"
All the other Old Calendarist groups in Greece subscribe officially to a position which regards
themselves as the sole representatives of the Church of Greece, and both the New Calendarist
official Church and all the other Old Calendarists as being outside the Church. As the Russian
Church Abroad examined the questions regarding both our ecclesiological position and our
canonical status with considerable care before entering into communion with us in 1994, and since
nothing has changed since then, it is clear that Vladyka Agafangel is just continuing where the rest
of the Synod was before their apostasy. We have, of course, all the documentation that was sent to
the commission of the ROCOR Synod in both Greek and Russian (it was never put into English)
if such is ever needed. If Vladyka Agafangel is wrong now in communing with us, then so was the
entire ROCOR a few years ago!
...2) that your "doctrine" of "the sick and healthy parts... of THE Church" is uncanonical /
heretical, and
Our ecclesiological position was accepted by the ROCOR as 'identical to their own' in 1994. I
remain convinced that our position on the subject in question is incontrovertible; indeed, most of
those opposed to us accept it. The real difference lies in whether we consider the New
Calendarists/Ecumenists to be already synodically condemned or not. Some of our opponents
consider that such a Synodical condemnation was effected by the Greek Hierarchs who separated
from the new calendar in 1935, some that it was with the ROCOR's anathema of ecumenism in
1983, some that it was effected by the synods of 1583-1592, and so on - there is no accord on the
question. We, I am sure with very good reason, prefer a more circumspect outlook, which, as I
stated above, was also that of the ROCOR hierarchy before their apostasy.
...3) that your clergy... routinely... give your communion to... new-calendar laity (&
clergy?)... as a POLICY of your synod.
This very peculiar accusation comes often from those whose clergy do on a large scale what they
accuse us of. The distribution of the Holy Mysteries to New Calendarists whether in Greece or of
the diaspora is not our policy, and if occasionally exceptions have been made, then this is for very
specific pastoral reasons. It is, as I say, astonishing that this accusation usually originates with
those who, although they regard the New Calendarists as outside the Church and are, in theory,

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thus strictly forbidden from communicating them, do so often with perfect indifference! - I will
not here enter into the invidious task of naming them!
...One fact that is for sure, the precise history of your "Greek Old Calendar" movement vis-
a vis the Official State Greek Church (New Calendar)… has many differences with… the
Russian-experiences… since the Bolshevik revolution… up to now. And yet, our two
churches have also MUCH in common, as regards matters of the Orthodox Faith, etc.
Every local Church has its own experience, but we are united in the one Orthodox faith, which
inspires our fathers, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, to react to critical situations, which may
indeed externally be entirely different, in very similar ways, just as the apostates are similarly
united - just think of Patriarch Meletios Metaxakis' enthusiastic support of the schismatic
Renovationists in Russia!
... As your Grace well knows, these days, we are surrounded by a great cloud or rather a
SMOG of... self-appointed/armchair "Experts on Canon law"… who are... doing much
damage to our Orthodox people, as they tend to USE their often off-balanced and out-of-
context-PRIVATE interpretations of "the canons" to attack and destroy and harm each
other, and thus...our entire Orthodox Church. God save us from these "canon-law
experts"!!!
Here you are very right. We have great need of sobriety, humility and prayer in order not to stray
from the royal Path.
With much esteem and respect, and asking Your Grace's Blessing, I remain -
Reader Daniel Everiss, in Oregon
May God bless you. I take the liberty of sending a copy of this letter to our Synodal Exarch in
America, Archbishop Chrysostomos, as you live in his parts.

+ Bishop Ambrose