Bulgarians nominate a Bishop

Fr. Golitzin is a GREAT choice! He should have been a bishop in the OCA long-ago, but God acts when He wishes. I could DEFINITELY see him as Metropolitan!

#1 Anonymous on 2011-07-09 19:20

Axios!

#2 Leaella Shirley on 2011-07-09 20:10

well here goes the death spiral again. i looked at both video clips, one candidate seemed to be worldly, articulate, and have great interpersonal qualities - but was greek - the other slavic, pedantic, not intouch with reality, a scholar but did not give an indication of knowing how to administer and lead - and true to form what did they do - pick what appears to be the poorest of the two, leaving behind the one who would have lead them well and very capabily - let us pray for the best - I wish them luck for from what I saw they will need a multitide of prayers -- what the oca really needs is another possible fringe bishop --- they need to look at real world capabilites and real world achievements - scholars and true monastics belong in the monasteriers and seminaries where their impacts on parish life are limited. we are in America and need to have capable leaders with dynamic personalities who are approachable and do not create barriers to communication and also be able to communicate clearly - based on rthe video interviews I thought that the other candidate was more suitable to lead. But that is just my opinion - and as a human I can err.

#3 rjklancko on 2011-07-10 06:17

See, this is another reason why they hate us around the world. We took disobedient parishes that didn't belong to us together with the ROCOR renegade Kirill Yonchev and now we are electing a Russian American Bulgarian OCA bishop. Wow! The good news is that Fr. Alexander -IS- a good man.

(Editor's note: Wow, is right. Parishes and clergy choose canonical recognition over a jurisdiction that is unrecognized and they are catigated as "disobedient"? And a person's ethnicity is more relevant to their episcopal ministry than the content of their character? Wow.)

#4 kapusta breath on 2011-07-10 16:09

Axios, Axios, Axios!

#5 Sdn Henry Shirley on 2011-07-11 09:37

Mr.Klancko said....we are in America and need to have capable leaders with dynamic personalities who are approachable and do not create barriers to communication and also be able to communicate clearly

ME: Well, I imagine there are a few community organizers in Chicago available for higher office. Perhaps we can find one who is Orthodox and voila, you have your man.

#6 nicholas skovran on 2011-07-11 10:27

Now now Mark!

they never should have left their rightful Bulgarian Patriarchal Church, but then the Bulgars are not known for their loyalty. They will always fight right down to the last Russian soldier. All glory to a free Bulgaria!

(Editor's note: Now, now; that is a snide remark. The Bulgarians left for the Patriarchal Church in the 1950's for the same reason ROCOR left in the 1920's, and the Free Serbs alledgely left in the 1960's, and the ROEA left, and the OCA itself to great extent, and so on and so forth, over dissatisfaction with communist control of the mother-Church. )

#7 K breath on 2011-07-11 12:29

For what it's worth, I have known Fr. Alexander for over twenty years. In the video interview he spoke as he preaches--softly, low key, but with powerful and well-chosen words. He will not be what the world calls a "dynamic" leader, but I believe that he will lead well, and effectively, and toward God. Also, he hasn't been a scholar in an ivory tower, but in a major university, where, incidentally, he has attracted students from all over the Orthodox world. He is very much in touch with reality.

#8 Leaella Shirley on 2011-07-11 13:50

Snide? Well, yes it is. On the other hand, it is accurate. I condemn all the actions you describe above, including the Leonty-ite Metropolia, ROCOR and its factory of personality "cult". While these Churches were on the cross drenched in martyrs blood, the coward bishops ran. Most worthy are those that stayed and suffered, and if some, through weakness were compromised, so be it. In the end, the Church survived the Marxist thugs and dummies. Had the Coward Bishops stayed, maybe strength and grace would have increased. But, will the OCA survive, its dummies and thugs? I sure hope so.
Be well!

(Editor's note: You are again being unfair by shading both light and dark with your brush strokes. Not all who left were cowards: some were forced out, some found themselves out by shifting lines; thus not everyone who was in exile choose to be there from cowardice. Nor was everyone who stayed there by choice - sometimes they couldn't get out. Nor were they all martyrs. The fact is that the Church was helped, at various times and under various circusmtances, by those who collaborated, those who were neutral, and those who were implacably opposed. These positions offered the Church options to play the system, just as the system played the Church. Not every hand was won in this poker tournament, but one plays the cards one is dealt with as much skill as possible. In the end, the Church survived. Thanks be to God. So too the OCA, like all jurisdictions, will survive its dummies and thugs, episcopal, clerical and lay. )

#9 k breath on 2011-07-11 14:22

Whoever you are, you are spreading lies! You don't know Fr. Golitzin and he is none of what you warn about! He is a great academic, but is also very good with people and understanding parish life and he is quite pragmatic. You are just some %@#$* who is spouting off and who knows nothing of the candidates. Typical.

#10 Anonymous on 2011-07-11 15:43

it is time to see reality and to be cynical - we have a problem - we are choosing the ill suited based on fradulent precepts - we need a man of the people, a realist, one who can administrate, one who can lead, one who can lead --- look at bishop kallistos - he is kept as and remains as a scholar - where are the +Leonty's of today - the oca has lost its vision and meaning since fr. alexanders death - we need to recapture this

#11 rjklancko on 2011-07-12 09:43

rjklancko,

I suspect that if you knew Fr Golitzin you would not write as you did. It is true that he is a scholar (and a very good one), but not every scholar is "pedantic," and even some who are intellectual are quite capable of dynamic leadership (St Photios the Great -- a renowned scholar long before he was raised to the Ecumenical Throne -- comes to mind).

But what is wanted in a bishop is not a superficial "dynamism" but a faithfulness and a strength of character born of a life of prayer. Such is the Fr Golitzin that I know.

The first commenter says that he should have been a bishop long ago. I know that I was hoping that he would be elected for the Diocese of the West back in the 80s (when Tikhon Fitzgerald was chosen). I was disappointed then, but it gives joy to my heart to see him elected now.

AXIOS!

#12 Chris Jones on 2011-07-13 07:36

I have studied our church for the past 50+ years - look at its achievements and failings -and have seen how it has gone from a very pogressive forward thinking yet etho-centric institution to a myoptic - rigid - short term focused church. According to my and the Kindratch studies we are loosing our young people and if we grow it is usually by immigration but we fail to keep the youth. Our numbers are under 1 million and for example here in Connecticut in the past 100 years 25 Orthodox Christian and Eastern Rite Christian churches have closed leaving 70 Eastern Orthodox Christian, Eastern Rite Chrisitian, and Non Chalcedon Christian remaining. In fact in the last 10 years 1 Eastern rite and One Eastern Orthodox closed with many teetering on the edge. This is a very disturbing trend.

Infact one Eastern Orthodox Christian parish here in 1965 had 2500 members, 250 in their sunday school and had 2 priests and filled the church that seats 550 twice on Sunday. Today, it barely has 200 members with 50 - 100 typically at liturgy on Sunday. Based on Baptismal records it should be thriving with close to 10,000 members - but where has the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generations gone? To our competition of course.
This is why dynamic leadership, focus, mission, administrative abilities, personal image, are so necessary - we need to realistically look at what we need to stop doing, what we need to start doing, and what we need to continue doing - all in the context of today's American Culture - read Nine shifts and Bowling Alone to get the perspective - otherwise we will continue to diminish in numbers and continue to be classified as the sect of long beards, wierd music ( byzantine chant), black cassocks, pony tails, and worry beads - and perhaps that is why we embarass our youth away - we are so focused on the externalities that we miss the essential internalities and faith is internal and needs to be nurtured - remember tha Jesus and His Gospel is the esential focus - the Byzantine empire is long dead and this is not the old country and nor should it be - so how do we retain, nurture, and grow? ergo, in my opinion the wrong candidate was chosen.

#13 rjklancko on 2011-07-17 15:37

Bulgarians nominate a Bishop

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Saturday, July 9. 2011

Bulgarians nominate a Bishop

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