Alaska, that is. If you’ve never been, you should go. It’s gorgeous. It’s also where I spent the first 4 months with the beautiful young lady who would eventually become my wife, so I may be biased here.
The Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska is not doing well, unfortunately. They’re in the middle of a conflict that threatens to break them apart. I’ve purposely avoided posting on this, but here is the latest on the issue:
Discord has been building for years, Alaska priests said.
“In a nutshell, we were so … free to express ourselves until I’d say about six years ago when Nikolai came in, then pastoral theological teaching just kind of went down the drain,” said archpriest Peter Askoar, of Elevation of the Cross of our Lord Church in Russian Mission and a priest for 28 years.
In one of the bishop’s early visits to Russian Mission, where just about everyone is Orthodox, he criticized their new church building, made with love by local crews but quirky, with visible supports holding up a sagging roof, Askoar said. The bishop said it wasn’t fit for worship, according to Askoar.
The priest was too shocked to respond. He said he understands they need to give whatever they have to the Lord “but this was the best we had to offer.”
Priests are especially troubled by an edict Bishop Nikolai gave at a diocesan assembly last year that says babies cannot be baptized unless their legal, given name is Orthodox.
In the past, children had two names, their street name and their church name, Oleksa and Askoar said.
But the bishop told the assembly “if the parents do not give the child an Orthodox Christian name, do not baptist them. Period,” Askoar said.
…
Bishop Nikolai, who has served in Alaska nearly seven years and is one of just nine diocesan bishops in North America, said Thursday he is dumbfounded by the criticism and has called a meeting next week in Anchorage to air the concerns. Some priests said they won’t go.
Wow. Part of the issue stems from a May 2007 situation on Kodiak that involved allegations of drunken sexual misconduct against the second-ranking church official in Alaska, Chancellor Archimandrite Isidore. An investigation by the church’s New York headquarters found the allegations without merit.
This has been going on for some time. Orthodox Christians for Accountability is a relatively new group started to cover this issue. They also offer a summary of all the events leading up to this.
Do not judge, but read up on both the allegations and defense. Respect must be given, regardless.