Archbishop John (Renneteau) addresses his flock

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and Archbishop John (Renneteau). Paris, 2016. Photo: livejournal.com

The head of the Archdiocese of Western Europe, Archbishop John (Renneteau), wrote a letter to his flock, in which he said that the decision to join the Moscow Patriarchate had been made after consultations with the clergy and in order to meet the needs of the communities. The full text of the letter is published on the website Orthodoxie.com.

In particular, in an address to the flock His Eminence John wrote that “after consulting with the rectors and numerous priests and as the head ex officio of our Archdiocese, I decided to entrust myself, as well as our Archdiocese, with the canonical obedience proposed by the Moscow Patriarchate in order to respond to the needs of the communities constituting the Archdiocese.”

According to Archbishop John, on Sunday, September 15, during the Divine Liturgy, he will make a liturgical mention of "His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow". Also, Archbishop John invited all the clergy to continue to mention him as the ruling bishop.

Along with this, the head of the Archdiocese said that he knows and understands "the long-standing caution of many". According to him, “first of all, I think about our dear fathers, brothers and sisters from the United Kingdom. The wounds are deep. Our communities in the south of France also have them because of legal litigation, which I have been trying to put an end to from the very beginning.”

However, according to Vladyka John, "the time has come not really to forget about them (about wounds – Ed.), but to move along."

Archbishop John emphasized he had made a pledge not to leave his flock and assured he was to keep his promise. At the same time, he asked the believers of the Archdiocese to offer prayers for him and also asked for forgiveness "from all those who would be affected by the decision I have made".

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that on September 14, 2019, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church resolved to admit Archbishop John (Renneteau), as well as all interested clergy and parishes of the Archbishopric of Orthodox Russian Churches in Western Europe to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.

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