Joanna's Thoughts, Notes, Observations

This is a draft subject to revision:


8. It is not my way to take facts and form my impressions from the facts. This seems to be the super-correct method. My method is the opposite, my impressions are what interpret the facts. And my impression of the super-correct is that they are terribly tragically fragmented, and therefore, disqualified to interpret the facts.


7. ....√the "false telescope" theory I.M.Andreyev writes of (Is There Grace In The MP?). I understand, but I do not see the situation in the MP as a telescope. The MP was started with a valid link - however weak and betraying that link (Sergius) - and we know that the grace does not depend on the piety of the hierarch. It could be through even this "thread" that God serves people who approach with fear and faith (and true forgivable ignorance). We do know that the Russian Church will be restored by God for the sake of the Faithful http://www.geocities.com/kitezhgrad/autobio/story.html

6. ....√St. John M. says "sick" and does not say "graceless". Yet St. John endorses Blessed Abp. Averky and St. Philaret, who do use the word "graceless." But neither Blessed Abp. Averky nor St. Philaret were willing to make an official declaration......


5. The anti-Cyprianites perceive Cyprianism as giving ecumenism a "foot in the door." They also say that Cyprianism was the first step of ROCOR submitting to the MP. This is a tempting thought, for if ROCOR would only declare the doubtful jurisdictions graceless, then they would not consider uniting with them.
But, looking at it logically we see something else. If Cyprianism causes a traditionally-minded jurisdiction (Royal Path Churches) to flirt with ecumenism, then long before this the SIR or at least one other of the Sister Churches would have succumbed. If Cyprianism causes an Old Calendar jurisdiction to unite with it's New Calendar so-called "mother," then the other Royal Path Churches would also be in the process of submitting to their so-called "mothers."
What we actually see instead is quite different. What we see are two groups: anti-Cyprianites and Cyprianites. All of the anti-Cyprianites are disunited, and all of the Cyprianites are united. So logically, looking at the facts, it appears more that anti-Cyprianism causes disunity and fragmentation (among those that are in full agreement about this important issue!)
But, it would probably be more accurate to say that groups who are prone to anti-Cyprianism are also prone to disunity. For whatever reasons which are not quite clear, although St. John of Shanghai & San Francisco sure sheds some light on this in his report The Spiritual Condition of Russians Abroad. (posted December 17, 2008 on the ROCOR Refugees Blog)


4. In the prophecies on the future of Russia it says that God will send a Tsar who will purge the Church of the false/blasphemous hierarchs (which will be nearly all of them). The Church will be "purged," not "resurrected from the dead," not started anew and built from scratch. But the already existing Church (MP) will cleansed, healed of mortal spiritual diseases.


3. Along with Fr. Victor Dobroff, I notice that in the beginning of the Book of Revelations, God writes letters to seven Churches. Not all seven are completely faithful to God, yet God considers all of them His. (Of course, I prefer to be in the Church He praises as being the most faithful...)


2. In 1996 I experienced grace at my baptism in a new calendar OCA church. Same year/same Church, my civil husband, who had witchcraft spells on him, was unable to remain in the Church for more than a few minutes at a time, even though he tried very hard to stay in. If the Church were graceless, why were the demons so afraid? My husband could go into any heterodox church without any trouble.
In 2008 I experienced grace at my goddaughter's baptism in a ROCOR-MP parish with a super-pro-union priest.


1. We do not know who does and who does not have grace. It does not matter how many Holy Fathers or canons we quote. Without clairvoyant sight, we do not know. If we experience grace in a certain Church, then we can say we know it was there at the time we experienced it. But that's all we can know. We can see where the presence of grace is doubtful, where it should not be. And, places where it is doubtful, we should avoid and not be in communion with them.