Fr. Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) supsended?

[Michał Kalina]

I've heard such gossips. Is that true?

[Irish Hermit]

I've heard such gossips. Is that true?

The Decree of Suspension was issued by Metropolitan Hilarion and dated 23rd May. 

[elijahmaria]

I've heard such gossips. Is that true?

The Decree of Suspension was issued by Metropolitan Hilarion and dated 23rd May. 

What happens to Margaret's vocation then?

[Fr.Aidan]

Well, now the sad news has come to light. I hadn't wanted to say anything, but just pray and hope for my brother's soul.

I don't know why this suspension would affect Sister Margaret's vocation. If her confessions were being heard by phone, surely during the interval of the suspension, another priest would be willing?

I hope all will be resolved according to God's will, and Father's ministrations can resume at the time that may be possible.

[elijahmaria]

Well, now the sad news has come to light. I hadn't wanted to say anything, but just pray and hope for my brother's soul.

I don't know why this suspension would affect Sister Margaret's vocation. If her confessions were being heard by phone, surely during the interval of the suspension, another priest would be willing?

I hope all will be resolved according to God's will, and Father's ministrations can resume at the time that may be possible.

Thank you...I will keep Father Michael and Margaret in prayer.

Mary

[ozgeorge]

I've heard such gossips.

You've also help spread it.

[PrincessMommy]

I've heard such gossips. Is that true?

The Decree of Suspension was issued by Metropolitan Hilarion and dated 23rd May. 

What happens to Margaret's vocation then?

I'm confused.  Why would her vocation be effected?

I'm very sorry to hear about the suspension.  I'm sure it was for good reason.  Lord have mercy!

[Margaret S.]

Well, now the sad news has come to light. I hadn't wanted to say anything, but just pray and hope for my brother's soul.

I don't know why this suspension would affect Sister Margaret's vocation. If her confessions were being heard by phone, surely during the interval of the suspension, another priest would be willing?

I hope all will be resolved according to God's will, and Father's ministrations can resume at the time that may be possible.

Thank you for your prayers for Fr Michael, he has been nothing but kindness to me and I too hope everything will be resolved soon.  Please don't worry about me. I am fine. I have a wonderful spiritual father, my equally excellent confessor is in my hometown and I am also blessed to have a monastic mentor - I am very, very well taken care of.

Margaret

[Fr.Aidan]

I'm glad that your plans haven't been Scotched.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

[Irish Hermit]

Well, now the sad news has come to light. I hadn't wanted to say anything, but just pray and hope for my brother's soul.

I don't know why this suspension would affect Sister Margaret's vocation. If her confessions were being heard by phone, surely during the interval of the suspension, another priest would be willing?

I hope all will be resolved according to God's will, and Father's ministrations can resume at the time that may be possible.

Thank you for your prayers for Fr Michael, he has been nothing but kindness to me and I too hope everything will be resolved soon.  Please don't worry about me. I am fine. I have a wonderful spiritual father, my equally excellent confessor is in my hometown and I am also blessed to have a monastic mentor - I am very, very well taken care of.

Margaret

And you have a monastic family whom you have never met but since we became aware of these hassles we have been surrounding you with prayer.  A monk and nun never walks alone.

[Margaret S.]

I'm glad that your plans haven't been Scotched.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

(sigh)    thank you.

[Margaret S.]

And you have a monastic family whom you have never met but since we became aware of these hassles we have been surrounding you with prayer.  A monk and nun never walks alone.

Thank you, Father, it is appreciated more than I can say.

[SubdeaconDavid]

It is all relative  the priority of  things.  Tonight my wife was admitted to hospital because she is sick because her white blood cells are too low.  All I can do is kiss my children and pray to the Mother of God.

In relation to the subject of this topic,  I am saddened in my heart that it has come to this but nonetheless see it as an opportunity for what St. Benedict, the father of Western monasticism termed conversatio morum generally taken to mean conversion of manners.  In other words this sad event is an opportunity for life-changing personal spiritual growth.

I can only say that it has prompted me to pray with sincerity for Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) and  for the congregation at St. Dyfan in Hobart, as well as for the rest of the St. Petroc Monastery fellowship of missions and Paruchia entities.  It also prompts prayer for our beloved First Hierarch, Metropolitan Hilarion who issued the ukaze.  There is suffering in all of this.

This should be the subject of prayer and self-examination, not politics.  Today is the Sunday of the Blind Man.  Maybe there has been blindness in ecclesiastical politics - but the God-Saviour Jesus Christ can open eyes and heal.  

Archbishop Alypy of Chigao and Mid America wrote:

The past moves into the region of necessity: what has transpired, we cannot change, we cannot erase, and when the past is filled with sins, it serves as a special burden on the soul, and often determines the behavior of the person in the future. We cannot alter the past—that is a law of time. But the law of time is a physical law, while the spirit, as we said, does not submit to it, so in the spiritual plane, we can change the past. The Lord gives us this opportunity—the overcoming of the past, or better yet, the elimination of it—this occurs in the mystery of repentance. The mystery of repentance erases sins, and in this way, eliminates the occurrence of what is past. Earnest repentance severs the chain of sin which binds the past with the future, emancipating man from the burden of the past and grants him the opportunity to follow the path of virtue.
  
A miracle is the supreme manifestation of the victory of the spirit over physical causal necessity. And our Lord Jesus Christ showed us an example of this: He walked upon water, He healed the sick, He resurrected the dead. The mystery of repentance belongs to the class of such miracles, and the Lord grants this opportunity to each person.  
“Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty.” And so let us resist the sinful causal chain, severing it through repentance and through virtue partaking of spiritual freedom, and then Divine grace will perform in us another miracle—the salvation of our soul. Amen.

http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enart_arbpalypyfreedom.html

[IreneOlinyk]

In relation to the subject of this topic,  I am saddened in my heart that it has come to this but nonetheless see it as an opportunity for what St. Benedict, the father of Western monasticism termed conversatio morum generally taken to mean conversion of manners.  In other words this sad event is an opportunity for life-changing personal spiritual growth.

I can only say that it has prompted me to pray with sincerity for Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) and  for the congregation at St. Dyfan in Hobart, as well as for the rest of the St. Petroc Monastery fellowship of missions and Paruchia entities.  It also prompts prayer for our beloved First Hierarch, Metropolitan Hilarion who issued the ukaze.  There is suffering in all of this.

Thank you for your wise words.  Very helpful.  I am sure all of us here will be praying for your wife as well.  May God bless you and heal your wife.

[Punch]

In relation to the subject of this topic,  I am saddened in my heart that it has come to this but nonetheless see it as an opportunity for what St. Benedict, the father of Western monasticism termed conversatio morum generally taken to mean conversion of manners.  In other words this sad event is an opportunity for life-changing personal spiritual growth.

I can only say that it has prompted me to pray with sincerity for Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) and  for the congregation at St. Dyfan in Hobart, as well as for the rest of the St. Petroc Monastery fellowship of missions and Paruchia entities.  It also prompts prayer for our beloved First Hierarch, Metropolitan Hilarion who issued the ukaze.  There is suffering in all of this.

Thank you for your wise words.  Very helpful.  I am sure all of us here will be praying for your wife as well.  May God bless you and heal your wife.

Amen.

[mildert]

I'm glad that your plans haven't been Scotched.

I was going to ask whether it was on the rocks?

[elijahmaria]

I'm glad that your plans haven't been Scotched.

I was going to ask whether it was on the rocks?

   groan

[Father Peter]

Where are the details of this suspension and on what basis was it enacted?

[Fr.Aidan]

I can be reached privately regarding this matter, and can provide the details. I have the document (a copy, as a graphic file). However, I don't think it's good to speak about such things in public. And not because the suspension involved something which would be greatly shocking to the public, or anything illegal. It was nothing like that; it mainly had to do with Fr. Michael having said things he was warned to stop saying, about certain people, and even after a serious written warning from the Metropolitan he violated those instructions and kept saying things.

So, fairly boring.

Fr. Aidan+  sinner
cell 512 696 6890
Holy Protection Russian Orthodox Church, Austin, Texas
http://www.orthodoxaustin.org

[Fr.Aidan]

Regarding the Scotch mission being on the rocks, or not, at first I was shaken, thinking how sad it would be, if it were to fail. But then I was stirred to action by Sister Margaret's words. So how do I feel now, after the lapse of a few days? Not shaken, but stirred.

[Margaret S.]

Regarding the Scotch mission being on the rocks, or not, at first I was shaken, thinking how sad it would be, if it were to fail. But then I was stirred to action by Sister Margaret's words. So how do I feel now, after the lapse of a few days? Not shaken, but stirred.

Fr Aidan and Deacon Philip... I am so glad you have finally met each other. It makes me so happy when my new friends and my old friends click so perfectly 

As for Fr Michael, he is a good man, a good friend and a good priest and I am sure everything will be alright soon.

best wishes,
Sr Margaret

[Irish Hermit]

Where are the details of this suspension and on what basis was it enacted?

Briefly and specifically....

Warning issued 5 May:

1. Repeated defamation of brother clergy

2. Interference in the Western Rite in America

Decree of Suspension issued 23 May:

Suspension imposed for continuing public defamation after Warning.

[Irish Hermit]

However, I don't think it's good to speak about such things in public.

In the Australian diocese Episcopal Decrees concerning clergy are published in the diocesan magazine "Tserkovnoe Slovo."  I imagine it is necessary for clergy and laity to be aware of changed status of clergy so everything is done "decently and in good order" and so that mistakes do not occur.

[SubdeaconDavid]

However, I don't think it's good to speak about such things in public.

In the Australian diocese Episcopal Decrees concerning clergy are published in the diocesan magazine "Tserkovnoe Slovo."  I imagine it is necessary for clergy and laity to be aware of changed status of clergy so everything is done "decently and in good order" and so that mistakes do not occur.

I think it appropriate to reply on the decisions, judgment and integrity of the Church, and to pray for Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) and for the diocesan authorities in Australia.

My prayers are also for the Orthodox of Hobart who have been affected by this, for those seeking to build bridges between the Byzantine and Western rites and for my own parish which has no resident priest.
Happy Ascension Day to all.  

[Irish Hermit]

I've heard such gossips. Is that true?

I've noticed that the Suspension of Fr Michael Mansbridge-Wood is on the website of the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq
 
http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/
 
It is not particularly restricted, I suppose.  The Western Rite clergy received copies and I imagine it will appear in the next issue of Tserkovnoe Slovo (Australia's diocesan magazine) as such Decrees always do.

[smithakd]

It is not particularly restricted, I suppose.  The Western Rite clergy received copies and I imagine it will appear in the next issue of Tserkovnoe Slovo (Australia's diocesan magazine) as such Decrees always do.

To tangent, a genuine question: if all Western Rite activity is a vicariate under the Metropolitan (and Bishop Jerome of Manhattan), why would this announcement necessarily appear in Tserkovnoe Slovo, a diocesan magazine?

[Irish Hermit]

It is not particularly restricted, I suppose.  The Western Rite clergy received copies and I imagine it will appear in the next issue of Tserkovnoe Slovo (Australia's diocesan magazine) as such Decrees always do.

To tangent, a genuine question: if all Western Rite activity is a vicariate under the Metropolitan (and Bishop Jerome of Manhattan), why would this announcement need to appear in Tserkovnoe Slovo, a diocesan magazine?

Good question.  These notices are placed in diocesan magazines so that clergy and faithful are aware of any change in status of clergy.  This preserves good order and prevents mistakes being made.  Since Fr Michael operates in two dioceses, that of Archbishop Mark of Germany and Western Europe and that of the Metropolitan, Australia and New Zealand, perhaps notice of the Suspension ought to go in both diocesan magazines since he interacts with clergy and faithful of both dioceses?

[SubdeaconDavid]

It is not particularly restricted, I suppose.  The Western Rite clergy received copies and I imagine it will appear in the next issue of Tserkovnoe Slovo (Australia's diocesan magazine) as such Decrees always do.

To tangent, a genuine question: if all Western Rite activity is a vicariate under the Metropolitan (and Bishop Jerome of Manhattan), why would this announcement need to appear in Tserkovnoe Slovo, a diocesan magazine?

Good question.  These notices are placed in diocesan magazines so that clergy and faithful are aware of any change in status of clergy.  This preserves good order and prevents mistakes being made.  Since Fr Michael operates in two dioceses, that of Archbishop Mark of Germany and Western Europe and that of the Metropolitan, Australia and New Zealand, perhaps notice of the Suspension ought to go in both diocesan magazines since he interacts with clergy and faithful of both dioceses?

Archbishop Mark is actually bishop of the Diocese of Germany and Diocese of Great Britain.  Britain has not had a bishop resident for some years.  Western Europe is a different diocese, I think centered in Geneva?

 http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engrocor/enbishops.html The Vicar-General of the Australian and New Zealand Diocese is editor of Tserkovnoe Slovo and perhaps you ought to address your query with him?

[tuesdayschild]

I've noticed that the Suspension of Fr Michael Mansbridge-Wood is on the website of the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq
 
http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

Who is the author of this website, writing under the name "cascade"?

[Margaret S.]

I've noticed that the Suspension of Fr Michael Mansbridge-Wood is on the website of the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq
 
http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

Who is the author of this website, writing under the name "cascade"?

Good question. Any answers? It's not much of a case study either.

Sr Margaret

[SubdeaconDavid]

I've noticed that the Suspension of Fr Michael Mansbridge-Wood is on the website of the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq
 
http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

Who is the author of this website, writing under the name "cascade"?

Good question. Any answers? It's not much of a case study either.

Sr Margaret

Like you Sister Margaret I am curious about the owner of the St Petroc FAQ site.  It does have many unanswered questions, perhaps some speculation, but I guess nonetheless facts in the form of documents.  The email content I guess could all be contrived? Anyway I am not speculating about the FAQ.

Many people come to the Church by the grace of God by strange routes.  Perhaps if Fr. Michael writes his biography in his retirement, he might share his spiritual journey from Anglican Western Australia to the Western-rite of Russian Orthodoxy (RWRV) via the Antiochian Church and his time as a cleric of the Anglican Rite Jurisdiction of the Americas.  Even for those of us in the eastern-rite this would be of interest.

For those of us praying for the traditionalist continuing Anglicans like the ACC to come to Orthodoxy, there is much to glean from the spiritual travels of Fr. Michael that may benefit them in their pilgrimage. Having just read Fr. Colin Stephenson's Merrily on High it would be I am sure an interesting and entertaining read of Fr. Michael's spiritual journey and his ordination (Bishop Grayling/Graydon?) and time as the Archdeacon of Lambeth in the ARJA before finding Orthodoxy.  




Tags edited - MK.

[Margaret S.]

I've noticed that the Suspension of Fr Michael Mansbridge-Wood is on the website of the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq
 
http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

Who is the author of this website, writing under the name "cascade"?

Good question. Any answers? It's not much of a case study either.

Sr Margaret

Like you Sister Margaret I am curious about the owner of the St Petroc FAQ site.  It does have many unanswered questions, perhaps some speculation, but I guess nonetheless facts in the form of documents.  The email content I guess could all be contrived? Anyway I am not speculating about the FAQ.

Many people come to the Church by the grace of God by strange routes.  Perhaps if Fr. Michael writes his biography in his retirement, he might share his spiritual journey from Anglican Western Australia to the Western-rite of Russian Orthodoxy (RWRV) via the Antiochian Church and his time as a cleric of the Anglican Rite Jurisdiction of the Americas.  Even for those of us in the eastern-rite this would be of interest.

For those of us praying for the traditionalist continuing Anglicans like the ACC to come to Orthodoxy, there is much to glean from the spiritual travels of Fr. Michael that may benefit them in their pilgrimage. Having just read Fr. Colin Stephenson's Merrily on High it would be I am sure an interesting and entertaining read of Fr. Michael's spiritual journey and his ordination (Bishop Grayling/Graydon?) and time as the Archdeacon of Lambeth in the ARJA before finding Orthodoxy.  

I'll come to Tasmania and type it for him else we'll never get past chapter one!

[Irish Hermit]

I've noticed that the Suspension of Fr Michael Mansbridge-Wood is on the website of the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq
 
http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

Who is the author of this website, writing under the name "cascade"?

Good question. Any answers? It's not much of a case study either.

Sr Margaret

I've heard a whisper or two so --just to scotch them.  Irish Hermit places his hand on the holy Bible and precious Cross and solemnly states:  I am not the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq.

http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

The website is quite old, as shown by the use of "Abbey" in its name  Fr Michael first designated his flat as an Abbey and only later renamed it as a Monastery.

[SubdeaconDavid]

I've noticed that the Suspension of Fr Michael Mansbridge-Wood is on the website of the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq
 
http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

Who is the author of this website, writing under the name "cascade"?

Good question. Any answers? It's not much of a case study either.

Sr Margaret

I've heard a whisper or two so --just to scotch them.  Irish Hermit places his hand on the holy Bible and precious Cross and solemnly states:  I am not the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq.

http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

The website is quite old, as shown by the use of "Abbey" in its name  Fr Michael first designated his flat as an Abbey and only later renamed it as a Monastery.

I think it was St Petroc Abbey back in the days before 1992-1993 according to the website http://orthodoxwesternrite.wordpress.com/st-petroc-monastery/ which was well-before SPA/SPM became an Orthodox monastery following Fr. Michael (Mansbridge-Wood)'s conversion, so I guess it was an Abbey of the Anglican Rite Jurisdiction of the Americas and then latterly a monastery of the Antiochian Orthodox Church when Fr. Michael was under Damascus?. Was it however the seat of the Archdeaconrey of Lambeth of the ARJA as well?  That would be an ecclesial gift curiosity from the Antipodes to Mother England.

In 1987, ARJA gained a diocese in Australia, headed by Bishop Kenneth Graydon, and in 1993 after ARJA's Archbishop Stephen Clark had visited England, they jointly began a missionary Diocese of Lambeth in London. Before its demise, this latter had several successive Episcopal Visitors and was administered by an Archdeacon who later converted to Orthodoxy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Rite_Jurisdiction_of_the_Americas

Can anyone give some more history of the ARJA in the UK and Australia? Was Hieromonk Michael the only ARJA cleric who swam the Neva?

[Irish Hermit]

Please keep Fr Barry Jeffries of Tasmania in your prayers.  He is having health issues.

I believe he has gone the extra mile and kept the Tasmanian group going, saying Mass in Hobart while Fr Michael has been absent but now Fr Michael is back and active once again.

[Irish Hermit]

Good news!  I see that the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq reports (bottom of web
page) that there is news that the suspension of Fr Michael Wood has been
lifted.  He will be able to continue his missionary work in the UK and in
other countries.


http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

[Fr.Aidan]

Fr. Michael's suspension has been lifted, but he has also been relieved of all duties except for caring for St. Petroc's in Tasmania.

[SubdeaconDavid]

Good news!  I see that the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq reports (bottom of web
page) that there is news that the suspension of Fr Michael Wood has been
lifted.  He will be able to continue his missionary work in the UK and in
other countries.

http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

If it is correct as Fr. Aidan says that Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) has had his suspension from priestly duties lifted, albeit with  restriction to his Cascade skete/hermitage of St. Petroc,what is the future for the St. Dyfan mission at the university ecumenical centre, in Tasmania and for Fr. Michael's University chaplaincy?

This has serious ramifications for Fr. Michael's existing SPM branded missions in the United Kingdom and his Asian missions in the Philippines. This has short and longer-term implications for the Western-rite in those countries, as neither nation has a  ROCOR western-rite priest except when Fr. Michael visits and the two SPM priests reside in Tasmania.  

Perhaps Byzantine-rite priests will address the spiritual needs of these Western-rite congregations, at least for the short-term or maybe the ROCOR Fraternity of St. Gregory will come to the aid of the few WR in ROCOR Australia. With both priests being septuagenarian, this may be necessary for the long-term future of the Western-rite down under.

While the Western-rite of ROCOR has no missions left in mainland Australia, one wonders how the Western-rite of ROCOR can have any future in Australia if it is correct that SPM's luminary and architect, Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) is confined to his monastic hermitage.

This must be a bitter pill for Fr. Michael to follow.  He has laboured hard, and with no money, resources and few followers to spread Western-rite Orthodoxy. Arguably he has had much greater success in Great Britain, than in his native Australia.  He has made a contribution to the Western-rite liturgical debate and produced a blessed local Western-rite mass, the Usus Cascadae, published in his Shorter St. Colman Prayer Book  and his out-of-copy St. Colman Prayer Book.

Having labored so hard as a missionary in the market-place and streets of the globe, perhaps the peace and tranquility of the hermitage will provide consolation and healing for Fr. Michael at this undoubted time of challenge and pain.  May St. Petroc bless the humble hermitage of Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) and grant by his prayers consolation and grace.

As I quoted before, I think it instrumental to reflect on Archbishop Alypy of Chicago & Eastern America's wisdom:

The past moves into the region of necessity: what has transpired, we cannot change, we cannot erase, and when the past is filled with sins, it serves as a special burden on the soul, and often determines the behavior of the person in the future. We cannot alter the past—that is a law of time. But the law of time is a physical law, while the spirit, as we said, does not submit to it, so in the spiritual plane, we can change the past. The Lord gives us this opportunity—the overcoming of the past, or better yet, the elimination of it—this occurs in the mystery of repentance. The mystery of repentance erases sins, and in this way, eliminates the occurrence of what is past. Earnest repentance severs the chain of sin which binds the past with the future, emancipating man from the burden of the past and grants him the opportunity to follow the path of virtue.
 
A miracle is the supreme manifestation of the victory of the spirit over physical causal necessity. And our Lord Jesus Christ showed us an example of this: He walked upon water, He healed the sick, He resurrected the dead. The mystery of repentance belongs to the class of such miracles, and the Lord grants this opportunity to each person. 
“Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty.” And so let us resist the sinful causal chain, severing it through repentance and through virtue partaking of spiritual freedom, and then Divine grace will perform in us another miracle—the salvation of our soul. Amen.

http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enart_arbpalypyfreedom.html

[elijahmaria]

Good news!  I see that the Saint Petroc Abbey Faq reports (bottom of web
page) that there is news that the suspension of Fr Michael Wood has been
lifted.  He will be able to continue his missionary work in the UK and in
other countries.

http://stpetrocabbeyfaq.blogspot.com/

If it is correct as Fr. Aidan says that Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) has had his suspension from priestly duties lifted, albeit with  restriction to his Cascade skete/hermitage of St. Petroc,what is the future for the St. Dyfan mission at the university ecumenical centre, in Tasmania and for Fr. Michael's University chaplaincy?

Nature abhors a vacuum.  I would expect that there will be others emerge to keep the western rite lively.

And it seems to me that Father Michael, truly, did make his own bed.

M.

[Irish Hermit]

Fr. Michael's suspension has been lifted, but he has also been relieved of all duties except for caring for St. Petroc's in Tasmania.

Beatus homo, qui corripitur a Deo;
increpationem ergo Omnipotentis ne reprobes.
Quia ipse vulnerat et medetur,
percutit, et manus eius sanabunt.

Job 5:17&18

[elijahmaria]

Fr. Michael's suspension has been lifted, but he has also been relieved of all duties except for caring for St. Petroc's in Tasmania.

Beatus homo, qui corripitur a Deo;
increpationem ergo Omnipotentis ne reprobes.
Quia ipse vulnerat et medetur,
percutit, et manus eius sanabunt.

Job 5:17&18

Perfect. 

You do good work.

[Irish Hermit]

Fr. Michael's suspension has been lifted, but he has also been relieved of all duties except for caring for St. Petroc's in Tasmania.

Beatus homo, qui corripitur a Deo;
increpationem ergo Omnipotentis ne reprobes.
Quia ipse vulnerat et medetur,
percutit, et manus eius sanabunt.

Job 5:17&18

Perfect. 

You do good work.

I think it was probably the work of Saint Jerome.  :-)

[elijahmaria]

Fr. Michael's suspension has been lifted, but he has also been relieved of all duties except for caring for St. Petroc's in Tasmania.

Beatus homo, qui corripitur a Deo;
increpationem ergo Omnipotentis ne reprobes.
Quia ipse vulnerat et medetur,
percutit, et manus eius sanabunt.

Job 5:17&18

Perfect. 

You do good work.

I think it was probably the work of Saint Jerome.  :-)

 

Good'n!!

But it is kind in its truthfulness, and true in its kindness.  I was not kind in my remarks at all, and you reminded me of what really counts.  So I thank you and will follow your lead, and pray Father Michael finds peace and that in his peacefulness, he finds souls who are in need of him in this life.

Mary

[Irish Hermit]

Good news on another e-list from Bishop Jerome who writes:

> The ROCOR WR in Britain has not been dissolved.
> I am hoping to visit the UK this year, and ordain
> someone to carry on the ministry.

[SubdeaconDavid]

Good news on another e-list from Bishop Jerome who writes:

> The ROCOR WR in Britain has not been dissolved.
> I am hoping to visit the UK this year, and ordain
> someone to carry on the ministry.

Let us pray that the RWRV Christians of the St Patroc Paruchia find shelter and priestly ministry in the UK soon.  With so many English convert Byzantine rite priests serving in both the Church Abroad and Moscow Patriarchal Diocese in the UK, surely they can get culturally appropriate pastoral care and support right now. To see the clergy contact details of the Church Abroad's UK Diocese see: http://www.rocor.org.uk/directory.html The stavropegial RWRV missions of St. Nectean and St. Eanswythe, formerly under Hieromonk Michael now list their clergy as "vacant".  Both mission websites appear to have been modified, and WR hours (Matins) is done, presumably as a Reader service currently.  Web links can be find at the ROCOR GB site. Both mmissions are listed as being

under the direct guidance of Bishop Jerome (Shaw), vicar bishop for the Western Rite, and assistant to Metropolitan Hilarion, primate of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia.

[SubdeaconDavid]

Update from Tasmania:  The University of Tasmania closed the Alexander Center ecumenical chaplaincy centre, preferring cold hard cash to a spiritual centre located adjacent to the campus.  This was the home of St. Dyfan Russian Western Rite Vicariate Mission run by the St Petroc Monastery of Hiermonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) which is now seeking a new base and worshipping in the chapel at St. Petroc Monastery. http://stpetrocmonastery.blogspot.com/

On a happier note Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) and his St. Dyfan flock are attending the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy being served in commemoration of the Patronal Festival of  Exaltation of the Holy Cross Russian Orthodox Church in Lenah Valley, Hobart, on Sunday 3 October (new style) served by His Grace Bishop Ireney (Serbian Orthodox Church), the Rector of Hobart and Dandenong and Vicar-General of the Australian  & New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Church Abroad (ROCOR), Mitred Archpriest Dr. Mikhail Protopopov, the Abbott of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery (Victoria), Archimandrite Theodore, assisted by a Serbian deacon.

My son Elias is being baptised tomorrow, happy to receive the blessings of 1 Orthodox bishop and 3 Orthodox priests!

[ialmisry]

Update from Tasmania:  The University of Tasmania closed the Alexander Center ecumenical chaplaincy centre, preferring cold hard cash to a spiritual centre located adjacent to the campus.  This was the home of St. Dyfan Russian Western Rite Vicariate Mission run by the St Petroc Monastery of Hiermonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) which is now seeking a new base and worshipping in the chapel at St. Petroc Monastery. http://stpetrocmonastery.blogspot.com/

On a happier note Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) and his St. Dyfan flock are attending the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy being served in commemoration of the Patronal Festival of  Exaltation of the Holy Cross Russian Orthodox Church in Lenah Valley, Hobart, on Sunday 3 October (new style) served by His Grace Bishop Ireney (Serbian Orthodox Church), the Rector of Hobart and Dandenong and Vicar-General of the Australian  & New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Church Abroad (ROCOR), Mitred Archpriest Dr. Mikhail Protopopov, the Abbott of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery (Victoria), Archimandrite Theodore, assisted by a Serbian deacon.

My son Elias is being baptised tomorrow, happy to receive the blessings of 1 Orthodox bishop and 3 Orthodox priests!

Many years!

[Fr.Aidan]

Happy to hear of the baptism, sorry to hear that the chapel is being lost. But perhaps this will be a blessing in disguise, according to God's will, in light of future events not revealed as yet.

[SubdeaconDavid]

Postcript:
Sadly we did not get to venerate the new icon of St. Petroc as only one WR person attended our festival yesterday. Nonetheless we had Russians, Serbs, Australians, Ethiopians, catechumen and some more present for as joy filled Liturgy, procession and feast.  It was a pity that we missed sharing it with the Western rite congregation and clergy.

[Irish Hermit]

A communication today from Father Anthony Bondi who has been apppointed by Metropolitan Hilarion as Pastoral Vicar of the Western Rite and he works under Bishop Jerome.

<quote>The following missions have withdrawn from St Petroc Monastery's oversight and are now part of the Fraternity of St Gregory and under Bishop Jerome.

 
SAINT NECTAN Barnstaple, Devon, England
SAINT EANSWYTHE Christchurch, Dorset, England

SAINT BEDE THE VENERABLE, Cleethorpes, NE Lincolnshire, England


Under Bishop Jerome:

 
SAINT DYFAN Hobart, Tasmania
SAINT GILDAS Perth, Western Australia
 

[SubdeaconDavid]

A communication today from Father Anthony Bondi who has been apppointed by Metropolitan Hilarion as Pastoral Vicar of the Western Rite and he works under Bishop Jerome.

<quote>The following missions have withdrawn from St Petroc Monastery's oversight and are now part of the Fraternity of St Gregory and under Bishop Jerome.

 
SAINT NECTAN Barnstaple, Devon, England
SAINT EANSWYTHE Christchurch, Dorset, England

SAINT BEDE THE VENERABLE, Cleethorpes, NE Lincolnshire, England


Under Bishop Jerome:

 
SAINT DYFAN Hobart, Tasmania
SAINT GILDAS Perth, Western Australia
 

My understanding from the St. Gildas (St Petroc Monastery aka SPM website) is that St. Gildas Perth is long closed - a fact that is  acknowledged by Fr. Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) who is/was presumably the webmaster for the suite of SPM sites.  The website says:

]THIS MISSION IS NOT CURRENTLY OPERATING

  See in full at:http://perthorthodox.blogspot.com/

Perhaps St. Petroc Monastery (SPM) re-started it and just did not update their website?  In regard to the UK I heard  that Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) will be in Scotland in the New Year leading a retreat on a Scottish island (Iona?).  I am not sure under which organisation's auspices the retreat is. It may be private.

In relation to St. Dyfan Hobart, the St Dyfan (SPM?) website has a link direct from the official Australian & New Zealand ROCOR Diocesan website

http://www.rocor.org.au/

to the mission website at http://hobartorthodox.blogspot.com/ that states the Mission is under

the oversight of Fr. Barry

Jeffery. The St Innocent Clergy Directory of ROCOR lists Fr. Barry Jeffery and additionally lists Hieromonk Michael (Wood) / (Mansbridge-Wood). Neither the Directory or ROCOR website notes that St Dyfan or St Gildas is now under the direction of Vladyka Jerome.

[Irish Hermit]

Church websites and directories are notoriously tardy with updates.  In dubious matters don't put too much reliance on them.
 

 

A communication today from Father Anthony Bondi who has been apppointed by Metropolitan Hilarion as Pastoral Vicar of the Western Rite and he works under Bishop Jerome.

<quote>The following missions have withdrawn from St Petroc Monastery's oversight and are now part of the Fraternity of St Gregory and under Bishop Jerome.

 
SAINT NECTAN Barnstaple, Devon, England
SAINT EANSWYTHE Christchurch, Dorset, England

SAINT BEDE THE VENERABLE, Cleethorpes, NE Lincolnshire, England


Under Bishop Jerome:

 
SAINT DYFAN Hobart, Tasmania
SAINT GILDAS Perth, Western Australia
 

My understanding from the St. Gildas (St Petroc Monastery aka SPM website) is that St. Gildas Perth is long closed - a fact that is  acknowledged by Fr. Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) who is/was presumably the webmaster for the suite of SPM sites.  The website says:

]THIS MISSION IS NOT CURRENTLY OPERATING

  See in full at:http://perthorthodox.blogspot.com/

Perhaps St. Petroc Monastery (SPM) re-started it and just did not update their website?  In regard to the UK I heard  that Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) will be in Scotland in the New Year leading a retreat on a Scottish island (Iona?).  I am not sure under which organisation's auspices the retreat is. It may be private.

In relation to St. Dyfan Hobart, the St Dyfan (SPM?) website has a link direct from the official Australian & New Zealand ROCOR Diocesan website

http://www.rocor.org.au/

to the mission website at http://hobartorthodox.blogspot.com/ that states the Mission is under

the oversight of Fr. Barry

Jeffery. The St Innocent Clergy Directory of ROCOR lists Fr. Barry Jeffery and additionally lists Hieromonk Michael (Wood) / (Mansbridge-Wood). Neither the Directory or ROCOR website notes that St Dyfan or St Gildas is now under the direction of Vladyka Jerome.

[LBK]

Metropolitan’s Decree

February 23, 2013

No. 2-28-13

In  view of his violations of the canons by disrespect of the person of the Patriarch and other members of the Hierarchy, lengthy absences from his parish in Hobart, Tasmania, causing spiritual neglect of the faithful of his church community, and the constant inflammatory and unedifying  negative comments which he publicly broadcasts within the religious media, bringing disrepute to the Orthodox witness of the Western Rite  movement, Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood), cleric of the Australian and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, is hereby suspended and relieved of all his priestly duties and obligations concerning the Western Rite in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and is retired from active service in the Church.

Given the above, any and all blessings for his websites are hereby withdrawn.

+Hilarion

Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

Source: http://www.rocor.org.au/?p=7603

[Michał Kalina]

He left ROCOR for some True Orthodoxy.

[Shanghaiski]

He left ROCOR for some True Orthodoxy.

Yawn.

[arimethea]

He left ROCOR for some True Orthodoxy.

So we have another schismatic on our hands.

[ROCORWRVUK]

Apparently he is taking up permanent residence in Scotland, which is great news for the canonical ROCOR WR mission in the UK...

Please pray for us!

[Shanghaiski]

Apparently he is taking up permanent residence in Scotland, which is great news for the canonical ROCOR WR mission in the UK...

Please pray for us!

Wait, but he is no longer in ROCOR...

[ROCORWRVUK]

Apparently he is taking up permanent residence in Scotland, which is great news for the canonical ROCOR WR mission in the UK...

Please pray for us!

Wait, but he is no longer in ROCOR...

Sorry, my sarcasm didn't translate very well over the net. I should stick to official news announcements!

I was being serious about the prayers, though, we will really need them if this is the case.

[Margaret S.]

He left ROCOR for some True Orthodoxy.

So we have another schismatic on our hands.

Like Fr Anastasios, you mean? 

[Margaret S.]

Apparently he is taking up permanent residence in Scotland, which is great news for the canonical ROCOR WR mission in the UK...

Please pray for us!

Wait, but he is no longer in ROCOR...

Sorry, my sarcasm didn't translate very well over the net. I should stick to official news announcements!

I was being serious about the prayers, though, we will really need them if this is the case.

We'll pray you manage to find some service times to put on your church's website How long have you been ordained now?

[Michał Kalina]

He left ROCOR for some True Orthodoxy.

So we have another schismatic on our hands.

Like Fr Anastasios, you mean? 

He's not longer "fr".

[ROCORWRVUK]

Apparently he is taking up permanent residence in Scotland, which is great news for the canonical ROCOR WR mission in the UK...

Please pray for us!

Wait, but he is no longer in ROCOR...

Sorry, my sarcasm didn't translate very well over the net. I should stick to official news announcements!

I was being serious about the prayers, though, we will really need them if this is the case.

We'll pray you manage to find some service times to put on your church's website How long have you been ordained now?

Thank you. I'm not ordained, I'm merely someone who makes news announcements.

[searn77]

He left ROCOR for some True Orthodoxy.

So we have another schismatic on our hands.

Like Fr Anastasios, you mean? 

Fr. Michael is now in the Russian True Orthodox synod that's under Metropolitan Raphael (http://ipckatakomb.ru/) which my own synod is in communion with. And yes, while our synods are not in communion with (formerly father) Anastasios, both Anastasios' synod and our synods are True Orthodox synods.

[Alpo]

Fr. Michael is now in the Russian True Orthodox synod that's under Metropolitan Raphael (http://ipckatakomb.ru/) which my own synod is in communion with. And yes, while our synods are not in communion with (formerly father) Anastasios, both Anastasios' synod and our synods are True Orthodox synods.

Interesting. I wonder he chose Russian church instead of a Western church.

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