How does somebody find the Church today?

How does somebody find the Church today?  On what do you base your decision?

• based on history?  But today most of the histories are self-recorded, and some are purposely deceiving. 

• based on piety?  But an outward show of piety can easily be borrowed from the real Church – adopting fasting rules and taking out pews does not make a church "Orthodox".

• based on canonicity?  But even vigante groups claim to be canonical.  There's even one out there that publishes "pedigree papers"!

• based on the personality of the priest?  or on his "wisdom" or leadership abilities or "people skills"?  

Any of these ways might work with LUCK.  But anyone who slips into the Church by luck can just as easily slip out of the Church by luck.  There is only one sure way:

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

The true Church has a heavenly counterpart: the Church Triumphant.  Most of what calls itself "Orthodox" out there today has no real connection with the Church Triumphant.  These are either real Churches that have "lost their savor" or Churches that were phony from the beginning – manufactured for the purpose of causing confusion/schism/chaos.

To find the true Church I see only one sure way:  to befriend the members of the Church Triumphant with all your strength.  Learn about the Holy Fathers and the Saints, read their lives, read their writings, pray to them and ask their assistance, ask them to help you enter into their company especially now before you die, and also in eternity.

If you honestly seek first the Kingdom, then you will recognize Fr. Seraphim as a sure guide.  Let Fr. Seraphim Rose introduce you to the Church Triumphant.  He made it.  You can follow the path he forged.  It is a sure path.  It might not be the straightest path possible, but it is straight enough to get you out of the woods before your death.

If you decide to trust Fr. Seraphim, then see that Fr. Seraphim and St. John both were intensely loyal to ROCOR and true sons of ROCOR and both fruits of ROCOR – then that should be enough reason to trust ROCOR.  (And the Churches ROCOR is in communion with.)

That decision narrows the list of possible jurisdictions down quite a bit.  Next the only problem left is finding the true ROCOR.  

These jurisdictions all claim to be the real ROCOR:

ROCA (a.k.a. ROCOR) (Metropolitan Agafangel)
ROCA (a.k.a  ROCOR) (Bp. Andronik)

ROCOR-MP (Metropolitan Hilarion)

ROAC

ROCiE
RTOC

Examine these jurisdictions in light of "Birds of a feather flock together", i.e., check out their friends.  

ROAC, ROCiE, RTOC are all so similar it is very difficult to tell them apart.  They are in communion with no one.  Why are they not at least in communion with each other?

ROCOR-MP is in communion with everybody, indiscriminately, EXCEPT for the jurisdictions who won't join them in being indiscriminate.  They are in communion with the Moscow Patriarch and the EP.  Read St. John's 1933 report on the Decline of the EP, see if you want to be a part of something he does not approve.

That leaves ROCA.  ROCA is still today in peace, harmony, and oneness of mind in the Sisterhood with 3 other (Old Calendar Greeks, Old Calendar Romanians, Old Calendar Bulgarians).  This is the same Sisterhood that was existing intact before the RocorMP union in 2007.  The Sister Churches are the true friends of ROCOR.

You will want to notice, there are two ROCORs.  One under Metr. Agafangel.  One under Bp. Andronik  Then note which one is the one in communion with the Sister Churches.

That leaves one:  ROCOR under Metropolitan Agafangel.

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Another explanation, saying the same thing, given to a potential catechumen who is under the influence of various world-orthodox advisors, and not surprisingly, rather confused and wanting to check out ROCA. 

Have you read St. John's History of ROCOR?  This is informative about

the jurisdiction of ROCOR and also helps impart the spirit of ROCOR.

http://rocorhistory.blogspot.com/2008/07/history-of-roca-by-st-john-maximovitch.html

http://rocorhistory.blogspot.com/2009/03/meaning-of-russian-diaspora.html

http://rocorhistory.blogspot.com/2013/06/spiritual-and-moral-significance-of.html

World Orthodoxy (read: OCA) always insisted, – even teaches in their

catechism) that ROCOR is a schism.  Well, St. John never thought

so, nor did Fr. Seraphim.

So the idea that ROCOR healed its schism when it united with the MP

is absurd, since ROCOR never was in schism in the first place.

Detailed information is here:

http://rocorhistoryhtm.blogspot.com/

Once you have overcome that hurdle of thinking that ROCOR was a

schism, and you are convinced that the ROCOR is the jurisdiction to

which both St. John and Fr. Seraphim were intensely loyal – the

next question is "Where is the real ROCOR?"

In 2000 the Greek Church was already fragmented.  Fr. Seraphim

predicted the same thing would happen to ROCOR.  And it did.

The first fragments went to the right wing:

• ROCiE (and RTOC)
• ROAC

The next to last fragment went to the left wing: 

ROCOR-MP

http://remnantrocor.blogspot.com/2010/12/why-we-cant-join-mp.html

The latest fragment was 2014, Bp. Andronik broke away with a large portion of the flock.  But the Sister Churches are not in communion with him.  The Sister Churches remain in communion with Metr. Agafangel.

All of this information can only help you decide where the true Church

is using logic.  It is not a sure method, because facts can be

distorted and argued.  You need to develop a spiritual DISCERNMENT of

the essence of the Church.  The Church is two parts:  earthly and

heavenly.  Militant and Triumphant.  You want to strive to discern the

Church Triumphant – and I promise it will not be found in world

orthodoxy or in the schisms.  If you think you found it there

you fool yourself.  Many people are fooled.

By reading the real Fr. Seraphim (not Platina's new version of the

neo-Seraphim) you have the opportunity to absorb the ability to

discern the royal path – Fr. Seraphim is capable of imparting this

because he had it: he received it from St. John.  This will give you

the ability to discern where the true Church is.  You will know in

your heart and the facts will all fit together perfectly and all will be clear to

you.

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Once you have decided that ROCOR is the Church of Fr. Seraphim and St. John, next you are faced with the question of which is the real ROCOR?

Only the ROCOR under Agafangel is recognized by the Sister Churches:

• GOC in America (Hotca)
• Old Calendar Bulgarian
• Old Calendar Romanian
• 
  

   

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