Search for My Baptismal Priest

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сынок
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Search for My Baptismal Priest

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I am hoping someone on this wonderful forum will be able to offer some clues as to getting information on a certain Russian Orthodox priest. Father Boris Vinogradov was our parish priest in London, Ontario from around 1948 (or so) through 1966(?) when he reposed. He performed my baptism in 1953.
To make a long story short, I stopped attending church in the '60s as I got swallowed up by western culture and did not return until the passing of my own mother 3 years ago.

It is of paramount importance to me to find out from what Russian Orthodox background in Russia did Father Vinogradov come from. Our church in London was a large population of Russian WW2 displaced persons - 99% of them being 'white' Russians. To get this information would help me decide to whom I give my allegiance to.
For three years now, I've been floundering between (to whom I light-heartedly call "the big 3") RTOC, ROAC and ROCOR-V.

Every time I think I come close to a committal, another piece of info pops up that blows my whole reasoning and puts me back to square one. Oh, I have my Bibles and Icons and candles and quiet room for prayer ... that's not the point. It is very important to me to be able to fly the 8-900 miles north to attend Saturday and Sunday services knowing I am in the right place.
Anybody?

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Maria
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Re: Search for My Baptismal Priest

Post by Maria »

сынок wrote:

I am hoping someone on this wonderful forum will be able to offer some clues as to getting information on a certain Russian Orthodox priest. Father Boris Vinogradov was our parish priest in London, Ontario from around 1948 (or so) through 1966(?) when he reposed. He performed my baptism in 1953.
To make a long story short, I stopped attending church in the '60s as I got swallowed up by western culture and did not return until the passing of my own mother 3 years ago.

It is of paramount importance to me to find out from what Russian Orthodox background in Russia did Father Vinogradov come from. Our church in London was a large population of Russian WW2 displaced persons - 99% of them being 'white' Russians. To get this information would help me decide to whom I give my allegiance to.
For three years now, I've been floundering between (to whom I light-heartedly call "the big 3") RTOC, ROAC and ROCOR-V.

Every time I think I come close to a committal, another piece of info pops up that blows my whole reasoning and puts me back to square one. Oh, I have my Bibles and Icons and candles and quiet room for prayer ... that's not the point. It is very important to me to be able to fly the 8-900 miles north to attend Saturday and Sunday services knowing I am in the right place.
Anybody?

It would be somewhat difficult to find out what church your Father Vinogradov would pick in today's gathering of True Orthodox.

Some members of the ROCOR left during the troubling times following the repose of St. Philaret of New York on November 21, 1985 to join various jurisdictions such as ROCOR-V, ROAC, RTOC, GOC-K, etc. Many years later, just prior to the ROCOR-MP union in 2007, many others fled to the recently established ROCOR-A aka ROCA under Met. Agafangel who recently became a sister church to the GOC-K this Spring 2014.

Communicate by phone and by email with clergy from these different True Orthodox Churches to see which one resonates with your heart, mind, and soul. Hopefully, these jurisdictions will put aside their very minor differences and become one. Or perhaps, Christ will come soon and we will be reunited in Heaven, our true Home.

Know that I will pray for you.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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сынок
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Re: Search for My Baptismal Priest

Post by сынок »

Hello Maria and a big Congratulation on your new position within the forum! Thank You for your response.
My question is more about Father Vinogradov's background. I need to find out if he was a 'Catacombnic' ? Or, maybe was he with the sergianists and got away to the west somehow? Did he leave Russia before the issuing of Ukase 362?
He was, I believe, in his early 80's at time of passing so he would most certainly been part of the Patriarch Tikhon, Czar Nicholas and collapse of the RO Church in Russia thanks to the Bolshevik takeover. Answers to these kinds of questions would mean the world to me.

In Christ
сынок

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Maria
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Re: Search for My Baptismal Priest

Post by Maria »

сынок wrote:

Hello Maria and a big Congratulation on your new position within the forum! Thank You for your response.
My question is more about Father Vinogradov's background. I need to find out if he was a 'Catacombnic' ? Or, maybe was he with the sergianists and got away to the west somehow? Did he leave Russia before the issuing of Ukase 362?
He was, I believe, in his early 80's at time of passing so he would most certainly been part of the Patriarch Tikhon, Czar Nicholas and collapse of the RO Church in Russia thanks to the Bolshevik takeover. Answers to these kinds of questions would mean the world to me.

In Christ
сынок

Perhaps you can write to the parish where he ministered.

However, different people might give you different answers based on their own church politics.

Thus you must follow your heart.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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сынок
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Re: Search for My Baptismal Priest

Post by сынок »

Maria ... your answer is absolutely correct.

The presiding priest went with the flow in 2007 and accepted the transition to MP. I called him today and left a message. I can only hope he responds. I've sent emails in the past 2 years but they were not answered. Emails to Russia only ruined my main computer by giving me the ransomware 'CryptoLocker' which forever made my files (including emails) unrecoverable unless I paid the $300 fee. One of my other programs tracked the sender to St. Petersburg, Russia ... oh well.

My heart has been wrong before therefore, for now, I will consider all worldly evidence.

In Christ,
сынок

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