Intercommunion with the Episcopal Church during WW 1 & II

[Ephrem]

St. Tikhon is certainly a saint.

It is important to realize that there was no idea of "ecumenism" at this time. It cannot possibly be said that St. Tikhon was an ecumenist. He was very strict in his confession and completely understood Orthodoxy and its importance. He died for the faith.

Also, at that time the Anglicans (and consequently the Episcopalians) and the Old Catholics were very interested in Orthodoxy. It seemed very possible that many large groups of Anglicans and Old Catholics might enter the Orthodox Church. This was not the result of ecumenism or "joint-theological dialogues", but merely an interest on the part of western-traditional Christians in the Orthodox Church. St. Tikhon, as a missionary, wanted to help facilitate such an interest in Orthodoxy. But he was by no means an ecumenist, that is, he did not believe that they were somehow also part of the Church.

Ultimately, though, the Anglicans and the Old Catholics did not join the Orthodox Church en masse. It is interesting that shortly after this both of those Churches became very liberal and grew further and further away form a traditional Christian understanding. The Anglican Church, for instance, now allows women priests and homosexual bishops. So they were given a chance to embrace Orthodoxy, but when they rejected it, they went off the deep end immediately.

In the caption of the picture above, it even points out that the Orthodox representatives are not dressed liturgically, as participants, but are there merely in their casual wear.

[Maria]

St. Tikhon is certainly a saint.

It is important to realize that there was no idea of "ecumenism" at this time. It cannot possibly be said that St. Tikhon was an ecumenist. He was very strict in his confession and completely understood Orthodoxy and its importance. He died for the faith.

Also, at that time the Anglicans (and consequently the Episcopalians) and the Old Catholics were very interested in Orthodoxy. It seemed very possible that many large groups of Anglicans and Old Catholics might enter the Orthodox Church. This was not the result of ecumenism or "joint-theological dialogues", but merely an interest on the part of western-traditional Christians in the Orthodox Church. St. Tikhon, as a missionary, wanted to help facilitate such an interest in Orthodoxy. But he was by no means an ecumenist, that is, he did not believe that they were somehow also part of the Church.

Ultimately, though, the Anglicans and the Old Catholics did not join the Orthodox Church en masse. It is interesting that shortly after this both of those Churches became very liberal and grew further and further away form a traditional Christian understanding. The Anglican Church, for instance, now allows women priests and homosexual bishops. So they were given a chance to embrace Orthodoxy, but when they rejected it, they went off the deep end immediately.

In the caption of the picture above, it even points out that the Orthodox representatives are not dressed liturgically, as participants, but are there merely in their casual wear.

Thanks for this information.

Indeed, there was a lot of missionary activities going on in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. St. Alexis Toth comes to mind. In 1891, the Russian Bishop of San Francisco received Father Alexis Toth and his former Eastern Catholic congregation into the fold of Holy Orthodoxy.

[Maria]

Bishop Tikhon Fitzgerald of the OCA has posted some interesting information about St. Tikhon.
The bolding found in his post is my emphasis.

Apparently, St. Tikhon tried to impose the New Calendar but his synod overrode him.

• Bishop Tikhon (Fitzgerald) says:
  October 3, 2012 at 6:44 pm
  It’s my conviction that this sentence is nonsense: “That was exactly the reason that St. Tikhon, the Patriarch of all Russia, and the Holy Synod, had planned in 1917 to put the Liturgy into modern Russian: to conform to the Scripture, “Let every man hear in his own language”.
  First, the Patriarch of All Russia and the Holy Synod planned NOTHING in 1917.
  Second, Saint Tikhon, before his election, was chairman of the pre-conciliar commission on liturgics. Every single recommendation considered by St. Tikhon’s commission was disapproved by him except only the recommendation to correct the calendar. He remained true to his convictions, and tried twice to impose the “new calendar” after his election, unsuccessfully.

  http://www.monomakhos.com/timeline/#comment-36511

  And NO ONE, not the Patriarch, not the Synod, not the Council ever approved a Council of the Church of Russia anything like the All-American Councils of the OCA. As a matter of fact, at the 1917-18 Council NO parishes at all were represented save the Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin: only dioceses and institutions were represented, and there was no attempt whatsoever to “balance” “lay” and “clergy” representation. What an idea!

  As for Quaker English: they used “thee” indiscriminately”, even where thou was correct! They used such grammatical absurdities as, “That’s what thee thinks!”

  One writer points out that the KJV was written at a time when even a committee could write good English, while another (T.S. Eliot, no?) said that the RSV was concocted by men who didn’t know they were atheists.

  The worst thing about dispensing with the personal 2nd person pronoun was in cases like the “hospitalilty of Abraham” where three Angels visited him, and he sometime addressed them as “you” and sometimes as ‘thou”, providing a grammatically clear hint that the Angels were the Trinity….

  The KJV is STILL the default Bible for most of Protestant Evangelical America, particularly in the South.
  Billy Graham, one of the greatest communicators of our time, used to extemporize his prayers at the drop of a hat in vintage KJV English. I still recall his long prayer at Nixon’s burial…how those thees and thous rolled off his fluent lips and tongue, involving all, Christian or not, in his language!

[jgress]

I would probably check up on any claims this Bishop makes. He doesn't sound like he possesses a particularly balanced and sober mind.

[Barbara]

Yes, I am really not sure about this retired BIshop Tikhon of the OCA.

I happened to have caught the last few lines of that post. It looked uninteresting, so I didn't bother to see
who it was or read the rest.

This nearly 80 year old retired bishop has a keen mind still, and a way with words.

But his opinions seem from what little i saw to be very standard OCA : pro Moscow Patriarchate
and pro- ROCOR union with Moscow's incorrect "church".

Anyone know more about him? I am curious because he seems colorful and full of facts.

Certainly, he is more sane than the rest of The Cult of Jonah Crew who while away hours of time
composing petitions to have the questionable hierarch REINSTATED !
It seems absurd to me.

I don't know much about OCA affairs. I learned most of what i know from reading between
the lines over at that site.

What should the OCA do actually? It is too liberal to be interested in True Orthodoxy.

[jgress]

His general tone on the Indiana Orthodox mailing list is sarcastic and confrontational, coupled with I think a little bit of senility and failure to grasp details. For all I know he's a pious man, but that aspect of him doesn't come across in his writing. Plus, he's in the OCA and probably has an agenda. It would suit the World Orthodox very nicely if it turned out one of our saints was trying to force the new calendar on the Church. But I'd rather hear it from another, more trustworthy source.

[Barbara]

That's a really good description of his manner of communicating.

I am faintly curious as to what his agenda is, actually.

And also what his attitude toward ROCOR in its pre-union days was.

All that i know about him is that he wasn't too interested in visiting his parishes -
someone said this. He would do the bare minimum, attending patronal feast days.
But seemed reluctant to be more involved. I am not sure whether that is true, too.

It would fit with his incredibly active Internet postings, however. Maybe more
of a reclusive type ? He was Irish Catholic, I know, which is usually more outgoing
or happy-go-lucky.

I had no idea he was on that Indiana list. He seems to be everywhere !

[Maybe he will show up HERE - next !!]