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Your Holiness, Patriarch Moses:
GREETINGS AND APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION, DEAR BROTHER IN CHRIST...
OUR BLESSED PATRIARCH!!!
I kiss your right hand with the greatest of respect!
So happy to hear about the decisions of the Holy Synod that was held in France. I
give thanks to my brother bishops who participated and were guided by the Holy
Spirit to confirm the teachings of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and that
of the Holy Apostles and the Biblical Teachings!
Yes, we are in total compliance with the Holy Canons of the Orthodox Church and it
is wise to allow married men to be consecrated to be bishops to help clean the Holy
Church from the sexual problems that are so apparent in many of the Orthodox
jurisdictions. This should be allowed and is a good choice by individuals. Let those
who can accept the celibate life do it...but, as St. Paul states..."better to marry than to burn!" Certainly, he was referring to the sexual sins that can be fallen into!
Yes, too, on the open door for deaconesses. You will find material on that on our
website www.orthodoxchurchofamerica.org and see that even the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of North & South America, under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, was
looking into this a number of years ago when Archbishop Iakovos was the Primate.
There is a specific place for good, holy women in this service. NOT FEMALE
DEACONS...but a special ministry that was just for women...that of deaconess. The
Great Church on Constantinople even had ordination ceremonies for this office. It
should be carefully explored and then implemented by following what Holy Church
allowed and did in the past!
Please, dear Patriarch, forgive me for not keeping up with you. I have had a great
amount of health problems with members of my family and financial problems with
secular employment. Please, keep all of this in your prayers and Your Holiness and
our Blessed Jurisdiction remains in my daily prayers.
God Bless You and my dear Brothers in Christ, the Bishops of our Jurisdiction...
+Michael,
Bishop of Columbus and State of Ohio UAOC-C
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