Epistle of the Governing Synod
Meeting of 26 January/8 February 2001
Having assembled for a regular session of the Synod of Bishops, we found it necessary to bear witness again to our inner unity and unshakable stand in the truth of the Church. We are alarmed by the discord which has drawn in certain parts of our ecclesial organism. In connection with this, we affirm that all of us, the members of the Synod of Bishops, presided over by our president, His Eminence Metropolitan Vitaly, unanimously stand by the decisions and statements adopted at the Council of Bishops, and we cannot agree with any attempt to introduce a spirit of doubt and disagreement into our midst.
Over the course of eighty years, we have sensed that our responsibility lies
before the fullness of the
It is not because we deserve it that we have inherited all the richness of the
The Constitution of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia itself
defines our existence and binds our activities with responsibility before the
entire
Reminding all the faithful children of our Church that it is essential not to submit to the attempts of the enemy of our salvation to rend the seamless garment of the Church, we call upon you all henceforth to stand firmly in the truth of the Church and to preserve the unity of love.
26 January/8 February 2001
Metropolitan Vitaly [signature]
President of the Synod
Members of the Synod
[signed:]
Archbishop Laurus
Archbishop Mark
Archbishop Alypy
Bishop Gabriel
Bishop Kyrill
Bishop Michael