PROTECTION OF
MOTHER OF GOD IN OTTAWA INC. 412
BOOTH STREET., OTTAWA ONTARIO CANADA K1R 7K8 October 15, 2010 cc. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia Your Eminence! You know quite well that our parish has been living without a permanent place of worship for many years and that we have been renting different premises, without having a chance of settling down. And all these years, instead of giving us a helping hand, you have been watching indifferently at all our tribulations and ignoring our pleas for help. As you
also well know, I have served the Russian Orthodox Church
for over 40 years and I have never sought any privileges
for myself except the one - to serve our
the church, the retirement residence and the Pushkin
cultural centre (housing 350 people) were all taken away
from us, even though I contributed my own money for their
construction;
on December 19, 2000, Bishop Michael (Donskoff) of the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russian on behalf of
the Diocese of Montreal made an illegal decision to
defrock me;
they started a smear campaign against me, which is still
going on;
burial places at the church cemetery, already sold to our
parishioners many years ago, were re-sold again;
much of our property simply "disappeared". The
missing property includes, inter alia, the altar
relics depository (for which I had been collecting the
relics for forty years), the corporal (consecrated by
Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and all Russia), many gold
crosses, but most importantly, my personal prayer book,
containing more than ten thousand names of the living and
departed;
my personal funds, which I lent for the construction of
the church, still have not been repaid to me. Who and what is behind all these actions against our parish? Why do all our attempts to get a clear and direct answer and have our property returned to us remain unanswered? No one has yet explained to their brothers in Christ the reasons for such an open spite and hatred. I humbly ask Your Eminence to let me know what sins and canonical crimes I, Fr. Dimitri Sever, committed, which resulted in my defrocking by the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. My only guess is that such injustices towards me and our parish were brought about by our decision to join the Russian Orthodox Church and to establish full Eucharistic and canonical relations and to get under the authority of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia. However, you and the largest part of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia signed the Act of the Canonical Communion in 2007, and, thus, followed our example. Can it really be that all these actions against me and our parish have been driven by hunger for power, avidity and diabolic arrogance? How much longer are they going to defame my honest name and disseminate slander and monstrous lies against me? How much longer do I have to wait for the return of the funds I lent for the construction of the church and retirement residence? I appeal
to Your Eminence and to the Synod of the Russian Orthodox
Church Outside of Russia, in hopes that you'll find the
spiritual wisdom and strength to deal with all these
issues. I hope that you will repeal the unjust decision
made 11 years ago and stop the humiliation of the sacred
title (conferred on me by the I also hope that Your Eminence and the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia will finally explain to me where our missing personal property is and when it will be returned to us. You have taken away our church, retirement home and the Pushkin cultural centre from us, but then return the money I spent on their construction. I ask you to conduct a full and honest investigation regarding our missing property and finally return it to us. I really
hope that Your Eminence and the Synod of the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside of Russia will give us objective
and honest answers instead of worthless dismissals. If we
do not receive an answer from Your Eminence and the Synod
of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia within
30 days, then it will be further proof of my innocence. I
will have to publish this letter in all media outlets in
North America and V. Rev.
Dimitri Sever |
