« The Diocesan Assembly presented the Statutes of the Diocese of Sourozh »

On Saturday, 20 March, a meeting of the Assembly of the Diocese of Sourozh took place at the Cathedral of the Donmition in London. At the meeting, a new edition of the Diocesan Statutes was presented.

Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh noted in his report that the new version of the Statutes of the Diocese of Sourozh was based on the Model Diocesan Statutes of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted by the Holy Synod in 2007. The correspondence of the new edition of the Statutes of the Sourozh Diocese to the Law of the United Kingdom had been certified by British lawyers. Vladyka emphasised that “compliance with the Statutes adopted by the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church would testify our loyalty to the Mother Church”.

It was decided by an absolute majority of votes to present the new version of the Statutes of the Sourozh Diocese for adoption by the Holy Synod and approval by His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

A new version of the Model Statutes for the parishes of the Diocese of Sourozh was presented along with the new version of the Diocesan Statutes. This document is based on the Model Statutes for the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted by the Holy Synod in 2009 and has been edited to conform with local laws. It will serve as a basis for the Parish Statutes of the parishes of the Diocese of Sourozh.

According to the regulations of the current Diocesan Statutes, the second round of voting for the presented new edition of the Statutes of the Sourozh Diocese will take place at the next Diocesan Assembly meeting in 2 or 3 months.