Posted by Leo on 5/14/2008, 9:39 pm
As transcribed by OCL:
"Alaska diocese struggle draws to a close as Bishop Nikolai steps down" - Kodiak Daliy Mirror
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May 7, 2008
By Ralph Gibbs
Mirror Writer
When this week comes to a close, so too will another chapter in the history of the Orthodox Church in America Alaska diocese.
In a May 1 interview with KTUU television in Anchorage last week, Bishop Nikolai Soraich said he would step down as diocese leader by the end of this week.
“I’m going to be leaving Alaska and taking some time to visit family and friends whom I’ve neglected for the last seven years since I’ve been in Alaska,” the bishop said.
The statement confirmed what many said after an April 17 meeting of the Holy Synod of Bishops in which Bishop Nikolai opted for a voluntary leave of absence.
Church leader Metropolitan Herman said Bishop Nikolai agreed to a voluntary leave of absence after hearing testimony from the Right Rev. Tikhon Mollard, bishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, and the Most Rev. Nathaniel Popp, archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America.
Many, including Mark Stokoe, who runs ocanews.org Web site where much of this battle was revealed, speculated Bishop Nikolai was given a choice, either accept a voluntary leave of absence or be suspended.
OCA chancellor Archpriest Alexander Garklavs agreed with the analysis.
“I would say that is an accurate statement,” Fr. Alexander said.
From savior
Bishop Nikolai wasn’t always controversial.
The North Star, an official publication of the Alaska diocese, said when Bishop Nikolai arrived in Anchorage in 2001, he did so “amidst great fanfare.”
It was hoped by clergy and parishioners that he would turn the diocese around from the mismanagement of the previous diocese leader, Bishop Innocent.
Bishop Nikolai wrote about that mismanagement in the summer of 2006 addition of The North Star.
“Five years ago, the diocese was in a troubled state,” he said. “There was disorganization, factionalism and low morale. The seeds of dissension were everywhere. I saw men who had grown up together, gone to seminary and even married into one another’s families, estranged.”
Bishop Nikolai said he also discovered that Bishop Innocent had petitioned the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia to receive him into their jurisdiction.
“The suspended bishop had promised that half the parishes would join immediately and within a year the remainder would follow,” Bishop Nikolai said.
When Bishop Nikolai first arrived, he did so as an interim leader. He formed his opinion on the state of Alaska during his tour and shared that view in the same issue of the The North Star.
“I had been in Alaska for nearly four months … some of those places were dusty, muddy, some had no running water and most had mosquitoes big enough to suck your last drop of blood!” Bishop Nikolai said. “Bishop Tikhon looked at me seriously and said, ‘You know, Alaska is the place that gives dignity to the Orthodox Church in America.’ My first reaction was to laugh.”
Bishop Nikolai said he suddenly realized Bishop Tikhon was talking about history and legacy and not muddy and dusty streets.
Although the reference was meant to relate the importance of the diocese to the rest of the Orthodox Church, it also revealed Bishop Nikolai’s opinion of Alaska.
Bishop Nikolai was coming to clean up the mess — and not just the dirty and dusty streets found in much of his diocese.
In his first two years as official leader, the bishop enjoyed a honeymoon as he set about putting the diocese to right. By most accounts, he did a good job.
The bishop talked about those issues in a February 2008 interview.
The bishop said that when he arrived in Alaska, there were three outstanding issues that needed to be addressed: the clergy, St. Herman Theological Seminary and the financial situation within the diocese.
“When I came here, there was literally no money in the bank for the diocese,” he said. “Everything had been taken and used.”
The bishop said many of the clergy were suspended.
“When I arrived there were only 26 priests,” he said.
In addition, the seminary was in disrepair and under threat of closing.
“We had walls falling down,” he said. “We had floors that you could knock your foot through.”
Bishop Nikolai set about making changes. He began by improving the finances of the diocese, repairing the seminary and increasing the number of clergy in the state.
He eventually opened up a museum in Anchorage.
To pariah
Although he began to set things to right, he did so with a leadership style that began to alienate clergy and parishioners.
Fr. Alexander wrote about that alienation in a confidential report obtained by the Kodiak Daily Mirror.
Fr. Alexander said the bishop’s rule was marked by “years of unrestricted despotism, unmitigated intimidation, capricious disciplinary acts, provocative leadership, ruthless humiliation of clergy and laity, deliberate rudeness, public denunciation of priests and servers, callous disregard of village elders and traditions, demonstrative and vocal insults during the divine services … and allegations of mental and verbal abuse.”
In an interview with the Tundra Drums last week, the Very Rev. Peter Askoar, a village priest, called Bishop Nikolai a racist.
“He has no respect for Elders, no respect for Native people,” he said. “They figured it out long before I did. There’s pretty much 40 Native priests, and they’re all mistreated.”
Even though many OCA members suffered these abuses, both Native and non-Native, they did so in silence, too afraid to come forward.
“Transfers can be abrupt and without explanation,” Fr. Alexander said in his report. “Clergy have been suspended for voicing opinions contrary to the Bishop’s.”
Fr. Alexander said there was a noticeable and consistent quality missing from Bishop Nikolai — a pastoral love for priests, people and the place.
“Bishop Nikolai appears to have neither love nor interest of the Native Alaskan Orthodox people. The continuation of Bishop Nikolai’s staying in Alaska seems impossible under the circumstances.”
Bishop Nikolai disputed that claim in several interviews and said he has nothing but respect for Native Alaskans.
Fr. Isadore gives another explanation for the dissatisfied clergy.
In the Tundra Drums interview last week, Archimandrite Isadore said it ultimately comes down to priests racked by alcoholism and feeling their way of life being threatened.
Bishop Nikolai alluded to the same in several interviews this year.
“When I came to Alaska, it was a pretty loose diocese,” he said. “They pretty much wanted to go where they wanted to go.”
The bishop said that he had to impose strict rules and now the clergy are acting like rebellious teenagers.
Despite his harsh leadership style since coming to Alaska, it wasn’t until this year that Orthodox Alaskans began speaking out against the bishop.
(contd)
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