Moscow Patriarchate
Moldovan Orthodox Church
Diocese of Ungheni and Nisporeni

To
His Beatitude Patriarch John X
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East
Patriarchal Residence
Balamand
Koura
Lebanon

2 April 2025

Your Beatitude, Patriarch John,

With all due respect, I would like to bring to Your Beatitude’s attention my humble position regarding case reference number 2024-02 of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland, whose verdict to depose Father Matthew (Ion-Valentin) Vulcănescu I wish to appeal. Opening my heart to Your Beatitude, I express the pain caused by the persecutions endured by His Reverence due to His Orthodox confession in these troubled times, where the truth is mingled with the lie of heresy.

Father Matthew (Ion-Valentin) Vulcănescu is well-known and respected throughout the whole Church for his unwavering confession of the Orthodox Faith, something that should be an honour for the Antiochian Orthodox Church. His Reverence is also highly regarded for His valuable experience in inter-Orthodox dialogue as a representative of the Metropolis of Piraeus (Church of Greece), as well as for his collaboration with prominent contemporary Orthodox theologians.

While we were analysing the decisions issued on 23 December 2023 and 16 March 2025 (case reference number 2024-02) by Metropolitan Silouan Oner of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland, we reached the conclusion that Father Matthew has been deposed twice from the priesthood, without any canonical basis. Furthermore, only a Synod of Bishops holds the authority to depose a priest, not an individual metropolitan acting alone.

Additionally, a fundamental principle of natural justice has been violated, namely that no one should be a judge in their own cause (Latin: nemo judex in causa sua). This implies that Metropolitan Silouan, being the accused party, cannot impartially judge his own case; thus, the deposition of Father Matthew is invalid and cannot be accepted. In this situation, there is also a conflict of interest, as Metropolitan Silouan has made decisions and undertaken actions against Father Matthew following the accusations of a dogmatic nature made against His Eminence.

Having carefully examined the Encyclical of 16 December 2023 and the document entitled “Canonical Resources and Policies for the Reception of the Heterodox” dated 9 January 2024 (Edition 1.1), issued by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland, it is evident that Metropolitan Silouan in fact endorses the baptismal heresy (established by the 1950 Toronto Statement of the “World Council of Churches” and quietly reaffirmed by the controversial Council of Crete in 2016). This is demonstrated by the fact that Metropolitan Silouan, through the aforementioned Encyclical, forbids the reception by Baptism into the Holy Orthodox Church of the heterodox who were previously “baptised” in their own denominations, thus implicitly recognising non-Orthodox baptism: “Those who enter the Holy Orthodox Church from heretical or schismatic communions, who are nevertheless baptized in water and in the name of the Holy Trinity, are generally received by Chrismation, since it is forbidden to baptize twice.”

Furthermore, the above mentioned document “Canonical Resources and Policies for the Reception of the Heterodox” contains serious theological errors, including the affirmation of the existence of the Grace of Salvation outside the Orthodox Church, the distortion of the definition of salvation and the incorrect interpretations of the terms economia and akribeia. Moreover, this document introduces a new canon which stipulates the excommunication of lay persons and the deposition of clergymen who receive a “corrective” baptism (that is those who are baptised Orthodox after having been received into the Church by Chrismation), thereby reaffirming the recognition of baptism performed outside the Orthodox Church (on the condition that it was performed “in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, with water by a church that professes a trinitarian faith”).

In support of Father Matthew’s position regarding the baptism of the heterodox, we bring to Your attention the book entitled “I Confess One Baptism,” authored by Father Professor Georgios Metallinos of blessed memory, written with the blessing of his spiritual father, Elder Parthenios of Saint Paul’s Monastery on the Holy Mount Athos, a well-known contemporary saint. This work demonstrates that Holy Orthodox Baptism cannot be substituted, altered, or completed by any other practice or formula. Thus, the application of economia regarding the reception of the heterodox—who have been separated from the Church for centuries—is unacceptable. The reception of them without Baptism, based merely upon mechanically invoked formulas, contradicts the Holy Canons and the teachings of the Holy Fathers. In other words, just because the heretics used the formula “in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” when they “baptised,” this does not mean that what they performed is an Orthodox Baptism.

The questions and positions expressed by Father Matthew and the community he shepherds are natural, legitimate, current and reflect the genuine concerns of any Christian with a living Orthodox conscience. In the letter to Your Beatitude dated 6 December 2023, Father Matthew also requested clarification regarding inter-communion with Monophysites who receive Holy Communion within the Antiochian Orthodox Church, yet there has been no response to date. Instead, the January-February 2024 edition of the St. Dunstan Antiochian Orthodox parish newsletter, Narthex, confirms that the decisions of the Holy Synod of the Church of Antioch in November 1991 are being put into practice and that there already is a long-standing custom of communing Monophysites within the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland. This demonstrates that Father Matthew’s concerns are fully justified and the issues raised should indeed be clarified.

Therefore, the actions and positions of Father Matthew are entirely canonical and Orthodox. In light of the fact that His Reverence continues to serve, He has acted correctly and in accordance with Canon 3 of the Third Ecumenical Council, and we recognize him as a priest of the Church and concelebrate with him. Father Matthew deserves honour and support for His courage in confessing the Truth, even while assuming significant personal risks. A potential defrocking of Father Matthew cannot be accepted by the Orthodox faithful but only by those who either do not understand or do not have the Orthodox Faith.

We fully stand with Father Matthew and are aware of the support that He is already receiving from other Metropolitans of the Autocephalous Churches, who are carefully analysing this situation and intend to publicly express their solidarity, to the glory of God. Even our Father, Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow, appreciates Father Matthew for His courageous public stand against the Ukrainian schism, and has personally congratulated Him for this.

We approach Your Beatitude with confidence, believing firmly that You will make a wise decision in conformity with the teachings of the Holy Fathers of the Church, as well as with the great contemporary spiritual fathers and confessors, who have always received all the heterodox into the Church through the one and unique Orthodox Baptism, such as Saint Porphyrios Kavsokalyvitis, Saint Augustine Kantiotis, Elder Ephraim of Arizona, Father Georgios Metallinos, Elder Parthenios (Abbot of Saint Paul’s Monastery on Mount Athos), together with all the abbots of the Athonite monasteries and other charismatic spiritual fathers of contemporary Orthodoxy.

Your Beatitude’s decision regarding this issue will remain in Church history as a testimony to the Orthodox Truth, which does not belong personally to Father Matthew, but to the entire Orthodox Church. We trust that through Your Beatitude’s pastoral guidance and spiritual discernment, peace will be restored within the Church, thus preventing significant disturbance at a pan-Orthodox level.

With all love in Christ,

 † PETRU
Archbishop of Ungheni and Nisporeni