Archdiocesan Assembly Postponed Until November

The General Assembly of the Archdiocese of Russian Churches in Western Europe, scheduled for March 30 , was reformatted by the Locum Tenens of the Exarchate, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, into an informal conference, without the right to make decisions, as planned. About 200 delegates gathered, half clergy, half lay, from all over the diocese: from France itself, Holland, Sweden, Great Britain. The discussion, according to eyewitnesses, was lively, but peaceful. The meeting lasted from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Many issues were discussed: in particular, Metropolitan Emmanuel once again rejected the proposal to amend the Charter, however, until November, the Charter is suspended. Based on the discussion, the Council of the Archdiocese will draft a letter to the Patriarch. The topic of electing a vicar bishop to assist Emmanuel was not raised at the meeting; Emmanuel remains as temporary exarch (with powers that are not fully clarified), but continues to repeat that he will leave in November and that the annexation of the Archdiocese is not planned.