Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago took part in an episcopal consecration for the Greek Old Calendarists on this day in 1960.
The 1923 Pan-Orthodox Congress in Constantinople discussed a reform of the liturgical calendar. Archbishop Anastassii (Gribanovksii) and Bishop Aleksandr (Nemelovskii) were invited to the Congress as representatives of the Russian Church. At this event, Vladyka Anastassii was careful and diplomatic regarding the calendar, explaining that he could not speak on behalf of the Russian Church.
Later, the Russian Church Abroad became more vocal regarding the revision of the liturgical calendar. However, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitskii) did not encourage Schema-Priestmonk Theodosios of Mount Athos to breach ecclesiastical communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In 1925, Metropolitan Anthony participated in the installation of the Romanian Patriarch Miron, who was already following the Gregorian Calendar.
When, in 1936, Archbishop Anastasii became a metropolitan, he continued helping the Russian Old Calendarists in the Diocese of Moldova (Romania prohibited services in Church Slavonic there) while refusing to consecrate the Old Calendarists in Greece. This status quo position changed in 1960, when Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago and the Romanian New Calendar Bishop Theophil (Ionesku) consecrated Archimandrite Akakios (Papas) for the True Orthodox Church of Greece in Detroit, MI. This act took place without approval from Metropolitan Anastassii and the ROCOR Synod. The Russian Church Abroad did not recognize the validity of this consecration until 1969.
Source:
Monk Benjamin (Gomartely), “Letopis’ tserkovnykh sobytii nachinaia s 1917 goda,” Part IV: 1950-1960 [Timeline of the Church Events Beginning with 1917].
