https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communion_of_Western_Orthodox_Churches Anyone know anything about them and their Holy Orders?
Looks like a microscopic denomination, some sort of French Eastern Orthodox community formed in 2007. I don't know anything about their holy orders, and given how small they are, it will be very difficult to establish with certainty that their holy orders are valid.
It feels like another little denomination that likes to LARP, dress up and play 'church' without a tremendous amount of authenticity. We should avoid the Revivalists on the one hand, and the LARP dress-uppers on the other.
I have to investigate Old Catholic and non-canonical Orthodox groups all the time. They often look to legitimize themselves by coming into communion with reputable Anglican groups. These groups do not take exactly the same form in Europe as they do in the Americas. The European groups tend to have a higher probability of having holy orders that might be recognized by someone outside of their immediate circle. Here are a few characteristics which are fairly common in these groups: 1. Lots of clergy, particularly bishops 2. Few if any laity outside of the immediate family and handful of devoted followers of the clergymen. 3. Little to no traditional church property. These churches are usually holding services in someone's garage or storage shed. 4. Destination ordinations. Since they don't have their own churches they'll rent out impressive historical buildings or wedding chapels to do ordinations. 5. The Orthodox groups tend to have only a modest familiarity with actual Eastern liturgical rites such as the Divine Liturgies of St. Crysostom or St. James. 6. Most of the clergy are people who had problems fitting into some other denomination. 7. Instant gratification, so to speak. By this I mean that ordinands are seldom well prepared. Also, people go to these groups because it's easy to advance in them. They attract the kind of person that can't be bothered to attend an RCIA class or a comparable catechumens program in a canonical Orthodox church. I tend to steer well clear of non-canonical Orthodox. They are usually very strange people. My own bishop's general rule is, if you are a bishop and you don't have a diocese with real churches and people, you are probably not someone that we are interested in working with.
Interesting. On the Orthodox Forum where this came up they seem to be a bit well received at least in the one thread I came across them. They actually had a priest from their group posting on there. I prefer to stick within traditional Anglican Churches when I can and if I have to go out of that I will go to an Orthodox Church
There is an Orthodox Church of France that was once in communion with actual Orthodox Churches, but St. John of San Francisco was pretty much the sole guardian of the Western Rite amongst the Byzantines, so after he died ties were unfortunately severed between them and the rest of the Orthodox world. The Communion of Western Orthodox Churches appears to be a separate vagante operation, but I could be wrong.