We have not had a relationship with Mr. Brewer or his organisation since we relocated, nor do we wish to have one. Nothing that has happened since has led us to regret our decision.

Presumably this is a reference to the Brewers bringing in a Metropolitan from an entirely different Patriarchate to consecrate the Church. The congregation in Poole predates the acquisition of the church, and seems to always have been under the juristiction of the Patricarch of Antioch. Now if there is one thing the Orthodox do not like, it is meddling with juristictional boundaries, as the recent schism in the Russian Orthodox community demonstrated.

I do wonder how clued up the Romanian Orthodox Church is on the Brewer’s organisation. They must have had some involvement with its foundation: the choice of patron (St Stephen is revered in Romania), the fact that Metropolitan Josif was one of the trustees and consecrates their churches. But most Romanians I’ve spoken to have never heard of the organisation, and it seems very strange that the Metropolitan would knowingly have trespassed over juristictional boundaries. I’d be very interested to see how this develops, especially since the Brewers have just purchased another church in Bradford.