Grass Lake, Michigan, October 28, 2020
Photo: Facebook
The Romanian Episcopate of the Orthodox Church in America was granted the title to the property to one of the monasteries in its jurisdiction earlier this week, bringing an end to a longstanding dispute with a deposed former bishop of the Episcopate.
“On September 23, 2020, the Hon. Archie C. Brown of Washtenaw County Circuit Court, Ann Arbor, Michigan, awarded The Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America title to the property of Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Monastery (a.k.a. Holy Ascension Romanian Orthodox Monastery),” the Episcopate reports.
This decision is in accordance with a March 19, 2019 decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals that ruled that Ioan Irineu Duvlea—the defrocked former Bp. Irineu who served as abbot of the monastery—and Adrian M. Lupu Leica, Sebastian Stefan Dumitrascu, and Dorian Canty have no valid claim to the monastery property.
Judge Brown decreed that the Episcopate holds the title to the property pursuant to a warranty deed recorded on December 27, 2011.
“This is a final order that resolves the last pending claim and closes this case. IT IS ORDERED,” reads the judge’s decision. Court records show that the case was ongoing at least since 2017.
It was announced in September 2015 that former Bp. Irineu was under investigation by the Office for Review of Sexual Misconduct Allegations of the Orthodox Church in America, at which point he was placed on Leave of Absence and not allowed to serve liturgically, pending the outcome of the investigation. The spiritual court held during a session of the Holy Synod on June 19-23, 2017, resolved to depose Bp. Irineu, returning him to the rank of a lay monk.
Monk Irineu refused to accept the spiritual court’s decision and the monastic community petitioned to be released from the jurisdiction of the Romanian Episcopate, after which the court battle over the property began.
On August 23 of this year, the monastery’s Facebook page posted message in honor of Monk Irineu’s name’s day, still referring to him as a bishop.
