ROCOR's coverup of abuser Archpriest Matthew Williams

Whatever the situation in ROCOR's handling of this crisis, the above information demonstrates that Matushka Elizabeth was not the cause of the delays that occurred. Prior to September 2024, she understood the situation to be the same as others thought it to be; she learned of additional misconduct in early September 2024, and she reported this to church officials no later than September 20, 2024, and pursued the matter with continued and repeated communication until the church took action on December 10, 2024.

According to local law enforcement, the church (as represented by Fr. Mark Mancuso) did not report any of this abuse, despite being obligated to do so. According to law enforcement again: it is a reasonable expectation to be able to make a single report (including to trusted church officials), minimizing the number of times that a victim must relive the trauma of abuse. The church's failure to report has damaged the legal case against Fr. Matthew, through no fault of the victims.

Which— and most of my indiscretions were just stupid and not really impacting anybody except me spiritually Which then impacts the whole family, right? but um But but they were certainly happening and they were extremely damaging. So by by 2012, I had a very numb conscience. But all the same, when that temptation came, and I acted on it, it did shock me, in a major way. Unfortunately, not in a way that got rid of it. So, it's an absolutely abhorrent thing. And so I understand when someone says, "You're vile, you're evil." I understand that.
And I actually had a crisis of faith of my own at some point, maybe in the mid...2016. Then I started to think, How? If the Metropolitan, Hilarion... But it didn't jive with the Metropolitan Hilarion I knew also, so it was this like disconnect, like if he's the saintly Bishop that I know him to be... how can he let me keep serving?

The church's handling of this situation has shifted over time, initially sending Fr. Serge Kotar to counsel the family to reconcile, followed by Metropolitan Nicholas directly instructing the family to "look forward and mutually build a strong family". The EA Diocese now claims, through diocesan media office executive editor Subdeacon Gregory Levitsky¹: "No one was covering for [Fr. Matthew]", as well as positing that the church investigated the allegations against Fr. Matthew promptly upon receipt, as opposed to Fr. Mancuso's statement that the church only learned of these allegations in December 2024. According to Levitsky, "I am defending the hierarchy and how they handled this situation".

Fr. Serge Kotar and Metropolitan Nicholas were made aware of the abuse in September 2024, and the church did not take action until December 10, 2024—only after the news of Fr. Matthew's misdeeds was public. Once the diocese was forced to take action, they attempted to excuse their delays by implying that Matushka Elizabeth was the one responsible for the delay in action. When asked about this, Levitsky simply said "The Church didn't hide anything. God forbid."

It is our hope that this page will help to clarify ROCOR's policy on dealing with sexual abuse. Clearly their formal policy is not followed. Levitsky has repeatedly claimed that these allegations were handled appropriately, which would mean the process includes instructions to reconcile with abusers, followed by months of silence, and finally retaliation against victims. ROCOR also believes it is appropriate to treat allegations differently based on the relationship of the accused and accusers. According to Levitsky, "it's important to note that this is all within a single family. That's crucial information. It's not like random people came forward, and they were penalized by being kicked out of the community." This claim is false, as Joan Furman, who also reported abuse by Fr. Matthew, is not related to the family, and was also banned from the parish.

UPDATE: Matthew has been released on bond, and is currently living with a female parish council member in Gray, TN. He is not allowed to leave the area. He owns and operates Damascene Press.

ROCOR is consistent

In another case of ROCOR sexual abuse, Fr. Boris Ignatievsky was suspended for telling his congregation that they must "not judge clergy" after Fr. Alexis Rosentool was convicted of sex offenses.

Apparently, this reflects common practice in ROCOR, since Fr. Mark Mancuso made a near-identical statement to the parish of St. Tikhon's in a sermon to the whole parish. According to a former parishioner,

We all got the vibe that he was telling us we had created an environment where Fr. Mark claimed that the parish had created an environment in which abuse could happen, and that the parish shared the blame for the abuse.

He acknowledged this statement in a phone call with a former parishioner, and attempted to couch his words. Listen:

Williams has now been arraigned in the state of Tennessee, where he faces two more felony sexual abuse charges. ROCOR has not yet made any public statement about Williams, and has not yet taken any action against him. The church has not even acknowledged the charges, despite the fact that they are public record.