Metropolitan Jonah, who recently resigned as the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, was asked to quit or enter a treatment program because he did not report an alleged rape by a priest under his charge to fellow church bishops or the police when he learned of it in February, the top governing body of the Orthodox Church in America said on Monday.

In a statement, The Holy Synod of Bishops of the OCA said Metropolitan Jonah refused to follow its policies and legal advice in dealing with cases of sexual misconduct. The synod did not say when it learned of the alleged rape. As recently as May 7, the Holy Synod, with Metropolitan Jonah who is the ex oficio chairman, met in Michigan for its Spring session.

"We have started an investigation into the rape allegation, and cannot assume whether the allegation is true or not. We only know that earlier allegations of misconduct by this priest were handled by Metropolitan Jonah in a manner at a complete variance with the required standards of our Church," the Synod said.

The bishops said Metropolitan Jonah "unilaterally accepted into the OCA" the priest in question.

Metropolitan Jonah, who tendered a resignation letter written on July 6, said in it that he "had come to the realization long ago that I have neither the personality nor the temperament for the position of Primate" and "beg forgiveness for however I have offended you, and for whatever difficulties have arisen from my own inadequacies in judgment."

The Synod also denied Internet "rumors" that the reason for his departure was over "culture wars" or conflicts about moral and political views between the Metropolitan, the Synod and other church leaders.

"Such views have never been a point of contention in Holy Synod or Metropolitan Council meetings," they wrote. "These issues were discussed, and statements and actions of the Holy Synod have demonstrated their unchanging position on traditional Orthodox views of morality."

Metropolitan Jonah, born James Paffhausen, became chairman of the Holy Synod of Bishops in 2008 in the wake of a debilitating financial scandal at the church's highest levels.

When he came into his position in 2008, he had been a bishop for ten days and was seen as untainted by a multi-million dollar scandal which uncovered corruption within the church, including that of two previous Metropolitans.

During his tenure, he sought to serve in an effort to restore accountability to the leadership position.

The bishops said Metropolitan Jonah is currently drawing his full salary and benefits until October, when the Holy Synod meets again.

Synod Explains Resignation Request

The bishops said they had not issued specifics when the Metropolitan's resignation was announced "in a desire to preserve his dignity and to prevent further harm to an innocent party." They said the Metropolitan's statements in the time since his resignation have demonstrated he has not accepted responsibility for his "actions and failures to act."

The Synod said the "final matter" that caused them to request that Metropolitan Jonah resign or take a leave of absence and enter a treatment program involved his "poor judgment in critical matters of Church governance, lack of adherence to [Standards and Procedures on Sexual Misconduct] PSPs, and the risk of serious harm to at least one other person."

The bishops said Metropolitan Jonah, who also held the position of Archbishop of Washington, learned in February 2012 of an alleged rape of a woman in 2010 by a priest under his charge. They said he did not investigate, tell other bishops, nor notify the Church's lawyers. They said this did not follow the mandatory, non-discretionary PSPs of the Church. They said the alleged victim did report the matter to police.

The bishops said Metropolitan Jonah counseled the priest to pursue a military chaplaincy without informing the military recruiter of any of the priest's problems. They also said the Metropolitan attempted to transfer the priest to other Orthodox jurisdictions, telling jurisdictions there were no canonical impediments against it, but ultimately decided not to.

In addition, the bishops said that as recently as last week, Metropolitan Jonah "was regularly communicating with one of those who tried to discourage the reporting of this crime by the alleged victim and her relative."
The bishops said they are investigating the allegation "and cannot assume whether the allegation is true or not.

Years of Discord

The OCA also outlined other unspecified incidents and "unilateral" actions by Metropolitan Jonah which went against advice.

"[T]here has existed for several years now a repeated pattern by Metropolitan Jonah of taking other unilateral actions that were contrary to the advice of the Holy Synod and/or the Church's lawyers, which prolonged or caused litigation involving the OCA, which substantially increased legal fees, which created confusion in negotiations, and which exposed the OCA to otherwise avoidable additional financial and legal liability," the bishops wrote.

In the statement, they Metropolitan Jonah has withheld information from fellow bishops and Church lawyers on litigation matters, has spoken unilaterally and provided sensitive information to opposing lawyers and parties and has given a detailed Synodal report "concerning numerous investigations into sexual misconduct, risking leaks of names of alleged victims and alleged perpetrators."