It is sensible that the MP parishes are more Russian than many OCA parishes -- after all, many OCA parishes are not *Russian* in background, really. The OCA is a mixture of (1) Carpathian Orthodox, (2) some Ukranian Orthodox, (3) some Russian Orthodox, (4) smaller groups of Romanian, Serbian and Bulgarian Orthodox and (5) a large group of parishes without any ethnic basis, many of which have been formed since 1970. There are some churches in OCA that are *very* Russian indeed, like St. Nicholas Cathedral in DC ... and others that are not Russian at all. The MP exarchate, on the other hand, like ROCOR, is self-identified "Russian", whereas OCA is not.
It is unfortunate that the schism between the MP and ROCOR continues. As we have discussed before, this has to do with the tensions within ROCOR itself (the anti-communist wing vs. the anti-ecumenical wing), together with the continued presence of Bishops in the MP who were communist proteges. Over time, the episcopal demographics of the MP will certaingly change, and this will be welcomed by many people. The real question, though, is what will happen in ROCOR -- will the anti-ecumenical wing or the anti-communist wing win out.
Brendan
