It is important to emphasize two principles which have guided the Church since the time of Holy Pentecost.

First, there is the understanding of subordination. The fullness of grace in the Church abides in the hierarchs who form an unbroken chain of Apostolic succession, and receiving the Grace of the Holy Spirit, pass it on from one generation of hierarchs to another. The essence of the episcopacy is collegiality, where each hierarch serves in accordance with the other hierarchs, and does nothing which might disturb the harmony of the Church. In the Russian Church this is calleds 'sobornost' .

In this collegial system every hierarch has his rights and obligations, and he is likewise responsible to all the other hierarchs so that his actions do not violate the oneness of mind of the Church and create a schism.

This means that every hierarch governs his diocese in accordance with the accepted canons, but he is responsible before his fellow hierarchs, who themselves comprise a Synod or a Council of the region or jurisdiction to which it belongs.

At his consecration, every hierarch vows to preserve the Unity of the Church. Departure from ones lawful superior to whom one is bound by an oath of loyalty, without a canonical release, is considered a violation of the canons, which are the laws of the Church, and therefore, uncanonical. The punishment for such a violation of Church discipline is suspension from serving, awaiting full repentance for the sin. But if the bishop ignores the suspension and continues his uncanonical actions, he is subject to a trial by his peers, and can be deprived of his hierarchal rank.

Such rules exist also for priests and deacons who unlawfully leave the jurisdiction of their hierarch, with whom they are spiritually bound through their priestly oath of loyalty. They are likewise subject to suspension from serving, and in the case of non-compliance, with defrocking.

The principle of Church subordination pertains to all clergy. Neither a patriarch, nor a bishop, nor a priest, nor a deacon, nor a layman can be above the Unity of the Holy Church.

Second, there is the understanding of schism.

Schism stands in opposition to the collegial governing of the Church, and in the words of the Holy Fathers, it is a 'rending of Christ’s garment.' Saint John Chrysostom strictly warns that the sin of schism is not washed away even with the blood of martyrdom. Therefore, any schism in the Church is uncanonical. Schism cannot be justified either by personal opinion or self-justification.

Clergy who neglect their vows of loyalty, given by them at their ordination, thereby rend the Garment of Christ. Their sin is made worse if they have led some from the flock of Christ into the schism. Lay people who being innocent souls, have trusted unworthy men, and have ended up outside the walls of the saving Grace of the Holy Church, are worthy of pity until the time of their repentance and turning back.

The evil enemy of mankind sows dissension and division in the Church in order to catch souls. In times of temptations a pure mind and a strong heart are needed in order to defend the Unity of the Church.

If this or that event leads a person away from obedience to his hierarch in search of new, sometimes exotic alternatives, this will always be uncanonical and illegal. If the actions of a man lead him outside the boundaries of the Church, that person is already outside the Church, and there is no other alternative. There is no list of Churches, for him to choose which one he likes. There is only One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, guided by the Holy Spirit.

Edited from: http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2007/4entikhon.html