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THE MESSAGE OF THE RUSSIAN CLERICS OF
ROCOR TO THE BISHOPS' COUNCIL OF ROCOR.
THE COMMENTARY.
The
message to the forthcoming in October Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox
Church outside of Russia (ROCOR) is published on the web-page of the 'Vestnik
IPC' magazine, edited by His Grace Agaphangel, the Bishop of Simferopol
and Crimea (ROCOR).
As the authors of the Message note, the complicated organizational problems which must be solved by the Bishops' Council, should be considered in the context of 'the general opinion of the Church about the main questions of today's situation in the Church. This opinion has been voiced in the recent Address of the Bishops' Synod of ROCOR to the Russian people. We can't judge whether the members of the Moscow Patriarchate sympathetically responded to this Address, but we, the faithful of ROCOR, fully support it.'
The Moscow Patriarchate (MP) has turned into a chief temptation for ROCOR for the last years. 'It has shown sort of noticeable revival for the last ten years since the fall of Communism; at the same time it has crystallized its own position and its own attitude to our Church has taken shape.' The authors of the document characterize MP as a 'criminal-marketing religious make-weight to the criminal-marketing godless state.' It is noted in the Message that 'the main feature of the MP leadership now is not the turning false doctrines and old sins into dogmas, but total indifference to any principles, except the principle of its own material well-being. It's no coincidence that the secular press calls Patriarch Aleksy 'the most stable public figure' of the last decades. Power in Russia is shared by various anti-Christian political forces, and MP is on good terms with all of them: Communists, Democrats, leading parties and any opposition. Both Muslims and Judaism followers, and other enemies of Orthodoxy loudly praise 'His Holiness' as a model Christian.'
In the authors' opinion MP "loves IPC ('True Orthodox Church')" as wolves love sheep, and night-hawks love pigeons.' The Patriarchate aims to eliminate us as a religious formation in all parts of the world. 'Red priest' made it where Soviet tank hadn't reached, so that to take in hand our churches through the local authorities, fool our parishioners and lie, lie to the whole world, posing as a Russian Orthodox Confessor, who had been suffering for faith in Christ for many years. The authors of the Message emphasize that now this policy of MP is shared by almost all its clergymen and laymen : 'Having continually repeated lies, the liars now believe in them themselves. They sincerely regard their Patriarchate as Church-Martyr, and everyone who disagrees -as dissenters and traitors to Orthodoxy.'
In the Message they call not to fall into despair because of the seeming minority of the followers of ROCOR, as 'the majority of the people may break away from its roots, traditions and leave their predestined way. In this case not to join the society of apostates means to be faithful to one's own people.' In the authors' opinion the rightness of this way is proved by the fate of White Guards Movement: 'When it became clear that most of the Russian population would fight neither for faith, nor for the Tsar and nor even for the 'united and indivisible' Motherland, then the Whites chose to leave Russia or even lose their lives, but not to join the ranks of builders of the new world. The 'red idea' of the Patriarchate in its modern interpretation, on the contrary, comes to the statement that it is the way of the majority of the people at present, irrespective of where and under what influence they head for, which is the predestined way of the nation. From the standpoint of the Patriarchate any principle can be sacrificed and any lie is permissible in the name of the highest value called 'the Church benefit.'
'However, today even the faithful of ROCOR face the choice between 'red' and 'white' paths...Today it has become definitively clear that the majority that call themselves Orthodox, don't need any Church Abroad, don't regard White Movement or the history of ROCOR to be lofty and worthy. The majority needs the Church which sells everything : cigarettes, chickens' legs, Holy Sacraments, canonization of New Martyrs, theology of ecumenism and modernism, or, just the opposite - conservatism. They need a church, that will offer any commodity, which is on demand and will exchange it for its 'church benefit'.
At the same time the authors of the Message show exceptional optimism. They reckon, that 'in spite of its weakness and internal conflicts, on the whole ROCOR remembers its origin and 'spiritual roots', and this gives it the advantage of correct orienting in the maze of relations between the State and Church. On the whole ROCOR 'maintains its essence'. During these years ROCOR in its present membership has proved to be capable to discern both 'left' and 'right' parties, not giving in to the lies of the Patriarchate or the temptations of 'very right groupings.' They believe that ROCOR will overcome all dissensions, resist all temptations and will remain itself, whoever and wherever would break away from it. We wish our Bishops, who have addressed the Russian people, hear of the unanimous approval at least of their own parishioners.'
The authors of the Message
call to the Right Reverend Masters of ROCOR not to be discouraged by 'the
thought, that entrusted to you clergymen and laymen have become absolutely
indifferent to Truth and only seek quiet existence, incapable to sacrifice
anything for Church and Truth, and therefore, your address is will be the
'voice crying in the wilderness'.' The clerics who wrote this document
are 'ready to the new stage of persecution, as they are familiar with the
rapacious and indomitable spirit of persecutors.' The authors of the Message
assure the Bishops : 'Leading your flock the road of patience and meekness,
faithfulness and integrity, you will find strong support with us.'
THE
COMMENTARY
The main aim of the so-called
'Message of the clerics of ROCOR to the Bishops' Council of ROCOR' is obvious
- by fair means or foul not to let the unification of the artificially
separated Church take place, despite the fact that the time is ripe for
it. The church people look forward to it with impatience.
The provocative nature of the 'Message' is absolutely obvious. It is witnessed not only by the slogans, solemnly proclaimed by its authors. It is witnessed by the very tone of the 'Message', which by its undue familiarity can rival the most malicious publications about the Church in Russia. It's hard to imagine clergymen speaking like this, rather one would think of the political forces, which are interested in preserving the existing separation by any means. Even the most unbridled anti-Christian mass media haven't dared call the Church 'the criminal-marketing religious make-weight'.
The authors of the document also talk of the Moscow Patriarchate's 'total indifference to any principles', not taking into account (or not wishing to do it) the decisions of the last Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Cursory acquaintance with the 'Social conception of the Church', adopted at the Council, is enough to see barefaced lie of the authors of the 'Message'. For instance, the words of the probability of the 'peaceful civil insubordination' to the State exclude the possibility of accusing the Russian Orthodox Church of 'sergianism'.
All the other insinuations of the authors of the 'Message' are equally absurd. The unfounded accusation against the Russian Orthodox Church of wishing 'to take away our churches' looks really strange, especially if we remember that it was the leadership of ROCOR that in 1990 took the unprecedented decision to open its parishes and dioceses on the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The bombastic talk of 'Soviet tanks' and 'red priests' are particularly disgusting voiced by the authors. As if it had been not the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church - bishops, priests and laymen, thousands of whom died in concentration camps and jails, endured persecution, physical and moral genocide. As if not our Church has glorified the best of them as New Martyrs, having witnessed their feat. And the last event is regarded as the most dangerous by the authors of the Message.
Indeed, the fact that there was no canonization of the New Martyrs, and the Tsar family in the first place, in the Russian Orthodox Church, has always been proclaimed the main and last obstacle to the reunion of the two parts of the Russian Church. Now, when the long expected glorification has taken place, supposedly there are no reasons for separation. That is why the creators of the 'Message' are driven into a fury, that is what makes them say the blasphemous words about the 'selling … canonization of St. New Martyrs'.
The 'Message' may serve the Bishops' Council really badly. If after the elimination of the last obstacle, after the canonization of the Emperor's Family and New Martyrs of Russia, the Synod of ROCOR doesn't meet the wishes of the Russian Orthodox Church, it will have the only explanation : that all the statements of the leadership of ROCOR have been and will be shallow demagogy, bluff and empty gestures.
In conclusion we would like to repeat the words of his Holiness Patriarch Pimen said in September 1974 in his greeting to the 3rd Council of the Bishops, clergy and laymen of ROCOR: 'The Russian Orthodox Church has nothing against its flock that broke away from it. However it considers it to be its duty to remind to those of its flock who have armed against it, that they have embarked on the path of spiritual danger…enmity and hatred, which destroy spiritual grace...'
Orthodoxia 2000