"THOSE WHO REFUSE TO COMMEMORATE THEIR PATRIARCH 
PUT THEMSELVES OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH" 

I remember the example of Jesus Christ Himself, who came down to abolish the Old Testament prototype divine service. Nevertheless, He, during all His life till the last moment, had participated in divine services being performed by Judaic clergymen, despite the fact that He sternly accused them. Holy Apostles had as well continued to attend the Jerusalem Temple for a long time, evidently till its very destruction in 70 A.D., even when the Christian divine service had finally been established. They had also participated in the already abolished Old Testament services and bowed their heads when High Priests or other priests blessed them in God's name.

The Church of Christ is Holy and Sinless. Until the Second Coming of Christ, however, only half of Her members, those who belong to the Triumphal Church of Christ, cannot sin. The second half, though, the Church Militant on the Earth, is striving for the salvation of sinners and does not reject or drive them out.

In the Earthly Church, God's Grace pours on all Her children maintaining communion with Her through the clergy of the Church endowed with Grace in the lawfully performed sacraments by lawfully ordained priests and bishops.

Each member of the Earthly Church enters into real, sacramental and grace filled communion with Her and with Christ Himself only through their competent spiritual father (pravomochnogo dukhovnika) under the condition, though, that the latter is in communion with the First Hierarch, who is recognized as such, by all the First Hierarchs of all the other Orthodox Autocephalous Churches constituting (making up) in their totality the One Holy Catholic (Ecumenical/Universal) Apostolic Church. There is no other way and there can be no other way for the grace filled (blessed) unity with the Ecumenical Church and with Christ Himself to exist except through this hierarchical chain.

The great hermits, even, who had lived for decades in the absolute solitude had always thought of themselves as holding onto this blessed hierarchical chain and at the first opportunity they hastened to take Holy Gifts that had been blessed by the Grace-filled servants of the Church. In the Church of Christ, Grace is outwardly pouring forth and salvation is achieved not by the clergy per se but by the Church Herself through Her clergy. The clergy are not creators of Grace - they are only dispensers of It. They are like the channels through which the Grace of God pours upon the faithful and without whom it is impossible to receive Divine Grace.

Hierarchs and priests are both ordained from the ordinary, mortal and sinful laity because of there being no saints here on the Earth. The clergymen, even those leading a shameful way of life, continue to remain the dispensers of Grace until such time when the lawful Church authority withdraws from them the sacrament of the priesthood and the blessed power to dispense Divine Grace and to bring to God's altar the prayers of the faithful. For the unworthy clergymen the Lord sends His Angel to perform the Holy Sacraments. The sacraments performed by the unworthy clergyman would be for the judgment and condemnation of such clergyman as well as for the Grace-filled blessing of those who accept them with faith.

There is only one circumstance of exception, and that is when a clergyman starts to openly and in public, from the church pulpit, to preach the heresy that has already been condemned by the Holy Fathers at the Ecumenical Councils. It gives not only the right but also even the obligation to every clergyman and layperson to break the relationship with such preacher despite his position in the Church hierarchy without waiting for the counciliar court.

From Church history we know of many cases when unworthy persons were in high positions, or when Patriarchs were heresiarchs. We also know, that the Ecumenical Councils, being convoked to discuss and condemn the new heresy, when sending the first, second and the third invitation to those heresiarchs to come to the Council, called them to the very end as "beloved in the Lord". Then, and only then, when those being invited refused after the third invitation to come to the Council, the Council declared anathema on them. Only from that moment on, are they and their sacraments deprived of Grace.

Take a look, for example, at the history of the Patriarchs of Constantinople in the 17th century. The Turkish sultans appointed the Patriarchs and they selected only those who were able to make the bigger contribution to the Sultan's treasure. Some Patriarchs held the Patriarchal title for a year, some for a few months, and some for only a few days. There were on the Patriarchal throne secret Jesuits and sympathizers of Protestantism. The Sultan used to remove one Patriarch for another only because the other promised to contribute more money to the Sultan's treasure. How fast and unexpected these changes would occur can be seen by the fact that from 1598 to 1654 there were 54 Patriarchs. What a temptation to the faithful!

The life of the Greek Christians at that time was of one continuous suffering after another. Nevertheless, they did not separate themselves from their pastors and bishops. They also did not avoid attending the churches where the names of Patriarchs, appointed by the Moslem Sultan, were commemorated. Among the Patriarchs of that time was St. Athanasius Patelarius who had been appointed three times to the Patriarchal throne after paying each time the appropriate amount of money to the Sultan's treasure. He reposed in the Lord in Lubna, Russia and was canonized as a Saint.

Also, what a temptation to the Orthodox Russian people was czar Peter the First's associate, the head of the Synod, archbishop Theophan Prokopovich, a drunkard and a womanizer. His tempting behavior could have driven some zealots into schism. Nonetheless, it had not been the schismatics, but those, who prayed in the churches where the archbishop Theophan's name was commemorated, who had remained in the Orthodox Church and received Grace and Blessings.

There are many temptations in our days as well. And despite of all the temptations we do not have any valid right to avoid being in communion with the clergy that are in the canonical relationship with Patriarch Aleksiy.

The current status of the church administration absolutely does not look like the one when the affairs of the Russian Church had been administered by Metropolitan Sergiy as a deputy to Metropolitan Peter and by his (the latter's) order (commission). When Metropolitan Sergiy declared that his authority had arisen from Metropolitan Peter's authority, and that he, Metropolitan Sergiy, was totally dependent on Metropolitan Peter, - then all of us recognized Metropolitan Sergiy as a lawful leader of the Russian Orthodox Church of which the first Hierarch still remained Metropolitan Peter.

Later though Metropolitan Sergiy openly declared, as it was stated in the Journal of Moscow Patriarchate (1933, #1, p.3) that he, "as a deputy of Metropolitan Peter, had not only the temporary authority of the First Hierarch but the Patriarchal Power as well". He also declared that Metropolitan Peter, our lawful First Hierarch, did not have the right "to interfere into the church administration or to even fix the mistakes of his deputy". As a result of this, a number of archipastors, including myself, considered that such appropriation by Metropolitan Sergiy of all the authority of our lawful First Hierarch, Metropolitan Peter, while he was still alive, released the Orthodox faithful from the subordination to Metropolitan Sergiy and to his Synod. I sincerely stated this in my letter to Metropolitan Sergiy after my return from exile in December 1933.

Having refused to participate in any church work under Metropolitan Sergiy's leadership, I nevertheless did not avoid from attending the churches in which the clergy subordinated to Metropolitan Sergiy conducted the divine services. I considered and still consider the harsh abusive judgments about so called "Sergianist" churches and about the divine services performed in them as "the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit".

The true zeal for the faith cannot be combined with anger and malice. Where there is a malice and anger, there is no Christ. There is only the inspiration of the dark evil powers. The Christian zeal should be with love, maybe with grief, and even with wrath, - but without sin ("be angry but do not sin"). The malice (anger) is one of the greatest sins. It is unforgivable sin, it is "the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit", the Spirit of Love and the Spirit of Grace. Metropolitan Kirill, the most ardent vladyka, while admitting non-attendance of the Sergiy's churches as a way of protest, nevertheless, condemned the abuses of the injudicious and unwise zealots. He said that he himself, in case of mortal need, would confess and take a communion from a Sergian priest.

At the present time, the state of Church affairs is absolutely different from the way it used to be under Metropolitan Sergiy. Metropolitan Peter, of course, is no longer alive. Nobody among us, neither laypeople, nor priests, nor even bishops - but only the first Hierarch of the Autocephalous Russian Church, can be in communion with the Ecumenical Orthodox Church. Those who do not recognize their First Hierarch remain outside of the Church. Let the Lord save us from this!

There is no other First Hierarch in the Russian Church except Patriarch Aleksiy. The all Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs recognize him, as such. All Russian bishops recognize him. And I do not dare to separate myself from him either.

Now, there are no commemorating and non-commemorating parishes. It was possible before, as a way of protest, not to attend the churches where the name of the lawful First Hierarch and the name of his deputy both together were commemorated. Now, the name of the Russian First Hierarch Aleksiy is commemorated everywhere. Maybe there is something in Patriarch Aleksiy's activities that tempts, disturbs and makes some zealots to be concerned, but none of these things deprive him or his subordinated clergy of Grace.

Patriarch Aleksiy and his associates do not preach any heresy condemned by the Fathers of the Church. According to the Church's Canons, this is the only valid reason to break communion even with Patriarch without waiting for a Church Court. No lawful supreme hierarchical authority has condemned Patriarch Aleksiy. So, I cannot say, nor do I have right to say that he is graceless and that the mysteries performed by him and his clergy are not real. This is why, when in 1945, while still in prison, I and those priests with me, who did not commemorate Metropolitan Sergiy, after finding out about the election and intronization of Patriarch Aleksiy, unanimously agreed, that since there was no other lawful First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church except Patriarch Aleksiy, who was recognized by all the Ecumenical Patriarchs, to commemorate him in our prayers as our Patriarch. And since that day, I continue to do so without any hesitation.

In regards to all the activities of the Patriarch and Patriarchate that tempt and bother the zealous ones, - it all sits on the Patriarch's conscience and he will answer to the Lord for all that. It is really scary to deprive ourselves of the Grace of the Holy Mysteries just because of something that tempts and bothers us, which in reality is often totally different from what it seems.

So let us not separate ourselves from the Church, let us heartily pray to the Lord that He would make Patriarch Aleksiy wiser and that He would help him and all those at the Church helm to rightfully divide the word of truth. Let us also pray to the Lord that He would teach and edify us to behave in such a way, that we would not act against our consciences, that we would not sin against the unity of the Church, and that we would stay away from the multiplying of temptations in the Church.

I call down God's blessing upon you.

Save yourselves in the Lord.