THE
UNITY OF THE
Vladimir Moss
There can be no doubt that the main problem facing the True Orthodox
Church today is the establishment of unity in prayer between its various
jurisdictions. In view of the urgency of the problem it is surprising that it
is so little discussed in print. One reason for this is probably the sheer
intractability of the problem; another – the opinion that the solution is
actually is very simple: everybody must submit to such-and-such a leader or jurisdiction.
However,
where angels fear to tread Fr. Gregory Lourié has boldly stepped forward
in a four-part report for portal-credo.ru[1]. Of
course, it is ironical that this sower of heresy and schism should now be
discussing ways of achieving unity in the truth. But this should not prevent us
from examining his arguments, which, even if flawed, can perhaps help us to
come to a clearer assessment of the way forward.
Lourié does not look at the whole Church, nor even the whole of
its Russian part, but only those jurisdictions - some only in the process of
being formed - which derive their origin from the Russian Church Abroad: ROAC
(under Metropolitan Valentine), RTOC (under Metropolitan Tikhon), ROCOR (V)
(Bishops Vladimir, Bartholomew, Anthony and Anastasy), ROCOR (V-A) (Bishops
Victor and Anthony) and ROCOR (A) (Bishop Agathangelus).
I. Dogmatic Differences. First
he looks at dogmatic differences, and concludes, somewhat optimistically, that
while there is a dogmatic abyss separating True Orthodoxy from “World
Orthodoxy”, there are no serious dogmatic differences among the True Orthodox
jurisdictions.
(a) Cyprianism. With regard to
Cyprianism, Lourié notes that while ROCOR in 1994 officially accepted
the Cyprianite ecclesiology, and while there is still some sympathy for it in
RTOC and ROCOR (A), “in the True Orthodox Churches of the Russian tradition
Cyprianism has not found firm and consistent supporters”.
So that’s alright then… Or is it? Certainly, the general rejection of
Cyprianism in this group of Churches is to be welcomed. But it is worth noting
that the assumption that Cyprianism is a heresy in the full sense of the word
creates problems for Lourié’s approach to unity. For if ROCOR officially
accepted a heresy that is called Cyprianism in 1994, then according to the
strict, anti-Cyprianite ecclesiology, all those Churches that consider ROCOR to
have remained Orthodox after 1994 and to have derived their own existence from
the post-1994 ROCOR trunk – that is, all of the Churches under consideration
except ROAC - fell away into heresy with ROCOR at that time!
In fact, the further consequence follows that
if one considers a Church which officially accepts the heresy of Cyprianism to
be still Orthodox, one is oneself – a Cyprianite! For then one is forced to
accept that there can be heretics who are still members of the
As far as I know no bishop – with the single exception of the maverick
“Archbishop” Gregory of Colorado,
(b) The Gracelessness of World Orthodoxy. The
second dogmatic difference considered by Lourié is closely related to
the first: the recognition of the gracelessness of the Moscow Patriarchate and
the Churches of World Orthodoxy.
Lourié first congratulates the Russian True Orthodox that, unlike
the Greek True Orthodox, they have not adopted the so-called “switch off”
theory, “that is, as if by certain actions of Church authorities the grace of
sacraments could be ‘switched off’ suddenly. Glory to God, in the
Such a sharp contrast between the Greeks and the Russians on this
question is, I think, highly debatable. Moreover, the difference between the
“process” and “switch-off” theories, as we shall see, is not that simple. However,
let us continue with his argument.
“If we do not dispute that ecumenism is a heresy, nor that all the
church organizations of World Orthodoxy that confess ecumenism are heretical
communities, then we are all agreed that this leads to the loss by these
communities of the grace of church sacraments. There can be disagreements only
about whether to consider the process of this loss to be already completed by
such-and-such a period of time. At the same time, none of us will dispute that
it is impossible for the Church to produce a formula to calculate the ‘half-life’
of grace. The gracelessness of this or that community that has fallen away from
the Church is established only by ‘the expert path’ – through the consensus of
the Fathers, that is, the agreed opinion of the saints. I think that none of
these principles can elicit objections on the part of any of the True Orthodox
Churches of the Russian tradition.
“If that is so, then the difference in views regarding the presence of
the grace of sacraments in the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow
Patriarchate and in World Orthodoxy as a whole lies in the domain of economy,
and not dogmatics (where there can be no economy of any kind). In other words,
if anybody admits the presence of the grace of sacraments in the Russian
Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and this opinion is unjust, it does
not follow that this person is a heretic with whom there must not be any
ecclesiastical communion…”
On this basis Lourié suggests: “It is sufficient only to
anathematize ecumenism and define all the ecclesiastical organizations of World
Orthodoxy as heretical communities, ecclesiastical communion with whom is not
possible in any circumstances. As regards the question of the grace or lack of
grace of the sacraments of the ecumenists, this can be left to time to decide.
In a peaceful atmosphere undisturbed by unneeded polemics, the overwhelming
majority of the believers will themselves come to the correct conclusion.”
But what about the anathema against ecumenism of 1983? Is that not
valid? Why introduce a new anathema when the old one – passed under a leader,
Metropolitan Philaret, of undisputed authority – stands? And if the old
anathema stands, does it not anathematize those very people who consider that
there is the grace of sacraments
among the heretics, since they “do not distinguish the priesthood and mysteries
of the Church from those of the heretics, but say that the baptism and
eucharist of heretics is effectual for salvation”? So would not the new
anathema proposed by Lourié have the effect of contradicting the old
anathema, or at any rate of weakening it?
Lourié anticipates this objection in part when he writes: “The
anathema against the heresy of ecumenism produced by the ROCOR Council in 1983
turned out to be powerless to guard against this Church from falling into
ecumenism because at that time, in 1983, the Council described the sickness,
but did not indicate who were the sick – which left an open door to
unscrupulous re-interpretations that began immediately after the death of the
holy First-Hierarch Metropolitan Philaret (1985).”
Fair enough: but what is Lourié’s conclusion: that the anathema
of 1983 did in fact fall upon the heretics of World Orthodoxy, or not? If it
did, then the need for a new – and weaker – anathema falls away: in fact it
becomes harmful as casting a shadow on the validity and sufficiency of the 1983
anathema. If, on the other hand, it did not, then is not Lourié a “crypto-Cyprianite”
in that, like the Cyprianites, those “crypto-ecumenists”, as Lourié
calls them, he considers the heretics to be “as yet uncondemned”? The fact that no specific heretics were named
does not entail that no specific heretics were anathematized, both because
there have been many “anonymous” anathemas in Church history, and because, as
“I.M.” writes: “There is no heresy without heretics and their practical
activity. The WCC in its declarations says: The Church confesses, the Church
teaches, the Church does this, the Church does that. In this way the WCC
witnesses that it does not recognize itself to be simply a council of churches,
but the one church. And all who are members of the WCC are members of this one
false church, this synagogue of Satan. And by this participation in the WCC all
the local Orthodox churches fall under the ROCOR anathema of 1983 and fall away
from the
The
above, “strong” statement, relying on the conciliar definition of ROCOR’s 1983
anathema, and on the consensus of the great majority of the hierarch-confessors
of the Catacomb Church, is a sounder basis on which dogmatic unity among the
True Orthodox of Russia can be attained than Lourié’s weaker statement,
which while “walling off” the True Orthodox from the heretics of World
Orthodoxy, and while anathematizing them precisely as heretics (and presumably
by name), nevertheless refuses to say whether they have grace or not.
Lourié’s proposed anathema might indeed have been useful if there had
not already been an anathema against ecumenism, and if Cyprianism were now, as
in the period 1986-2001, the de facto (and, from 1994, the de jure)
ecclesiology of the Russian Church Abroad. But now the Russian Cyprianites (unlike
the Greek Cyprianites, who have proved firmer in the faith) have either died or
signed the Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate; so there is
no good reason why there should not be a substantial consensus for the stronger
statement among the hierarchs of the True Orthodox Church.
Instead of bringing to an end arguments about the faith, Lourié’s
anathema might give an excuse for their renewal. For if the question of grace
is deliberately fudged, and left, in effect, to the discretion of individual
hierarchs, then Hierarch X will receive penitents from the Moscow Patriarchate
in a strict manner, as not only heretics, but also graceless heretics, while Hierarch Y will be more lenient, arguing á
la Lourié that “the loss of grace is a process, and we cannot be
sure that it has been completed” - which will give the supporters of Hierarch X
the excuse to call Hierarch Y and his supporters “crypto-ecumenists” or worse.
In other words, the scenario of the Greek Old Calendarist Church after 1937
will be repeated in Russia – but with much less reason, because the leaders of
World Orthodoxy are much more obviously and deeply heretical now than then.
The important point is that, however we understand the process of the
loss of grace in a Church, it is not possible that the imposition of an anathema on the Church, if it is
accepted as valid and canonical, can be understood in any other way than that
the Church in question has lost the grace
of sacraments. Before the imposition of the anathema, there is room for
argument, for a diversity of opinions: after the anathema, there can be no more
arguing, the Church has spoken, the candlestick has been removed (Revelation
2.5), for that which the Church binds on earth is bound also in heaven. Dissenters
may argue that the anathema is not valid for one reason or another – for
example, because the hierarchs have not understood the essence of the question,
or because they are too few in number, or because only Ecumenical Councils have
the authority to anathematize. What they cannot deny is that if the anathema is valid, then those
anathematized are outside the Church and therefore deprived of the grace of
sacraments; for there are no sacraments outside the Church.
For
the zealots of True Russian Orthodoxy, the question in relation to the Moscow
Patriarchate has already been decided, for the Church has already spoken with sufficient
clarity and authority: first in the early Catacomb Councils that anathematized
it because of sergianism (it was on the basis of these anathemas that
Metropolitan Philaret declared that the Moscow Patriarchate was graceless
already in 1980), and then in ROCOR’s 1983 Council, which anathematized it
because of ecumenism. What is needed now
is not a new anathema that denies for itself the force of an anathema, but the
signatures of the new generation of hierarchs under the old anathemas. And if
further clarification is needed, that clarification should come only in the
form of specifying precisely those patriarchs who fall under the anathemas.
(c) Sergianism. Lourié says
nothing directly about Sergianism as a possible source of dogmatic differences.
The reason for that is simple: it is because Lourié himself is a Sergianist.
(And a Stalinist: we remember his famous “thank you to Soviet power” and his
statements: “I respect Stalin” and “Comrade Stalin was completely correct in
his treatment of the intelligentsia”.) Lourié’s Sergianism is
obvious from many of his articles, in which he describes even the
pre-revolutionary Church as “Sergianist”, thereby depriving the term of its
real force, and also from his Live Journal, where he writes most recently:
“It is necessary to recognize in general any authority whatever. It is wrong
only to allow it [to enter] within Church affairs.”[3] With
such a statement not even “Patriarch” Sergius would have disagreed, and it
differs not at all from the “Social Doctrine” of the Sergianist Moscow
Patriarchate as approved in their Jubilee 2000 Council. But it was rejected by
all the confessing hierarchs of the
In essence, the power of the Antichrist is both political and religious;
for, like the Pope, he combines in himself both political and religious
authority. Therefore one cannot recognize his power on the grounds that it is
“merely” political, and that “all [political] power is from God”; one cannot
say to the Antichrist: “I recognize you, but please stay out of my internal
affairs.” One has to anathematize it and treat it as an enemy to be resisted in
every way and to the limit of one’s strength.
But is this relevant now, after the fall of communism, the Soviet
Antichrist? Yes, for several reasons. First, Church life must be built on a
correct evaluation of her past history, otherwise those past conflicts will
come back to haunt us again. Secondly, the Soviet Antichrist is not dead, but
only wounded: since the year 2000, Putin’s regime has been turning the clock
back to the Soviet Union in many ways, making it more and more a “neo-Soviet”
regime that considers itself, and is, the “lawful” successor to the Soviet
Antichrist. Therefore the
II. Canonical Differences.
Lourié goes on to consider the canonical differences between the True
Orthodox jurisdictions, which, he says, constitute 99% of their mutual
accusations. He divides these into two kinds: those that relate to injustices
of one kind or another, and those which involve schisms, the break-up one group
of bishops into two or more sub-groups. The latter kind is the more important,
in his view, and therefore he concentrates on that.
He begins by pointing out that, apart from the Holy Canons of the Universal
Orthodox Church as published in The Rudder, there is only one Church
decree generally accepted by all that is relevant to determining the guilty
party in a schism – the famous ukaz N 362 of November, 1920 issued by
Patriarch Tikhon and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was on
the basis of this ukaz that the Russian Church Abroad based its
autonomous existence in the 1920s (although the ukaz almost certainly
did not envisage the creation of an extra-territorial Church on the global
scale of ROCOR), as did ROAC in the 1990s and RTOC in the 2000s. The problem is
that not only does the ukaz not provide any sanctions against
schismatics: it also fails to provide a criterion for determining who is
schismatical - for the simple reason that it in effect decentralizes the Church on the presupposition that a central
Church authority, in relation to which alone a church body could be defined and
judged as schismatical, no longer exists or cannot be contacted. In 1990s the
Synod of ROCOR in
With this conclusion (to his surprise) the present writer is in broad
agreement. (It is an interesting question whether a similar conclusion can be
drawn with respect to the
This might appear to be a dispiriting conclusion that can only lead to
chaos. However, chaos has existed in Russian Church life since at least 1937,
if not 1927 or even 1922; and it can be argued that ukaz N 362 was
composed in anticipation of that chaos and in order to mimimize its effects –
to control it, as it were, and stop it spreading and deepening. The tragedy of
the last twenty years has consisted not so much in the presence of chaos, which
has already existed for many decades, but in the misguided attempts to restore
order by unlawful means, by creating a Church centre that did not have the
sanction of a lawfully convened Church Council. The result, as pointed out
earlier, has been the creation of further chaos, as this artificial Church
centre, ignoring not only the Holy Canons of the Universal Church, but also ukaz
N 362 and even its own “Statute”, has expelled large groups of bishops and
parishes without even a trial or summons to a trial. This unlawful usurpation
of Church power has now received its just reward, as, suddenly feeling that its
own authority rested on sand, it surrendered itself and the flock that still
remained loyal to it to what it perceived to be the “real” Church centre – the
Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate.
But there is a silver lining to this cloud: there has never been a more
opportune time in recent history to convene that lawful Church Council which
alone can create a lawful Church centre having the power finally to resolve the
chaos within the True Orthodox Church. On this, at any rate, we can agree with
Lourié. The question is: is there the will to adopt this, the only way?
III. Politico-Economic Differences.
Lourié points out that the economic interests which have played such an
important part in the MP-ROCOR unia have played very little part in the
differences between the True Orthodox Churches – for the simple reason that the
True Orthodox Churches have very little money or property.
The only real difference has consisted in the fact that, early in the
1990s, the Suzdal diocese under Bishop Valentine tried to obtain a number of
churches, mainly in the Suzdal region, by legal representations to the
authorities, whereas the dioceses under Bishops Lazarus and Benjamin chose to
continue to serve, catacomb-style, in flats. Valentine had considerable success
early on in his drive, which was reflected in his larger number of priests and
parishes; but the cost, in terms of hassle and money, has been great; and in
recent years the MP has taken back several of the churches (the latest was the
church of St. Olga in Zheleznovodsk). In some minds this difference between the
“possessors” and “non-possessors” is connected with a more sinister political
difference, the inference being that Bishop Valentine was continuing to use his
continuing links with the (post-) Soviet authorities for base material ends,
whereas Bishop Lazarus was free of such contaminating links.
Not surprisingly (in view of his possession of an above-ground church),
Lourié backs the possessors in this argument. He makes the valid point
that it is not “dirty” to try to acquire church property, and that many
confessors have died in defending the property of the Church (e.g. the
thousands who were imprisoned or killed in 1922 for resisting the Bolshevik
campaign of requisitioning church valuables). Many people who might otherwise
be drawn to the True Orthodox Church are put off by having to worship in flats,
so the Church’s material possessions and buildings have a direct spiritual value in the gathering and
saving of souls.
Lourié ascribes the ROCOR-ROAC schism of 1995 to analogously
“spiritual” economic motives, that is, the need to defend the property of the
Church inside Russia against the threat to it posed by the “Act” of the 1994
Lesna Sobor, which proposed redrawing the boundaries of the Russian bishops’
dioceses in such a way as would have necessitated re-registering hundreds of
parishes and church buildings, which in turn would almost certainly have led to
the loss of most of those buildings to the Moscow Patriarchate. So the
insistence – by most of the Russian clergy – that certain changes be made to
the Act was completely natural and right. Of course, the motives of this
“economic warfare” on the part of the New York Synod led by Laurus and Mark
were purely political: to give them an excuse to expel the Russian bishops,
who, as they well knew, having burned their bridges with the MP, would never
have agreed to the Synod’s plan to unite with it.
IV. Psychological Differences.
Under this seemingly innocuous heading are concealed all the most intractable
differences lying in the path of the unification of the True Orthodox Church.
Lourié calls them “psychological” because he wants to emphasize that
they are not fundamental, and can be overcome if only the leaders of the
Churches would, if not dismiss their suspicions with regard to the other
leaders, at any rate take a more strictly pragmatic view of the profit to be
gained by communion with them – if they would demonstrate, in short, more Christian love. For one who, like the
present writer, knows Lourié’s complete ruthlessness and lack of
Christian love towards his ecclesiastical opponents, this lengthy sermon is
somewhat nauseating. However, suppressing such feelings, and trying to do
justice to the basic thought within it, we have to agree: if all the leaders of
the Churches, and all of us True Orthodox Christians in general, were to make a
determined effort to display more love towards our opponents, then all these
problems would probably vanish overnight. Provided
that this love is not sentimental and self-serving, and that justice and truth
are not lost along the way…
But the suspicion remains that Lourié’s concept of love does not
conform with such a proviso…
We noted, in the section on canonical differences, that Lourié
divides the canonical differences between the True Orthodox jurisdictions, -
which, he says, constitute 99% of their mutual accusations - into two kinds:
those that relate to injustices of one kind or another, and those which involve
schisms, the break-up one group of bishops into two or more sub-groups. In that
section he dismissed the first kind as unimportant, but did not explain why they could be so easily dismissed.
In this section, it seems, he is obliquely returning to these “unimportant”
canonical grievances and trying to bury them on the grounds that it would be
“unloving” to bring them up.
But, of course, many of these accusations are important. Is it not important whether Bishop X was, or was
not, a KGB agent - or a Mason? Or whether Bishop Y is, or is not, a homosexual
– or a thief? Or whether Bishop Z did, nor did not, ordain a divorced man for
personal advantage - or drove out another priest because he was a witness to
his crimes?
However, if bishops were allowed to raise accusations of this kind
against each other, the Sobor would probably not last more than one, extremely
bad-tempered hour – if it started at all.
The question, then, is: is the attainment of unity among the True
Orthodox so great a prize that we are prepared to sweep all such accusations
under the carpet? Lourié would probably reply: yes, for that is what
love demands. Let us examine the arguments for and against.
V. Arguments For and Against.
There can be no question that the attainment of unity is a very great prize –
probably the greatest that could be given to us in the present ecclesiastical
situation. Not the least of its blessings would be the creation of a Church
court that would be competent to judge just such accusations as we have
mentioned above and to make its verdicts stick – that is, be accepted by the
Church as a whole.
The first problem with Church courts in small jurisdictions is that it
is difficult to find a sufficient number of judges to meet the requirements
laid down by the holy canons. Thus according to the canons a priest must be
tried by six bishops, and a bishop by twelve. And yet how many trials
conforming to this requirement have been carried out in the True Orthodox
Church? Only one instance springs to the mind of the present writer: the trial
of Archbishop Auxentius (Pastras) of
The second problem is that it is virtually impossible to bring a
first-hierarch to trial in a small jurisdiction, because to the other bishops –
especially those who owe their promotion to him - that would be like putting
themselves on trial. The example of Archbishop Auxentius in 1985 again appears
to be the only significant exception. And yet even there a minority of bishops
refused to admit the right of the majority to bring their first-hierarch to
trial.
A
third problem is that those brought to trial in a small jurisdiction will often
refuse to stand before such a court, but will cite all kinds of procedural
irregularities and then “jump ship” and join another jurisdiction. Thus the
leaders of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in
All these problems could be avoided in a united True Orthodox Church with
a comparatively large number of bishops, few of whom owe their position to the
patronage of the first-hierarch, and from whose judgements there is no escape
in this life – except by fleeing to manifest heretics.
A
great prize indeed…
But let us now look at the other side of the coin. That is, let us see
the possible negative consequences of the convening of a Sobor of all the True
Orthodox bishops in the present situation.
A
hypothetical Bishop A: “At present I know my flock, and my flock knows me.
There is mutual trust and love among us. If I suppress my suspicions about
Bishops X, Y and Z, this situation will change – and almost certainly for the
worse. Several members of my flock joined me from the jurisdictions of X, Y and
Z. When they see me concelebrating with them, they will be dismayed, and
perhaps leave me. Nor will I be able to convince them by saying that Bishops X,
Y and Z, whatever their personal sins, are not heretics. They did not leave the
jurisdictions of Bishops X, Y and Z because they were heretics but because
their personal sins were so serious and so blatant that to remain in communion
with them would have been equivalent to becoming accomplices in their sins. But
now I, and they through me, am becoming complicit in the sins of these bishops,
in defiance of the apostle’s word: ‘Do not partake in other men’s sins: keep
yourself pure’ (I Timothy 5.22). They will feel betrayed, and I will
feel that I am betraying them, however much I argue with them, and with myself,
about the need for unity. In other words, the small-scale but real unity that
already exists will be undermined for the sake of a larger-scale, but weaker,
and even chimerical, unity.
“It is no consolation to me to argue that after the union, a spiritual court
binding on all the bishops will be in existence, and I will be able to bring
Bishops X, Y and Z to trial before this court. How can I rejoice in union with
them around the Lord’s Table on one day, and then accuse them of the direst
sins on the next? They will feel deceived, and perhaps with reason. They will
say: ‘If you fostered such suspicions against us, it was your duty to express
them, honestly and openly, during, and not after, the union negotiations.’
Moreover, they will refuse to allow me to be one of their judges. And the same
will apply to others of my colleagues who share the same suspicions about them.
“Let us recall what happened with our brother bishops in the
“Our Russian Church, after priding ourselves on being more stable than
the Greeks for many years, now have as many, if not more divisions than they.
This should be a reason for humility – and for caution. Let us learn from the
mistakes of our brothers and not repeat them out of a misguided feeling that we
are better than they…”
Conclusion: The Path to True Unity.
The arguments for and against seem finely balanced. On the one hand, the
commandment of love and the great prize of unity requires, as Lourié
rightly says, that for the sake of this goal we abandon personal prejudices,
dislikes and grudges, swallow pride and ambition, and give practical, visible
expression to the fact that we are indeed united in the dogmas of the Orthodox
Faith (although that dogmatic unity cannot include Lourié himself unless
he abandons the heresies of his that the True Orthodox are united in
rejecting). On the other hand, we must be realistic and accept that unity in
the truth but not in justice is an illusory unity which will fall apart
immediately a serious attempt to correct injustice is made. For what value can
a union of bishops have in God’s eyes if it is used by some to cover up the
most glaring iniquities? How can we say that “righteousness and peace have
kissed each other” (Psalm 84.10) if we win peace at the cost of
perpetuating unrighteousness?
The present writer has no ready solution to this dilemma. However, some
historical parallels may provide some hope.
First, the last True Council of the whole
So the Grace of God is able to work miracles even in the most
unpromising and intractable of situations so long as a critical mass of people
is present who want the miracle and believe in its possibility and are prepared
to take the preliminary steps to make it possible.
Secondly, there is the example of the First Ecumenical Council. The 318
bishops who were ordered to appear at
Although the idea of hoping in the appearance of a True Orthodox emperor
to solve the problem of True Orthodox unity is anathema to the anti-monarchist
Lourié, there can be no doubt that such a figure would greatly help the
achievement of that unity for which he argues. For history shows that emperors
have more than once provided the focus of unity for the Church when the
quarrels of bishops have threatened to tear it asunder.
Thus at the time of the Fourth Ecumenical Council St. Isidore of Pelusium
declared that some “interference” by the emperors (Marcian and Pulcheria) was
necessary in view of the sorry state of the priesthood: “The present hierarchs,
by not acting in the same way as their predecessors, do not receive the same as
they; but undertaking the opposite to them, they themselves experience the
opposite. It would be surprising if, while doing nothing similar to their
ancestors, they enjoyed the same honour as they. In those days, when the kings
fell into sin they became chaste again, but now this does not happen even with
laymen. In ancient times the priesthood corrected the royal power when it
sinned, but now it awaits instructions from it; not because it has lost its own
dignity, but because that dignity has been entrusted to those who are not
similar to those who lived in the time of our ancestors. Formerly, when those
who had lived an evangelical and apostolic life were crowned with the
priesthood, the priesthood was fearful by right for the royal power; but now
the royal power is fearful to the priesthood. However, it is better to say, not
‘priesthood’, but those who have the appearance of doing the priestly work,
while by their actions they insult the priesthood. That is why it seems to me
that the royal power is acting justly…”[5]
Such “interference” was justified, in St. Isidore’s view, because
“although there is a very great difference between the priesthood and the
kingdom (the former is the soul, the latter – the body), nevertheless they
strive for one and the same goal, that is, the salvation of citizens”.[6]
So the dream of a True Orthodox tsar – not a dream only, but a future
directly prophesied by several prophecies – is not only one more factor uniting
the True Orthodox, but the one that may be decisive in making that unity
visible in one Church jurisdiction. This is not to say that we can simply fold
our hands and wait for the tsar. Rather we must raise our hands and plead for
his coming – and later, perhaps, set about electing him ourselves. For, as
Archbishop Theophan of
Through this tsar, continues the prophecy, the heretical hierarchs of
the Moscow Patriarchate will be removed and a united
And
so our present disunity will be
overcome, difficult as it is to see the path to that end now. As St. Anatolius
the Younger of Optina said: “A great miracle of God will be revealed. And all
the splinters and wreckage will, by the will of God and His might, be gathered
together and united, and the ship will be recreated in its beauty and will go
along the path foreordained for it by God. That's how it will be, a miracle
manifest to all...”
Let us remind ourselves, finally, that we are talking about a true unity on the basis of the True
Orthodox faith, not the false ecumenist unity offered by the Moscow
Patriarchate. As Fr. Basil Redechkin writes: “In these 70 years there have been
a large quantity of people who have been devoted in mind and heart to
October 4/17, 2006.
Hieromartyr
Hierotheus, Bishop of
[1] http://portal-credo.ru/site/print.php?act=news&id=47905, 47947, 48065, October 12, 2006.
[2] “Iskazhenie dogmata 'O edinstve
Tserkvi' v ispovedaniakh very Sinodom i Soborom Russkoj Pravoslavnoj Tserkvi
Zagranitsej “ (Distortion of the Dogma ‘On the Unity of the Church’ in the
Confessions of Faith of the Synod and Sobor of the Russian Orthodox Church
Abroad) (MS) ®.
[3] http://hgr.livejournal.com/1147523.html,
[4] Translated in Nicholas Zernov,
“The 1917 Council of the Russian Orthodox Church”, Religion in Communist
Lands, vol. 6, ¹ 1, 1978, p. 21.
[5] St. Isidore, Tvorenia
(Works),
[6] St. Isidore, quoted in M.V. Zyzykin,
Patriarkh Nikon,
[7] Redechkin, “Rossia voskresnet”
(“