For some
— “the Body of Christ,” for others — “burning coals”
Source: Анафема РПЦЗ экуменизму:
факты и значение (Новая редакция) [The Anathema of ROCOR Against Ecumenism:
Facts and Significance (New Edition)], by Subdeacon Vladimir Kirillov, Paris,
2023, pp. 122-137.
[Formatting updated: May 4, 2026]
In connection with the fall of
the episcopate of the Moscow Patriarchate, and after them the priests as well,
into the ecumenist heresy, one inevitable and “painful” question arises: is
there grace in the Sacraments there (in this supposedly “canonical” “Mother
Church”) or not? After all, ecumenist clergy are self-condemned and are cut off
by the invisible Judgment of God from the Body of the Church. And can these
cut-off ones perform, for example, the Eucharist? And how does the grace of God
coexist with the flourishing “lavender lobby” in the MP, or the infiltration of
Latinism, not to mention Sergianism and ecumenism? And how is it that clergy
living immorally (drunkards, adulterers, money-lovers, extortioners, etc.), who
are also ecumenists, perform divine services? And do they perform them at all?
And if they do not perform them — then who does?
In a word, a multitude of
questions arises...
To begin with, I will cite
important words for understanding what is happening, spoken by Metropolitan
Vitaly in an interview with Orthodox Russia (No. 17, 1992, p. 3):
“If there are
still some truly believing people who pray before icons, who pray with the
words spoken by godless priests—they pray, and for them the words remain the
same, liturgical—then for their sake the Lord may perhaps perform an incredible
economy—that is, these people partake of the Holy Gifts. If the Lord
could give Communion to hermits in the deserts through their guardian angel,
then the Lord can make such an exception for some old woman who sincerely
believes in Christ.”
But I cannot
imagine that a man who betrayed his fellow bishops, who was an informant…, and
this informant celebrates the liturgy for his brethren, for his flock, and that
it is truly performed—I simply cannot accept that in his Chalice are the Body
and Blood of Christ. Or a hierarch who is an adulterer—and in his Chalice are
the Body and Blood of Christ? This is simply impossible to accept—it is
blasphemy.
A group of
Soviet Russian Orthodox priests came to me and asked: “Is it not blasphemy to
think that the entire Russian people are without the Sacraments?” I replied to
them: “And do you not think it is blasphemy if a married bishop celebrates the
liturgy and other sacraments?” And how then do the Russian people partake of
Communion? Only in this way can I understand it—the Lord performs an incredible
economy for the sake of the believing soul.”
(http://dearfriend.narod.ru/books/other/22.html)
And perhaps now, more than ever
(when in the MP, which has not purged itself of Sergianism, the heresies of
ecumenism and Latinism have been implanted for decades), the words of
Metropolitan Vitaly, spoken by him in 1996 before the wonderworking Kursk-Root
Icon of the Mother of God, are especially fitting: “I personally cannot believe
in the grace-filled nature of the hierarchy of Moscow” (http://dearfriend.narod.ru/books/other/22.html),
a hierarchy that, by its deeds, crucifies Christ.
But how then can the
gracelessness of the “hierarchy of Moscow” be reconciled with the “incredible economy”
(that is, the partaking of the Holy Gifts by those in the MP who “sincerely
believe in Christ”)? The same question is raised by the statement of St.
Philaret the Confessor regarding the MP:
“We do not
pronounce judgment on every human soul that believes in God there and that, so
to speak, seeks Him in its own way. That is God’s affair. In such matters,
judgment belongs to the Lord God alone. But I personally cannot allow that the
grace of God is present there, in that very false Soviet church.”
(http://soborjane.ru/2016/05/07/svyatitel-filaretvoznesenskij-o-sovetskoj-cerkvi/)
According to the thought of the
third First Hierarch of ROCOR, it turns out that there is no grace in the MP,
and at the same time, the Lord, by ways known only to Him, arranges the fate of
every human soul “which believes in God there and, so to speak, seeks Him in
its own way.” Yet it remains unclear how such a “fate of every human soul” can
be arranged favorably without the possibility for one who believes in God to
partake of His Holy Gifts. And furthermore, would it not be simpler to cast
aside all this “incredible economy” as a fabrication, and at once cut
off from the Church all those who belong to the MP—that is, both the common
people attending MP churches, and the hierarchy that confesses ecumenism and
Sergianism?
Of course, it is simpler—and this
is exactly how some, burning with excessive zeal, proceed.
In this regard, I will cite
important remarks by Protopriest Lev Lebedev from his book “The Boundaries
of the Church”:
“All heretical
communities have been characterized by the fact that not only the hierarchy,
but all the laity without exception consciously confessed false doctrines—that
is, they were ‘alienated’ from the Church in the very essence of the faith...
Indeed, everything we know from history about the Arians, Monophysites,
Iconoclasts, and other ancient heretics testifies that the delusions of these
heretics were consciously shared by the masses of laypeople who followed the
heresiarchs. This is one of the most important signs by which a fallen ‘church’
body can be identified as a heretical community—a branch completely cut off
from the ‘vine,’ from the Body of Christ, from the Church, and therefore from
Christ. The second feature of the known heresies was that they were entirely
open—that is, their false teachings were preached openly, as supposedly true,
and were imposed upon the Church. And… overall, the ancient heresies were
certainly open. If someone did not recognize Christ as God, he confessed Him to
be a ‘creature’ of God; whoever did not recognize two natures in Christ in one
Person confessed so plainly; whoever did not accept icons did not venerate them
either. All the same can be testified concerning modern heretical
communities—Catholics, Protestants, sectarians, Monophysites. All their errors
they preach and confess openly, and these errors are shared by all members of
these communities—that is, not only by the hierarchy (or leadership), but also
by the ‘common people.’”
(http://rpczmoskva.org.ru/otecheskie-trudy/protoierej-lev-lebedev-granicy-cerkvi.html)
But can it be said that the MP,
in its present form, is already a heretical community? Or that the tares have
completely choked out the wheat?
I think that would be a great
exaggeration.
Ecumenism and Latinism are being
imposed from above by the hierarchy; the majority of the “common people” know
little about this and understand even less of its essence, while only a small
part of them disagree with the introduction of heresy and protest, even going
into “non-commemoration.” However, there are also those who either do not care
or fully share the delusions of the false patriarch and his associates “out of
obedience.” Therefore, if the heretical delusions of the hierarchy are not
shared by the majority of the people, then to speak of a complete falling away
from Christ, as Fr. Lev defined it, is premature. All the more so since the
preaching of ecumenism is not carried out entirely openly and universally. It
is evident that the apostate hierarchy has chosen a strategy filled with
cunning, deceit, and casuistry. The decisions of the MP Bishops’ Council of
November 2017 regarding the Council of Crete or the Havana Declaration are a
vivid example of this. It is clear that the false patriarch and his associates,
moving toward their goal but fearing the reaction of the people, consistently
choose the tactics of their friends—the Jesuits.
But how then can this “incredible
economy” for the sake of the believing soul take place? And how does the Wisdom
of God resolve this case?
To understand this paradoxical
yet important and fundamental question, I will first present a lofty
description of the celebration of the Eucharist during the Divine Liturgy by a
worthy clergyman:
“Together with
the visible celebrant of the Liturgy—the priest—the unseen participants are the
Angels. They concelebrate with the priest, inspiring and strengthening him in
every action, in every prayer. The demon present in the church trembles at
their presence. He, full of malice, stands at the church doors, holding a sharp
arrow in his teeth and gnashing them, seeking to strike those who pray. But
before the beginning of the Liturgy of the Faithful, one of the Angels expels
him from the church with a fiery weapon. During the celebration of the
Eucharistic Canon, the altar is united with heaven. Following the exclamation:
‘The hymn of victory,’ when all the heavenly Hosts and the four-faced living
creatures chant the Thrice-Holy together with the people, the roof of the
church opens, and from heaven descends in flaming fire a multitude of Angels of
indescribable beauty. Among them descends the Divine Infant upon the table of
oblation. All the Angels are aflame, and from them proceed utterances like flaming
fire. The visible celebrant of the mystery—the priest—is also set aflame: he
becomes fiery from head to toe. The entire altar becomes a fire-breathing
flame. In the midst of the fire the ‘dreadful thing’ takes place. As soon as
the priest proclaims, ‘The Holy things for the holy,’ ‘Then the Angels, having
a knife, holding the Child in their hand, slaughter Him, and His blood they
pour into the holy chalice, while cutting His body they place it on the bread,
and the bread becomes the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ After the
Communion of the faithful and the end of the Liturgy, the Holy Gifts are raised
up by the Angels again to heaven.”
(Tunitsky N., Ancient
Legends of the Miraculous Appearances of the Christ Child in the Eucharist
– http://www.odinblago.ru/sagarda_stati1907)
This is also testified to by St.
Righteous John of Kronstadt:
“All the saints,
beginning with the Mother of God, are called to participate in the service of
the Liturgy during the Proskomedia and the Liturgy itself. All the
saints and all the Angels serve together with the priest.” “Even if only one priest were serving—as we
shall now see—still, he is not alone… Meanwhile, the Proskomedia is
usually performed by the priest before the Liturgy and the Hours in visible
solitude. And hermits who celebrated the Liturgy alone for many years were not
truly alone, but in the fullness of the Church: invisibly with them were the
Angels and the saints.”
(http://rumagic.com/ru_zar/religion/fedchenkov/0/j10.html)
From the Lives of the Saints, paterikons,
pious narratives, liturgical texts, and so on, it is also known that Angels
actively participate in the Divine Services and the Sacraments (in particular,
Angels always participate in the Eucharist). There are numerous examples of
this:
●
https://happyschool.ru/publ/bozhestvennaja_liturgija/48-1-0-8105
●
http://pocdk.ru/publikacii/chudesa-vo-vremya-bozhestvennojj-liturgii-4
Thus, in the Life of Venerable
Sergius it is told how an Angel concelebrated the Liturgy with him: (http://www.zavet.ru/b/ipavlov/044.htm) Likewise, Venerable Euthymius the Great
“revealed to several monks that he often saw an Angel serving the Holy Liturgy
together with him” (https://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life260.htm);
An Angel also concelebrated with St. John, Bishop of Suzdal (19th c.) (https://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life1746.htm);
Also: “In Gaul, during the persecution of Christians by pagan authorities, all
three confessors—Hieromartyrs Dionysius the Areopagite, Eleutherius, and
Rusticus [October 3/16 – V.K.] were captured and cast into prison. At night,
St. Dionysius celebrated the Divine Liturgy with the concelebration of the
Angels of God” (https://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life1657.htm).
From the troparion of St. Spyridon of Trimythous it follows that he was served
by Angels: “When you offered holy prayers, O most sacred one, you had Angels
concelebrating with you” (https://azbyka.ru/molitvoslov/molitva-svyatitelyu-spiridonu-episkopu-trimifuntskomu-chudotvorcu.html).
This is also evident from his life:
“...Spyridon
stood at the altar and, filled with spiritual joy, exclaimed: ‘Peace be unto
all.’ In the church, there was no one to respond to the bishop, yet the
attendants heard countless ranks of holy Angels cry out: ‘And to thy spirit.’
Their heavenly, extraordinarily sweet-voiced chant far surpassed any earthly
art. The deacon, with great fear and trembling, pronounced the litanies, and
myriads of bodiless powers cried: ‘Lord, have mercy.’ The sound of the mighty
angelic voices spread widely around the church, and astonished townspeople
began to rush out of their homes... When the people entered the church, they
saw no one but the bishop and the clergy serving with him. Yet the parishioners
not only heard the voices of the bodiless powers—they clearly felt that the
Angels were rejoicing and exulting together with the thrice-blessed Spyridon in
praise of the Great and Eternal King. A dreadful awe seized the people, and the
hair on the heads of many stood on end.”
(http://www.k-istine.ru/sants/our_sants_spiridon_trimifuntskiy-01.htm)
One may also mention the monastic
tonsure of Venerable Pimen the Much-Ailing, performed by Angels:
“And behold,
Angels in the appearance of monks performed the rite of tonsure over him. Some
of the brethren heard the sounds of chanting, and coming to Venerable Pimen,
they found him clothed in monastic garments. In his hand he held a burning
candle, and his shorn hair was found in the reliquary of Venerable Theodosius.”
(https://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life4389.htm)
Or the episcopal consecration of
St. Amphilochius of Iconium:
“The Angels of
the Lord appeared three times in visions to St. Amphilochius, calling him to go
to Iconium for the episcopal ministry. The truth of these visions was confirmed
when the Angel who appeared the third time sang with the saint the angelic hymn:
‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth.’ The heavenly messenger led the saint to
the nearest church, where a choir of Angels ordained Amphilochius as bishop.”
(https://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life3209.htm)
Or other services, for example:
“The Angels of God helped... paint icons” for Venerable Alipy of the Caves (https://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life6400.htm),
and so forth.
From Orthodox teaching—and this
is even reflected in iconography, for example, in the 14th-century frescoes of
the Serbian monastery of Gračanica (illustrations 74–78a
http://www.ruicon.ru/artsnew/fresco/1x1dtl/grachanitca/angely_diakony_bozhestvennaya_liturgiya14/)—it
is known that “Angels not only guard the temples of God—they also participate
in the Orthodox divine service. This we know from the lives of many saints…”
The participation of Angels in
the divine service is also testified to by the Church herself:
“Now the
heavenly powers invisibly serve with us,” is sung at the Liturgy of the
Presanctified Gifts. Before the Little Entrance, the priest prays that the Lord
would send Angels who participate in this sacred action. Moreover, during the
Liturgy, the “Trisagion” and the seraphic hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” are sung.
These hymns are not of human origin—they belong to the Angels, and during the
service, the Angels sing them invisibly together with the people. Furthermore,
it must be said that the Church teaches that the Sacraments are also performed
by the Lord through the Angels. This is why the Church teaches that Baptism,
Communion, and Confession are accomplished independently of the personal
worthiness or unworthiness of the priest. If the serving priest is sinful and
unworthy, then in such a case everything is accomplished by an Angel; the
priest, however, will answer before God for his errors and sins.” (Fr. John
Pavlov, Feast of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael – http://www.zavet.ru/b/ipavlov/044.htm)
At the same time, as the
Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic (i.e., Orthodox) Church taught in their Dogmatic
Epistle,
“…the Sacrament
of the Holy Eucharist is not performed by just anyone, but only by a pious
Priest who has received the Priesthood from a pious and lawful Bishop…”
(http://krotov.info/acts/18/1/1723patr.html)
But what then is to be said of
unworthy, impious clergymen (living in sins: in false belief, drunkenness,
adultery, theft, etc., or having received ordination from an impious bishop),
who mystically—in essence—cannot participate in the act of performing the
Sacraments, and whose visible, formal presence in the church and pseudo-service
is reckoned to them as judgment and condemnation?
It turns out that the Lord sends
Angels (Ill. 79) in place of godless (graceless) priests for the sake of the
faithful souls worthy of Communion—of course, if such souls are present in each
specific case. Venerable Lavrenty of Chernigov spoke of this, saying, “Instead
of unworthy clergymen, Angels serve” (http://www.ic-xc-nika.ru/texts/2008_jan/frame_n072.html).
Likewise, the well-known writer Sergei Nilus, in his book The Power of God
and the Weakness of Man, recorded a “wondrous revelation” given by God to a
peasant girl, Evdokia:
“And it was told
me concerning the pastors of the Church of the Lord, the priests, that very few
of them are worthy of bearing this name, but no matter how little they are
worthy of their great calling, the Liturgy they perform is still a Liturgy, for
the Lord’s Angels perform the service in their place.”
(http://gorenka.org/index.php/bibliotechka/6094-sergej-nilus-sila-bozhya?showall=&start=5)
Thus, the visible Divine Service
of the unworthy is reckoned to them as no service at all, and they are
mystically removed from it (while the Angels perform everything necessary in
their place).
But what then takes place if the
Sacraments (for example, the Eucharist) are performed not only by those
unworthy due to personal sins, but also by priests who have departed from the
purity of Orthodoxy (for example, by commemorating a heretic-patriarch and
thereby justifying his heresy)?
And who, despite their
unworthiness, have not yet been lawfully prohibited from serving by their
canonical ecclesiastical authority (since a prohibition may itself be
unlawful—for example, if issued by a bishop who has himself fallen into heresy
or has been prohibited from ministry for some offense, and in such a case is
already a false bishop, whereas the priest whom he “suspends” for disobedience
to him remains a priest before God and is a confessor). Moreover, in the case
of a lawful prohibition of a priest from serving, the Sacraments—as is evident
from dogmatic theology (see the dogmatic definition of the Eastern Patriarchs
cited above)—are not performed at all; that is, the presence of a lawful and
not-prohibited Orthodox priest is a necessary condition for the celebration of
the Eucharist during the Liturgy (and here we are not discussing the special,
exceptional case when the Eucharist is performed invisibly by Angels alone,
without the participation of a priest and not publicly).
How the mechanism of Communion
takes place for unworthy communicants, who through their negligence and sins
receive instead of the “Body of Christ” burning coals, can be learned from the
Life of Venerable Macarius of Alexandria (January 19 / February 1), who
“told… how one
of the ascetics of the holy monastery, Venerable Mark, received the Holy
Mysteries from the hands of Angels, while the negligent among the brethren
received [from demons – V.K.], instead of the Body of Christ, burning coals;
and that the Body of Christ, when offered by the priest’s hand, returned to the
altar. From those who were worthy of Holy Communion, the demons fled far away.
Meanwhile, at the altar, beside the priest, stood an Angel of the Lord, who
extended his hand together with that of the priest to distribute the Divine
Mysteries.”
(https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Makarij_Aleksandrijskij/)
Thus, the Angels, performing a
selection, do not allow the desecration of the Divine Mysteries through
unworthy Communion; for this reason, they return them to the altar when an
unworthy person approaches the Chalice. At the same time, those who are worthy
of Communion are served by the Angels, whereas when the unworthy draw near,
they are attended to by demons.
Moreover, in the case of unworthy
Communion, the visible particle, though appearing to the eyes, is in reality
not the Holy Communion, but is—imperceptible to the eyes of the unworthy one—a
burning coal, which becomes condemnation for him, and it is none other than the
demon himself who places the burning coal into the mouth of the unworthy
communicant. From the above, it is evident that Angels participate in the
distribution of the Divine Mysteries alongside the priest, and, consequently,
if the priest is unworthy to participate in the celebration and distribution of
the Divine Mysteries, then an Angel, invisible to others, performs this in his
place.
I will cite yet another
interesting account from the life of Venerable Macarius, from which the
guidance of an Angel during Communion is evident:
“During the Holy
Eucharist, when Macarius was communing the other monks, he was unable to
commune Mark, as an Angel prevented him, took the Holy Gifts from the altar,
and communed Mark with his own hand” (http://zolpust.ru/?p=6220).
So this is yet another testimony
to the active role of the Holy Angels, who, by God’s command, in one way or
another, interact with the priest and have authority from God to correct his
liturgical actions, up to and including fully replacing him due to his
unworthiness (see Ill. 79).
In the case of the anathema
against ecumenism, which cuts off the heretical clergyman by the invisible
judgment of God, the Sacraments can be performed only by the Angels, while he
himself is bound by them.
As a nun from the Lesna Monastery
once told me about a holy elder woman and ascetic from Lithuania—whom she
personally knew—this woman, with spiritual eyes, saw that the Liturgy was not
being performed by the well-known Metropolitan of the MP (Chrysostom
Martishkin), but by Angels in his place, while he himself (mystically) was
lying bound on a bench in the altar. This likewise indicates that the Angels in
fact duplicate (or oversee) the actions of a priest or bishop, and accordingly,
if the clergyman is unworthy, his visible actions have no power, and he is
mystically bound by the Angels (i.e., he is without grace, though formally a
clergyman), and it is the Angels who perform everything necessary in his stead.
So as not to speak without proof,
I will bring yet another important testimony from the Paterikon in
confirmation of what has been said above:
“In the city of
Ephopia, located near Gaza, there lived a pious and merciful bishop. But
through the cunning of the evil one, he fell into fornication with a certain
Jewish woman… [One day, at his urging, this woman – V.K.] went to church. When
the bishop approached the holy altar, her spiritual eyes were opened by God’s
providence. She saw a beautiful man [an Angel – V.K.] in white come out from
the altar and tie the bishop [unworthy and living in sin – V.K.] to a column.
Then he went back in and served together with the priests and deacons. When the
time came for the elevation of the holy bread, the woman saw how the Angel
lifted up a Child, cut Him into parts, and communed the people. When all had
communed, she again saw the same Child alive and whole, shining like fire. At
the end of the Divine Liturgy, that man in white untied the bishop from the
column and became invisible.”
(Manifestations
and Miracles of Angels, published by Palomnik, Moscow, 2002 – http://www.docme.ru/doc/70603/yavleniya-i-chudesa-angelov---2002)
From this account it is clear
that a bishop living in sin is removed from service, and instead of him, the
Liturgy is performed by an Angel.
That this is not an isolated
case, but a norm (and that it simply cannot be otherwise), is shown by the
following account:
“At a distance
of approximately fifteen versts from Constancia, there was a place
called Trachiades. In this place lived a certain presbyter who, under the
influence of the devil, fell into delusion and became a sorcerer—so impious
that he would eat and drink with harlots and prostitutes from the holy vessels.
After some time, this became known and was reported [to the authorities]; [the
priest] was defrocked and arrested. The assistant to the provincial governor
who was conducting the investigation addressed him with these words: ‘Tell me,
miserable man, unworthy of any compassion and deserving of all punishment and
retribution—clearly, you held the future Dread Judgment in contempt and gave no
thought to our present judgment. But how were you not terrified before the
awe-inspiring throne in the altar, when offering the Dread and Bloodless
Sacrifice? Did you not think that fire would come down from heaven and consume
you, or that the earth would open up and swallow you?’ To this the sorcerer
replied: ‘I swear by God, Who now punishes me through your hands and Who in the
future will punish me by His own hand, that from the time I fell away from God
and became a sorcerer, I never once performed the Holy Offering or communed the
people. Rather, the Angel of the Lord would enter the altar, tie me to a pillar
there, offer [the Bloodless Sacrifice], and commune the people. And after he
would say, “Let us depart in the peace of Christ,” he would untie me, and I
could come out. But none of the [faithful] people saw this mystery—only I did.
The people thought that it was I who was offering [the Sacrifice] and communing
them.’”
(Venerable
Anastasios of Sinai, Questions and Answers)
(https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Anastasij_Sinait/voprosy-i-otvety/2)
Here is another case, recounted
by Sergei Fudel in his book At the Walls of the Church:
“In one parish,
a boy of about 5 or 6 years old was baptized. A week later, his grandmother met
the priest who had baptized him, together with the boy, and said to him: ‘Greet
the priest—he baptized you.’ The boy looked and replied: ‘No, I was baptized by
an angel with wings, and the priest was lying tied up on a bench.’”
(https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Sergej_Fudel/u-sten-tserkvi/)
Here is another testimony of an
Angel serving in place of a priest:
“A young boy saw
that his Baptism was performed by a radiant man, while the priest at that time
was bound and outside the church. During the reign of the emperors Leo and
Alexander, a certain nobleman living in the Peloponnese purchased a boy of
Scythian origin and entrusted him to a priest to serve in his household chapel.
When the boy turned twelve, it was discovered that he was not baptized. The
nobleman summoned the priest and ordered him to baptize the child. After the
sacrament was performed, the boy came to his master holding a candle. The
nobleman asked him to call the priest who had baptized him. The boy went to the
church, saw the priest there, returned, and told the nobleman that the one who
had baptized him was not in the church. The nobleman was surprised and sent
another servant to bring the priest. When the priest came, it was clear he had
been in the church. The nobleman then asked the newly baptized boy why he said
that the one who baptized him wasn’t in the church. The boy replied that it was
not this priest who baptized him, for the one who had performed the Mystery
shone like the sun, and his face gleamed like lightning. And when that fearful
man served, this priest stood outside the church, bound by iron chains on his
hands and feet, held by two dreadful monsters, until the sunlike man completed
the service. Hearing this, the nobleman was astonished and overcome with fear.
Taking the priest by the hand, he led him into his chamber and asked the
meaning of the boy’s words. The priest, falling to his knees before the
nobleman with tears, said: ‘Since the Lord and my God has not hidden this
matter from you, hear the following. In my homeland, having been tempted by the
enemy of our souls, I fell into sin. When my bishop learned of this, he imposed
a penance forbidding me to serve. But I, being poor and without means, came to
this land. You, my master, had compassion on me and took me into your house.
But I, wretched as I am, trampled on my conscience and the laws of God,
forgetting the eternal and fearful torments, and have served up to this day.
Now that God has revealed this to you, I am no longer worthy to look upon you,
my master.’ The nobleman replied that it would have been better for him to beg
for bread than to trample upon the commandment of God for the sake of temporal
life and to dare to approach divine service unlawfully. ‘But since God is
merciful and receives those who sincerely repent, go to a monastery and repent
for the rest of your life, that the Lord may be merciful to you for your
impiety. I believe there is no heavier sin than when a priest, having been
forbidden, dares to serve the Liturgy.’ Having said this, the nobleman sent the
priest to a monastery.” (Prologue, January 5, p. 13)
(https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Mark_Lozinskij/otechnik-propovednika/383)
To illustrate that the judgment
of God differs from the opinions of certain zealots not according to knowledge
(lovers of a formal approach), it is fitting to present a story from Volume 3
of the Collected Works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov about a certain
holy presbyter “of the early centuries of Christianity.”
“Because of his
purity and guilelessness, he was continually vouchsafed, during the celebration
of the Divine Liturgy, to see an Angel standing near him. A traveling deacon
once visited the presbyter. The presbyter invited the deacon to join him in
offering the Bloodless Sacrifice. As they began the sacred service, the deacon
pointed out to the presbyter that in his prayers he was pronouncing words which
contained heretical blasphemy. The presbyter was deeply shaken by the remark.
He turned to the Angel who was present and asked him: ‘Are the deacon’s words
just?’ The Angel replied: ‘They are just.’ ‘Why then,’ the presbyter objected,
‘have you, being with me for so long, never told me this?’ The Angel answered:
‘It is God’s will that men be instructed by men.’ The presbyter’s constant
communion with the Angel had not prevented him from remaining in a
soul-destroying delusion.”
(http://www.xpa-spb.ru/libr/Ignatij-Bryanchaninov/polnoe-sobranie-tvorenij-tom-3-all.html)
Thus, this presbyter, despite his
“heretical blasphemy,” due to his purity and guilelessness (that is, in
simplicity and ignorance), not only performed the “Bloodless Sacrifice” (the
Eucharist), but had an Angel concelebrating with him, as well as correction
from another— a deacon sent to him by God.
It is precisely by what has been
said above that one can understand how, in the words of Metropolitan Vitaly
(Ustinov), “the Lord performs an incredible economy for the sake of the
believing soul”—that is, He sends Angels to perform the Sacrament in place of
unworthy clergymen who have lost grace and the right to serve, but who have not
yet been formally prohibited. And in this way, He wisely puts to shame the devil,
who desires not only to drag the unworthy ministers and communicants into hell,
but also to ensnare those who believe in God in simplicity of heart and
guilelessness.
Now, in order to fully understand
this “delicate” question and not go astray (though the answer to it has already
been essentially presented above), let us turn to the modern Saints, to whom
the Lord revealed His mysteries.
In this study (see Part 2,
Chapter 13), numerous testimonies of the Holy Fathers were presented, affirming
that the sacraments of heretics are not sufficient for salvation. But what is
to be done, and how is it to be understood, when heresy is in the process of
development and has not yet permeated the entire body of the Church? And when
there still remain people (and there may be many of them) “who receive [the
Sacraments] with faith, in simplicity, without analysis or doubt in their
efficacy, and who do not even suspect anything amiss in the… structure of the
Church” (Hieromartyr Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan)? Especially when no
authoritative Councils have yet been held indicating the loss of grace, and,
for example, they have never even heard of ROCOR’s anathema against ecumenism.
In this case, we may find useful
the “formula” applied to the Sergianists by Hieromartyr Metropolitan Kirill of
Kazan (Smirnov), perhaps the most authoritative hierarch of the Russian Church
after the repose of St. Patriarch Tikhon, and the first to use the term
“Sergianism”:
“Whether the
believers remaining in Sergianism will be saved, we cannot know, because the
matter of eternal salvation is a matter of God’s mercy and grace. But for those
who see and feel the falsehood of Sergianism… it would be an inexcusable
duplicity to close one's eyes to this falsehood and to seek there <spiritual
guidance> and the satisfaction of one’s spiritual <needs> with a
conscience that doubts the possibility of such satisfaction.”
(http://wwvv.krotov.info/acts/20/1930/19370308.html)
And if we apply this position of
the Holy Hieromartyr Metropolitan Kirill to the ecumenical heresy, then the
pastoral care of the faithful by priests who are related to this heresy—even if
one were to suppose that the Mysteries are performed there by Angels instead of
them—will, for those who understand the essence of the matter, be not only
undesirable, but moreover will be to their judgment and condemnation, since the
seeking of spiritual nourishment from ecumenists contradicts the faith of those
who understand the nature of the issue. And that which is not of faith is sin,
wrote the same Holy New Martyr.
Even more clearly did this same
Holy Hieromartyr express his position (“formula”) in a letter from February
1934 to an unknown hierarch:
“The sacraments
performed by the Sergianists, who have been rightly ordained to the priesthood
and are not under suspension, are undoubtedly saving sacraments for those who
receive them with faith, in simplicity, without reasoning and doubt concerning
their efficacy, and who are entirely unaware of anything improper in the
Sergianist arrangement of the Church. But at the same time, they bring judgment
and condemnation upon the very celebrants themselves and upon those among the
recipients who well understand the existing falsehood in Sergianism and, by
their lack of resistance to it, reveal a criminal indifference to the
profanation of the Church. That is why an Orthodox bishop or priest must
abstain from prayerful communion with the Sergianists. The same is necessary
for laypeople who consciously relate to all the particulars of Church life.”
(http://krotov.info/history/20/tarabuk/smirnov.html)
To understand the logic by which
Hieromartyr Kirill is guided and to discern how to act in our current situation
of the formation of heresy, one must, taking his words as a basis, replace the
Sergianists with the ecumenists—while at the same time assuming that the
Sacraments are not performed by them, since they are under anathema, but by
Angels, and not for the apostates, but for the simple-hearted “who do not
suspect anything amiss in the [ecumenical – V.K.] arrangement of the Church.”
For example, I will present a
contemporary approach to the topic of our interest, which fully corresponds to
the position of Hieromartyr Metropolitan Kirill (Smirnov):
“The cessation
of commemoration prior to a conciliar investigation of the case of a bishop
involved in heresy takes place because heresy is present in the churches where
his name is commemorated, and not because grace is supposedly absent there. The
people who separate themselves from a priest commemorating a hierarch involved
in heresy do so not because valid Holy Mysteries are no longer celebrated in
his church, but because the partaking of these Holy Mysteries would be unto
condemnation for them, knowing that they receive them from the hands of a
priest associated with heresy”
(http://amin.su/content/analitika/9/5149/).
In a 1971 letter, Metropolitan
Philaret of the ROCOR wrote to Deacon Benjamin Zhukov:
“Can it really
be that sincerely believing people [of the Moscow Patriarchate – V.K.], who
approach the Cup of Life with deep faith, instead of the Heavenly Bread,
partake of the food of demons? (Thus do the holy fathers define a graceless
pseudo-Eucharist). Who would dare to assert this?... The ever-memorable
Metropolitan Anthony pointed out that the grace of God can pass even through
unworthy vessels, spiritually scorching them unto perdition, but communicating
itself through them to those who receive it with faith. The betrayal of
Orthodoxy by the hierarchy is not yet a betrayal by the Church herself. The
guardian of right faith and piety is the believing people themselves, as is
precisely stated in the Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs” (see Supplement
No. 3).
To understand the paradox of how,
under the graceless hierarchy of the Moscow Patriarchate (according to the
definition of Metropolitan Vitaly), believers in simplicity of heart (who do
not directly participate in heresy) can partake of the Body and Blood of Christ
(at least for the duration of the “incredible economy”), one must turn to the
letter of April 15, 1934, by the Holy Hieromartyr Bishop Damaskin (Tsedrik)
(ill. 84) to the Holy Hieromartyr Archbishop Seraphim (Samoylovich) (ill. 85),
in which the author examines this issue in more detail. Here, one may also add
the ecumenists to the Sergianists and replace M. Sergius with P. Kirill (for
the sake of analogy, since what is described in this letter very closely
resembles the current state of affairs).
“The path of
Metropolitan Sergius [Patriarch Kirill – V.K.],” wrote the newly-glorified
Hieromartyr Damaskin, “is a path of unquestionable apostasy. Hence, the loss [i.e.,
deprivation – V.K.] of grace in him is beyond doubt. Likewise, beyond doubt is
the departure from grace of anyone who consciously implements the ‘wisest’ plan
in life. [Also, observing the words and deeds of the false patriarch Kirill,
the departure of grace from this Sergianist and ecumenist, as well as from his
supporters, is likewise beyond doubt – V.K.]”
Here arises the
question of how guilty in this sin are the masses of believers and the ordinary
clergy (or the bishops there can be no justification), who are not able to
discern the subtle cunning of the Sergian [and ecumenical – V.K.] “course,”
who, submitting to the authority of the majority of the episcopate, fear a
“schism”? ...
Another question
also arises: does anyone have the right to call the sacraments performed in
Sergian [and ecumenical – V.K.] churches graceless before the Church, by a
Conciliar decision, cuts off those who have sinned, having first called them to
repentance and correction? [The above question was essentially rhetorical,
since convening a legitimate Council in a time of persecution by the godless,
and even in today’s situation, was not possible. In our case, another question
arises: has the introduction of the heresy of ecumenism in the Russian Orthodox
Church reached the necessary “degree” after which the point of no return comes,
that is, when even the Angels cease to be sent instead of unworthy clergy – or
not yet? One can only suppose that the Lord still, for a time, shows longsuffering
for the sake of those unable to comprehend the essence of what is happening,
i.e., He performs for them an “incredible economy.” For those who understand
the nature of the heresy of ecumenism—especially for the lukewarm clergy—the
Mysteries performed by the Angels are clearly to their judgment and
condemnation. And this follows not only from the letter of the Holy Hieromartyr
quoted here, but also from the position of the Holy Hieromartyr Cyril,
Metropolitan of Kazan, cited above – V.K.]
They have been
deprived of grace—M. S., X, Y, Z, [P. K., M. I., and others – V.K.], but since
they have not yet been cut off, is not that principle still active in the
Church, which the Church confesses: “in place of unworthy ministers of the
altar, the Lord invisibly sends His angels for the performance of the blessed
Mystery”? [from the Akathist to Holy Communion, Ikos 7 – V.K.] If such a
principle exists (I believe it does), then would it not be more prudent to bear
patiently, and not accuse in the lawlessness of deliberate Sergianism [and
ecumenism – V.K.] the masses of those who suffer in their souls from the
injustice committed by lawless men, who in no way share their views, but, being
unable to comprehend the essence of our divisions, are afraid of erring in
making an independent choice of path, and who, finding their only consolation
and comfort amid the surrounding darkness and sorrow in the church services,
attend Sergian [and ecumenical – V.K.] churches? Such a condition I consider
tolerable regarding those weak, unenlightened ones to whom, due to their
childlike ignorance and simplicity, the sin of Sergianism [ecumenism – V.K.]
cannot be imputed. Those of them who err are the ones who understand all the
falsehood and the evil that proceeds from Sergianism [ecumenism – V.K.], but
due to inertia or faint-heartedness remain among them.
Still more at
fault are those pastors who understand the situation, but due to their
cowardice—or worse, out of material calculation—remain among the ranks of the
Sergianists [and ecumenists – V.K.], thereby increasing their number and
significance. Unfortunately, there are many such as these.
As for those
servants of God who have been granted understanding of the situation, who have
recognized the falsehood and evil of Sergianism [and Ecumenism – V.K.], who
understand that the path of Sergianism [and Ecumenism – V.K.] is the path of
apostasy—they are obligated not only to protest the actions of M. S. [P. K. –
V.K.] and his associates, not only to follow the path of admonition and rebuke
of those causing scandal, as indicated by Scripture and the Church canons, but
also, by their own example, to demonstrate their resistance to the ongoing
falsehood and scandal, by breaking liturgical communion with the Sergianists [Ecumenists
– V.K.], not attending their churches, and doing everything possible to hasten
the moment of conciliar judgment over the lawless ones… I find it permissible
to "endure," without accusing the masses of the simple-minded and
unlearned of conscious Sergianism [Ecumenism – V.K.], and only to endure—for
tomorrow they themselves will flee to us, or rather, those of them “predestined
for salvation.” The history of the times of the Councils gives us many examples
of such condescending treatment of the "simple-minded"…
The outpouring
and action of grace does not appear to me as the action of a stream of water,
which necessarily drenches anyone who steps under an open faucet, or from which
anyone may drink simply by opening their mouth. If we seek analogies in
external phenomena, then the action of grace appears to me like the action of
light in a musty cellar, when access to sunlight is opened: all filth,
woodlice, miasmas, putrid worms will be killed by the light or will hide again
in the darkness; all mold will be consumed, while any healthy seeds that
happened to be there will sprout and stretch toward the light, being nourished
and transformed by the life-giving rays of light and warmth. Therefore, as long
as the Church has not cut off the access of the grace-bearing light to the
thickets of Sergianism [and Ecumenism – V.K.], healthy seeds or little plants
that happened to end up there may still partake of the gifts of the grace of
the Holy Spirit according to the measure of their faith, according to their
spiritual maturity. We, together with you, confess that the same Holy Mysteries
serve for the salvation of some, and for “judgment and condemnation” for
others.
(http://drevle.narod.ru/damaskin.htm)
And in conclusion, I will also
present the position of the confessor, Bishop Athanasius (Sakharov), who also
wrote about the duty to separate from a heresiarch:
“For unworthy
clergymen, the Lord sends His Angel to perform the Holy Mysteries. The
Mysteries performed by unworthy clergymen serve as judgment and condemnation
for the clergymen themselves, but as grace-filled sanctification for those who
receive them with faith. There is, however, one circumstance: if a clergyman
begins openly, publicly, from the church ambo, to preach a heresy already
condemned by the Fathers at the Ecumenical Councils [more precisely, as stated
by the 15th canon of the First-Second Council, ‘condemned by the holy councils
or the Fathers’ – V.K.], – this not only gives the right but obligates
everyone, both clergy and laity, without waiting for a conciliar judgment, to
break all communion with such a preacher, regardless of what high position he
holds in the church hierarchy.”
(http://krotov.info/history/20/1950/saharov.htm)
In particular, in our case, the
Fathers of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia conciliarly recognized
ecumenism as a heresy (as a collection of previously condemned heresies) and
anathematized it on behalf of the entire Local Russian Church (as its free and
inalienable part), which obliges the faithful to separate from the heretics—for
example, from the false patriarch who publicly preaches the already condemned
heresy of ecumenism, for which there is no need to convene another Council.
Thus, it can be fully affirmed that instead of the unworthy, graceless
clergymen of the MP (who commemorate the false patriarch and outwardly imitate
liturgical acts), the Mysteries, for the sake of and in the presence of
“simple-hearted” sincere believers in Christ, are performed by Angels. And it
must be assumed that the Lord will carry out this “incredible economy” as long
as such simple-hearted believers still remain within the MP. For falling into
heresy and falling away from Orthodoxy is a process that unfolds over time. And
while we endlessly and audaciously argue about His grace, the Lord unceasingly
gathers into His granary from everywhere all that is in any way usable, each
according to his measure—“some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matt.
13:8). But how He does this, why, and in relation to whom exactly, this is the
mystery of God.
As St. Righteous John of
Kronstadt wrote:
“When it comes
to the mysteries of God, do not inwardly ask: how can this be? You do not know
how God created the whole world out of nothing; you cannot and must not know
here either how God secretly does anything. The mystery of God must remain a
mystery to you, because you are not God and cannot know everything that is
known to the infinitely wise, all-powerful God. You are the work of His hands,
His insignificant creature…”
(“My Life in
Christ” –http://pravprihod.ru/pages/main/library/books/23778/index.shtml)
In principle, to pass judgment
concerning the presence or loss of grace—especially based on a formal
criterion—is not only a difficult matter (as it exceeds weak human reasoning),
but also a dangerous one (as it may lead to spiritual harm and, as some write,
to “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”). Whoever possesses a “sense of truth”
will understand everything and make the right choice (that is, in the face of
danger, will simply separate himself from heresy); but for someone who lacks
this sense, explanation is impossible—“even if you drive a stake into his
head,” for such people even among Roman Catholics all the sacraments are
considered valid.
And moreover: one must understand
that Orthodoxy is truly paradoxical and mysterious and practically does not fit
into human schemes; therefore, some things do not enter into certain narrow
minds steeped in dull, formal, and dry rationalism. On the other hand, what
concern is that to the churchly rationalists, if the Lord desires to save
someone who finds himself involuntarily within Sergianism and Ecumenism (that
is, attending in the simplicity of faith churches where the false patriarch is
commemorated—especially if there are no other churches in reality or they are
very difficult to find)?
As the Greek Metropolitan
Athanasios of Limassol wrote:
“God does not
act according to schemes; God does not fit into schemes, no matter how much we
try to squeeze Him into them. God has His own ways, His own measures, His own
rhythm—He acts in His own manner. And if God acts in this way, then who are we
to judge and examine the works of God?!”
(http://www.pravoslavie.ru/63961.html)
Yes, and unexpected metamorphoses
are also possible: after all, Saul, a persecutor of the Church, by the
influence of the grace of God became the great Apostle Paul—and that case is by
no means singular... As an illustration, I will present one story:
“The future
bishop was born into a peasant family. He fought on the front lines of the
Great Patriotic War. He was severely wounded, and after recovery became a
student. He did not believe in God. But after the war, he was summoned to the
regional party committee and given an order: you will go study in the
seminary—we need our own people there, loyal communists. He was stunned—but he
went, he fulfilled the party's order. He completed the seminary course—barely
believing in God. He became a priest—there were many people in the villages,
but the churches were boarded up—and, he said: ‘for two years I baptized and
buried from morning till night, baptized and buried—moving from village to
village. I saw and felt the faith of the simple people—so I myself came to
believe.’ I think this could have happened with many... Therefore, the Orthodox
Church, even under the communists, never became fully Sovietized.”
(http://ronsslav.com/igor-artyomov-kakogo-edinstva-my-ishhem/)
And once more: even if God does
indeed save such people (the simple-hearted from among the common folk), and
grants them His Faith, for those who understand the essence of the matter
(as has been discussed in detail above), the path to churches where ecumenists
and Sergianists are commemorated is closed off, due to the danger of falling
under “judgment and condemnation,” from which may the Lord deliver them. For if
you know everything about the heresy and are not yourself a heretic, then why
would you do anything against your faith and go to Gundyaev’s or other,
essentially similar, churches, inventing absurd excuses to do so? And what
could you possibly receive there? Is it not burning coals instead of the Body
and Blood of the Savior? That is, instead of salvation—eternal condemnation…
For the grace of God in the celebration of the Mysteries and within the
Mysteries does not operate automatically; it is inexorably selective: hence to
the unworthy (heretics, apostates, and the like) – burning coals from demons,
while to the worthy, through the Angels – the Body and Blood of Christ.
In conclusion of this topic (as a
kind of “compass check”), I will cite an excerpt from a 1990 interview with
Metropolitan Vitaly given to the radio station Voice of America:
“We believe that
the Russian people, the simple folk who do not understand either Sergianism [or
Ecumenism – V.K.], or anything else—when they approach the chalice in a church
of the Moscow Patriarchate… they do partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
But as understanding deepens more and more, and… I’m talking even about a
Russian person without any particular education, still the untruth of the
Moscow Patriarchate, Sergianism, begins to reach him. In other words, we are
already approaching a time when we will call Sergianism a heresy, and that will
be a very serious matter. And so, it seems that upon the Russian people is
being performed an absolutely incredible, incomprehensible Divine economy: a
person who approaches the chalice in complete ignorance, not knowing what is
going on, partakes; but a person who comes to the chalice knowing about
Sergianism [and Ecumenism – V.K.] partakes unto condemnation. That is how we
understand it, that is what the Solovki prisoners told us. That is how they
understood it, and that is how we understand it to this day. It is completely
incomprehensible to us, some kind of unbelievable Divine economy…”
(Voice of an
Epoch. TV. 50 Interviews of Metropolitan Vitaly to “Voice of America,”
listen starting from 18:38.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rigCujQvtkU&list=PLCanJfFm1N7fsGGt_OP8X4mJcYmiwD1kO&index=53)
On December 29 / January 9, 1991,
while addressing in a letter the question of the gracefulness or gracelessness
of the Moscow Patriarchate in connection with the Epistle of the 1990 Council
of Bishops of the ROCOR, Metropolitan Vitaly wrote the following to Archbishop
Lazarus (Zhurbenko):
"Now, dear
Vladyka, let us speak about the ideological side of the whole matter. It must
be said outright that our Church has never—under any Metropolitan—proclaimed
that the entire Moscow Patriarchate is completely without grace. What is this?
A betrayal of the Truth? By no means! We deeply acknowledge ourselves to be a
part of the FREE Russian Church and do not possess such fullness of authority
as to issue such a decree, which belongs solely to the All-Russian Council of
the entire episcopate. We express our complete disagreement with Moscow by the
fact that we have no communion whatsoever, even on a daily level, with their
episcopate. Moscow is a subject awaiting judgment and awaits its condemnation.
The Lord is evidently performing for us an absolutely incredible economy
on behalf of many truly believing people, and He allows them to partake and
brings down upon them His grace—for example, in Baptism.
Can you
yourself, who were also once in this Moscow Patriarchate, really deny this?!
By no means can
you, for you yourself know—and have even confirmed to us—that there are not a
few of God’s excellent priests who languish within this Patriarchate, doing all
they can to rightly shepherd their flock; and for that reason, their days are
numbered, and they all await their expulsion, or suspension, or even deposition
without any trial whatsoever. Under such conditions, can we proclaim anathema
upon all of them? That would be an absolutely irreparable mistake, a tragedy
for many, if not simply a folly of zeal not according to knowledge.
The phrase which
you deign to mention from the Archpastoral Epistle [1990, referring to the
phrase that to those priests who are not only ritual ministers but also good
pastors “saving grace is given in the sacraments” – VK] was a tactical mistake,
and this serves as a lesson for us, since in Russia many must have been
troubled by it, as you yourself write. What is natural for us is not clear to
them. We, thanks be to God, have preserved objectivity—but try to preserve it in
the USSR, when you are constantly persecuted, oppressed, and harassed. We
understand all this perfectly and will simply act with caution. And there is
nothing else here and can be nothing else.
I could cite to
you hundreds of excerpts from letters from Russia, in which many young people
are fighting for the faith, being baptized, and completely transforming their
lives—something that only the grace of the Holy Spirit can accomplish. And am I
supposed to suddenly tell them that all of this is a lie, that they are not
baptized at all? They simply would not believe me and would take me for some
kind of sectarian, because in their souls there is joy, they pray to God with
tears, they have been completely changed in their whole life—and I would insist
that all this is just an illusion? No, Holy Vladyka, neither I nor you will act
this way, of that I am deeply certain. Give them time, and gradually, under the
influence of God’s grace, they will become enlightened, the eyes of their
understanding will be opened. After all, at Baptism we say, “You have been
baptized, you have been enlightened, you have been chrismated, you have been
sanctified,” etc. Evidently, enlightenment acts gradually, overcoming our infirmities,
overcoming our distortions. We must give them time—and ourselves, patience...
(https://altai.rusidea.org/pismo-mitropolita-vitaliia-episkopu-lazariu-9-22-ianvaria-1991g/.
See also important Supplement No. 14 on this topic.)
But a natural question arises:
why is such an “incredible economy” for the “simple people” even possible? On
what grounds is it at all permitted by the Lord God, if the graceless hierarchs
of the MP are sinking into heresy and apostasy?
This question is answered by St.
John (Maximovich), referring to the position of Blessed Metropolitan Anthony
(Khrapovitsky):
“The actions of
the hierarchy cannot be attributed to the Church, because the hierarchy is not
the whole Church, even though it speaks in its name. On the throne of
Constantinople sat Paul the Confessor, Macedonius, Gregory the Theologian, John
Chrysostom, Nestorius, Proclus, Flavian, Germanus—some shone with holiness and
Orthodoxy, others were originators of heresies—yet the Church remained
Orthodox. During iconoclasm, after the expulsion of Severinus, Nicephorus, and
others, not only were their sees but the majority of episcopal sees filled by
Arians. Other Churches even refused communion with her, according to the
testimony of St. Paul who left both heresy and his see, unwilling to commune
through the iconoclasts. Nevertheless, the Church of Constantinople remained
Orthodox.”
(See in
Supplement No. 3 the analogous position of St. Philaret the Confessor.)
Thus, during a period of the
spread of heresy, when the simple people have not yet been infected by it, the
Lord God gives them His Body and Blood for salvation, and to the heretical
hierarchs and their companions—for judgment and condemnation. And this is the
teaching of the Russian Church Abroad, expressed many times by its last lawful
First Hierarch, Metropolitan Vitaly, according to whose position the
paradoxical “incredible economy” consists precisely in the fact that the
sacraments in the Moscow Patriarchate are performed selectively, despite the
gracelessness of its episcopate. And therefore, it is necessary to distinguish
between the Patriarchate itself—that is, its apostate hierarchy
(administration, leadership, a caste bound by mutual complicity)—and the truly
believing simple people, who in simplicity approach the Cup of Christ.
Online: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1niPo6dvSwXMd7RgB73AQ4zW3zYUamOaD/view
