On the Attitude of Archbishop Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) of Crimea toward the True Orthodox Church

 "...Luke informed me that in one of the settlements in the Bakhchisaray district, there lives Hieromonk Hippolytus (Veryutin), a former Josephite, who does not recognize either him as an archbishop or the Patriarch. He goes around the villages performing various rites, and he asked me to take measures prohibiting him from performing these rites. Three or four days later, Hieromonk Hippolytus Veryutin was summoned by me. An old man of about 80, living in the family of a kolkhoz worker in the Bakhchisaray district. During the German occupation, he was a priest in the village of Bazarchik—now the village of Pochtovoye in the Bakhchisaray district. Veryutin denied performing any rites. Nevertheless, he was warned by me that, lacking the appropriate registration documents, he was not permitted to perform any rites or ceremonies. After this, no further reports were received of him performing rites."

- From the informational report of the Commissioner of the Council for the Affairs of the ROC under the Council of Ministers of the USSR for the Crimean region, Ya. Zhdanov, for the 2nd quarter of 1948, July 1, 1948 // The Crimean Diocese under the Leadership of Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky): Collection of Documents — Simferopol, 2010, p. 183.

 

"I consulted Luke regarding what the old Greek [i.e., free of Latin and Protestant influences] direction within the Tikhonite movement represents, which has recently emerged in Crimea. To this question, Luke replied as follows: 'I know nothing about these gentlemen here in Crimea, especially in recent times. This movement is particularly widespread in the Rostov diocese, but there they call themselves True Orthodox Churchmen. Our principal disagreement with them lies in two main issues: 1) They do not tolerate the commemoration of the ruling authorities during the liturgy; 2) They do not recognize married bishops or archbishops who are married or were once married, calling them graceless, and on this basis, they do not attend church.' To my follow-up question about what, after all, the Tikhonite direction represents, Luke replied as follows: 'Under Tikhon, there was no commemoration of the ruling authorities in churches. Tikhon was for the so-called "pure church," meaning a church that stands apart from all worldly matters and, in particular, from the existing Soviet government.' However, Luke added, if Tikhon lived in our time, it is hard to say what actions he would have taken. 'I know Tikhon,' Luke said, 'as a most intelligent Patriarch, and he never and nowhere made counterrevolutionary statements. He was intelligent enough, Luke confirmed, to understand the circumstances he faced in the early days of Soviet power.'

"Luke told me the story of the Church after the October Revolution, particularly focusing on the Living Church, which was later renamed the Renovationist Church, with its own archbishops and bishops. The people rejected these rebellious actions (meaning the faithful, not the general populace). Luke gave me an example that illustrates the attitude of the faithful toward the Living Church Renovationists.

"One evening, after a service in Simferopol, a Living Church bishop (he did not tell me the bishop’s name) was returning home when he was attacked by believers who tore out his beard and mustache in clumps. This is a very painful ordeal, Luke remarked, and after such disgrace, this Renovationist left Simferopol.

"'I was threatened with death by the so-called T.O.C. (those recognizing the True Orthodox Church, or, as they now call themselves, supporters of the Old Greek direction within the Tikhonite movement) simply because I was [previously] married, and therefore, in their mistaken view, I cannot be an archbishop. They are ignorant,' Luke stated, 'and do not know history. Once, they threw a large stone through my apartment window, but they missed me, and I remained unharmed. However, there was a case in Rostov,' Luke reported, 'where supporters of the T.O.C. planted a time bomb under the bishop's apartment, but thanks to its timely discovery, the bishop survived.'"

- Note from A. Guskov, Commissioner of the Council for the Affairs of the ROC under the Council of Ministers of the USSR for the Crimean Region, regarding a conversation with Archbishop Luke, addressed to V.G. Komyakhov, Secretary of the Crimean Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, March 20, 1958 // Ibid., pp. 467-468.

 

Russian source:

https://nicefor.info/ru/%d0%be%d0%b1-%d0%be%d1%82%d0%bd%d0%be%d1%88%d0%b5%d0%bd%d0%b8%d0%b8-%d0%b0%d1%80%d1%85%d0%b8%d0%b5%d0%bf%d0%b8%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%be%d0%bf%d0%b0-%d0%ba%d1%80%d1%8b%d0%bc%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%be%d0%b3%d0%be/