Two Letters of St. Philaret on Elder Tavrion of Glinsk Hermitage

Two Letters of St. Philaret the New Confessor on Archimandrite Tavrion (Batozsky) of Glinsk Hermitage (+1978)

Letter No. 1

September 9/22, 1980

Dear Father Herman [Podmoshensky],

I am sending you material for printing which I have received from a novice of Lesna Convent, Maria Erastova. It is about the last elder of Glinsk Hermitage, Archimandrite Tavrion.

According to the information which I have, this wise and pious elder belonged at first to the Catacomb Church; but seeing how the believing people were scattered like sheep without a shepherd, he joined the official church, but in his activity, he stood absolutely apart from it, giving all his strength to the spiritual guidance of believing souls. The Erastova family knew him well and made use of his spiritual guidance.

May God help you. Peace be to you and the brethren. 

With love,

Metropolitan Philaret

- Letter of Metropolitan Philaret of New York to Abbot Herman (Podmoshensky) of St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, Platina, CA. Published in The Orthodox Word, Vol. 17, No. 1 (96), January-February 1981, p. 11.

Letter No. 2

23 August/5 September 1981

Most Venerable and Much Respected Father Archimandrite [Panteleimon Metropoulos]!

More than a little distress and sorrow came to me as a result of the last number [#96] of the journal The Orthodox Word, in which the information about Archimandrite Tavrion and my little accompanying note, which absolutely was not meant for publication, were presented in such a way that it caused some of the readers confusion and worry – does the appearance of such articles mean a change in the course or outlook towards the Soviet hierarchy which was always held by our Church Abroad?

I will not answer your concerned letter in detail, for it I am not mistaken, that was done by Vladika Gregory [Grabbe] in his letter to you. But still, I will say a few words on the subject.

First of all: keep in mind that the Church Outside of Russia, as it has to this moment, so too in the future, will never acknowledge the Soviet hierarchy as legal representatives of the much-suffering Russian Church persecuted by the Communists. The Soviet hierarchy has betrayed Christ and His Church, and fell away from the True Church when it came into agreement with the God-fighters – the enemies of the Truth. There can be no question that we would accept that “hierarchy” as legal. That could only happen in the event that the Soviet hierarchy would fervently denounce and deny the degrading declaration of Metropolitan Sergius and return to the True Orthodox way. But since that is not so, there can be no dealing (communion) by us with that “hierarchy,” not only prayerful, but also mundane, as was pointed out by Metropolitan Anastassy’s will, which was accepted as a guideline and an accomplishment by the Church Abroad.

No doubt you have heard about the late Archbishop [St.] John, who reposed fourteen years ago? This was a great man of prayer, a faster and an ascetic, completely filled with the pure Orthodoxy of the Holy Fathers. While he was yet alive, by his prayers there were unquestionably numerous revelations of the miraculous power of God. And now, his place of rest and his tomb in the Cathedral in the city of San Francisco has become a place of continual pilgrimage by the Russian Orthodox people, who are praying at his tomb and receiving the fulfillment of their requests… And so, Vladika John said that those who had gone astray from the Truth, the Soviet hierarchs, had fallen away from the Church; and now, while speaking as representatives of the Russian Church, are in fact self-styled and apostates, with whom there can be no communion, as had been indicated by Metropolitan Anastassy. For that reason, all their rulings (declarations), actions and orders are without grace, unlawful and invalid. But that does not mean that the whole enslaved much-suffering Russian people had betrayed Christ and had left Him; for already for more than sixty years, they have been waging a heavy battle with the enemies of faith and church, protecting and preserving the faith and their holy things. We know of numerous witnesses from there of the miraculous manifestations of the grace-filled strength of God, in no way connected with the “official” Soviet church.

About Archimandrite Tavrion, I will comment further. The Holy Gospel states, “by their fruits ye shall know them.” Three years ago, in our Synodal Cathedral at the All-night Vigil, there appeared for the first time a family recently arrived in America (by way of Rome). It was the Erastovs – a mother, five daughters, and a son. They immediately attracted attention to themselves by their completely extraordinary piety and prayerfulness. I will plainly state that in more than fifty years of service in the Church, I have seen many religiously inclined youths, but such love for the Divine Services and prayer, for the Church and everything of the Church, from amongst the youth I have never seen! Nothing at all outside of the Church is of interest to them. There are five maidens of different ages from twelve to twenty-three years – and they are all the same, only living for the Church. Something uncommon in our times. I know them well. They lived in New York for nearly a year, attended our churches, and many times went to confession to me. Now, for nearly two years, they have been living as novices in the Lesna Convent in France. Their brother went to Holy Trinity Monastery and Vladika Laurus gives the best report of his success, and of the degree of his seriousness and his spiritual temperament. (By the way, he is an excellent iconographer.) How is it that this family, finding itself out of Russia, came precisely to our Church Abroad? Because they were directed to us by their spiritual guide, Archimandrite Tavrion, who said to them, Outside the border – go to the Church Abroad, and no place else. There the Lord will place you in a monastery. And when I had directed them to the Lesna Convent, they told me: that is exactly what the Elder in the USSR had foretold to us! and that Father Tavrion had said that outside the border [of the USSR], the True Church was the Church Abroad and not the other “jurisdictions.”

About peculiarities which Father Tavrion introduced, I will only comment: don’t you know that our Holy Father [St.] John of Kronstadt, or like unto him that shepherd and man of prayer, Father [St.] Georgy Kossov [of Spas-Chekryak] who reposed earlier [sic], had brought in even more? Yet no one thought to accuse them of departing from Orthodoxy or of “modernism,” for all saw how they were filled with pure Orthodoxy. Father Tavrion, I did not know, nor could have known, but I heard his sermons on tape – they contained pure Orthodox teachings and were given with great spiritual uplift. And does it not speak to his credit that he was able to bring out in these youth such a deep church piety and that he directed them to the Church Abroad? In one issue of our journal Pravoslavnaya Rus’ in 1978, there was an article, “The Little Hermitage of Father Tavrion,” in which Father Tavrion and his deeds are measured in a very positive way.

The Erastovs told me that Father Tavrion always told them: the most pure and correct path of the Church life in the USSR – that path is that of the Catacomb Church and by no means the “Official” church, and that he himself changed only because he saw many sheep without a shepherd, and he went to them to teach completely differently than the Official church was teaching. And the fruits of his work we see. Of course, that is still a compromise, which could not be recommended with approval nor, even more so, as an example. In the spiritual life, in spiritual principles, there can be no compromise. And the journal The Orthodox Word has allowed a very big “slip” by placing information about him together with my simply accompanying note in such a way as to bring confusion and turmoil in Orthodoxy abroad. I had given the material for the purpose of information only, to tell what is happening in our much-suffering homeland, and absolutely by no means intended by this to call anyone to follow in Father Tavrion’s footsteps. And even more so, I had no intention with this to give witness that our Church is altering its course in regard to those who are in obedience to the God-fighting authority and who have betrayed Orthodox Truth!

Asking Your Holy Prayers and Those of the Brethren, 

With Love,

+ Metropolitan Philaret

P.S. I have heard about the letter of some “catacomb person,” but to this day I have not had it in my hands, and the material about him in The Orthodox Word was a complete surprise to me, for which I categorically do not intend to bear any responsibility.

P.P.S. Do you recall the parable about the wheat and the tares? We have to be very careful in our zeal for the purity of the faith so as not to harm, along with the tares, the wheat also…