What May the Little Flock Do?

By Bishop Gregory (Grabbe)

 

After the miraculous conversion of Saul, the faithful did not immediately trust him. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read: And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples, but they were afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple. (Acts 9:26). Such caution on the part of the persecuted children of the Church is natural and understandable. If it manifested itself even in respect to the apostle to whom the Saviour miraculously appeared, it is not surprising that during persecution the faithful sons of the Church remained cautious when they hid in the catacombs in ancient Rome. Therefore, caution is natural for the faithful sons of the Russian Orthodox Church who have spent many years in the catacombs, in their relations towards those of the faithful who come to them now. This caution is caused by necessity. I was reading about a certain secret ascetic near Moscow. Through one of his spiritual children, he came across a young girl who was disposed to be baptized. Even after her decision to be baptized, he continued for a long time in secret to teach her and prepare her to join his little catacomb flock.

It goes without saying that a lot of such caution as a manifestation, as a feeling of self-preservation and safety, is unnecessary among those few children of the True Orthodox in Russia if the persecution ceases. The faithful sons of the true Church are then faced with a new task, a missionary one: the task of enlightening those who previously were not amenable to the preaching of the faithful.

Such a shift of behavior, a change from conditions of the catacombs to open preaching can be very difficult psychologically. In the catacombs a person is first of all concerned with preserving the faith, his own and that of his companions. The preaching of the faith to others and attracting them to the Church is necessarily of a secondary nature. This preaching turns out to be closer to the heart and more natural for the newly converted. When safety is to be found in these communities, the faithful turn out to be of two types: conservatives and activists. This may cause a lack of understanding between them. Different reactions to pastoral and missionary problems may arise.

After Emperor Constantine, when the Church in the Roman Empire went from conditions of persecution to conditions of freedom, in people of these two types, dedication to the truth created different characters, and caused differing reactions. Awareness of their spiritual superiority over those who showed less steadfastness under persecution, after the easing of conditions for entry into the church, caused those who preserved the faith to have a haughty attitude towards the fallen. The representatives of such a guarded and suspicious attitude were two priests: in Rome, Novation and in Carthage, Novatus. At the First Ecumenical Council their followers were a big problem for the fathers of the Council. The eighth canon of the First Ecumenical Council is devoted to resolving this problem. The famous canonist Bishop [St.] Nikodim Milaš, in his commentary on this canon writes about these schismatics; "The canon itself speaks of what their error was, namely, being imbued with a spirit of extreme strictness, they denied forever the right to enter the Church to those who had fallen away from the Christian faith during persecution, however much they repented." Bishop Nikodim writes, "The Novatians, who called themselves purists, were not heretics, since they did not sin in the dogmas of the Orthodox Faith, but sinned exclusively against the law of love for one's neighbor."

In its decision, the Ecumenical Council gives us an example of how, in a missionary situation, the Orthodox Church must condemn those who fell away, but also show them love, which will facilitate their return to the faith. Guided by this principle, the Russian Church in our own time accepted into the Orthodox Church the Assyrian Nestorians. Another example of such love is the Russian Church's attitude toward the Old Believers, when the Church created "One Faith" for them, allowing them to keep their old ritual but, at the same time, accept the Priesthood and other Mysteries of the Church.

The Apostle Paul, preaching sacrificial love in the matter of the salvation of souls, wrote of himself to the Corinthians, To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak. I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some (I Cor. 9:22). This points out to all of us that with great zeal we must assist in the salvation of our brethren who by persecution were deprived of the possibility of hearing and understanding the salvific teaching of the Holy Church and, at best, were believers, but were in the flock of false pastors. Not hearing anything else, they are often not themselves guilty. Nonetheless, they should not be content with this and should seek perfection.

It is not given to us to know the future and, in particular, how long the world around us will last. Furthermore, we do not know when the soul, nor whose soul, must leave the body and appear before God's tribunal. Therefore, we must value the time we have to assist in our neighbor's salvation.

In response to this task, the Russian Church Abroad, by a resolution of the Synod of Bishops, will now begin to open its doors to the faithful not only abroad, which she has always done, sometimes creating whole parishes for non-Russian converts, but in Russia as well. This is necessary in view of the fact that during the years of 'educational' activity on the part of the KGB in the Patriarchal Church a contingent of believers was formed which is not used to recognizing the difference between pure Orthodoxy and Orthodoxy with elements of indifference to pure truth. Now they are simply satisfied with the joy of having somewhat more freedom for church services.

Swallowed up in this joy, they do not see that it is connected with Sergianist compliance with the evil of the atheist government. This is similar to the compromise of the ancient Laodiceans with evil. In Revelation we read of them, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth (Rev. 3: 15-16).

In order to ignite this lukewarmness which is not pleasing to God and replace it with ardent faith, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad has now opened the doors for the creation in Russia of parishes under its direct jurisdiction. There was not to be found in the Moscow Patriarchate one bishop who was free of its destructive dogmatic and moral compromise. We know a whole list of priests, though not one bishop of the Patriarchate who have chosen such a path, who have left the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate and have formed parishes under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

How and when this current will develop, God alone knows. We can say only that it depends on God's help and on the ability of the faithful to accept this help and develop with it. To a large extent this will depend on how great will be their love for one another and for their brethren who will be able to accept it. If we can give them some advice about how to do this, then it is short and simple: have compassion for the souls that have perished, rejoice with everyone who turns to the truth, do not condemn them for their past errors, and with brotherly love accept everyone who will come to you. Church matters are arranged not by mutual condemnation but in love and unity as brothers in Christ.

We have to give a clear account of what the hierarchy of the Moscow Patriarchate has gone through in their relation to the Religious Affairs Department of the KGB. In the "Circular Epistle of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad," there is a quote from the head of the Religious Affairs Department of the KGB. He speaks there of the deliberate 'processing' of candidates for bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate, of their more visible hierarchs. Furov wrote this, though in the last years the chief of religious affairs has been Kharchev. We have received a copy of a very revealing speech of this deputy, Furov, which was given to the Communist Party, from which it is clear that the Communists "processed" not only the most visible bishops but the whole clergy. This was made easier for them by the fact that no ordination could take place without the approval of the government representative. The obvious result of this work was that at the elections for a new patriarch, a candidate was chosen who was considered one of the best in the opinion of the Soviet managers of Church affairs.

What has been the effect of "processing" present and future churchmen? From what Furov and Kharchev reveal, it is clear that they were not entirely satisfied with the results of their work. The aim of their new direction was to create a new "nobler" form of renovationism. This is why perestroika has so far not brought out into the open one bishop who would rise up against the spirit of renovationism and join us. For that reason, it is especially important for the preservation of pure Orthodoxy in Russia that the little flock of our Russian Church Abroad do its vital work there.

I read a letter from one parish which opened after prolonged efforts during the new thaw. The parishioners were very happy to receive priest. However, they were soon worried about his renovationist habits. He was puzzled by the Orthodox inquiries that the parishioners made of him, when they felt his renovationist spirit. Thus, the work of the people in power and of the former renovationists, who were brought into the Moscow Patriarchate, revealed itself in this parish. It is possible to compare the position of the genuinely Orthodox in Moscow with the position in which Saint Gregory the Theologian found himself in Constantinople. He went there in 379 A. D, after various heretics had been in control for forty-six years. He did not have his own church. In the beginning, he served and preached in a private house. Noticing that the Orthodox were too much inclined to unnecessary arguments, the saint suggested to them that what was most important for the faith was their own steadfastness in the truths of Orthodoxy, but at the same time he refuted the errors of the heretics of whom at that time there were very many in Constantinople (Arians, Eunominians, Macedonians, Novatians, and Apollinarians). Originally, these numerous enemies of Orthodoxy mocked Saint Gregory. They laughed at his physical weakness. He was far from the luxury of the capital, was bent-over under the weight of years, and wore simple, poor clothing. But the strength of his holy life and his preaching turned the mockery against his enemies. By power of example and his teaching, the saint converted his flock from heresy and brought them to the one true Church. This historical example of behavior in circumstances similar to ours, should inspire our brothers in Russia. It shows that with strong faith and a friendly disposition, it is possible even in the most unfavorable conditions to come out the victor, even over the ecumenist heresy and renovationist tendencies in Moscow. God's help is necessary for this but does not come about without effort. It is attracted by love towards one's neighbors, sacrifice and prayer. Above all else it must come from the faithful who live in Russia. We must help them by our ardent prayers and generous supply of educational material.

Source: Orthodox Life, Vol. 41, No. 2, March-April 1991, pp. 20-24.