Christ is Leaving Ukraine

Metropolitan Agafangel, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad

August 26 / September 8, 2023

At one time, ROCOR Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) wrote:

"It would really be best for us if the Moscow Patriarchate would 'excommunicate' us and the whole of 'world Orthodoxy' would cut us off; then some of our people would fall into apostasy, but the rest would be stronger." (Letter to Alexander Kalomiros, April 29, 1975)

Fr. Seraphim desired the complete separation of ROCOR from the Moscow Patriarchate and from all "world Orthodoxy," as bearers of numerous heresies and falsehoods, for the sake of strengthening the faith of the Orthodox Christians who would remain.

The truth of God is more precious than crowds and riches. Apostasy is spreading everywhere—relentlessly and inevitably. This is one of the providential laws: a process ordained by God for separating the wheat from the chaff, in order to remove from the Holiness of the Heavenly Kingdom all that is fallen and sinful. We can only observe the irresistible march of this apostasy—the triumphant advance of vice and death amid a world collapsing and perishing.

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Another such fatal step is the establishment at the state level in Ukraine of church feast dates according to the new style. To many, it may seem as though there is nothing dangerous in this—merely a change in the dates of certain feasts. But in reality, it is yet another stage in the movement away from Christ and toward Hell.

Christ suffered for mankind and desires salvation for all, but, to great sorrow, not everyone desires this salvation—at least not to the extent of changing their personal lives for its sake and living contrary to “how everyone else lives.”

Ukraine, which from the 10th century onward was an Orthodox state throughout all the subsequent centuries, has now resolved to reject Christ definitively and to become a secular state once and for all. The first renunciation of Christ by our people was the falling away from the Orthodox Christian Empire—by participating, directly or indirectly, in the overthrow of the Orthodox Tsar. The second renunciation by Ukraine of Christ was the overthrow of the rule of the Orthodox Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky. And now comes the third renunciation—the falling away from the Sacred Tradition by the Ukrainian state as a whole, amid the lukewarmness and indifference of the majority of the people.

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Why is the adoption of the new style at the state level in Ukraine a rejection of Christ? Because it is a falling away from the Orthodox Tradition—bequeathed to us by the Holy Fathers of the Church. By violating this Tradition, we sever the continuity from the early, original, Christ-founded Church, and in doing so, we break the Covenant with Christ Himself. For this change concerns not merely the dates of feasts—it affects the entire life of the Church, which must now be “shifted” by 13 days from the life lived by the original Church of Christ. By accepting the Gregorian calendar (new style), first adopted by the papist heretics in 1582 (or the so-called Revised Julian calendar, which is essentially the same), the followers of the new calendar fall away from the inner, sacred life of Christians faithful to Christ and His Tradition, and become one with a world that has rejected God and lies in sin.

The decree of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (as well as the 7th Apostolic Canon and the 1st Canon of the Council of Antioch) commands all Christians to celebrate Pascha (and, naturally, this also applies to other significant feasts) on the same day. Later, the 7th Canon of the Second Ecumenical Council and the 95th Canon of the Council in Trullo explicitly called those who do not observe this rule heretics. That is, those who reject the calendar accepted by the Church, according to the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, are heretics.

The Catholics, who fell away from the Church of Christ in 1054, to this day continue to adopt numerous innovations that lead them ever further from the Church of the Holy Fathers. One such heretical innovation was the “correction of the calendar” in the year 1582.

The new calendar adopted by the papists was, in the very year of its appearance, rejected by the Ecumenical Patriarch, and was subsequently condemned by three Pan-Orthodox Councils (in 1583, 1587, and 1593) "as a pernicious papal innovation." These Orthodox conciliar decrees, to this day, directly excommunicate all "new calendarists" from the Church.

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Of course, Orthodox people in Ukraine will continue to live by the one spirit of the Church’s Patristic calendar. But those who are weak in faith now find themselves facing a great temptation—to err in the path toward their salvation, for outside the Church there is no saving grace of God. Therefore, it is our duty to warn that any rupture with the Church—including the adoption of the new calendar—destroys the unified mystical life of prayer, and a community that has removed itself from Her inner sacred life falls away from Christ.

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote back in the 19th century: "Apostasy is permitted by God: do not presume to stop it with your feeble hand. Withdraw yourself, guard yourself from it—and that is sufficient for you. Become acquainted with the spirit of the times, study it, so that you may, as far as possible, avoid its influence."

The Russian philosopher and representative of the True Orthodox Christians, Alexei Losev, wrote: "He who has seen little evil flails about, fusses, panics, and despairs. But he who knows that the whole world lies in evil is at peace." Therefore, Christians should not be especially troubled by the fact that the world is drawing near to its end—this is natural and foretold in the Gospel. What we must do is distance ourselves from the death-bearing breath of this world and strive in Christ for the salvation of our soul.

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Let us return to the words of Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose): "It would really be best for us if the Moscow Patriarchate would 'excommunicate' us and the whole of 'world Orthodoxy' would cut us off; then some of our people would fall into apostasy, but the rest would be stronger." Let us separate ourselves from the falsehood of this world and become firmer in our faith in Christ, our only Savior.

In our days, one should place as little trust as possible in external information found in various sources of secular media, which, almost without exception, are aimed at deception, ideological manipulation, and the corruption of man.

In our days, one must, with particular diligence, soberly heed and place utmost trust in the teaching of the Church, which alone serves our salvation.

 

Russian source: http://internetsobor.org/index.php/stati/avtorskaya-kolonka/mitropolit-agafangel-khristos-pokidaet-ukrainu