St. Philaret the New Confessor on the Sanctity of St. Edward the Confessor (+1066)

 

July 20 / August 2, 1984

To whom it may concern

The attention of the President and the members of the Synod of Bishops has been drawn to the fact that announcements are still being made by individual clergy and laity of our Church, against the authority of the Synod of Bishops, aiming to prove that the bearer of the divine Passion, Saint Edward, the martyr, the king of England, is not a saint of the worldwide Orthodox Church of Christ, and that the relics of Saint Edward, which are about to be solemnly handed over to our Church, are spurious and unworthy of veneration by the faithful.

Let it be known to all, that such individual clergy and laity, who spread such slanders against a saint of God, do not speak with the authentic voice of the Orthodox Church, but merely express their personal opinions, which we are convinced are not founded upon the facts of this matter, but rather upon personal prejudice and a morbid will.

The Synod of Bishops, having examined with care the evidence of the matter at its disposal—especially the forensic Report on the relics, conducted in 1970 by the distinguished Dr. Thomas Stowell, a world-renowned expert osteologist—has officially concluded to recognize that the aforementioned osteological examination constitutes an indisputable confirmation of the identity and authenticity of the relics which are being handed over to our Church.

This decision was officially re-examined and ratified by the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the highest administrative authority of our Church.

Lately, certain letters have been submitted to the Synod by persons who hoped to persuade the Synod to revoke its decision recognizing the sanctity of Saint Edward and the authenticity of his relics, and to cancel their forthcoming translation.

Let it be known that, having examined the letters submitted to it, the Synod found nothing of substance that would justify the cancellation of the handing over of the holy relics of Saint Edward to it, nor anything that could compel it to re-evaluate the sanctity of Saint Edward.

 

 

The opinion has been expressed that Saint Edward cannot be considered a saint on account of the fact that the Filioque had already been introduced into the Symbol of Faith in England during his time. To maintain such an opinion is contrary to the expressed views of the great Fathers of the Church who refuted the Filioque, namely the venerable Maximus the Confessor and Saint Photius the Hierarch, Patriarch of Constantinople. Furthermore, justice would require that, like many other saints who unknowingly professed the same addition to the Symbol of Faith, they too should be removed from our hagiology—for example, Saints Wenceslaus and Ludmilla of Bohemia, Saint Martin the Confessor, Pope of Rome, and so forth.

Both bodies, the Synod and the Council of Bishops, examined the matter of the Filioque with care in relation to the case of Saint Edward, and in view of the expressed opinions of the Fathers of the Church, concluded that it (the Filioque) does not constitute an obstacle, in the time of Saint Edward, for a Christian to attain sanctity.

Those who oppose the reception of the holy relics of Saint Edward and the very sanctity of the Saint himself would do well to consider that they are opposing the very grace of God Himself, a sin for which the spiritual penalty will undoubtedly not be insignificant.

We make an appeal to all the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia to place their trust in the decision of the Council and the Synod of Bishops, in whose competence such serious ecclesiastical matters lie, and not in the competence of uninformed clergy and laity.

Metropolitan PHILARET
President

Bishop GREGORY
Secretary

 

Translated from the published Greek source: Orthodoxos Typos, No. 645, March 22, 1985.

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