“I grew up under Metropolitan Philaret…” – Abbess Euphrosinia (Molchanova) of Lesna Convent

 

I grew up under Metropolitan Philaret; he was my spiritual father. I was also a parishioner of the Synodal Cathedral and knew Vladyka Gregory [Grabbe] and his whole family well. The sister of Vladyka Gregory, Mother Abbess Magdalina [Grabbe], was my first abbess. There is a portion of truth in everything you write, but in my opinion, everything is much more complicated. The very conservative and apocalyptic views and mindset of Vladyka Philaret began to form much earlier than his acquaintance with the future Vladyka Gregory, under the influence of his father, Vladyka Dimitry [Rozhdestvensky], who in 1933 published an extensive analysis of the Apocalypse. Vladyka Philaret’s attitude toward the Moscow Patriarchate was also shaped not only through interaction with Vladyka Gregory Grabbe and his circle, but also through personal experience. After all, he was in the MP, like all clergy and parishes in Manchuria after the war. He was interrogated by the KGB; he knew firsthand what that was like. The growth of ROCOR decreased under him, first of all because the resettlement and distribution of all the Russians who had remained in Europe and China after the war had ended. Along with the “ultra-right followers” of Fr. Panteleimon [Metropoulos] (by the way, no one called or considered him an elder, except for his closest followers in Boston—among the Greeks, it is customary to call all abbots and abbesses of monasteries elders), other Americans also came into ROCOR through the monastery in Platina, who were much more moderate. Parishes of the new calendar Bulgarians and Romanians also joined, in Canada and France. As in Harbin, the Vladyka continued to communicate and work with the youth, for which we are all infinitely grateful to him. Even then, he was a most interesting conversationalist and made many jokes. Yes, the Vladyka truly loved and respected Vladyka Gregory [Grabbe] and his family, but Synods were regularly held and Councils convened—Vladyka heard other views and opinions. Vladyka was aware of and acknowledged mistakes and by no means considered himself or ROCOR infallible. His statements and opinions could indeed be sharp and strict, but he had a sense of the conciliarity of the Church; he emphasized that this was his personal opinion and did not dare to present it as the opinion of the entire Church fullness. And as a pastor and spiritual father, he was loving, kind, and lenient.

 

- Online reply (translated from Russian) to Alexy Rodionov, a Russian researcher and critic of Metropolitan Philaret, dated November 21, 2025.