November 9, 2020
[Written while the
Convent was still under the omophorion of the “Russian True Orthodox Church”]
Approximately two and a half
years ago, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began — a conflict that so
grievously divides Orthodox Christians, including the faithful of our Church,
into factions and opposing sides, and has alienated so many former friends,
even relatives and close ones. To this day, our Church has not officially
expressed a defined position regarding the conflict, calling only for prayer
for the cessation of this fratricidal war and permitting prayers for those
fighting on both sides. Many are perplexed as to how an Orthodox Christian
should truly relate to what is taking place. Others, alas, interpret the
silence of our Synod as agreement with their personal opinions, and decide that
this gives them the right not only to express those opinions, but to present
them as the opinion of the Church — binding upon all. The absence of any
statement or resolution from the Synod on this matter, along with some not
entirely appropriate remarks by individual hierarchs and clergy, is one of the reasons
that led several communities to cease liturgical commemoration of the Chairman
of the Synod of Bishops, accusing our Synod of Sergianism. For the resolution
of conflicts, the restoration of mutual understanding, and the reconciliation
of those in opposition, our monastery considers it necessary and urgent that
the Synod adopt a formal Resolution or Appeal on this matter. I attach herewith
my thoughts on what is occurring — the perspective of an Orthodox Christian
nun, raised from infancy in the ROCOR, living in the West, but always
considering herself Russian. I offer these reflections with the hope that the
Synod may find them useful in drafting such a document.
First of all, it seems to me that
one cannot but acknowledge that this conflict is a great misfortune and
tragedy. Two Orthodox brotherly peoples are clashing — peoples who ought to
live in peace and concord, “that with one mind they may confess” the Holy
Trinity, and not shoot at one another. We cannot but grieve over this, and our
very first and fervent prayer — common and obligatory for all — must be for the
cessation of bloodshed and the establishment of peace.
Secondly, it must be acknowledged
that, in addition to the armed conflict, there is also an information war. All
forces and parties involved in the conflict are using mass media, social
networks, and modern technology to convey their own “truth” to the masses.
Enormous resources and efforts have been deployed in this information war; it
is conducted around the clock, without ceasing, and there are no rules of
conduct or notions of conscience and honor in this war. Information is
distorted, transmitted in a skewed manner, and outright lies are often
disseminated knowingly. We must admit that we do not know — and cannot know —
the whole truth about what is happening, and therefore, an Orthodox Christian
cannot form an opinion or take a stance toward these events based solely on
such information. This must be explained to our flock, and they should be
urged, as much as possible, to avoid the media and social networks, entering
the virtual world only out of necessity — for work, correspondence, and similar
obligations. In our times, perhaps more than ever before, we must remember that
a Christian is called to be “not of this world,” and it is essential for each
of us to cultivate within ourselves an Orthodox way of thinking and perception
of the world, so that the soul and heart may possess correct spiritual
orientation, which will help in properly discerning the political and social
processes unfolding around us. This is possible only through constant work on
oneself, the purification of the heart, and through the study and careful
preservation of our true Orthodox heritage. It seems to me that this is
precisely the path that St. Philaret pointed out to us in his spiritual
testament: “Hold fast that which thou hast.” These words, taken from the sacred
book of the Apocalypse, in our time — in these many-sorrowed, deceitful days,
filled with temptations — bear especially great significance. They remind us of
that precious spiritual wealth which we, the children of the Orthodox Church,
possess. Yes, we are rich. And this spiritual wealth is that which the Holy
Church possesses… The teaching of the faith — our wondrous, saving Orthodox
faith; the numerous living examples of people who lived by faith… the beauty
and splendor of our Orthodox divine services, and the living participation in
them through faith and prayer; the fullness of the grace-filled life, open to
all and to each…”
Only by such a path can we
preserve the children of our Church from strife and division, because, as the
Hierarch continues, “the crown of all this” is: “the unity of the children of
the Church in that love of which the Savior spoke: by this shall all men know
that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
If we live by “the fullness of
the grace-filled life,” of which St. Philaret wrote, and remember that, in the
words of the Apostle, “our citizenship is in heaven,” then no “world backstage”
or “world government” will frighten us, and we will not begin to brand one
another as “Russophobes” or “Ukrofascists.”
It is well known that St.
Philaret believed that power and politics are spheres from which a believer
should keep a distance, and he did not bless his spiritual children to take
jobs connected with them. Many of us were offered work in American security agencies,
promised brilliant careers, but remembering Vladyka’s counsel, we declined.
Among the Russian émigré community, there were many talented people working in
various fields of science and culture, but I do not recall a single one who was
a politician or an official seeking state power. This was considered
unacceptable for the children of the Church Abroad and a betrayal of that
Russia which we lost, but whose spiritual values we preserved and continue to
preserve. From the understanding that for us the life in the Church is above
and dearer than anything else, I cannot agree with the signatories of the “Appeal
of the Gomel Diocese,” composed with the blessing of Bishop Hermogen, in
October 2014, where it is stated that “...at present, the goals of Russian
Orthodox people and of the Putin regime coincide...” The Putin regime always
and everywhere presents itself as the direct heir of the Soviet regime, which,
in the words of Archbishop Nathaniel (Lvov), “justifies, whitewashes, and
glorifies the greatest cruelties, deceits, acts of violence, and, in general,
the trampling of all Divine and human laws — the greatest crimes ever committed
in human history.” In Church life, in Church history, there is no statute of
limitations, and as long as today’s Russian government aligns itself with the
force that committed these atrocities, we cannot consider it either legitimate
or in any way related to the former Tsarist Russia, to Holy Rus’, and never, in
any way, can our goals coincide with theirs. In my view, the explanation given
by one of the authors of the “Appeal,” Fr. Deacon Alexander, in his
letter written in February 2016 — that he had in mind Putin’s goals in his
“struggle (to preserve his place in the Masonic world elite — author’s
clarification),” in which Putin “is forced to rely on Russian patriotic forces,
and therefore, at present, the goals of Orthodox Russian people and of the
Putin regime coincide in the matter of defending the enslaved and exterminated
Russian population of southeastern Ukraine” — not only fails to change the
essence of the original statement, but on the contrary, further emphasizes his
conviction that the incompatible can be reconciled: that the goals of Orthodox
Russian people and those of the avowed heirs and continuers of the
God-fighting, Tsar-murdering regime can coincide. The complete incompatibility
of these goals is confirmed not only by Putin’s repeated blasphemous words and
statements about the Tsar-Martyr, but also by all the signs of the resurgence
of Soviet, Communist symbols, Communist youth organizations, and the like,
which we have recently witnessed. The events connected with the anniversary of
the tragedy in Lienz in 2015 — when the Russian authorities prevented many
people from traveling to Austria to honor the memory of Stalin’s victims —
clearly demonstrated to us that the present-day government and the Soviet
regime are one and the same: accusations of extremism were used — that is,
typically Soviet methods. This example, just one among many, once again
convinces me of the impossibility of considering the goals of today’s Russian
government as Orthodox or in any way pleasing to God. I do not dare to call the
signatories and supporters of the “Appeal” Sergianists, but I do believe
that they are far from the stance toward the Soviet regime that was professed —
and for which the New Martyrs of Russia died — and which was expressed by St.
Philaret of New York, who forbade his spiritual children to participate in
political movements. I mean a total rejection of the modern Russian regime and
a complete and final refusal to support it or cooperate with it in any way. In
this context, I cannot in any way accept the appeals of Fr. Archimandrite Ilya
(Empulev) to support by every means the militia, which is organized and funded
by the modern Russian government; all the more, I oppose the idea that our
priests should bless anyone to join the ranks of this militia. I do not accept
the assertion of the same “Appeal of the Gomel Diocese” that the
militia’s struggle has led to an “uncontrolled state of spiritual revival,” or
that it defends the “traditional monarchist ideology of the historical Russian
Orthodox Church.” I do not agree with the opinion of Bishop Hermogen, expressed
in his letter to Vladimir Moss on Forgiveness Sunday, 2015, that “the ambitions
of the Kremlin... involuntarily compel it to defend the people in Little Russia
from the goals of a world order that is entirely spiritually corrupted in the
West... and that this, at present, hinders the universal establishment of the
emerging Kingdom of the Antichrist.” Particularly offensive to my conscience is
the comparison of the militia with the White Movement. I have no doubt that
many joined the militia with the most sincere and pure intentions, that they
are Orthodox Christians and sincerely believe they are fighting for Russian
ideals. But the presence of such people in the militia does not make the cause
itself just, does not justify the Putin regime, and certainly does not
transform Putin’s militiamen into warriors of the White Movement.
Perhaps someone will respond to
me that the militia is not fighting against Ukrainians, but against America
and, as it is now fashionable to say, the “Sodom-West.” I do not deny that
America and the European Union, defending their own interests, support the
current government of Ukraine and, in all likelihood, supply the Ukrainian army
with equipment and weapons. But it is not Americans or Europeans, not supporters
of globalization or sodomites who are dying in this war — it is Orthodox
Ukrainians and Russians. Therefore, I cannot in any way agree with Bishop
Hermogen that the militia, backed by the Putin regime, constitutes a “popular
resistance to the Antichrist’s plans to destroy Russia”…
I am deeply offended by the
contrast drawn between today’s Russia and the West in such a statement by
Bishop Hermogen: “…we believe — and more precisely, we know — that the main
advance of the Antichrist comes from the Western world, where the USA and Great
Britain are his primary instruments… We pray that the degree of spiritual
corruption present in your England may take longer to reach Russian soil…” and
that “…the sole goal of the catacomb members of our parishes is to beseech God
through prayer to halt the bloodshed and the threat of subjugation of the
population of Little Russia to the interests of the corrupt Antichristic West…”
Nor can I agree with Bishop Hermogen’s opinion that “among the peoples of
Russia there is now greater resistance to spiritual perversions than in the
already officially sodomite West. How much more, I don’t know — but it is so.”
Why are the peoples of Russia considered so much more spiritual than the
peoples of the West? Why do so many of our faithful believe that the West and
America are already completely enslaved by the Antichrist, and that no one here
sees or resists the processes of apostasy? They forget that most European
nations were enlightened by the light of Christ and baptized several centuries
earlier than Russia. Europe was Orthodox land, and this land and these peoples
produced hosts of martyrs, hierarchs, venerable ones, and pious princes. Even
the New World — America — has produced Orthodox martyrs among the Aleuts, and
ascetics of piety such as Fr. Seraphim (Rose) and Brother José Muñoz. In every
country of Europe and in America one can find many people who are fighting
against globalization, against abortion, against same-sex marriage, and so on.
In our secular France, hundreds of thousands of people protested against the
legalization of same-sex marriage; many state officials refused to “marry” such
couples and resigned from their posts in protest. Just this past Great Lent,
our sisters witnessed how the French stood for hours in line to venerate the
Holy Tunic of Christ. This great relic is preserved here, in the West — it was
simple people who managed to preserve it despite persecution and the widespread
destruction of holy things during the French Revolution. This year in America,
Western Christians have made enormous strides in limiting access to and
reducing the number of abortions, and government subsidies to organizations
that promote and profit from this sin have been drastically cut. In Poland and
five other countries, abortion is entirely prohibited by law. Why, then, are
all these countries and peoples supposedly enslaved by the Antichrist, while in
modern Russia we are told there is an “uncontrolled situation of spiritual
revival… which may give powerful impetus to spiritual rebirth…”? In the 20th
century, nowhere in America or Europe were Orthodox Christians persecuted. It
was in Russia that millions of believers were killed — and they were killed by
the predecessors of today’s rulers. The attitude of Bishop Hermogen, Fr. Ilya,
and their supporters toward us who live in the West — as though we were
second-class people — deeply angers and troubles us. And yet our Church has
never once spoken out against this. It gives the impression that our Church
acknowledges only those living in Russia as true strugglers, for they are
fighting against microchips, codes, taxpayer IDs, vaccinations, and passports —
and now also against the forces of the Antichrist in the form of Ukrainians
funded by America. And all of us living in the West have long since surrendered
and are perishing, surrounded by same-sex marriages in Masonic states, using
bank cards and accepting biometric documents with chips.
Many of us consider our times to
be apocalyptic; many believe that we are living on the threshold of the
enthronement of the Antichrist. All the more reason, then, for us to pay
attention to the fact that the Holy Book of the Apocalypse does not single out
any nation or state as particularly blessed or as not enslaved by the Whore of
Babylon. All the kingdoms of the world and their rulers will bow to her. Only
those will be able to resist her who bow to the Lamb, who acknowledge His
lordship above all. We must understand that since the time of the first
God-fighting French Revolution — and especially after the fall of the Tsarist
Orthodox monarchy in Russia — no nation, and certainly no modern state, whether
in America, Europe, or Russia, can be considered in any sense chosen by God or
as standing in opposition to the processes described in the Apocalypse, as
resisting the Antichrist. The degree of involvement in and consent to or
participation in these processes may vary, but all of modern society is infected.
We must all the more frequently and insistently call for the “fullness of the
grace-filled life” and for “the unity of the children of the Church in that
love of which the Savior spoke: by this shall all men know that ye are My
disciples, if ye have love one to another,” as St. Philaret said — and not be
carried away by contemporary political leaders or movements.
In conclusion, I would like to
touch upon the issue of commemorating the “Christ-loving armed forces” or
“soldiers,” in which anyone baptized and professing Orthodoxy is counted among
them. In my deep conviction, the “Christ-loving armed forces” can only be those
who fight for the faith, the tsar, and the fatherland in the ranks of an
Orthodox monarchy’s army. In the Church Abroad, many refused to commemorate
even the soldiers of the White Movement as the “Christ-loving armed forces,”
since many of the leaders of the White Army played a significant role in the
overthrow of the Lord’s Anointed and welcomed the revolution. The Confessor
Patriarch Tikhon did not find it possible to bless the White Movement, and in
the same spirit, the ROCOR never officially blessed the Vlasov movement — the ROA
[Russian Liberation Army] — nor did it pray for them as the “Christ-loving
armed forces.” Many Russian émigrés fought on the side of General Franco
against communism during the Spanish War, and many volunteered to fight in
Korea and Vietnam, wishing at least in these distant lands to struggle against
communism. They were commemorated as soldiers, but not as “Christ-loving.” Undoubtedly,
the relatives and loved ones of today’s soldiers must and do want to pray for
them. But such prayer should not be turned into a political act by ascribing to
today’s military the title of “Christ-loving armed forces,” thereby designating
their side as the only correct and Orthodox one. And in this spiritual work, in
our divine services, we should preserve the legacy of St. Philaret and “hold
fast that which we have,” placing “the unity of the children of the Church in
love” above contentious and troubling commemorations and petitions.
With all my heart I wish and hope
that in the near future our Synod will adopt the appropriate resolutions and
compose a document reflecting a strictly Orthodox view on the aforementioned
matters.
Russian source:
https://monasterelesna.com/%d1%81%d0%be%d0%b2%d1%80%d0%b5%d0%bc%d0%b5%d0%bd%d0%bd%d1%8b%d0%b5-%d1%80%d0%be%d1%81%d1%81%d0%b8%d1%8f-%d1%83%d0%ba%d1%80%d0%b0%d0%b8%d0%bd%d0%b0-%d0%b8-%d0%b7%d0%b0%d0%bf%d0%b0%d0%b4-%d0%b4%d1%83/
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