In 1958, the magazine of the
Russian Church Abroad in the United States, Pravoslavnaya Rus' (Orthodox
Rus’), inaugurated a column entitled “Questions and Answers,” which was edited
by the ever-memorable Archbishop Averky. A total of 218 questions were
answered, of which I translate and publish a very few representative ones in
memory of this great Father.
* * *
6. QUESTION: Is it lawful
to permit a priest of the Anglican Church, in his full vestments, to be present
in the altar during the celebration of the Paschal Liturgy, and is it normal
for our Orthodox faithful to approach him for a blessing?
ANSWER: It is entirely
unlawful. According to the canons, even Orthodox Christians who do not possess
clerical rank are forbidden to enter the altar; all the more impermissible,
therefore, is the entry into the altar of persons who do not belong to the
Orthodox Church.
* * *
83. QUESTION: In view of
the impossibility of forming a good choir from among the parishioners, whether
because of the small size of the parish, the lack of good voices, or other
reasons, people with good voices are sought among the local non-Orthodox
population and invited to sing in the church choir for a specified monetary
remuneration. Since these people do not know the Church Slavonic language,
special musical scores are prepared for them, beneath which the words of the
hymns are written in Latin letters; these words they pronounce during the
divine services, particularly during the Liturgy, without understanding their
meaning.
Is this practice permissible from
the standpoint of the Church Typikon and the canons?
ANSWER: The canons say
nothing about this, for at the time when they were composed, one must suppose
that no one could even have imagined such a strange phenomenon as persons who
do not belong to the Orthodox Church singing in an Orthodox Christian church.
This phenomenon is entirely
abnormal, and it testifies only to the complete loss in our time of a clear
understanding of what Orthodox divine worship actually is. Orthodox divine
worship is the common prayer of the clergy and the faithful, in which all take
the most active part “with one heart and with one mouth.”
What participation, then, can
persons who do not belong to our Orthodox Church have in our ecclesiastical
prayer? According to the canons, they may not even be present in the church
when the great Mystery of the Eucharist is being celebrated.
Singing in church must not be
regarded as some sort of theatrical or concert performance whose purpose is to
delight the hearing of those present. It is prayer, in which all must
consciously participate, with a clear understanding of the words, meaning, and
significance of what is being sung and of what is taking place in the church at
that time. How, then, can persons who are complete outsiders, strangers to our
Holy Orthodoxy, and who do not even understand what they are singing, be
permitted to sing in our Orthodox church? This is a profanation of the sacred
character of our divine worship, to which many people in our time descend
almost unconsciously, without reflecting on what they are doing, as a result of
the loss of a living sense of churchliness.
* * *
186. QUESTION: December 12
according to the Old Style—the day of St. Spyridon—is December 25 according to
the New Style, when the Greeks celebrate the Nativity of Christ and invite our
priests to concelebrate with them. May our priests accept such an invitation?
ANSWER: By no means may
they do so. Our Church did not accept the New Style, and therefore such a
service would be entirely inappropriate for our priests. The New Style was
introduced among the Greeks by enemies of Holy Orthodoxy, with the undoubted
aim of introducing confusion and division into the ranks of the faithful, and
this they succeeded in doing. To this day, about one third of the population of
Greece does not accept the New Style, and because of this a fierce struggle has
been going on there for more than 39 years.
To adopt the New Style
completely, including the celebration of Pascha according to the New Style,
would constitute a gross violation of the 7th Canon of the Holy Apostles, and
the Greek ecclesiastical hierarchy would not have gone so far. Therefore, a “compromise”
reform was devised—the celebration of all feasts according to the New Style,
except for the feast of Pascha, which the Greeks continue to celebrate
according to the Old Style. This, of course, is merely a clever “trick” of the
enemies of Holy Orthodoxy, whose aim is to disrupt peace and unity in the
Orthodox Church by introducing all kinds of modernist reforms “in the spirit of
the age,” and thereby to undermine the authority and life-giving power of Holy
Orthodoxy.
* * *
189. QUESTION: May a
Catholic, at his own discretion, receive Communion both with us and in the
Catholic Church?
ANSWER: By no means may he
do so. The Holy Mysteries of Christ may be administered only to one who has
consciously joined the Holy Orthodox Church. Adult Roman Catholics are received
by us according to the third rite, that is, through confession, renunciation of
the errors of the Roman Catholic confession, and reception of the Holy
Mysteries of Christ, after which, of course, a person thus received into Holy
Orthodoxy may no longer and should no longer receive Communion anywhere except
in the Holy Orthodox Church. Children baptized in Catholicism (up to 12 years
of age) must first also receive Chrismation.
* * *
200. QUESTION: Because of
the lack of sufficient information, it is impossible to determine precisely the
day of the Nativity of Christ. Therefore, I believe that the feast of the
Nativity of Christ can and should be transferred to the New Style. This is
because all Americans go to their churches on the day of the Nativity of
Christ, and our younger generation, who have entered into mixed marriages (and
they are the majority), also go there. If there were a Nativity service in our
churches on that day, they would go to our church. Supporters of the Old Style
point out “that the length of the Nativity Fast would thereby be disrupted,”
and yet most of them celebrate the New Year according to the New Style and not
at a fasting table. From personal experience I know that if the Nativity of
Christ falls on a working day, it is not always possible to take time off from
work. If persons who accept American citizenship do not take American
traditions into account, such persons cause bewilderment among Americans and
the legitimate question: “Why did they accept citizenship?” Thus, among us, the
Twelve Great Feasts and patronal feasts are transferred to other days at the
discretion of the rector—something not provided for by the Typikon, but
necessitated by the circumstances of life, so that the faithful may pray in
honor of their Orthodox feasts, including the Nativity of Christ according to
the New Style.
ANSWER: Indeed, because of
the lack of sufficient information, it is impossible to establish with
precision the day of the Nativity of Christ. But this does not mean that the
day of the Nativity of Christ may be celebrated whenever anyone pleases: THE
DAY OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST MUST BE CELEBRATED WHEN OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCH
HAS ESTABLISHED IT—DECEMBER 25 ACCORDING TO OUR ORTHODOX CALENDAR. The entire
liturgical order of our Holy Orthodox Church constitutes a strict and
harmonious whole, in which everything has its appointed place and in which
there can be no room for arbitrariness, for otherwise confusion and disorder
would be introduced, disrupting this strict harmony. In particular, the day of
the Nativity of Christ is closely connected with the forty-day fast that
precedes it, with the special celebrations and commemorations of a whole series
of preceding days, with the days of the so-called “Forefeast” of the Nativity
of Christ, and so forth. All of this would be disrupted if the celebration of
the Nativity of Christ according to the New Style were introduced: instead of
harmonious order, there would be impermissible chaos.
True Orthodox Christians will not
celebrate the New Year according to the New Style, still less “at a non-fasting
table,” and those who are alien in spirit to their Holy Orthodox Faith and do
not cherish its traditions and ordinances cannot be prevented from doing so.
The acceptance of American
nationality—or, more correctly, “citizenship”—does not oblige us to renounce
our Holy Orthodox Faith or its customs and traditions. Muslims, pagans, and
especially Jews enjoy here complete freedom and the right to profess their
faith and celebrate their feasts in accordance with their own customs and
traditions, and no one dares reproach them for any supposed “disloyalty” to
America. It is therefore more than strange to compel Orthodox Christians to
adopt the customs and traditions of non-Orthodox Americans. We know that
reasonable American employers, on the contrary, quite readily allow their
employees time off to attend church on major feast days, in accordance with the
faith they profess. Exceptions, of course, are always possible.
The assertion that among us the
Twelve Great Feasts and patronal feasts are supposedly “transferred to other
days, at the discretion of the rector” is entirely contrary to fact: both the
Twelve Great Feasts and patronal feasts are celebrated at their proper time,
when prescribed by the Church Typikon. But in addition to this, some
rectors arrange, on the nearest Sunday, a special public celebration of the
patronal feast, in order to give as many of the faithful as possible who are
unable to be in church on the actual day of the feast an opportunity to take
part in it. This is incorrectly called a transfer of the feast, for the feast
cannot be transferred and is not transferred.
IN A FOREIGN LAND AND UNDER
UNFAVORABLE CONDITIONS, ALL THE MORE THAN WAS THE CASE IN RUSSIA, WE MUST BE
CONFESSORS OF OUR FAITH AND NOT DISSOLVE INTO THE ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING US,
WHICH IS UTTERLY UNWORTHY OF THE CALLING OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN. Otherwise, what
will become of us if the new faith, common to all, which is now being so
vigorously promoted, is imposed upon us all? The acceptance of one innovation
inevitably entails the acceptance of other innovations, and gradually all the
foundations of the faith are shaken. THIS IS PRECISELY THE PATH OF APOSTASY,
WHICH ALWAYS BEGINS AS THOUGH WITH SOMETHING “SMALL”—SOMETHING APPARENTLY
INSIGNIFICANT—AND THEN, GRADUALLY PROGRESSING, PASSES ON TO GREATER AND GREATER
THINGS, UNTIL AT LAST THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE FAITH ITSELF IS LOST—ITS SPIRIT
EVAPORATES, AND THE “SALT,” IN THE WORDS OF CHRIST THE SAVIOR, “HAS LOST ITS
SAVOR.”
OUR SALVATION LIES IN HOLDING
FAST TO WHAT IS OURS. And this evokes not bewilderment, but, on the contrary,
respect for us on the part of foreigners.
* * *
213. QUESTION: According
to the Church’s ordinance, a Christian preparing to receive the Holy Mysteries
of Christ should observe a strict fast without oil for 3–5 days. But if, in
monasteries, with the blessing of the spiritual father, one prepares for
Communion every Saturday and on all great feasts, is it necessary each time to
observe such a strict three-day fast without oil before receiving Communion?
And if great feasts or polyeleos days occur during this period, must one, for
the sake of the Divine Mysteries, disregard the Church’s rules concerning the
consumption of food on those days, or may one eat food with oil without
scruple? It is clear that the issue is not the oil itself, but the proper
inward preparation of oneself for receiving the Divine Mysteries of Christ. But
what is one to do? How should a clergyman who serves the Liturgy every day act,
or a layman who prepares for Communion every Saturday or Sunday?
ANSWER: You have already
answered this question yourself as well. Of course, the matter does not lie in
the oil, but precisely in inward, concentrated preparation of oneself, in a
prayerful and penitential disposition; fasting, in the sense of bodily
abstinence, is prescribed only as an aid toward this. The rules of the Church
do not require priests who serve the Liturgy every day to observe such a strict
fast, nor do they require it of laypeople during those periods of the year when
there is no fast and when, on the contrary, the eating of non-fasting foods is
permitted. In general, the prescription of a fast before receiving the Holy
Mysteries of Christ, and the degree of its strictness, depends entirely upon
the spiritual father of each individual person, from whom one should seek
advice and a blessing in this matter.
Greek
source: https://krufo-sxoleio.blogspot.com/2019/05/httpsazbyka.html
Questions
and answers translated from the original Russian here:
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