On Charity and Compassion Toward the Heterodox

St. Seraphim (Rose) of Platina

A few years before he died, Fr. Seraphim received a letter from an African-American woman who, as a catechumen learning about Orthodoxy, was struggling to understand the uncharitable attitude that some Orthodox Christians showed to those outside the Church, an attitude which reminded her of how her own people had been treated. “I am deeply troubled,” this woman wrote, “as to how Orthodoxy views what the world would call Western Christians, i.e., Protestants and Roman Catholics. I have read many articles by many Orthodox writers, and a few use words like ‘Papists,’ etc., which I find deeply disturbing and quite offensive. I find them offensive because as a person of a race which has been subjected to much name-calling I despise and do not wish to adopt the habit of name-calling myself. Even ‘heretic’ disturbs me….

“Where do I stand with my friends and relatives? They do not know about Orthodoxy or they do not understand it. Yet they believe in and worship Christ.… Am I to treat my friends and relatives as if they have no God, no Christ?... Or can I call them Christians, but just ones who do not know the true Church?

“When I ask this question, I cannot help but think of St. Innocent of Alaska as he visited the Franciscan monasteries in California. He remained thoroughly Orthodox yet he treated the priests he met there with kindness and charity and not name-calling. This, I hope, is what Orthodoxy says about how one should treat other Christians.”

This woman’s quandary was actually fairly common to people coming into the Orthodox Faith. Now nearing the end of his short life and having thrown off his youthful bitterness, Fr. Seraphim answered as follows:

I was happy to receive your letter—happy not because you are confused about the question that troubles you, but because your attitude reveals that in the truth of Orthodoxy to which you are drawn you wish to find room also for a loving, compassionate attitude to those outside the Orthodox Faith.

I firmly believe that this is indeed what Orthodoxy teaches….

I will set forth briefly what I believe to be the Orthodox attitude towards non-Orthodox Christians.

1. Orthodoxy is the Church founded by Christ for the salvation of mankind, and therefore we should guard with our life the purity of its teaching and our own faithfulness to it. In the Orthodox Church alone is grace given through the sacraments (most other churches don’t even claim to have sacraments in any serious sense). The Orthodox Church alone is the Body of Christ, and if salvation is difficult enough within the Orthodox Church, how much more difficult must it be outside the Church!

2. However, it is not for us to define the state of those who are outside the Orthodox Church. If God wishes to grant salvation to some who are Christians in the best way they know, but without ever knowing the Orthodox Church—that is up to Him, not us. But when He does this, it is outside the normal way that He established for salvation—which is in the Church, as a part of the Body of Christ. I myself can accept the experience of Protestants being ‘born-again’ in Christ; I have met people who have changed their lives entirely through meeting Christ, and I cannot deny their experience just because they are not Orthodox. I call these people “subjective” or “beginning” Christians. But until they are united to the Orthodox Church they cannot have the fullness of Christianity, they cannot be objectively Christian as belonging to the Body of Christ and receiving the grace of the sacraments. I think this is why there are so many sects among them—they begin the Christian life with a genuine conversion to Christ, but they cannot continue the Christian life in the right way until they are united to the Orthodox Church, and they therefore substitute their own opinions and subjective experiences for the Church’s teaching and sacraments.

About those Christians who are outside the Orthodox Church, therefore, I would say: they do not yet have the full truth—perhaps it just hasn’t been revealed to them yet, or perhaps it is our fault for not living and teaching the Orthodox Faith in a way they can understand. With such people we cannot be one in the Faith, but there is no reason why we should regard them as totally estranged or as equal to pagans (although we should not be hostile to pagans either—they also haven’t yet seen the truth!). It is true that many of the non-Orthodox hymns contain a teaching or at least an emphasis that is wrong—especially the idea that when one is “saved” he does not need to do anything more because Christ has done it all. This idea prevents people from seeing the truth of Orthodoxy which emphasizes the idea of struggling for one’s salvation even after Christ has given it to us, as St. Paul says: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling [Phil. 2:12]. But almost all of the religious Christmas carols are all right, and they are sung by Orthodox Christians in America (some of them in even the strictest monasteries!).

The word “heretic” (as we say in our article on Fr. Dimitry Dudko) is indeed used too frequently nowadays. It has a definite meaning and function, to distinguish new teachings from the Orthodox teaching; but few of the non-Orthodox Christians today are consciously “heretics,” and it really does no good to call them that.

In the end, I think, Fr. Dimitry Dudko’s attitude is the correct one: We should view the non-Orthodox as people to whom Orthodoxy has not yet been revealed, as people who are potentially Orthodox (if only we ourselves would give them a better example!). There is no reason why we cannot call them Christians and be on good terms with them, recognize that we have at least our faith in Christ in common, and live in peace especially with our own families. St. Innocent’s attitude to the Roman Catholics in California is a good example for us. A harsh, polemical attitude is called for only when the non-Orthodox are trying to take away our flocks or change our teaching.…

As for prejudices—these belong to people, not the Church. Orthodoxy does not require you to accept any prejudices or opinions about other races, nations, etc.

- Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, Hieromonk Damascene (Christensen), St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2010, Chapter 84.

 

St. Silouan the Athonite

Father Silouan’s attitude towards those who differed from him was characterised by a sincere desire to see what was good in them, and not to offend them in anything they held sacred. He always remained himself, he was utterly Convinced that ‘salvation lies in Christ-like humility’, and by virtue of this humility he strove with his whole soul to interpret every man at his best. He found his way to the heart of everyone to his capacity for loving Christ.

I remember a conversation he had with a certain Archimandrite who was engaged in missionary work. This Archimandrite thought highly of the Staretz and many a time went to see him during his visits to the Holy Mountain. The Staretz asked him what sort of sermons he preached to people. The Archimandrite, who was still young and inexperienced gesticulated with his hands and swayed his whole body, and replied excitedly, ‘I tell them, Your faith is all wrong, perverted. There is nothing right, and if you don’t repent, there will be no salvation for you.’

The Staretz heard him out, then asked, ‘Tell me, Father Archimandrite, do they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the true God?’

‘Yes, that they do believe.’

‘And do they revere the Mother of God?’

‘Yes, but they are not taught properly about her.’

‘And what of the Saints?’

‘Yes, they honour them but since they have fallen away from the Church, what saints can they have?’

‘Do they celebrate the Divine Office in their churches? Do they read the Gospels?’

‘Yes, they do have churches and services but if you were to compare their services with ours—how cold and lifeless theirs are!’

‘Father Archimandrite, people feel in their souls when they are doing the proper thing, believing in Jesus Christ, revering the Mother of God and the Saints, whom they call upon in prayer, so if you condemn their faith they will not listen to you ... But if you were to confirm that they were doing well to believe in God and honour the Mother of God and the Saints; that they are right to go to church, and say their prayers at home, read the Divine word, and so on; and then gently point out their mistakes and show them what they ought to amend, then they would listen to you, and the Lord would rejoice over them. And this way by God’s mercy we shall all find salvation ... God is love, and therefore the preaching of His word must always proceed from love. Then both preacher and listener will profit. But if you do nothing but condemn, the soul of the people will not heed you, and no good will come of it.’

- Saint Silouan the Athonite, by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) (Essex, England: Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist, 1991), pp. 63-65.

 

Elder Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia

“I was told that your Elder [St. Justin Popović] was a zealous man, a fighter, with a fiery nature. He gave his all for Christ. He was fearless towards everyone and towards the Communists also. Some of his spiritual children and admirers strive to emulate him in confrontations there [in Serbia]. They voice their opinions with very caustic words. But I would like to say the following.  He was a holy man, and as such, could act that way. But not the others, who albeit zealous, are inclined to confront their opposition and say ‘Let them cut off my head – I will remain steadfast and will not budge.’  It is easy to say ‘let them cut off my head’ – it is a good thing – but that is not how Christ’s labours should be undertaken.  Fr. Justin was something else. He had that Outspokenness; he could say things like that, but I don’t think that you should. I would advise you, Fr. Irinej [Bulović], to follow a somewhat different course. For Christ’s work to be achieved, so that even atheists, communists and others may be saved, you should not be confrontational with them. Do not stand up to them and do not provoke them.”

Well, you can imagine at my age at the time, and with my youthful euphoria, how those words sounded to me!  You see, we had that simple, black-and-white image of the prevailing situation: there are persecutors here – persecutors of the Church – and we are here to defend Her is what we believed. And now, all of a sudden, the Elder was reminding us that Christ also wants the salvation of those persecutors and enemies, as much as He wants ours and the others.

“Don’t say too many things”, he continued to advise me. “Don’t infuriate them, don’t make them your enemies, because that way, they will isolate you and you will not be able to do anything thereafter. Many will come there; they will create various problems for you, and they will say all sorts of things to you.  Do not reciprocate, do not try to defend yourself and give explanations about our faith. For as long as they are attacking you, you should remain silent and pray.  Pray secretly. Even if someone spits on the icon of Christ in front of you, you should remain silent.  Do not defend Christ. Christ does not need you to defend Him.  What do you think about all this?  Does Christ want atheists and communists to be saved also, or not?”

“Of course He does, Elder” I replied.

“Well, that is what Christ wants: for those who also deny Him to become acquainted with Him, so that they too might be saved.”

(…)

That atheist who spat on Christ’s image, may very well think to himself on his way home: “Imagine, I said all those things to that priest; I even spat on something so sacred to him, and yet, he never said a word; he never retaliated, even though he could have.” And it is not improbable that he might come and find you, and say: “I need you, for my soul”.  That way, it is quite possible that you might win him for Christ, and that is far more important than displaying heroism and outspokenness.  You should work secretly, noiselessly, and not become involved in politics.  Preach Christ. Speak only about Him.  That is the only way you will be of benefit to others – by saving people; even when you find yourself in the company of Christians who might be talking about different matters and expressing their own opinions, which you may not agree with or have another position, another opinion – and it may well be a better one. You should not seek to voice your opinion however. You can give your opinion, humbly, without imposing it on others, but only when asked for it. That is how people are best benefited. They will then say: “Did you notice how well he spoke? And if we hadn’t asked him, he would have kept silent.”

(…)

“Over there”, he said, “you also have heterodox and other religions. You must behave to everyone with subtlety, with love. Do not offend anyone. You must perceive and address all of them as brethren – even those who belong to other religions.  We are all children of the same Father.  Do not comment on the beliefs of those who belong to other religions.”

- Elder Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia, How Should We Behave Towards Atheists or the Heterodox?, Sacred Monastery of Chrysopigi, Chania, Crete, 2008, pages 286-287, 297.