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From
the Epistle of the Second Pan-Diaspora Council of the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
To the Russian Flock in the Diaspora
“Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” (I
Pet. 1: 2)
Brethren, endure with great joy the trial of our Faith which
is sent down [upon us] by God, and is a sign not only of the
wrath, but also of the mercy of God. The mercy of God is clearly
made manifest before us, just as it was revealed when we escaped
the sharp sword, preserving our life.
Saved from the violent death which was inescapable for many
of us in our homeland, we proceeded by many paths‹some
by sea, others over the desolate steppes, and yet others through
the assaults of the enemy‹and we reached countries in which
we have been able to make homes for ourselves. We were defenseless
wanderers, and we knew not what awaited us, exiles from our
homeland and sojourners in foreign lands. And the mercy of God
has preserved us outside the borders of the fatherland. Indeed,
the twentieth anniversary of the beginning of the forced exodus
of the Russian people from their native boundaries is approaching.
Over the intervening years much has been endured, much suffered.
Yet the Russian people has not perished in exile, but through
all the ends of the world have borne the torch of their Faith,
which they brought with them from their homeland. The Russian
Diaspora has spread throughout the entire world. While churches
are being destroyed within the borders of enslaved Russia, new
churches are being built within the Russian Diaspora. While
the enslaved and oppressed Russian people are enduring unheard-of
persecution for the Faith and in many places are forbidden to
hear the Word of God and to pray during the divine services,
the Russians of the Diaspora, often without wishing it, show
themselves to be preachers of the Word of God and missionaries
of the True Faith. As we can personally attest, when foreigners
become acquainted with the divine services of the Orthodox and
see the signs and miracles worked through the holy things of
the Russians, many of them are converted to Orthodoxy and preach
it among their own compatriots.
Woe to us, however, if, having been made the instrument of the
Providence of God for the proclamation of the Truth like Israel
of old, in our Diaspora we become utterly like the latter, and
while advancing the salvation of other nations, we ourselves
do not turn to the true path and are rejected by God for our
sins. Woe to us if in the events that have taken place we do
not see the finger of God punishing us for our sins and pointing
the way to salvation. May it not be with us as it is with those
from whom the fathers and prophets sprang, but from whom only
a remnant will be saved. Let us test how faithful we are to
God and how zealous in the doing of His commandments. O Russian
people, give an account to God for those promises you gave 950
years ago at your baptism. O Russian Diaspora, stand before
your baptizer, the holy Vladimir, the equal of the apostles,
and confess your sins to him. Say first of all whether you are
maintaining the holy and grace-filled Orthodox Faith in its
purity.
It is difficult for us to face the fact that, while we call
ourselves Orthodox, we see in our midst many who are seeking
new truths and a new wisdom. Paying no need to the word of God,
which preaches Christ, the Power and Wisdom of God, certain
even of the clergy have been drawn away by the preaching of
the new doctrine of a Wisdom of God distinct from Christ and
unknown to the holy fathers.
This doctrine, which has become known as _Sophianism_, is especially
dangerous because many can be imbued with its spirit without
becoming its committed followers: at its foundation lies the
prideful sense of one_s own worthiness in the sight of God,
in which man is no longer a humble servant of God, but a being
essential to the Lord God Himself, whom the Lord will reward
not only with His mercy, but with the rights appertaining to
man.
There is no need to say how much this spirit is opposed to the
spirit of the Gospel and how much he who espouses this doctrine
or drinks in its spirit departs from Orthodoxy and becomes alien
to it in his spiritual disposition.
Many in the bosom of the Holy Church are likewise turning to
various teachings contrary to Christianity, taken in by Theosophy,
the cabalistic sciences, spiritism, occupying themselves with
the evocation of the dead or teaching about their reincarnation,
perhaps unaware that by this they become enemies of Christianity
and fall away from the Church.
All of these teachings contradict the basic dogmas of Christianity;
and they are even more dangerous because those who fall under
their influence fail to see the poison hidden in them. For this
reason one must firmly oppose all seductions and temptations
which derive from the sowers of falsehood and ungodliness. All
the enemies of Orthodoxy have now arrayed themselves [against
us], thinking that with the fall of the Russian Orthodox Empire
a time favorable for their success has arrived. Various sectarian
societies, which disguise themselves under the name of Christ
but in reality pervert the teaching of Christ, have intensified
their activity. Each of them maintains that it alone is the
bearer of the true Gospel of Christ, and rejects the Holy Church
with its divinely ordained hierarchy and the sacraments performed
by it. The Word of God has foretold these fashionable teachers,
pointing out that “the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they
heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall
turn away their ears from the truth, and shall turn themselves
unto fables” (II Tim. 4: 3-4).
No less are the Masonic organizations‹which often feign
zeal for virtue, but strive to do so not in the name of Christ‹developing
their pernicious work. Borrowing from Christianity individual
provisions of its moral teaching, they lure the children of
the Church into their nets, trying in vain to found a Christianity
without Christ. Many who have joined the Masonic lodges were
drawn into them only by the good ideals presented by masonry
for show, and which try in vain to hide from those uninitiated
into its mysteries that is a most evil enemy of Christianity,
for the destruction of which it is exerting all its efforts.
For this reason all who have joined the Masonic lodges, in whatever
capacity they may serve, consciously or unconsciously act against
Christianity, and as enemies of Christ are subject to expulsion
from the Church. Let anyone who has joined this society in error
and comes to realize the destructiveness of his action, make
haste to break out of its nets and confess his sins to the clergy;
for if he continues to remain within the Masonic society he
will become a conscious enemy of the Church.
And Catholicism too is now waging war against Orthodoxy with
particular stubbornness and exceptional guile. True, among its
adherents are many persons who are sincerely and unselfishly
helping homeless Russians, and their memory will be preserved
by the latter with gratitude. Yet we must acknowledge with profound
dismay that the general trend is extremely inimical to Orthodoxy.
Instead of turning its powers against the enemy who is bestially
waging war on the very essence of Christianity and is striving
to negate all with which it has enriched the world, the Catholic
leadership, taking advantage of the difficult circumstances
in which the Orthodox people find themselves, are using every
cunning ploy possible to annihilate, or at least weaken, Orthodoxy.
In some places they use their own power and position to accomplish
this, confiscating Orthodox churches, violently converting them
into Catholic churches. In others, the war against Orthodoxy
is waged by employing more refined techniques. Those in need
are given material assistance, or are offered gainful employment,
on condition that they change their religion. The doors of educational
institutions are opened wide to the children of the Orthodox,
but in them artificial means are used to turn the children away
from Orthodoxy. A particularly cunning and evil method of converting
the Orthodox to Catholicism is the introduction of the so-called
Eastern Rite. Knowing that the Russians refuse to accept the
Unia, the very name of which invokes memories of the oppression
of the south-western regions by the Catholics, and also understanding
that the preaching of Catholicism in its pure form will meet
with no success in Russia, the Vatican is now creating “Catholicism
of the Eastern Rite,” which is the same Catholicism in
essence, only disguised. The clergymen of this branch wear ordinary
liturgical vestments, exactly like those of the Orthodox clergy;
they celebrate divine services which do not differ externally
from Orthodox services; and for this they set up churches in
Eastern Orthodox style. However, all of this is organized for
the sole purpose of deluding the Orthodox, who at first may
even believe that Catholicism and Orthodoxy are in essence the
same thing. This they do by using the principle of “the
end justifies the means.”
The Orthodox must become aware that the “Eastern Rite”
has been formed for the destruction of Orthodoxy, and for this
reason one should beware of all communion with it and in no
way cooperate with it, lest one become an ally of the enemies
of the Orthodox Church.
One must note with sorrow that many have ceased to be afraid
of openly apostasizing from the Church. Some treat all confessions
with indifference, seeing nothing in them but external ritualism;
others are attracted by the teaching of self-proclaimed preachers,
thinking to learn the true path to the kingdom of God from them,
and are now exclusively seduced by the benefits they hope to
receive by converting to another religion, forsaking the Orthodox
Church for such mercenary motives and joining various sects
and non-Orthodox religions.
The truth of the Holy Orthodox Faith is borne witness even in
our days by the multitudes of signs and wonders, performed in
the icons which have renewed themselves in our times and by
the holy saints who have shone forth in recent years. Who will
dare to say that the true Church of God is not that which produced,
and in which was glorified, Saint Seraphim of Sarov? Who will
dare to maintain that the Church is devoid of grace which God
glorifies by the miraculous renewal of icons, which is taking
place before the eyes of many? Only hardness of heart and spiritual
blindness can make men conscious enemies of Orthodoxy. Dire
will be the judgment pronounced upon such people.
A firm stand in the Orthodox Faith must consist not only of
an accurate confession of the doctrine of the Orthodox Church,
but of life lived in accordance with faith. This is why we weep
over the sins and transgressions with which we have defiled
ourselves and incurred the wrath of God; this is why we repent
of them with all our heart. Let us first of all remember that
sin which lies like a heavy burden upon the entire Russian nation,
insofar as it is a single organism, and which serves, perhaps,
as the main reason for its present-day misfortunes and our exile
from our homeland. This sin is the betrayal of the Anointed
of God, with which the creators and inspirers of our Revolution
have stained themselves.
Let us recall how we treated the events which destroyed Russia,
how many joyfully welcomed the usurpation of authority by those
who rebelled against the Sovereign and turned away from him
whom not long before they had greeted everywhere ecstatically.
Reviling, listening to and spreading slanders against the innocent
sufferer, the Russian people permitted the enemies of Russia
to deprive him of his freedom and to banish him deep into the
countryside, leaving him defenseless in the hands of criminals.
The martyrdom of the Imperial Family was the direct result of
these crimes and lies on the conscience not only of those who
played an immediate rôle in this greatest of evil acts,
but upon all of us as well, insofar as we did nothing to wrest
the Sovereign from the hands of the criminal murderers.
When innocent blood is shed, it cries out to God from the earth,
like the blood of Abel, and testifies against those who caused
it to be spilled. Let each one of us repent, without attempting
to justify himself, earnestly beseeching God to forgive him
this great sin against himself and the whole Russian nation,
and offering up prayers for the repose of the slain imperial
martyrs and all who unjustly suffered with them. Furthermore,
let us entreat God, that, having clothed the Tsar-Martyr with
incorrupt glory, He show His mercy to His Russian nation and
return to the throne of Russia His anointed one, the Orthodox
Tsar. And let us offer up heartfelt prayers to God, that He
hasten the salvation of our homeland and make us worthy to return
to a liberated native land.
The education of children is one of the most important goals,
not only of parents, but of society as a whole. Many Russian
children are now being educated in various foreign educational
institutions, which sometimes provide excellent knowledge of
individual fields and subjects, but are unable to nurture a
child in the Orthodox Faith and love for Russia. By now many
of the upcoming generation are being raised as foreign to Russia
and inimical to Orthodoxy; there are among them those who are
prepared, whenever the possibility arises, to sow in Russia
those very poisonous seeds which they themselves have ingested
while growing up in a foreign land. Who will be to blame if
in the future these children perhaps cause great evil to their
own native land? Who if not the parents who, while trying to
provide their children with the education essential for employment
in the future, made no effort to insure first of all that they
be educated as Orthodox and Russian. It is the duty of the Russian
Diaspora to preserve the spiritual values of Holy Russia and
to transmit them to the future generations, to prepare them
for service to a reborn Great Russia.
The path of the salvation of our homeland lies through our personal
struggle to perfect ourselves. The enslavers of Russia have
raised the banner of atheism and armed themselves with the weaponry
of the spirits of wickedness. Our banner is the holy and life-creating
Cross, and our armor must be the virtues indicated by the Word
of God. The rebirth of our homeland must begin with the spiritual
rebirth of each of us individually. The conflict with the current
regime in our much-suffering homeland is a conflict between
two principles, a conflict between faith and unbelief, a conflict
between atheism and belief in God. To be on the side of light
and righteousness and to accomplish a holy work one must purify
oneself and be reborn within. It is impossible to do battle
with evil outside oneself while being full of it inside. The
Lord has indicated that the devil’s tribe is driven out
only by prayer and fasting (Mt. 17: 21; Mk. 9: 29). Armed therewith,
and paying strict attention to the divine services and the reading
of the Word of God, let us try to embody the teaching of Christ
in our own lives, faithfully carrying out what the Church asks
of us. Only in seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness
will we become true warriors against the kingdom of Satan and
unrighteousness and be able to rebuild a resurrected Great Russia.
The rebuilding of Holy Russia is attainable only by those who
breathe the spirit of its right faith and piety. Thus are our
homelands‹that in heaven and that on earth‹inseparably
bound to one another. Prospering in the moral life, we prepare
ourselves for that which is to come, while at the same time
we approach the moment of the liberation of our native land.
When the Russian nation is flooded by a wave of repentance,
salvation will ensue. Then the Lord will send His blessing upon
our works and intentions, and our path will become blessed.
God will not deny our petitions; He will hearken to our prayers.
Then, in the purity of our intentions and actions, we will receive
power from God, and our advance upon the enemy will be a whirlwind
sweeping him from our path like dust; his legions will not withstand
our pitiful handful. Then will the Lord fill our enemies with
confusion and, causing them to fall into our hands, will bring
us into our homeland, where He will set us to minister to justice
and will permit us to treat the wounds of our native land and
our wounded and boundlessly suffering brethren.
The end of all of this is at hand. Be chaste, and be vigilant
in your prayers. Turn to the Lord in fasting with all your heart,
weeping and lamenting, that He take pity on us. Then will the
Lord rouse Himself for His land and spare His people. Then will
He again permit times of prosperity for our land, and before
[passing on to] the heavenly homeland we will see our earthly
homeland in glory. But if we do not come to our senses, we will
die in our grief, and our very name may be erased from the book
of those who dwell on earth.
O Russian Diaspora, heed the word of the Lord: “I have
set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore
choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deut.
30: 19). |
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