“ROCA The Beacon of Light – Part Two” article by Protopriest Nikita Grigoriev
In May of 2006 the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) convened a council in San Francisco USA to discuss the possibility of ROCOR entering into communion with the Moscow Patriarchate (MP). After four days of deliberation the Council passed a resolution not to enter into communion with the MP at this time.
This is the quote from the resolution of the Fourth All-Diaspora Council of the ROCOR in San Francisco May 11, 2006: “Our Paschal joy is joined by the great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice”.
Why did the Council resolve that that was not the appropriate time to unite with the MP on a foundation of Truth of Christ? The reason is alluded to in a statement of the Council of Bishops that followed right after the 4th All-Diaspora Council.
This is the actual quote from the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR: “The draft Act on Canonical Communion was then discussed. This draft was adopted and approved in principle, though with the stipulation that certain points be resolved.”
It is crucial to understand that then, and to this day, these obstacles to union with the MP have not been resolved and not even addressed—but rather—simply ignored.
The first of these “certain points” referred to the Sergian doctrine of total unity of purpose with an atheistic regime, that laid the foundation for the group that is now referred to as the Moscow Patriarchy and the resultant Ecumenism in which the MP was—and still is—deeply involved, despite the fact that they try to downplay it.
This is of utmost importance to understand: The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad did not agree to the union then, nor did the Council of bishops agree to the union, nor did they bless it then. The union with the Moscow Patriarchate was forced through, illegally and surreptitiously, mainly by Met. Laurus and Archbishop Mark during a Synod meeting in New York.
It is also important to realize that the Synod has no authority to make such decisions on its own. The Synod is subject to the authority of the Council of Bishops, which, in turn needs to respond to and reflect the decision and the will of the All-Diaspora Council. And those bodies had decided that this was not the time to unite with the MP because of the unresolved issues.
Nevertheless, the ROCOR Synod decided to unite ROCOR with the MP on its own. This was a clear usurpation of authority and a violation of fundamental Church rules. This amounted to what can be rightly called Neo-Sergianism. That fateful Synod session did not even have the quorum necessary to make any valid decisions. Only present were Met. Laurus, Archbishop Mark, and Bishop Gabriel (of Manhattan, who actually wrote that he does not agree with this then, but later was convinced to agree), who were members of the Synod.
Bishop Peter of Cleveland was present but not a member of the Synod and not eligible to vote and bishop Hilarion called in sick and was not going to attend.
With only three Synod members present there was not a quorum to make any valid decisions, much less a decision on the fate of the entire ROCOR, which was contrary to the decision of the All-Diaspora Council of ROCOR and the Council of Bishops.
The reason why the language in the All-Diaspora Council resolutions was so vague and obfuscating was because there was great pressure applied on several key members of ROCOR clergy to facilitate the union as quickly as possible. This pressure on ROCOR to capitulate was being exerted since ROCOR’s very beginning in 1920. But it was suddenly substantially increased in September 2003.
Metropolitan Laurus was in his office in Jordanville when he unexpectedly received a phone call from a representative of Vladimir Putin. Met. Laurus was told that Mr Putin will be in New York and will meet with the Met Laurus and his Synod of bishops in the synod headquarters in Manhattan.
On September 25th, 2003 President Putin met with Metropolitan Laurus, Archbishop Mark, Archbishop Kirill, as well as several others.
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/29418
This is a quote from the website in the link above: “Mr. Putin stressed the exceptional importance of a rapprochement between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). It was of extreme significance for the integration of Russia into the world and for the ROCOR”.
Why was the “rapprochement between the MP and ROCOR” of “extreme significance for the integration of Russia into the world”?
Not long before this meeting, Met. Laurus made a rare public announcement after Sunday Liturgy, in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Jordanville. He said that he had recently made a trip to Russia, unannounced, in order to have a look at the situation with the Moscow Patriarchate there. He astounded everyone in the cathedral by saying that he now realizes that any union with the Moscow Patriarchate is not possible and we must now prepare for a possible martyrdom. The shock of what he said will never be forgotten by the many people present there. People could hardly believe their ears because Met. Laurus had usually been very soft and diplomatic.
However, soon after that, the drift towards union with the MP began to accelerate, despite what Met Laurus had declared in the cathedral. Then, after the meeting with President Putin in New York, the push towards union became feverish. The impression was that this union is of the utmost urgency and must take place as soon as possible, at any cost.
Why did Met. Laurus seem to change his mind so dramatically regarding union with the MP? The answer to that can be glimpsed from the response Met. Laurus gave to a lawyer who was questioning him on the witness stand. When the attorney asked Met. Laurus, “What would have happened if you had refused to unite with the MP?”
Met. Laurus replied emphatically, even slamming his fist on the bench, “They would have killed us!”
Met. Laurus seemed to believe that the Moscow Patriarchate was going to take over the ROCOR one way or the other, regardless of whether ROCOR agreed or not. He felt that it would be much less detrimental to ROCOR if it submitted peacefully. He was by nature extremely averse to any kind of confrontation. It seems possible that Met. Laurus was interpreting, in his own way, the words of Christ:
“Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.” (Luke 14:31-32)
A scant two and a half months after Mr. Putin visited the Synod and impressed upon the ROCOR bishops the urgency of their union with the MP, the ROCOR administration organized an All-Diaspora Pastoral Conference in Nyack Ny. The object of this conference was clearly not so much to discuss whether, or how it may be possible to unite with the MP but to convince the ROCOR clergy that there were no longer any real obstacles for uniting with the MP and the time for unification had arrived.
For this purpose, three high ranking MP clergy were brought to the Nyack, NY Pastoral Conference to promote the MP as the “Mother Church” from which the ROCOR had separated and now needed to “re-unite” with (in fact the Russian Orthodox Church was never united with the Sergianists but rejected them). These three were each given time for lengthy speeches to deliver the MP message to the ROCOR clergy. Several of the ROCOR bishops, who were now totally pro-union, also gave long speeches.
The rest of the ROCOR clergy were allowed a maximum of three minutes to speak. The original reason for the schism in 1927 was not discussed. Why did the senior bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, Met Kyrill of Kazan, Met. Peter of Krutitsk and most of the others bishops and clergy, refuse to serve with Met Sergius, and warned others not to follow him? All attempts to discuss the fundamental reason for the separation of Met. Sergius and his followers from the Russian Orthodox Church were ignored. Those very same reasons that the Russian Orthodox Church rejected Sergius in 1927 are not only present today but have solidified over time.
This All-Diaspora Clergy Conference was a perfunctory exercise to begin preparing the ROCOR clergy for the union, since the decision to unite with the MP had already been made, despite Met. Laurus telling everyone that there will be no union.
Another result of this Conference was the formation of a “negotiating committee” to negotiate with the MP the terms of union.
Before the start of the first session with the MP the ROCOR “negotiating committee” was clearly told by the MP that there will be no discussions of Sergianism nor any of the reasons why the Russian Orthodox Church did not recognize the Sergianists. In fact, no mention of Met. Sergius’ name will be allowed. Thus, the whole reason for the separation from the MP was to be ignored and forgotten.
Several prominent ROCOR clergy, who had hitherto been clearly against union with the MP suddenly began to actively promote it. Those who still maintained the traditional view of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding Met Sergius and his group of “Living Church” revolutionaries, were ostracized and sidelined. This was all in preparation for the 4th All-Diaspora Council, where the decision to unite with the MP had to be pushed through by any means necessary.
To this end, many of the clergy, and even some laity, who were pro-union were invited to read speeches promoting the union, whereas those who would have given clear reasons why this union cannot take place were not permitted even to attend.
Remarkably, the original Resolution of the 4th All-Diaspora Council had been prepared ahead of time. However when it was presented at the Council, there was such an outcry of resistance that it was withdrawn. Even so, the final Resolution was never voted on in its entirety, but rather piecemeal and in parts.
What was eventually presented as the Resolution of the 4th All-Diaspora Council was a carefully crafted document with sufficient ambiguity for both sides to understand it each in their own way. The following quotes are some examples.
“…we express our conciliar consent that it is necessary to confirm the canonical status of the Russian Church Abroad for the future as a self-governing part of the Local Russian Church, in accordance with the Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia currently in force”.
The Russian Church Abroad always considered itself to be a part of the Local Russian Church. The canonical basis for this was, and still remains, the Decree #362 of Patriarch Tikhon. This is true and was perfectly acceptable to the members of ROCOR. The Local Russian Church was never accepted by ROCOR to mean the current Moscow Patriarchate, which was a schismatic group created by the godless Bolsheviks to destroy the Local Russian Church and then to replace it.
However, after an intense campaign of propaganda and indoctrination, prior to this Council, the pro-union supporters began to promote the MP as not only the traditional Local Russian Orthodox Church, but even as the “Mother Church”, an odd but useful slogan for propaganda purposes.
Another quote from the Resolution concerned the active role of the MP in the ecumenical movement, which the ROCOR under the leadership of Met. Philaret, had declared to be a heresy:
“From discussions at the Council it is apparent that the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the World Council of Churches evokes confusion among our clergy and flock. With heartfelt pain we ask the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to heed the plea of our flock to expediently remove this temptation”.
Most ROCOR people, who understand the nature of the MP, realize that asking the MP to cease its ecumenical activities is akin to asking a fish to stop swimming in water. The very purpose for the creation of the MP by the atheistic regime was infiltration, gathering of intelligence, and control.
The final point in the Resolution states: “We hope that the forthcoming Local Council of One Russian Church will settle remaining unresolved church problems.”
These “remaining unresolved church problems” needed then to be resolved, as they still need to be resolved, at a Local Council of One Russian Church. Clearly, as the Council stated, they need to be resolved prior to any union with the MP. What was understood by “Local Council of One Russian Church” was a genuine and true Council of the entire Russian Orthodox Church.
This needed to include the ROCOR, the Russian Orthodox Catacomb Church and the MP. All needed to be properly and fairly represented. The Local Council then would need to examine Met. Sergius’ decision to unite with the atheistic Soviet government and the subsequent creation of the MP by Stalin and their history and current situation, as well as the position and history of ROCOR and also the position and history of the Catacomb Church.
Needless to say, the MP was not in the least interested in such a Council because they know full well that their founder Met. Sergius illegally usurped authority in the Church and fully collaborated with the NKVD, striving to subjugate and destroy the real Local Russian Church, including the ROCOR and the Catacomb Church.
The “hope” that the Council of the One Russian Church was actually “forthcoming” was very much wishful thinking, more like a prayer for a miracle. It was really not much different than hoping that the Pharisees of the time of Christ would have an honest council with the Apostles to discuss why they had decided to crucify Christ.
There is no doubt that the Local Russian Church needs to be united. We, as Orthodox Christians, believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. But in order to be One, the Church absolutely needs to be Holy. This is where that stipulation of the 4th All-Diaspora Council for union “upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ” comes in. The Truth of Christ is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth.
The Church lives by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. There can be no lies nor deceit nor guile nor any compromise with lies whatsoever, in the foundation of the Church, for the Church is the foundation and the pillar of Truth.
The current problem of division in the Church stems from the fact that there are two very different views as to what the Church of Christ actually is. That is born from an indifference to the Truth of Christ and the absolute necessity to take up one’s cross to truly follow Christ, a path that the real Church of Christ has always taken. The majority of people regard the Church as a human institution, that can be changed or adapted to changing circumstances, as needed.
The traditional, patristic and truly Orthodox Church is actually a living organism, comprised of God, the Holy Spirit, and also humans. This marriage of God and humans is the new spiritual and physical being that God created with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles on Pentecost. The Holy Church of Christ is the marriage of God and man, where Christ is the groom and the human part is the bride.
Thus, the real Church of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, has Jesus Christ Himself as the Head of the Church. He is with us always, as He promised, protecting and leading His Holy Church with the Holy Spirit. To this Church He promised absolute invincibility, even against the gates of Hell.
As the gates of hell are now swallowing up almost the whole world, we, as Orthodox Christians, must hold dear more than ever the words of Christ: “Take heed that no man deceive you. (Matt 24:5b) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matt 24:24) (See also Mark 13:5-22)
As Orthodox Christians we must never forget that the Holy Orthodox Church is not ours to negotiate nor compromise with anyone. It is led by the Holy Spirit, Who proceeds from God the Father. This is the Spirit of Truth and He will not tolerate any compromise with lies or distortions of Truth. As soon as lies or distortions or compromises are accepted knowingly, the Holy Spirit departs the party that accepted them.
Christ has already defeated satan and hell. All power has been granted to Him in Heaven and on earth. Satan is powerless to do anything without permission from Christ. We need not worry about saving the Church from its enemies or from extinction. Christ has already done that and He promised it will not be prevailed against.
What we do need to be very concerned with is that we remain faithful to Christ and his Truth. No one can follow Christ unless they deny themselves and take up their cross to follow Christ. For many shall be deceived and seduced away from Christ and His Holy Church because the Love of many shall grow cold. Apathy and indifference to the Truth of Christ is the main reason people can be deceived and fall away from the real Church of Christ.
Many end up in facsimile churches because they love something or someone more than Christ. Christ said that anyone who loves his father or mother or brother or sister or son or daughter more than Him, is not worthy of Him. That, of course, includes loving your career or your friends and society or your lifestyle or even your country more than Christ and it will definitely be used by satan to separate you from Christ.
Hence those terrifying words of Christ, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matt 7:22-23)
Christ also did say that towards the end times His Church will become smaller and smaller. He even said, “When I return, will I find any Faith on the earth?” But His Holy Church will definitely remain, albeit very small and persecuted but full of True Faith, to greet Him when He returns with trumpets and surrounded by the glory of countless Angels.
Christ said in the Old Testament: “I have set before you Life and death … choose Life.” (Deut 30:19b) Now, in the same vein, He sets before us Life, which is the Truth of Christ — or death—which is the deceit and guile of satan. Let us choose Life in the Truth of Christ. The Truth of Christ was what the Russian Church Outside of Russia and the Council of bishops chose in San Fransisco in May of 2006 when it rejected the union at that time precisely because it was not “on the foundation of the Truth of Christ.”
The True Russian Orthodox Church Abroad remains as it was. It continues as before, to serve only Christ God and not the powerful of the world. In May of 2007 almost three quarters of the Church members were pulled into an uncanonical and illegal union with a Church whose leadership serves only the civil authorities and still persecutes the Russian Orthodox Church, whether abroad or in Russia.
This account was written in response to many requests for a factual historical presentation based on documents and eyewitnesses. This was not written for those who have already made up their minds and are comfortable with having joined the MP.
This was written for those whose conscience is not at ease with the union with the MP and who care enough to want to know the truth as to what happened and how. Many people felt in 2007 that the union with the MP was rushed and carried out under duress—that it was more like a hostile takeover rather than the will of God and not with the agreement and blessing of the Russian Church Outside of Russia. They are right.
Some people are still having doubts and even regrets about having been swept up in the optimism of a unification of the Russian Orthodox Church, as it was presented in 2007. With some, buyer’s remorse is setting in as they see the fruits of this takeover. These people need to know that the True Russian Orthodox Church Abroad is still here and although much smaller in number, nevertheless is still faithful to Christ and to Her mission abroad.
This is the Church that they left to join with the MP and this Church is waiting and praying for their return. There is no greater joy than when a soul returns to the flock of Christ.
The only way to help Russia is to restore the Church in Russia -The True Russian Orthodox Church of Patriarch Tikhon.
The modern-day MP is definitely not the Russian Orthodox Church, but rather a false church created by the Bolshevik godless authorities to destroy the real Russian Orthodox Church and to replace it. The words of Christ, that He spoke to the Pharisees fully apply to them now: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” (Matt 23:13b)
The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad is still the Beacon of Light to the world, because darkness cannot destroy Light. Lies, corruption and hypocrisy cannot be defeated by joining with them. Christ already defeated them by His death on the Cross and by His glorious Resurrection. To dispel the lies and hypocrisy of the prince of this world we must deny ourselves, take up our Cross and follow Christ.
That is the thorny and narrow path that the true Russian Orthodox Church Abroad is following and it entreats all of its faithful members, and those who may have been mislead or have strayed, to stand firm with Christ in His Truth. Only in the Truth of Christ is Salvation.