It is with much regret that I see posted on the internet a letter by Vladimir Moss addressed to the Parish of St Michael specifically.
This supposed private letter intended only for his 'godchildren' of the Guildford Parish somehow got 'leaked out',
with its entire content now splashed across in a public domain - this saddens me greatly.
Personally I feel this letter does not reflect Vladimir at his finest hour
(from his otherwise prolific authoring work, which I have on many occasions enjoyed reading).
All the more it makes me sad that this 'dirty linen' has been so (cruelly? deliberately?) exposed like this in a public domain.
Now that the letter is made public, I feel obliged to also publicly address, and possibly clarify, some of items raised in it.
Unfortunately, as you shall later see the whole letter revolves around 5 main themes,
which I have tried to highlight via the use of titling each section.
These are :
- Emotionalisms (as an attempt to cover lack of arguments) – 15 accounts
- Inaccuracies - 2 accounts
- Misrepresentations (in the form of half-truths) - 2 accounts
- Threats (to parishioners & clergy) - 4 accounts
- Attempts to divide by inciting Slavonic Nationalism & anti-Hellinism - 3 accounts
The items in italics within the quotation marks " " are parts of his letter.
The comments preceded with ' > ' are mine.
1. Inaccuracies 1 - Notification for the Parish Meeting.
"I have heard (very late in the day ( that Fr. Augustine has convened an Emergency Extraordinary
Parish Meeting for tomorrow in order to discuss the Serbian situation and to decide on our Parish' ecclesiastical affiliation in the future."
By the Parish Constitution, the Extraordinary Parish Meeting required only an eight-day notice,
announcement which Fr Augustine made the Sunday before the meeting was held in the Church after the Divine Liturgy.
Early the following day (i.e. Monday, seven days before the commencement of the meeting),
Fr Augustine made an e-mail notice of the meeting to those not present at the Liturgy, of which Vladimir had a copy.
On Thursday morning (i.e. three days before the Parish Meeting),
Vladimir wrote an e-mail reply to Fr Augustine confirming that he gave the Parish Council secretary, Adrian,
the permission to vote in his absence (i.e. voting by proxy),
so at the very least three days before the meeting Vladimir was already made aware of its commencement.
So when Vladimir wrote here 'I have heard (very late in the day) that Fr Augustine has convened an Emergency Extraordinary Parish Meeting' in his letter,
it appeared to give an impression that he only knew of it ONE DAY before the actual commencement of the meeting on Sunday
(his e-mail was sent to us on Saturday, the day before the meeting), which is a subtle but FALSE impression.
Although of lesser value, it should also be stressed that the very letter that Vladimir sent complaining about “hearing late in the day”,
he himself sent to a part to parishioners on the Coucil.
I was not included on his distinguished list of recipients...
(although being both a Parish Council Member & Treasurer of the St Michael's Foundation).
Whether that was done intentionally or it was an omission, only God and Vladimir know.
2. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 1- Pulling Orthodox “rank” ?
"Since it was Olga and I who led the Parish into the True Church ROCOR (some 36 years ago, long before any of you except Dmitri were Orthodox, ….."
"... an honourable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measure by number of years.
But wisdom is the grey hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age"
(Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-15).
To put it my way: "the long years of 'being Orthodox' does not necessarily a good Orthodox make".
What is more important is not how we have been Orthodox for, but that we die as Orthodox.
For every day of those three blessed years, Judas Iscariot was literally within touching distance of our Lord Jesus Christ
as among His closest disciples and apostles, yet he became His greatest betrayer.
The Good Thief on the cross only became a believer moments before his own earthly death,
yet Christ said to him, "this day you shall be with Me in paradise".
Elsewhere the Lord warns "I shall judge you the way I find you",
He also says, "Out of the mouths of the babes and sucklings hast thou perfected praise".
It pains me to say that it's indeed vulgar for Vladimir to resort to flaunting his '36 years' as some sort of a 'bragging right'.
Vulgar because he of all people is the last person in the Orthodox World I would expect to have to resort to
such a 'one-upmanship' approach in his letter to his fellow Orthodox Parishioners in Guildford.
3. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 2 – Stating the obvious
".....I think we have a right to have our views heard at the meeting."
Again, Vladimir is among the most vocal in the Guildford Parish, with his famous 'open letters' and articles published on the internet denouncing heretics etc..
On many other occasions he has made his views regarding the situations between the Greeks, the Serbs and the Russians
abundantly clear to those around him,
at any available opportunity I might add,
such as the Bible Studies he conducts every Wednesday, during the previous Parish Council Meetings before he left for Serbia,
and during lunches he hosted together with his wife, Olga,
even after the Sunday services etc..
Rarely in any of these occasions did people actually ask for his opinion on this particular issue, but had to listen it anyway.
In all of these occasions he expressed quite “strongly” and repeatedly his wish to join the “Russians”, stay with the “Serbs”, anti-Hellenic feelings,
anti-Synodal feelings (even discouraging someone thinking to be chrismated with the Synod as “we would soon be with the Russians” and thus be chrismated there ...),
his feelings of contempt against Archibishop Kallinikos, and other members of clergy.
Although we are sure that none his positions have changed, there is absolutely no need to appeal to his '36 years' to secure the 'right'
for his views to be heard at the meeting, he needs merely to ask, pure and simple.
4. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 3 – Avoiding a matter of life and death.
“I am not going to talk about the canonical justification of Bishop Akakije's ordination”
It's bizarre that Vladimir should leave out the most important aspect of the issue,
namely that of Fr/Bp Anakije's uncanonical consecration by the Russians,
and the subsequent schism he confirmed among the Serbs
(there were already fault-lines among the True Orthodox Serbs before this unfortunate and untimely consecration,
but its very act 'seals the deal' as it were, thereby making the schism 'official'),
the issue even Fr/Bp Akakije in one of his public letters considers 'the matter of life and death'.
5. Inaccuracies 2 - Corrections & Translations.
"nor refute Bishop Photius' and Alex's "corrections" of my articles."
As I stated in my original email, I did not correct Vladimir's article, but simply did the translation.
However I was grateful of the opportunity to learn historical facts accurately from reading the corrections of Bishop Photios.
6. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 4 – stating the obvious
"Instead, I want to do two things. First, I want to show that the mountain of abuse, lies and hatred directed against Bishop Akakije's followers is clear proof that the campaign directed against him is led by the devil, not by God."
IF indeed someone has lied or abused or spew hatred on Fr/Bp Akakije's followers, that only proves the wrong doing of the particular individuals in question.
Saying that it is “of the devil” is therefore self-evident as it is superfluous in the case for any sin committed.
However, giving examples of such 'abuse, lies and hatred' are nothing more than a rhetorical 'red herring' on his part,
a 'shock tactic' used simply elicit negative emotions (such as disgust) from the readers/hearers.
7. Guildford Parish has to face serious OR unpleasant consequences
"And secondly, I want to point out some of the very serious and unpleasant consequences that will probably follow..."
We must distinguish between the “serious" and the "unpleasant" separately, not collectively.
The SERIOUS consequence would indeed have been if we chose to follow a schismatic and rebellious group of 100-or-so people.
During the Extraordinary Parish Council Meeting (on Sunday, 4th Sep, NS), with the exception of one parishioner,
none of the Parish Council members present chose at that moment to join Fr/Bp Akakije and his group.
The UNPLEASANT consequences, if that majority choice prevails, will indeed ensue when the Guildford Parish gets to experience
the “catacomb-style” Church services, since Vladimir, being the chairman of the Trust
(which is separate from the Parish in that the Trust is simply a Charity, majority of its members happens to also to be the members of the Guildford Parish as well)
is threatening to cut all financial support, which we shall see later.
8. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 5 – True Slandering
"...if the parish decides to support the slanderers of the Serbian and Russian True Orthodox Churches."
It appears very convenient (not to mention completely underhand) for Vladimir to lump all those who do not follow Fr/Bp Akakije et al.
collectively as 'supporters of the slanderers of the Serbian and Russian True Orthodox Churches'.
Such seems to be Vladimir's modus operandi, i.e. to set up straw men (i.e. those 'lies' that none of us in the Guildford Parish believe or support),
only to knock them down gleefully ('By their fruits ye know them!'),
and then tar those of us who disagree with the actions of the Akakijens with the same broad brush in a 'guilty by association' sort of way.
Can this sort of conduct be possible by an Orthodox who are blessed with '36 years' behind him?!
The words of the Lord comes back to bite him from behind,
"By their fruits ye know them!"
Simply, almost all in our Guildford Parish disagree with the Akakijens because we deem them to have broken Church Canons from their actions.
The Akakijens, who accused the Archbishop Kallinikos of breaking Canons, proceeded to break their own as some sort of a justification,
this we find unacceptable (I do not agree with their position regarding the Archbishop,
but even if one was inclined to agree with them, still two wrongs doesn't make one right as the saying goes !!!).
For those interested in the Canons we think they've breached, see Canon 31 of the Holy Apostles, Canon 18 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council and Canon 34 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council.
- Trying to bank on Emotionalism 6 – The “Law of Unintended Consequences”. Trying to bank on the allure of an alleged slandering is worse than the slandering itself.
“The Lord said: “By their fruits ye shall know them”. By this I believe He meant to say: even if you cannot work out where the truth lies in a given situation, you can identify the liars and slanderers by their fruits - that is, by their actions. Let us apply this criterion to just three of the statements that have been coming from the camp of the enemies of Bishop Akakije.
First, it has been asserted that he was expelled from school when young for raping a woman. Nobody who has the slightest acquaintance with Bishop Akakije can believe such a thing!“By their fruits ye shall know them”.”
Lets start with the facts and then proceed from there.
It is very important to stress the difference between what is going on (the factual reality), and our perceptions of this reality.
Fact 1: I personally spoke to members of the GOC hierarchy in Greece and they did not even know of the existence of the alleged accusation (much less support it);
Fact 2: I spoke to members of the Guildford parish and they did not even know of the existence of the alleged accusation (much less support it).
However what is truly important is that the public dissemination and spreading of the alleged misconduct from a handful of people
(which, I suspect, originated from within the confines of a small community in Serbia)
to people who are wholly unaware of such a nasty accusation
(i.e. us living in England, and now in a public domain such as the internet forum),
this actually did much to hurt Fr/Bp Akakije more than the original accusation itself.
Why?
Because from the irresponsible dissemination of such disgusting alleged accusation by Vladimir in his supposed private letter to the Guildford Parish,
it has now, wittingly or unwittingly, been made potentially ‘viral’ by the irresponsible publication of its content via the web!
One is bound to ask now: who consequently did greater harm to Fr/Bp Akakje?
The alleged slanderers or those who claim to be his supporters?
By trying to leverage on those terrible accusation of Fr/Bp Akakije to bolster his subsequent argument
that ‘all who do not support Bp Akakije are from the devil’,
Vladimir inadvertently ‘scored his own goal’ thereby exponentially hurt the very one he claims to support!
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
10. Necessary clarifications
“Secondly, it has been asserted that the Serbian True Orthodox Church is so small and insignificant that it cannot be called even an embryo, but only a male sperm! Words fail me! “By their fruits ye shall know them”.
The reference to “spermatic” in VM’s letter is an undue misinterpretation of an interlinear comment on one of VM’s articles
by Bishop Photios of Marathon circulated privately by email.
The comment is that the Serbian TOC is in a “spermatic state”; that is, in a pre-embryonic state.
What St. Euphrosynos members and readers should know is that the term “spermatic” (σπερματικός) is
devoid of vulgar content in Modern Greek--in contrast to VM’s allusions.
Moreover, its metaphoric association is not merely sexual but chiefly agricultural, as “sperma” also has a meaning identical to the term “germ”.
Yet, even in a sexual connection the term’s connotation is scientific rather than vulgar.
Perhaps a translation truer to Bishop Photios’ intention would be “generative” or “germinative”.
In fact, “spermatic” even has a venerable patristic heritage in the concept of “the spermatic Word”--
the seeds of truth found in pre-Christian Greek and Roman philosophy and literature.
It should also be kept in mind that, although the comment was indeed in English, Bishop Photios,
while near fluent, is not a native speaker of English.
His use of “spermatic” is consistent with Greek usage and thus should be considered in light of Greek usage.
Thus, to say that the Serbian Church is in a “spermatic state” is to say that it is still in the process of being seeded and planted and, thus,
to underscore its potentiality in contrast to its actuality.
11. Misrepresentation 1 – A Picture is worth a thousand words
“Thirdly, it has been asserted that the Russian and Serbian actions have all been orchestrated behind the scenes by me. Do these people have any sense of what is possible and not possible, any sense of reality?! “By their fruits ye shall know them”.
Reality 1: “A picture is worth a thousand words” http://tinyurl.com/VMoss
Reality 2: “ Further, in June, 2011, the RTOC recognized the Serbs' right to autocephaly.
Vladimir Moss, who seems to have been involved to some degree in recent discussions,
recently wrote an article claiming that the position of the TOC-Kallinikos had changed on the matter of the TOC-Serbia since the election of the new Archbishop.”
Source: NFTU News ( http://news-nftu.blogspot.com/2011/08/t ... -rtoc.html )
Reality 3: “A picture is worth a thousand words” http://tinyurl.com/VMoss2
Reality 4: “THE RUSSIAN IS THE SERB’S FRIEND FOREVER?”
an anti-Hellenic article promoting Serbian Nationalism.
Reality 5: “ON THE UNITY OF THE RUSSIAN AND SERBIAN TOCs”
an anti-Hellenic article promoting Serbian Nationalism.
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
12. Slanderers & Schismatics - The Parish of Guildford follows neither..!!
“My conclusion, if these people produce such evil fruits, do not believe them when they talk about Church matters… Now to the serious consequences if the parish listens to the slanderers and rejects the Serbian and Russian True Orthodox Churches.”
The Parish of Guildford does not accept or perpetuate the lies spew forth by these alleged slanderers
(in fact, we were not even aware such accusations exist until Vladimir made them public via his own articles and now his ‘private’ letter to us!).
We are doubtful that 100-odd out of the possible 200-odd faithful in Serbia (at the time of writing this) could claim to represent the ‘sobornost’ of the whole of the Serbian Church!
For a more thorough explanation of this misrepresentation please see note 13 on the following page
13. Misrepresentation 2 – Facts & Fallacies. aka “The Serbs”
“In its encyclical of August 9.22, the Greek Synod called the Serbs “these contemporary schismatics”. They did not use the same word about the Russians, but of course if the Serbs are schismatics, then the Russians are, too.”
I think it does Vladimir no favour to keep parading Akakijens as if they are the only true Serbian Church believers in Serbia.
Instead let us examine the figures to put things in better perspective:
In July, when Bp Photios asked the then Fr Akakije and his group for the total number of faithful in Serbia,
it returned with an estimate of around 240 people. This was the reasons why Bp Photios commented on the Serbs being in the “sperm” state (i.e. pre-embryonic, young, miniscule).
A part of that number of people (possibly less than 50%) has decided to abandon the GOC in Greece and formed a group of it own (i.e. the Akakijens).
At the time of writing the number of priests that follow Fr/Bp Akakije: three, possibly less (!).
The faithful in Serbia who refused to join the Akakijens made up of the other 50%, possibly slightly more, technically making them the ‘majority’ for lack of a better word.
Now if we take an even closer view, we may further discover the “quality” (i.e. who they are) within this quantity (of 100+ people) of the Akakijens.
In point of fact, a vast majority of the Akakijens compromised of Fr/Bp Akakije’s own family members, close friends and relatives.
So, in my opinion, Vladimir, by parading this group of largely “family and friends” of Fr/Bp Akakije as representing “the Serbs” as if in its entirety
(what happened to the other 50% or more who does not follow Fr/Bp Akakije? Are they any less “Serbian”?!)
is a gross MISrepresentation to say the least.
A merely 50% (give and take) of the total of 240 Serbian faithful do not sobornost make!
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
14. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 7 – “Linguistics” vs Canons
“The Russians and Serbs, on the other hand, have been much more moderate in their language.”
15. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 8 – “Linguistics” vs Canons
“While deeply disappointed by the Greeks, they have refrained from any inflammatory language…”
Not from any inflammatory “language” (‘language’ being the operative word),
instead, they have resorted to inflammatory “actions”,
namely by cruelly dividing the flock in Serbia,
uncanonically consecrating a priest (opposed by 50% or more of the Serbian faithful) to the episcopacy,
consequently sabotaging the union talks on-going between the Greeks and the Russians.
Nevertheless, still on the subject of “moderation”,
it would be imperative at this point to remind ourselves that Vladimir – the ardent supporter of the Akakijens –
prior to his private ‘letter’ written to the Guildford Parish on the 3rd September (NS),
way before the Akakijens wrote their ‘Official Announcement’ and the ‘Encyclical’ in response from the Greek Synod,
has already made his position clear on several occasions to those around him (by word of mouth and in electronic correspondence)
that the GOC in Greece is in fact the “schismatic” one.
Has Vladimir now ‘retract’ his earlier unequivocal position that the ‘Greeks are the schismatic ones!’ ?
Personally, I doubt he would ever retract from his earlier position,
but merely trying to keep it under the bushel since it is contrary to the ‘official’ Akakijen ‘written’ position,
as stated in the Official Announcement
” the Serbian Church does not break fraternal unity and communion with the Greek Church “
(OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT signed by Bp Akakije, 23/5 August 2011)
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
16. We have read the Akakijan case, but we are not convinced......
“… and have confined themselves to correcting some of the false statements made by the Greeks. As proof, please let the whole parish read Bishop Akakije’s excellent article written on his website with the title, “The Serbian Church, the Serbian People, True Orthodoxy and the Greek GOC”. This should be compulsory reading for all before any decision is made by the parish.”
Although the article “The Serbian Church, the Serbian People, True Orthodoxy and the Greek GOC” (being about 20 pages long)
was not read in the recent Extraordinary Parish Council Meeting (as it was not in the agenda),
Father Augustine has made a distinct effort for the parishioners to know the arguments from all sides
by disseminating the ‘Official Announcements’, the ‘Encyclical’ in response from the Greek Synod, Vladimir’s private letter
(this very one I am commenting on which is now in the public domain) and others.
He also encouraged those interested to read Bp Akakije’s article on the internet by doing a search online.
17. Don't shoot the messenger....
“As you know, according to the confession of faith of the Orthodox Church, and of the Greek GOC, schismatics have no grace of sacraments and go to hell unless they return to the Church. Therefore the Greeks labelling the Serbs “schismatics” is not only a very severe and, in my view, completely unjustified verdict:”
Only to say this: You can’t blame the mirror (i.e. the Canon laws that the Greek GOC recalled),
if you don’t like what you see in it (i.e. the frightening consequences of causing a schism).
18. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 9– Family ties......
“… it also makes life extremely difficult for the several members of our parish who have close links with them and the Russians. For example, Prince Dmitri Golitsyn has close links with Lesna monastery, served as subdeacon at the ordination of Bishop Akakije, and has a daughter and grandchildren in the Serbian Church. Will he now be forced to break communion with the Church he has belonged to since the 1930s?”
In my opinion, the short answer to this is “Yes”.
As to “Why” that one inevitably asks, such is the way that almost ALL parishioners in Guildford
had to break spiritual links from the “schismatics and heretics” at some point in the past.
The Lord has made this abundantly clear, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me”.
This is harsh indeed, but no less true, and most of us had personal experience of it when we chose to follow the True Faith.
Personally, I left the new calendar (thus broke spiritual links with my family),
Vladimir himself left Anglicanism (thus broke spiritual links with his family),
the Slavic parishioners left their respective ‘State Churches’ (thus broke spiritual links with their family),
even Fr Augustine broke spiritual ties with his family to become a monk and a priest…
Over and over again we have to prove our faith in Christ, and we pray that we’ll continue to do so.
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
19. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 10 – Canons vs Convenience
“Again, if the Greeks label my spiritual father as a schismatic, and our parish accepts this verdict, then there is no way I will be able to continue serving as reader in the parish or have communion there. The same applies to my wife Olga.”
My beloved godfather Vladimir should be more concerned about the consequences of being with a schismatic group first and foremost,
and it’s in this context that he should worry less about being the reader of the Guildford parish.
Secondly, since Vladimir has already long planned to relocate permanently in Serbia,
receiving communion in the Guildford parish becomes a lesser issue
(except the occasional trips he makes to England on vacation).
Thirdly, if it makes Vladimir feel any better, I was previously also a reader (apprentice) in the new calendar church in London before joining the True Church in Guildford.
I too can no longer go there.
Further more, I had to switch from Byzantine/Greek chanting to services conducted in the English language with music not even remotely close to Byzantine style.
However what matters is that I am worshipping God in the True Church now.
In-in-all, I would like to say that the pertinent issue here is a matter of “Canons” not of “Convenience”.
20. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 11 – “Law of Unintended Consequences”
“I cannot see how Fr. Augustine can accept the Greek line, which we reject, and give us communion.”
My response to this is already addressed above.
21. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 12– “Law of Unintended Consequences”
“Again, there are many people both in the Guildford and the Manchester parishes who have benefited greatly from their communion with the Serbian True Orthodox.”
This is true, we have benefited spiritually from the Serbs,
and we continue to love and pray for everyone in Serbia.
In addition to our love and prayers, we can’t help but also feel deep sense of sorrow for those that have left the Synod.
Yes, they’ve chosen to leave us, whether their ‘Official Announcement’ claims the opposite.
We did not choose to leave them.
22. Attempts to divide by inciting Slavonic Nationalism & anti-Hellinism 1
“This act of war by the Greek hierarchs on the Serbs will be very harmful for them.”
Again, I am deeply sorry that Vladimir has perceived that in merely following the Canons by our Synod,
he resorts to conjuring up images of hatred and other unorthodox feelings.
The Greek hierarchs do not feel this as “war”, by labelling them so does not make it true.
And again, Vladimir must refrain from calling the Akakijens as representing the sobornost of the entire Serbian faithful,
50% (or more) of which do not condone nor follow their schismatic action.
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
23. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 13 – The Romanians
“Another serious consequence of accepting the Greek line especially affects the Romanians in our parish. I think that our Romanians should know, if they do not know already, that the small parish in Romania that was commemorating Archbishop Kallinikos is now commemorating Bishop Akakije. This decision is not only a tribute to the excellent pastoral work of Fr. Nectarije, who has remained loyal to Bishop Akakije: it is also a wise move on the Romanians’ part for a completely different reason. Archbishop Kallinikos receives Romanian Old Calendarists from the Slatioara Synod as if they were already members of the Church, without chrismation, although they have been in communion with the Cyprianites for many years, because, as he claims, the Romanians received cheirotesia from himself many years ago - a claim which the Romanians vigorously deny. This shows that Kallinikos, while being extremely tough on the Russians for occasionally using “oikonomia”, himself employs much greater “oikonomia” in relation to the Slatioara Synod (we will not talk here about the vast amoung of “oikonomia” that the Greeks in other parts of the world, such as North America, allow for themselves). So let the Romanians of Guildford understand that if they want to be in communion with the True Old Calendarists in their homeland, they will have to be in communion with the Russians and the Serbs, not the Greeks.”
Only this to say, I have faith in the Romanians that they do not follow The Faith simply because of familial ties back in their own country.
Besides, in the previous Parish Council Meeting,
the yet “hypothetical” questions regarding the reception of the faithful from the ‘Slatioara Synod’
was made clear by Fr Augustine when he reported his telephone conversation with Bp Photios to us,
and Vladimir was there and he heard our Synod’s position on this matter.
Quite why he continues to perpetuate the misinformation above is beyond me.
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
24. Attempts to divide by inciting Slavonic Nationalism & anti-Hellinism 2
“Now to some very practical consequences. If there is a schism in the parish of St. Michael between those who support the Greeks and those who support the Russians and Serbs, then we will have two warring communities, one “Greek” and one “Slav”.”
I fail to this see such imaginary ‘warring’ communities.
The Guildford Parish (whether they are ‘Slavs’ or the single ‘Greek’ in origin), we are Orthodox Christians first and foremost.
We do not see ourselves as separate ‘communities’, and although comprised mostly by Slavs and just a single Greek,
we take a more sobre and ultimately Orthodox view, by rejecting such temptations for nationalistic divisions.
The Guildford Parish (whether they are ‘Slavs’ or the single ‘Greek’ in origin), with an exception of one member (at the time of writing),
does not condone nor accept the schismatic behaviour and the actions of the Akakijens.
Vladimir’s attempt at evoking nationalism,
with labels like the ‘Greek’ and the ‘Slav’ is a passion-driven attempt to ‘divide and conquer’.
It is like trying to create (out of thin air) a hostile atmosphere by calling for an (un)Orthodox version of some sort of a imaginary Panslavic jihad against the Greeks.
Fortunately – with the exception of the Akakijan group – noone has fallen to this temptation.
What I find interesting is that a few people cannot read simple numbers.
Most of the Serbs TOCs in Serbia have remained with the Synod,
all the Slavs (at the time of writing) at the Guildford Parish, are faithful to the Synod.
The only people that have left, is a certain group of 100 or so people of “friends and family” of dear Fr/Bp Akakije,
but still we are here having to face imaginary Panslavic war dilemmas of “them vs us”,
with grossly misrepresented definitions of who is “we” and who is “them”.
However, if Vladimir is feeling compelled to create camps, the only one I can think of is “Slavs and Greeks vs schismatics”.
However, even in this case I do not feel my brothers in Serbia that have been lured by such thoughts of nationalism as “vs”.
Our common enemy is the devil.
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
25. Attempts to divide by inciting Slavonic Nationalism & anti-Hellinism 3
“I have already received assurances that, in the event of such a schism, we, the Slavs, will receive strong support. We will have visiting priests… ”
‘We, the Slavs’ ?
I find quite humorous how these words were used.
First of all, Vladimir is English, so it should be “them the Slavs, and I the English”.
Secondly, as aforementioned it is a huge misrepresentation to try to parade the fraction of Serbs that joined the Akakijan groups as “the Slavs”, thereby -falsely- implying unity.
However, of you feel compelled to use “we”, then please do so factually. i.e. “we the Akakijans”
Moreover, are you trying to imply that those that have not joined the schismatic group and remain faithful to the Synod are not Slavs ?
Or are "you" more Slav than them ?
Or are you sounding the trumpet for your (un)Orthodox version of some sort of an imaginary Panslavic jihad against the Greeks again ?
More importantly than all of the aforementioned, is why do not need “visiting priests”.
We already have a canonically ordained priest, Fr Augustine, who, I might add, was ordained in the Russian Church
(and accepted by our Greek Synod without reordination) dispensing the Sacraments?
As for the “support” and “visiting priests” you will receive, I will just repeat your own words:
“As you know, according to the confession of faith of the Orthodox Church, and of the Greek GOC, schismatics have no grace of sacraments and go to hell unless they return to the Church.”
Why must Vladimir insists on creating the division in our Parish, be they ‘Greeks’ or ‘Slavs’ (and many more nationalities besides), by ‘having visiting priests’???
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
26. Threats 1 – Trying to “intimidate” Clergy. The true agenda
“… and who knows? perhaps even a new permanent priest if Fr. Augustine adopts the Greek line.”
Is Vladimir here trying to threaten Fr Augustine?!
Is this even worthy of a response?
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
27. Threats 2 – Trying to “intimidate” Parishioners. The true agenda continued
“As for me, I will do everything in my power as President of the Orthodox Trust, which, as you know, pays for the rent on the church, the church house and the priest’s salary, among other things,to see that the Slav priests can serve the liturgy unhindered in our church.”
Might I refer you, dear readers, back to the question Vladimir himself posed at the beginning of his letter
“it has been asserted that the Russian and Serbian actions have all been orchestrated behind the scenes by me.
Do these people have any sense of what is possible and not possible, any sense of reality?!”
And what is he intending to do now as the ‘President of the Orthodox Trust’?
If this is not ‘orchestrating behind the scenes’, what is?!
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
28. Threats 3 – Trying to “intimidate” Parishioners. THIS is the (only) warring party..
“Moreover, if the Greek parish tries to hinder us by calling us schismatics, or by trying to take over the church for their own exclusive use, I will put a motion before the Trust that it cut off all forms of support for the Greek parish by the Trust.”
We don’t mind if we are cut off from the financial support of the Trust.
The Lord said: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them “ (Matthew 18:20).
As a parish member correctly said in the Extraordinary Parish Council meeting: “Our souls are not for sale”.
Do what you wish, Vladimir, if your conscience compels you.
I will just remind you of the words of our Lord: “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me,
it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. “ (Mark 9:42)
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
29. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 14– Hatred … ?
“For after all, why should we continue to support those who hate us and hinder our salvation? The Lord told us to love our enemies. But He did not tell us to support them in their impiety and war against true believers.”
The only hate I can see here is his stoic determination to
cut funding from the Trust to the Parish,
trying to replace Fr Augustine with another ‘Slavic’ priest and
his attempts to divide us up artificially as ‘Slavs’ and the ‘Greeks’.
We, in the Guildford Parish, don’t hate the Akakijens.
We don’t hate even Vladimir for writing such as unfortunate and manipulative letter.
We are grieved by it, however.
Whatever ‘hate’ Vladimir has is all conjured up by himself (possibly inspired by the demons, no one else).
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
30. Threats 4 – Trying to “intimidate” Parishioners in view of “future” developments
“I sincerely hope that the situation will not develop in this way. But we must be realistic about the possibilities. Everybody should know what is likely to happen if the parish takes the wrong decision of declaring that the Serbs and the Russians and those with them are schismatics… ”
After Vladimir has laid down threats upon threats to the Parish of Guildford,
everything the follows from there just smacks of hypocrisy.
We will be realistic about the possibilities that Vladimir will go all out of his way in trying to break the unity of the Parishioners in Guildford.
This is the undisputed fact.
What more to say except “By their fruits ye know them!”?
31. “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? “ (Matthew 7:3)
“I have to admit that the ambition and hypocrisy of the Greek hierarchs, on the one hand…”
How ironic of Vladimir to speak of “ambition” on behalf of a group that left the Synod uncanonically,
within themselves some breaking their vows of monastic obedience,
consecrating for themselves (as of now) a lone Bishop in their so-called ‘autocephalous’ Church,
accountable to no other bishops in its own ‘Synod’ but himself ?
32. Trying to bank on Emotionalism 15 – Delusions of “persecution”….. We just cant follow you in a schism.
“and the hate-filled abuse of some members of our parish against me, has profoundly discouraged me. Can it be that the demonic spirit has already triumphed in our parish, and that after so many years of struggling in True Orthodoxy against various external foes, we are going to destroy ourselves through internal hatreds? But perhaps I simply have too little faith and hope... In any case, I believe, as St. Photius the Great once said, that the greatest act of love that one can do to a man is to tell him the truth, and that is what I have tried to do in this letter. So I beseech you, beloved brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters: step back from the brink, do not believe the demonic lie that we, who have brought many of you to the faith, are now schismatics together with the best representatives of Slavic Orthodoxy. If you believe that lie, you will become slaves of the father of lies.”
On a personal note, I would also like to say that I have the highest respect and love for Bp Akakije.
He used to be my spiritual father.
I have enjoyed his guidance, and benefited greatly from his prayers.
I know that he prays for all his spiritual children.
My dear Bp Akakije, I do hope to see you again soon, and pray that things change so I can take your blessing once again.
I would also like to send all my love to the nuns at the fighting monastery of Novi Stenik.
Starting from Abbess Ephrosyne (whose help at a very difficult time in my life was invaluable)
and of course my “spiritual sister” (as we call each other) Mati Nina.
Mati I still use your prayer rope and think of you daily.
For those that maybe tempted to say that I wrote the letter because I am Greek, and I write out of "nationalism",
all I will respond is that when received in the True Church I choose to be chrismated in Serbia
(although I have a parish where I live in England, and there are hundred of parishes back home in Greece).
Although unintentional, it also happened on the day of “St Kyril and Methodie”, the Saints from my hometown Thessaloniki that did so much for the Slavs,
thus making my emotional bonds with Serbia even stronger.
Additionally, I asked Fr (at that time) Akakije to be my spiritual Father (not a Greek priest from Greece).
The choices I made for place of chrismation and spiritual father, speak volumes about my feelings for the Serbs.
Last but not least I owe to Vladimir (my godfather) more than anyone else,
for bringing me into the True Church.
I owe to him for the countless hours he has spent in trying to catechize me,
I owe to him for the love and support he gave me in times of need.
On my part, I bear nothing but gratitude towards his kindness.
I feel a part of me torn out that I have to write this letter,
and more that I cannot share my ever so interesting conversations with him on matters of the Faith.
I miss him, and my Olga (especially her wonderful cooking...)
But I can't follow him on this dangerous path that he chose for himself,
and I certainly cannot stand still while he tries to drag down others with him.
He – like us – has his passions.
I do love and miss you Vladimir, more than you know.
But things have to said, and as they say in the world .. “business is business, this is not personal",
but rather hope to serve as a wake up call.
I am just holding the mirror in front of you, hoping that you see for yourself, what the rest us are seeing in your current actions.
Additionally, I can say for sure that no one in the Guildford Parish hates Vladimir.
We may disagree with him and his ways on occasions, but we consider him as a man sincerely trying to live his life as an Orthodox Christian.
That said, we aren’t blind to his oftentimes blatant misapplication of what he constitutes as ‘Orthodox’ and ‘Christian’.
For that we are profoundly sorry and pray that God have mercy on him and grant him peace.
With Love in Him
Αλεξανδρος
Member – St Michael's Parish Council
Treasurer – St Michael's Orthodox Foundation
30 August / 12 September 2011, Woking, UK
(Feast of St Alexander, Archbishop of Constantinople)
