From the latest issue of the Orthodox Christian Witness:
A TIMELY ARTICLE ON THE LIFE OF "FR. ARSENY", AN "INVENTED LITERARY FIGURE".
Fr. Arseny has been made into a heroic figure by staff members of the Moscow Patriarchate in order to undermine the Catacomb Church and convince the faithful of the correctness of the position of Patriarch Sergius who capitulated to the communist authorities. Fr. Arseny's life published by St. Vladimir's Press was originally described by the Saint Vladimir's Press as a fictional account of a priest's life under the Soviet Patriarchate. Now the book is printed as an authentic account of this priest's life. (Vertograd-Inform) 1 "A House Built On Sand" 2 Contemporary Mythology of the Moscow Patriarchate
When, in 1991, a group of Moscow priests who had at one time been close to the late Fr. Vsevolod Spiller, and which later earned the nickname of "the conservative Moscow Batiushkas", organized courses for catechists, which within a year developed into the Theological Institute for Catechists, many Orthodox Christians experienced a feeling of genuine joy - that was a time of high hopes by many for a much-awaited ecclesiastical revival. Alas! These hopes were not meant to be realized. The rebirth did not follow, the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate pretended that the sin of Sergianism had long been forgotten and forgiven, and as for Ecumenism, it does not represent any danger whatsoever. Of course, this position - which was proclaimed openly by the ecclesiastical bigwigs (let it suffice to recall the conference of the representatives of the official jurisdictions of the world, held in Thessalonica in May) - did not sit well with many Orthodox, who began to seek an ecological niche wherein it would be possible to openly confess Anti-Ecumenism, to stand for True Orthodoxy against the spirits of the evil of this World which have gained strength in the movement of neo-Renovationism and "Menism",3 and wherein it would be possible to render due reverence to the New Martyrs.
At that time it seemed that the newly formed St. Tikhon Orthodox Theological Institute (STOTI) had taken up just such a niche. The Patriarchate had not given its blessing for this new educational institution very willingly, while the older ecclesiastical schools of the MP began to look upon its first steps with even a certain degree of envy. It [the Institute] has now been in existence for six years, and it has become absolutely clear that these hopes were not justified. Like unto the man in the Gospel parable who built his house on sand and neglected a firm foundation, the creators of this Institute placed in its foundation naught but sand, having forgotten that personal piety and churchliness, of themselves, are not enough, and that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" is worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.4 The spirit of apostasy entered into the life of the Institute and has affected all of its spheres.
The fact that the perpetuation and preservation of the tradition of the Holy New Martyrs were declared to be the primary aim of the Institute has served (and does serve) in the eyes of many as its chief defense against the accusation of Sergianism. However, one ought to know, that such an aim has been maintained from the very beginning precisely in that very "Soviet", Sergianist spirit characteristic of the entire post-perestroika policy of the MP. This spirit is manifested most vividly in the suppressing and ignoring of the Royal Martyrs, the retouching of the martyric confessions of the hierarchs who did not recognize Sergius, as well as in the invention and popularization of literary heroes, such as "Fr. Arseny". In the minds of those who composed this hagiographic literary fiction, such "Patriarchate Elders", as he, are supposed to witness to the holiness of Sergianism. (I might add, that the matter here cannot be answered by referring to the almost catacomb-like nature of Fr. Arseny's services, for he had to commemorate someone at the Liturgy, and it is precisely this, as well as his attitude to the God-hating regime and Sergianism, that the authors have not spelled out.) The recently published fourth edition of the book Fr. Arseny includes a newly written fourth part, which is full of absurd inaccuracies and gaffes. 5
The apotheosis of this "legendizing" of literary experiments of the staff of the St. Tikhon Orthodox Theological Institute was the inclusion of "Fr. Arseny" in the list of historically documented New Martyrs contained in the monograph published by STOTI: Those Who Have Suffered for Christ. In the courses given at the Institute a jesuitical selection is made of the testimony of the Holy New Martyrs: those testimonies wherein Sergianism and the Soviet hierarchy are denounced, are - with the blessing of the Father Rector - altered (as was edited the testimony of Metropolitan Macarius against the falsehoods of Sergianism), while the examples of hesitation and doubt of some Holy Martyrs and Confessors are interpreted in an openly Sergianist spirit - as a compromise with the Soviet regime. In the speeches delivered by the heads of STOTI at the graduation exercises in 1997, there could be detected a distinct tendency: "the true point" of the well-known Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius was, says he, "the saving of the Church", (Protopriest A. Saltykov); the Hierarch Peter (Polyansky) "in actual fact, blessed" Sergius, (Hieromonk Damascene Orlovsky),6 and so forth.
The anti-Ecumenism of this Institute has likewise proved to be half-hearted and inconsistent. While in an outward fashion not welcoming ecumenistic unity and syncretism, the "St. Tikhonites" continue to carry out the wishes of the leadership of the MP and its Department for External Church Relations [DECR], receiving at the Institute the ecumenistic chiefs, and sending its staff members to Ecumenical congresses and assemblies. For example, in 1997-1998, fraternal visits to the Institute were paid by the Polish ecumenist, Archbishop Jeremiah, the General Secretary of the WCC, Dr. Raiser, Prof. N. Lossky,7 and a host of prominent Anglican and Roman Catholic figures. The Institute enjoys the generous aid of the WCC and other Ecumenical organizations; members of its staff attended the European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz [Austria] and the Ecumenical Conferences in Damascus and Geneva. But those instructors who dared to speak out publicly against the ill-famed Chambésy Unia, have begun for quite some time to feel themselves increasingly isolated. However, it must be admitted that matters at STOTI have not yet advanced to extreme forms of Ecumenism, such as intercommunion, yet, if commanded by the leaders, even this is possible. The warmest of relations link STOTI and the Patriarchate of Constantinople, its Metropolitan see in Geneva, and the Ecumenical Orthodox youth organization "SYNDESMOS". The Institute's relations with the DECR and [its head] Metropolitan Cyril (Gundyaev)8 remain quite cordial, for the leadership of the Institute cherishes the hope of falling back upon the left, "Nikodimite",9 wing of the MP for support, once Chisty Pereulok10 shall have ceased to bestow its kindness upon them. The conservatism and "anti-Renovationism" of this Institute constitute yet another myth, capable of misleading naïve, simple folk. The new, reformed Renovationism and Young-eldership11 of the "St. Tikhonites" arises, it is true, not from lofty ideas, but from banal, human weaknesses, concerning which, perhaps, there is no need to talk, if it were not for the fact that these people function as instructors of courses on ethics.
The plague, which had attacked STOTI from its very conception, is the irrepressible and boundless ambition and thirst for power of the leaders of STOTI. (...) Older parishioners of the St. Nicholas-Kuznetsky Church12 - whose senior priest is Protopriest Vladimir Vorobiev, Rector of STOTI - observing with amazement and horror the transformation of their parish during recent years, have remarked: "We no longer have any parishioners left - just spiritual children." Faithfulness "to Batiushka" has totally replaced faithfulness to Christ and to His Church, while "Batiushka" himself rapidly changed from a "spiritual father" into a "spiritual detective": his m ethods of "father-confessorship" and the use made by him of information gathered before the analogion during Confession, have become the talk of the town. At a gathering of the younger priests of the Institute on December12 of this year, Fr. Vorobiev bluntly demanded that they divulge the secrets of Confession, if during it any sort of sedition happens to be revealed, such as astrology or other temptations, so that proceedings can be initiated towards the expulsion of the "guilty" students from the Institute.
The moral environment at the Institute became critical when, about a year ago, a search began for ways of linking its leadership more intimately with various semi-, and quite simply, criminal structures. As its great protector there appeared at the Institute the well-known (in certain circles) "Archimandrite Sergius" of Velikie Luki, renowned for the notorious affair concerning the burial within the caves of the Pskov Caves Monastery of a certain "chap" (i. e., an ordinary gangster), killed during a "clarification of relationships" in St. Petersburg. A most prominent representative of the "New World Order", B. B.,13 has taken to attending the St. Nicholas-Kuznetsky Church and leaving contributions, while "Batiushka" - under the protection of the Moscow criminal world - busies himself with the candle and icon business at the Moscow cemeteries.14 Then again, some may object and say to us that the gradual transformation of "fathers and brethren" into "bosses and boys" in present-day Russia is a phenomenon both universal and inescapable; however, for STOTI this process marked its total merging into the mainstream of the internal life of the MP. Having assimilated the good old ethics while still a subdeacon at the Patriarchal Cathedral during the harsh years of the period of stagnation [under Brezhnev], the Father Rector has quite clearly demonstrated that a morally pure Theological Institute within the walls of the MP is a myth. The contemporary "RF" [Russian Federation] is not the historical Russia; the contemporary MP should not call itself the Russian Church, and STOTI cannot lay claim to being "the continuation of the tradition of Russian ecclesiastical education". The workings of this apostasy are quite simple: since it is well-known that "no one can serve two masters",15 then any activity whatsoever, be it ecumenical, be it modernistic, becomes possible from considerations of profit or gain. "Reasonable compromises" with the devil don't happen, that's just how things are; and thus, the spirit of apostasy which has prevailed for these last few years within STOTI, combined with the charismatic ambitions of its leaders, should, so it seems, promote a re-evaluation by the Orthodox people of the place of this institution in the life of the Russian Church. Yu. Shch., Instructor at the St. Tikhon Orthodox Theological Institute (STOTI) of the Moscow Patriarchate
NOTES
1 Vertograd-Inform (Russian edition: No. 12, December 1998, pp. 33-34; English edition: No. 14, December 1999, pp. 20-22.) Vertograd-Inform is a monthly journal published in St. Petersburg, Russia. This letter was translated by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston.
2 Mt. 7:24-27. (Trans.)
3 A reference to the influence exerted by those members of the Russian intelligentsia who had been followers of Fr. Alexander Men. Fr. Alexander was brutally murdered in 1990. As much as one may deplore his senseless murder, nevertheless, it cannot be denied that in his preaching and writings he clearly expressed neo-Renovationist views concerning the Orthodox Faith and the Church. (Trans.)
4 Mt. 7:21. (Trans.)
5 English edition: Alexander ___, Father Arseny, trans. Vera Bouteneff (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1998). The St. Vladimir's Seminary Bookstore catalog for Winter 1999-2000 states that this fictional account has been "our best-selling title for the last sixteen months"! (Trans.)
6 Author, compiler, editor, and contributor to many books on the New Martyrs published in recent years by the Moscow Patriarchate. What does his statement above say for the veracity and credibility of his works? (Trans.)
7 In contrast, see: Orthodox Christian Witness (Vol. 31, No. 26, 1998) for a report on the less-than-friendly reception given Raiser & Co. at the Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Theological Academy. (Trans.)
8 KGB code name: "Mikhailov". (Trans.)
9 Concerning the infamous Metropolitan Nikodim Rotov, see: "On the Death of a Soviet Bishop", Orthodox Christian Witness, Vol. 12, No. 10, 1978, pp. 1-8. (Trans.)
10 Clean Lane - the location of the residence and offices of the Patriarch of Moscow. (Trans.)
11 The spiritually harmful practice by young, inexperienced clergy of taking upon themselves the role of Eldership. Also an allusion to the "Young Turks", and similar insurgent movements from within a group.
12 So called because it is located in the former Kuznetskaya Sloboda (Smiths' Settlement), now found well within the boundaries of modern Moscow. (Trans.)
13 Boris Berezovsky. [Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States. He holds dual, Russian-Israeli, citizenship. (Trans.)]
14 It is well known that despite the poor financial state of the Institute - the average wage of whose instructors is equivalent to $10 a month (!) - Fr. Vladimir Vorobiev rides around Moscow in an elegant Mercedes, with his own private chauffeur.
