Alexander Miloradovich
About the disgraceful end of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA)
("The process of integration of church assets was started with humiliation and sacrilege")
translated by Mikhail Andronov
The first in the history visit to Moscow of the delegation of the Church Abroad is going on November 17-22. The delegation includes three hierarchs representing Germany, Australia and Western America. The meetings of the Delegation of the ROCA with the Priestly Headship of the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate took place in the "atmosphere of brotherly love". "We came with the sole purpose of re-establishing the communication, to understand how close the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church are. We share the mutual desire to overcome that division which was caused by tragic events of the 20th century", commented on the main purpose of the visit Mark, the archbishop of Berlin and Germany, the head of the foreign delegation. Archbishop Mark apologized for all the harsh sayings towards the Mother Church, which had accumulated in the 75 years of the division among its two parts. The Most Holy Patriarch Alexy II received this address with satisfaction and gave a warning that "the way of the rapprochement has been opened, but it's not going to be very easy and will take some time". (Courtesy of RIA "News").
Beautiful, to put it in one word. But there is one detail – where is God? The separation of ROCA from the Church in the Homeland took place in the 20-s of the last century. The expatriate hierarchs counted it impossible to submit to the Priestly Headship of the Russian Orthodox Church considering it "bound" with the secret services. This, by the way, was confirmed by dozens of scandalous disclosures related to unclassifying of several archives of KGB. The story of "agent Drozdov" alone is worthy of noting, of the one who currently is The Most Holy all-Russia Patriarch. This story was already told by ARI ("Did the prospective patriarch Alexy II work for Gestapo?").
It's clear that the mere existence of ROCA all these years was a bone lodged in the throat of the Mother Church and of the "competent agencies" tutoring it. What then is the true reason behind this flash of sudden and mutual "brotherly love" between the two churches?
The Russian Orthodox Church of today is not just the biggest religious alliance in this country. It comprises 130 dioceses, over 13000 parishes (with the Ukraine, about 22000), 570 monasteries (compared with 18 back in 1980). Pastors' ministry is carried out by over 150 eparches, 17500 priests, 2300 deacons. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), cherished by all branches of Russian authorities, has practically become the official state religion. All of the former (communist) party's "big shots", having transformed into the present "democratic power" adore to pose in a church with a candle being surrounded by believers.
But the main gift from the lay authorities to the church authorities consists of a considerable amount of property, tax, customs and legal benefits. The modern Russian Orthodox Church is the largest national corporation with huge property, a branchy network of affiliates and accounts which are untouchable for fiscal agencies, possessing a powerful economical and political influence.
All of this makes the Mother Church an extremely attractive commercial partner for its foreign stepdaughter. And the archbishop of Berlin and Germany prefers just not to ignore the fact that the unprecedented "growth of assets" is explained by the obedience and loyalty of the current ROC's top management to the powers that be (expressed by a silent blessing of nationwide poverty, of the rampancy of crime, of the massacre in Chechnya, etc.). Bowing down before such evident economical potential, he can even apologize to "agent Drozdov".
The Russian Orthodox Church is also highly interested in the forthcoming alliance. The ROCA currently consists of over 500 parishes which are attended by up to half a million orthodox believers in more than 30 countries. The biggest number of them is found in the USA, Australia, Germany, Canada and France. There are 16 eparches, 39 monasteries and hermitages under the ROCA's jurisdiction. ROCA's parishes also emerged in Russia in the early 90-s. But what lies behind these figures? Certainly, half a million parishioners is fine but there were better times when the number of the ROCA's parishioners reached up to 1.5 million. But even the current number of them does not speak of their quality. Yes, they do attend but not too frequently, maybe once a year. It used to be the first wave emigrants and their children to whom attending the church symbolized their connection to the Fatherland.
Parishioners used to actively participate in both the life of parishes and their financial supporting by generously contributing to church pay-boxes. This last detail was the one that played the decisive role in turning the ROCA into a powerful establishment filled with clerks, canonries, sinecures, etc., with all that is intrinsic to a bureaucratic system. Many emigrants chose the career in the ROCA.
As follows from Murhy's laws, a bureaucratic establishment is formed for the realization of a purpose or a goal but, after such an establishment reaches its critical mass, a certain level of the apparatus' organization and of building the hierarchy, the establishment becomes busy exclusively about reproducing itself. The ROCA was not an exception. Thus, when the parishioners' numbers shrunk and the remaining ones were no longer as zealous, offerings shrunk, too. Bad times came upon the ROCA's apparatus. Among the new emigration wave, there mostly prevailed those who had no idea about the orthodoxy, besides, it was possible to visit the homeland having purchased a ticket. But the apparatus existed. Bishops, archbishops, their assistants, deans, etc., needed to be supported. Property, whatever the size, had to be maintained, too. Thus, they had to seek a solution and it came about in the form of alliance with the Moscow Patriarchate.
In Russia, too, the Orthodoxy experiences a decline, people haven't forgotten that the Moscow Patriarchate was formed under the control of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) and that the main job of many "pastors", including the patriarch himself was not about serving God. But this concerns the spiritual plane, not the financial one. Having made a deal with new Russian authorities, more precisely, having come as a legacy from the old ones, the Russian Orthodox Church enjoys great preferences. They don't even need the flock, all you need to do is sell cigarettes. The current authorities pay for the brand name and pay well. That's why the ROC has turned into some sort of bureaucratic structure entirely preoccupied by its own reproduction. Do they even care about God or Russian people?
If there is only one goal – its own well-being – there is an important client in the Russian State, then why not consolidate structures. There used to be problems. In the first place, among the ROCA's leaders were sincere believers who could not allow such a deal, their conscience didn't allow them to form a connection with an organization created by the NKVD-KGB. Secondly, some of the ROCA's hierarchs had illusions that they would be able to become the leading church organization in view of the fact that the new power in Russia would sincerely abandon Stalin's legacy. The fact is that the ROCA was created as a temporary organization which would have to come back to the homeland after the defeat of the Bolsheviks and to form a structure there. They were wrong, because the Bolsheviks are still in power and the nature of the new period of their power is such that the ROC with all its generic traits is what they need.
Gradually, administrators and bureaucrats gained preeminence in the ROCA. And what becomes the most important thing then? Right – the well-being of this structure. In no case to allow its cutdown in view of the reality of shrinking numbers of parishioners, otherwise someone will have to leave. There is no place for slop in this regard then. What good would it be if there is a customer who is interested in the infrastructure of a former rival? As for the identity of the customer, it's clearly seen from reverend Mark's apologies. Moreover, Alexy and company revealed their boorish mug by making Mark to lowly apologize for "all harsh sayings towards the Mother Church which have accumulated throughout the 75 years of separation between her two parts". How do you like that?! For 75 years they have been blessing all evil-doings of the Bolsheviks, squealing and deceiving people. And Mark was apologizing for the fact that it had been talked about abroad? How do you like that?! Apologize for the truth? How do you like that?! One can draw the conclusion out of this shameful apology that both sides are absolutely far from serving God and righteousness. Besides, this apology asked by Mark is a sacrilegious trample upon the memory of all who had fought for 75 years against the oppressors of Russia and on whose shoulders the ROCA had immerged. It would be one thing if they went about this alliance quietly, but this apology which is contrary to the truth, contrary to the memory, has given this whole act a satanic hue.
Thus, the top management of the two congenial religious corporations sees in this alliance all those economic benefits which are promised by the formation of a transnational monopoly with a well-developed network of affiliates. And no antimonopoly agency is obviously an obstacle here. Virtuous reasoning would be inappropriate here. It would be advisable, for the proprieties' sake, not to advertise "mutual desire" too much.
