STRUGGLERS OF ORTHODOX RUSSIANNESS
Inok Vsevolod (Filipiev)
I. The Russian Church Abroad
The Twentieth Century brought with it a new understanding - "The Russian Church Abroad".
This understanding does not only encompass itself with Orthodox churches, monasteries, brotherhoods and spiritually-patriotic centers abroad. Mostly, the Russian Church Abroad is people. Rus' Abroad gave Orthodoxy a full assembly of righteous people. Among them are simple and educated people, as well as clerics and laymen. Today, the names of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) and Martyr Joseph Munos are well known and venerated in Russia. But the opening of the spiritual treasury of the Russian Diaspora is only beginning.
If we take practically any of the hierarchs of the Russian Diaspora in the last ten years, we will see that we have contact with a righteous person, in part and directly with a spiritual elder. What is the personality found here? It is a "rule of faith and an image of meekness". Let us direct our attention to four of the Archpastors of the Russian Diaspora.
II. Archbishop Vitaly
Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko) - Abba of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville. He is this because the Pochaev Print Shop was renewed thanks to his work before the Revolution. After the Revolution, Vladyka Vitaly moved this print shop to Ladomirovo in the Carpathian Mountains. After this, thanks to the assistance of Vladyka Vitaly who was assigned to a hierarchal cathedra in the USA, the former print shop brotherhood of Ladomirovo was recognized near the small village of Jordanville in the state of New York.
Vladyka Vitaly was not an office worker. He was a church worker with capital letters. His tireless energy began in Russia and then followed in many corners of chapels, churches and print shops of the Russian Diaspora…. His warm-loving heart for Russia amazingly gave birth to simple and wise thoughts about the Fatherland and Russian People. We read his truly prophetical words which were told shortly after the end of the Second World War: "The Russian People in Russia…in America and throughout the world, came to its senses and realized that it is still a unified, mighty and gigantic organism after its difficult and deathly illness. With what kind of bread have they nourished themselves up until these most recent times? In them are one soul and one blood, and it is Russian.
"You see how it clearly looked on reality with Russian eyes and mind; how he felt with all the fibers of its soul that Bolshevism, with its deathly poison and definitiveness, was to turn itself away from him.
"Look at how the first willful strengths of its cognizant organism start to develop.
This is the steadfast confession of faith of the hundreds and thousands of martyred and shot priests, soldiers, and Intelligentsia, workers and peasants, and at its head with the head of the government - the Czar. They all are semiprecious stones of the immortal glory in the crown of the resurrecting Russia."
The words of Vladyka Vitaly were not empty and farfetched. After each of them stood concrete tasks, often struggle and confession of faith. He carried throughout his whole life the struggle of Orthodox Russianness, about which often was spoken by another pillar of the Russian Diaspora - Archimandrite Konstantin (Zaitsev).
Archbishop Vitaly never divided himself from the flock by the church Ambo, always living in its grounds. One line from the memoirs of Vladyka says a lot: "Within all church subjects which I conducted throughout the period of my church service," writes Vladyka, "I have kept as dearest to me, a pectoral cross given to me as an archimandrite from the Volynskii Union of the Russian People." This is an edifying lesson for the contemporary church warriors of Russia!
Archbishop Vitaly reposed on March 8/21, 1960 and was buried in a crypt below the Memorial Church of St. Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, in New Jersey. Symbolically, this church is one of the fruits of the work of Vladyka Vitaly - the tireless missionary of Volyn, the Carpathian Mountains and America, who throughout his whole life was a propagator and server of Orthodox Russianness.
III. Archbishop Averky
Archbishop Averky (Taushev; +March 31/April 13 1976) was the Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary and the Father-Superior of the Lavra of the Russian Diaspora - Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville.
He came into Orthodox Theology as a stern un-masker of apostasy and secularization in the Church and as a strict teacher of morality and asceticism.
The unforgettable sermons of Vladyka Averky, our Russian Chrysostom….
Look at the venerable archpastor with whitened gray hair. A strict, yet just prince of the Church goes onto the Ambo of Holy Trinity Cathedral, looking at the flock attentively and sincerely gazing from beneath his bushy eyebrows. The church stands motionless with reverent trepidation, and Vladyka begins to speak; it seems that the conscience of the Church itself is speaking: "The most evil and dangerous idea of the contemporary world," exclaims Archbishop Averky, "this idea of making peace coexisting with evil. And there are a lot of these ideas at the present time, including servers of the Church who yield to them. But is it possible for the true Church of Christ to somehow make peace with the evil that comes from the enemy of man's salvation - the devil? Is it possible for it to coexist with him as if not knowing the resolute battle against him?
"Absolutely not, because by the words of Christ, no one can serve two masters (Matt. 6:24). This is because…the Sergianism which is sermonized by its coexistence with the God-fighting powers of communism and the participation in the so-called ecumenical movement is recognized by all the equally justified and honored religious groups and denominations. All of that by nature leads to the falling away from the true Church…. Our particularly materialistic age is completely characterized by having wasted the true worth and importance almost in entirety in the life of people. The understanding of the Church of Christ as a Theanthropic organism - the Body of Christ, of which Christ Himself is the Head. The Church, in its full accord with the stylish current of democracy, started to look itself over as merely a human organization. From this come all evil, destruction, disorder, factions and schisms…in the life of the Church, which knows that it must serve as a threshold towards the preparation of the future eternal life. And that absolutely comes from the losing of faith itself in that future life which stands before us."
As Archbishop Vitaly, an expert of his time, thought it very necessary to construct a memorial-church in honor of the St. Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, in the Diaspora, so too did Archbishop Averky think that his most important task was to construct a temple in the minds and hearts of the people. Already at the dawn of the Russian government did St. Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, realize the power of Orthodoxy. Following after him were the spiritual leaders of the Russian Diaspora who showed how Orthodoxy was the only method of the rebirth of our tortured Fatherland. For this reason did they zealously fight for pureness of faith, they being sickened by even the smallest bit of soiling of the Church Riza.
Vladyka Averky points out that "For us Orthodox Russian People, there is no other salvific path, other than that which was given to us by the inscribable Enlightener of Russia, St. Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles…. Let us remember the tendency towards the perception of God, the steadfastness in Holy Orthodoxy and the resolute irreconcilability towards the evil of the devil which is inscribed in the sign of St. Vladimir."
IV. Metropolitan Philaret
We deliberately did not begin our discussion about the spiritual torches of the Russian Diaspora with the First-Hierarchs of the Russian Church Abroad - Metropolitans Anthony (Khrapovitsky), Anastasy (Gribanovskii) and Vitaly (Ustinov) - because they deserve a separate discussion, which emerges from the borders of this article.
Because we do not have the ability to speak about all of them, we will say a bit about one of them - about Metropolitan Philaret, the third First-Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad. The choosing of this hierarch was not by accident. The author of this article felt an unforgettable feeling, as he was able to prayerfully give reverence to the incorrupt relics of Vladyka Philaret.
Holy Hierarch Philaret reposed in the Lord in 1985 and was buried in the monastery's cemetery crypt in Jordanville. In 1998, a new crypt was built behind the altar of the Holy Trinity Monastery Cathedral. Before the coffin of Metropolitan Philaret was translated to its new place, it was revealed and shown to all that the honorable remains of the Metropolitan were incorrupt.
For a few days, the coffin with the body of Metropolitan Philaret was in the cemetery church. It was soon after closed, sealed and solemnly translated to the monastery cathedral, and then put into the new crypt.
Before the coffin was sealed, a pannikhida was served at which Archbishop Laurus and some of the brethren of the monastery were present. (The finding of the relics was not accessible to all.) By God's mercy, the writer of this article was also granted to be present. The chocolate-colored relics of Metropolitan Filaret were seared into the memory, reminding us of the relics of St. Job of Pochaev and St. John (Maximovich).
I must admit, that when I first heard that the remains of Metropolitan Philaret were found to be incorrupt, I cruelly thought to myself: "Aren't a lot of relics incorrupt? What's with all these people looking for miracles?" Later, the situation changed. Although not by my desire, Vladyka Laurus, who was going to the pannikhida, asked me to come along. When I saw the relics of Holy Hierarch Philaret, I was ashamed because I doubted in the so obvious miracle of God and committed the sin of blasphemy against the saint.
Having seen the relics of Metropolitan Philaret, it is impossible to have second thoughts about his being one chosen by God.
Along with the incorrupt and holy relics of the third First-Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, we have his incorrupt and holy words. Metropolitan Philaret, as most of the archpastors of the Russian Diaspora, was a teacher of morals and asceticism, as well as a preacher of repentance and exposer of apostasy. There is left only to be astonished, that having been in such a high church post, Vladyka Philaret could have managed to keep his soul away from intrigues, spite, falsehood and the pleasing of man. His pure soul was really against lies.
Thinking about the contemporary world, Metropolitan Philaret wrote: "Looking on that which is happening, man, not having a firm hope on God's Providence, can fall into faintheartedness and despair. There is so many lies and evil all around. The world becomes completely hopeless…lies have completely drowned the world."
Often, the First-Hierarch of the Russian Diaspora condemned false peacemaking, i.e. political chiliasm, which has tied and ties the Church to the secular community. For this reason, Metropolitan Philaret wrote: "…Many have cried out in the past years about 'peace of the whole world'…. They have signed-up to some calling, gathered some meetings, organized commission of peace, and all of that has been saturated with lies…. In the Bible it is spoken about that which looks like peace - 'the peace-loving development': 'The ungodly receive no peace,' says the Lord, 'and they never will'…. The Church condemned the serving of these false purposes, yet it still sided with this movement of 'the peace of the whole world'. First, the absence of peace - that is the sin of the whole world. If they spoke about peace truly, it would still be an unrealizable, empty dream - utopia. In the present situation, when different parts of mankind grind their teeth at each other like furious dogs, how could there be any peace? How can you throw a beginning on a pile that irreconcilably beats the odds against itself…. To tie the Church to these goals, that is, to tie them to it [the Church], is pointless."
But does that mean that the Church is completely indifferent to the question of peace? Metropolitan Philaret answers this question like this: "The Church by no means is indifferent to peace, but it is doing its own job when it places its prayers of peace on the terrifying Throne of the Lord of Glory: 'In peace, let us pray to the Lord', 'For the peace from above…', 'For the peace of the whole world…' …and we hear about this peace all the time. And that truth is its [the Church's] voice."
Great is the authority of Metropolitan Philaret, not only in the Russian Diaspora, but also among the catacombs in Russia. In many communities of the catacombs during the period of Metropolitan Philaret's service as First-Hierarch, his name was commemorated at divine services. It is believed that the personality of Metropolitan Philaret, as well as his spiritual legacy, still is to be recognized and studied among the faithful people of Russia. The "Spiritual Testament" of Metropolitan Philaret will be perceived as a testament to all the Russian Peoples, in the Fatherland and to those abiding in the Diaspora.
With attention and spiritual preparation we read the evangelical, simple and wise words of the "Spiritual Testament" of Metropolitan Philaret. This is the testament:
"'Remember then what you receive' (Rev 3:11). These words taken from the Holy Book of Revelation have an especially important meaning in our time, in our many-sorrowed, cunning and temptingly called-away days. They remind us about the precious spiritual wealth of which we, the children of the Orthodox Church, possess.
Yes, we are wealthy. And this spiritual wealth is what the Holy Church has - and it is given to all its faithful children. This is the teaching of our wonderful faith, the salvific Orthodox Faith: the many living examples of the life of people who live by faith, by those high beginnings and rules which are offered to us by the Church, and reached by the spiritual cleanliness and heights called sanctity; the beauty and magnificence of our Orthodox divine services and the living participation in them by faith and prayer; the fullness of the grace of spiritual life, opened to one and all as a crown for all, unites the children of the Church into that love, about which spoke Christ: 'By this all men will know that you are My Disciples, if you have love for one another.'"
And so, true faith and Christian love - this is the sanctified testament that was traced by Metropolitan Philaret on the gonfalon of the Russian Church Abroad.
V. Metropolitan Laurus
In 2001, the Right Reverend Laurus became the fifth person to join the glorious line of First Hierarchs of the Russian Church Abroad. Vladyka Laurus was the head of the Syracuse-Holy Trinity Diocese for many years. Vladyka Laurus succeeded Archbishop Averky as rector of the Holy Trinity Seminary and as the abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville.
Vladyka Laurus' name is very well known in the entire Orthodox world: from Valaam, which he, incidentally, visited not too long ago and where he received a warm welcome, to Mt. Athos, where he has been known for a long time and is respected by all.
Metropolitan Laurus' is noted for his simplicity, approachability, openness, and cordiality. These traits are not there by accident; they are the result of his monastic upbringing. At the age of eight or nine Vladyka had already requested to join the brotherhood in the Ladomirovo Monastery in the Carpathian Mountains (in 1946 the monastery resettled in Jordanville), and at the age of twelve was accepted into the brotherhood.
Looking at Metropolitan Laurus, the saying of the Blessed Optina Elder Ambrose comes to mind: "Where there is simplicity, there the angels abound…" However, the simplicity of Metropolitan Laurus is combined with deep wisdom. This wisdom is not there by accident either. From his childhood Vladyka absorbed it from the venerable arch-pastors and pastors with whom Divine Providence had connected him. Thus, Bishop Laurus studied under Metropolitan Anastasy (Gribanovsky), Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko), Archimandrite Kyprian and other worthy ecclesiastical personages.
Vladyka Laurus' personality is revealed by an incident which occurred two weeks before he was chosen to be metropolitan. The author witnessed this incident himself, which is recounted for the reader here. Walking past the monastery collating room in Jordanville after Small Compline, around 10 o'clock in the evening when the brothers are already resting, my attention was drawn to the light in the workshop and I glanced inside. You can imagine my surprise when I saw none other than our own abbot, the Right Reverend Laurus, collating the pages of the next issue of Tserkovnaia Zhizn' with the help of another monk. And that is just one example. It could also be mentioned that as a young bishop Vladyka Laurus would go to the monastery cemetery and help the seminarians dig graves by hand.
It is not surprising that every word of Metropolitan Laurus is filled with power and is accepted on faith by all those who hold dear Orthodoxy and the rebirth of Christian Russia.
Let us ponder the wise instructions and warnings of Metropolitan Laurus: "To be a true Orthodox Christian, who is ready to stand firm for the Orthodox faith is much more difficult now, than it was in the first centuries of Christianity… There seems to be no open persecution in the modern world… yet, Christianity and Orthodoxy are persecuted, and this persecution manifests itself in different ways. This type of persecution is more dangerous than physical persecution because it infringes upon our souls… it threatens us with spiritual death. You may ask: how does it manifest itself?..
In our day, social-political organizations give more and more support to so-called ecumenism; they advocate the "New World Order". These organizations are preparing the world to accept the Antichrist. More and more often voices assert and announcements are made in print, that all misfortunes and disasters… arise from the fact that Christianity turned out to be deficient, that it cannot cope with the difficulties that have arisen, and therefore it is necessary to renounce it and to start to live in a new way. The world is heading towards this; the dark powers are preparing it for this. This new order will exist under the reign of the Antichrist, and the new religion will be ecumenism, which will unite all religions…
The Church of Christ has always stood in the path of this anti-Christian effort, or, more precisely, this effort of the Antichrist… Orthodox statehood with an Orthodox Tsar as its head likewise impeded this work of the Antichrist… Eighty years ago Russia was captured by demonic powers, which forced the Sovereign Nicholas II, our Tsar-martyr, to renounce his throne, and thus the "One who Restrained", the Russian Tsar… was removed from ruling over Orthodox Russia. Thus fell the Great Russian Empire…
Indeed, with the fall of Orthodox Russia the "One who Restrained" no longer existed, and the whole of Russia went headlong into the abyss of complete chaos and ruin, into the abyss of atheism and ungodliness. It was as if evil had begun to celebrate its victory over the whole world…"9.
Based on this, let every Russian answer this question himself: why are the hierarchs of the Russian Church Abroad so uncompromising in their battle for Holy Orthodoxy? Let Russian patriots ponder the truth gained through the sufferings of the Russian Diaspora that the most reliable "program" for the salvation of Russia lies in loyalty to the untainted Orthodox Faith and in immersing people's daily life in the life of the Church.
Metropolitan Laurus addresses all of us: "By the mercy of God, we are sons and daughters of the Russian Orthodox Church…we must firmly confess our true faith and preach it… it is essential for all of us to live the life of the Church" 10.
Let us accept Metropolitan Laurus' wise councils with full responsibility, for the present situation in the world does not allow for a lukewarm existence. "If Russia and the Russian people are not spiritually reborn," warns Metropolitan Laurus, "but, on the contrary, if they follow the path of modern humanity, which leads to spiritual ruin and to its own end, that will mean that apostasy is in full force and that the time of the Antichrist is near, at the gates… During the time of the Antichrist, the faithful will be persecuted, yet, if we protect ourselves from the general current and from all temptations, then the Lord will not leave us, if only we do not leave Him. He will help us and protect us by His Grace from all the plots of the devil… if God is with us, then who is against us?!" 11.
Summing up our short conversation on the strugglers of Orthodox Russian-ness, we would like to invite the reader to work independently in studying the spiritual inheritance of the luminaries of the Russian Church Abroad. This is particularly important and vital now. This is the task of the times.
We strongly believe that if Russia has a future at all, then that future certainly shall be built on the healthy foundation of pure Orthodoxy, the light of which has been so carefully and self-sacrificially guarded by the Archpastors of the Russian Church Abroad
May that grace-filled light enlighten all of our much-suffering Russian people!
2001
Notes
- Archbishop Vitaly, Motivy moei zhizni, Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, USA, 1955. p 8.
- Ibid. p 180.
- Pravoslavnaia Rus', Jordanville, USA, No. 13, 1960.
- Ibid.
- Metropolitan Philaret, "Poglumliakhsia, i malodushstvovashe dukh moi…", Pravoslavnaia Rus', Jordanville, USA, No. 18, 1994.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Metropolitan Philaret, "Dukhovnoe zaveshchanie", Pravoslavnaia Rus', Jordanville, USA, No. 23, 1994.
- Tserkovnaia zhizn', New York, No.3-4, 1997, p 46-60.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
