Glory To Jesus Christ!
As is natural, the deaths of the Russian emigres have focused our attention on the achievements of our immigration. The questions sparked which interest us primarily are their fidelity to and life in Orthodoxy. For instance, today the great fashion designer Oleg Cassini , Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis' designer, passed away, and it is unclear whether or not he will be buried by the Church. Not too recently, actor Peter Ustinov (rumored to be a relative, even brother, of +Metropolitan Vitaly) died and was buried by a reformed church in Switzerland. When actor Yul (Yulian) Brynner fell asleep, a Russian with a profound love of Russia, it was unclear whether or not he was buried by the Orthodox Church, and this is shameful as he and his family contributed to ROCOR's New Cathedral in San Francisco. Even actress Natalie Wood, who was buried by clergy of the New Cathedral and is/was commemorated by them, must be perplexed at the lapsed Orthodoxy of her progeny. And the list goes on an on. What of Igor' Sikorsky, Stanislavsky, Chaliapin, the ballet dancer Nurejev? Why has our immigration forgotten God? Indeed, even the prominent religious author, Sergei Bolshakoff, died in a latin, heretical monastery. Just a few things to ponder...I would love to commemorate my countrymen but am unsure if I can.
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And what of current famous people of Russian ancestry like Stephen & Olivia Tyler and Val ( Valentin) Kilmer? There is a Romanov living in Marin County, California with his son, a "photographer," who makes the point, "I wish these people and their Church would leave us alone. The Russian people don't want us and we don't want anything to do with them." Has the immigration abandoned Russia?
