WHO WILL CLEAN HIMSELF OFF FROM WHOM?
Protopriest Stephan Sabelnik,
Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God,
Trenton, NJ
When one of our priests said to Archbishop Mark of Berlin: "Many parishes will not go with you for unification with the MP", he replied: "So be it. The church will clean itself of them." In essence Archbishop Mark is correct in his judgement. Truly the time is ripe for cleansing. But the question is: who will clean himself off from whom? One is cleansed from filth, one is cleansed from traitors.
Let's recall the famous Cleveland Sobor of 1946. It's sad, but a fact: if those who were searching for a new church path had not left, organizing their "Metropolia", they would have then infected the Church Abroad with the epidemic of ecumenism, with serious disdain for church canons, the new calendar, not even to mention the pews, masons, living church….
Who is following this path now? In first place are they who are pushing us to recognize MP's grace and accept holy chrism from it. From that MP where they strictly watch that women wear head-coverings, while unrepentant KGBists and others whose hands are stained with the blood of the new martyrs stand sacrilegiously at the holy altar.
The "Metropolia" itself, only years later prostrated itself before the unlawfully enthroned patriarch in order to acquire "lawful status" — now by usurpation calls itself the "Orthodox Church of America".
We are accepting innovation, disdaining church canons, suspensions, anathemas — not we, but those who now look at the MP as their mother. They are the ones who will bring the disease of sergianism, ecumenism and pharisaical oeconomia with regards to church canons into the Church Abroad. And they will become the "little branch" of the universal pseudo-church — yet another offshoot swaying in the wind, alongside the "Metropolia".
When the medical field warns about the danger of contracting aids it says, that he who lies down in bed with a stranger, lies down with all of his (her) previous "partners". In the same way, whoever enters communion with the MP will drink from the chalice which has infected all the branches of Orthodox churches with the "new world order" epidemic.
We are holding and will continue to "hold what we have", according to the ordinance of Metropolitan Philaret — just as our predecessors did at the Cleveland Council. And here the answer becomes clear to the question "who will clean himself off from whom?" Those of us who place our personal interests higher than the Church — are wavering now. Indeed the final terrible test is ahead. And only he who places God above everything earthly will remain standing.
Protopriest Stephan Sabelnik