Pastoral Conference of Clergy of the USA and Canada
With the participation of Laity
17 February-2 March 19 February – 4 March
2007
Edmonton,Alberta,Canada
Dear Reverend Fathers, brothers and sisters in Christ!
We give thanks to our Lord that He has allowed us to gather today in this pastoral conference of the Diocese’s of the USA and Canada. Following the blessed repose of our First Hierarch, the Blessed Metropolitan Vitaly, we became orphaned, temporarily left alone, without a First Hierarch of our Church Abroad, elected by a Bishops’ Sobor. Due to unsettled attitudes and tribulations even to this time we have been unable to gather the Bishop’s Council, however, leaning on the will and help of God, we are hopeful that with one mind and brotherly love between the remaining diminished group of Bishops, such a Sobor will still eventually take place. It would be beneficial that this Sobor would take place with the participation of clergy and elected laity from the parishes.
However, that said, we do not loose hope in our present situation, we try to bolster ourselves within Christ and protect the sanctity of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.
To protect oneself, and in true confession in contemporary situations, every Orthodox priest must use all his strength to promote heartfelt work to support his spiritual life, attaching to this all his pastoral children. One of the strengths for this, outside of the required church prayers, is the unceasing daily cycle of prayers at home. Everyone, clergy and laity, must put themselves into this practise – to pray at home daily, morning and evening (if someone has become especially tired after work, then to pray at least in an abridged fashion, however, to make this a strict routine).
Clergy must specially try to educate themselves in the Teachings of the Law of God. If even a Reader takes his responsibility seriously to read every day at least one Chapter of the Holy Gospel, then it is even more imperative for clergy to relentlessly study all the Holy Scripture, examine the explanations by the Holy Fathers, and to read the writings by them, and to gain from this, spiritual inspiration.
It is imperative to focus one’s attention on the protection from attack against our spiritual lives in these times, to guard ourselves against the feelings of unhappiness, anger and antagonism, battles within ourselves and with others.
St Apostle Paul writes to Timothy “[Those] …are proud, understanding nothing and have a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicion, and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds who are destitute of the truth supposing religion to be a means of gain. Separate yourselves from these.”
Archbishop Averky (Taysheff), of Blessed Memory, remarks that the first and principle practical deed for the pastor, above all else, is to embed his own life and the life of his family into the life of the church. Then, he can bring the faithful to the Church. The spiritual life is not condemned with only sorrow and temptations, but one must attempt to correct himself, to bring into one’s soul a state of spiritual well-being. Therefore all activities, all sermons, must begin with a prayer which will give the blessing of Peace to what is being performed.
“The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in number,” (Acts 9:31).
“An angel of Peace… Let us ask of the Lord.”
“Peaceful lives... Let ask of the Lord.”
“A Christian ending…. In Peace let us ask of the Lord.”
We pray for this at every Liturgy. All these petitions are from the Great Ektenias. “Peace be to all” many times is repeated by the priest at services. Why do we ask for peace so many times? Not only for our lives on earth, however, this is also an important petition, but in the main, for the peace of our souls in the spiritual life. Because, as the Church teaches, asking the grace of the Holy Spirit can only be accomplished through peace, pacifying the Christian heart, to find oneself in peace with God, with ones conscience, and with those close to us. It is within this that the meaning of every pastor and the obligation of every parish lay. (The Lord tells us straightforwardly, “Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am among thee”). Gathered together… in one mind, and in love in the tradition of Orthodox confession and Christian faith.
In today’s time of unrest taking place in the church, it is imperative to bear the trials of temptations, not to give way to lack of spirit and negatively critical state of the soul, but with the help of God to gain strength from a Christian way of life, brotherly love and piety and one mind with our priests, helping to strengthen the Bishops oneness and to stand against that (and those) who seek to destroy our truth. The Lord told his Apostles that if their peace and sermons are not accepted, do not relent and do not be downcast.
Archbishop Nikon (Rikledsky) of Blessed Memory, a half-century ago, during one of his pastoral conferences said “ it is a horrible time we are living in. All are against us, and if not against us, then they are not with us. However, is it impossible to have any hope in this position? No, not at all.
On the contrary, great are our assets… First, we have our greatest possession – True Orthodoxy. Second, the protection within our souls received from the True Church.” To these words we can add one more asset, the confession of the unconquerable Orthodox Faith, Faith with the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. Our job as Christians is not temporal, but timeless. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Conqueror over death, remains and will remain unconquerable as will those of us with Him, if we protect our confession of faith to the very end.
“For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, with the things of the spirit. The concern of the flesh is death but the concern of the spirit is life and peace,” (Rom. 8:5-6). Are these words of Apostle Paul not applicable in our time, meaningful to us today, to our pastors and to those gathered here? And is it not the central concern of a pastoral conference to strengthen ones soul and to fight with the temptations of the flesh?
In a pious heart we recognise our weaknesses which grasp at all of us, it is so difficult to reach the spiritual level of salvation. But let us not become depressed, let us continue the works of the Lord, with thanksgiving, kneel down before the Saviour, and to attempt to follow the steps of the Blessed Metropolitan Vitaly who has shown himself in our troubled times to be a true confessor of the faith, confessor of truth, and who has delegated to us by his example the true path to seek for the Orthodox Church Abroad. This path is narrow and difficult, let no one turn back, but find peace of spirit as per the words of the Lord “Take your yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls – for my yoke is easy, and my burden light,” (Matt. 11:30).
This is our path, our course that we are committed to: the path of our ROCOR. The enemy of our salvation will always attempt to confuse and shake us, but before us is the security of our spiritual armour. “Striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace,” (Eph. 4:3). And as Apostle Paul said, “That with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Rom. 15:6). “May the God of Endurance and Encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another by the teaching of Jesus Christ,” (Rom. 15:5).
Amen.
Bishop Vladimir