Russian Prophecies

[Suaidan]

Greetings Fr. Joseph!

I'm not here to discuss Milan, believe it or not. Neither did I just happen to sign on, believe it or not. I was wondering, though, if a new thread could be started with your last post on the subject of such prophecies as the one that you posted from Staretz Lavrenty of Chernigov. It would be interesting to discuss his prophecy more completely, and specifically in the context of prophecies from other Russian and Greek saints and elders concerning the future of Russian and the Last Days. In particular, what you provided stated:

"The time will come," said Fr. Lavrenty, "when they will renovate even the closed churches, and fix them up not only outside but also inside. They wilt gild the cupolas of both churches and belfries. But when this is finished, it will usher in the reign of antichrist. Pray that the Lord grant us an extension of time that we might strengthen ourselves, because a frightful time awaits us. Do you see bow craftily everything is being prepared? All the churches will be absolutely magnificent, as never before, but one must not go into those churches.

The rest of Staretz Lavrenty's words refer to the time of the Antichrist. He clearly says that the "official churches" that have been renovated and beautified, once this renovation and beautification is complete, will be "taken over" by the Antichrist, that the gatherings in these churches will be "satanic" and that they will be "devoid of grace". Unless I am misstaken, you provided this quote in application to the present-day MP, perhaps to suggest that this quote indicates the absence of grace in the present MP, or perhaps advocating that we have nothing to do with the MP precisely because all of these renovated and newly built churches will eventually belong to the Antichrist when he comes to reign.

While this is true, according to the prophecies I have read, that the "official churches" will likely be taken over by the Antichrist and be "devoid of grace" and "satanic", the Antichrist to my knowledge has not yet been crowned in Jerusalem, as Staretz Lavrenty states will occur. What about the official churches before the Antichrist. In particular, what do we make about the prophecies of the restoration of Orthodoxy in Russia and throughout the world, the crowning of a last Orthodox Tsar, a final flowering of Orthodoxy before the end? Those who have accepted this reunion of ROCOR and the MP have done so precisely because they see the fall of communism and the building of thousands of churches and hundreds of monasteries as the beginning of this renewal and resurrection. True, this restoration is not yet "complete" but is rather at its very beginning, according to this understanding. In the context of these prophecies concerning this restoration of Orthodoxy, then, I would be interested in the thoughts of you and others on how these prophecies might relate to what we see occurring today in Russia. If this is not the beginning of the restoration of Orthodoxy in Russia, how do you expect it to occur otherwise?

Here are a few prophecies concerning this restoration:

Starets Anatole the Younger of Optina, in the very first days of the Revolution, in February 1917, made a prophecy in the form of a vivid picture of the future of Russia: “There will be a storm. And the Russian ship will be smashed to pieces. But people can be saved even on splinters and fragments. And not everyone will perish. One must pray, everyone must repent and pray fervently. And what happens after a storm? ...There will be a calm.’ At this everyone said: ‘But there is no more ship, it is shattered to pieces; it has perished, everything has perished.’ ‘It is not so,’ said Batiushka. ‘A great miracle of God will be manifested. And all the splinters and fragments, by the will of God and His power, will come together and be united, and the ship will be rebuilt in its beauty and will go on its own way as foreordained by God. And this will be a miracle evident to everyone.” [Orthodox Russia, 1970, no. 1, p. 9].

Elder Barnabas of the Gethsemane Skete spoke before the Revolution of the disaster coming upon Russia and the cruel persecutions against the Orthodox Faith. He said: “Persecutions against the faith will constantly increase. There will be unheard-of grief and darkness, and almost all the churches will be closed. But when it will seem to people that it is impossible to endure any longer, then deliverance will come. There will be a flowering. Churches will even begin to be built. But this will be a flowering before the end” [private letter from N. Kieter].

Elder Nectarius of Optina in the 1920’s prophesied: “Russia will arise, and materially it will not be wealthy. But in spirit it will be wealthy, and in Optina there will yet be seven luminaries, seven pillars” [I.M. Kontzevich, Optina Monastery and its Epoch, Jordanville, 1973, p.538].

Archbishop Theophan of Poltava summed up in the 1930’s the prophecies which he had received from such elders as these: “You ask me about the near future and about the last times. I do not speak on my own, but give the revelation of the Elders: The coming of Antichrist draws nigh and is very near. The time separating us from him should be counted a matter of years and at most a matter of some decades. But before the coming of Antichrist Russia must yet be restored — to be sure, for a short time. And in Russia there must be a Tsar forechosen by the Lord Himself. He will be a man of burning faith, great mind and iron will. This much has been revealed about him. We shall await the fulfillment of what has been revealed. Judging by many signs it is drawing nigh, unless because of our sins the Lord God shall revoke, shall alter what has been promised. According to the witness of the word of God, this also happens” [The Orthodox Word, 1969, no. 4, p. 194].

Well, you have a good point about the Russian prophecies on the surface, which is why many traditionalists (including myself) do not consider the current Russian Federation to be "Russia" per se. There is no Tsar currently, furthermore.

Certainly we are not going to try to argue that the RF today is "spiritually, but not materially wealthy". Exactly the opposite is true.

My concern is that the prophecies pertaining to the reign of the Antichrist do not cause us to overlook the prophesied restoration of Orthodoxy which is to precede this time. In doing so, we could inadvertently "blaspheme the Holy Spirit" by attributing this work of restoring Orthodoxy to the Evil One rather than to God.

I wish I had access to a lot of the old prophecies collected; as I understood it, some were in fact "either/or" propositions-- that if Russia did not repent, for example, that this would speed the coming of the end. Actually, the last one above does so at its final line: "Judging by many signs it is drawing nigh, unless because of our sins the Lord God shall revoke, shall alter what has been promised. According to the witness of the word of God, this also happens".

But I would think from a traditional Orthodox, and even just a logical perspective, there is no reason to go even this far. Before this flowering of Orthodoxy you have correctly mention, we both agree there is persecution. Now, most pro-MP folks would argue that the persecution has ended. This unfortunately only works if you believe the MP is the legitimate Church of Russia. More importantly, there is no real substantial difference one can note between the persecution of the late 80's (which was by then really not overt) and what is finally being reverted to now (which is slowly becoming more visible). If you look at it politically, or economically, there is freedom, just as there is in China, for example, but now you are free to be part of the Moscow Patriarchate in Russia. Well, that's not freedom. The Soviets had open churches for a while in Russia, which the believers had to stay away from (but as an officially atheist state, would still subject you to mockery).

So has that flowering of faith come yet? Is there still a required repentance on the part of Russia? Yes. So if any good comes out of arguing these prophecies it was a useful reminder, that maybe we still have a few days yet to repent, thank God! But not many. When God moves, He can be very swift. Or, if the evil of the people is too much, we'll skip right to the worst part, which can happen too. I am somewhat more pessimistic. But I am pretty sure I am not blaspheming when I say the Moscow Patriarchate is not the fulfillment of the restored Church of Russia.

[Mark Templet]

Jason,

I can give another possible interpretation of the prophesies that fits quite well: The ship is the original Russian Orthodox Church prior to the Revolution. Indeed a thorough investigation of the history of the Russian Catacomb Church will reveal that it was smashed to splinters by the Soviets. It went underground and is fledgling in its existence. Even today it suffers at the hands of the State Church in Russia (the Suzdal church seizures spring readily to mind). There is enormous pressure brought by the MP/Government to persecute ROAC, RTOC, ROCOR-V, and ROCiE. Perhaps these are the splinters to which the true faithful are clinging and the storm has not yet passed. Today these groups are not united, but the future could bring them together as a united Russian Orthodox Church that is resistant to the ecumenist, sergianist MP. Perhaps this Church will, due to a united front, become a strong voice that attracts many Russians and others to her so much so that she begins to build churches were the MP has seized them. Perhaps this will be the real flowering.

Indeed the people of the groups above are poor materially, but we are rich in a crystal clear confession of Orthodoxy that is resistive to the God-forsaken influences of the WCC.

My friend, you must also understand that the Antichrist will have his Anti-church. That means that it will be a counterfeit of the real Church. So many Russians, and those who followed ROCOR to the MP, who look at all the goodies and say, "But this is so nice! It smells like church; it looks like church; it has a Patriarch! This must be the Church." But what is it that these people are getting themselves into? The MP has not officially condemned "Patriarch" Sergius' concessions to the God-hating Soviet government. The MP is still praying with heretics and hob-nobing with the Vatican. Open your eyes and be objective! This is not the REAL Church, it is the fake one; it is that which will fool even the elect if possible.

[Ephrem]

It is also important to remember that the teachings of those who deliver prophecies are vital in understanding the prophecies themselves. You mention, for instance, the prophecy from St. Nektary of Optina. It is important to note that he is among those who broke communion of prayer with Sergius after his heretical declaration. He used to say to his followers, "To the Red Church, do not go."
The Moscow Patriarchate has still not repented of the actions of Metr. Sergius. Rather, it has compounded the sin of Sergianism with the heresy of Ecumenism! Therefore, the recent growth of the MP's membership is no more a genuine spiritual revival than the "charismatic revival".
Don't be deceived by the MP. They feign repentance by, for instance, glorifying the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. They forget, though, that Sergius himself condemned them to the death camps by calling them "counter-revolutionaries"!
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers" (Matt. 23:29-33).

[JHunt777]

Fr. Dcn. Joseph,

Thank you for starting this as a new thread, and thanks to the others who have responded so far. I simply wanted to point out that according to Staretz Lavrenty’s prophecy which you shared, the churches will be restored and beautified and then the Antichrist would come. It is then, when the Antichrist is reigning, according to this quote, that one is not to go into those beautified churches because they will be “satanic assemblies” and “devoid of grace”. These words of Staretz Lavrenty have to be understood, it seems, together with the other prophesies from himself and others concerning the renewal of Orthodoxy throughout the world and the enthronement of an Orthodox Tsar in Russia which will precede the reign of the Antichrist. Surely, during this time of renewal, while an Orthodox Tsar is in power, the churches currently being constructed and beautified will have true mysteries and be participants in the renewal of Orthodoxy. As Staretz Lavrenty said concerning Russia:

“She will be governed by an Orthodox Tsar, by God’s Anointed One. Because of him, all schisms and heresies will vanish away in Russia.”

If there are no schisms under the Orthodox Tsar, how could one consider that the “official” and beautified churches in Russia would be devoid of grace at this time? Of course, the Antichrist has not yet come, so we should not apply Staretz Lavrenty’s words concerning the absence of grace in the restored churches to the churches currently being restored and beautified in Russia. It is true, however, that there is also not yet an Orthodox Tsar in Russia, and for this and many other reasons one can be confident that we are not in the midst of the great time of Orthodox renewal which has been prophesied. We then must be either in the birth pangs of this renewal or perhaps at its inception, but we must be aware that this renewal will take place so that we will observe the signs of the renewal as it takes place and become participants in this renewal, not blasphemously declaring mysteries to be “devoid of grace” and the assemblies “satanic” simply because they take place in restored and beautified churches.

Since we would all agree that we are not currently in the midst of a great period of Orthodox renewal throughout the world, and that all the nations are not currently going to Russia to be baptized, etc., I am interested if anyone is aware of other prophecies from the saints and elders concerning the time between the great persecution of Orthodoxy under the Soviets and this prophesied time of renewal.

In 1927, prior to World War II, St. Seraphim of Viritsa said the following:

“A war will occur, a dreadful war, a World War. This war will make our people return to God. The same people who now have authority in their hands and are closing the churches will then be opening them.”

The Life of St. Seraphim of Viritsa, it also states:

“The war had not yet finished and the elder was thinking of what life would be after the war and he gave various counsels to people how to better arrange their lives after the war. He said that things would change, that churches and monasteries would be open, and faith would be rekindled in the hearts of the people.”

Nothing is mentioned in his Life about not attending those churches that would be opened during WWII, yet his life shows him to be a true God-bearer, a true dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

So, again, I am interested in whether any of the great saints and elders have spoken specifically about the period in which we currently are in, following the period of great persecution which occurred under the Bolsheviks, and yet prior to the reign of the Orthodox Tsar in Russia. Did anyone suggest that Communism would only “appear” to fall? Or that the persecution would only “appear” to end? Or, did anyone suggest that the first signs of restoration and renewal in Russia would be a deception and the churches “devoid of grace” prior to the coming of the Orthodox Tsar? Or that the Patriarchates would unite with Rome or fall into heresy prior to this time of renewal under the Tsar?

In Christ,

Jason

[Suaidan]

In 1927, prior to World War II, St. Seraphim of Viritsa said the following:

“A war will occur, a dreadful war, a World War. This war will make our people return to God. The same people who now have authority in their hands and are closing the churches will then be opening them.”

The Life of St. Seraphim of Viritsa, it also states:

“The war had not yet finished and the elder was thinking of what life would be after the war and he gave various counsels to people how to better arrange their lives after the war. He said that things would change, that churches and monasteries would be open, and faith would be rekindled in the hearts of the people.”

Nothing is mentioned in his Life about not attending those churches that would be opened during WWII, yet his life shows him to be a true God-bearer, a true dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

So saith the Moscow Patriarchate where he died and which glorified him in 2000. I found his first-person "letters from God" just fascinating. It does bring new meaning to the term "God-bearer".

[Pravoslavnik]

I recall reading a prophecy by Lawrence of Chernigov to the effect that one of two nuns whom he addressed would live to see the Antichrist, but the other would not. I once did the math concerning this prophecy, and calculated that the surviving woman was about the same age as my own mother, who is now 87 years old.

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 Also, concerning this prophecy of a future Russian Orthodox Tsar, my understanding is that this Tsar would restore the Russian Orthodox Church, purging it of apostasy and corruption, implying that the "church" would be corrupt at the time of his ascension to the throne.

[Priest Siluan]

"St." Seraphim de Viritsa was with Sergiy Stragorodsky, his disciple Metropolitan Manuel (Lemeshevsky) was a very active sergianist. Father Seraphim de Viritsa only was glorified by the MP. He is the typical "MP Starets", a true Orthodox Christian should not to include him among the saints...