HIEROMARTYR ANDREW, ARCHBISHOP OF UFA ON SERGIANISM
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On July 29, 1927, Metropolitan Sergius issued his infamous declaration. Archbishop Andrew’s response was unambiguous. He called Sergius “a man of
great capacities, capable of every kind of compromise. He was a Rasputinite with
the Rasputinites – without the hint of a protest – for a whole 14 years. In
1922 he became a livingchurchman with the livingchurchmen, shamelessly
recognizing the HCA and betraying Patriarch Tikhon – he recognized the thief
Barabbas.” In another place Sergius is called “a liar”, and his declaration “a real
quintessence of Niconian caesaropapist boorishness, which…by the depth of its
anti-Churchness and treachery is something of outstanding and unheard-of
scandalousness.”
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Again, on June 18, 1928, he wrote the following "Epistle to the brethren": "Yes, we are all living through a fearful, terrible time, when lies and
deceit rule and celebrate their triumph on the earth. The breath of the
Antichrist can be felt in every corner of our life. Even Metropolitan Peter did not
escape this breath of the Antichrist. But later he repented and now he is in a
distant exile. As for the renovationists and Metropolitan Sergius, they have
completely bowed down to that beast of which the holy book of the Revelation of
John the Theologian speaks. Read the thirteenth chapter. Both the
renovationists and Metropolitan Sergius are carrying out only the will of the atheists. And
they do not hide this from anyone, but even write about it in their
'Declarations'.That is why every true son of the Church must flee from these betrayers
of Christ without looking back; and all true children of the Church must
givetheir parish communities foundations that are free and independent of the
hierarch betrayers of Christ. There is no doubt that the hierarchs who have
submitted to Metropolitan Sergius have all renounced the people of the Church and are
serving the atheists and are only corrupting the believing people. That is
why it is necessary to carry out the command from the Revelation of John the
Theologian: 'Come out from her, My people, so that you may not participate in her
sins and not be subjected to her plagues' (Rev.18.4). It is necessary that
all parish priests should be elected and not appointed. It is necessary that all
priests should give their signatures to the parish councils that they will do
nothing without the knowledge of the parish council. It is necessary that
bishops, too, should be elected by the people for their pious life, and not
drunkards or betrayers of Christ whom the renovationists have appointed."
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When Metropolitan Sergius gave his notorious interview for TASS on February 15, 1930, in which he denied that there was persecution against religion
in the USSR and equated the Church confessors with common criminals, Archbishop
Andrew wrote: "Such is the opinion of the false head of the false patriarchal
church Metropolitan Sergius. Who, after all this, can recognize him as their
head? For whom will this false head remain as such, in spite of his betrayal
of Christ? Imagine, readers - they recognize him, many recognize him!… They
curse him, but recognize him as their 'canonical' head. As if it were better to
sit in hell with such a canonical head than without any head at all... But tell
me, reader, is it possible to consider this company of hierarchs, these
universal deceivers, as followers of Christ? - It goes without saying: no and no!
All the followers of the lying Metropolitan Sergius are themselves filled to
overflowing with lies and cunning and have fallen away from the truth of Christ
they have fallen away from the Church of Christ. The Holy Catholic and
Apostolic Church is in some other place, but not with Metropolitan Sergius and not
with his 'Synod'. Let the reader himself search where she is... It is not so
difficult to find her. But one can firmly say that Metropolitan Sergius has
convincingly demonstrated that the Synodal government of the Church did not give,
and could not give her anything but harm. Sergius has dug a deep grave for
this kind of Church government. The Holy Church will recall the sins of Sergius
and his co-strugglers with horror, placing his name next to the names of the
ecumenical false-patriarchs - Nestorius, Dioscurus and the other terrible
traitors against Orthodoxy. When the hierarch Athanasius of Alexandria was expelled
from his see by an heretical emperor, then, of course, hierarchs were found
who readily carried out all the unlawful commands of the emperor. These
hierarchs were called by St. Athanasius, not episkopoi [bishops], but kataskopoi
(i.e. the emperor’s spies) deprived of all the gifts of grace. Such are our
contemporary kataskopoi; they are destroyers of the churches of God and of Church
life in general. Such is Metropolitan Sergius."Again, on October 4, 1932 Archbishop Andrew wrote: “After Peter,
Metropolitan Sergius took his place, having obtained it in a completely
anti-canonical manner. This Metropolitan Sergius’ administration can be characterised in
the words: hypocrisy and cynical dishonour. Whereas the Lord Himself demands
from His followers, first of all, that they should avoid the leaven of the
Pharisees (Luke 12.1) and the leaven of Herod (Mark8.15), while honourableness is
considered the elementary virtue of every citizen and a still more necessary
virtue for a bishop (I Timothy 3.2).The same leaven of Herod has forced
Metropolitan Sergius and all those communicating with him to violate the 30th Apostolic
Canon, the 3rd Canon of the Seventh Ecumenical Council and very many others.
In general the sins of Sergius and his dishonourable Synod are evident and all
in all can be called ‘the dishonourable heresy of the slanderers of
Christianity’ (The Seventh Ecumenical Council, canon 7). This heresy is more evil that
the heresy of slandering the holy icons (iconoclasm). It is a new union with
unbelief, bound up with the establishment of completely antiecclesiastical
kataskopoi. It is a hidden form of Arianism – a political… In view of the
aforesaid, from July,1927 I was forced (forced precisely by Metropolitan Sergius and
his unrighteousnesses) to depart completely from these hierarchs, who do not
want to be servitors of the Church, as the Apostle Paul commanded (Colossians
1.25), but wish only to lord it over God’s inheritance, which the Apostle Paulso
decisively forbade (I Timothy 5.3). I consider that there can be no concord
between Christ and Beliar, between the faithful and the unfaithful (II
Corinthians 2.16). And yet it is on this that all the ‘Niconian’ hierarchs,without
distinction of groupings, establish this sinful agreement and wish to set up the
Church, and not on the Cross of Christ. Besides, they consider that they,
that is, the hierarchs, are the Church, in spite of the teaching of the Apostle
Paul (II Corinthians 5.4).But I consider that the holy Church is constituted
by all the believers, all the sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ (
Galatians 3.26), thewhole people of God, the living stones from which the spiritual
house is being built (I Peter 2.5), the Body of Christ (I Corinthians 12.27;
Hebrews1.23).”