St. Vladimir's Parish Blog

A Brief History of The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad

Posted by frandrew on 2009-03-14 06:37:42 Permanent Link

 
The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad is the continuation of the historic Russian Orthodox Church which existed for centuries in Russia until the 1920s, when it was abolished by the atheist Soviet government. Initially, many thought the Communist regime would not endure, and then-Patriarch Tikhon mandated his most senior bishop, Metropolitan Anthony, to escape Russia and preserve the Church until it could safely be returned to the land. Sadly, the Soviet regime lasted for many years more. 

Throughout the ensuing decades, the Church developed outside of Russia and formed dioceses and parishes throughout the world, bringing a multitude of varied people to Holy Orthodoxy. While fufilling its God-given task of evangelization, the Church never forgot its persecuted brothers and sisters in the homeland and supported the catacomb churches striving to survive spiritually and avoid persecution by the Soviet government. The Church Abroad was ably led by clerics of profound spiritual wisdom and insight, in succession: Metropolitans Anthony (Khrapovitsky), Anastasy (Gribanovsky), Philaret (Voznesensky) (now a glorified Saint), and Vitaly (Ustinov).

During the years of Soviet rule, the government realized the propaganda value of establishing the church again and found several bishops who would cooperate with the atheist government. This group was led by Metropolitan Sergius, who mistakenly believed cooperation would preserve the church from persecution. This belief is now termed “sergianism.” He signed a “Declaration” of allegiance to the government, which was used by the government to imprison, torment and murder hundreds of bishops, priests, monks, nuns, and thousands of believers. The bishops who supported Metropolitan Sergius did so in opposition to the vast majority of other bishops and caused a schism, a break, with the true representatives and believers. This schism has not been resolved to this day.
Later, during World War II, Stalin understood that the Russian people would not fight for the Soviet government, but would fight for their homeland and their faith. He established the Moscow Patriarchate (MP) and elevated Metropolitan Sergius as its first Patriarch. Sergius was followed by Patriarchs Alexy I, Pimen, and Alexy II. Since the Moscow Patriarchate was formed in schism and by the order of the atheist government, it cannot be considered the true Russian Orthodox Church. If it were to repent of its collaboration, it could join with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad to restore the true Russian Orthodox Church. 

In the years after the war, the Soviet government realized it could use the MP to further its domestic and foreign policies and allowed it to continue to exist, integrating it fully into the government structure. The MP became a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC), a global ecumenist organization, which professes that all Christian churches are equal and only different branches of the same tree. The MP also became another means for the KGB to hide its agents and conduct clandestine operations throughout the world. 

After the Soviet regime fell in 1991, the MP was one of the few institutions that did not undergo a transformation. The senior church officials approved earlier by the Soviet government remained in power and the MP did not greatly alter its policies. The MP changed little during President Yeltsin’s tenure. When Putin became president, Patriarch Alexy II developed a close relation with him and the MP began to play a greater role in society. Churches and monasteries were opened and religious education was supported, but true reform still has not occurred.

The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad had always desired to unite with the church in Russia if it renounced sergianism and its collaboration with the Soviet government, stopped its involvement in the ecumenist movement, and strived to be free and independent. By 2006, many in the Church Abroad believed these conditions were met and pushed for unification, while others pointed out that the changes were only superficial. At the IVth All-Diaspora Council in 2006 in San Francisco, CA, these differing opinions were debated and the Council Resolution that was issued stated the desire to unite, but at the appropriate time, when more would be done to reform the MP.

The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad under the leadership of Metropolitan Laurus acted in opposition to the Council Resolution and decided to unite immediately, without the conditions being met. They drafted the Act of Canonical Communion, which was signed with the MP in Moscow on May 17, 2007. A large percentage of clergy and laypeople agreed to this decision, but a substantial number did not. Those who agreed to unite departed from the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad in spirit and, giving up their freedom, have become an autonomous church under the MP and are now known as ROCOR-MP.

Those who did not follow this path met in New York City in June 2007 to affirm that the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, which traces its origin to Patriarch Tikhon, would remain free and continue to struggle for a revival of the Russian Orthodox Church. A Provisional Supreme Ecclesiastical Authority was established, headed by the Most Reverend Agafangel, Bishop of Taurida and Odesssa. The Church subsequently re-established Eucharistic communion with the Old Calendar Churches of Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania, which was severed under Metropolitan Laurus’s presidency. In November 2008, the Vth All-Diaspora Council was convened outside of New York City and a new First Hierarch and Synod of Bishops were elected.

Under the guidance of the newly elected Metropolitan Agafangel and the other bishops, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad lives on with a growing number of clergy and believers throughout the world. It continues to affirm the values of Orthodoxy and the historic Russian Orthodox Church. It continues to call for a repudiation of sergianism and ecumenism. It continues to call for a Pomestniy (Local) Council to be convened, which would gather representatives of all the Russian Orthodox jurisdictions and allow a new church hierarchy to be freely elected and a restoration of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. Finally, it continues to proclaim the light of Orthodoxy, to shine throughout the world in order that other peoples, seeing its good works, might glorify our Father in heaven and seek salvation.

A Lenten Epistle

Posted by frandrew on 2008-04-28 14:54:12 Permanent Link

	A Lenten Epistle to the God-loving Pastors and Faithful of the South American Diocese Beloved honorable Fathers, brothers and sisters in Christ! The time of Great Lent is at hand. In the yearly cycle in the life of the Church, the coming days are days of repentance. We celebrated the Nativity of Christ and Theophany, and since the feast day of Theophany, we have heard sermons on repentance. The preaching of St. John the Baptist, the beginning of the preaching of Jesus Christ, the tale of Zacchaeus, the parables of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Prodigal Son, the story of the Last Judgment, the approaching Forgiveness Sunday, and later, Pascha. Such is the cycle of church life, feast days, lenten periods, feast days, which mirrors everyday life - peaceful, tranquil days, contentment, joy, and then, whether as a result of sin or external disasters - sorrow, troubles,dangers and worries. In the cycle of each person's life, as well as of a people, Great Lent and Pascha draw near in equal measure to the repentance of each person and of all. The spirit of repentance is like a fire, it starts in one place and spreads further. The history of the Russian people; St. Vladimir, the baptism of Russia, the Mongol yoke, the Muscovy kingdom, the Time of Troubles, the crowning of Mikhail Fedorovich, 300 years of the might and glory of Russia, the calamity of the Revolution, the tragic years of communism, the scattering of the Russian people, are the Great Lents and Paschas of history. The spirit of repentance ignites in disparate people and then spreads to others, as in the case of the ascetics in the monasteries or forests, like St. Sergius of Radonezh or St. Seraphim of Sarov. And now the spirit of repentance smolders in the hearts of many, and when it bursts into flame, the deliverance will arrive - the Pascha of our Lord. Let us yearn to join with this spirit. No one can be forced to repent. Each of us must strive to light the spark of repentance in ourselves. Let each of us begin this repentance in the accepted manner knowing that it will be a spark to enflame repentance in our families, parishes, in all of society, in the country where we live and in our Homeland! I humbly ask you all for forgiveness and your holy prayers! With love to you all, +Gregory Bishop of Sao Paulo and South America

St. Vladimir's is received under Bishop Andronik

Posted by Editor on 2008-03-15 20:18:45 Permanent Link

On Saturday, March 1, 2008, the parish of St. Vladimir's in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, made a very important decision.

St. Vladimir's parish had been part of the ROCiE (Russian Orthodox Church in Exile) since its beginning, when in 2001, ties were severed with ROCOR under Metropolitan Laurus. The parish always held firm against any union or ties with the MP (Moscow Patriarchate). Our expectation and belief was that the ROCiE would carry on the legacy of Metropolitan Vitaly and the "old ROCOR." However, after seven years and numerous schisms and intrigues, the remaining ROCiE hierarchs have been unable to function as a Sobor, let alone maintain the royal path of Metropolitan Vitaly and his predecessors.

Almost two years earlier, Fr. Andrew and members of the parish council executive could see that ROCiE was not fulfilling its mission and that something was very amiss. With the blessing of our Bishop Bartholomew, before he completely lost his health, we had made inquiries to go elsewhere. But we always hoped that we could stay with our ROCOR roots, and so we agreed to wait a while longer, still praying things would get better.

After the unification of the ROCOR and the MP May 17, 2007, we learned that Bishop Agafangel and many clergy and laity all over the world did not go along with the union. We were encouraged by this but wanted to wait and see how things would develop. In late 2007, there was discussion in the parish about informally inviting Bishop Andronik to St. Vladimir's and have an open question/answer session to clarify conflicting information and answer many questions. Some parishioners left St. Vladimir's because they wanted to remain in the ROCiE. This rift with old friends has been very painful and upsetting. Nevertheless, the majority voted to move ahead. We could no longer live under the spiritual chaos and hopelessness of the shattered ROCiE.

Finally, a visit was arranged to take place the first weekend in March 2008. Bishop Andronik came with Protodeacon Iov. The meeting, with a light lunch, lasted about two and a half hours. At the conclusion of the questions and discussion, Vladika Andronik and Fr. Iov left the room to give the parish members time to discuss their response to the meeting and an open vote was brought forward. The parish voted unanimously to accept Bishop Andronik as our bishop. The decision brought us peace and we felt relieved that this difficult time of transition was completed. We understood that we had returned to where we had moved away from. We understood that God had been very merciful to us and through a lot of suffering had now brought us back to our ROCOR roots.

Following the meeting, the Saturday evening Vigil was served and Bishop Andronik and Fr. Iov served with the rector, Fr. Andrew Kencis. The service was a blend of English and Slavonic. After the Vigil, several parish members stayed and we had an informal meal with Vladika in a smaller, cozier dining room. It gave us a chance to get to know Vladika better. He told us about remarkable and holy monastics he met at Jordanville and in the Holy Land during his twenty-five years there.

The next morning, a hierarchical liturgy was served. Again, the service was a blend of English and Slavonic, which flowed from one language to the other, with ease. Most of the parish members had prepared to receive the Holy Mysteries at our first liturgy with Bishop Andronik. As usual, a trapieza followed the Sunday service. This gave another opportunity for parishioners to get to know the bishop better. Bishop Andronik's visit to St. Vladimir's concluded joyfully, giving our parish renewed hope.

Before leaving Edmonton, Bishop Andronik went to visit Bishop Bartholomew in the nursing home. They had known each other in the Holy Land. Bp. Andronik was able to see firsthand how ill Bp. Bartholomew has become. After that, a drive was made to the Protection Convent in Bluffton to meet Abbess Amvrosia and the sisters there, and share a meal before returning to Dormition Skete in Wildwood.

As news has spread, Fr. Andrew has received warm greetings offering congratulations to St. Vladimir's.