Archpastoral Council of the MP: Church Unity

His Holiness Aleksei Rediger (1929- ), Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, First Hierarch of the Moscow Patriarchate

The Archpastoral Council that took place last week was a graphic demonstration of the unity of the Moscow Patriarchate. For the first time, a delegation from the ROCOR participated in the sessions. Not only intra-church affairs were on the agenda, for one of the main items of discussion was the theme that Patriarch Aleksei II already raised in his speech before the Deputies of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This was the conflict of modern liberal values with traditional Christian morals. As an example of this, he spoke of the homosexual marriages now legalised in some countries, which forces society to no longer consider such behaviour sinful. As a result, the Council approved a document on the Orthodox understanding of human rights. The bishops know that this position shall be strongly condemned in Europe. However, both the Russian and foreign hierarchs all agreed on this together.

Twenty years ago, they couldn’t even pray together… even simple ordinary everyday conversation seemed impossible. For almost a century, clergy and laity on different sides of the borders of the then-USSR considered each other enemies and were hostile to one another… Soviet Russia versus the White emigration. Each side had its pain… the Civil War, the bloodshed, the foreign lands of exile. When they said “Holy Russia”, it seemed that they were talking of two very different countries.

All thought that a miracle would be needed for reconciliation. However, they united a year ago. Now, they speak about the miracle that happened, how they understand one another thoroughly now, and it seems as if there was never almost a hundred years of separation. This was an Archpastoral Council of the MP graced with the participation of the hierarchs of the foreign church, an event truly out of the ordinary. For the first time, Orthodox Americans, Australians, Kazakhs, Japanese, and Russians spoke, served, and lived together.

A little buffet in a small café in the centre of Moscow… here sits Metropolitan Hilarion of New York and Eastern America. He’s a little troubled by his accent, but, not when he’s praying. Modern Russian… he only learned that relatively recently. His parents emigrated to Canada from Volynia, their native language was Ukrainian, and their mother-church was Russian Orthodox. However, even then, in the middle of the last century, they did not recognise the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that had appeared in the diaspora.

Metropolitan HIlarion Kapral (1948- ), Metropolitan of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the ROCOR

“We were Russian Orthodox because we considered that Russians, Byelorussians, and Ukrainians are one people. Therefore, my parents did not join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was a splinter group”, said Metropolitan Hilarion, who is the First Hierarch of the ROCOR. “Orthodoxy is so joined with Russian consciousness that only those people in the emigration who retained a sense of Russianness remained in the Church. Those who stayed outside of the Church were assimilated into the local culture in short order”, noted Archpriest Peter Kholodny, the Treasurer of the Holy Synod of the ROCOR.

Nikolai Sluchevsky, the great-grandson of Pyotr Stolypin was one of those who did not assimilate. Although he was born in California, he considers Russia his homeland. He started a story about parish life in San Francisco with the following words, “How many young people are coming to church! This is a new thing for us”.

Not only pleasant matters were discussed at the Archpastoral Council. There was the whole scandalous affair of Bishop Diomid of Anadyr and Chukotka, more precisely, he was a bishop two days ago, but, now he is deposed from his office. Some of his parishioners came to Moscow to support him outside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. They did not hide from the cameras, but, the priests amongst them appeared to be hiding from the photographers.

What does he trouble us with? If Diomid’s protests against passports and taxpayer identification numbers are nothing but simple obscurantism, his calls for conflict with other confessions and nationalities are direct incitements to religious and national hostility. This is a matter covered by the criminal statutes. The church sees this as nothing but schism. The Council called this schismatic to repentance, but, he refuses to answer.

The word “schism” was heard often enough in the Council sessions. “We know that any schism is a tragedy. They shall divide the saints and make them strangers; they shall cause nothing but chaos in the Church. Certainly, the true reason behind the schism is that there is a political scheme to foment a quarrel between the Ukrainian and Russian peoples”, stated Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail.

Metropolitan Vladimir Sabodan (1935- ) of Kiev and all the Ukraine, First Hierarch of the canonical Ukrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church of the MP

The Ukraine… Presidents changed, revolutions occurred, but, the attempts of the leadership in Kiev to separate the Ukrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church of the MP from its mother-church never ceased. The very words, “Moscow Patriarchate” were a red flag to the Ukrainian establishment, as if it were a political choice, for example, between canonical Orthodoxy and NATO.

“In general, the church relates to political boundaries as it does to any human fancy. Today, we have these boundaries. Tomorrow, we may have others. However, the Church has an entirely different concept of history. It recognises a united civilisational space, expressed in a common secular language. But, I would say that Church language follows spiritual-cultural space. Some are attempting to destroy this space, to reshape it. We ask, why? This is the first time this has been attempted in a thousand years”, said Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the MP Department of External Church Relations.   

This is not the first time… in the Ukraine, there have been repeated attempts to destroy Orthodoxy. Even in the 17th century, a Catholic Metropolitan proposed to create in Little Russia an independent Orthodox Church. Then, something happened. Those who grasped independence soon entered the Unia with the Catholics. In essence, they were absorbed by them.  

“Today, in the Ukraine, there is the so-called ‘Ukrainian independent church’ that is headed by the deposed and anathematised Philaret Denisenko. He has already stated several times that union with the Catholic Church is necessary. Why is this a requirement?” asked Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, the superior of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow.

In order to change the mentality of the people… what shall happen with those who refuse to change and stand for their faith and their conscience?

If there were any disputes regarding the Orthodox understanding of human rights, there are only indirect signs. The concept was approved unanimously, but, there were questions. Should the Church be involving itself in secular matters? Is it necessary to criticise secular laws? It was decided that if the secular law legalises sin, then, yes. In the human sense, homosexual marriage is against nature. In the church sense, it is sinful.

“We are posed the question, what do you want to do? Should we work within existing paradigms to attain certain rights? Or, do you want to change the world? But, I pose this question to homosexuals, what do you want? Do you wish to act within the existing law and tradition? Or, do you want to change the world? They wish to change the world, and they are changing it. If this is permitted for homosexuals, why is it not permitted for believers?” noted Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

A priest changes the world by his sermon and missions… in Orthodoxy, the tradition of mission is not as strong as it is amongst Catholics or Muslims. Should we change this attitude? Can we preach the Gospel only in the church?

Deacon Andrei Kuraev (1963- ), Professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, great Orthodox preacher

“A group of priests from Moscow demanded that the Council forbid all non-traditional missions, that is, the only form that mission could take was that the priest would stand in church and speak in Church Slavonic… there would be no more sermons at rock concerts or at sporting events. They wanted to forbid everything. Well… the Council did not give in to these loudmouths. That is good”, said Deacon Andrei Kuraev, professor at the Moscow Theological Academy.

Orthodox priests on the streets of Moscow, Tallinn, Shanghai, or Toronto… you wouldn’t say they are a common sight. However, 20 years ago, there were only 42 churches in Moscow, today, there are over 600. Churches are popping up everywhere. You can buy everything you need for your parish in Sofrino. All the hierarchs from all over the world are buying “church utensils”. True… the word “utensils” does no justice to their splendour.

29 June 2008

Ilya Kanavin

Vesti-Nedeli (News Weekly)

Quoted in Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=radio&div=891 (in Russian)