Interview with RocorMP priest A. Lebedeff

with Commentaries from Etna

Informational Sharing: "Interview with Fr. A. Lebedeff" -with pertinent & astute commentaries- 

My comments:

 I cannot not add much to all this.  It pretty much speaks for itself.  ROCOR/MP convicts itself, once again, which we who, solely By the unmerited... mercy of God!... (& not because we... are superior to others or deserve more of God's mercy than those who have thus fallen).... have stayed true to the principles and righteous Orthodox stand of our old-ROCOR, and those of our sister churches today,... and all of the anti-MP and anti-ecumenist  true  Orthodox, world-wide, know full well..what ..these poor confused or corrupted and mislead betrayers and apostates have not known or accepted.

"By their fruits, shall ye know them", and so it is.

Let him who has eyes to see, and ears to hear, behold the truth, accept it,

and then ACT upon it.  And let our ROCOR brothers and sisters, who were duped/deceitfully lead  into, that KGB sponsored foul & false\ 2007 'glorious re-union of the two parts of the Russian Church', finally wake up,... and come to their senses, and FLEE it, and return to genuine Orthodoxy, which may... mean for many of them to have to totally abandon their beautiful 'union'  MP-captured churches and rectories, (with their uniate-MP submitted clergy too), and make new chapels in garages or in barns, 'underground' as the first Christians.

Just my thoughts.....

Rd. Daniel in Oregon

P.S.  God is all-Truth!  And if we...'Orthodox' people, are not truth-seekers,

how then can we be,... of God or.... with God?

How???

Begin forwarded message:

From: Archbishop Chrysostomos

Subject: Re: Interview with Fr. A. Lebedeff

Date: 21 December 2012 

To: ActiveCTOS_Forum

THE FOLLOWING EXCHANGE IS SELF-EXPLANATORY. IT CONCERNS THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEW IN RUSSIA WITH FATHER ALEXANDER LEBEDEFF, AN ARTICULATE AND WELL-KNOWN CLERGYMAN OF THE ROCOR/MP. A LINK TO IT WAS SENT TO ME, WITH COMMENTS, BY A PERCEPTIVE SPIRITUAL SON (OF RUSSIAN BACKGROUND AND LONG A MEMBER OF THE ROCA, BEFORE ITS UNION WITH MOSCOW) - See Item II below.

THE INTERVIEW CAN BE FOUND HERE;

http://www.synod.com/synod/engdocuments/enart_protalexanderlebedevinterview.html

WHILE IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW TO UNDERSTAND THE COMMENTS ON IT BY HIS GRACE, BISHOP AUXENTIOS (see Item III, below), IT IS WELL WORTH LISTENING TO, IF YOU HAVE THE TIME.

MY OWN INTRODUCTION TO HIS GRACE'S COMMENTS IS IMMEDIATELY BELOW (item I).

I. MY INTRODUCTION TO HIS GRACE, BISHOP AUXENTIOS' INCISIVE COMMENTS.

Dear XXX:

Gospod' blagoslovit!

In response to my comments yesterday about Father Alexander Lebedeff's interview in Russia, His Grace, Bishop Auxentios sent me some of his own observations. They are truly to the point and are of the kind that paint those at whom they are directed into a corner from which they cannot emerge without leaving some tracks. I thought that you would like to see these observations.

I will send these out to our clergy and laity, as well, without burdening them with my own comments, which were, as always, laborious and overly analytical.

With many warm wishes and every blessing for a good completion of the Nativity Fast,

Least Among Monks, + AC

P.S. Incidentally, as I sit looking out the window at the falling snow (we are finally getting some Winter weather), I notice that neither the world nor the snow has come to an end! I was appalled to read yesterday that about 12% of U.S. citizens actually believed that the world would end today, some having taken extreme measures to protect themselves from massive natural disasters.

It seems that the only people who did not believe the doomsday predictions were the Maya, who never had, in their ancient culture, a notion of finite time and who understand this day to be the beginning of a new epoch. Some non-Maya in this country, making the Mayan calendar somehow "Christian," even associated this day with the Second Coming of Christ. Why scams and magic tricks work!

------

II. ORIGINAL LETTER FROM MY SPIRITUAL SON

Blagoslovite Vladyka Chrysostomos

Dear Vladyka Chrysostomos,

http://www.synod.com/synod/engdocuments/enart_protalexanderlebedevinterview.html

Thought you would want to hear this interview.  I found it quite good as Fr A ol[Fr. Alexander Lebedev] is quite an effective speaker.  I am though concerned of the subject matter which the Bishops with be deliberating upon the recommendations of the task force which Fr A sat on.  Also it did not surprise me who the ROCA-MP reps are Met Hilarion, Archbishop Mark, Fr. A Fr P Perecrestov and The Abbess of the Holy land convent.  I do find it quite puzzling why such a large number of ROCA-MP members [are]  in such high and influential places.

It's 24 mins long and worth listening to.  Hope everyone is well and I miss everyone as well.

Your spiritual son in Jesus Christ,

XXX

Sent from my iPad

III. HIS GRACE'S EXCELLENT LETTER TO ME:

Something that caught my ear in this interview, on top of all the excellent points that you make, is the repetition of a "bragging point" vis-à-vis the ROCOR-MP union, to wit, that the ROCORMP did a great job in its negotiations in preserving its own administrative integrity. You can hear it in Fr Alexander's interview. I also saw it in a printed interview with Archbishop Mark of Germany, who boasted that the issue  (of the survival of ROCORMP's administration) had never been on the table in pre-union negotiations.

ROCORMP touts this as evidence of a job well done. I think they also believe that it defuses criticisms by the more cautious voices (e.g., those of Metropolitan Agafangel and our own), claiming that ROCORMP compromised too easily and sacrificed its witness for the sake of questionable benefits.

This attitude towards ROCORMP's post-MP-union administrative integrity shows just how much the union talks were driven by political and conventional-as opposed to theological-concerns.

If ROCORMP's historical job is done and there are no longer justifiable grounds for its being walled off from the MP, what logic is there for it maintaining a separate administration? In fact, do not canonical concerns and principles of order argue for the administrative assimilation of ROCORMP by the MP? How do they now justify ROCORMP and MP bishops holding sees in the same territory (NYC, Germany, etc.)?

Were I to interview Father Alexander, I would like to have played for him the public recordings of Metropolitian Cyprian, before congregations and visiting State Church Hierarchy, declaring that, should the State Church leave the WCC, renounce ecumenism, and return to the Old Calendar, he would happily turn over the keys to his Churches, step aside from the Hierarchy, and live out his days as a simple monk. His resistance would have ended with the completion of his appointed tasks.

Why did ROCORMP not declare something similar once it ascertained that the MP was healthy?

Though I am not so naive as to think I would get a direct answer, I can only think of two reasons that would compel ROCORMP to continue with its present administrative status: 1) that they do not, in fact, trust the MP, all of its reforms and repentance notwithstanding; 2) there are significant lingering ambitions among the ROCORMP Hierarchy and clergy.

Neither reason is very compelling, either as a backdrop for a staged reconciliation or as grounds for an enduring, semi-autonomous administration.

+ Bishop Auxentios

Servant of Metropolitan Cyprian and Archbishop Chrysostomos