Founding Wacky Manifesto of Ex-ROCOR Russian Schismatic Rebels-

 Comment: Reading what all these mixed up poor people are claiming, I can only see them as very ignorant of the world in general, pathetic products of all of those long years of soviet propaganda, and who will defend and excuse anything, ANY CRIME AGAINST GOD AND HUMANITY,  that criminal Vladimir Putin, their wonderful ideal 'Orthodox Christian Russian leader' (?) does-such as his IMMORAL war making, his mass BLOODY murders, etc. while they self-righteously defend him and also  both praise and  criticize the Kremlin/KGB dependent MP.
Why didn't they just stay in that MP? It is Putin's Church, after-all.
Also, their list of the immoralities of 'wicked America' and 'the immoral west', the neo-soviet Russian Federation also fully possesses...all.. of them too, and  of them, especially abortions....which Russia  is a world leader in the number of.
They know nothing of life in the 'west', nothing at all!... neither what all is so very good here or truly bad.
What pathetic ignorant backward Neanderthal cave-people these folks are.
May God help them!
And what a mixed-up of an insular and peculiar and idolatrous-Russophilia-Putin worshipping, version of Orthodox Christianity they express here.
They express one heresy after another, one erroneous and ignorant contradiction after another.
WHY were they ever part of our ROCA???
Even average Protestants get their scriptural quotes, in better logical order that these sad self-righteous superior folks.
Did these people EVER actually read, the Bible!?...the whole Bible?
They have made up their own private religion, which is not at all, Orthodox Christianity, not at all.
And, did they ever read much of the Holy Fathers?.. or solid Orthodox Church History?
Truly, these misguided but arrogant self-appointed, 'pious' pharisaical  teachers of us all, .. are the 'Blind leading the blind' in the Gospel.
I am truly disgusted to read their bizarre  beliefs as here expressed, very disgusted!
Rd. Daniel in Oregon

Russian original text:
 http://internetsobor.org/alternativnoe-pravoslavie/tcerkovnye-novosti/alternativnoe-pravoslavie/ep-dionisii-i-prot-timofei-alferovy-problemmy-sovremennogo-pravoslaviia

Machine English rough translation:

 

En. Dionysius and cons. Timothy Alferov: Problems of modern Orthodoxy

Author: Metropolitan Agafangel incl. December 23, 2014. Posted in Alternative Orthodox (Views: 32)

Main external threat: globalism and liberalism

In the twentieth century the main external threat to the whole of Christianity was communism, with its godless ideology. After the fall of the communist regimes and the collapse of the USSR established a unipolar world order led by the United States, seeking more and more to abolish the real sovereignty of individual countries which do not respect international law imposes on all single global device. Globalism abolish all democratic freedoms of the twentieth century and seeks to establish a complete and tight control over every human person. Global order with a one world government and such total control over all the people on the planet is consistent with the Orthodox view of the kingdom of the Antichrist, having experience at the end of world history.

Internal ideological basis of globalism is anti-Christian liberalism. This holistic worldview that denies essentially all Christian concepts and values. Creation of the world as a free act of good reasonable God replaced the evolution of the doctrine of creation, fall and redemption of man is replaced by anti-Christian humanism rejects the notion of sin and redemption, and affirm the naturalness of sinful passions. In recent decades, based on liberalism West builds post-Christian civilization with Sodom subculture headed.

Sodomy was built to normal (sometimes preferred), same-sex "marriages" with the adoption of children in them legalized, as well as the change of sex, abortion, euthanasia, juvenile justice, and so on.

Liberal topics: same-sex "marriages" female "priesthood", etc. were predominantly topics of discussion at the ecumenical exchanges the last two decades. Thus, the initial ecumenism, to declare their commitment to interfaith Christian unity on the basis of a common faith of the first centuries of Christianity 4-5, forgot his dream and finally turned into a tool of dissemination and implementation of liberal ideology, liberal values ​​and practices in all Christian denominations.

Therefore, the contemporary Christian consciousness the task of confrontation, firstly, anti-Christian globalism as a supranational world order under the aegis of the United States, and secondly, liberalism as the ideological base of globalism, abolish Christian values ​​and with them all the biblical God-established norms of human coexistence. As the military regulations Peter 1: "The front is built into the side where the enemy is," and not in the one - stress - where he was yesterday.

State, church, society, unwilling to submit to globalism, should focus on the following two problems:

- Firstly, the full independence of the globalist structures as the community as a whole and each individual member. Christians should not be guides and helpers of globalism (even unknowingly); churches and associations do not have to be "non-profit society," directly or indirectly financed by the Global Fund. Should "do everything contrary to what the enemy wants," as commanded Emperor Alexander 1 at the beginning of the war with Napoleon, with much less effort than the opponent. Christians should not participate in any promotions and events held, organized and funded by globalists.

- Secondly, it should provide all possible support for the state, which is opposed to globalism (specifically, at this time, Russia), at least not to interfere with those of its actions that strengthening the country's sovereignty, objectively opposed to globalism.

Church-state relations

The main problem of the twentieth century was "Sergianism" - servility in relation to anti-Christian, atheist regime in their country. The Communist regime set himself the task elimination of faith in God in general and the church in particular, as well as education of the "new man" on the basis of atheism and materialism. Official Church, Moscow Patriarchate, this state is arguing that the Soviet Union is no persecution of religion and the rights of believers. Informal, Catacomb Church was underground with a minimum of contact with Soviet society. International Church appealed to Western governments and international organizations to protect the rights of believers. Anyway, the assumption that a single world order unite and build a godless communism, first crush all free nations, it was commonly and rightly so.

For a quarter century, since the fall of the communist regime, the situation has changed dramatically. State in Russia and the former Soviet republics has provided almost complete freedom of conscience and religious activities (Certain restrictions apply only to sects and cults that have expressed anti-state character). Communist ideology has lost almost all supporters and become marginal. Modern official ideology of the Communist Parties is more similar to the right-socialist than the Soviet one. Moreover, among the modern ideological atheists who are ready to defend their atheistic beliefs, the Communists are in a minority, and the Communists against the official religion and the church did not have. Anyway, nothing like the ideological field since the Soviet Union no ideological palette is quite different. Radically changed the state policy regarding the church. State at the expense of the central and local budgets to restore and rebuild thousands of churches and monasteries, which was the most massive temple building in the history of Russia. With the assistance of the state open dozens of workshops, hundreds of Orthodox schools, courses, libraries, there are several nationwide and dozens of local television and radio channels, the church hosts many cultural events. The number of practicing Orthodox Church and increased to 10-12%, and consider themselves Orthodox - up to 65% or more.

Introduced the lessons of Orthodox culture in most schools, the department opened Orthodox culture and institute temples in many universities, including the military academies. There was a layer of the Orthodox community (intellectuals), which is mainly engaged in the Orthodox and cultural enlightenment and creativity. In recent years, the government has officially announced the protection of traditional values ​​(in essence, the Bible): religious, moral and family, and, if not always consistent, but tries to resist "evrosodomu" at the legislative and administrative duties.

In this case, the relationship of the state with the official church rebuilt in the direction of a partnership between two independent parties, in contrast to the complete domination of the state over the church enslaved, as in Soviet times. The official church independently controlled, picked up his staff, has extensive international connections, own a solid economic base and not at all support the political line of the state.

But this freedom of self-enrichment and official church brought her new problems. The consequence of this freedom and the lack of external control by the state was the secularization that has sparked many moral (sodomy, but not only!) And economic crimes committed by the church hierarchy almost always with impunity. Lack of control over the leaders of the church corporation, removing it from the usual legal field provokes these leaders extend to more bitter. Such a situation, as in the church, no one in the industry of public administration, where officials, even high-ranking periodically shifting and sometimes prosecuted. Therefore, the claim now turn not to the state, no longer oppressive church, and her most abusers of its freedom.

As proof we refer the reader to the sensational revelations archdeacon Andrey Kuraev in his blog with a lot of comments and details, but certainly it is not the only witness.

The main internal problems of the official church

More on the previous "Sergianist" stage, the official Church (MP) The vision of itself, as before, and more than anything else on the administrative, rigidly centralized structure with its "corporate ethics" does not coincide with the great commandment. The essence of the "Ethics" in mutual responsibility and conspiracy of silence regarding any crime of moral hierarchy. The main value quite officially proclaimed "the good of the Church," that is, the welfare of the corporation and its leading layer for which justified any sacrifice conscience. Official position of the Church in relation to Christ and entrusted to him by the congregation had completely forgotten.

Received in the last two and a half decades of freedom from the state official church finally turned in with his chain of command, starting with the Patriarch and Synod, in fact replaced the local councils themselves, and ending with a separate diocese, led by the local bishop, dominates the whole church life for themselves . Bishop honored by the "ecclesiastical governor," although the volume of its authorities in the diocese is much higher, and the degree of responsibility is much lower than that of the secular governor. Patriarch knows himself and others conceived as a church monarch, surpassing the volume of authority in the church of any president in his country. But ordinary pastor, parish priest, is often in the position of almost serf in relation to the nomenclature of the Church: it can at any time to separate from the flock, to transfer to another parish, send for the state, with no hope of a judicial appeal. In this case, the evangelical doctrine of the Christian pastoral of the true Shepherd - Christ the Savior completely evaporated from the hierarchy. This concept survived in some of the clergy, but there is often suppressed by the local ecclesiastical authority, selects the clergy in the image and likeness, and partly a distortion in the spirit lzhestarchestva.

The very concept of the New Testament local church as above all the Eucharistic community (Parikia) true, such a large family has been replaced by the concept of economic unit (a cost-effective point of sale), which turns the parish. (If the community develops independently of episcopal authority, then it often is in danger of squandering, because the hierarchy is objectively beneficial not it, namely cost-effective point of sale.) It is in the community of Christians, first of all, carry out the commandment of brotherly love, mutual help and forgiveness . Spirit of Christian brotherhood that prevails in the community has an important missionary significance, showing the superiority of the outside of a new life in Christ. No wonder the local council of the Russian Church 1917-18 paid great attention to the revival of the parish and diocesan life in the evangelical and apostolic spirit. It is these revivalist Parikia Russian church could withstand persecution 1920-30.

Meanwhile, the transformation of the church in the economic objectives leads to its complete distortion even without any change of doctrine. Corporate solidarity instead of evangelical morality, mutual responsibility for sins instead of Christian brotherly love destroys Christian morality. Particularly good examples here are sodomy, increasingly expanding in the episcopate and the upper echelon, with which it is impossible to fight because of mutual responsibility, and financial abuse and corruption on a large scale, also binds the entire system with an iron chain.

Because of immorality in the official church has a very high percentage of non-canonical and explicitly anti-canonical clergy. In this case, the canons of the church, regarding the proteges and the priesthood, not canceled, but in reality are ignored, and the bishops formally considered by the monks. As always happens in history, legalized hypocrisy of most poisons and his own media, and church life in general.

No wonder many church observers believe necessary, though not sufficient to limit the evil state control over the church personnel and finances, the prosecution of bishops - sodomites and corrupt, and generally limit the benefits of the hierarchy, the introduction of it into the general legal framework.

Problems informal Orthodoxy

Informal Russian Orthodoxy in the last twenty years is clearly degraded, especially after joining the ROCOR Synod to the MP and the collapse did not recognize the act on the part of the fragments. In its bulk, it froze on the slogans of the mid-twentieth century, the fight against the "Soviet church" MP and "heritage sovetchiny." As in the 90s, many alternative Orthodox blocked with liberals and russophobes ("orange-marsh" medium) and stubbornly refuse to ignore the realities of the present day: globalism and liberalism. Someone repeats the way the Greek Old Calendar, practicing the invention of new anathemas and new rites of reception of people from competing "fragments".

As correctly noted by some religious studies, modern fundamentalism (including Orthodox) only externally draped under allegiance to tradition, but in fact is a modernist, revolutionary nature. This is possible because the historical heritage of the Church in our time is extremely extensive, and from it we can extract different, very different traditions; You can rely on ancient and catholic, and can be a new and schismatic tradition - the result will be different to the contrary, although the Orthodox phraseology will drape and there and here. Way schismatic tradition, fundamentalist way, manifested in the invention of new dogmas (eg of name), new anathemas on all dissenters, in denying the grace of all but themselves, in the canonization of shady characters from Rasputin and Ivan the Terrible to Hitler, and in the general spirit hostility towards others. Someone will upgrade the teaching of the Old Believers of the Antichrist who is "invisible empire" in Russia (either 100, or 350 years), someone said, under what anathemas is the Russian people, who even develops a new doctrine of "Aryan Orthodoxy" and "Orthodox Hitlerism", showing already frank paganism. In any case, the general degradation of the religious and political sectarianism there. There is clearly not an apostle preaching the tenets and fathers are the focus, not the evangelical ideal attracts the heart. All these walks are pursuing ways schismatic and sectarian, not catholic orthodoxy as it was formed in the era of the Ecumenical Councils and Fathers. Schismatic direction is almost always followed the catholic, as the shadow of the light, and tried to pass themselves off as "pure truth" Orthodoxy, but in fact are not. Affected the loss of a single genuine tradition of the Church Abroad with the gradual departure of a better world it live media, pastors with a truly evangelical faith and spiritual culture. Change came quite different.

Schismatic ideology is always based on an unhealthy spirituality inherent in a marginal environment and dogmatic. And alternative Orthodoxy in recent decades is largely formed from marginal elements. Unfortunately, the entire Orthodox community and intellectuals formed in these years in Russia, is guided by the official church, where there is a school and a platform, which could not be counted in the informal "fragments". And these "fragments" is going to many different kinds of "underground man", colorfully described Dostoyevsky ("Notes from Underground") and Ivan Ilyin ("Axioms of religious experience"). These people have their envy and hostility towards others express, constructing his "true Orthodoxy." Such happened many times in history, such as the Donatists and the Old Believers, who massively accepted into their ranks people the social bottom and under their influence revolutionized and spiritually degraded.

However, even a similar way of the main common enemy in the face of the Russian state ("Putin regime") and the official Church (MP) does not contribute to the unification of the ranks of alternative Orthodox, who are split into a number of smaller rival groups. Particular disease informal orthodoxy (as in more formal and) is a glaring discrepancy between the declared dogmatic and canonical "purity" and the real moral (and also a canonical) impurity, resulting in pharisaic piety and hypocritical double standards. In opposition party chief priests (Sadducees) played the way the Pharisees, but the apostles of Christ.

Temptation for modern orthodox alternative is to attempt to copy the official church in the area of ​​church government: to create their synods with the Primate, attributing them to the "default" all the powers of the All-Russian local church authorities. Comic looks here and the distribution of the same church awards and titles. Forgotten path confessional Catacomb Church in Russia, where the bishops headed voluntarily recognize their communities, have between them a prayerful communion, while maintaining a certain independence and equal-dignity, as it was in the ancient church. Catacomb Church did not know synods and First Hierarch meetings of their bishops not to assign values ​​to the All-Russian local councils. The main emphasis was placed on the pastoral relationship with his flock hierarchy, high level of moral and confessional communities, mutual aid and support.

Attempts to present alternative "First Hierarchs" and copy the official church synods, pokoryati under its noze those who do not recognize, to impose "interdict" on recalcitrant, always failed. For these synods, having more or less canonical handicap, expressing the interests of a limited group, and without recognition by any other Orthodox, can not speak the language of power. In fact, they are only advisory bodies with limited powers (like the church LLC - Limited Liability Company).

Unfortunately, in recent years more and more marginalized alternative Orthodoxy mimics the official church, not only in the style of church government, but in the same secularization, in search of protection from external sponsors and political forces (including globalist, anti-Christian, Russophobian ). Neosergianstvo successfully distributed in the environment and informal Orthodoxy.

Minimally necessary measures of improvement

Looking for genuine Orthodox Christianity aware of the current state of general dissatisfaction, both formal and informal Orthodoxy. Dissatisfaction this applies to both the spiritual and moral state of both, and prioritization in the rich church Tradition (which raises important and what is neglected), which affects the condition.

Of course, the spiritual health of their church may submit only the Lord as the source of all grace. The pastors of the Church can and should try to avoid common, known in the literature and to know the experience, so to speak, the typical spiritual diseases, feeling their malignancy. Of these diseases for informal Orthodoxy most relevant hypocrisy and associated fundamentalism. Pharisaical spirit Pharisees leaven is directly opposed to the Gospel ideal and is described in the Gospel directly. But church history shows us examples of embodiments of the same hypocrisy in the Eastern Church. For many centuries, it is so pronounced that even wore a special name: ipokrisiya (hypocrisy), "piety, frozen in a mask." In the last century Byzantium this ipokrisiya also posed as the true Orthodoxy.

So, since dominant and clear the disease is described in the Gospel, and in the history of the Church, we can and must, as opposed to her return to the system of values ​​of the Gospel. Our Lord Jesus Christ in his preaching of the Gospel undermines the very root of hypocrisy: corporate religious pride, masked by external words, rituals, actions.

Pharisaism directly confronts the Lord preached brotherly love and humility. Sin hypocrisy lies in the ease of throwing anathemas and Jeremy, the ease of excommunication all "foreign" by the people of God. Genuine same gospel brotherly opposes corporate Spike exactly what your neighbor is ready to see and Samaritan. And now for the minimum improvement of church life, we need at least to abandon the practice of issuing anathemas to each other (a solid interest with which they come).

And the third Gospel values ​​- this is a reasonable, balanced, independent attitude to political power, true independence from it, combined with the rejection of the revolutionary struggle and support good undertakings authorities claiming biblical traditional values. From this position of the New Testament has grown a great practice of church-state relations, poor absorption so far. For this financial independence and spiritual freedom for Christians to pay poverty and the loss of broad rostrum. But this should not change the position itself and practice of our church.

So serious a return to the ideals of the Gospel illustrated disclosed, meaningful in the rich history of the Orthodox-Catholic Church - that is what needs to be done to us. This would mean a turn to the Lord face to the further hope for His good pleasure.

+ En. Dionysius, prot. Timothy

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Comments   

# RE: En. Dionysius and cons. Timothy Alferov: Problems of Modern Orthodoxy - Alex 23/12/2014 18:28

The author actually offers as an alternative to "neosergianstvu "neoekumenizm. Erased the boundaries between the "official" Orthodoxy and "fragments" and themselves "fragments" are treated as equal-dignity. The new word in the Orthodox ecclesiology.

# RE: En. Dionysius and cons. Timothy Alferov: Problems of Modern Orthodoxy - Nun Faith 23/12/2014 17:27

"The main external threat: globalism and liberalism." The devil knows how to subtly distract the person from the struggle with oneself through the pretext of combating windmills external phenomena, which have long been predicted and described in the Gospel and the Apocalypse.

# RE: En. Dionysius and cons. Timothy Alferov: Problems of Modern Orthodoxy -   Metropolitan Agafangel  23/12/2014 16:22

A kind of manifesto of the newly established movement, which I would call on the basis of written, modern neoobnovlenchest tion, has much in common with the existing movement based on. Gleb Yakunin (APC). The text calls for change in the established hierarchical structure of the Church, which is an integral part of catholicity, and go, if I may say so, to the church of democracy. But, now defunct church organization imitates nobody did anything, she inherited from our predecessors in and is part of church tradition. Catholic church dispensation can, of course, vary and change. But not by revolution, but the way I would put it this way: conservative expediency and. And the call to fraternal relations , after the rupture of these relations , does not look convincing.