SHARING-FOR critical study: PRO-RTOC Tikhon Pasechnik's perspectives, In English and Russian: -'explaining'-(?) current jurisdictional and schismatic/chaos changes: WISDOM (?) from RTOC-Tikhon Pasechnik's loyal priest Victor Melehoff: Письмо LetterInbox |
| ||||||||||||||||
Tue, Jul 4, 2017 at 1:23 PM
****************************************Page 1****************************************
Dear , May God bless.
Well, the situation with Fr. is quite sad, but not totally unexpected. It is unfortlmate that the faithful are not strong enough to make a stand, and that the clergy are not spiritual enough to discern the Truth. Should we be surprised? We are witnessing the onset of the last times. Today’s events (as a moment in a continuum) merely represent the effects of a passing and temporary phase or condition of society and its forming way of life. This “moment” is not in a neutral state, nor is it passing towards something better. We are witnessing a growth in apostasy, which leads to a fall in morality. The faithful, our churches, communities and monasteries are not immune to this degenerating environment. We “breathe the same air.” To move toward something better must involve repentance - a restoration of Faith and a rejection of sin. As apostasy gains global momentum, it becomes increasingly difficult to envision global repentance. As we witness the rise of apostasy to a global level, we must note the proportional and
anti-parallel decline of the Church to the extent where it is becoming more difficult to even find.
If they are not astute and spiritually keen, the Bishop Stefans and their clergy, along with those who follow them, gradually become casualties along this way as the correct choices become more difficult for them to make. For some, this might be surprising. Did they not just recently make a magnificent stand for the Truth by not joining the Moscow Patriarchate, while the rest of ROCOR meekly went to its spiritual slaughter? Well, as ROCOR demonstrated, there are those who do the wrong thing for the wrong reason. And, as we are witnessing, there are those who do the right thing for the wrong reason. Succeeding for the wrong reason is much like memorizing the answers to a test in school. That set of answers might serve you well once, but if one does not know how one arrives at such answers, it might not serve you well again.
What I found noticeably missing in Bishop Stefan, and those with him, was an understanding of contemporary Church ecclesiology. I must say, through conversations and in certain letters, it became clear that they hardly understood the meaning of the word. They knew the Moscow Patriarchate was bad and undesirable, but they could not articulate why this was so. With this, the question of Grace in the MP became a moot point. They never heard of Cyprianism, even though their bishops had proclaimed it to be their Very own ecclesiology (that word again). Their understanding of Ecumenism was weak. Their ties to the Church were defined more ethnically than spiritually. Their understanding of the True Church of Christ was ROCOR. Knowing that ROCOR had decided to join the MP years in advance, they held-on in disbelief until the very last. When ROCOR joined the “bad” MP, they correctly chose not to go (good answer!). Yet, when they needed to determine what to do, they tried to re-create ROCOR as they knew it (bad answer!). The unarticulated question became which ROCOR do you
know? To this day, ten years later, they still carmot agree. They argue: shall we be the ROCOR under St. Met. Philaret, Met. Vitaly, or Met. Laurus? Instead of seeking and
turning to the foundation of the Church of the Fathers, they became ROCOR- worshippers, founded upon the historical fragment of the ROCOR they encountered (in Russia or abroad), or imagined to remembered - a recipe for disaster (i.e., apostasy),
****************************************Page 2****************************************
which might still lead them to the MP.
In spite of its respected world image at the time, the ROCOR under St. Philaret had many problems, especially with the infiltration of clergy and laity from the Moscow Patriarchate. It is how St. Philaret dealt with those problems that set him apart from the tenures of Metropolitans Vitaly and Laurus. Let’s not forget that these same people (Met. Agafangel, A. Andronik, Bishop Stefan, the Lesna Monastery, et al), who now with such jealousy revere the blessed memory of Met. Vitaly, were concelebrating liturgies with Met. Laurus and receiving awards from him up until 2007. Meanwhile, Met. Vitaly was being persecuted by his false brethren (Met. Laurus, Bishop Michael, etc.) to the extent of suffering physical abuse when they seized him by his arms and feet, covered his face with a pillow, and literally stuffed him into a car, attempting to kidnap the elder hierarch back to house arrest in New York in 2001. Where were they then? And now, they, who abandoned an oncoming “train-wreck” moments before it crashed, they are the ones who wish to teach us about ROCOR’s golden path? Here, it must be underscored, is where Met. Agafangel distinguishes himself from the rest of these “ROCOR-want-to- be’s.” Met. Agafangel prides himself on being the very last to abandon this catastrophe. Such being the case, he claims that anyone leaving ROCOR before him did so prematurely, and therefore, is a schismatic. This, of course, is the reason he decided to
restore his new ROCOR with bishops ordained with the Cyprianite heretics. Brilliant? Or, perhaps, not so bright?
The fall of ROCOR is a tragedy sparming over the last several decades. Even today, the results of this tragedy continue to unfold and affect us. As we look about, we see monasteries, churches, communities, bishops, clergy and laity, torn and straining to reconstruct something they can no longer understand. They walk about as if in the dark, trying to match pieces that will not. Yet, perhaps to their own surprise, they themselves have articulated the Very key to their solution. They refer to themselves as “splinters.” Herein, lies their answer. ROCOR is in splinters. The Church does not exist in splinters. ROCOR is no longer. Nonetheless, ROCOR silently, and hardly without
notice, fulfilled its purpose. Before it died, it restored a canonical hierarchy to the Russian Church. Although it was not on a grandiose scale as some might have imagined,
it was, more importantly, Christ-like, in that it reflected the meekness and hmnility of our
Savior’s Nativity. ROCOR restored a canonical hierarchy with Apostolic succession in Russia through the bishops of the RTOC.
The Church Abroad is not an autocephalous body. It has always been a part of the Church of Russia. Hence, today it must continue to reflect that unity. It is impossible to have a Russian Church Abroad without its counterpart within Russia. The hierarchs of ROCOR had foreseen this. They provided bishops for Russia within Russia. Now, it is
time for these “splinters” to realize ROCOR’s prophetical gift to them. Until such time, they will continue as “those who sat in darkness.”
Meanwhile, global apostasy is raging. Nonetheless, even as the world spiritually falls apart, we still see God’s Hand, and His Will, providing for the salvation of those who still “seek peace and pursue it,” as King David instructs. And, we must maintain that all this
****************************************Page 3****************************************
must pass. Yet, “the gates of hades will not prevail against the Church.”
Finally, we must understand that what happens on that Last Day is gradually determined by what we do along the way. With each passing day, are we choosing Christ or antichrist? With each passing day, the choice of Christ might become more difficult to discern. With each compromised decision, our spiritual vision becomes a bit more
blurred. The cataract grows slowly. If these “eyes” gradually become dark, “how great is that darkness?” Will we be able to see and choose Christ?
As you know, God does not force us to love Him. That would not be genuine love from
either side. Indeed, as you hope, through the intercession of the Theotokos, God may send a sign to the parish. It must be up to the parishioners to heed it.
Be strong. May God grant you a spiritually profitable Great Lent, a joyous Pascha, and the strength to persevere.
In Christ,
Protopresbyter Victor Melehov Worcester, MA, USA 03/0 1/201 7
twisted
ReplyDelete