October 11, 2012
Nyack, NY: Metropolitan Hilarion began the Joint Pastoral Conference with an Opening Address

On Thursday, October 11, the Joint Pastoral Conference of clergy of the  Eastern American Diocese and the Moscow Patriarchate commenced in the parish hall of Holy Virgin Protection Church in Nyack, NY. The First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, began the conference with an opening address:

Your Eminences, Your Graces, Reverend Fathers, dear brothers and sisters,

We have gathered here today to send up glory, praise, and thanksgiving to Almighty God for His abundant mercies. He has been merciful towards us by giving us His Holy Church – the ark of salvation through which we are able to be saved. The Church of Christ is the Body of Christ, at the head of which stands Christ Himself, and all of us, the faithful, are members of this body which forms an entire spiritual organism. "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12).

For almost 90 years, our long-suffering and beloved Russian Church went through a period of bitter division as a result of the catastrophic and bloody events of the 20th century. For decades the hierarchs, clergy, and faithful here in America have lifted up their fervent prayers to God for the deliverance of our homeland from the hands of the godless authorities that sought to destroy the Church. They understood that this was the will of God, and that Russia needed to be cleansed with the blood of millions of new martyrs, who suffered like the first Christians ‒ "having trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment" (Hebrews 11:36). Like our forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Moses, "they all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth" (Hebrews 11:13).

We remain successors to their glorious struggles, lest we have fear and forget the promise of our Lord and Savior, who gave us His Holy Church, against which even the "gates of hell shall not prevail" (Matthew 16:18). Five years ago, we became witnesses to this promise when we saw our long-suffering Russian Church emerge from the ashes of revolution in her full triumphant glory, shattering the darkest intentions of our enemies. This was a day when Heaven united with the Earth, and we were able to have a small glimpse of the eternal joy that we may experience if we will be vouchsafed to enter the Heavenly Kingdom.

We thank God for our newfound unity, which He confirmed for us in the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Iveron Icon, which will be with us during the divine services. Let us draw strength from her holy image and be mindful of the sufferings that our spiritual relatives, the New Martyrs of Russia, endured for Christ’s sake.

In light of the joyous fifth anniversary of the Reunification, His Holiness Patriarch Kyrill instructed the hierarchs and clergy of the Russian Church to analyze the achievements of the past five years, and to determine the future path of the Russian Church wherever She might be. Five years have passed, and we stand at the threshold of great opportunity and responsibility. We see today that the Russian Church has much to offer not only to those who have yet to see the Light of Truth, but even our own Orthodox brothers and sisters, who for one reason or another have fallen away from the glorious traditions of Holy Orthodoxy. While the world descends into darkness, we must bear witness to the "Light of Christ that illumineth all men."

We see how the Evil one is tempting the weakest souls among us, causing them to perform unspeakable blasphemous acts in an effort to tear apart the Church – the raiment of Christ. Instead of looking to the saints for an example of piety, our young people are encouraged to imitate the lives of celebrities and other false idols. These afflicted souls are sawing down crosses and desecrating churches in our homeland, while in America they praise the godless acts of anyone who spits upon the image of Christ and declares his or her "personal freedoms" to be superior to the teachings of the Church. We must not be fooled into thinking that we are not under attack just because there are no soldiers breaking down our doors.

The Orthodox Churches in America are making a sincere effort to preserve canonical order amidst the many different jurisdictions that are located here. Christ has called all of us to unity, and as Orthodox Christians we are bound to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3). But at the same time, we should be careful of the temptations that surround us, especially in the 21st century. When Orthodox people strive towards unity, the Evil One will do everything in his power to disrupt that process. For this reason, Apostle Paul writes, "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise" (Ephesians 5:15). Though written in the 1st century to the recently converted Ephesians, these words apply to Christians of all times and nations, especially to us in America, where the number of converts is constantly growing.

Anyone who seeks to follow Christ in our time is surrounded by a sea of multifarious temptations, especially those that are not easily discernible as being harmful. These are the most dangerous kinds – when white appears to be black and black appears to be white. The Apostle warned us of these two thousand years ago, "for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). If the faithful are facing these temptations, then what can be said of the clergy? All of us know the passions and sorrows that priests must endure for the sake of Christ, but we must never allow ourselves to despair, for the Lord "giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength" (Isaiah 40:29).

As members of the Russian Orthodox Church, we have a responsibility to cherish and preserve the liturgical customs and traditions that have been passed down to us for over a thousand years. In a time when the Church is being attacked by secularists and modernists, many Orthodox people in America are looking to the Russian parishes for a strong conservative example of loyalty to the traditions of the Church.

If we wish to preserve our faith the way it was handed to us from our forefathers, and if we hope to attract others to the saving fold of the Church, then we must first understand what it truly means to be Orthodox. In our time, fewer and fewer people, including even some of the clergy and so called "theologians" and "Orthodox commentators," understand the essence of the Orthodox faith. Many approach the faith from an informal perspective, and their conclusions about the Orthodox way of life are very primitive, if not completely skewed. Others take the faith harshly, using Christ’s words to judge or punish others, separating themselves from the love of Christ. As servants of the Church, we must tear down these misconceptions with pastoral love, and guide the faithful along the True path of the Cross. Orthodoxy ‒ true, undistorted, and uncorrupted by any human philosophy or misconception ‒ is the genuine teaching of Christ, in all its purity and fullness – about the Faith and piety; in other words, a life according to the Faith.

Orthodoxy is not just a way of thinking, it is a way of life. We can only be genuine Christians if we apply the lessons of our Faith to all aspects of our lives. The parish church must not become a social club, where people only come to congregate and host community functions, while rarely attending the services. Our churches must be fortified spiritual strongholds, where the faithful come and learn how to live their lives in accordance with the teachings of Christ. While others may shorten their services and do away with Vigils, we must do the exact opposite, making the divine services the center of all parish activity. While others may encourage disobedience toward their bishops, we must unite around our hierarchy and trust that the Holy Spirit will guide our Church, not some democratic majority. Apostle Paul describes the Church as “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy3:15). We must never allow ourselves, even for a moment, to think that our understandings or misconceptions about the Church give us the right to stray from the Truth or warp the teachings of the Church so that they are more suitable to our times. St. Theophan the Recluse teaches us that the Orthodox Church “is the Church of the living God, Who is the God of truth, or the Truth itself. Everything in Her is true. Do not look for truth elsewhere.” The path of modernists is a dangerous one that leads us farther from Christ and closer to darkness.

If our goal is to unite the Orthodox faithful in America, then we must lead by an example of piety and loyalty to the canons and teachings of the Church. Let us begin by strengthening the unity between our own parishes, so that those around us may see and feel the love that we have for each other. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another," (John 13:35). Compared to other jurisdictions, there are very few Russian parishes in America, but there is much that we have to offer to the Orthodox in this country. The experiences of the Russian Church in America are invaluable. Beginning with missionaries establishing the first Orthodox mission on American soil in 1794, the Russian Church has had a tremendous impact on Orthodox America. The spirit of those missionaries is preserved within the walls of holy places, such as Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, which has brought forth an abundance of ascetics – spiritual relatives of Great Russian monastic saints. We are witnesses to the continuation of this spirit even in newer monasteries, like the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in West Virginia, which is one of the fastest growing Orthodox monasteries in America. Orthodox bishops of all jurisdictions are sending their young novices to Holy Cross, because they know that this is a place where the Orthodox faith is being preserved in its purity. If we want our parishes to grow, then we must treat them like little monasteries and strive to learn from the examples of our monastics.

Full and unwavering commitment to Christ and His Holy Church, together with her canons and teachings, is the legacy of Russian Orthodoxy in America. We have received our Faith through the grace of the Holy Spirit and we are called to share it with those who are around us. Our Church has always had a strong commitment to missionary work, and we must reaffirm this commitment in the future.

During this conference, we will hear many lectures and participate in various discussions, all with the goal of strengthening our parishes by fortifying ourselves spiritually. This conference will only be successful if each and every one of us returns home with new spiritual strength and a sincere desire to increase love. If we approach our ministry with meekness and love, then we shall have nothing to fear because "perfect love casteth out fear" (1 John 4:18). As Christians, we are able to experience love unlike any other – the "love which is Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39), from which nothing can ever separate us. Without this love, we will grow weak, and our flock will grow even weaker.

The path of servitude to the Holy Church is narrow and filled with many temptations. We must take every opportunity to gather more often, so that we may "bear one another’s burdens" (Galatians 6:2).In his abundant mercy, the Lord has given us His Mother in the image of her holy myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Icon, as a sign that we are indeed on the right path. If we should ever doubt our faith even for a moment, let us remember these days when we joined together around this Icon of Unity. Let us bring our sorrows and pains to our most blessed Mother, so that she may in turn deliver them to the throne of her Son.

As we begin the work of this conference, I wish you God’s help in your struggles and ask your holy prayers for me, a sinner.

Amen.

Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese