March 13, 2014
Metropolitan Hilarion's
Epistle on the occasion of the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of
the Eastern American Diocese
Epistle of His Eminence HILARION
Metropolitan of Eastern America
& New York
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside
of Russia
to the Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Eastern
American Diocese
on the occasion of the 80th
Anniversary of the Founding of the Diocese
Reverend
Fathers, Venerable Monastics, Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This year, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the
founding of the Eastern American Diocese by the ever-memorable
Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko) in 1934. This anniversary gives us
reason to stop and assess the 80-year path that has passed before
us, while making provisions for a brighter future. The Lord has been
merciful to us sinners, and has blessed our Diocese with peace and
prosperity throughout its history. It is a history that has been
intertwined with the catastrophic events of the 20th
century, which left our Russian homeland and most of Europe in ruins
after decades of war and revolution.
As we celebrate the past eighty years, our joy is bittersweet
because we cannot ignore the events that have been transpiring
around us in the world. The moral and political landscape of the
world is rapidly changing for the worse; it is once more a hostile
time for Christians. Our youth are facing trials of temptations that
breed sinister spiritual despair. When we think about what the next
80 years might bring, we must be prepared to stand firm in our faith
against a world that will war against us as it wars against Christ
and His Church. For this reason, Christ our Savior warned his
followers: “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own:
but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of
the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). Christ also
comforted them, saying: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but
be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
In order to heed the words of our Savior, our vision for the future
must be built upon the rock-solid spiritual foundation laid out for
our Diocese by Archbishop Vitaly, all the First Hierarchs of the
Church Abroad, and other pillars of Orthodoxy, such as Archbishops
Nikon (Rklitsky), Averky (Taushev), Andrei (Rymarenko), and the
countless priests, monks, and laymen who toiled alongside them over
the past eight decades. They understood that words, regardless of
how eloquent they may be, will not be enough to inherit the Kingdom
of Heaven. They heeded the words of our Savior when He said, “Not
every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
Kingdom of Heaven; but he doeth the will of my Father which is in
Heaven”(Matthew 7:21).
For
eighty years, the Diocese has made a great effort to discern the
will of the Father, making His will our priority, which has led to
our inspiration and joy. Despite the temptations of the outside
world, life in the Church has been peaceful and fruitful. Let us
look back and remember the hundreds of reverend clergy who were
ordained and served our Diocese throughout its 80-year history. How
many thousands more were saved through the Holy Church because of
these pastors and monastics? Every Divine Liturgy that has been
served in all of our churches and monasteries over the course of 80
years has been a triumphal proclamation of Christ’s victory over the
world! Every communion of the Holy Mysteries has brought people into
the salvific fold of the Church, making them members of the one Body
of Christ. Prayer and the divine services are the air that the
Church breathes, without which life in Her, and union with Her Head
– Christ ‒ is impossible! If we continue to live our lives within
the saving fold of the Church, we shall have no cause for worry or
despair when faced with the trials and temptations of the world, for
we know that we are safe with Christ in His Holy Church, against
which even “the gates of hell shall never prevail!”
We call upon all of you to strengthen your prayers and continue
expanding your involvement in the daily life of the Church. We have
been blessed in the Eastern American Diocese with faithful,
talented, and dedicated clergy, who have been appointed to their
positions through the grace of the Holy Spirit to be the shepherds
of all of the souls entrusted to them by God. While financial and
physical contributions are important and necessary to the life of
the parish, the highest priority of every Orthodox Christian must be
to attain eternal salvation through the saving bosom of the Church.
If our primary focus is the salvation of our souls, then all earthly
concerns over finances and administration on both a parish and
diocesan level will either resolve themselves or become clearer and
easier to understand.
Glory
be to God, the past five years have been a period of steady growth
in our Diocese, both in the administrative sphere and on a local
level. Our parishes are growing, new clergy are being ordained,
missionary efforts are being expanded, and our flock is now larger
and more multifaceted than ever before. In an effort to keep up with
the growing demands of operating our vast Diocese, we have blessed
the creation of a new diocesan center at Saint Alexander Nevsky
Cathedral in Howell, NJ. This decision came after much prayerful
deliberation with members of the Diocesan Council and a full review
of the specific needs of a potential diocesan center. The cathedral
will officially become the episcopal See of the Ruling Bishop of the
Eastern American Diocese and the administrative center of the
Diocese on September 12, 2014.
We believe that this vision for a new center is the fruitful vine,
sprung from the seeds planted by our founder. In all of his monastic
wisdom, Archbishop Vitaly foresaw the bright future of Saint
Alexander Nevsky Church and the important role that it would play in
the strengthening of our Eastern American Diocese. Having founded
this parish as his first in America, he said: “I
pray God that this, my firstling, the parish of Saint Alexander
Nevsky, might flourish as a tree planted at the waters.” Together,
we must strive to fulfill the will and testament of our founder by
building a center there that will serve not only the administrative
needs of our Diocese, but most importantly –
the
spiritual needs of our
faithful. The new center must act as a safe spiritual
harbor for our clergy and faithful, where they can unite together in
prayer and brotherly love, regardless of their ethnicity or
language. To do this, we must
cultivate within ourselves the chief virtue of every Christian –
love. “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye
have love one to another,” said our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
(John 13:35).
The triumph of Christ’s love over worldwide evil is the cause of our
celebration during this 80th anniversary. In order to
cultivate this love within our hearts, let us be mindful of the
words of Saint Nektary of Optina, who said: “Pray that the Lord will
rule in your heart. Then it will overflow with great rejoicing and
happiness, and no kind of sorrow will have strength to disturb it.”
This is how we are called to live and grow with Christ. This is how
we must thank our Creator and celebrate all of the accomplishments
of the past 80 years, and this is most assuredly the feeling that
will rule our hearts when we gather together in our Diocesan Center
to celebrate the Divine Liturgy.
We invite all of you to come to St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on
November 14-15, 2014, to experience this feeling of Paschal joy as
we gather to honor and thank our Lord for all that He has done for
us. This celebration will strengthen our faith and remind us of the
need for fortified spiritual vigil, a firm stand for the pure and
unadulterated Faith, and devotion to the Truth of the Church, which
holds this Faith sacrosanct in the face of worldwide apostasy. If we
hold to these principles, the state of our Diocese will remain
strong.
With love in Christ,
+HILARION
Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York
First Hierarch of the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
February 23/March 9, 2014
Triumph of Orthodoxy
Click here for pdf version
Media Office of the Eastern
American Diocese
See also:
Metropolitan Hilarion
sends Special Appeal to Parishioners of St. Alexander Nevsky
Cathedral
Metropolitan Hilarion leads Regular
Session of Diocesan Council
