From
the editors: On Monday, March 15th, after having served a panihida in the the
Church of the Protection of the Mother of God, the lower church of St.
Vladimir Memorial Church, for His Holiness, Patriarch Alexy, Metropolitan
Laurus, who passed away one year ago today, Archbishop Vitaliy (Maksimenko; +
1960), and Archbishop Nikon (Rklitsy; +1976), co-served by Bishop Mercurius of
Zaraysk, Bishop George of Mayfield, and Bishop Jerome of Manhattan, His
Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church
Abroad, opened the Diocesan Meeting of the Eastern American with the following
words:
Your Graces, Right Reverend Masters!
Fathers, brethren, and sisters, beloved in the Lord!
We
are brought together today by the memory of His Eminence, Vladyka Laurus, who
in his ministry fulfilled the testament of Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko), who
is buried in this place: Bring all your
powers to bear on peacemaking work within the Church. Recalling the first
days of the restoration of the fullness of Church fellowship, His Eminence,
Vladyka Laurus said: “The liturgical services of these days reminded me of
the words of the Psalmist, for in the process of the dialogue between both
parts of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the Fourth Pan-Diasporan Council and
in the solemnities connected with the signing of the Act of Canonical
Communion, ‘Mercy and truth have met each other; righteousness and peace
have kissed each other.’ These days, which are being spent in prayer and
brotherly fellowship, have likewise reminded me of the ancient icon of the
holy Apostles Peter and Paul, who embraced and greeted one another after their
reconciliation. So also the two parts of the one Russian Orthodox Church,
embracing, kissing, and greeting one another, served joyously, with great
spiritual enthusiasm, prayed and partook of the one Cup of Christ, triumphing
over the enemy of the human race, who during the difficult years of
persecution ‘struck at the shepherds and scattered the sheep’ of the
Russian Orthodox Church.” Honoring the memory of His Holiness, Patriarch
Alexis, His Eminence, Metropolitan Laurus, and Archbishop Vitaly, brethren, we
must continue their “peace-making work within the Church.” For our
strength lies in unity. If we work with one another, if we do and take up the
work of God together, if we support one another, if we preach unto all, not so
much in words as in the example of a good Christian life, of brotherly love,
condescension, humility, and patience, then the power of God will accompany us
in our ministry to His people.
We
must remember that each of us is a servant of the People of God, and the
People of God are our flock. Such a servant of his clergy and flock was
Archbishop Nikon (Rklitsky), who also rests here, and who, not sparing
himself, diligently worked for the strengthening and growth of our parishes on
the eastern seaboard of America, carefully and successfully conducted the
affairs of the Diocese, and established in our midst a truly Orthodox
Christian worldview.
Looking
to the example of the above-mentioned deceased hierarchs, let us take care of
the people who have been entrusted to us, for their salvation and
enlightenment. We must pastorally care for those who have always lived and
remain within the Church, nurture them, show attention to them, delve into
their life, travel with them on the path to God. There are also children of
the Diocese who have arrived from the lands of the former Soviet Union in more
recent times, and who, yearning for the Homeland, find it in our churches. For
their churching and enlightenment we must not only take thought, but intercede
in prayer before the throne of God. We must actively provide them with the
good news of Christ, the Gospel, and the Church. We must share the literature
of Church education with all who seek answers to their spiritual inquiries.
While
helping our compatriots remain Russian and Orthodox amid the difficult
conditions of our life abroad, we also cannot forget those heterodox who
surround us and who are starving for the bread of heaven. We must extend a
helping hand to those who live next door to us; that is, we must engage in
missionary work. We have the possibility to share with local Americans the
rich legacy of the Russian Orthodox Church, its traditions and spirit, the
ideals of Holy Russia. This is particularly sought after by those who languish
in denominations that in many ways have discarded traditional Christian
structures and spiritual and moral values.
In
a word, we should concentrate on preaching, missionary work, and renewing the
strength of our Dioceses. And for this, we must not only live and serve in
accordance with our Faith, as has been said above, but we must also be
organized, disciplined and accessible. We can no longer restrict our ministry
to the serving of parish feastdays. We must become organized and activated.
Having organized the work of the Diocesan Council, I hope that we will proceed
to the organization of an website for the Diocese of Eastern America, the
formation of a diocesan center, the restructuring of the diocesan
administration, and missionary and educational work, not only among our
compatriots and Americans, but among our children and youth, for our youth is
not only our future, it is our present. Youth always finds new ways to spread
the good news of the Gospel of Christ.
One
must also be mindful of the financial aspect. Among us it is common to pass
over this in silence, to avoid, out of false modesty, raising these pressing
issues, treating them as of secondary import. Nevertheless, without material
means, no institution, no organization, no diocesan administration with its
chancery, with its staff of employees, will be able to function at full
capacity, or function at all. None of us considers this question to be of
secondary import when it concerns us personally; though at the same time one
can observe a certain negligent attitude toward this matter when it concerns
the affairs of the Church.
Dear
brethren archpastors, beloved in the Lord, fathers, brethren, and sisters: I
call upon you to consider these questions at our assembly calmly and
conscientiously. Let us not pay any heed to the slanders being spread by the
enemies of our Church, who are trying in every way possible to infect us with
dissension and division; rather, let us take care that we piously, in fasting
and prayer, in reverently serving and receiving communion of the Holy
Mysteries of Christ, spend this time, which will lead us to the Pascha of
Christ and the restoration of our strength. Let us pray to God, that He bless
both our diocesan assembly and our pastoral conference, that His will may be
done in the life of our Diocese of Eastern America. And let us be assured that
it is being done: for it is not men who pilot the Church, but the Lord
Himself. In Him let us place our trust.
Amen.
