November
21, 2009
The
24th Anniversary of the repose of the third First Hierarch of the
Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence, Metropolitan Philaret
On
November 8/21, 1985, on the feast of the Archangel Michael and all the
Heavenly Bodiless Hosts, the third First Hierarch of the Russian
Church Abroad, His Eminence Philaret (Voznesensky), Metropolitan of
Eastern America and New York, reposed in the Lord. Today, in Holy
Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, upon completion of the Divine
Liturgy a litiya was served at the tomb of the ever-memorable First
Hierarch. The Liturgy and litiya were led by His Grace, Bishop George
of Mayfield, co-served by the clergy of the monastery.
In
connection with the 24th anniversary of his passing, we offer visitors
to the Eastern American diocesan website a short biography and
testament of Metropolitan Philaret, as well as a sermon delivered by
Protopresbyter Alexander Kiselev at Vladyka's funeral. Memory
eternal to His Eminence, Metropolitan Philaret!
Biography
of Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky)
Metropolitan
Philaret, was born George Nikolaevich Voznesensky in Kursk on March
22, 1903. His mother, Lidia Vasilievna, died when George was only 18
years old, while his father, soon thereafter accepting monastic
tonsure under the name Dimitry, became an archbishop. In 1947, his
father was repatriated to the USSR, where he died shortly thereafter.
Metropolitan
Philaret’s family moved to Blagoveschensk, on the Amur River, in
1909. In 1920, he completed the eight-grade gymnasia. Moving with his
family to Harbin, he entered the Russo-Chinese Polytechnic Institute
and graduated it an electromechanical engineer in 1927. In 1931, he
completed the pastoral theology courses, soon thereafter renamed the
Theology Department, at the University of St. Vladimir. He would later
become a professor of New Testament, Pastoral Theology, and Homiletic
studies at the same. In 1930, he was ordained to the diaconate, and in
1931 was tonsured a monk under the name Philaret. A year later, he was
ordained a Hieromonk, in 1933 – elevated to the rank of hegumen, and
in 1937 – to the rank of archimandrite.
One
of Vladyka’s university colleagues recalled: "Archimandrite
Philaret did great work advancing Church activities and pastoral
homiletics. Worshippers would
seek to
attend whatever
church he
was serving
in. He was
beloved by every class of Harbin’s Orthodox population. The name of
Archimandrite Philaret was renowned even beyond the confines of the
Harbin Diocese. He was kind, and accessible to all who approached him.
And that was a great many people. People who went to him knew that
they would receive proper advice, as well as comfort and help.
Archimandrite Philaret was very strict with himself; he was known as a
true ascetic. Our kindhearted Vladyka also had a very rare kind of
memory. When one would meet him, he would express great interest in
every facet of one’s life; he felt no need to remind anyone of his
own needs or difficulties, but would develop any topic of
conversation, and was ready to answer any question."
When
Soviet forces occupied Manchuria, Archimandrite Philaret decisively
refused to accept a Soviet passport. When a newspaper reporter came to
interview him, asking what he thought of "the wise decision on
the part of the Soviet government to offer the Russian population of
Harbin the chance to reestablish the citizenship of their
homeland," he heard the following courageous response: "I do
not consider accepting Soviet citizenship possible, and will not do
so, until such time as I will not have confirmed by the facts, and
100% without a doubt, that the persecution of religion, antireligious
propaganda, and attacks on servants of the Church have ceased
entirely, and that the Church, which did not 'secede,' but was
banished by the government, has once more taken its rightful
place." Until the end of his days in China, Archimandrite
Philaret never accepted Soviet citizenship, despite the danger
inherent in taking such a position. Another time, Archimandrite
Philaret was disciplined for his boldness. Once, having discovered a
church newsletter in which Lenin was counted among the geniuses and
benefactors of mankind, Archimandrite Philaret expressed his
indignation in a sermon, which received widespread notoriety.
His
fearless denunciations of the theomachist Communists inspired a
particular hatred within them, and they decided to burn Archimandrite
Philaret alive, lighting his monastic cell on fire. But the Lord
preserved His chosen one: although with severe burns, Vladyka escaped
the fiery trap alive.
At
all times working to defend his flock, he, in his own words, “never
sullied my lips and my prayer with prayers for the servants of
Antichrist,” despite multiple threats. Additionally, Archimandrite
Philaret also exchanged correspondence with the head of the Russian
Church Abroad, Metropolitan Anastassy, ignoring the dangers implicit
in doing so.
The
Synod of Bishops tried long and hard to receive a visa for him to exit
China, and, judging by available archived correspondence, almost every
diocese of the Church Abroad hoped to get him for itself. Only in 1962
was the Synod of Bishops able to get Archimandrite Philaret to Hong
Kong, from whence he was able to quickly get to Brisbane. A large
portion of his former parishioners had gathered in Australia, and upon
his arrival there, with a great many signatures, they petitioned the
Synod to appoint him bishop of that city. The petition was
enthusiastically supported by the already ailing Archbishop Savva, and
in 1963 Archimandrite Philaret, to the joy of his former flock, became
Bishop of Brisbane.
At
the Council of Bishops in 1964, at which Metropolitan Anastassy
announced his retirement, Bishop Philaret, having arrived in place of
his ruling bishop, Archbishop Savva, was elected First Hierarch. The
Council determined him to be the new Hierarch of the Russian Church
Abroad, a burden he carried for 21 years.
As
it happened, almost in the middle of the period of his rule, the Third
All-Diasporan Council was summoned. Our faithful immediately recall
the four great glorifications of God-pleasers: Righteous St. John of
Kronstadt, Venerable St. Herman of Alaska, Blessed St. Xenia of St.
Petersburg, and the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.
Our
First Hierarch appealed more than once with enlightening letters to
the heads of other Churches, many of whom heeded his call. Vladyka was
a remarkable preacher. Deep faith, fiery prayer, kindness and
benevolence, concern for the continued, undisturbed spiritual peace
and steadfast defense and confession of Truth – these were the
primary characteristics of our First Hiearch, Metropolitan Philaret.
Vladyka
reposed in the Lord on November 21, 1985, on the day of the Archangel
Michael. His convictions were clearly expressed in his will. In the
published Spiritual Testament,
the Metropolitan said the following:
Hold
that fast which thou hast! (Rev. 3:11).
These
words, taken from the sacred Book of the Apocalypse, have a
particular significance in our time, in our greatly sorrowful, evil,
temptation-filled days. They remind us of that priceless spiritual
wealth that we possess, as children of the Orthodox Church.
Yes,
we are rich. This spiritual wealth is that which the Holy Church
possesses, and it is offered to all her faithful children. The
teaching of the Faith, of our marvelous, salvific Orthodox Faith;
the countless living examples of the lives of people who have lived
according to the Faith, according to those lofty principles and
rules that the Church offers us. Those
who have attained that spiritual purity and exaltedness that is
called holiness; the beauty and majesty of our Orthodox Divine
services and a living participation in them through faith and
prayer; the plenitude of the grace-filled spiritual life that is
open to each and every one, and, crowning it all, the unity of the
children of the Church in that love of which the Savior said: By
this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love
one to another (John 13:35).
Metropolitan
Philaret.
In
1998, it was decided to transfer the remains of the reposed First
Hierarch from the crypt of the cemetery Church of Dormition to the new
vault under the altar of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Jordanville.
When his tomb was opened on November 10, his relics were found to be
incorrupt; he was a light color, and his skin, beard, and hair were
completely preserved. Vladyka’s vestments, Gospel, gramata with the
prayer for the departed, cross, and the shroud covering the
departed’s face were all totally preserved. Even the white cloth
used to cover the top of body had kept its radiant whiteness.
Meanwhile, the metal clasps of the Gospel fell apart at a touch.
After
the Divine Liturgy on November 21, then-Archbishop Laurus called upon
all those gathered there to pray for the repose of the First
Hierarch’s soul, until such time as God’s will should indicate he
be added to the body of saints. A panihida was then served, after
which a crucession with Metropolitan Philaret’s coffin took place
around the cathedral to the tomb, where it was laid in its prepared
place.
Protopresbyter Alexander Kiselev’s
Eulogy at the Funeral of Metropolitan Philaret
In
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Today
we escort the third Metropolitan of our Orthodox Russian Church Abroad
to the eternal life. It is not now time for us to make some kind of
comparisons between these three hierarchs. I will allow myself in my
allotted time a short word on the spiritual character of our reposed
Metropilitan Philaret – that is, how he seemed to me to be.
I
think that the words of the Savior, spoken at one time to children,
"Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matt. 19:14), apply to
him fully. Our Metropolitan had those particular character traits that
are particular to those people who preserved them from their childhood
– preserved that openness, that kindness, that tenderness, that,
which favorably disposes one man to another. Vladyka possessed these
traits in great measure, and this was felt foremost by the children
and youth beloved by him.
And
so Vladyka lies in his coffin. He departs for a life inhabited by the
righteous.
Vladyka,
with these especially gentle traits of his, led what one might
consider a very difficult life, combining these traits with those of a
man standing at the head of the Church.
And
I would like to straightway speak my mind, and say that we are all
guilty in his struggles. We all, who in one way or another relied on
him, multiplied his already difficult duties, particularly strenuously
coupled with his gentle and, in the best sense of the word, virginal
characteristics, the sustainment of which for adults is often less
than simple. We
are
all
guilty
of
this.
Those who transgressed, and
those who did not stop the transgressors, and those who thought their
business was to come to church from time to time and considered
themselves Orthodox, let alone Orthodox members of the Russian
Orthodox Church Abroad, as something special in Orthodoxy.
All
of us, in one way or another, are guilty of not helping him, quite the
opposite: we complicated the already difficult ways of Church life,
that Church life which cannot be separated from all of the terrors of
this world that occur around us. It is impossible that all of this
will not penetrate the Church, and in some degree it has penetrated,
for everyone who lives outside of the Church, like it or not, is to
some degree filled with that atmosphere in which the modern world
finds itself, and upon entering the Church, brings that atmosphere
into the Church. How then is it to live as the First Hierarch of the
Church in such circumstances?
And
then, forgive me another candid word. The words of the Gospel come to
mind, the words of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who said once:
"You have made my Father’s house a den of thieves" (Matt.
21:13). Do
you
and
I
not
do
the
same
thing?
Of them I am chief. We clergy,
we lay people, and everyone – each in his own right – have we not
sinned before the departed First Hierarch and before our Church by our
unworthy life, which carries on far from how it should, far from how
we would like it?
Therefore,
today it is proper for us not only to repent for our sins before the
Church and Her First Hierarch. I
think
this
insufficient.
It
is
insufficient
to
repent.
We must promise, give an oath,
that we will attempt to defend our Church and, consequently, ourselves
as well; we must defend our internal selves, in every manifestation of
our lives, from that which sullies the Church, which stains the
Church, which makes Her, even in the smallest way, reminiscent of the
words of the Savior, which I have brought just now to your attention.
For
this reason we here, escorting the departed, stand in the doorway,
awaiting a new head, a new First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox
Church Outside of Russia. Whoever he may be, he will need what our
departed hierarch needed. Let us give him of our help. Let us not say,
this is not my responsibility, I am no priest; while the priest says,
this is not my responsibility, I am no bishop; while the bishop says,
this is not my responsibility, I am not the First Hierarch.
Who
is
responsible
then?
One
man?
No matter what grace may be
visited upon this man, it is beyond the strength of any one. It is the
responsibility of the whole Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, of
which we are the members.
Let
us then not just call ourselves such, but let us right ourselves, for
the sake of the Church, for the sake of our own salvation, for the
sake of not calling ourselves Orthodox Christians, but being
such. Let us not boast that we are better than all the other
Orthodox Christians, we, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of
Russia, but let us be whom we ought to be.
May
the Lord God help us! Let us truly want this! Let us apply all our
efforts to attaining this goal, not by our intentions alone,
"with which," St. John Chrysostom notes, "even the road
to hell is paved." Not by intentions alone, but with true deeds,
for which our Church and Her new, future head, the First Hierarch,
will be waiting.
Amen.
"Orthodox
Rus", 1985, #22.
Translated and edited by the Media Office of the Eastern
American Diocese
