March
29, 2010
“We have shared roots, and for this reason the Lord has brought us
together.” An
Interview with Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov
On
Tuesday, March 9, on the feast of the 1st and 2nd Findings of the Head
of St. John the Baptist, Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov, rector of All
Saints Church, formerly Novo-Alexeyevsky
Monastery, in Krasnoe Selo, celebrated the Divine Liturgy in St.
George’s Church at the diocesan center in Howell, NJ, thereby
completing his visit to the Eastern American Diocese. Upon completion
of the Liturgy, Fr. Artemy gave an interview to diocesan Media Office
correspondent Reader Peter Lukianov, on his impressions of life in the
Eastern American Diocese of the Russian Church Abroad. The text of the
interview with Fr. Artemy is available to our readers below.
-
Father Artemy, you have completed your two-week visit to the Eastern
American Diocese. What feelings are you experiencing as you head for
the airport?
- A feeling that in
English you would call bittersweet,
that is, sweet sorrow. My soul is full of gratitude to the Lord God
that the dream of my youth has come true. As a young man, for some
reason I always worried for the fate of the Russian Diaspora, and
always felt – this may sound strange – a great desire to be united
in Christ to my fellow Russians abroad. And, twenty-something years
later, the Lord God granted, through the prayers of St. John of
Shanghai, that the wish of my youth, one it seemed would never come to
fruition, be fulfilled.
-
You arrived in America on February 23rd at night, and the
following morning you immediately went to the Synod of Bishops of the
Church Abroad to meet with the First
Hierarch, Metropolitan Hilarion,
as well as His Grace, Bishop Jerome. Tell us about this meeting,
Father; what was your impression of the First Hierarch of the Church
Abroad?
-
As a man of the Church, and especially as a clergyman, I had to pay
this visit in any case, but I’ll say this for myself – for me this
was not a formality, not a desire to be
noticed. No. I have long heard from my friends, among whom are
many priests of the Russian Diaspora, that Metropolitan Hilarion is an
uncannily sincere man, full of archpastoral love; an approachable man,
uncomplicated, capable of speaking to anyone on his own level. And not
only did these impressions turn out to be true, but to this day it
surprises me how closely here, in the Diaspora, the bishops
communicate with their children, the pastors, and how simple their
intercourse, devoid of any bureaucratic formality. So I sometimes
recall the pages of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, where one
reads how the Apostle Paul and other pillars of the Church dealt with
their parishioners and spiritual children quietly, gently, as a loving
parent. For me, of course, it was obvious that the kind words said by
His Eminence and the Vicar Bishop Jerome meant something more. The
issue here is that, after the reunification, when, so to speak, all
the bones of Russian Orthodoxy were put back into place, it was
necessary to ensure that they be enveloped with flesh and blood. The
two years since that triumphal service and the act restoring
liturgical communion are especially meaningful now, when, face to face
and heart to heart, we can open up to one another. And I felt that
Metropolitan Hilarion’s blessing was truly the internal desire of
all his children, his whole nurtured flock, to enter into
wholehearted, living, and direct communion. And this feeling did not
betray me.
-
The day after your meeting with the Metropolitan, you miraculously
traveled through a major snowstorm to Jordanville, to Holy Trinity
Monastery. You were able to venerate the sacred icons and relics of
the monastery and visit the grave of the ever-memorable Metropolitan
Laurus. Tell us about your impressions of Holy Trinity Monastery.
- Having never
before been in this seemingly forgotten corner of the American
countryside, I nonetheless knew much about Jordanville, because in our
youth we read books sent by the monks here to Russia at great
sacrifice for the glory of God, and for me the names of Professor
Andreev and Archimandrite Konstantin (Zaytsev) are familiar ones, to
say nothing of the works of the ever-memorable hierarch, Archbishop
Averky (Taushev)… it is impossible to list all those who, burning
with love for Orthodoxy, for the Motherland, devoted to them their
life’s work, even at a time when the Cold War, it seemed, had
forever separated Russia from her children. Of course, it was not
without a troubled soul that I came to this snowy corner of Holy
Russia. Perhaps the biggest impression I received was when I visited
the main cathedral, with its marvelous icons and relics; and, of
course, everything I saw when I visited the iconography studio and the
seminary itself. I understood that forces foreign and inimical to
Orthodoxy had not forced their way into the history of the Russian
Diaspora. Here is preserved the inheritance between the past and
present ages, the relics of Tsarist Russia carefully preserved, the
sacred objects passed down from the first wave of the emigration,
every detail of what I saw in the seminary; for instance, an oath of
loyalty, still in the pre-Revolutionary orthography and in a beautiful
frame, hanging in one of the classrooms. This is to say nothing of the
photographs in which we see the lanterns of the Russian Diaspora, such
ones as Metropolitan Philaret, who shared a name with our 19th Century
hierarch, and Metropolitan Laurus who, as the spiritual co-brother of
His Holiness, the Patriarch, departed this life, I believe, soon after
performing the great work of the reunification, work that superseded
human strength. In a word, this is Russian land, I smell Russia here,
and one of the things I was overjoyed to see was that the students who
came here from Moscow with the blessing of His Holiness, the
Patriarch, not only entered the ranks of the student body here, but my
impression was that they imbibed with their hearts and souls the rich
traditions developed here over half a century, and it seems to me that
young, fresh forces from Russia are now pouring into the Russian
Diaspora, bringing with them a bright and gracious inclination to help
develop Church life here; specifically aiding its preservation here,
which was undoubtedly the testament and desire of our wise hierarchs
who, overcoming the misgivings and even alienation of many of their
parishioners, nevertheless performed that great breakthrough.
-
Father Artemy, from the so-called "Diasporan Lavra," you
were taken to the diocesan center at St. George’s Church in the town
of Howell, NJ, which is one of the smaller churches in our diocese.
What were your impressions of church life in small parishes, and
specifically this parish?
-
For me, as a priest who has grown accustomed to peering directly into
people’s hearts, it was especially pleasant to see in this certainly
smaller parish so many mature young people, spiritually and truly
convinced in the Truth of Orthodoxy. In Russia we especially worry for
our youth. It is, so to say, a very dynamic demographic, young, fresh,
but simultaneously so naïve and liable to fall to the many various
temptations – it is so easy to knock young people away from their
goal and rob them of their Russianness, that is, of their connection
to their roots, without which the tree of the human soul cannot stand.
And the conclusive contrast, the impression that struck me and stayed
in my heart, was the Orthodoxy borne here, perhaps not without
sorrows, from which the soul that loves the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ will not depart. Perhaps here there are no dozens or hundreds
of young people, but let us remember the Russian proverb: Малъ
золотникъ, да
дорогъ
(lit. Small is the gold coin, but valuable; fig. Good things come in
small packages). Our faith shines not in quantity, but in quality, and
of course the home of the diocesan secretary Archpriest Serge Lukianov
was for me a familiar habitation. Traveling for these two weeks both
in Russian and, so to speak, American (that is, mostly converts to
Orthodoxy) parishes and communities, my soul was comforted. I cannot
compare myself to those written about in the Acts of the Apostles, but
very close to me are the words brought forth by the Evangelist St.
Luke, telling of the journey of the Apostle Paul: And Paul rejoiced,
seeing the brethren coming to meet him by the Three taverns and Appii
Forum in Rome. Indeed, sometimes in Russia we get the idea, just as in
the Russian Diaspora, that only here can you find the Lord, that here
is preserved pure Orthodoxy. Consider how inappropriate it is of us in
our narrow-mindedness to constrict the boundaries of the Almighty’s
divine grace. In every place bless the Lord, O my soul! And as someone
very wisely said, the Russian people found themselves not in exile,
not scattered, but on an evangelical journey. And I see that, thanks
to the heroic struggle of three generations of Russian people,
beginning with the labors of His Holiness, Patriarch Tikhon and even
before him, with St. Herman of Alaska, the seeds of Orthodoxy have
been so deeply planted in the American land, that we now see a united
Orthodox world, in which we must mutually draw close one to
another, grow one into another, having long ago thrown off any
ambition, any pretense, instead being mutually enriched and drawing
from this intercourse that grace of love, without which the whole
world is a foreign land, and the soul an altar without divinity.
-
One of the main reasons for your visit to America was to take part in
the Lenten Retreat and Pastoral Conference of the Eastern American
Diocese, which took place at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in
Mayfield, PA. You had an opportunity to speak with members of the
Synodal administration, with the monks of Holy Trinity Monastery, with
parishioners of St. George’s Church, and here you had an opportunity
to converse with many pastors of the Eastern American Diocese. Tell
us, father, what were your impressions of our pastors, and of the
Lenten Retreat in general?
-
I would very much like to share the experiences of my visit with my
brothers in Russia, because I consider precious the very possibility
to hold a general pastoral conference, particularly during Great Lent.
Relatively recently, we also resurrected the tradition of holding
pastoral gatherings, conferences, especially now, when His Holiness,
Patriarch Kyrill, has called upon us to be part of the dynamic of
parish life and life in the Church in general. Nonetheless I will note
the deep inner meaning of these 2-3 days, when the bishops of the
Church prayed together with the pastors at the long Great Lenten
services, when the pastors themselves read and sang and confessed and
preached, and the church itself was filled primarily by priests; after
all, many more than 100 people gathered for this conference. And, you
know, despite the fact that it was a weekday and the service was a
quiet one, not loud, it had a Paschal joy that overcame the hearts of
all the praying pastors, who without exception partook of the Holy
Mysteries; I can see how internally meaningful this event was for all
of us. As far as talking with other priests, I will say several words
as a humble guest. It was pleasant for me to see that the pastors with
whom I spoke, and not only the Russian ones, wonderfully fluent in
their native tongue, but also the natural born Americans, gave me the
impression of principled priests, living the principles of their
calling and ruminating on the complicated issues of pastoral life. You
see, our conference expanded beyond its set boundaries and continued
deep into the night, when the stars shone in the firmament, as we
gathered around in little circles in our comfortable hotel and could
not part ways; that was how important it was for us to compare our
pastoral observations; for me it was especially joyful to hear, for
instance, the stories of one of the most honored clerics of the
diocese, the renowned Archpriest George Larin, who shocked me with his
child-like concern, tenderness, and even fervor in discussing
seemingly abstract issues. He worries so for people’s souls that,
speaking of social sins, of things that stain our life, in Russia as
well as in America, be it abortions or the erosion of morality, his
face reddened as a child’s would and, looking at us relatively young
priests, attempted to imbue us with his pastoral zeal, but especially
his co-suffering with modern man. I won’t lie, this memory stuck
with me. The second thing I would like to say is what I mentioned
earlier, the abbreviated distance between the hierarchs and the
pastors. Of course, there is logic in this, because the Russian
Diaspora is an archipelago of salvation amidst a new planet and world
far removed from Christian morality. Naturally, the result is a desire
to rally one to another. Russia is great and unbounded, and sometimes
it seems to us that every church is filled with thousands of people.
They gather for the most meaningful events in the Russian Diaspora,
but believe this: when I was invited at lunch to sit between
Metropolitan Hilarion and the two vicar bishops and we talked as if
among equals, I felt unaccustomed, while pastors of the Russian
Diaspora approached Their Graces with their varying complex issues; I
would very much like for this warmth of intercommunication to be
reflected on the flock in Russia, not only on the pastors but also on
the pastured. And now in Russia, where more and more relatively young
Patriarchal vicar bishops are appearing, at least in the capital, we
hope that the Soviet epoch will take with it into oblivion this
disconnect between the archpastors and pastors, and we, following the
example of the Russian Diaspora, will have an opportunity for
frequent, informal and therefore truly trusting and inspirational
intercourse with our father bishops.
-
Father Artemy, how specifically do pastoral conferences abroad differ
from pastoral conferences in Russia?
- There are, of
course, more points of similarity, but I especially appreciated and
was impressed by how well thought-out the 2-3 day conference was. And
I cannot omit the historic event that was our visit to one of the
first Orthodox monasteries in America, St. Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery, founded by His Holiness, Patriarch Tikhon. There we were
graciously welcomed by the abbot, Fr. Sergius (Bowyer), and conversed
with priests of the American Autocephalous Church. I was told that the
luncheon we had there was the first instance of such a brotherly,
lively, and direct intercourse between our Churches. In this sense, I
was a witness to the fact that the Russian Diaspora, the Russian
Church Abroad, is not only not in some forced isolation, but there is
in fact an on-going rallying of the Orthodox forces of the American
continent, and I think that our pastoral conference, of which I was an
unworthy participant, contributed its own weighty mite to this
movement. That is, this was truly an event of inter-Church magnitude,
with far-reaching effects beneficial to the future of Orthodoxy in
America.
-
From Mayfield, accompanied by Holy Cross Monastery resident Hieromonk
Alexander (Frizzell), you visited one of the biggest cathedrals of the
Eastern American Diocese, St. John the Baptist Cathedral in
Washington, DC, and spent some time in the capital of the United
States. What were your impressions of St. John the Baptist Cathedral
and of Washington in general?
- As far as the
city is concerned, it is no surprise that it is often referred to as
one of the greenest capital cities in the world – this is definitely
the case. I envied some of the denizens of Washington, who live in
small houses instead of the multi-apartment monstrosities that are
currently being thrown up in other cities. Investigating the
attractions of the American capital, aside from the White House, which
appears rather humble in size and is unpossessing of a garish
appearance, I was struck by the wealth of national museums where, I
would like to add, entry on weekends is free for all. How good it
would be for us in Russia to return to this good European tradition,
because acquainting the people with their nation’s riches and
treasures is the primary concern of the powers that be. I will not
hide the fact that, looking upon the departmental buildings of
Washington, I noticed the imperial image the city projects, and in my
mind I kept returning to Russia. We are currently accused of an
imperialist mindset, with the accusers attempting to deconstruct
Russia at the earliest opportunity, saying that the Russian people is
not a democratically inclined people, and maintaining all the time
that Russia is but a "federation," which must dissipate as
soon as possible into separate and disparate fiefdoms. No, brothers
– let us learn from the American states, of which each has its own
laws and traditions. Let us similarly develop an imperial mindset,
keeping in mind moreover that we are an Orthodox Christian
civilization, an Orthodox world, and as His Holiness, the Patriarch,
says, we are one: Great, Little, and White Russia, and does not the
fate of the world depend on the degree of our unity? This is why my
visit to Washington was of great use, though I will admit that the
deepest, warmest mark of the trip to the capital was made by the
church.
I consider that,
more than everything else, the Church of St. John the Baptist entered
my heart; it is the child of worthy pastors, the successor to whom is
Archpriest Victor Potapov. We know him, remember and love him from his
enlightening broadcasts on "Voice of America" dedicated to
Orthodoxy, but I myself have been acquainted with him for several
decades now, although here in Russian America is the first time I have
enjoyed brotherly intercourse with him. And, you know, you barely
enter this church, and it warms your heart – thanks to what? Perhaps
to the wonderful iconography on the walls, done in the ancient school,
which even in Russia not every church possesses; perhaps it is the
abundance of holy relics, which create the indescribable atmosphere of
an Orthodox temple; but I think that that especial love with which the
rector, piece by piece, builds his parish. I won’t go into great
detail about what I saw in the altar, although only in the Kremlin
Armoury can you find such a wealth of ancient chalices and crosses,
gathered here and perhaps passed on to Father by generations of
long-reposed priests. They say that in the whole region, the whole
diocese, Fr. Victor Potapov’s choir and its antiphonal singing is
renowned. Even the multitude of parishioners necessitates the serving
of two Divine Liturgies on Sundays, an earlier one in English and a
later one in Slavonic, which of course speaks to the qualities of this
man not only as a museum collector, but as a collector and fisher of
men’s souls. Of course, it is desirable that a real Russian cultural
center might be formed in Washington; their property is not very
large, but Father shared with me his dream; a large property is for
sale belonging to a Greek church, and awaits benefactors willing to
buy it. Of course, the capital, Washington, is worthy of the creation
of such a multipurpose, multifaceted
Russian Diasporan center.
-
Father Artemy, when you were in Washington, I believe you also had the
opportunity to meet with the Head Scoutmaster of St. George
Pathfinders of America, Alexey T. Zacharin. How would you evaluate the
role of youth organizations abroad, namely St. George Pathfinders?
- Over the course
of two days I enjoyed the hospitality of the servant of God Alexey,
who combines in himself the warmth of Orthodox piety and a military
bearing and, knowing very well how many generations of Russian youth
abroad, having attended the summer camps and joined the scouting
organizations, both developed valiant prowess and fortified themselves
in their loyalty to bygone ages, strengthening themselves in the
faith, of course I consider wonderful the desire to restore the
activities of these organizations on Russian soil, as well. All the
more so, since it is clear to every pedagogue in Russia, I among them,
that to rob the youth of an opportunity to unite and instead subject
them to the influence of the street is ruinous. Today we are truly in
need of these organizations, which would come and replace the atheist
organizations of the past, the infamous Pioneers and Komsomol, in at
least imparting upon our youth some unity and presenting them with an
ideology. In this sense Russian scouts, vityazi
("knights"), and so forth, are united beneath the sign of
the Three-Bar Cross. And of course it would be beneficial for this
movement to grow in Russia; with that let us learn the lesson that
these organizations have and foster a close-knit relationship with the
Church. After all, the Protectress of the Russian Diaspora, the Kursk
Root Icon, was, so to speak, a witness to the oath taken by the
leaders of the scouting organization in their struggle to unify the
youth and inspire it with an ideal. We have also drawn quite enough
lessons from alienating ourselves from the Mother Church to hope today
of uniting our youth outside of a living dialogue with Christ the
Savior and His grace, outside of the living mysteries of the Church.
God grant that these beneficial forces that are being taken up both
abroad and in Russia may truly bring forth good fruit, with the
blessing of our holy hierarchy. Meanwhile, may the youth spend their
time off, their summer vacations, not only communing with the beauty
of nature and living a healthy lifestyle outdoors, but drawing their
unity from the noble work of restoring churches and monasteries,
which, as it turns out, is the driving force behind the scouting
organization. Mr. Zacharin showed me pictures of the monastery on the
island of Konevets, where under his guidance Russian youth now travel,
combining both pleasure and wholesome activity in their prayerful and
laborious work.
-
Father, as I’m sure you are aware after your visit, the Eastern
American Diocese is one of the largest diocese in the Church Abroad.
And it is interesting how the Diocese itself is laid out. That is, all
of the states which make up the Eastern American Diocese are quite
different one from another. For instance, the North varies vastly from
the South in lifestyle. And so, having visited Jordanville in the
North, from Washington you went to the south of our Diocese, and there
you were able to visit a real American (in the fullest sense of the
word) village, Middlebrook, where most of the parishioners are
converts, having left the Protestant faith, and the majority, if not
all, speak only English. How would you evaluate the role of these
converts, how were you greeted in this parish, and what were your
impressions of it?
- This was, in a
sense, a separate milestone of my two-week odyssey, my wanderings
about America, which we who live in Russia did not know, do not know,
and cannot know. The only thing we know is the book Tom
Sawyer, and the atmosphere of the little American towns where
Huckleberry Finn played his pranks, where the amazing adventures of
mischievous American boys took place; there you will find both
puritanical morals and a kind of geniality and openness. And so, I was
truly given an opportunity to visit the American interior, and we
conversed in English with these notorious "converts," though
I must say that their eyes, hearts, and smiles spoke of the fact that
God’s Spirit breathes wherever It wishes. And it was a pleasant
revelation for me, because in Moscow I have heard murmurs of late to
the effect that the Russian Church Abroad is not particularly open to
newcomers, doesn’t particularly strive to do missionary work amongst
the native population of America, zealously and vigilantly defending
its national identity. In the meantime, anyone familiar with Christian
culture can see where this vigilant guardianship of the Armenian or
Coptic ethnos carries with it some dangerous tendencies. I was
relieved to see weighty proof that the modern Russian Diaspora, as
befits the bearers of the Christian Gospel, not only sees no sense in
such isolation, but to the contrary, as a grapevine, attempts to
expand its reach. I am sure that despite all of the expected
complications, – after all, it is not at all easy to adapt to the
fullness of the Orthodox worldview having spent 15 years in the
captivity of Quakers, Huguenots, Methodists, or some kind of alleged
Jehovah’s "Witnesses;" despite all the difficulties, I
think that the acquisition by the Russian Church of new members from
among natural born Americans is a joyous occurrence with a great deal
of potential for the future; we can feel the new wine being poured
into old wineskins, we can feel the human soul being renewed in our
native Orthodoxy, and for me as an educator and teacher of Russian
language and literature and as one having a command of the English
language, it was especially interesting to observe this
"bilingual situation" – the coexistence of English and
Slavonic, forming an organic alloy, especially during the divine
services, where without wounding one another these languages enter the
tapestry of the service and truly the troparia, sticheras, and
litanies take turns, in so doing distributing love. Natural born
Americans feel themselves not to be outsiders; they feel as though
they have entered their own church,that everything here is open for
them, and they can absorb everything into their minds and reasoning by
way of English-language hymns. On the other hand, we do not feel that
modernism reigns here, that here roots are artificially torn up, that
the soil has been dispersed here. Instead we taste the sweet fruit of
our native Russian Orthodoxy. And I wish that such care for Church
Slavonic to modern Russian speech could be manifested by us in Russia,
because, I admit, as a champion of Russian philology, I am grieved to
hear that some of our priests, who don’t know English, feel Church
Slavonic to be a burden, and consider modifying to their always
unfortunate fashion the poetic ligature of our Church Slavonic
liturgical language, which makes them foreigners in Russia, as well as
non-Russian people, when they come to America and find a respectful
attitude toward Russian and Church culture in natural born Americans.
-
There has been a definite rebirth in the south of our Diocese over the
course of the last ten years: new churches are being opened, and
hundreds of people are converting to Orthodoxy. And for the spiritual
nourishment of these new parishes, Holy Cross then-Hermitage was
opened several years ago. This hermitage was founded by monks – all
American converts to Orthodoxy, having nothing in common with Russian
culture, other than their faith. Over a very short period of time, a
self-sufficient monastery has risen up, one of the largest monasteries
in our Diocese. Over the last year it has served as the permanent
residence of our diocesan vicar bishop, His Grace George, Bishop of
Mayfield. You had an opportunity to visit this monastery and
participate in the blessing of a new cross, which was placed on the
location of the monastery’s future cathedral. Tell us, Father, what
were your impressions of this monastery?
- Of course, I am
not an unbiased witness, because the very beauty of this natural oasis
cannot fail to inspire even the most accidental tourist who stumbles
upon it. What then can you say for an Orthodox pilgrim? We Muscovites
miss untouched nature, clean land, an open sky, the twinkling of stars
in the night sky. Even in the best preserved corners of the Moscow
countryside, we would never see wild deer that come out to meet you,
attentively watching and looking at you, never expecting from you any
trickery or threat. And, of course, the opportunity to carry on a
conversation with a raccoon or watch eagles circle above your head is
already a revelation. An even bigger revelation is the spiritual
atmosphere of the Monastery of the Holy Cross… I am not completely
in agreement with you regarding the monks, these natural born
Americans, that they know nothing of Russian culture; they know no
less than our own. The thing is that the great saints of the Russian
land are near and dear to them, beloved spiritual teachers of
monasticism: St. Sergius, St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. John of Kronstadt
– this is Holy Russia,
which has taken our American brothers into her fold. Listening in on
the quiet, moving singing of the monastery choir, I regretted the fact
that my choir conductor and my choristers could not hear firsthand how
to sing the hymns of Great Lent so spiritually, without any pressure
or counting on some external effect. Of course, like priest, like
flock, and while by the rules of asceticism I cannot praise the
thriving Bishop George, a natural born American, nevertheless all you
have to do it look at his comely grey hair, or especially if you see
the spark in his kind eyes, his smile, and you immediately feel
yourself not in unfamiliar Virginia, but in your own home, so does the
fatherly warmth of Vladyka’s intercourse with you both rehabilitate
and acclimate, transforming you from a guest into a native of the
monastery. I was honored, over the course of two hours, to carry on a
conversation with the brethren of and pilgrims to the monastery on
prayer, on the prayerful life of a Christian. I cannot vouch for the
quality of my English, but the greatly pious silence that accompanied
my monologue, and then the questions relating to the very substance of
the prayerful life of a Christian, bore witness to the fact that our
conversation was realized, and was aided in so doing by the grace of
God.
-
Father, what future do you foresee for this monastery, which is of
great importance to the diocese?
- I think that this
monastery is going to make its own future, and judging by the fact
that it has grown from nothing into a well-organized monastery, and
judging by the cross which we blessed in hopes that the Lord God will
send the means and will help erect a church large enough for all of
the residents of and pilgrims to the monastery to fit inside
comfortably. I would like to conclude my impressions of this quiet
monastery with the joyous, optimistic words of Alexander Sergeevich
Pushkin: "I greet you, young and unknown tribe!"
-
Father, the Church Abroad, especially here in America, has a very
important role in that it gives spiritual nourishment to our
compatriots living outside the borders of the homeland. The time of
the Communist yoke very negatively affected the spirit of the Russian
person: many people have not been "churched," do not know
our Church rites and customs. And so the Church Abroad tries to gather
all of these sheep into one herd. What practical advice can you give
our pastors regarding newcomers from Russia?
- First, as a
priest I know that God reveals Himself to many of them during their
resettlement, in a foreign land. For some reason it was the case that,
back in their own house, so to speak, they avoided going to church.
But as they find themselves in faraway land, they feel an irresistible
urge and step over the threshold of the church, perhaps seeking
Russian speech, or desiring to enter into conversation with their
fellows in fortune or in misfortune. It is in that manner that the
Lord God, by His grace, enters into their souls. I would like, first
and foremost, to thank the priests of the Church Abroad for the
patience and lenience with which they open their fatherly embrace to
our compatriots, not asking them right away what their convictions
are, but accepting the poor in faith, without any glossing over.
Second, you noted yourself the complicated psychology of modern man;
the personalities of such émigrés are complicated things, comprised
of many ingredients. And so it falls to these priests, these "knowers
of souls," to combine affability with caution, an ability to
preserve a certain distance, while at the same time skillfully
attracting the soul with a smile, with a kind word, which even a
domesticated animal requires. How much more so, then, do those people
need it, who for a time or for all time have lost their living
connection to the land of their birth?
What else can I
say? I think that many of our priests, born and raised in America,
should not shy away from sharing with newcomer parishioners from
Russia in that culture that is just now being reborn. I do not mean
Orthodox culture or Russian culture generally; I mean a culture of
personal behavior, what the French call le
bon ton, that is, well-mannered behavior. Unfortunately,
post-Soviet youth were raised in a very difficult time, when the
victories of socialism were lost and the new capitalist era could
still give them nothing but the aggressive influence of the street and
"mass media" with its rotting effects on the soul. Here in
America, having been in the homes of "hereditary" priests,
many of whom take pride in their blood relation to great names and
dynasties, in the clergy, in the nobility; being in these homes, I
noticed for myself the special warmth of the hearth, the special
culture of upbringing in the home, the very Russian treatment of
guests, selfless, hospitable, taking into account neither time nor
cost; in a word, everything we call the Russian spirit. And it is not
lost on us that they share this spirit with us, the denizens of
post-Soviet Russia, today, because we do not remain indifferent to
these currents of love, recalling the memory of our grandfathers and
grandmothers, who carried the same spirit, and in so doing we complete
each other’s mutual insufficiencies, combining our hearts and souls,
thereby creating one Russian world (on which many peoples and tribes
and nations today rely) amongst ourselves, that we may glorify our
God, who entrusted to us the precious deposit of Holy Orthodoxy.
-
After May 17, 2007, when the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion
took place, a new era began for the Russian Church Abroad. And now,
almost three years hence, some both in the Diaspora and in Russia
think that a so-called Diasporan Russia does not exist, that Diasporan
Russia is but a mere idea. Some say that if you want to feel Diasporan
Russia, you must dig somewhere in the archives of Holy Trinity
Monastery, as if this is all in the past. And some think that the
Church Abroad is unnecessary, because now that we have all united, we
are one church. What do you think – did you experience the feeling
of a genuine Diasporan Russia during your visits, and how would you
evaluate the role of the Church Abroad in the future?
- I think that this
is the voice either of the envious, or of ill-wishers, or of those
people who for one reason or another could not worthily evaluate the
momentous events that took place, the reunification of the Russian
Church Abroad with the Moscow Patriarchate, and for this reason,
talking nonsense due to lack of any abundance of graciousness or
nobility, wind up on the wayside of Church history. The thing is that,
for me, as a native Muscovite, as a philologist, that is, a person
well-acquainted with Russian culture, the contribution of the Russian
Diaspora to our lives, to the life of Russia today, is perfectly clear
to me. And I have in mind not only church relics or the priceless
artifacts in archives or museums, but the continuity of generations
from the last century to the present. Conversing here over the course
of two weeks with the youth, brought up under the wings of the Russian
Diaspora, I see that these young men and women are truly the children
of their fathers, and they, taking up the baton of Russian Orthodoxy,
hold it as a candle, not unwillingly, not forced, but like the wise
virgins of the Gospel parable, awaiting the arrival of their
Bridegroom. We already spoke about how the bases of Russian life in
Russia are being undermined and eroded. You will not meet a person who
can express himself in literary, scholarly Russian. Today our youth in
Russia, excuse me, have difficulty understanding Pushkin! He appears
unreadable to the Vandals and Neanderthals of the 21st Century. As for
what concerns the thoughts of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin on
patriotic history, if you recall what our poet wrote: there is no
history he would rather have. And his famous "Poltava," his
many poems, truly bear witness to the greatness of the Russian spirit,
fostered by Orthodoxy, not a listless spirit, not a droopy or
sorrowful spirit, but one filled with a kind of internal, triumphant
power. The principal service rendered by the Russian Diaspora and the
Russian Church Abroad lies in the fact that America, like Europe
before it, became acquainted with the Russian Church, and entered into
it, in the form of the best of its sons. And to say today that
Metropolitan Laurus completed his task and that he can rest, that
today the Russian Church Abroad is departing into oblivion, – this
is, I think, an rather unfortunate line of thought, which of course we
could understand coming from the mouths of Dzerzhinsky or Soros, but
not those who have our blood running in their veins, the blood of
Fyodor Dostoevsky, General Mikhail Kutuzov, or the Righteous St. John
of Kronstadt. And so for me the following thought is especially dear:
certainly we are different, we are not very similar in likeness one to
another, but we have shared roots, and for this reason the Lord has
brought us together, to realize the mystical distribution of love. As
they say, let us rejoice in what we have. Let Russia today give new
momentum to the Russian Diaspora. As Metropolitan Laurus of blessed
repose correctly noted, we grieve at the schisms and the departure
from the Church of the Monastery in Lesna, or of other individual
parishes; at the same time, however, we now have Valaam and the
Solovetsky Islands, Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra and Pochaev, and it
barely bears mentioning what the possibility of visiting Diveevo and
serving in that appanage of the Mother of God means for the Russian
Diaspora, or the great meaning for us, the inhabitants of Russia, the
great Protectress of the Russian Diaspora, the Kursk Root Icon of the
Mother of God; perhaps the video documentary of Her visit expresses it
better than any words, stirring and bringing to tears even the
hardiest of men. Then you can see with your own eyes the marvelous
miracle of our national unity. As Patriarch Alexey of blessed repose
said, and I believe these words to be prophetic: by reuniting the two
pieces of the Russian church we end the Russian Civil War, the
senseless division into "White" and "Red." The
so-called "Reds" have long ago been whitened by sufferings
in Christ, and the so-called "Whites" have been cleansed by
the blood of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I think today our
strength is in our unity, and in our great fortune we will show the
other great nations, including the far-flung United States of America,
that in our peaceful existence and in the high-flying banner of
Orthodoxy is the future not only of Russia, but the seeds of peace not
only in Europe, but through the entire world.
-
What advice would you give to the next generation of the Russian
Church Abroad, namely the youth about which you so lovingly spoke
earlier? What would you say to our future pastors, matushkas, and
monastics of the Church Abroad?
- I will say what I
traditional say to the youth of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tambov, and
Omsk: there is no need to be embarrassed by the gifts of innocence and
purity. But it is proper to deservingly gauge those natural virtues
that we receive from the Lord God, from nature, from birth, and
protect, defend, the purity of our spiritual and physical strengths,
in defiance of death and to the ruin of the winds of the enemy. In
order for the bud of the human soul to blossom, one must successfully
pass through the zone of turbulence, the transitional age and the
formation of a personality, that accompanies youth. I would like first
and foremost to wish our Russian-American Orthodox youth this
spiritual fortitude, the ability to overcome, conquer, and if possible
completely avoid the temptations of the subculture, avoid falling into
the virtual abyss of the "Underground," instead taking firm
steps across the hospitable American land, which for us is expressed
in the warm and wonderful conjunction "Russian America."
-
Father, with all our heart we thank His Holiness, the Patriarch, for
his blessing for this trip. We know that on Great Tuesday His Holiness
will visit you in your parish. We ask on behalf of the whole of the
Eastern American diocese that you make not one, but three full
prostrations before His Holiness, thanking him for this opportunity.
And we also thank you, dear Father, for your kind words, for your
heart, for your eyes, and for your talks with the clergy of our
diocese. With all our heart, thank you, Fr. Artemy.
- And I solemnly
swear (not for nothing was I in the pioneers as a youth, where we had
to give our solemn oath) to make three prostrations in the presence of
His Holiness, the Patriarch. I ask only that he not consider this to
be some foolishness for Christ, insisting that I be sent to some
far-off woodland parish for expressing these feelings. But I will
absolutely make these three venerations from Orthodox Russian America,
and I believe that His Holiness will, so to speak, hear the beating of
your hearts and the pulse of the pious blood of his parishioners. For
now it is no accident that in the furthermost parishes of Alaska,
Oklahoma, and Florida, during the divine services alongside the name
of Metropolitan Hilarion, even before his name, the name of His
Holiness Kyrill, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is proclaimed.
Amen!
Media Office of the Eastern American
Diocese
