October 13, 2012
Nyack, NY: A Message to the God-Loving Flock from the Participants of the Pastoral Conference

On Friday, October 12, upon completion of the work of the joint pastoral conference of clergy from the Eastern American Diocese and the Moscow Patriarchate, conference participants, led by the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, approved the text of a message to the God-loving flock of Orthodox Christians living in America, discussing the work of the conference and the future development of unity between the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church. The text of the greeting is available below.

Reverend Fathers, monastics, beloved in Christ brothers, sisters, and children,

The clergy of the Eastern American Diocese of ROCOR and the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, and their spouses, having gathered on October 11-13 for a joint pastoral conference under the aegis of the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, and chairmanship of the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russian, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, greet you with the words of the Savior: Peace be unto you! (John 20:19).

This year, when we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion, we lift up our prayers and thanksgiving to the Lord of Hosts for granting unity to the Russian Orthodox Church. We pray for the repose of the ever-memorable leaders of Christ’s Church in the Russian land and abroad, His Holiness, Patriarch Alexey II, and His Eminence, Metropolitan Laurus, thanks to whom we overcame the bitter divisions of the twentieth century.

We offer up thanks to our beloved Primate, His Holiness Kyrill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, who has called upon the hierarchs and clergy of the Russian Church to analyze the accomplishments of the past five years, and to determine the future course of the Russian Church, no matter where She may be.

A most significant event since the Reunification was the appearance of the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, which began to stream myrrh in the year of the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion, thus confirming the God-pleasing nature of our newly-found unity. Having heard a presentation from Archpriest Victor Potapov about this holy image, we call upon our faithful to strengthen their prayers to the Mother of God – the intercessor of all Christians. The Lord recalled the Montreal myrrh-streaming Iveron Icon, no doubt because of our sins and lack of appreciation and reverence for this miracle. Let us learn from the mistakes of the past and approach this holy image with contrite and repentant hearts, never allowing ourselves to grow accustomed to such divinely sent manifestations of God’s grace.

We heard a lecture from Archpriest Alexander Golubov about the rich history of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, with the aim of reconsidering the past and reclaiming the future. The Russian Church was the first to send missionaries to the New World, and we are called to continue this sacred work. In the words of Metropolitan Paul of Ryazan, who represented His Holiness at the meeting, "It is important for all of us to perform missionary work, bringing the Gospel to all people, because the secular life affects all of us."

In order to combat the secularism of this world, we must fortify ourselves spiritually. The lectures of Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg) and Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov were aimed at helping us become better pastors, so that we may first and foremost strengthen our parishes spiritually. We were called to increase love amongst ourselves and, in the words of our First Hierarch, the conference’s success will be determined by the degree of spiritual strength with which we return home, renewed in a sincere desire to increase Christian love.

A fundamental topic of the conference was the role of the Russian Church in the future of Orthodox America. As Christians, we are overjoyed to see the Orthodox bishops and faithful in America heeding the words of our Savior when He said, "May they all be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me," (John 17:21). We firmly express our support of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in North America and pray that the work of this Assembly will be God-pleasing.

Pointing to the many temptations that face our Holy Orthodox Church in the 21st century, Metropolitan Hilarion reminded us of the words of Apostle Paul – "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise" (Ephesians 5:15). We denounce modernism and secularism in the Church and call upon our faithful to heed the words of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky) – "Hold fast what you have." Many Orthodox in America are looking to the Russian Church for an example of steadfastness and loyalty to the traditions of Orthodoxy. We are committed to preserving that which has been handed down to us by our pious ancestors, and we call upon the faithful to increase their support of the Church, so that our mission will not be hindered.

Five years after the Reunification, one of our biggest challenges is the spiritual care of the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church in America. There are many people, desperately in search of a Church to call home, to whom we must reach out, and whose salvation must become our priority. As members of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, we have an obligation to care for the countless number of souls who have come to this country from the former Soviet republics. At the same time, we see thousands of Americans converting to the Faith after their experiences in our parishes and because of the love that they have acquired for traditional Orthodoxy.

Our work as pastors does not end simply with the conversion of catechumens to the Orthodox faith; that is just the beginning of a long journey to help them appreciate the fullness of Orthodoxy. "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." These words of Metropolitan Hilarion, spoken during this conference, we convey to you, our beloved faithful.

We are especially concerned for the youth of our Church, who are assaulted by the temptations and passions of this world. We are wholeheartedly committed to our young people and call upon them to unite around the Holy Orthodox Church, so that they may experience a genuine life in Christ. We have discussed the importance of expanding existing youth programs such as the Volunteers in Mission Program, the Diocesan Youth Choir, youth camps, youth pilgrimages, and more, and encourage our young people to take advantage of them.

We are committed to each other. As members of two branches of our One Local Russian Orthodox Church, we leave this conference with a renewed spirit and a sincere desire to strengthen the unity that we achieved five years ago. Faith and Christian morality lead us to spiritual salvation. Let us not succumb to the many temptations that surround us. In the face of freedom of choice, in a free land, blessed by those who have found refuge and a new life in it, let us show ourselves to be valiant defenders of the Faith of our fathers.

May the blessing of the Lord be upon you, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, Amen!

Participants of the 2012 Joint Pastoral Conference of the
Eastern American Diocese and Moscow Patriarchate

October 12, 2012
Nyack, NY

Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese