March 12, 2014
Howell, NJ: Metropolitan
Hilarion sends Special Appeal to Parishioners of St. Alexander
Nevsky Cathedral
On
November
5, 2013, during a regular session of the Diocesan Council, His
Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, gave his blessing for the
organization of a new Diocesan Center at
St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, NJ. As reported
earlier in a press release on the Council’s
February 10, 2014 meeting, the official opening of the Diocesan
Center will be held on September 12, 2014, at which point the
Cathedral will become the see of the ruling bishop of the Eastern
American Diocese.
On February 25, 2014, His Eminence travelled to Howell to meet with
the current rector and clergy of St. Alexander’s – Protopresbyter
Valery Lukianov, Priest Seraphim Chemodakov, and Protodeacon
Nicholas Lukianov. Also participating in the meeting on behalf of
the Diocesan Council were Diocesan Secretary Archpriest Serge
Lukianov, Archpriest Victor Potapov, Hieromonk Alexander (Frizzell),
and Reader Peter Lukianov. On behalf of St. George’s Church in
Howell ‒ the current Diocesan Center, which will be merged with St.
Alexander’s ‒ Archpriest Boris Slootsky and Protodeacon Leonid
Roschko also participated in the meeting.
Metropolitan Hilarion called the meeting in order to inform the
parish clergy of the developments discussed by the Diocesan Council
in relation to the new Diocesan Center. The First Hierarch also
prepared a special appeal to the parishioners of St. Alexander’s,
which was read aloud at the start of the meeting, was mailed to all
parishioners after the Triumph of Orthodoxy, and can be read below.
His Eminence expressed his sincere gratitude to Fr. Valery for his
over 40 years of dedicated service to the parish and asked for his
continued guidance and support throughout the transition process. In
turn, Fr. Valery shared his thoughts about the spiritual
significance of a new Diocesan Center being organized in the first
parish founded by Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko) in America, which
was also the site of Archbishop Nikon (Rklitsky’s) episcopal
consecration. Fr. Valery expressed his joy at the Metropolitan’s
decision for a new center and thanked him for accepting his request
for retirement.
Address of the His Eminence HILARION
Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York
First Hierarch of the
Russian Church Abroad
to
the Parishioners of Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, NJ
Dearly beloved in the Lord Reverend Fathers, brothers and sisters,
We greet you with the same salutation with which our Savior greeted
the Holy Apostles after His Resurrection: "Peace be unto you" (John
20:19). In 1948, during the Great Consecration of the original Saint
Alexander Nevsky Church (currently the Church Tikhvin Icon of the
Mother of God), the ever-memorable Archbishop Nikon (Rklitsky) was
consecrated to the episcopacy on the same day. We would like to echo
the words that he spoke to your fathers and grandfathers, the
parishioners of your parish: "My heart rejoices seeing you, O
radiant children of the Church, parishioners of the renowned
Lakewood parish! It has always been a joy to pray in your wonderful
church…"
During the November 5th, 2013 session of the Diocesan Council,
Council members discussed the need to organize a new administrative
center with a large church that would serve as a diocesan center.
With our blessing, the Council resolved to organize the new Diocesan
Center at Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Based on your longtime
rector Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov’s request for retirement, this
decision came after much prayerful deliberation and consideration of
all factors associated with such a monumental and historic move. On
the same day, we informed Fr. Valery of this decision and asked for
his assistance in the transition process, to which he graciously
agreed.
Since there are no set regulations by which a normal parish is
converted into a diocesan center, we tasked the Council with
preparing an administrative plan, according to which the new center
will be organized and operated.
Understanding the many challenges associated with this process,
Council members met on February 10th, 2014 and carefully considered
several proposals to restructure the diocesan administration and
create a new set of parish by-laws specific to your parish in its
designation as the Diocesan Center. Because of the critical nature
of this process, the new parish by-laws will be ratified at the next
session of the Diocesan Council, after all of its members have had
the opportunity to pray and carefully consider them. The final
decision rests with us in our capacity as the ruling diocesan
bishop. Once the by-laws have been finalized, we will personally
present and explain them to you at an extraordinary meeting of the
parish, to be held after Pascha.
In the meantime, we would like to explain several decisions that
have already been made with regards to the Saint Alexander Nevsky
Parish and its new role as the administrative center of the Diocese:
1)
Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov’s request for retirement has been
granted and will go into effect on September 12th, 2014.
In appreciation of their many years of service, Fr. Valery and
Matushka Irene Lukianov will be provided with fully subsidized
parish housing and medical insurance for the remainder of their
lives. Fr. Valery will continue to serve and hear confessions in the
parish, where he shall have the title of Pastor Emeritus.
2)
We, in our capacity as Ruling Bishop of the Eastern American
Diocese, will serve as the rector, and will be the supreme executive
and spiritual authority in all matters relating to the
administration and day-to-day life of the Diocesan Center and St.
Alexander Nevsky Parish.
3)
Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is given the special designation of
"Diocesan Cathedral" – it will become the See of the diocesan Ruling
Bishop. All liturgical practice shall conform to standard hierarchal
formulae.
4)
Archpriest Serge Lukianov will be assigned Dean of the Cathedral to
assist in operating the parish.
5)
Saint George’s Church in Howell, NJ will be transferred under the
auspices of the Diocesan Center and all parish priests, deacons,
subdeacons, and readers will be assigned to St. Alexander Nevsky
Cathedral.
6)
Parish life will continue to function normally with regards to the
parish school, sisterhood, Saint Alexander’s Foundation, and all
other normal activities.
7)
Membership in the parish shall continue as before and parishioners
retain the right to participate in Annual General Meetings of the
parish, where they have the right to elect members of the parish
council.
8)
A transition team has been organized under the direction of diocesan
secretary Archpriest Serge Lukianov and tasked with researching all
questions associated with the logistics of organizing the new
Diocesan Center. The transition team has been authorized to meet
with parish clergy, council, and parishioners, as well as to have
full access to parish property and documents. Their findings and
recommendations will be presented to us during upcoming sessions of
the Diocesan Council. Members of your parish council and
administration will be invited to participate in the working
sessions of the transition team to assure that everyone’s voice is
heard in the process.
Understanding that you may still have unanswered questions or
concerns, we ask for your patience in this most crucial and
sensitive time for your parish and our entire Diocese. However, it
is necessary to address and put to rest several false notions that
have arisen throughout this process. As the world around us descends
further into chaos and moves away from the salvific teachings of the
Holy Church, some may be tempted to question the motives behind the
organization of the new Diocesan Center in Lakewood.
At every meeting of the Diocesan Council, we underscored the
unacceptable and completely intolerable nature of any organization
or administration of the Church other than that established by the
Holy Apostles, their disciples the Bishops, and the Holy Fathers of
the Ecumenical and Local Councils. At the root of Church
organization and administration must lie Apostolic Canon 34, which
proclaims, "The bishops of every nation must acknowledge him who is
first among them and account him as their head, and do nothing of
consequence without his consent…"
In his letter to the Smyrnæans, Chapter VIII, the Holy Hieromartyr
Ignatius the God-Bearer writes, "Let no man do anything connected
with the Church without the bishop."
The Apostolic Men and the Holy Fathers clearly teach that without
the Bishop, there is no Church.
This cannot be said to mean that the laity are a stratum in the
Church completely devoid of rights, as some opponents of the
canonical order of church life and proponents of an unnatural
"ecclesiastical democracy" malevolently misrepresent. Faithful
laymen, if they are truly faithful and place at the head of the
corner of their lives the salvation of their souls unto life
eternal, are obliged in complete obedience to their bishops and
pastors, but only insofar as those same pastors preserve inviolate
their own obedience to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic
Church.
These are the principles on which our entire Diocese has been built,
as has been evidenced in the writings and teachings of all of the
holy hierarchs and pastors who have come before us. The founder of
our Diocese and your parish, Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko), was a
man of steadfast prayer who believed that the faithful of the
Russian Church Abroad living in America had a great responsibility
to preserve the Holy Church from all defilement and disorder. We
appeal to you through the words that he spoke at the Sixth Diocesan
Assembly in 1948, words that apply to us today, perhaps more than
ever: "In a difficult time, when all are called to account for their
faith, the Lord in His Providence has placed each of us on duty, to
keep guard over the Church. All the more so are faithfulness and
vigilance required of us. In the heart of every one of us, these
cautionary words must sound the warning bell: ‘Watch and pray, that
ye enter not into temptation’ (Matthew 26:41)."
We firmly believe that, 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 here that will serve not only the administrative needs of
our Diocese, but most importantly –
the
spiritual needs of our
faithful. 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).
God willing, over the next several years, we plan to host many
spiritual events in Lakewood, such as pastoral, youth, and choir
conferences. We hope to focus more on education so that we may
better prepare the future generation of our Diocese. Because of
this, many clergy and faithful will travel to your parish in search
of consolation, spiritual direction, and the strengthening of their
spirit. It will be up to you to open your hearts to them in the same
way that you have opened them up to us on the occasion of our many
visits to Lakewood.
We recall the words of your rector, Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov,
who on several occasions noted that "in Lakewood reside the kindest
people in the world." This statement he spoke out of the depth of
his heart, which has always been filled with endless love for his
flock. We understand the truth of his words when we hear them echoed
by the second rector of your parish, Protopresbyter Vasiliy
Boschanovsky, who had this to say about love: "Whosever loves God
cannot but love his neighbor as one who bears the image and likeness
of God, as an object of God’s particular love, and for whom Christ
the Savior gave His life." Only by abiding in constant love for our
Savior and each other, will we be able to accomplish the great task
that is set before us today.
Your beloved rector Fr. Valery has dedicated his entire life in
service to your parish and to you – the flock which God has
entrusted to him. His accomplishments as an engineer and builder are
clearly evident to you, especially when you pray under the arches of
the magnificent Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which you built
together. But beautiful churches and parish buildings are not his
greatest achievement. Fr. Valery’s legacy is his connection to the
great hierarchs, venerable monastics, holy priests, and the
righteous people of God who have fortified our Church Abroad
throughout Her long-suffering and difficult history. He received the
grace of the Holy Spirit through ordination at the hands of our
father among the saints, Archbishop John of Shanghai & San
Francisco, and Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky), both of whose
relics now lay incorrupt. He received his pastoral knowledge from
some of the greatest pillars that the Russian Church had ever
cultivated, namely Archbishop Averky (Taushev), Archbishop Nikon
(Rklitsky), Archimandrite Constantine (Zaitsev), and many others.
This wealth of spiritual knowledge and wisdom has helped him to
strengthen and grow the parish throughout the decades. We have no
desire or intention to disrupt the current momentum of parish life,
but seek only to build upon Fr. Valery’s spiritual accomplishments.
As we face the temptations and challenges that the future will
bring, we rely on Fr. Valery and other senior clerics of our Diocese
to guide us along the path that was laid out by the founding
hierarchs of the Russian Church Abroad. We would under no
circumstances ever allow the new administration to disregard Fr.
Valery’s many years of service and the fruits of his labors, which
we see in your person as the parishioners and stewards of the
parish.
We are counting on your collective support to help us build a
spiritual and administrative center that will reflect the vibrant
and multifaceted nature of our Eastern American Diocese, yet firmly
grounded in the fundamental teachings and traditions of our Church
Abroad. Most importantly, we ask that you strengthen and augment
your prayers, especially in the upcoming holy days of Great Lent, so
that we may keep in mind the one thing that is needful – attaining
eternal salvation through Christ. Let us not rely on ourselves, but
constantly run to our Savior with a penitent heart and ask Him to be
our guide throughout this process. Let us remember the words that
were spoken by the third rector of your parish, Abbot Anthony
(Medvedev; subsequently Archbishop of San Francisco) who said, "When
we so much as remember our Heavenly Father, so much as lean in His
direction, He opens His Fatherly embrace and gives us to commune of
His Only-Begotten Son!"
I call down upon you all, my dear ones, God’s every blessing!
+HILARION
Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York
First Hierarch of the Russian
Church Abroad
Media Office of the Eastern
American Diocese
