Monthly Archives: February 2014

A Time to Lose the Last Soviet Delusions

Introduction:

The CWN News Agency reports that the head of the ‘Ukrainian’ Uniats, Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk, has called on Western European countries and the USA to interfere in Ukrainian political life by supporting the rioters and terrorists on the Maidan Square in Kiev against the democratically elected government. The Greek Catholic prelate said that ‘the future of democracy in Europe, Eastern Europe and even Russia depends on this’. Naively failing to notice that the West had already started a new cold war against the lands of the former Russian Empire in 2000, he added that if ‘the USA and Europe abandon the ‘Ukraine’ or do not take pre-emptive action, humanity may find itself on the brink of a new cold war’.

Source: sedmitza.ru 11/02/14

Commentary:

The above statements come only a day after the US Vice-President Joe Biden met Ukrainian schismatic leaders, a Uniat and the Soviet-period married head, now 85 years old, of the tiny so-called ‘Kiev Patriarchate’. As an English proverb says, ‘It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good’. For the events in Kiev, heavily orchestrated from Warsaw, Brussels and Washington and timed to coincide with the Winter Olympics, make it crystal clear who the enemies of the Orthosphere are: Washington, closely followed by its poodles in colonial London, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, the Vatican, the Phanar and all other ecumenists, including the naïvely deluded who still exist in former Soviet Russia.

However, these events also make clear that the closest friends and patriots of the Orthosphere outside the Orthodox homelands are those not engaged in the heresy of ecumenism, among them us in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. As Metropolitan Hilarion has said of his ancestral homeland, called by its real name, Kievan Rus:

“As faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church, we cannot remain indifferent to the troubles plaguing Her cradle – the Mother of Russian Cities, Kiev. We call on all the faithful of the Russian Church Outside Russia around the world to pray for an end to all violence, that God might prevent all bloodshed and speedily restore brotherly love and understanding.”

“Again we pray Thee, O Almighty Lord, that Thou mightest grant peace to Kiev, the Mother of Russian cities which is shaken by civil strife, and the entire country of Kievan Rus’, and by the power of the grace of Thy Holy Spirit extinguish all enmity and violence therein; O Source of goodness and Abyss of love for mankind, swiftly hearken and have mercy.”

Why do both Capitalism and Communism Hate Christ?

Both Capitalism and Communism claim that they hold the keys to the Kingdom, that only they can build on earth, Capitalism through consumer abundance, Communism through social justice. But the Kingdom that both create ends in bankruptcy, depletion of resources and ecological catastrophe.

Both Capitalism and Communism claim that they have Power on earth, Capitalism through the myth of democratic elections of a dictatorship, Communism through undemocratic elections of a dictatorship. But the Power that both have ends in wars, concentration camps persecution and exploitation.

Both Capitalism and Communism claim that they have Glory on earth, Capitalism through the efficient production of goods and services, Communism through the spread of social order and social services. But the Glory that both have ends in human degeneration, decadence, self-indulgence, abortion and the inglory of suicide.

Why do both Capitalism and Communism hate Christ? Because they secretly know that ‘Thine’, and not theirs, ‘is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory’.

Oligarchs and Western Ambassadors

According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, once human biological and physiological needs, safety needs and love needs have been met, the next human needs are esteem needs and self-actualisation needs. These last two groups of needs basically mean money and power. The latter need is the need that in 1917 incredibly wealthy and decadent Russian aristocrats sought to fulfil by overthrowing the Lord’s Anointed and that in 2014 incredibly wealthy and decadent Russian oligarchs seek to fulfil by overthrowing democratic government. Moreover, their decadent and anti-people ambitions are fully backed by Western media moguls, politicians and ambassadors. Thus:

In 1612, during the Time of the Troubles, Russia was invaded by Poland and betrayed by boyars (aristocrats).

In 1801 Emperor Paul I was assassinated in a plot set up by the British ambassador and carried out by Russian aristocrats.

In 1917 Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown in a plot set up by the British ambassador and carried out by Russian aristocrats.

In 2014 Kiev is under siege by Western ambassadors, supported by Russian oligarchs.

Is there a pattern here?

Towards New Local Churches in the Diaspora

Introduction: God’s Will

There will never be any new Local Churches in the Diaspora, if it is not God’s will. What is manmade, therefore in some way essentially denying God and replacing Him with a human institution, crumbles and becomes a Church in name only, calling itself after some human-being or nationality, for example: Papism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, Wesleyanism etc. Man proposes, but God disposes. Therefore the questions that must be answered are what we can avoid from the past and how we can prepare for God’s will to be done amongst us in the future?

Anti-Missionary Principles

The development of new Local Churches in the Diaspora has been prevented in the past by nationalism and its squabbles – by anti-missionary principles. This can be seen particularly clearly in North America, where, until soon after the Russian Revolution, all Orthodox were in one Church. This Church was the Russian Church which contained autonomous ethnic dioceses and deaneries under a Russian-appointed Bishop. Why under the Russian Church? Because it was the first present there, the biggest, had the best infrastructure and the most multinational mentality. However, it is true that since 1917 this has by no means always been the case. Today’s Russian Church, suffering in both its parts from the consequences of the Western-planned and provoked 1917 Revolution, still, even 25 years after the collapse of the direct results of that Revolution, often has infrastructure and a multinational mentality which are severely compromised.

Deviations from the Past

There have been other anti-missionary principles at work in the past of the Diaspora. Firstly, there has been the problem of simony. Certain bishops of certain nationalities have been willing to ordain unworthy candidates for money – in 1991, for example, $20,000 was the going rate in one ancient Patriarchate to become a bishop. Secondly, there has been the problem of ego trips – front room Orthodoxy, garden folly Orthodox, the one man show, the big fish in the little pond – the individual who gets himself ordained by one means or another not in order to serve other Orthodox, but to serve himself. Thirdly, there has been the problem of convert ghetto Orthodoxy, in this country ex-Anglican ghettos, ‘Anglican vicar beard competition Orthodoxy’, often with as few as 5-10 individuals with a private club mentality or in inaccessible premises. None of these deviations from the past, examples of which are scattered throughout the Western world, have been of any help to genuine Orthodox missionary work and service to the Orthodox people.

Missionary Principles

Any new Local Church to be built in the Diaspora must be built on the fullness of the Tradition, on the maximum. Nothing can be built on compromises. New Local Churches are built on monastic life and holy life – examples are Sts Cyril and Methodius, St Herman of Alaska and St Nicholas of Tokyo. Any new Local Church in the Diaspora must therefore be built on the Orthodox (and not Papal/Protestant) calendar, on vigil services, in a word on the Tradition, and not on compromises. It must be clearly understood that there are not two traditions in the Orthodox Church – there is only the One Universal Orthodox Tradition. Anything else, with modernistic practices of doing away with confession before communion, the Orthodox calendar, the iconostasis, correct priestly dress, traditional liturgical language etc, is not at all part of the Tradition, of Orthodoxy, but merely part of decadence and compromise, of Halfodoxy.

Directions for the Future

To expand Church presence, we need to observe some basic Orthodox principles. Firstly, any new church must be based on the Gospel ‘where two or three are gathered together in My Name…’. In other words, there must be no ego trips and moreover at least one of these two or three must be able to sing prayerfully and form a choir – again in order to avoid ego-tripping. Premises used must be public access and located in a central city or town so that the church there can become a Regional or at least County Church centre. Premises must also be such that they can be converted for Orthodox use, so that an Orthodox atmosphere can be established in them. Little missions should not be set up from them for many, many years, otherwise this will merely disperses efforts and energies. One should be able to process around these premises, which should have facilities, toilets, and ideally a children’s room with baby changing, parking, a hall and a kitchen. These premises (owned or, if need be initially, rented) must be one’s own – they must not be shared with, for example, an Anglican church.

Conclusion: What is a Local Church?

An ethnic church is one that aims to gather together only one nationality and in a racist way has no time for those of other nationalities – a situation that is clearly against the spirit of the Gospels. An ideological church is one that aims to gather together only in the name of a narrow ideology, often personality cultish or sectarian, and not in the name of Christ – a situation that is clearly against the spirit of the Gospels. An authentic Local Church, however, is one that is made up of many local churches that gather together all local Orthodox, regardless of nationality and background, on the basis of the uncompromised Tradition, on the basis of Orthodoxy, not on the basis of Halfodoxy.