ON THE PURITY OF HOLY ORTHODOXY
In your patience possess ye your souls.
Lk 21, 19
‘They will seek to devour you’.
Archpriest Alexander Nelidov, shortly before his repose
The
forthcoming celebration of unity in the Russian Orthodox Church will,
please God, be a celebration with Pan-Orthodox consequences. For it will
have been achieved against the lobbying and politicking of groups who
have constantly attempted to sabotage the process of unity. It will be
a celebration of the overcoming of injustices that affected all the Local
Orthodox Churches in the twentieth century. Those injustices were caused
by the spiritual impurity of small minorities against large majorities.
They included:
Injustices against the Russian Orthodox faithful of the Patriarchal Church,
caused either by those who had infiltrated the Church from outside or
by certain representatives of the Church who suffered from human weaknesses.
Injustices against the Russian Orthodox faithful of the Patriarchal Church, caused by from modernist ideologues, whether inside or outside Russia, who in their souls and minds had lapsed from Orthodoxy and lost their Faith.
Injustices against the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, who were slandered and persecuted by others for their faithfulness to the Orthodox Tradition. For decades these refused to concelebrate with us, attempting to isolate us at the instigation of the Soviet Secret Services.
Injustices against the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, committed by others who attempted to introduce a political, pharisaic and sectarian mentality into the Church from the Cold War world outside, even putting the great St John of Shanghai on trial.
Let us keep on the Cross, veering neither to left nor right, for the place
of the Cross, the place of injustice, is also the place of spiritual purity,
the place of prayer for our enemies, and thus the place of the Resurrection.
Fr Andrew
19
January/1 February
St Macarius the Great
