Bp Andrei of ROCANA-Australia on the Sorry ROCOR-MP Response to Current Events
(source) On the Statement of the ROCOR Synod
Recently, something new and unexpected has happened, which, of course, aroused the interest of many. Namely, the Synod of ROCOR (MP) published the “Statement by the Synod of Bishops on the renewal of 20th-century ideologies in Russia,” which contains criticism of the current Russian government. The ROCOR Synod dared to “raise up its voice,” protesting against the emerging in Russia “a return to the false, God-opposing ideology that prevailed in the last century.”
As examples of such a return, the Synod points to the restoration of monuments to Stalin and Dzerzhinsky in Moscow, as well as the recent de-rehabilitation of those condemned in the Stalin era. In conclusion, the Synod reminds us that the Church Abroad has always been “free of connections to any State… and fearlessly proclaimed the simple and pure Truth of Holy Orthodoxy.”
Indeed, the ROCOR was free before its unification with the MP, which is not only connected to the Russian state but is also totally controlled and subservient to state authorities. That is why this “Statement” by the ROCOR Synod came as such a surprise to everyone, that after the union with the MP, the clergy of the ROCOR immediately became silent and submissive and never openly criticised the Russian authorities. However, their present “Statement” is by no means a “fearless proclamation of a simple and pure Truth”, because it is inconsistent, incomplete and, obviously, timid.
In the restoration of monuments to Stalin and Dzerzhinsky, the Synod sees “a rising tendency to whitewash the crimes of the God-fighting regime of the twentieth century.” Undoubtedly, this is true. But, sadly, the Synod kept silent about the fact that the current Russian regime is a direct continuation of the same “God-fighting regime of the twentieth century”; that the criminal organisation created by Stalin and Dzerzhinsky is alive and well and is the backbone of the current Russian state; that this regime is essentially a mafia group that has seized power in Russia; that this criminal regime has been waging a bloody, destructive and at the same time completely aimless war against the Orthodox people of Ukraine for the fourth year; that hundreds of thousands of people, both Ukrainians and Russians, have died and continue to die because of this.
It would also be necessary to point out that the leadership of the MP not only openly supports this fratricidal war, but also sacralises it, forcing all priests to read a prayer in which this war is given a sacred character.
The Synod also in its “Statement” points to the outrageous facts of the cancellation of the rehabilitation of some persons unjustly convicted during the Stalin years and rehabilitated after Stalin’s death. It is good that the Synod “raised its voice” in defence of the innocent, who, after temporary rehabilitation, were again declared criminals. Undoubtedly, these facts point to the tightening of the regime in Russia. But after all, these people died a long time ago.
It would be far more important to raise their voices in defence of the thousands of innocent people who are now suffering in Russian prisons under torture conditions. Russian courts sentence to long prison terms for the slightest manifestation of disagreement with the policy of the authorities, for a private conversation, for a post on Facebook. The ROCOR Synod should also raise its voice in defence of the MP priests who refused to read the Patriarch’s sacrilegious prayer and were defrocked by the church court because of this, as violators of the canons.
The ROCOR Synod does not see the elephant in the room; it “strains the gnat and devours the camel” (Matthew 23:24); it protests against “the renewal of the ideologies” of the past, but is silent about the crimes of the current regime, which are being committed before everyone’s eyes.
The Church is the bearer of the Truth, because the Spirit of Truth abides in her. The Church is the “salt of the earth”. If the word of truth is not heard in the Church, it will not be heard anywhere. “But if the salt loses its savour, how will you make it salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men” (Matthew 5:13)
Bishop Andrei
Header: Signing of the Act of the Unification. 2007
