Russian Orthodox bid gets stern response

Christian Century, Nov 21, 2001

Moscow Patriarch Alexsy II has expressed a mixture of disappointment and understanding over the cool reception his call to unity was given by an assembly of emigre Russian bishops in New York. The bishops of the New York-based emigre Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia elected a new, moderate leader, but they responded sternly to the Moscow Patriarchate's call for unity.

At the same time, controversy surrounded the sudden departure of 91-year-old Metropolitan Vitaly, a staunchly anti-Moscow leader, from the church's New York headquarters to Mansonville, Quebec, according to the Associated Press. An alleged statement by Vitaly said he had not resigned voluntarily, but bishops ordered medical tests to determine the former leader's condition. On November 8 the bishops announced that Metropolitan Laurus was elected the new leader, AP reported.

At issue is the division between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), which broke away from the Moscow Patriarchate in the 1920s over the Moscow church's cooperation with the Soviet state. Although ROCOR, with approximately 300 parishes around the world, is much smaller than the ROC, each religious body views itself as the successor to the prerevolutionary Russian church.

Many Russians believe that unification should mark the end of what they see as the tragic Soviet period in church history. The churches began informal contacts during the past decade. However, the institutional rift deepened when ROCOR set up its own parishes in Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate seized two ROCOR properties in the Holy Land.

ROCOR--which has Russian supporters both within and outside the Moscow Patriarchate--is not in communion with any of the world's other Orthodox churches, which it accuses of "ecumenical heresy." Hard-line members of ROCOR consider other Orthodox churches to have renounced their faith.

Last year, ROCOR signaled a change of course, setting up a commission to look at unity with Moscow and appealing to Patriarch Pavle of Serbia to mediate. But the decision caused a rift within ROCOR. Prior to ROCOR's Council of Bishops meeting in New York October 23-30, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church issued a "Fraternal Message" to the ROCOR bishops, calling on them to put aside past differences.

In its response to Patriarch Alexsy, ROCOR bishops said they have always desired a united Russian church. But they reiterated two longstanding demands. First, the Moscow Patriarchate would have to condemn its past cooperation with the Soviet government, including the KGB secret police. Second, the patriarchate would have to sever its affiliations with international ecumenical organizations, particularly with the World Council of Churches. "Life has shown that the majority of Russia's churchpeople do not accept ecumenism," the message said.

Patriarch Alexsy said on November 5 he had expected a "milder response," Interfax news agency reported. But he attributed the severity in part to the internal ROCOR schism between proponents and opponents of a dialogue with Moscow. He defended the patriarchate's 1927 decision to recognize the Soviet state and cooperate with it, calling it a "courageous step." He added: "One had to live here to understand that situation." He also resolutely rejected calls to sever ecumenical contacts. "Today, when we face the threat of global terrorism, not a single church, including ROCOR, can go into isolation," the patriarch said. --ENI