Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
May 16, 2006

IV ALL-DIASPORA COUNCIL OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OUTSIDE RUSSIA

The IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was held from May 6-14, 2006 in San Francisco, California, USA.

The first two councils were held in Sremski Karlovci, Serbia, in 1921 and 1938 and the third in the Jordanville Monastery in the United States of America in 1974.

Twelve bishops, headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus of Eastern America and New York, took part in the IV Council, together with 135 delegates representing the clergy and laity of the ROCOR from every part of the world.

His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral attended the Council on behalf of the Serbian Orthodox Church and His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle.

The Council began with a Moleiban for the beginning of work, followed by the formal opening ceremony of the Council with the welcoming remarks of Archbishop Kirill of San Francisco and the address of Metropolitan Laurus. During the course of the address His Eminence the Metropolitan expressed great gratitude to the Serbian Church for its valuable assistance, mentioning especially Serbian Dimitrije and Varnava, both of blessed repose, and calling on all present for the chanting of Memory Eternal, which was done.

After the instruction, His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije conveyed the greetings and blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Pavle:

To His Eminence, The Most Reverend Laurus, Metropolitan of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and all the delegates to the IV All-Diaspora Council:

Your Eminence, Your Graces, honorable Fathers and Brothers!

I have the special honor of greeting you, the delegates to the IV All-Diaspora Council, on behalf of His Beatitude Pavle, the Patriarch of Serbia.

As you all know, during the horrific post-Revolutionary trials of the Russian Church and Russian Orthodox faithful, hundreds of thousands of Russian exiles, among whom there were many bishops, priests and monastics, were given refuge by the Serbian Orthodox Church. In the 1920's the Serbian Church, in accordance with Church economia, also received your Higher Church Authority within its canonical boundaries and gave it the opportunity, under the leadership of Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of blessed memory, to organize the Sobor and Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad in Sremski Karlovci.

Nonwithstanding the tremendous trials and catastrophes which befell the Serbian Orthodox Church in the XX century - we have in mind the 50-year godless communist yoke in Yugoslavia - the Serbian Church's ecclesiastical and Eucharistic ties with both the persecuted and suffering Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Church diaspora, which temporarily suspended Eucharistic communion with the Church in Russia, never ceased till this day.

Thus, by God's Providence, the Serbian Church is the only one of the Local Orthodox Churches which has maintained unbroken, direct and deep ties with the fullness of the Russian Church.

Of course, firstly, this fullness was preserved by the martyric blood of the New Martyrs of Russia. The Russian Church diaspora maintained the holy memory of these martyrs, as well as the Moscow Patriarchate who solemnly glorified them during the jubilee year of the second millennium of Christianity. The glorification of the New Martyrs, at whose head stand the holy Patriarch Tikhon with the holy Royal Martyrs, their martyric blood and Holy Russia's Golgothan witness in a miraculous way restored and are restoring oneness of mind and spirit of the All-Russia Church Pleroma to the whole world.

Since the main obstacles and reasons that have been in the way of church unity have receded into the historical past, this blood of the martyrs calls all Russian Orthodox people to overcome all boundaries and differences so as to once again, with one heart and one mouth, confess and glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit in a united Russian Church of God.

His Holiness Patriarch Pavle reiterates and witnesses to all you Russian people and to all us Orthodox people: Without oneness and unity in the Russian Church there cannot be a spiritual, moral and national revival of the Russian people. The future of the whole world and the genuine mission of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ lies in this unity.

The joint committees of the Moscow Patriarchate and Russian Church Abroad, who have worked and are working so hard for the attainment of church unity, bring us joy. His Holiness Patriarch Pavle calls all Russian Orthodox Christians to unity in the bosom of the Mother Church of Moscow and All-Russia, bestows God's blessing upon all the delegates of the IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and greets you all with the joyous paschal greeting:

Christ is Risen!

After the proclamation of His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije, greetings were read from the Patriarchs of Moscow, Georgia and Bulgaria, the Holy Kinot of Mt. Athos through the abbot of St. Panteleimon Monastery, and others.

On Monday, May 8, after Divine Liturgy, the first speech was read by Protopriest Nicholas Karipoff from Australia on "The Spiritual-Historical Heritage of the Russian Church Abroad". This was followed by a detailed and very interesting discussion of the speech which primarily touched upon the possibility of unification with the Moscow Patriarchate. The afternoon session was opened by a lecture read by Priest Nikolai Savchenko from Russia on the topic: "The Reestablishment of Eucharistic Communion and the Overcoming of Divisions in Church History". This lecture, too, was followed by spirited discussion, especially since Fr. Nikolai conducted an oral excursion through history and examined ecclesiastical divisions beginning with the Old Testament through today, emphasizing that divisions occurred over the entire life of the Church but were always overcome with the wisdom of the Holy Fathers of the Church, patience and Love.

The next speaker was His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije, who presented the way in which the Serbian Orthodox Church had overcome various problems in the course of its history in the form of two communiques on "Reestablishing Unity - The Experience of the Serbian Orthodox Church," and "Ecumenism. The Serbian Orthodox Church's View on the Issue and the Contemporary State of the WCC."

His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije began by saying that he inherited his love and respect for Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), the founder of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, from his spiritual father, Saint Justin Popovich. He also lovingly remembered a number of Russian teachers who taught him theology.

Metropolitan Amfilohije said that Serbia was always torn by external and internal enemies. Very unfortunately it cannot be ruled out that the holy Serbian land, the "Serbian Jerusalem" as it is known, Kosovo, will be lost.

The speaker remembered the ecclesiastical troubles of ancient Serbia, connected with the Patriarchate of Pec and the Karlovac Metropolitanate in Austro-Hungary in the 18th and 19th centuries. From 1766 to the early 20th century, canonical disorder reigned. The Church in central Serbia received autocephaly from the Ecumenical Patriarchate only in 1867. Still, the spiritual life of the people continued and the Church was alive.

World War II brought the Serbian Church more and more horrifying tribulations. Many bishops and priests suffered. Fascist Uniates in Jasinovica executed 80,000 Serbs. At the same time, Communists killed 115 clergymen of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The plight of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian diaspora in the 20th century is similar to that of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian diaspora. Serbian patriarchs during the Communist period were elected not without the influence of the authorities. This caused mistrust among many Serbian emigrants to the Church in Yugoslavia. In the 1960's, a schism occurred, which continued until 1992. At this time, a number of dubious episcopal consecrations were performed in the Serbian "Free" Church. But the new Serbian Patriarch, Pavle, exhibited extreme condescension and love and recognized these consecrations, thanks to which to the schism was overcome, and Eucharistic communion reestablished.

After a lively exchange of opinions on Metropolitan Amfilohije's first speech, the esteemed guest moved to the other topic - the attitude of the Serbian Church towards ecumenism. The speaker said that in 1996, the Serbian Orthodox Church became the last of the Local Churches to become a member of the World Council of Churches. In 1997, Bishop Artemije of Rasko-Prizren gave a speech at which he recommended that the Serbian Church withdraw from WCC based on the fact that this organization is becoming less interested in inter-Christian dialog, more and more confessing the ideology of syncretism. The Serbian Church is still in the WCC in order not to lose the opportunity to conduct dialog with the external world to benefit the Serbian people.

After the Metropolitan’s communiques a lively discussion took place in the context of the possibility of unity with the Moscow Patriarchate. The communiques of His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije and answers to questions were accepted by all participants with approval. This largely contributed to a better and more comprehensive examination of the ecclesiological problems in overcoming the schism and the position of the Moscow Patriarchate, as well as the need for the ultimate unification and unity of the Russian Church.

On May 12 the resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council was adopted, which we quote here in its entirety:

THE RESOLUTION OF THE IV ALL-DIASPORA COUNCIL

We, the participants of the IV All-Diaspora Council, having gathered in the God-preserved city of San Francisco, in the blessed presence of the Protectress of the Russian Diaspora, the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God, and the holy relics of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco, in trembling recognition of the duty laid upon us, in obedience to our Archpastor, Christ, with complete trust and love of the pastors and laity to our First Hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus, and the Council of Bishops, attest that as loyal children of the Holy Church, we shall submit to Divine will and obey the decisions of the forthcoming Council of Bishops.

We archpastors, pastors and laymen, members of the IV All-Diaspora Council, unanimously express our resoluteness to heal the wounds of division within the Russian Church—between her parts in the Fatherland and abroad. Our Paschal joy is joined by the great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice.

Hearing the lectures read at the Council, the reports made by the Commission on negotiations with the corresponding Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the various points of view expressed during the discussions, we express our conciliar consent that it is necessary to confirm the canonical status of the Russian Church Abroad for the future as a self-governing part of the Local Russian Church, in accordance with the Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia currently in force.

From discussions at the Council it is apparent that the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the World Council of Churches evokes confusion among our clergy and flock. With heartfelt pain we ask the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to heed the plea of our flock to expediently remove this temptation.

We hope that the forthcoming Local Council of One Russian Church will settle remaining unresolved church problems.

Bowing down before the podvig [spiritual feats] of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, glorified both by the Russian Church Abroad and by the Russian Church in the Fatherland, we see within them the spiritual bridge which rises above the abyss of the lethal division in the Russian Church and makes possible the restoration of that unity which is desired by all.

And we, the members of the IV All-Diaspora Council, address our brothers and sisters in the faith in our renascent Homeland with the Paschal hymns: "Pascha! Let us embrace each other joyously!"

Source: www.sobor2006.com

PUBLIC FORUM ON ORTHODOXY – THE HOLY MYSTERY OF SALVATION

As part of the Public Forum on Orthodoxy on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. a lecture and discussion will take place in the Vuk Karadzic Culture Hall, Kralja Aleksandra Boulevard no. 77a, on the book “The Holy Mystery of Salvation”. The lecturer, and also the author of the book, will be His Grace Vicar Bishop of Dioclea and abbot of Ostrog Jovan. The book will be introduced by Mr. Goran Radenkovic, a professor of St. Sava Seminary in Belgrade, the host of the Public Forum.