| In October of 1943, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia met in Vienna, Austria. Also represented at the Council were two newly free parts of the Russian Orthodox Church-the Byelorussian Autonomous Church, and the Ukrainian Autonomous Church. The principal business of the Council was to condemn the election of Metropolitan Sergius 17 as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The Council issued an epistle declaring the election as uncanonical and invalid. On 11/24 October 1943, during the Divine Liturgy celebrated in the Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Vienna, Archimandrite Gregory (Borishkevitch) was consecrated to the episcopate as Bishop of Gomel and Mozirsk for the Byelorussian Autonomous Church. Presiding over the consecration was Metropolitan Anastassy 18 , Chief Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, assisted by Metropolitan Seraphim (Alexander Ivanovich Lukianov, 23 Aug 1879-18 Feb 1959) of Paris and Western Europe; Metropolitan Seraphim (Lade) of Berlin and Central Europe; Bishop Sergey of Prague 19 ; Bishop Venedikt of Grodno of the Byelorussian Autonomous Church; Bishop Vassily of Vienna 20 ; and Bishop Philip of Potsdam 21 . (This episcopal concecration became the first in the series of problematic consecrations performed by the ROCOR for the Church of Russia; in this case, for the Belarussian Church, which is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate – ed.) At the end of June 1944, the entire episcopate of the Byelorussian Autonomous Church, along with many members of their flock, fled West to escape the advance of the Red Army, and the Bolshevik yoke that would follow in its wake. In Germany, the hierarchs of the Byelorussian Autonomous Church ministered to their flock, and entered into cooperation with the Russian Church Abroad. Early in 1946, the Byelorussian hierarchs decided in Council to seek admission into the Russian Church Abroad. Metropolitan Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky) insisted that joining the Church Abroad was the only possible course of action for the Byelorussian hierarchs; this resulted in a unanimous decision by the Byelorussian hierarchs to do so. |
| Irenikon: Revue des Moines de Chevetogne (Belgium: Monastere de Chevetogne). T. 1 (1926)-. Quarterly. Journal of Early Christian Studies: Journal of the North American Patristics Society (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U. Pr.) V. 1 (1993)-. Continues The Second Century. Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate (Moscow: Moscow Patriarchate). 1971-. Monthly. “The editors of the ‘Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate’ are embarking upon an English edition of the official periodical of the Russian Orthodox Church.”-p. of issue 1 for 1971, dated Oct. 1971. Numbering begins each year with 1. Two issues only for 1971. Kyrios: Vierteljahresschrift fur Kirchen- und Geistesgeschichte Osteuropas (Berlin: Lutherisches Verlagshaus H. Renner; Graz, Austria: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt). 1. Bd. (1936)-6. Bd., Heft 1/2; (1942/43); n. F., Bd. 1 (1960/61)-. Reprint. Konigsberg, Prussia: Ost-Europa Verlag. Founded by H. Koch. Messager orthodoxe. n. 5 (1959)- Quarterly. “Periodique de l’Action chretienne des etudiants russes.” “Revue de pensee et d’action orthodoxes.” Continues Messager. Observateur orthodoxe (Montreal: Eglise orthodoxe russe a l’etranger, Archidiocese de Montreal et du Canada). No 1 (juin 1983)-. Trimestriel (irregulier). One Church: Bi-Monthly Journal of the Patriarchal Parishes in the U.S., Moscow Patriarchate (NY). V. 1 (Sept. 1947)-. Bimonthly. Other titie: Edinaia tserkov. Organ of the Patriarchal Exarchate in America. Monthly 1948–53 Irregular 1947, 1954-. Published also in a Russian-language ed. Orientalia christiana periodica (Rome: Pontificium institutum orientalium studiorum). v. 1 (1935)-. Two nos. a year “Commentarii de re orientali aetatis christianae sacra et profana.” Summary: Includes section “Recensiones”. In Latin, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Indexes: Vols. 1–25, 1939–59, in v. 25. Orthodox Monitor (Washington, DC: The Committee for the Defense of Persecuted Orthodox Christians, Washington Chapter). N. 1 (Nov.-Dec. 1978)-. Bimonthly, 1978–79. Quarterly, 1980-Jan».June 1981. Issued: 1978-Sept».Dec. 1979 by the Committee for the Defense of Persecuted Orthodox Christians, Washington Chapter; 1980– by the Committee for the Defense of Persecuted Orthodox Christians, Inc. |
| Candea, Virgil. Witnesses to the Romanian Presence in Mount Athos. Candea, Constantin Simionescu; with a foreword by Emil Con-durachi; editor of the English version, Daniela Bolocan. Bucharest: Editura Sport-Turism, 1979. 12, 94 p. Chatzidakis, Manolis. Byzantine Athens. Athens: M. Pechlivanides, 196– 12 p., p. of plates (The face of Greece.) Text in English, French, and German. Christianity and Government in Russia and the Soviet Union: Reflections on the Millennium. Sergei Pushkarev, Vladimir Rusak, and Gleb Yakunin. Boulder: Westview Press, 1989. xii, 166 p. (CCRS series on change in contemporary Soviet society.) Translated from the Russian. Clement, Olivier. The Spirit of Solzhenitsyn. Translated by Sarah Fawcett and Paul Burns. London: Search Press; NY: Barnes & Noble Books, 1976. 234 p. Cochrane, Charles Norris. Christianity and Classical Culture: A Study of Thought and Action from Augustus to Augustine. NY: Oxford University Press, 1957. vii, 523 p. (Galaxy book.) Reprint. Originally published: Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1940. Constantelos, Demetrios J. Byzantine Philanthropy and Social Welfare. 2d rev. ed. New Rochelle, NY: A. D. Caratzas, 1991. xviii, 282 p. -. Poverty, Society and Philanthropy in the Late Mediaeval Greek World. New Rochelle: Caratzas/Orpheus Publishing Inc., 1988. ca. 240 p. (Studies in the social and religious history of the medieval Greek world; v. 2.) Counelis, James Steve. Higher Learning and Orthodox Christianity. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press, 1990. xvi, 235 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 195–197). Dampier, Margaret G. History of the Orthodox Church in Austria-Hungary. London: Rivingtons, 1905-. Contents: 1. Hermannstadt. Daniel, David. The Orthodox Church of India. History. 2d ed. New Delhi: Rachel David, 1986. xii, 622 p. Projected as part 1 of a 2-vol. set. No more published. “The second edition is brought out . . . revised and enlarged”-p. iv. Bibliography: p. 611 –614. Davis, Nathaniel. A Long Walk to Church. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994. |
| The number of hate crimes against Christians is likely higher than what is reported in the data, as only 11 of the 57 OCSE states submitted data on hate crimes against Christians. Madeleine Enzlberger, head of the Observatory of Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians ( OIDACE ) in Vienna, Austria, said that in media and political spheres “hatred of Christians is hardly noticed as an increasingly obvious social problem.” “The OSCE report reflects only part of this trend, which we have been documenting for years, and yet it is a loud wake-up call against indifference and fashionable Christian-bashing,” she commented. Here is a breakdown of some of the hate crimes committed against Christians documented by OSCE: Rampant vandalism in Poland by abortion advocates The uptick in hate crimes against Christians in Poland is largely due to “a series of incidents targeting the Catholic Church due to its stance on abortion,” according to the OSCE data. These included more than 100 acts of graffiti on Catholic property in 2020, many of which included anti-Christian slogans. Other Catholic churches were vandalized with LGBTI symbols. Women’s rights activists vandalized a monument to unborn children at night with black paint in a Polish Catholic cemetery in October 2020. Abortion activists also vandalized a cross at a cemetery commemorating victims of Nazism in the same month, according to the report. People praying in front of a Catholic cathedral were assaulted by women’s rights activists, who threw bottles, stones, and firecrackers, injuring several worshippers. In Spain, a monastery and four other churches were vandalized on International Women’s Day in 2020. At the monastery, a group of women’s rights protesters also disrupted Mass with anti-Christian slogans. Arson attacks on Catholic churches There were a number of arson attacks on Catholic churches reported in France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. In one instance in Germany, disinfectant was poured over pews in a Catholic church and then set on fire. |
| As a consequence, Patriarch Alexis issued a decree on 16 December 1947 that suspended Metropolitan Theophilus and the other bishops of the Metropolia. Essentially, the Moscow Patriarchate reaffirmed that the Metropolia was in a state of schism. At the same time, the Patriarchate appointed Archbishop Markary (Ilinsky), a bishop formally part of the Metropolia, as its Archbishop of New York and Exarch of the Moscow Patriarchate. With only a few exceptions, however, the clergy and faithful of the Metropolia continued to recognize the authority of Metropolitan Theophilus, who was in his thirteenth year as primate. While it eventually gained legal right to the historic St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York, the exarchate headed by Archbishop Makary acquired no more than ten parishes throughout the country. 199 The development of the Russian Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States was further affected when the bishops of the Synod Abroad transferred their headquarters to New York in 1950. The Synod Abroad had moved from Sremski-Karlovtsy, Yugoslavia, to Munich, Germany, in 1944. The new move to the United States in 1950 coincided with the migration to this country of thousands of Russian emigres from Eastern Europe and the Far East in the years following the close of the war. As the war in Europe came to a close, Russian bishops, clergy, and laity who were ardent opponents of Communism hid in isolated areas of Austria, Bohemia, and Bavaria. There, they carefully calculated their activities so that they would come under American and not Soviet jurisdiction when the war ended. For many, it was their second escape from Communism. It is understandable, therefore, that these displaced persons looked to America as the land where they could not only practice their faith but also maintain their political views without the fear of Communist advance. The majority of these Russian exiles became associated with parishes of the Synod Abroad when they came to America, thus breathing new life into this jurisdiction. During the 1950s, the Synod Abroad claimed to have eighty-one parishes which served 55,000 members. The new exiles were not attracted to the parishes of the Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate because of its affiliation with the official church in Russia. Likewise, the exiles were generally not attracted to parishes of the Metropolia. The reasons for this varied. First, most of the Metropolia parishes had a strong Carpatho-Russian character, which was unacceptable to the new immigrants. Second, the Metropolia was on record as recognizing the Patriarch of Moscow, although there were no formal ties to the Church of Russia. Finally, the majority of the Metropolia parishes were composed primarily of American-born members whose attitude differed greatly from that of the new emigres. 200 |
| I’m aware that a rebuttal will note how it’s wrongfully inaccurate to lump a collective negativity on the Croat Catholic and Ukrainian Greek Catholic churches. Not everyone in these churches march to the same tune. How ironically repulsive it is to negatively caricature the Russian and Serb Orthodox churches. The neoliberal leaning New Republic finds common cause with pro-Ustasha and pro-Bandera advocates. Within reason, it’d be considered gratuitous to accentuate Poland’s pre-WW II discriminatory actions against non-Poles, as a basis to suggestively rationalize the ramifications of the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement. Likewise, pre-Communist Yugoslavia never came close to the kind of brutal suppression exhibited by the Nazi allied Croat Ustasha. Prior to WW II, Pavelic was involved in political terrorism against the Yugoslav government, as was Bandera against the Polish government. The New Republic piece glosses over these and other particulars, coming in conflict with an anti-Serb and anti-Russian slant. From that New Republic article, this excerpt underscores the last observation: “The story begins in the early twentieth century, when the USSR and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia were established. In both cases, the metropolises of Russia and Serbia-both countries of eastern Orthodox religion that considered themselves alternative, non-Western civilizations-imposed their rule upon the Catholic and much more pro-Western Croatia and Ukraine.” This fault ridden perspective overlooks several realities. As a nation unto itself, Serbia was on the side of the Western powers during WW I, much unlike Croatia’s predicament. WW I saw Croat territory affiliated with Austria-Hungary. During this period, the future non-Serb (half-Croat, half-Slovene) Yugoslav Communist dictator Tito, was a corporal in the Austro-Hungarian army. It’s also true that before WW I and thereafter, the movement for a multiethnic south Slav state had support among Serbs and non-Serbs alike in the Balkans. In WW II, the Ustasha state of Croatia had a privileged standing in Nazi occupied Europe, much unlike Serbia. WW II Serb transgressions never came close to matching the anti-Serb Orthodox brutality of the Croat Ustasha, which included savagery against Jews, Roma and dissenting Croats. |
| There is, however, one person among them who I have to admire for his honesty and openness: he has said clearly that the faculty of theology should simply be removed. I might call this ‘Mitra Mitrovi lives!’, even though it bears little relation to learning and theology and isn’t happening because it sounds superstitious and offensive. The body of teachers (the collective authors of several petitions with dozens of signatures) claims that it is in this way that they are defending the university’s autonomy. ‘Autonomy’ is their oft-repeated mantra. But what about the autonomy and rights of the other faculties which are also mentioned in the university’s charter and the faculty’s own charter? Are the faculties merely affiliates of the university or is the university a gathering and family of autonomous and free institutions of higher learning? How are we to act in the future concerning the constitutional and legal rights of the Churches and religious communities in the sphere of enlightenment and education? How are we to act with regard to the decision of the constitutional court of Serbia which at one time ruled in favour of the faculty of theology when it rejected the claims? The constitutional court, moreover, in emphasizing the separation of state and church, not only decided that the Church is called upon and empowered to regulate the life and work of the faculty of theology, which is part of the University of Belgrade, although its constituent founder is the state, but also directly permits the Church to create the conditions for study and for how teaching should be carried at the faculty of theology. Also, the constitutional court uses the technical term missio canonica, that is, permission for pedagogical work. This, of course, causes mystical terror on the part of those who are proponents of the principle of state secularism. Why, then, are they not going to the embassies of Germany, Austria, Spain, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, secular France and of other countries and hand in a petition of protest against the violation of the principles of state secularism and the autonomy of the universities in these countries? What sort of liberals and democrats can they call themselves if they are defending only the University of Belgrade? Of course, universities older and more famous than that of Belgrade, even the Sorbonne, are in greater danger since they too adhere to the practice of missio canonica. |
| About 40 Christian Orthodox clergy, rabbis, and academics from around the world, including Russia, Georgia, Romania, Israel, France, Greece, Finland, and the United States met with local government and religious leaders…. Noting that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has declared 2013 the Year of Global Solidarity, Metropolitan Emmanuel said: “It is well documented that Greeks living in Thessaloniki at the time of the Shoah stood with their Jewish neighbors and friends. Today, more than ever, we must stand together to battle the evils of anti-Semitism, religious prejudice and all forms of discrimination.” 72 Particularly notable are Sts. Alexander Schmorell, Maria Skobtsova, Fr. Dimitri Klepinin, Yuri Skobtsov, Ilya Fondaminsky (himself Jewish), and other saints who died resisting the Nazi genocide, because saints are for emulation. St. Alexander was a founder of the anti-Nazi group the White Rose, and was executed by the Nazis in 1943. A primes motivator for the White Rose was its Christian faith. Its leaflets were spread around Germany and Austria, and its second leaflet declared: “We wish to cite the fact that, since the conquest of Poland, 300,000 Jews have been murdered in that country in a bestial manner. Here we see the most terrible crime committed against the dignity of man.” 73 Jim Forest, director of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship, writes why Schmorell proposed the name “White Rose” based on a story by the Orthodox writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky: In one chapter of The Brothers Karamazov, “The Grand Inquisitor”, Christ comes back to earth, “softly, unobserved, and yet, strange to say, every one recognized Him.” He is suddenly present among the many people crowding Seville’s cathedral square, the pavement of which is still warm from the burning of a hundred heretics the day before. At this moment it happens that an open coffin containing the body of a young girl is being carried across the square on its way to the cemetery. They pass Jesus. “The procession halts, the coffin is laid on the steps at [Christ’s] feet. He looks with compassion, and His lips softly pronounce the words, ‘Maiden, arise!’ and she arises. The little girl sits up in the coffin and looks round, smiling with wide-open wondering eyes, holding a bunch of white roses they had put in her hand.” This merciful action completed, the Grand Inquisitor, having witnessed the miracle, orders Christ’s arrest. He is outraged at the boundless freedom Christ has given humanity. 74 |
| Addressing the participants also were Archbishop-Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk and Mogilev; Bishop Alexander Kashkevich of Grodno, chairman of the Catholic Episcopal Conference of Belarus; and Cardinal Péter Erdö, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, co-chairman of the forum from the Catholic side. He donated a particle of relics of St. Stephan, King of Hungary, to the Byelorussian Exarchate. The opening session was concluded by a concert performed by a male choir of the Memorial Church of All the Saints and by a reception given on behalf of the Byelorussian Exarchate. The European Orthodox-Catholic Forum was instituted in 2008 on the initiative of Cardinal Péter Erdö, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, and Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria (now Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations). Discussed at the three previous forums held in Trent, Rhodes and Lisbon, were the problems of the family, Church-state relations, and the economic crisis and poverty. The Forum will work till June 5. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. |
| At the start of World War I, Archimandrite Nikolai was sent to England on a diplomatic mission to seek help in the struggle of the Serbs against Austria. His doctorate from Oxford gained him an invitation to speak at Westminster Abbey. He remained in England for three short months, but Saint Nikolai left a lasting impression on those who heard him. His writings “The Lord’s Commandments,” and “Meditations on the Lord’s Prayer” impressed many in the Church of England. Archimandrite Nikolai left England and went to America, where he proved to be a good ambassador for his nation and his Church. The future saint returned to Serbia in 1919, where he was consecrated as Bishop of Zhicha, and was later transferred to Ochrid. The new hierarch assisted those who were suffering from the ravages of war by establishing orphanages and helping the poor. Bishop Nikolai took over as leader of Bogomljcki Pokret, a popular movement for spiritual revival which encouraged people to pray and read the Bible. Under the bishop’s direction, it also contributed to a renewal of monasticism. Monasteries were restored and reopened, and this in turn revitalized the spiritual life of the Serbian people. In 1921, Bishop Nikolai was invited to visit America again and spent two years as a missionary bishop. He gave more than a hundred talks in less than six months, raising funds for his orphanages. Over the next twenty years, he lectured in various churches and universities. When Germany invaded Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941, Bishop Nikolai, a fearless critic of the Nazis, was arrested and confined in Ljubostir Vojlovici Monastery. In 1944, he and Patriarch Gavrilo were sent to the death camp at Dachau. There he witnessed many atrocities and was tortured himself. When American troops liberated the prisoners in May 1945, the patriarch returned to Yugoslavia, but Bishop Nikolai went to England. The Communist leader Tito was just coming to power in Yugoslavia, where he persecuted the Church and crushed those who opposed him. Therefore, Bishop Nikolai believed he could serve the Serbian people more effectively by remaining abroad. He went to America in 1946, following a hectic schedule in spite of his health problems which were exacerbated by his time in Dachau. He taught for three years at Saint Sava’s Seminary in Libertyville, IL before he settled at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, PA in 1951. |
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