October 9, 2008, Pastoral Letter from the Holy Synod of Bishops to the
Clergy and Faithful of The Orthodox Church in America
Pastoral Letter to the Clergy and Faithful
of The Orthodox Church in America
October 9, 2008
St. Tikhon,
Patriarch of Moscow
Dearly Beloved in the Lord:
In all things, it is good to begin with
God in whose grace we live and move and have our being. We, the members of
the Holy Synod, pray that this same grace will inspire us in our words to you,
and will guide each of us in a life of repentance in the communion of the Holy
Church.
The past three years have been a time of great temptation and
difficulty for our Church, and the weight of the cross has been heavy for all of
us. The Lord of Glory Himself was nailed to the Cross and we should not imagine
that it is possible for us to attain His Glory without bearing our own crosses.
This was the message of the feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Precious
and Life-giving Cross, which we recently celebrated. In this time of turmoil, it
is fitting to reflect upon the great mystery of our Faith, the mystery of the
Cross, through which “joy has come into all the world,” “corruption has been
destroyed, and incorruption has flowered forth” and through which “every gift of
grace has shone upon us.”
Mankind has been wounded by sin, broken
by passions and subject to corruption and death. Yet, through Christ we are able
to find healing for our souls, purification for our hearts and eternal life in
His Heavenly Kingdom. We offer this pastoral letter as an expression of
our desire to share with you the burden of bearing the cross and of our prayer
that we might all be guided by God’s mercy to the joy, the incorruption and the
grace which the Cross offers.
Past and Present
Storms
On April 10, 1970, The Orthodox Church in America
received her autocephaly from the Russian Orthodox Church. This historic event
ushered in a period of great promise and hope for Orthodoxy on this continent
and, over the past thirty-eight years, much good has been accomplished by God’s
grace. At the same time the granting of autocephaly caused quite a stir
throughout world Orthodoxy, something which Father Alexander Schmemann referred
to as “a meaningful storm” in an article with that title, in which he offered
some reflections on the nature and the causes of the controversy.
Today,
we find ourselves passing through another storm which has overshadowed the life
of our Church for some time and appears to offer less promise of blessing than
the one that we faced at the dawn of our autocephaly. Nonetheless, it is often
in the midst of temptations and struggles that we best respond to God’s grace
and make spiritual progress. The Lord Himself passed through a cataclysm to
which no earthly storm can compare in His Passion in the flesh, Death on the
Cross and Descent into Hell. In voluntarily undergoing this unjust suffering and
death, Christ paradoxically shattered the gates of death, brought light to those
in darkness and rose on the third day, granting all of us who are justly
condemned to death entrance into the eternal life of Paradise.
As we
face the challenge of emerging from the turmoil we have experienced in our
Church these past years, it is our conviction that we too can participate in the
resurrection of Christ through our imitation of His voluntary bearing of His
sufferings. Though our sufferings cannot compare to His, still, all that we have
endured can become a source of growth, repentance and renewal if we voluntarily
take them upon ourselves, beseeching God’s help in moving forward. As the
particular problems and failings of the past are addressed and resolved, it is
our conviction that meaning can be found in the present storm and that, by the
grace of Almighty God, we can attain to a calm harbor.
A Great
Temptation
The Church has undergone a great temptation,
beginning with the revelation of financial misconduct and negligence and
resulting in a loss of trust, feelings of betrayal, division among brethren and
an increase of passions in the hearts of many. We have endured the shame
of being humbled in the eyes of the world and seeing the life and the mission of
our Church become entangled in earthly cares.
We, as members of the Holy
Synod, accept our own responsibility for what has taken place. We acknowledge
that we have been both inattentive and negligent. We recognize that we have
failed on many levels and we are determined that we will learn from our
mistakes. We also acknowledge the reality and the depth of the pain, hurt and
confusion that have been endured by many of the clergy and the faithful of our
Church.
Though the resolution to our current crisis has been proceeding
at too slow a pace, still, we are grateful that the life of the Church has not
become paralyzed, and that the work of the Gospel has continued in parishes,
deaneries and dioceses. We are also grateful for the patience, advice and
support that we have received from our clergy and faithful in all of this.
We feel strongly that now is the time to work to recover the zeal and
the courage that once inspired us. The Holy Fathers of the Church remind us that
temptation and humiliation can lead either to despair and death, on the one
hand, or to humility and life on the other hand. The way of the world
leads to despair, the way of Christ leads to humility. We must follow the way of
Christ if we desire to be healed and reconciled.
The Path
Forward
At the most recent joint meeting of the Holy Synod and
Metropolitan Council, the Report of the Special Investigative Committee (SIC)
was received, approved and distributed to the Church. All of the recommendations
were either acted upon at that meeting, or procedures were set in place to
follow through on those recommendations in the immediate future. The Holy Synod
of Bishops urged Metropolitan HERMAN to retire, which he did. Archbishop DMITRI
was elected Locum Tenens, and Archbishop SERAPHIM was appointed
Administrator to assist him. The Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council also
issued a joint statement of apology to the Church in general and to Mr. John
Kozey (former chief auditor) in particular.
The release of the findings
of the SIC and the subsequent actions taken were a positive pivotal point in the
turmoil of the past three years, but were by no means the conclusion to that
turmoil. In the same way, the upcoming All-American Council in Pittsburgh will
be a pivotal event on the path to healing and reconciliation, but this single
event will not automatically provide that healing and reconciliation. We must
all begin today to prepare ourselves, not only for the All-American Council, but
for the betterment of the life of our Orthodox Church in America.
We
stand at a crucial time in the life of our Church, but it is a time at which we
continually stand as Christians: one of repentance. St. Gregory Palamas reminds
us that “repentance is the beginning, middle and end of the Christian way of
life, so it is sought and required before Holy Baptism, in Holy Baptism, and
after Holy Baptism.” As we seek repentance and reconciliation, we must
recognize that these are not to be sought only once, but should be the continual
focus of our earthly life, and the process of our Christian spiritual
growth. It will be important for us to remind ourselves of this and to
help each other as we move forward.
Forgiveness and
Reconciliation
The upcoming All-American Council will neither be
the continuation of the status quo nor the finalization of our mutual
forgiveness and reconciliation. The paths of mutual forgiveness and
reconciliation are the ones that we all must follow and we must walk upon them
beginning this day. Shortly, the Holy Synod will meet for its Fall Session. It
is our intention, on one particular day, to celebrate Vespers followed by a
ceremony of mutual forgiveness and, on the following day, to concelebrate the
Divine Liturgy.
In addition, each local Bishop will recommend that a
similar service be held either in all parishes or in deaneries, depending on the
local circumstances, sometime before the All-American Council. Although each
parish will be represented at the All-American Council, the service of mutual
forgiveness is one that is most effective and meaningful in the local community.
There is need, of course, for some expression of this at the All-American
Council as well, which has been considered by the Preconciliar Commission and is
reflected in the proposed agenda for the Council.
Fighting the Passions
Our task now is to work towards
the healing of the wounds inflicted upon our ecclesial family through the
overcoming of the passions in our heart. In a family, conflict can either bring
about the destruction of unity and love, or it can conversely bring about
healing and reconciliation. The most direct path to the latter is the nurturing
of the virtues within our hearts and in our actions.
The experience of
the saints is that all the passions have their root in the heart, no matter what
their external cause. The following words of Saint John Cassian concerning anger
could be applied to all the passions: “No matter what provokes it, anger blinds
the soul’s eyes, preventing it from seeing the Sun of righteousness. Leaves,
whether of gold or lead, placed over the eyes, obstruct our sight equally, for
the value of the gold does not affect the blindness it produces. Similarly,
anger, whether reasonable or unreasonable, obstructs our spiritual vision.”
Let us strive for love so that we might truly fulfill the law of Christ
by bearing one another’s burdens. The justice of the world can never comprehend
the depths of Christian love, which assumes responsibility even for the sins and
mistakes of others.
Prayer and Reflection
St.
Theophan the Recluse reminds us that “when prayer is right, everything is
right”, and therefore we encourage all to devote our energies to this
indispensable spiritual work. Let us reflect upon the events of the past three
years in the context of prayer, as a spiritual effort, rather than an
intellectual one.
Special petitions in preparation for the All-American
Council have already been distributed to the parishes. In addition to these
prayers at the Divine Liturgy, let us all to offer fervent prayers in our homes,
beseeching the Lord on bended knees for the good estate of the Church and for
the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Godly
Communication
Much has been spoken and written about the crisis
of the past three years. Many have spoken publicly, in newsletters, in blogs, on
websites and on lists. Many have shared comments and concerns in smaller and
more private venues. Still others have said nothing but have had their hearts
darkened and confused by thoughts. There is no medium of communication that can
be declared inherently good or evil. It is only the use that we make of these
means of communication that renders them so.
Let us all, clergy and
faithful, be mindful of the commandments of Christ in our communications with
one another. Whether we are speaking face to face, on the telephone or through a
multitude of other electronic devices, we must always remember to see the other
as a person, as one bearing the image of Christ, as an icon of Christ.
The Immediate Future
The upcoming All-American
Council will provide us with an opportunity to reflect more fully on the causes
which led to our present crisis and on the means by which we might continue to
correct that which needs correcting. In this process, it is important that we be
mindful of the proper ecclesiology which should always guide us. The Holy
Scriptures used for the theme of this year’s Council remind us that we are
“members of one another in Christ” (Eph 4:25). There can be no clergy and
faithful without the bishop, and there can be no bishop without the clergy and
faithful.
At the same time, the storm through which we are passing makes
it clear that much thought, prayer and discernment will be needed to clarify the
relationship among the various members of the Church. This work will require a
serious evaluation and clarification of the Statute of The Orthodox Church in
America, which in turn will require both a faithful adherence to the patristic
and canonical Tradition of the Church and an honest appraisal of the conditions
and needs of modern life on this continent.
In
conclusion
As we move forward in this difficult time, let us
continue to do the work of the Lord. Let us recall the rich history and
tradition of The Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America and continue to offer
of our time and our talents for the spiritual growth of our families, our
parishes, and our dioceses. The spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the
responsibility of all and this work must be continued with repentance in our own
hearts and with love for God, which will bear fruit in our love for the
neighbor. We exhort you to preach Christ, to support your parish priest and his
family, to bring back the lost sheep, to offer hospitality to those seeking the
True Faith, to increase inter-parish cooperation and to come together as often
as possible within your local communities, and to support local, diocesan and
OCA programs and departments as well as the seminaries as they work towards
furthering missionary and educational growth.
Finally, we ask for your
prayers for the members of the Holy Synod so that all things may be done in good
order and for the glory of God and His Holy Church.
With love in
Christ,
+DMITRI
Archbishop of Dallas and the
South
Locum Tenens of the Metropolitan
See
+NATHANIEL
Archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian
Episcopate
+JOB
Archbishop of Chicago and the
Midwest
+SERAPHIM
Archbishop of Ottawa and
Canada
Administrator of the Metropolitan See
+NIKON
Bishop of
Boston, New England and the Albanian Archdiocese
+TIKHON
Bishop
of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania
+BENJAMIN
Bishop of San
Francisco and the West
Click
here to download the Pastoral Letter in PDF format from the OCA web site.
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