January
16, 2009
"We Must Entrust the Fate of the
Russian Church to a Primate Who Will Continue the Course of His Holiness
Patriarch Alexy," Says the First Hierarch of the Russian Church
Abroad
"We
must entrust the fate of the Church of Russia today to just the sort of
person who will continue the course of the late Patriarch Alexy,"
stated His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New
York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
A
few days from now, a Local [Pomestny] Council of the Russian Orthodox
Church will convene in Moscow in order to elect a new Primate. For the
first time in history, delegates of the ROCOR, including all its ruling
and vicar bishops, will participate in electing the new Patriarch.
"I
recall the image of the His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, a spiritually
strong and bold church leader, a man of prayer who preserved and
prayerfully interceded for the unity of the Church in a difficult time,
when external forces strove to destroy her," noted Metropolitan
Hilarion.
In
the opinion of ROCOR's First Hierarch, the new Patriarch "must not
only be a man of deep faith, but completely trusting of God and His
guidance, a wise, humble, hardworking individual with a heart big enough
to hold the joy of every person and to contain sorrow for every loss,
for every conflict among the people." He must be "utterly
faithful to the Holy Orthodox Church and to the observance of her Holy
Canons," said Vladyka. "This must be a hierarch who suffers
and prays for the nation and for all of us, no matter which continent we
live on," he continued. "Despite his high calling, this must
be a man who loves with all his heart each individual and the entire
people of Russia."
Looking
back over the time since the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion
in Moscow in May, 2007, Vladyka Hilarion stressed that many people, both
in Russia and abroad, are genuinely happy over the strengthening process
of the unification of the Russian Church.
"During
this time," he said, "the bishops and clergymen of the Russian
Church Abroad and I have had the opportunity to visit Russia, and
everywhere we went, we were approached by simple believers who wished to
share their joy that now we are all children of one Russian Orthodox
Church, and that we once again 'gained' each other."
The
Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York recalled that in October
and November of last year, delegations of the Russian Church Abroad and
the Moscow Patriarchate participated in the "Days of Russia"
program in Latin America, where, in his words, "there were mostly
clergymen who went into schism as well as their flocks, who were
scattered and fragmented in conflict."
"But
the attitude these clerics and laity have towards the unity we have
achieved is gradually being overcome through brotherly meetings and
joint divine services," averred the First Hierarch of ROCOR.
"During divine services, molebens and meetings, we saw love triumph
over evil, over division and personal agendas," said the
Metropolitan. "For despite our political differences, the main
thing that unites us is our search for salvation and the preservation of
the purity of our faith. That is the path to spiritually uniting the
peoples of our Fatherland."
He
drew attention to the fact that last year, His Eminence Metropolitan
Laurus and His Holiness Patriarch Alexy both departed from this world,
having made invaluable contributions towards the reunification of the
two sundered parts of the Russian Church of today. Calling the leaders
of the two branches of the Russian Church "men of prayer,
reconcilers, unifiers," Vladyka pointed out that they were destined
"to complete the task of reunifying the Church, which entire
generations of Russian in the Fatherland and the diaspora strived for
and awaited." In his words, the day of the signing of the Act in
Moscow became "the day of the Triumph of Orthodoxy."
ROCOR's
First Hierarch said that "even with the departure of such persons
as Patriarch Alexy and Metropolitan Laurus, church life does not come to
a halt." "It continues in their teachings and in their
followers," he said.
ИТАР-ТАСС
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