The Church is not perfect because we are not perfect
Some months ago I received an email from a man who wanted to know why I had placed myself and this monastery under the Patriarchate of Moscow. Along with referring to the Patriarch of Constantinople as “Bart”, and claiming to be “a faithful Orthodox Christian”, he went on to accuse Patriarch Kyrill as being nothing but “a puppet of Putin and a KGB agent”. He claimed he could say this because of all the “negative things coming out of Russia”.
The man went on to say that because he sees me as “a very knowledgeable priest and sound(ing) very Orthodox”, he could not understand why I had not placed myself and my monastery under a hierarch who was “not affiliated with such corruption”. “You really don’t need a Patriarch…there are other hierarchs you can turn to”, and concluded we must be where we are because we get “financial support from Russia”. He concluded by revealing that he attends “a very small mission church (that) once was part of ROCOR but is no longer affiliated due to the now political nature of ROCOR”. I responded by saying that I would answer his concerns publicly, on my blog.
The Church
In their narrow minded approach to the Church, such people fail to trust that the Holy Spirit is guiding and protecting His Church, “that the gates of hell” not prevail against her. They don’t realize that the Early Church faced many of the same problems, and that the divisions that sometimes came about were seen as periods of schism, something believers were to avoid. Just because we sometimes don’t agree with the views or decisions of His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, does not mean we start looking for a home in a jurisdiction that has gone into schism from the Church. And just because His Holiness Patriarch Kirill appreciates that President Putin has done more to help the Church recover after seventy years of godless repression, in no way gives us the right to declare him to be “a puppet” of the present regime, and break communion.
That Russia is the one country that takes seriously the need to preserve Christian morals and traditions, and looks to her Christian past, while focusing on the future, in no way suggests that I am to believe everything I read in the western press about a supposed autocratic leadership that is nothing but a dictatorship. That President Putin recognizes the dangerous threat of Islam to the Christian West, and has come to the aid of the Syrian government because they are the only Middle Eastern nation that has protected the rights of their minority Christian population, means I must surrender my thinking process to a secular, post-Christian mindset that sees Christianity as something that should get with the twenty-first century?
The Orthodox Church has withstood two thousand years of attacks and persecution, yet the gates of hell have not prevailed against her. This was Christ’s promise to his disciples before His Holy Resurrection, and I believe His words to be true. I stand with the Church, both in opposition to those who would leave the Church and go into schism, and those who would betray the Church for a politically correct world vision.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Wednesday May 3, 2017 / April 20, 2017
Third Week of Pascha. Tone two.
Fast. Fish Allowed
Venerable Theodore Trichinas (“the Hair-shirt Wearer”), hermit near Constantinople (400).
New Hieromartyr Theodosius, bishop of Kolomensk (1937).
Translation of the relics (1991) of St. Nicholas (Velimirovich) of Ochrid and Zhicha (1956) from America to Serbia.
Venerable Alexander (Oshevensky), abbot, near Onega Lake (1479).
Child-martyr Gabriel of Slutsk (Poland) (1690).
Sts. Gregory (593) and Anastasius (599), Patriarchs of Antioch.
Venerable Anastasius, abbot of Sinai (685).
St. Nicholas (Velimirovich), bishop of Ochrid and Zhicha, Serbia (1956) (Serbia).
“Cyprus” (392) and “Keepiazh” Icons of the Mother of God.
Venerables Athanasius (1380) and Ioasaph (1423) of Meteora, abbots.
Apostle Zacchaeus, bishop of Caesarea (1st c.).
Sts. Betran and Theotimus I, bishop of Tomis in Scythia Minor (410) (Romania).
St. Caedwalla, king of the West Saxons (689) (Celtic & British).
Blessed Anastasius I (599), patriarch of Antioch.
Hieromartyr Anastasius II, patriarch of Antioch (610).
The Scripture Readings
Acts 8:18-25
18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”
25 So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
John 6:35-39
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
Amen and amen.
Bravo …Thank you for speaking out to all on this subject.
Thank you for this post. I have to tell you that living in this time of the media being filled with such a carousel of view points and unfortunately most of them are seeking to spin believers in Christ in a negative way, just thinking in the terms that the gates of hell will not prevail against the true church is very reassuring! From my own perspective like a child needing a strong word from a parent in a trying time, just hearing and being able to meditate on this thought is a big help.
Thank you, Father.
Dear Abbot Tryphon,
I appreciate this public reply. The world is secular. It is not influenced *by* it…it *is* it, in it’s very fabric. So much so that we have no idea just how much we are influenced. We think we’re not, but we are…as this man. His case may seem a bit extreme, but sadly not unusual.
We speak about the world being in darkness, about being blind. Jesus says to come out from this. He pleads for us to do so. For how can one who is blind see? I know and shudder when I recognize how gullible and ignorant I can be when I look at some of the choices I make. When we take our eye off Christ, we sink, as Peter did.
You quote Jesus’s words “the gates of hell will not prevail”….this is one of many of His words that give me hope. Also you remind us that these factions have been present before, during and after the Church was born. A good reminder.
To have a Christian worldview we’d do good to strive to live as a Christian. Stay away from secular strife. Joshua exhorts us… choose this day who you will serve. If it’s the gods of the world, then go. If The Lord of All, then let’s do so. Joshua was a warrior, and we are engaged in a spiritual war. It’s a struggle, but we’re not left alone. We have the entire Body, here and in heaven with us.
Thank you Abbot Tryphon. I do not know the ‘formula’ on how to become unsecular, but I know it takes time, in prayer and good council. Pray for us, Abbot.
Amen!
Amen!
May the monastery and each Father be blessed! Your Morning Offering is extraordinarily balanced, and doubly difficult to be when the Church and contemporary politics are stirred together.
As an active Orthodox and not a member of ROCOR, I very much appreciate President Putin’s visible support of Holy Orthodoxy, including in the Middle East. The recovery of the Church following the fall of Communism has been hastened under his years of leadership in Russia.
Interestingly, your ‘challenger’ seemingly failed to note the very clear divide between the Ecumenical Patriarch and Patriarch Kirill which appears to be a function of the ebbing of Patriarch Bartholomew’s sense of Constantinople remaining ‘first among equals’ in global Orthodox leadership. (Unfortunately, this too is political) Certainly, the Patriarchate of Moscow represents a strong majority of world Orthodox.
I particularly appreciate your paragraph on The Church. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit I cannot imagine the Church even surviving, especially in the West with its value shift the past 300 or more years.
So thank you for a worthy answer, and much more importantly for your strong witness for the Holy Orthodox Church, quite apart from jurisdiction. May your work continue to be blessed!
Yours in Christ, Columba
Christ is Risen!
Father, it is so encouraging to see someone put forth the truth regarding the Church, Russia, and the situation in Syria. God grant you many years.
When I once ignorantly mentioned something derogatory about Putin, I probably said he was a thug, the wise hegumen didn’t contradict me, but softly made a comment about Putin’s confessor.
That gave me pause, so I began investigating alternative media sources. Have I been told the truth? I discovered that our main stream media our punditocracy and our government are in the grip of a groupthink psychosis that demonizes all things Russian, and especially demonizes Putin. The reasons for this are complex, but I believe this prejudice extends well back beyond the 19th century. Today the answer is simple, US foreign policy needs an enemy in order to remain coherent and to justify increasing military expenditures.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Here is a Professor Stephen Cohen’s simple website that acts as a distributor of articles and interviews that counteracts the prevailing wisdom.
https://eastwestaccord.com
Father, bless. I thank you for this defense of President Putin presented here. It’s sad that among Orthodox Christian’s we have those who are so confused and negative. This person clearly needs much prayer. I myself am very happy when I see videos on YouTube of President Putin at Mt. Athos venerating Icons or participating in the Holy Mysteries at a cathedral in Moscow or lighting a candle at a Nativity service. I thank Christ God for Russia and I pray that The Lord will teach this person not to speak evil about any man and especially those who are over them in the faith. Again I thank you Father for your ministry. I have listened to you daily since I was a catechumen and now continue as a baptized Orthodox believer. Thanks for your influence on my life. I kiss your hand.
Nicely stated!
I have been thinking about this all day and am just left with questions. I see the link in the last comment to a website, but Father Tryphon, where else do you suggest we go to obtain our news in order to gain a more balanced view?
Christ Has Risen! Truly He is Risen!
Amen and THANK YOU ABBOT
I’ll speak honestly. This podcast broke my heart and I thought about it all day. I can respect the fact that we in the US receive news on Russia/Putin that is bent towards our political ideologies — there is no ‘objective’ or unbiased news, period. What I really can’t accept is this casual acceptance of support for Assad simply because his oppressive regime protects minority Christians. This logic reminds me of Evangelicals who recruit Christians to join the IDF based on the faulty logic that “Israel is the last safe place for Christians in the ME.” Protecting Assad does physically protect Christians, but it does not affirm the very gospel we say we live by. Since when is our loyalty dictated by whomever protects Christian interests? God cares about all his people, Muslims included. I worked as a medical doctor in Syria during the civil war, and have seen firsthand what atrocities the government is capable of – I have witnessed the aftermath of children being slaughtered in their own schools at the hands of the government, with overwhelming air support from Russia. War is messy and tragic and complicated, and I just found it deeply disappointing that this particular talk did not attempt to respond to the complexity at the core of the questioner’s concern. It is an oversimplification (some would say offensive) when you label a talk that brings up Assad and hundreds of thousands of people killed as “Not Perfect”. I agree that Orthodoxy needs to stay unadulterated by secular ideology, but what it does need to do, is find ways to meaningfully respond to the very deep struggles that are at the heart of our contemporary culture. The man who asked the question definitely seemed disrespectful and a bit flippant, but the response to him – coming from a place of Orthodox leadership no less – sounded truly dismissive and lacking in empathy.