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| St. Nektary, Archbishop of Yaransk (center) |
Humble Nektary, Bishop of Yaransk to his God-loving Orthodox flock of Yaransk, who reject Sergius’s apostasy and who do not accept the newly Renovated Bishop Seraphim – rejoice in the Lord.
Fathers, brothers, and sisters in Christ and beloved spiritual children.
On the denunciation of the incumbent Bishop Seraphim, who is now serving within the boundaries of the Yaransk bishopric, I – your patriarchal, Orthodox, lawful and canonical Bishop, have been excommunicated from the See of Yaransk by the apostate Metropolitan Sergius, and forbidden to conduct Church Services.
Of course, I cannot acknowledge this order from Metropolitan Sergius as being lawful because he, as a apostate who has fallen away like a rotten member of Christ’s Church, cannot divest Orthodox Bishops of their Sees. Therefore, I remain as I was regardless of any reprimands from Yaransk Bishop [Seraphim]; at the same time, I will not interfere in the church life of the Sergian Renovationist parishes. In the Sergian order, I am labelled as a deviant of the Victorian schism*. This is an empty, irrelevant expression. It wasn’t only Bishop Victor that walked away from Metropolitan Sergius: there were other honourable Orthodox Bishops. Besides, Bishop Victor has nothing to do with this. The truth of Orthodoxy is dear not only to Bishop Victor: this truth is also dear to Metropolitan Joseph, Bishop Demetrius of Gdov, Archbishop Seraphim of Uglich and others. What, are they “Victorians” too? - this is just an unintelligent utterance of the Apostate [Sergius]. Bishop Victor and I are simply of the same mind in denouncing the Sergianist Apostasy, and this by God’s grace and through the enlightenment of our mental eyes. I repeat, here, the expressions “Victorianism” and “Victorians” have nothing to do with it.
[* the so-called "Victorian schism" was the name the Sergianists gave to St. Victor of Glazov and his Catacomb followers. St. Victor was the 1st bishop to protest the 1927 declaration of Metropolitan Sergius. He, of course, also broke communion with the apostate. His incorrupt relics were discovered in 1997.]
To you, my Orthodox flock in Yaransk, I declare this affirmation: Metropolitan Sergius is truly a apostate from Orthodoxy, a betrayer of Christ: a liquidator or destroyer of our Orthodox Church in Russia, because he is as one with the enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do not have any church communion with him. To elucidate concerning this is pointless. The facts themselves speak too clearly – where is Sarov, Diveyevo, where are the relics of Saint Seraphim and others?
The apostate Bishop Seraphim from Yaransk wrote me an insolent, abhorrent, and extensively intimidating letter, in which he rebukes me for my groundless homilies because I make no reference to the Canons. But this is where the problem lies: the creators of the Canons wouldn’t have envisaged that among the Bishops there would be the appearance of insolent liars like Metropolitan Sergius and his menservants, the likes of Bishop Seraphim. For the believing soul that agonizes for the Holy Orthodox Church, it’s clearer than clear to see the God-detested, God-repugnant destructive Church activity of him that calls himself the deputy of the patriarchal locum tenens.
Even the clandestine side of Sergius’s administration of God’s Church is enough for all to see that now the Church of Christ is ruled by Metropolitan Serius and his secretary, the military figure and criminal, Pitirim, with his Synodal Caiaphas and some certain satanic figures. The gestures of this visage order the movements of the Orthodox from See to See, or better said – to the Synodal Bishops. So how can the question of Canons be raised?
Oh, how unsafe and disappointing it becomes for a believing soul to be with the apostate Metropolitan Sergius, is clearly confirmed and proved by the following incident that took place on Solovki in the fall of 1928 with Bishop Hilarion (Belsky) of Smolensk.
Bishop Hilarion - although young, but strictly Orthodox, of impeccable monastic life and, as far as I know, a virgin, which is now a rarity. For his steadfastness and firmness in Orthodoxy against renovationism in the St. Petersburg diocese, he was consecrated by Patriarch Tikhon as a bishop when he was 30 years old. He ruled the Smolensk diocese in the spirit of strict churchliness and Orthodox piety for a year and 8 months, for which he was exiled to the Solovetsky camp for 10 years. Consequently, even the Sergianist centre evaluated him rightly as a true spiritual power – hence such a sentence.
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| St. Hilarion (Belsky) |
This bishop, who was at first in Solovki from January to October 1928, was not in church communion with Metropolitan Sergius, but then, under pressure from the bishops under Sergius, on October 1, 1928, he served in the Solovetsky cemetery church, commemorating Metropolitan Sergius.
And shortly before this, he had a very disturbing dream: if he would have trampled the image of the Mother of God, the Smolensk Hodegetria with his feet, and what then? After serving the liturgy with the bishops of Sergius, instead of spiritual consolation and joy, he began to experience a terrible pang of conscience and oppression of spirit, and it became unusually clear to me, he told me, of the Sergianist apostasy, and I found myself, as it were, an accomplice in Sergius' crimes against the Orthodox Church. And what did he say to the bishops of Sergius at that hour - that he was leaving them to return to his former ecclesiastical position, which was held by Bishops Victor, Nektarios, Demetrius and others.
Apart from this, there are indisputable facts, about the holy confessor Metropolitan Cyril of Kazan and Svizhsk, from a former Professor of Theology in the Tomsk University, Mitred Protopriest Jacob Galahov, who is exiled 60 miles away in Siberia. According to the data from this learned elder-Protopriest, the great Orthodox adamant and pillar Vladyka Cyril: who was chosen by the Patriarch to be his successor, and who had spent many years of exile in remote areas and under house arrest - he also didn’t acknowledge apostate Sergius and is neither in Church-canonical nor prayerful communion with him. Metropolitan Cyril is now the only unparalleled authority in our church life today.
Therefore brothers, flee from Ecclesiastical communion with the apostate Sergius and all his henchmen and minions like Bishop Seraphim. Know this that all of the beauty, the colour of the Orthodox Church – the ascetics, blessed, fools for Christ, and others who live for the Lord, these all speak with one voice against the apostate Sergius.
One shouldn’t be disconcerted that Metropolitan Sergius, through his supporters from among the clergy, scientists, professors and bishops, has managed to seduce the majority of believers to his side. Remember the first months of “renovationism” in 1922. After all, church truth is not always the property of the church majority or even the ruling church apparatus, according to the learned theologian, Archbishop Dimitry of Odessa (Kovalnitsky).
There are instances in our Ecclesiastical history where 2 or 3 Bishops, standing in the Truth, were victorious against the apostate majority.
Near Metropolitan Sergius and his henchmen, is the Renovationist gang of the clergy. These, like Sergius, are all the priests who Jesuistically repented, all of the other half-dead ones, and mainly the bishops who have mastered the Sergianist dogma, so as to avoid sitting in prison.
These Bishops, akin to the Kazan Old Believers and “ascetics” Athanasius and Barsanuphius, foaming at the mouth, defend the Church unity of Metropolitan Sergius. Consequently, be aware my beloved flock, that if I am deprived of my freedom, the perpetrators of this would be Sergius, Seraphim and their company.
Let us not be perplexed by this Church schism; it’s truly a good division. As the Lord Jesus Christ said in sending His Apostles to preach to the world: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Mat. 10:34). Separation from the apostate has its own lofty task - to remain faithful to holy Orthodoxy.
Brothers! Let us love the Holy Church of Christ, let us love holy Orthodoxy and stand firm for the great spiritual treasure of our Christian piety: for our eternal salvation in Christ and our future life with Him. We glorify Him unto the ages of ages!
Amen.
8th January, 1929
Nektary, Bishop of Yaransk.
(The above text has been kindly translated by Seraphim Larin.)