A letter of St. Damascene, Bishop of Glukhov:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
To Father Hieromonk Aristocleus.
If it’s possible to somehow excuse a provincial priest, who is burdened with earthly cares and who therefore is afraid to forfeit his welfare by confessing true Orthodoxy, then for us monks, there is no excuse for such faintheartedness: there can be no “fearfulness” (Rev. 21:8).
If you, Father Aristocleus, were not aware of the church situation, did not have a proper explanation, then after I had explained it to you: after I had pointed out the great sin of Sergianist lawlessness, that Metropolitan Sergius has turned against his Head and is not carrying out his categorical demands, that he violated many Church Rules and arbitrarily usurped powers that even the Patriarch didn’t have – after all this, you can have no grounds of justification, and by remaining in communion with the Sergianists you become a participant in their lawlessness.
You have assumed a greater sin upon yourself, for you continue using your former authority to keep those, who doubting their Orthodoxy turn to you for advice, in the Sergian lawlessness.
In denying you my blessing, I summon you to God’s judgment, before Whom I will stand with a clear conscience in this matter, conjointly with the Locum Tenens Metropolitan Peter - Head of the Russian Church , with Metropolitan Kirill and thirty Archpastors of the previous ordination (such are not lackeys to Metropolitan Sergius and are therefore sufferingin exile). Repent and correct your sin with the genuine confession of Orthodoxy: do not waste time as God’s judgment is occurring on the lawless.
Amen.
Wretched Bishop Damascene
1934
(The above text has been kindly translated by Seraphim Larin.)