"He who does not gather with Me," says the Lord, "scatters away." "Either recognize the tree as good (the Church) and its fruit as good; or acknowledge the tree as bad and its fruit as bad" (Matthew 12:33). "Therefore, I say to you: every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men; but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" (Matthew 12:30-31). "Fulfilling the measure of his sin", Metropolitan Sergius, together with his Synod, by decree of October 8 (21), 1927, introduced a new formula of remembrance.
Having mixed into one, in the great holy Mystery of the Eucharist, contrary to the word of God, "the faithful with the unbelievers" (2 Cor. 6:14-18), the Holy Church and her enemies fighting her to death, the Metropolitan by this blasphemy violates the prayerful meaning of the great Mystery and destroys its grace-filled meaning for the eternal salvation of the souls of Orthodox believers. Hence, worship becomes not just graceless, due to the gracelessness of the priest, but it becomes an abomination in the eyes of God, and therefore the one who does and participates in it is subject to deep condemnation.
Being in all his activity an anti-church heretic, as transforming the Holy Orthodox Church from a house of grace-filled salvation of believers into a graceless carnal organization devoid of the spirit of life, Metropolitan Sergius, at the same time, through his conscious renunciation of the truth and in his insane betrayal of Christ, is an open apostate from the God of Truth.
And he, without the external formal judgment of the Church (which cannot be carried out on him) "is self-condemned" (Tit. 3:10-11); he ceased to be what he was - a "servant of the truth" according to the word: "Let his habitation be desolate ... and let his bishopric take it in" (Acts 1:20).
A number of admonitions by archpastors, God-wise fathers and Orthodox men of the Church for many years did not bring any benefit, did not lead Metropolitan Sergius to the consciousness of the sin he had committed and did not arouse repentance in his heart.
Therefore, by the grace given to us from our Lord Jesus Christ, "by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 5:4), we declare that the former Metropolitan Sergius is deprived of prayerful communion with us and with all of those who are faithful to Christ and His Holy Orthodox Church, and we betray him to God's judgment: "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord" (Heb. 19:30).
The present act is in addition to those previously made by us in 1927-1928. These statements we commit in the strict consciousness of our archpastoral duty to our flock, all the faithful children of the Orthodox Church, and while standing in obedience to the Church of Christ, in due submission to the canons of the Ecumenical Councils and the Council of the Russian Church of 1917-1918, which is now headed by the Patriarchal Locum tenens [Peter] Metropolitan of Krutitsky and his deputy Seraphim, Archbishop of Uglich.
"Do not be afraid, little flock! For your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom!" (Luke 12:32).
The humble Bishop Victor.
1934