The Shepherd, December 2008
The first person we met at the church was Protodeacon Basil Yakimov from Australia, who served for a couple of years in London. The rector of the church, Fr Gregory Kotliaroff, kindly greeted us, and told us that at that Liturgy a new Bishop was to be consecrated. Fr Igor Hrebinka of Washington, a white clergyman, had been tonsured a monk that week, and given the name Joseph in honour of the Holy New Hieromartyr Joseph of Petrograd, whose feast had fallen then. Metropolitan Agafangel served with Archbishops Andronik and Sophronii of the Church Abroad and with Bishops Ambrose and Clement of our own Synod (SiR). Fr Basil made sure that, as I had not prepared to serve, I was co-opted as a supernumerary server! The sermon was preached by Fr Valentine from Bulgaria who is a priest under the spiritual omophorion of His Grace Bishop Photii, the Traditionalist hierarch there. During the Divine Liturgy Fr Joseph was consecrated as Bishop of Washington - (a service I had never seen before), - and in handing him his pastoral staff the Metropolitan made a very beautiful speech reminding him of the place of his ministry, not as an elevation, but as a service with and within the whole people of the Church.
After the service, the two SiR bishops asked Nina to taxi then to the hotel in which the Sobor was being held, and then invited the three of us (Mother, Nina & I) in for breakfast there. During this we heard to our disappointment that, although Archbishop Chrysostomos of Etna and Bishop Auxentios of Photiki had arrived in NYC for the Glorification of St Philaret, they would have to continue their journey the next day, missing the ceremonies, to meet a re-scheduled appointment with the Archbishop’s medical consultant. However, Bishop Ambrose gave us their contact number, and we arranged to visit them in their hotel as soon as we returned to the City. In the event we spent a very pleasant hour and a half talking to them, and Mama Bogolubov found that they had a common acquaintance because she had been taught by the late Fr Georges Florovsky, whom the two Bishops knew and greatly respect. We returned home about 14 hours after setting out!
The next day, I arranged to visit Reader Isaac Lambertsen, who is resident in and works at the ROCA-MP Synodal HQ. He had recently had a serious eye operation and was not feeling well, and so a visit was obligatory, especially as he had done so much work with regard to the reception of St Edward’s relics here and the establishment of the Brotherhood. Naturally, after the treatment we had received from some of the ROCA-MP people on this side of the Atlantic, there was a little apprehension about visiting the synodal HQ, but we were received and treated with great courtesy and kindness by everyone there. We visited the Cathedral to venerate the holy icons and relics, and then met Brother Isaac in a private room where, displayed for visitors on the coffee table, a pile of magazines was topped by two copies of “The Shepherd”! Before leaving we also visited the lower church in which a Baptism had been in progress when we arrived.
After a late lunch at the Bogolubov’s, we returned to the City for the last Pannikhida (memorial service) for Metropolitan Philaret and the Vigil, during which his Glorification was proclaimed. The Synodal decree was read out at the Vigil, and also Bishop Ambrose read a message of greetings from the Synod in Resistance, which was then read in a Russian translation. The anointing of the faithful after the veneration of the icon of the newly-proclaimed Saint took the greater part of the rest of the service, such were the numbers there. For this service, in addition to the hierarchs mentioned, Bishop George from the Ukraine was also celebrating.
During the Divine Liturgy the next day, a deacon, Dimitri, was ordained by Metropolitan Agafangel, and at the end there was a short moleben and the Te Deum were chanted. In all the services the chanting was done by all-male choirs and they used the ancient Russian chants rather than the rather grating faux-operatic singing which is so often used. The effect was beautiful and prayerful. The choirs were led by Daniel Olsen.
At this Liturgy, no sermon was preached, but at the very end, Metropolitan Agafangel gave a short address in which he emphasized the re-establishment of a faithful administration for the Russian Church Abroad was in no way motivated by nationalistic or political considerations, but solely for the salvation of souls. He counselled us not to judge the paths that others had taken, in the disarray prompted by the injudicious rapprochement of the Synod of Metropolitan Lavr with the Moscow Patriarchate, but that we should apply ourselves to remain faithful.
At the banquet held after the Divine services of the day, a number of speeches was made. One was by Metropolitan Pavlos of the Synod of Archbishop Chrysostomos II, who, despite his infirmity, spoke with great vigour of earlier fathers and confessors of the Church Abroad. A priest from Belarus, told us how those who, in that country, do not adhere to the State Church (MP) still often have to worship in secret. Our Bishops Ambrose and Clement also made speeches. Many commented on the rôle that Metropolitan Agafangel had played in remaining steadfast and continuing the hierarchy of the Church Abroad. He, towards the end, asked tif he might correct this, saying that one man alone cannot achieve anything, and that he was not to be thanked, because what had been achieved had been achieved by the faith of the whole people of God. This was a fitting end to the ceremonies, and manifested something that was noticeable throughout, the modesty, patience and meekness of the new Metropolitan.
That evening we were joined at supper at the Bogolubov house by Xenia Nenchin, an American convert, who was baptized, while working for Keston College, here in England in the late seventies, and has since kept in touch. Early next morning, everyone was up again to return, no doubt with some relief, to John F. Kennedy for my flight home.
I have mentioned the two short addresses of Metropolitan Agafangel because they were in such contrast to the “gospel” latterly promulgated in ROCA: one of blind obedience, order, strict hierarchy and follow-the-leader. Here we heard words of love, humility, condescension to the weaknesses of others, and not judging, - yet all well-founded on steadfastness of faith. Such words were fitting for the celebration of the glorification of St Philaret the New Confessor. Such words were those that we heard in the Church Abroad of his day. Indeed one overriding, - and I must admit it is a subjective one, - impression left with me was that the spirit of ROCA of twenty or thirty years ago, before the deadening hand fell ever heavier and heavier upon her, had been rediscovered. And glory be to our God!
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