Пятница, 13 Марта 2009

Письмо прихожанина РПАЦ Андрея Скевас (г. Нью-Йорк) Президенту РФ в защиту гонимых суздальских верующих

His Excellency
The President of the Russian Federation
Dimitry Medvedev
The Kremlin
Moscow, Russia

Your Excellency,

It is with great sadness I am writing this to you.

This is because just over a week ago a court in the Russian Federation decided to take away the Churches of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC), based in Suzdal, apparently with the intent to hand them over the Moscow Patriarchate (MP) – as has happened in the past with other churches belonging to ROAC. As an Orthodox Christian I have found this news especially disturbing and for numerous reasons.

What is so terribly wrong with ROAC to be punished in such a monumental way? ROAC is an Orthodox Church which simply practices traditional Orthodoxy, untainted by any influences from outside the doctrine of the Orthodox faith. ROAC is not against any faith, or against any other church, or against the MP, or against anyone. Apparently its only “fault” is its refusal to accept the MP as a valid Orthodox church because it is the creation of Stalin’s communist regime and it does not have canonical succession as required by the church rudder.

It is clear to anyone who follows the events that this decision has nothing to do with applying justice and everything to do about silencing and suppressing ROAC which the MP views as “competition”. What is most amazing, however, is the blind support that the Russian government is apparently giving to the MP. Are we re-living the days when the official church was an instrument of the Soviet government? Unfortunately, the recent court decision appears to be pointing in that direction. Is this the kind of image that Russia would like to project to the world?

One can only wonder why ROAC is being continuously persecuted in every conceivable way and driven once again into the catacombs. The confiscation of its churches is only the latest in an ongoing attempt to drive it into extinction. A merciless persecution of the Orthodox Church and a rein of terror were unleashed against the faithful Orthodox of Russia following the Communist revolution and continued for almost seventy years. This period of atheism and denial of God was one of the darkest periods in Russian history. Are we returning back to those horrible days? Has not motherland Russia suffered enough during those horrific years? Have not the authorities learned any lessons? Why prolong the misery for a segment of the Russian population and turn them against their own government? One cannot imagine of any kind of danger or threat that God-fearing citizens of Russia, who by their own free will chose to follow ROAC, pose to Russia – or to anyone else. Why then all this persecution? Is this the kind of image that Russia would like to project to the world?

Why is it that Muslims and Jews and believers of other faiths within the Russian Federation are free to practice their religion, but those who choose to follow True Orthodoxy – the traditional religion of Russia – are denied this right? Regrettably, this amounts to a completely unnecessary embarrassment for today’s Russian government. What happened to freedom of religion? Is this the kind of image that Russia would like to project to the world?

The churches which based on the recent court decision are to be taken away from ROAC were allocated to ROAC by the Russian government almost 20 years ago. They were dilapidated buildings, which ROAC restored to churches by the hard work and sweat of its followers under very adverse conditions and strenuous economic circumstances. The present decision to take away these churches from ROAC – by the same authorities which handed these buildings to ROAC in first place – is unheard of in a civilized society. What kind of credibility can these authorities have when they reverse their decision in such a dramatic and unpredictable manner? How much faith can anyone have in such authorities? Is this the kind of image that Russia would like to project to the world?

Mr. President, as the leader of a pre-dominantly Orthodox country, you have a privilege, but also a great responsibility to be fair and just leader to all of your people, but especially to protect the Orthodox and those who have dedicated their lives in the service of Christ and His Church. In the interest of Orthodoxy and in the interest of Russia itself I trust that you will object to the blatant violation of justice perpetrated against ROAC, and I urge you to intervene so that these churches remain with ROAC.

May the Lord Jesus Christ be your protector and guide in all your decisions.

Respectfully,

Andreas Skevas
22-19 35th Street
Astoria, NY 11105
U.S.A.
February 15, 2009