Press Conference on the Visit to Russian of the Relics of SS Elizaveta and Varvara

photo-report

Komsomolskaya Pravda greets His Grace Bishop Alexander of Dmitrov and Vicar of the Moscow Diocese; His Grace Bishop Michael of Boston, representing the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia; and President of the St Andrew the First-Called Fund, Alexander Vladimirovich Melnik. The topic of today's press conference is "The First Joint Project of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is Complete. The Relics of Holy Martyrs Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna and Nun Varvara Return to Jerusalem."

Vladyka Alexander:

Your Grace, dear Vladyka Michael, honorable Alexander Vladimirovich Melnik, President of the St Andrew the First-called Fund, dear friends, I think that the seven-month-long visit of the holy relics of SS Elizaveta and Nun Varvara to Russia is a divine miracle, for indeed, the Lord has granted wisdom to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, the head of our Church, and the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus, to arrange this first joint event, and helped the Center of the National Glory of Russia, in the person of Vladimir Ivanovich Yakunin, and the Fund of St Andrew the First-called in the person of Alexander Vladimirovich Melnik to manifest this great deed.

Seven months is a long period of time. I accompanied the relics to the Far East and saw with my own eyes what a great task had been accomplished before and during the trip. Over this period of time, the relics visited 71 dioceses, over 140 cities. Over 10 million people had the joy and elation of praying before the fateful relics of these pleasers of God. I think that this was a great sermon of sorts of the Orthodox Church, of the Faith, for different sorts of people came to see them. People with great faith came, people who have recently come into the church, and those who are only now coming to know the Church, those who, like little children, made their first halting steps towards God. And I think that their prayers before the relics of God's saints helped open the spiritual eyes for many people, who maybe saw themselves from the inside, they saw their lives, they were able to grasp the meaning of life.

That is why I feel that the procession of the cross with the relics of these saints is also a reminder to those who consider that the sacrifice our people made in the 20th century was only an invention, a fantasy; the century of horrible, unheard-of persecution, when hundreds of millions of people suffered. No, this was reality! Both I and the President of the Fund of St Andrew the First-called, Alexander Vladimirovich Melnik, were at Kolyma, where the ground was literally sown with bones, soaked with tears, sweat and blood of our finest compatriots.

And among these victims were representatives of the House of the Romanovs who were thrown down a mineshaft, Nun Varvara and Holy Martyr Elizaveta, who, already at the threshold of death, helped those in need. And I think that this sermon is also about mercy, for St Elizaveta invites all of us to make acts of love, of mercy, of empathy, to be helpful to our neighbor, to understand people, to condescend to them, for sometimes were are intolerant. I refer to those who, learning a bit of the Gospel, reading some prayers, consider themselves churchly enough, educated enough, and sometimes they prove to be intolerant—they are very strict with those around them, incredibly demanding. This must be avoided, and St Elizaveta herself teaches us this merciful, empathetic, kind attitude towards our neighbors.

I wish to take this opportunity to express on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia (who yesterday, February 23, celebrated his 76th birthday, and today will officiate at all-night vigil at Epiphany Cathedral on the eve of his namesday, and tomorrow, February 25, will serve liturgy at Christ the Savior Church), on behalf of the angel of our church, to thank both Vladimir Ivanovich Yakunin, President of the Benevolent Fund of the Center for the National Glory of Russia, and the President of the Fund of St Andrew the First-called, Alexander Vladimirovich Melnik, for their great work they perform.

I think that the rapprochement of the two branches of the Russian Orthodox Church—in Russia and abroad—is also their great deed. They did a great deal of organizational work, and of course, assumed enormous material costs, for this seven-month-long visit of the relics of these saints to Russia was not an inexpensive endeavor: airfare, carfare, all had to be paid forЙ All this lay on the shoulders of these two social organizations.

I also wish to thank Bishop Michael, with whom we have become friends, and thank the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus, for his blessing, for providing the opportunity to us by entrusting the relics of these saints to us. Please pass along my genuine gratitude to His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus.

Vladyka Michael:

Escorting the relics of SS Elizaveta and Varvara throughout all of Russia was a great joy for me. The right hand of Holy Martyr Elizaveta blessed the entire Russian people on its path, it is the only surviving holy relic of the Holy Royal New Martyrs. The fact that for almost a century (for three generations), these relics were found in the Holy Land, in the Church of St Mary Magdalene Equal-to-the-Apostles, a few paces from the site where the Lord prayed, was all a sign that was at the time impossible to foresee. After this trip I can see all the expanses of the Russian land. Everywhere we were greeted by hosts of clergymen and the Russian people, we discovered that in fact, Holy Martyr Elizaveta had already been there. Everywhere we went there were signs of here presence even before the Lord crowned her with martyrdom.

The great Mother appeared to Russia as an image of mercy, and she has not been forgotten to this day. She lives in the hearts of the Russian people, and her right hand, visiting Russia, seemed to unite with all those sacrifices which had glorified the Russian land. We saw a great number of skulls and bones in the construction of churches, all bearing witness to those times. Today the prayers of the Holy New Martyrs illuminate our future existence. If the entire world is indeed moving away from Christ, if the whole world turns away from Him, Russia was saved from this by her New Martyrs. This feeling came upon me during my trip with the relics.

In all 70 dioceses, in all territories we visited, the relics were met with such joy and hope! Maybe not everyone came to see them the first day, but later they would emerge from their homes and come to the churches. It was very difficult to bid farewell to those who stood on the platforms of the train stations and airports terminals. This was a great joy for us, and a consolation, that, in coming from abroad, Elizaveta Feodorovna drew together, with one thread, in one burst and in one prayer, all Russian people who always prayed to God and pray to Him to this day. Despite the difficulties the Russian people are experiencing, this trip with the relics of SS Elizaveta and Varvara inspired many. I wish to thank His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II that everywhere the circumstances for greeting these relics were prepared in advance, so that these meetings would be fruitful wherever they were. Usually, the large reliquary with the right hand of Elizaveta Feodorovna was taken to the cathedral of the diocese we visited. The smaller reliquary with the remains of the two saints would visit hospices, hospitals, orphanages, sometimes military installations, sometimes cadet schools, high schools, remote parishes. Thanks to this we were given the opportunity to cover large areas, and draw as many people as we did to the relics. I will not repeat the words of gratitude which I have often repeated to the Fund of St Andrew the First-called, and which I hold in my heart. The organization of an event on such a grand scale, so far-ranging, is a great accomplishment. To travel throughout all of Russia is, of course, difficult. Participating in all the legs of the trip, I saw how everything was prepared in advance. Vladyka Alexander, thank you for your love, for your trust, for our contact. We rarely quarreled, having found a common tongue, which was also the case with other bishops in all the other dioceses. Although we were separated for long periods, it seemed, that being in church, we have known each other for a long time; it turned out that we are much closer to one another than we thought. I was born in Paris, and as a 15-year-old boy, I did not think that I could ever visit Russia. And suddenly, the Lord granted me the opportunity to see this great expanse, which it is impossible to embrace in its entirety, and all this love which exists in the Russian people. They said that 10 million people venerated the relics. We were able to judge by the number of printed icons we distributed, which were always lacking in sufficient number. But the statistics don't matter, it is the fact that this was an nation-wide movement! The people who came represented every class of Russian society. Sometimes we were met by governors who walked with us on the processions of the cross. Mayors came, we were invited by representatives of their administrations, we met with them. That is, it was a general reception by all. Sensing the power of the grace of the holy relics of SS Elizaveta and Varvara, everyone began to realize the significance of bringing them to Russia.

Alexander Melnik:

I will begin with the words of gratitude to our journalistic colleagues, because this topic probably became a record-breaking topic in publications throughout the whole country. The competition we sponsored for essays on this visit of the relics to Russia garnered 1,400 submissions from the entire country. There are some very interesting, professionally-written, heartfelt items. It is very significant that there were practically no negative items submitted. Everyone understands and recognizes the importance of this event. The entire country, the entire people were shown an example of service in the work of the Great Mother Elizaveta, the service of a colossal number of people who participated in this action. For example, no one expected that in Alma-Ata, in temperatures of ten degrees below zero Celsius, for two nights, a colossal line stretching a kilometer long would form, but people kept coming and coming. The Kazakh officials who helped us came in astonishment at this miracle, this line, then they got in line themselves and approached the relics, because if so many Russians were in line, it must be that something good was happening here. The winners of our competition, for example, were the Lithuanian National Television station, the Dnepropetrovsky Center of Orthodox Culture Lestvitsa, the GTRK "Omsk," which produced the most interesting reports. Though the relics did not visit Ukraine, very interesting television news items were produced and aired in Dnepropetrovsk on the visit of the relics to Russia. That is, in a country that these relics did not even visit because of the political situation, they wrote about it, talked about it, spread the news! I wish to say that all the winners will participate in our missionary pilgrimages this year. Unfortunately, the visit of the relics to the territory of Russia and the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church is ending. On Monday, February 28, we fly to Jerusalem to return the relics, where they were and will remain. Maybe the dream that Vladyka talked about will be fulfilled. There is a preliminary decision by the Synod that when the work on the restoration of Marfo-Mariinsky convent is completed, it may be possible to bring part of the relics to Russia—to the Convent, which is located on Bolshaya Ordynka, across the street from our Fund. This would be wonderful! I would also welcome this. Concluding the wide-ranging and for us very important program, which I think had a very benevolent influence on us (it brought good to our organization), we are preparing by the end of the year to publish an album on the relics' visit Russia. We will probably prepare a documentary on it. We will ask our partners abroad to distribute the film around the world. I hope BBC will be interested in it. Work is now complete on a script for a movie titled "Elizaveta." Reading it, I was incredibly moved by the dramatic and artistic situation. All this began with an outline written by Metropolitan Vladimir of Tashkent, who is acting as our consultant. I hope that we will create a great, serious piece of work. Once again I wish to express an enormous debt of gratitude towards those who participated in this program, because most of these people invested a great deal of spiritual energies to make this happen.

Political Observer "KP," N. Andrushchenko:

Thank you on behalf of all the journalists for the opportunity to venerate the relics!

"Trud":

This first joint action by the two branches of the Russian Orthodox Church has contributed towards their rapprochement. Are there proposals to continue this type of project? Will practical works accompany the negotiating process? If so, what concrete ideas are there? Maybe practical cooperation by the two churches?

Vladyka Alexander:

Periodic meetings are even now taking place. But I think that the visit of the relics did much more than these talks. I have not yet heard of any measures planned for the future. But I think that they can happen, they are possible. In any case, one would hope there would be more of them.

Alexander Melnik:

We must create new joint actions. When the relics were brought to the Church of Christ the Savior, Vladyka Michael looked at me, and I saw the question in his eyes: "What shall we do together next?"

Vladyka Michael:

We must continue our relationship. Because in each others eyes there is already a new dynamic with an entirely different character, which is more important in order to understand what we have from the church and what we understand as sobornost [conciliarity—transl.]. Church relations are manifested not only in canonical decisions, but in joint prayer. For this it is very important, alongside discussions and reaching decisions, to also come to know what is happening in peoples' hearts. To understand that the grace of God is expressed in love, it is impossible to avoid contact with bishops, with priests, with the people. We sensed this from the first day of our visit to the dioceses. This is impossible to sense from a distance. Each of us knows this. But when people live far apart, they lose a certain connection, even if they are of one mind, for contact must be maintained so that they become more of one spirit. And there is a need for this. I think that opportunities will arise, meetings will take place, and not only formal ones. Indeed, we can do something together, simple things like this.

Vladyka Alexander:

I think that the foundations have been laid for may new joint actions, and neither Vladimir Ivanovich Yakunin nor the Center of the National Glory of Russia, nor the Fund of St Andrew the First-called will remain uninvolved. I think that this rapprochement has begun, and together, or course, we will manifest these new projects and will come closer together.

Natalia Andrushchenko:

Against the background of the dissolution of what had once been a single whole, what is happening in Ukraine, in Georgia, etc., one would very much hope that in the spiritual sense, the unification would continue wherever people live.

RIA "Novosti":

Vladyka Michael, can you say with confidence that the procession of the cross with the relics of Elizaveta Feodorovna and Nun Varvara throughout the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church truly hastened the nascent process of rapprochement with the Moscow Patriarchate?

Vladyka Michael:

Maybe the question was formulated too rigidly. "Rapprochement" is maybe not the right word for the church, because the Church for us has always been one. That is, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has always considered itself an indissoluble part of the Russian Orthodox Church. We belong to one body—that of the Church. If one is to talk about coming closer together, this is coming together of people and of the spirit. A great many people did not even know of the existence of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia--but of course, I do not mean the clergy. But for instance, when someone went abroad from Russia, he could cross himself in one of our churches, he could take Communion...

Strana.ru:

In light of the complex political situation in Latvia, with the harsh statements made by the Latvian president, I would like to pause for a moment at the visit of the relics to that country. Were there any obstacles, difficulties or problems with bringing the relics to Latvia?

Vladyka Michael:

We noticed nothing during our visit to Latvia. After services, the Russian Consul came to venerate the relics with his family. The "special status" of the representatives of the country in the "near abroad," which was once part of a single nation, was not clear. In Riga, the people came to the relics. The ruling bishop handled all situations splendidly when certain topics had to be addressed with caution, so that these expressions would be acceptable in Riga, for Latvia, where even the government includes people of various faiths. Thanks to these skills of the metropolitan, we had no tensions in this regard.

Neskuchny sad:

Vladyka Michael, please tell us which diocese did you like the most?

Vladyka Michael:

You know, I was often asked this question. Unfortunately, I am unable to answer it, because each diocese breathes its own breath. They are all different. Yet they are all the same. That is, there is a difference in their situations. For instance, in Anadyr, in the Far East, they exist under certain conditions, but when you go, let us say, to Ryazan, to Vladimir, the situation is completely different. But what is the same everywhere is that people were drawn to the relics, they rose up, went, both those who know the church, and those who are not very close to the church. There were those who came to church for the first time in their lives. They came to these holy relics. This spirit was sensed most of all. The main joy was seeing these people coming to visit the relics. At least I speak for myself. Each diocese has its own position. Of course, in Vladimir you have ancient cathedrals, in Ryazan, the main cathedral has not yet been transferred to the church, and it is still a museum. In Siberia they declared at one time that it was a land of atheism, and there was practically nothing there, no church presence, now everyone is building [churches]. In Khabarovsk, for instance, five new cathedrals are being built! That is to say that it is different everywhere.

Russky vestnik:

I don't doubt that the arrival of the relics was accompanied by healings and conversions. Have church institutions recorded this, has this reached the media, publications that Mr Melnik mentioned?

Alexander Melnik:

Yes, of course, they write about them, they talk about them. But it is early to speak of this, because as I understand it, there is a certain procedure of establishing these kinds of miracles. That is why we will not say anything now. Each person has his own attitude towards miracles. There are those who invent miracles for themselves. But there are also factual instances. After some time, when we finish preparing the final documents, we will try to publish whatever we are given a blessing to.

Vladyka Alexander:

I think that all the genuine miracles will, of course, be recorded. We will read about them and see them. But it is true that people invent miracles. I judge from what I hear in confessions. I have been a priest for 27 years, and heard all about miracles during confessions. One person says he sees a little flame when he prays, another feels some kind of warmth, someone else claims to have been dragged around by their clothing. This all depends on the person's psyche. Maybe it is true, maybe not. People who are not completely well, especially those who recently came to the church, yearn for such miracles, and they "see" something: the evil one will immediately conjure up some kind of "miracle." And if the evil one involves himself in this process, there will definitely be some kind of "miracle." These are false miracles. But there are, of course, authentic miracles! I think there have been many of them, and we must write about them. And then, you know, a miracle is a very personal thing. If one really happens, not everyone will speak out. Also, bear in mind another factor: people are a bit frightened, they fear discussing what they experience. That is why in order to encourage someone to speak, to find out what really happened, you must first make him comfortable. Many have witnessed miracles, but fear speaking of them.

Vladyka Michael:

I am a witness of the following: A woman came with two small children under her arms. She ran over after work and asked: "Where are the relics?" When she was led up to them, she said: "What do I need to do?" She was told that she had to cross herself. "How do I do that?" "You must venerate the relics." "What does that mean?" "Kiss the relics." So she had the children kiss the relics, and, joyfully, explained: "I came home after work, fed the kids and heard the broadcast that a holy relic came, that people are going. I didn't even know where the church was, but I dressed the children, turned off the lights, the gas, and we ran out...and found ourselves here!" There you are: even something this minor deserves attention.

Vladyka Alexander:

In general, there is much that people don't understand in church. For instance, what does it mean to "prilozhitsya" ["venerate"]? Some people think of the other meaning of the word, "to drink alcohol." Someone takes Communion, and they are told "Go, drink" [e.g. the thinned warm wine with prosphoras offered after Communion—transl.]. He thinks that means go get drunk for three months. Everything has to be explained. I always tell my priests that one must explain the most elementary things during confession, because often these priests finish theological academy and begin to have lofty thoughts, they think that everyone understands things on their level. One must speak simply to people, as though they are children. Many are simply infants in matters of the faith. Indeed, one person admitted to me: "I was told to 'go, drink,' but I don't drink, I can't, I'm an addict. I drank my whole life, for some twenty years, and now I have to drink again! It turned out this was just a few gulps of water." They think that to "prilozhitsya" means to have a shot of vodka. But it means to kiss an icon, to make a prostration. That is, everyone understands things differently. For this reason, people must be led into the church life. That is why we must write more in simple books. Because the newspapers contain a great number of astute essays, but we must write about the simplest things.

Vladyka Michael:

There were many miracles connected with the relics, but not everyone spoke of them. Why? Because there is this aspect, plain as day—the action of the Holy Spirit, manifested in what we call a miracle. There is no discerning it, no understanding it, no human conception of it, because this is an act of the Holy Spirit, inexplicable by any physiological or physical laws.

Vladyka Alexander:

I think that miracles are accessible by deeply humble and pure-hearted people. You remember how in church there were a thousand people, but only two saw the Mother of God. For "the pure of heart will behold God!" But they will not talk about it. That is the crux of the matter.

"Mayak" Radio:

Can you tell us more about this special decision made by the Synod of the ROCOR?

Alexander Melnik:

In order to bring this plan to life, the ROCOR Synod made this decision. Vladyka passed our request to the Synod in New York asking that the relics be brought to Russia, and they decided for what period of time and so forth.

Vladyka Michael:

The Fund of St Andrew the First-called made a request to bring the relics of SS Elizaveta and Varvara to Moscow as part of the renovation of Marfo-Mariinsky Convent at the end of 2003 and early 2004, and asked that time be given first to prepare a reliquary for portions of the relics. The Synod of the ROCOR decided that if the relics are to go to Russia, they should be here not for a few days, but for a longer period of time, beginning on July 17, 2004, the feast day of the Royal New Martyrs, until February 13, 2005, when the feast day of the Host of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia is celebrated. And so it happened. They took the appropriate steps in Moscow in order to have the relics travel to all the dioceses.

"Mayak" Radio:

Will ROCOR evaluate the travels of the relics on the territory of the Russian Orthodox Church?

Vladyka Michael:

It already has, during the visit, and afterwards. The participation of the Church Abroad in this event was uninterrupted for the duration of these seven months. ROCOR sees it with great joy. Last evening I spoke with Metropolitan Laurus, who unerringly kept track of all the movements of the relics, and watched the broadcast of the arrival of the relics to the Church of Christ the Savior.

RIA "Novosti":

What is the schedule for the planned films? Is the script for the movie ready? When will it be released? Who is in charge of this?

Alexander Melnik:

We have a film production company called "Andreevsky flag," which is preparing a whole series of projects. Next week we will have an announcement on the project called "Mongol." This is a big, serious commercial film covering our history. A press conference will be held on March 4, 2005. Now we launched a multi-faceted project called "The Storm of Berlin" and will try in the near future to provide more details. Using movies and radio, we will try to tell the whole world about the situation connected with the final days of the war, that Berlin was not taken by "Private Ryan," but by the Soviet Army and all the people who occupied the former Soviet Union. Leonid Nekhoroshev led the group that prepared the project. His surname is renowned among cineastes. For many years he was Chief Editor of Mosfilm. I think that we have achieved something that absolutely must be presented as a commercial film, that is, we have moved away from documentary films and created some very dramatic material. The movie company "Andreevsky flag" will begin work on this project immediately after the completion of the preparatory phase which is in full steam. I think that shooting will not likely begin this year, but probably next year.

Parlamentskaya gazeta:

Everyone knows that the seven-month-long visit of the relics to Russia was a titanic project. Did your project enjoy the support of the local governments of the seven states the relics traveled through?

Alexander Melnik:

If one is to speak of governments, then, mostly, yes. For instance, I personally participated in the trip to Central Asia, to our former republics, Today these are the states of Kyrghizia and Kazakhstan. I also went to the Caucasus, to Baku. Practically everywhere we met with people who represented these governments, or their parliaments. There was no resistance anywhere to this event, on the contrary, there was a great deal of interest, including on the part of the local media and the government television stations. People were talking about it everywhere. In Baku, we were met by the Vice Speaker of the Mejlis—Azerbaijan's parliament. In her words, she had come to love Elizaveta Feodorovna from reading articles about her in Komsomolskaya Pravda 15-20 years ago, and when she heard that her relics were being brought to Azerbaijan, she volunteered to participate in their welcome. In Kazakhstan we met Nazarbaev, a local television station aired the program "Dialog of Civilizations," which we directed. That is, their attitudes were completely normal. In Belarus everything went well, too! We operated in the Baltics, too, relying most of all on the Russian Orthodox Church. But we were helped by entrepreneurs and deputies who represented Russian interests in these states.

RIA "Novosti":

Did the hierarchy bless the film projects?

Alexander Melnik:

We discussed it with Metropolitan Vladimir of Tashkent and Central Asia, since he has a very serious paper dedicated to the Grand Duchess Elizaveta, which inspired me to appeal to Vladyka with the request to make a movie based on it. Vladyka is now ill. Unfortunately, he was involved in an accident, but he is recovering now, and we hope that when he can return to work, we will receive his blessing.

ITAR-TASS:

I have a questions for Vladyka Michael. You said that it was possible that the Church Abroad will give a portion of the relics and one of the reliquaries to Marfo-Mariinskiy Convent after the restoration project is complete. When will this occur?

Vladyka Michael:

As soon as the renovation of Marfo-Mariinsky Convent is announced, we will hand over the smaller reliquary, which in and of itself represents a holy item, for it was made from boards of the coffins in which the bodies of Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna and Nun Varvara were brought from Peking to Gethsemane. These were new coffins made of Chinese teak wood. In the middle of the reliquary is a silver cross, under that earth from Darmstadt, where Grand Duchess Elizaveta was born, from the Holy Land, specifically, from Gethsemane, where her relics now lie, and earth from Alapaevsk, where she was crowned with martyrdom. On the lid is an enameled medallion depicting the Icon of the Savior Not-made-by-hands, which they found with the remains of St Elizaveta. This had been a gift from Emperor Nicholas II on the day of her conversion to Orthodoxy. That is why it is not only the ribs which lie on either side of the cross, but the reliquary itself is a holy item.

Neskuchny sad:

Did everyone know your itinerary? And did you have to do any educational work among the members of the administrations of the various oblasts you visited?

Alexander Melnik:

Of course, not everyone knew, but this is natural. There were a great many questions on the part of even those people who already came to venerate the relics and those who stood in these lines. On the eve, we would try to talk about the relics, explain what is happening, in the local media.

Vladyka Michael:

I can only add that during the trip, the Fund of St Andrew the First-called was constantly occupied with this. Local journalists and diocesan representatives were given information ahead of time. Besides, in each diocese, information was broadcast on television, radio, during sermons, when priests prepared their flocks while speaking to them from the ambo. So in most cases, people already knew of the arrival of the relics. A great many people met us at train stations with photographs of Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, or with icons. If we came at night, they would hold candles. There were places where people knew little, and we would tell them about the relics. In each diocese we gave television interviews, during which we answered questions. Both I and the local bishops told of the holy martyrs from the ambo. That is, information was disseminated through the mass media everywhere.

Natalia Andrushchenko:

During service, our Patriarch cited the words of Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, who had said that Russia no longer exists, but that Holy Rus could not die. Making this grand excursion throughout the country, what conclusion did you come to? Does Russia exist or not?

Vladyka Michael:

You know, where the people and the clergy meet—that is Russia! But there were also people who could not come for personal reasons (whether they lived far away, or did not have time). People would come up and say that they had not seen the relics themselves, they could not come, but they knew about them and they would pray. And of course, they happily took the printed icons we tried to distribute everywhere. That is, Russia never died! Sometimes, living abroad, we would be told that she no longer exists. My father would tell me that if anyone says that, don't believe them! Today one can state that Russia is the Orthodox Church and the people who are within her confines, which the Church that was sanctified through the centuries. It is for good reason that the Russian people are so different from others, whether they have more faith or less faith, whether they live by the laws or not. I do not doubt this, personally. In any case, we remain Russians as long as we have our faith. This is the most important thing!

Vladyka Alexander:

I think about the Russia that I saw. I traveled not throughout the entire country, but only in the Far East. I saw the poverty of the people, but I also saw the faith, signs of the rebirth of Russia. Indeed, sorrow, suffering and the loss of those dear to us draws us closer to God, they force one to think of the meaning of life. Under such conditions, people become more religious. In Europe I saw people who were complacent, and at peace. They have no time for God, they enjoy sitting near the fireplace with a glass of wine. We have people who live under very difficult circumstances. This is no fable, it is true! People are poor. Only 10 percent of our population lives well, 30 percent, more or less comfortable. And 30 percent live in horrible need! Others just barely make ends meet. That is why that the Russia which Elizaveta Feodorovna saw, the Russia in which she lived, I think, has not yet returned. But Holy Russia exists, we see her, we see the renascence of monasteries and churches. This is Holy Russia indeed! But that is another topic entirely.

Alexander Melnik:

One of the most difficult and complicated things is that people come to the relics with an internal expectation that something will change in their lives, materially, that they feel part of something that is called the people and the government. Because, unfortunately, very many people feel lost in that world which has appeared on the territory of our nation. This must be stated openly, we should not fool ourselves. In Baku, a delegation of the Georgian Orthodox Church, headed by Metropolitan Sergii of Nekres and Eret, came to pray before the relics. We understood that we are representatives of a great nation, a great sovereignty, the Russian Orthodox Church. We had to see the Georgians, who came with tears in their eyes to pray at the relics for Georgia to preserve an Orthodox government, to pray that the Georgian people remain Orthodox. There is colossal pressure by Protestants, a great deal of pressure from American ideology and incredible pressure on the part of the administrative structures of Georgia upon the Georgian Orthodox Church. Everything is clearer in comparison. When in many places you see poverty, which, unfortunately, exists, then you understand that it is in part accompanied by our spiritual poverty. We do not know where to find support, we have lost that which was once called state ideology. We tried to replace it with faith, but we cannot do this, probably, and we should not do this in the future, because the state must have a clear, well-defined position with regard to that which is good and what is bad. How are the people supposed to live, and on the basis of what values must a people feel themselves one? I feel that for all of us (for those who came to the relics, those who brought them and those who followed all of this) there is a very important inner question: what will happen to our country in the future, how will it develop, will it preserve that one main thing that always defined Russia, not only Holy Russia, but Russia as a state? This is the Orthodox faith, Orthodox tradition, these are the foundations of the Orthodox Russian state. This is a very important moment for all of us. It is not a question of numbers, it is not that ten million persons venerated the relics. The fact of the matter is that for a majority of these people, there is one common question: how will we live going forward?

Vladyka Alexander:

-If we are to build Russia with God, then, of course, this cannot but bring us joy. Many say: "Everything depends on the economy; that is the crux of the problem." I was in Magadan, where there is gold, rubies, but the people are poor. They don't understand it themselves, why do they not have an extra loaf of bread? They cannot understand what the problem is. What a mystery! The leaders, upon whom everything rests, those who decide the fates of individuals, who took it upon themselves to decide, they cannot understand themselves. They have all this, but they cannot bring it to cohesiveness. I spoke with different types of people, but I did not see deeply faithful leaders. They hope for something else: someone will let them know, someone will help. There is no trust in God, yet God must be trusted. If we appeal to Him, it must be with trust, earnestly, with a simple heart. This has not yet come. They say: "Thank God!" That is, they learned five or six words, but there is no faith. There are directives from Moscow: "Have contact with the clergy!" But is this faith?

Natalia Andrushchenko:

For them this is the Supreme authority.

Vladyka Alexander:

And so they follow their leader: Vladimir Vladimirovich prayed on the Nativity and on Pascha, and so they should pray, too. This is wrong, they must reach this by themselves.

Natalia Andrushchenko:

Was the entire plan carried out? Was everything you hoped accomplished?

Alexander Melnik:

Unfortunately, because of the political situation in Ukraine, we could not visit that nation, where, naturally, the relics could have been used for political purposes. Imagine: we walk together with one flag, and then immediately the people will cry out, or something will happen. So it was decided that we could not visit Ukraine. Otherwise, the schedule was followed to the very last day. It was quite a surprise when we were denied permission to enter Uzbekistan. Without any explanation, state officials informed Metropolitan Vladimir of Tashkent and Central Asia of this, and he was surprised that "the Uzbek side is not able to ensure the security of the visit of the relics on the territory of Uzbekistan and is concerned that this might provoke attacks by radical Islamic organizations." These are two countries, which of course we very much wished to visit but could not. All the other promises we were able to fulfill. Maybe we did not make it to a few places, but for practical reasons only, because this depended on train schedules, scheduling, etc. We must express a great debt of gratitude to the Russian railroad workers! Despite the fact that we paid for all the services (which I must stress), that is, we paid for all the rail cars, the transfers, the trips, etc, but logistically, they helped a great deal! Imagine what it means to connect a colossal number of separate movements through different branches, transfers, stopovers. For the relics were kept in a rail-car chapel. Connected to this was the car where the delegation lived. We must greatly thank the railroad services! If anyone else writes about this, I will be very happy, because we will continue to work with them.

Vladyka Alexander:

But sometimes I would be admonished by some bishop, who would even call me late at night: "We expected the relics at such-and-such a time, and you're sending them somewhere else!" As though I own my own rail line, cars, ships, electric locomotives or planes! How can I bring them? I am also subject to the schedule. So some metropolitan calls me at three o'clock in the morning and demands that I change something... There were some errors, but small ones.

Voskresnaya shkola:

Will your event change anything within educational institutions?

Vladyka Alexander:

I think that we should pray for this, and fight for it. If we simply express dissatisfaction and criticize, nothing will happen. We must speak out, raise our voices! We must struggle for education, for history and literature, we must fight for this!

Natalia Andrushchenko:

The first event of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has successfully come to an end. We thank you for your efforts, Vladyka Alexander, and you, Vladyka Michael, and of course the Fund of St Andrew the First-called and the Center for the National Glory of Russia, for a great many people came into contact with these great holy relics. Thank you for this opportunity!