The centennial of the German Diocese and the path of the Russian Church Abroad
In 2021, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) celebrated its centennial. This year, one of its dioceses, the German diocese, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its establishment. To mark this occasion, a scholarly conference titled "Heritage and Vocation" will take place in Munich in May. One of its organizers, Protodeacon Andrei Psarev, spoke about the beginning and the present day of ROCOR.
— Father Andrei, please tell us about the early period of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Why did it need to be organized, and which clergy participated in its creation?
— The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia arose as a result of the 1917 Revolution and the Civil War. Millions of people left Russia, among them were dozens of bishops and hundreds of clerics of the Russian Orthodox Church. They found themselves in different countries in Europe, in the Balkans, in the Middle East, and in China. They faced a very practical question: how to continue church life and pastoral care when it was impossible to maintain normal communication with the Church center in Russia. Most people at that time perceived their situation as temporary and hoped for the imminent fall of Bolshevik power. In a certain sense, the church organization in the emigration developed parallel to the Russian army in exile: just as the White Army tried to preserve its organization, so did the Church hierarchs strive to maintain normal church life and governance.
At the end of 1920, in Constantinople, Russian hierarchs made the decision to create a church administration for Russian parishes outside of Russia. Later, the canonical basis for this was the decree of Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, issued in November, 1920. It stated that in extraordinary circumstances, diocesan hierarchs may establish a temporary supreme church authority locally if connection with the central church authority is interrupted.
Among the hierarchs who were at the origins of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky, 1863–1936) of Kiev and Galicia, and Archbishop Anastassy (Gribanovsky, 1873–1965) of Kishinev and Khotin should be especially mentioned.
Metropolitan Anthony was one of the most famous Russian theologians of his time and at the 1917–1918 Council became the main candidate for the Patriarchal throne.
Metropolitan Anastassy, however, had to carry out his archpastoral ministry in different countries and conditions — in Moldova, Turkey, Palestine, Yugoslavia, and later in the USA.
In August 1921, the Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church made a decision to provide canonical shelter to Russian refugee bishops. At the end of the same year, an All-Diaspora Church Assembly took place in the Serbian town of Sremski Karlovci, which effectively marked the beginning of organized life of the Russian Church in emigration.
— A large flow of emigrants moved to new places of residence after the end of World War II. How did this affect the expansion of the ROCOR?
— After World War II, there was a new wave of emigration. Hundreds of thousands of people who were called "displaced persons" ended up in Germany. Many of them could not return to the Soviet Union for religious and political reasons or out of fear of repression.
In DP camps in Germany and Austria, dozens of Orthodox parishes were established. For people who had lost their homeland, the church became the center of spiritual and social life. Priests and monks actively organized services, opened schools, and provided spiritual guidance.
A vivid example of such service was the Orthodox camp for displaced persons in Fischbeck in Northern Germany. This camp had amateur courses for psalmists, through which many future clergy and church servants of our Church passed. The post-war period was a time of changing geography. As a result of the communist revolution in China, there began an exodus from South China (Shanghai), Manchuria (Harbin) and Inner Mongolia (Three Rivers).
Later, a significant part of this emigration resettled in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela. Church life moved there along with the people. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad significantly expanded its geography and became a truly worldwide church structure. The history of the ROCOR after World War II is inseparably connected with the history of its German diocese, some of whose parishes trace their origins to former churches for displaced persons.
— Since 2007, the ROCOR has been part of the Moscow Patriarchate as a self-governing church. Please tell us about this.
— In 2007, the Act on Canonical Communion between the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate was signed.
The signing of the Act on the restoration of communion was preceded by a lengthy negotiation process, which took place during the leadership of ROCOR by its sixth First Hierarch, Metropolitan Laurus (Shkurla, 1928–2008). Within its framework, from 1993 to 1997, nine meetings were held in Germany between representatives of the clergy of the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Then the First Conference on the History of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th Century took place in Szentendre (Hungary) in 2001, followed by the Second Conference in Moscow in 2002.
In 2003, an All-Diaspora Pastoral Conference was held in Nyack, NY. From 2004 to 2006, eight meetings of joint commissions on negotiations between the ROC and the ROCOR took place in Moscow, Munich, Paris, Nyack, and Cologne. In 2006, the Fourth All-Diaspora Council of the ROCOR was held in San Francisco.
As a result of this extensive dialogue, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad joined the Russian Orthodox Church as a self-governing part. At the same time, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia retained broad internal autonomy. It holds its own Councils of Bishops, elects its Primate and hierarchs, manages its dioceses, monasteries, and parishes. Recently, it was announced that a new theological seminary would be established in Europe, where instruction will be conducted in Russian.
The Moscow Patriarch affirms the election of the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) and new bishops [since they are ex-officio members of the Council of the MP—transl.]. The name of the Most Holy Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia is mentioned in established places of worship, thereby maintaining the spiritual unity of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. However, the day-to-day management of the life of the overseas dioceses is carried out by the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia themselves. At the same time, the bishops of ROCOR retain the ability to express their position on important issues of church life, as seen, for example, from the statement of the ROCOR Synod last summer regarding "the return of twentieth-century ideological approaches in Russia."
— Tell us about the current state of the ROCOR, how many dioceses it includes. What is the number of bishops and priests, parishes? What is the role of the Holy Trinity Seminary and the monastery in Jordanville for the development of the ROCOR?
— The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consists of eight dioceses: Eastern American, Western American, Canadian, German, Great Britain and Western Europe, Australian-New Zealand, and South American.
In these dioceses, thirteen hierarchs and hundreds of clergy serve. In total, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad unites several hundred parishes and missions operating in very different conditions — from Great Britain to Argentina. Despite these differences, throughout the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, there is a common understanding of the tradition of Russian Orthodoxy, culture, and the historical path of our Church.
Holy Trinity Monastery and the theological seminary in Jordanville, NY, have special significance for the entire Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. This monastery has become the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. There is a seminary attached to it, where students can engage with the living tradition of Russian Orthodox monasticism.
For several generations of Orthodox believers, Jordanville has become the “lavra of the Russian Diaspora.” Many of our hierarchs and clergy, including those currently serving in the parishes of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese, received their formation here. Its ruling hierarch, His Grace Bishop George of Sydney and Australian-New Zealand, was a monastic of Holy Trinity Monastery and a graduate of the seminary. Our First Hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York, is also an alumnus of HTS.
Jordanville is also a scholarly center. As a consultant, I, being a professor at the seminary, participate in organizing a conference dedicated to the centenary of the German diocese. In 2008, with the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion, I created the online portal Questions of the History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, www.rocorstudies.org
— What awaits the parishioners of the ROCOR dioceses in the near future?
— The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad today continues to develop in various countries around the world. New parishes and missions are emerging, including in local languages. It is no secret that we live at a time of noticeable interest in Orthodoxy among people who grew up outside traditionally Orthodox countries.
Understanding one's own history is also of great importance. The conference, which will take place in May in Munich and will be dedicated to the centenary of the German diocese, will bring together historians from different countries. Such meetings between professional researchers and church people are important for mutual enrichment and for developing a language of conversation about church history and our path in the modern world.
The remarkable communion that unites the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad around the world allows for maintaining lively communication between bishops, clergy, and laity. Such conciliar communion helps to discover new strengths, support the archpastors, and strengthen the life of our Church.
For those who are interested in participating in the conference "Heritage and Vocation" in Munich on May 6-8, registration is available for both in-person and remote participation at this link: https://rocor.de/ru/konferenz
Interview by Vladimir Kuzmin
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