Announcement by Metropolitan Anthony at the London Parish
AGM, 19th May 2002
We are coming towards the end of our meeting, and I
want to say just a little. For the first time in the 53 years that I have
been at the head of this parish, we have had real tensions, and unpleasant
tensions, between members of the parish. And this is something which must
be resolved by an honest and reflective attitude to the situation. And
the situation is this.
Vladyka Hilarion has come to this parish. First it
was planned that he would be a lecturer in Cambridge; and then it was
suggested by Vladyka Kyril that he should come as a bishop. Now, since
he has come, there has been a great deal of misunderstanding and dividedness
among people. First of all his appointment here has hurt a great many
people because it coincided with Vladyka Anatoly no longer being an active
bishop, but retired. This was done very quickly, without warning, without
preparation, as a decision from the Patriarchate that has hurt many of
us. To add insult to injury, if I may put it that way, his title was transferred
to Bishop Hilarion, which people felt was a hurtful and tactless thing.
The second thing is that a rumour was spread -- and
a rumour that is not a lying rumour, because I have confirmation of it
officially from the Department of Foreign Relations of the Church, with
the assent of the Patriarch -- that Vladyka Hilarion will be my successor
when I retire.
He is a junior bishop in our Diocese, he knows about
the Diocese very little, and it has hurt and puzzled many people.
The moment of my retirement was not fixed, but it is
in the air simply because I am already 88 years of age, and one can expect
a decision. I have applied five times for retirement since I was seventy,
and every time the retirement was refused. The last time I got a letter
from the Patriarch saying that: even if you are incapable of doing
anything, your name is useful for us, so stay where you are. But this
is not a very convincing reason, or very encouraging assessment of my
capabilities.
I have written to the Patriarch a personal fax letter
saying that since Vladyka Hilarion has come into the Diocese, a great
many tensions have arisen and a great amount of worry is abroad; and that
I ask him not to retire me until I have given my written consent to it;
because I do not believe that my disappearance of a sudden would solve
any problem.
Bishop Hilarion is someone whom I have known for many
years. He has been a friend. I have been his father confessor. So in a
sense there is between us a deep link. But there is one thing that is
unfortunate: it is his appointment as a bishop without having had any
experience of the life and the style of life of the Diocese of Sourozh.
I hoped that he would come and start to discover what our Diocese is about,
its characteristics; and he has not done it from the start. We discussed
that with him several times. We had a meeting of several of us with him,
for him to hear the voice of certain members of the clergy. And he has
heard the voice of a number of members of the laity. And things are not
yet settled.
I told him at our last meeting that I give him two
months -- three months including this month now -- for him to discover
what the Diocese of Sourozh is about, and to form an opinion whether he
is prepared or not to continue in the style, and with the ideals, which
we have developed in the course of now fifty three years. If he is dissatisfied,
and we are, then we will by common consent part company. It will be very
hurtful for him. It will also be hurtful for me because he has been, as
I said, my spiritual child, and a personal friend. But it is essential
for us that he should learn what the Diocese of Sourozh is, in particular.
And the particularities of the Diocese to me are, in brief, as follows.
First of all, it is a diocese of people, the clergy
of which, and the bishop of which, consider themselves as servants. We
have learned from the Gospel that he who wants to be first must be last.
I quoted to him a passage from a letter I had in due time -- or undue
-- from Father Sophrony, whom he admired greatly, in which he said to
me that the Church is a pyramid, but a pyramid reversed, with the point
being at the lowest point; and at the lowest point it is one person,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Then comes another row of people, as servants:
the Apostles, then the disciples, and so forth. And it is if you want
to be a member of the Church in the true sense, you must be at the rock
bottom and not at the top of things. We discussed that because he was
told in Russia after his ordination -- his consecration as a bishop --
that he must learn to be 'a bishop', which he took to be a ruler in the
diocese.
He has been using always the word 'rule' and not 'serve'
in his presentations. And for the moment we are discussing the matter
as deeply as we can -- on the spiritual level, and on the practical level
-- with him. I hope that within the three months which we have decided
to devote to this work he will have learnt to be a member, a living and
creative member, of the Diocese of Sourozh, with the spirit of the Diocese,
which is a spirit of service on the part of the clergy, a spirit
of brotherhood and sisterhood on the part of the laity; not a hierarchical
system.
For the moment I do not propose to have a discussion
on the subject, because each of us has got his own views and reactions,
and they are premature. We will have, soon, a meeting of the clergy of
the Diocese in which we will discuss the same problem; and then have a
period of expectation and common work, that will allow us to understand
him, him to understand us, and form a unit that will be, I believe, a
creative one, because he has got gifts which I never possessed and shall
never possess. He is young; he is strong; he is a Doctor in Theology;
he has written a number of theological works that are highly praised;
and he can make a very rich contribution -- but only if we can
form a unit and be one all together.
Now, I do not want to have contributions now because
we will have pros and cons. I would like you to think, and to ask yourselves:
what can you contribute to his understanding of the Diocese, and
to your understanding of a very remarkable young man whom I wanted
to have here, and who has not yet found his feet in the Diocese and in
our work.
That is the end of my contribution. In private I am
prepared of course to explain myself to anyone. But as far as the meeting
is concerned I am not going to open it to discussion and argument. And
I think at this point we can make an end to our meeting and start, again
and again, to grow into a family of people who trust one another,
who are prepared to love one another -- and loving means making
sacrifices for the sake of each other. Shall we read a prayer, and part.
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