Reply of Bishop Artemije to the Serbian Synod
In reference to your letter...of March 21, 1996, in which you informed me of the
decision of His Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew of
Constantinople, to refuse to grant me permission to enter the
Holy Mountain of Athos, I have the honor of replying to the Holy
Synod as follows:
I was deeply disappointed by
the fact that you, Your Holiness, and you, my brother Bishops, as
members of the Holy Synod, took for granted, without any
evidence, the open slander contained in the letter of the
Ecumenical Patriarch, who contended that I have had '...certain
contacts and communion with schismatics, with the Priest Cyprian,
who was deposed by the Church of Greece and who calls himself the
Bishop of Oropos and Fili.' It is in consequence of this
accusation that I have been barred from entering Mount Athos. Yet
another reason for disappointment with you is your request (in
keeping with the counsel of Constantinople) that I 'adhere to the
canonical order of the Orthodox Church.'
If you had asked me about this
matter before, Your Holiness, when I last visited you, I would
have told you what is known to God Himself: that I have never
had, either as a Bishop or before, any contact or communion with
Fili, not even by telephone.
Also, the primary allegation
against me, that I have 'damaged the reputation of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate' by my words and actions, is unfounded, and no
evidence is supplied to support such a charge. On the contrary,
there is ample evidence that the very one who exhorts me to
'adhere to the canonical order and the traditions of the Orthodox
Church,' i.e., the Ecumenical Patriarch himself, has, along with
his Bishops, trampled upon all of the Holy Canons and traditions
of the Church, in pursuit of the realization of their common
ecumenical and liberal ideas. For this reason, it is distressing
and difficult to accept that he, and those like him, should
reprimand anyone for failing to uphold canonical tradition.
I know, Your Holiness, that
neither our Synod nor any other in the world today is able or
ready to uphold the Holy Canons and traditional Church order and
to accuse those who are worthy of chastisement (many of them in
our Serbian Orthodox Church). Yet, on the other hand, both our
Synod and others are ready to accuse and judge those who,
adhering to the Holy Canons and the traditions of the Orthodox
Church, raise their voice in defense of the Orthodox Faith,
identifying, in a brotherly way (and supporting themselves with
facts), those who have already violated the limits set by our
Fathers. But so be it. Our God is a living God, an All-Merciful
Judge, Who sees and knows all things perfectly well and Whose
judgment will be just. It is, nonetheless, deplorable that many
(ecumenists), compromising and praying together with the
condemned and anathematized, have become a scandal, leading into
everlasting perdition numerous among the innocent souls for whom
Christ was crucified.
In the circumstances in which I
live today, and according to my powers, I am trying to be a
faithful disciple and guardian of the Holy Canons of the Fathers,
bearing witness to the evangelical Truth that light cannot have
any communion with darkness, or Christ with Belial. This
testimony, which I have set forth in our diocesan periodical, Prince
Saint Lazar, has been offered as proof of my having 'damaged
the reputation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.' Here I will bear
witness once again: There is NO ONE in the world today who has so
much harmed the reputation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as
Patriarch Bartholomew HIMSELF, together with the members of his
Hierarchy, by their ecumenical activities and statements, which
are well-known all over the world.
Brethren and Fathers of the
Synod, your reproach to me (however unfounded) I take as a prime
indication of your readiness and zeal to protect the Holy Canons
and the good order of the Church. I only hope that similar
admonitions will be sent, in due time, to those in the Serbian
Orthodox Church who have indeed violated, and continue to
violate, these very same Canons.
In that good hope I remain
faithful in Lord to the Holy Synod
Bishop of Rashka and Prizren
+ARTEMIOS
(This letter was published in
the magazine Sveti Knez Lazar, in May last year. So far
there was no response from the Synod concerning the attitudes
expressed in this letter. Bishop Artemije is still under ban from
Constantinople. He is a spiritual son of St. Justin Popovich, the
great Serbian Confessor.)
|