1

THERUSSI
ANCHURCHANDTHENEW CALENDAR

Vl
adi
mirMoss

Thecal endarquest ioni ssomet i

mesconsideredt ohav ebeenat empt ati
on
onlyfort heGr eek-speaki ngOr t
hodoxChur ches.Howev er,t
heRussianChur ch,
too,hadt ostrugglewi t
hi t
.Andi nv i
ew ofthef actt hatsev er
alprominent
hierarchs of t he cont emporar y Moscow Pat riarchate hav e expressed
themsel vesi nfavouroft heintr
oductionofthenew,Gr egori
ancalendar,and
thattheMPhasbl essedi tsintr
oductioninsomeofi tspar i
shesabroad( e.g.
i
n Engl and and Hol l
and) ,itmaybe usef ult or eview the hist
oryoft his
t
h 1
cont r
ov ersyinthe20 - centuryhistor
yoftheRussianChur ch.

OnJanuar y19,1918,theSov ietStat

ei nt
roducedt henew cal endari
nto
Russi
a.Thinking“tochanget i
mesandl aws”( Daniel7.25) ,aDecreeofthe
Counci
lofPeople’sCommi ssarsdatedJanuary24,1918or deredt
hattheday
af
terJanuary31,1918woul dbeFebr uary14–notFebr uary1.How didthe
Russi
anChur chreactt
othisorder
?

Bya r emarkable coi

ncidence,on t he same dayt hatt he SovietState
i
nt r
oduced the new cal endar,Patri
arch Tikhon anathemat i
sed the State,
calli
ngont hef
aithfulOrt
hodoxt ohavenocommuni onwi th“theseoutcastsof
humani t
y”inanywaywhat soever
.Af ewday slat
ert hePatriarch’
sanathema
wasconf irmedbyt heChur chCouncilt heninsessioninMoscow.I nv i
ewof
thisrej
ecti
onoft helegit
imacyoft heState,i
tisnotsurprisi
ngt hatt
heChur ch
alsorej
ectedtheSt at
e’schangeofcal endar.

Protopri
estAlexanderLebedevwri
tes:“
TheSobor[Council
]addressedthe
i
ssuet hr
eeday saftertheDecreewassigned,ati
ts71stSessi
ononJanuar y
27,1918.Theneedf orapromptdecisi
onbyt heChur
chonhow t or el
ateto
theci
vilcal
endarchangewascl ear–thechangewast otakeplacefourdays
l
ater.

“Itwasdecidedtosendt heissuetoaJointSessionoftwoseparate
Secti
onsoftheSobor–theSecti
ononDivi
neServ
icesandtheSect
iononthe
Relat
ionshi
poftheChur
chtotheStat
e.

“Thi
sJointSessionoft
het woSecti
onsmettwodayslat
er,onJanuar
y29,
1918andheardtwomaj orrepor
ts,onebyPr
ofessorS.
S.Gl
agolev
,enti
tl
ed‘A
Comparat
iveEvaluati
onoftheJuli
anandGregori
anStyl
es’
,andonebyPr of
.

1
Thebegi nni ngoft hemoder ninterestoft heMPi nadoptingt henewcal endarmaybedat ed
tot helate1960s.Ar chimandrit
e( nowBi shop)Ser gi
oswr i
tes:“ I
n1971Met ropoli
tanNikodim
ofLeni ngradv i
sit
edAl askainor dert ov eneratether el
icsofSt .Herman.I nanef fortt o
distancei tselffrom theMP, t
het hen-newOCAhadnoti nvitedtheMPhi erar
chst opart
icipate
i
nt heAugust ,1970canoni z
ationoft hatSai nt.MetropolitanNikodim( andhi sOCAgui de,
FatherKy ri
lFot i
ev)spent5day sinSi tkaenr outet oKodiakandIwast hel ocalhost
.Dur ing
sev erallongconv ersations,MetropolitanNi kodim mentionedt hathewasi ntentonadopt ing
theci vi
lcal endarfort heMP, andasat estcase, hadbroughtaboutBul garia’
sswi tchf
rom t he
patristi
ct ot hecivil
cal endar[i
n1968] .”(personal communi cati
on, 15February,2004)
 2

I
.I
.Sokolov
, ent
it
led,‘
TheAt
ti
tudeoft
heOr
thodoxEastt
otheQuest
ionoft
he
Ref
orm oftheCalendar’
.

“Neitheroft hesepr esentati

onsi nanywaysuppor t
edt hei ntr
oduct i
oninto
Chur chl if
eoft heGr egorianCal endar– qui t
et hecont rary.Prof.Glagolev
concl uded,‘TheGr egor i
anCal endar,inaddi ti
ont obeinghi stori
cal
lyhar mful
,
i
s ast r
onomi call
yusel ess’… Pr of
essorSokol ovconcl uded:‘ Therefore,the
cont r
olli
ngv oiceoftheOr thodoxEast ,bothGr eekandSl av i
c,isexpressedas
beingnotonl yagainstt heGr egori
ancal endar,asacr eatureoft heinimicalto
i
t[theOr thodoxEast ]Cat holicWest ,butal soagainstaneut ralorcor r
ected
calendar ,becausesuchar eform woulddel eteri
ousl
yaf fecttheeccl esi
asti
cal
l
ifeoft heOr thodoxpeopl es.’

“Fi
nal
l
y,t
heJointSessi
onoft
het
woSect
ionspr
epar
edaResol
uti
onont
he
i
ssueofcal
endarr
eform.

“I
tdecreedthattheChurchmustst
aywi
tht
heJul
i
ancal
endar
,basi
ngi
ts
deci
siononthefol
lowing:

“1)Ther
ei snoreasonfort
heChur chnott
ohav
easepar
ateeccl
esi
ast
ical
cal
endardi
fferentf
rom t
heciv
ilcal
endar.

“2)TheChur
chnotonl
yisabl etopreser
vetheOldCal
endar,-att
he
pr
esentti
mei
twoul
dbeimpossi
blefori
ttomovet
othenewcal
endar.

“3)Thei ntr
oduct
ionofthenew calendarbyt heRussi
anChurchwoul d
causeittobreakuni
tywit
halloft
heotherOrthodoxChur
ches.Anychangein
thecalendarcanonl ybedonebymut ualagreementofalltheOrthodox
Churches.

“
4)Iti
simpossibl
etocor
rel
atetheOr t
hodoxPaschal
ionwi
tht
heGr
egor
ian
Cal
endarwi
thoutcausi
nggr
avedisrupt
iontotheTypi
con.

“5)Itisrecogni
sedt hattheJul
ianCal
endarisast r
onomical
lyi
naccurate.
Thiswasnot edalreadyattheCounci
lofConstanti
noplein1583.However,it
i
si ncorrectto beli
evet hatthe Gr
egor
ian Calendaris bett
ersuit
ed for
eccl
esiasti
caluse.

“
Inconcl
usi
on,
theJoi
ntSessi
onr
esol
vedt
omai
ntai
ntheJul
i
anCal
endar
.

“The Counci
l
,inf
ullsessi
on,appr
oved t
his Resol
uti
on oft
he Joi
nt
2
Sessi
on.
”

I
nviewoftheChur
ch’
sdeter
minedopposi
ti
ont
ot hecal
endarchange,t
he
St
atedidnoti
mposei
tsi
ntr
oducti
onfort
heti
mebeing.However
,in1922the
2
Lebedev
,“St.Pat
ri
archTi
khonandtheCal
endarQuest
ionPar
t1”
,
ort
hodox@LISTSERV.INDI
ANA.EDU,
10July
,2002.
 3

Bolshevikssucceededi ncr eati

ngaschi sm withi
ntheRussianChurch–t he
so-call
ed“ Li
vingChur ch”orr enov at
ionistschism.Sincetherenovat
ionists
hadbeenper suadedt oi nt
roducet henew cal endar,t
heBolshevi
ksdecided
thatitwasagoodmomentt otryandi ntroduceital
sointot
heTrueChurchl ed
byPat ri
archTi khon,especi
allysincet heynow hadTi khoninpri
sonpendi ng
tri
al.

Thepr essur eont hePat r

iarchwasi ndeedenor mous.Ev erydayhewas
vi
sitedbyt heGPUagentTuchkov( Tikhoncal ledhi m“ anangelofSat an” )
,
whomadebl ackmai lthr
eatst of orcehimt omakeconcessi onst otheSt ate.
Beingcutof ff rom othertrueChr ist
ians,andabl et ogl eani nfor
mat i
ononl y
fr
om t heSov ietnewspaper s,hecamet ot heconclusionthatt herenovati
oni st
schism wasi ncreasinginstrengt h.Andt henhehear dt hatthe“ Pan-
Or t
hodox
Counci l
”meet ingi nConstantinopl eundert hepresidencyoft heFreemason
Patriar
ch Mel etius Metaxakis had appr oved the introduction oft he new
calendar.Hedi dnotknowunt ill
at erthatnotonl ytheRussi anr epr
esentatives,
ArchbishopsAl exanderandAnast asi
us, hadr ej
ectedt heCounci l,
butalsot he
otherEaster nPat r
iar
chsandSer bia.

TheCounci li nConst anti

nopleendedonJune10,1923.Ont hev erynext
day ,June11, t
heJewYar oslavsky,pr
esi dentoft heAnt ir
eli
giousCommi ssion,
wr otet ot hePol it
buroandSt al
in:“I
ti snecessar yimmedi atel
yt opasst he
followingr esoluti
onont hecaseofTi khon: …2)Ti khonmustbei nformedt hat
thepenal t
ymet edoutt ohim maybecommut edi f:(a)hemakesaspeci al
decl arati
ont hather epentsoft hecri
meshehascommi ttedagai nstSov i
et
powerandt hewor ki
ngandpeasantmassesandt hathenow hasal oy al
attitudetoSov i
etpower ;(b)headmi t
st hej ust
iceofhi sbeingmadet oanswer
i
ncour tfort hesecr i
mes;( c)hewal lshi msel
fopenl yandf ir
ml yf r
om al l
count er-r
ev ol
utionaryor ganisati
ons,especi al
l
yWhi teGuar dandMonar chist
organi sati
ons,bot hci vi
landr el
igi
ous;( d)heexpr esseshi sshar plynegat ive
attitudetot henewKar l
ov t
sySy nodandi t
spar t
icipants;(e)heexpr esseshi s
negat iveat t
it
udet ot heat t
acksbyCat hol i
cclergy( i
nt heper sonoft hePope,
alsot heBi shopofCant erburyandt heBi shopofConst antinopleMel eti
us);( f)
heexpr esseshi sagr eementwi thsomer efor
msi ntheeccl esi
asti
calspher e
(forexampl e,t
henewst yl
e).
”

Whywer ethenewcal endarandot hereccl

esiast
icalref
ormsi mportantto
t
heBol shevi
ks?Because, asYarosl
avskyexplai
nedinanot hernotewrit
tenon
t
hesameday :“hi
sagreementwi thevenoneoft heser ef
orms( hehasagr eed
t
or ecognisethenew,Gr egori
ancalendar)willmakehi m a‘ her
eti
c’– an
3
i
nnovatorintheeyesoftheTr ueOrt
hodox.”

Ti
khonexplai
nedhi sdeci
siontoadoptt
henewcal endarasf ol
lows:“Thi
s
demandwasr epeat
edmanyt imes,andwasrei
nforcedbythepr omiseofa
morebenev
olentatt
it
udeont hepartoft
heGovernmenttowardstheOr t
hodox
Chur
chandHeri nst
ituti
onsi
nt hecaseofouragreementandt hethreatofa

3
N.N.Pokrov
sky,S.G.Petr
ov,Arkhi
vyKr
eml
i
a:Pol
i
tbur
oiTser
kov
’1922-
1925gg.
,Moscow:
Rosspen,
1997,v
ol.1,pp.282-
284.
 4

4
det
eri
orat
ioni
ntheser
elat
ionsi
nthecaseofourr
efusal
”.

Thi
sisconfi
rmedbythel
ifeoft
hefutur
ehier
omart
yr,Fr
.Sergi
usMechev.
Onheari
ngthatPat
ri
archTi
khonhadacceptedt
henewcalendar.Fr
.Ser
gius
wasupsetandcametohim:

"YourHol
inessVl
adyka!
"hesai
d."Don'
tconsi
dermearebel
,butmychur
ch
consci
encedoesnotal
l
owmet oacceptt
henewstyl
e!"

"
Whatkindofar ebelar
ey ou,Ser
yozha!”
,repli
edhisHoli
nessi
nafather
ly
way."
Iknowyou.ButtheyaredemandingthatIint
roducet
henewstyl
e."

Onthewholethepeopl eoft heChurchdi dnotacceptt henew st

yle;but
someconsideredthati fthenew st y
lewer eadopted,beli
everswouldhav e
great
eropport
unit
iestogot ofestalser
vices,sinceatthatti
met heNativi
ty
andBapti
sm ofChristaccordi
ngt othenewst yl
ewer est
il
lholi
days.

"Iassurey
ou,
"sai
dFr
.Ser
gius,"
soont
heywi
l
lnotkeept
hef
eastbyany
cal
endar."

Andsoonthefi
ve-
day
-weekbecamethesi
x-day
-week,t
hent
hesev
en-
day
-
weekorsi
xdayswit
havari
abl
edayofrest
.

InJul y,1923,t hePat r

iarchwasr eleasedf r
om pri
son.Al ittlelatera“ Li
ttl
e
Counci l”ofbi shopsconv enedbyhi mi ssuedadecr eei ntroduci ngt henew
calendaronOct ober2/ 15,1923.Howev er,whenthePat ri
archl earnedt hatt he
pat r
iarchatesofAl exandriaandJer usal em,aswel lastheRussi anChur chin
Exile,wer eagainstt hechange, andwhenhesawt hatt
heRussi anpeopl ewer e
alsost rongl yopposedt ohisdecr ee,ast heyhadbeent ot her enov ationists’
5
simi l
ardecr eesomemont hsear l
ier,her ev er
sedhisdecisi
on. I
nspi t
eoft his,
agent soft hegov ernmentpost edupnot icesofthenow annul leddecr eeon
thei ntroduct i
onoft henew cal endar .Butt hepeoplesaw i nt hist hecl ear
i
nt erferenceoft heSt ateinthemat ter,andsonoat tenti
onwaspai dt ot he
6
decr ee.

Onlyi nonepar toftheRussianChur chwast henewcal endarintr

oduced–
i
nFi nland.Inor dertounderstandhowt histookplace,weneedt ogobacki n
ti
me.I nFebr uary,1921,si
nceFi nlandwasnownol ongerpar toftheRussian
State,Pat r
iar chTikhongrant edtheFinnishChur chadmi nist
rati
veautonomy
whiler emaini ng wit
hinthe Russi an Chur ch.Howev er
,on June 9,1922,
PatriarchMel eti
usofConst anti
nopleuncanoni cal
lyreceivedt hi
sautonomous
FinnishChur chintohisjur
isdicti
on.Theexcusegi venherewast hatPat r
iar
ch
Tikhon was no l onger free,and t herefor
e,as Met ropoli
tan Anthony
(Khrapov it
sky )puti t
,Meletius“ coul
ddoashepl eased” .ButinJul y,1923
PatriarchTi khonwasr el
easedf r
om pr i
son.Andso,onNov ember14/ 27,
PatriarchTi khonandt heRussi anHol ySy nod,afterli
steningt oar eportby
4
M.E.Guboni
n,Akt
ySv
iat
eishagoPat
ri
arkhaTi
khona,
Moscow,
1994,
pp.299-
300,
335.
5
Ibi
d.,
pp.300,
335
6
Ibi
d.,
pp.335-
38.
 5

ArchbishopSeraphim ofFinl
and,decreedt hat“sincehisHolinessPat r
iarch
Tikhonhasent er
edupont headmi ni
strati
onoft heRussianOrthodoxChur ch,
thereasonf orwhichthePatri
archofConst ant
inopleconsider
edi tnecessary
tempor ar
il
yt osubmittheFinnishChur chtohi sjuri
sdict
ionhasnow f al
len
away ,andtheFinnisheparchymustr eturnundert heruleoftheAl l
-Russi
an
7
Patri
arch.”

Itwast oolate,howev er–Mel eti

uswasdet erminedt okeept het erri
toryhe
hadsei zedf rom t heRussi anChur ch( andnotonl yi nFi nl
and,butal soi n
Polandandt heBal ticSt ates).Andal readyonSept ember3hehadmov edt o
forcet hegr eatRussi anmonast er
yofVal aam,whi chwasnow wi thint he
bounds oft he Finni sh St ate,t o acceptt he new cal endar .Ata gener al
assembl yoft he600br others,asNunAngel i
na( Zhav oronkova)wr i
tes,“Abbot
Paul i
nusr eadoutanepi stl
ef rom Bi shopSer aphimi nwhi chhesai dt hatbot h
Patr i
archsMel et
iusofConst antinopleandTi khonofMoscowbl essedVal aam
tochanget othenewst yl
ef rom Oct ober4.Twoday sl aterVlady kaSer aphim
arri
v ed.Hewasmetbyt heobj ectionsoft hebrotherhoodandt her equestt hat
theyr emai nwi ththeol dst y l
e.Thi swasr ef
usedt ot hem,andl esst hant wo
weeksl aterfiveoft hepr otest i
ngbr otherswer eforciblyexpelledf rom Val aam
anddepr i
v edoft hemant i
a.

“… On June 25,1924 t he new Bi shop ofKareli

av isi
ted Val
aam.I n
Novembert heValaam monkspr esentedhi m withapetit
ionaskinghimt o
al
lowt hem t
okeept hecel
ebr at
ionatanyr ateofPaschaaccor di
ngtotheold
styl
e,butthis,t
oo,wasr efusedt hem,andt hosewhor efusedtoobeyt he
decreesoftheFi
nnishChurchwer ethreatenedwi t
hexi
lefr
om Valaam.

“Fr .Michael[Popov ]wast hespiri

tualfatheroft hebr ot
herhoodatt his
except i
onall
ydiffi
culttimef orValaam.Heencour agedev ery
onet or emain
fait
hf ultothet r
aditi
onsoft heHolyOr t
hodoxChur ch.Heof t
enser vedin
distantsketesanddeser tsandencour agedot herFatherstof ol
low hi
m.Hi s
near estdisci
pleandf oll
ower,ElderMi chaelt heYounger ,att hatti
meFr .
Timon, wasoneoft hemostzeal ousdef ender
soft heOr t
hodoxcal endarri
ght
until1939,whent heVal aam brot
herhoodwasf or
cedt oleavet hei
rbeloved
monast er
y.

“
Secretresist
ance increased especiall
yi n 1925.Fr.Michaelsenthis
spir
it
ualchil
drenbynightwi thprosphorast oGethsemanesketeforFr
.Timon
andt heyunfai
l
ingful
fi
lledtheirobedi
ence, cover
ingsixki
l
ometreseveryni
ght.
From thefir
stdaysoft her esi
stancetheGet hsemanesketehadbecomet he
pl
ace wher e people gathered forservices accordi
ng tothe Old Chur
ch
Calendar.

“The question of the calendar

,t he Valaam monks entered i nto
corr
espondencewi t
htheAthoni t
ezealotsofHol yOr
thodoxy
,theso- cal
led
zeal
ots,theel
dersofKaroul
ia,especi
all
ythelearnedmonkTheodosius,who
even wrote a whol
e compositi
on aboutthe import
ance ofthe calendar

7
I
bid.
,p.304.
 6

questi
on.OnVal aam Hi
eromonkJust ini
an,themaincorrespondentinthi
s
corr
espondence,wasadiscipl
eofElderMichael
.Whil
eElderTheodosiuswas
the l
astspiri
tualdi
sci
ple bycorrespondence wi
th El
derTheophanes the
Recl
use.

“Int heev eningont heev eoft hemonast ery’sfeastdayofSS.Ser giusand

HermanofVal aam, September10, 1925, Met ropolit
anGer manusofThy at
eir
a,
ther epresentativ
eoft hePat ri
archofConst ant i
nople,arr
ived[ fr
om London] .
Hav i
nggat her
edt ogethert hebret hren,hedecl aredthatthenewcal endarwas
being int r
oduced f r
om now.On Sept ember16 t he br otherhood sentt o
Sortavalat hei
rownr epresentativesi ntheper sonsofFr .Mi chael,Fr.Joasaph
thedeput y,Fr.Jeromeandt heot herol derpr iestsoft hemonast eryt otalk
wit
hMet ropoli
tanGer manus.Wi tht earst heybesoughthi mt okeept heol d
sty
lei nt hemonast ery.Inr epl
yt hemet ropol i
tani rr
it
ablyshout edatt hem.On
September20Met r
opol i
tanGer manusaccompani edbyBi shopGer manus
arr
ivedont heislandt ocelebratet heal l
-nightv igi
l.Halfofthebr otherhooddi d
notcomet otheservice.Hecal ledt hebr other hoodt opeaceandl ove.

“I
mmedi atelyafterthi
srepr
essionsbegan.Theantiminsweretakenfrom all
thesketechur ches.Fr.Timonwast ransferr
edf
rom theGethsemanesket eto
themai nmonast ery.Alit
tlel
aterHieromonkPolycar
pwasexi l
edt oRussiato
almostcer t
aindeat hi ntheconcent r
ati
oncampsf orhispublishedar t
icl
es
8
againsttheleadershipofthemonast ery
.”

“
OnSept ember25, 1925, ”wr i
tesSchema- MonkNi cholasofVal aam, “
there
wasadi v
isionofpeopl ei nVal aam ast othe‘old’and‘ new’ st
yle.Manyoft he
brothersr emai nedtruet otheol dst yl
e.Legalpr oceedi ngsbegan.Thechur ch
admi nistr
at i
onar ri
ved;t herewasacour twi t
hAbbotPaul i
nusinchar ge.They
begant osummont hebr othersonebyone, andmanywer eexpel ledfr
om t he
monast ery.Thenmyt ur nal socame.Iwenti ntother oom, andther esatAbbot
Paulinuswi thothersfrom t hechur chadmi ni
strati
on.Fat herAbbotsai d,‘Here
i
sasl av eofGod;askhi m. ’Oneoft hem saidt hathewoul dspeakandt hat
everythingshoul dber ecor ded.Theyasked,‘ Doy ouacceptFr .Pauli
nusas
Abbot ?’‘Willyougot ochur chser vicesaccordingt ot henewcal endar?’Icould
notanswert hisquestion;i twasasi fmyt onguehadbecomepar aly
sed.They
hesitatedandsai d,‘Wel l,whyar en’tyouanswer i
ng? ’Icoul dn’
tsayany thi
ng.
Thent heysai d:‘
Well,goon, sl
aveofGod, andt hinkt hisov er.
’

“Ibegantopr aytot heMot herofGod, my‘Sur

ety’,i
nmyhear t
.‘Tellmeand
i
ndicatemylif
e’spat h:Whi chsideshouldIgoto,theneworol dstyle?Shoul d
Igot othecathedralorsomewher eelse?’AndI,t
hesi nf
ulone,pr ay edtot he
MotherofGod dur ing myobedi enceint hekitchen.WhenIf inished my
eveni
ngobedience, Iwentt omycel landthoughti
nt hesimplici
tyofmyhear t,
‘
Whydon’ tyouanswerme,Mot herofGod? ’Butt hegraceofGoddi dnot
abandonme,asi nner.Hewant ssal v
ationforall.Suddenlyt hecat hedr al
appearedbeforeme,t hesameasi tis:thesamehei ght,l
engt handwi dth.I
wasamazedatt hismi raculousappari
ti
on–howcoul ditentermysmal lcell?
8
NunAngel
ina,“Star
etsMikhai
lSt
arshi
j
,ispov
edni
kst
razhduschegopr
avosl
avi
a”,Russki
j
Pal
omni
k,№ 17,1998,p.64.
 7

Butmyi nnerv oicesai dt ome:‘ Ev er ythi

ngi spossi blewi thGod.Ther ei s
nothingimpossi bleforHi m. ’‘Well
,’It hought ,‘onemustgot ochur chi nthe
cathedralaccordingt ot henew st yle. ’Then,asIwast hinkingt hus,abl ue
curtaincamedownf rom abov e,int hemi ddleofwhi chwasagol dencr oss.
Thecat hedralbecamei nvisibletome,andt hei nnerv oi
cesai dtome:‘ Got o
theol dstyl
eandhol dtoi t
.’AndIhear dawoman’ sv oicecomi ngf rom abov e
thecor ner:‘
Ifyouwantt obesav ed,hol dfastt ot het raditionsoft heHol y
Apost l
esandt heHol yFat hers.’Andt hent hesamet hingwasr epeat eda
secondt ime,andt het hir
dt imet hev oi cesai d:‘I
fy ouwantt obesav ed,keep
fastt othet r
aditi
onoft heHol yApost lesandHol yFat hers,butnott hese
“wise”men. ’Afterthi
smi racle,every thingdisappear edandIr emai nedal one
i
nmycel l
.Myhear tbegant or ej
oicet hattheLor dhadi ndicatedt hepat hof
9
salvati
ont ome, accordingt othepr ay ersoft heMot herofGod. ”

“OnSeptember12,1926,”continuesNunAngel i
na,“thefor
mercat hedral
eldersofValaam,whohadr emainedf ai
thfult
opat r
isti
cOrthodoxy,were
summonedt oanewtri
alinSer dobol.Thetri
alwasprof or
ma,and35monks
wer econdemnedtoexi
le,whil
et heabbotwast odealwithther
est,di
spersi
ng
them amongallt
hesketes.

“
OnOct ober9thesent encewascar
ri
edout .Oneoft hoseexi
ledfr
om
Val
aam,HieromonkNicander,t
hefor
merspi
ri
tualf
atherofthefamedLesna
monast
ery
, r
emembers:

“
’Weshal lneverf orgett hat…sadday …OurownAbbotPaul i
nusandour
own monast i
c brother s handed us overt othe poli
ce… Fort he sake of
tempor ar
ycomf ort,outoff earofmen,t heydrownedoutt hev oiceoft heir
consci enceandt ransgr essedt heholycanonsoft heChurch…Thedayofour
exil
et hatautumnwasex cept i
onal
lyqui
et,LakeLadogawascal m andt hefi
rst
powder ysnow cov eredVal aam…Byei ghto’ cl
ockinthemor ningwehadal l
gatheredont hef erry…t heOl dCalendaristmonkswhor emai ned,t ogether
withsomeunwi ll
i
ngnewcal endar
ist
s,camet osaygoodbyet ous;notaf ew
tearswer eshedonbot hsi des.(
Event hegendarmewept ,remember edFr.
Phil
emon. )…How bi tteri twasf orustol eaveournat i
venest ,butoursoul s
wereatpeace, forwef eltthatwewer esufferi
ngforthesakeofr ighteousness
andt hatGodwaswi thus. ’

“OnNov ember15anI nvest igat

iveCommi ssionar ri
vedatt hemonast er
y,
andi nthecour seoff ourday si nterr
ogat edeachoft hebr ot
hersont heirown,
askingwhet hertheyr ecognisedBi shopGer manusandwhet hert heywoul d
servewi thhim.Fr .Mi chaelwasdef rockedbyachur chcour t
,r emov edfrom
hisobedi enceasSpi ri
tualFat herandexi l
edonDecember15t ot hedi st
antSt.
Her mansket e.(Accordingtot hewor dsofFr.At hanasius,wholef tmemoi rsof
hisel der,Fr.Mi chaelwasf irstexiled to Ti
khv i
ni sland.
)Thencehewas
transferr
edt otheSket eofSt .Johnt heForerunnerin1926,wher ehespent
thef oll
owingei ghtyear s[unt i
lhi sdeat honMay8,1934] ,suf fer
ingfrom a
weaknessoft hehear tint hesev erecondi t
ionsoft hest r
ictestsket eon

9
TheOr
thodoxWor
d,nos.160-
161,
Sept
ember
-December
,1991,
pp.268-
270.
 8

10
Val
aam.I
nthaty
ear44oft
hebr
other
swer
eexi
l
edand48l
eftVal
aam…”

In1939,whent heSov i
etscapturedOl dValaam,andmanyoft hemonks
fl
edt oNewValamoi nFinland,t
hespi ri
tuallif
eoft hegreatmonast erycame
toanend.Howev er,i
ntheearly1980saTr ueOr thodoxChrist
ianvisit
ingNew
Valamocamebackwi ththenewst hatt her
ewer esti
lltwoOl dCal endar
monkst here–anI gumenSy mphorian,whodi edshortlyaft
er,andanot her
monkov er100 year
sol d.Theyhad t heirownquar t
ersand r efused any
contactwit
hthenewcalendarist
sorv isi
tingSov i
ethier
archs.

Somet hingshoul dbesai daboutt hi sBi shopGer manuswhoi ntroducedt he

new cal endari ntoVal aam.Hehadbeenconsecr at edasav i
carbi shopf or
Finlandbyt heEcumeni calPat r
iar chGr egor yI V,althoughhe,t hepr iestAav a,
“wasnotonl ynott onsur ed” ,asMet ropol itanAnt hony( Khr apov itsky )wr i
tes,
“butnotev enar asophor e.Mor eov er,t hiswasdonenotonl ywi thoutt he
agr eementoft heAr chbishopofFi nland,buti nspi teofhi spr ot est .Byt hese
actionst hel at ePat r i
ar chofConst antinopl ev i
olatedaf undament alcanonof
theChur ch– t hesi xthcanonoft heFi r stEcumeni calCounci l[ andmany
other s],whi chst ates, ‘Ifany onei sconsecr at edbi shopwi thoutt heconsentof
his met r
opol itan,t he Gr eatCounci ldecl ar es hi m nott o be a bi shop. ’
Accor dingt ot het went y-eighthcanonoft heFour thEcumeni calCounci l,the
pat ri
ar chcannotev enpl aceabi shopi nhi sdi ocesewi thoutt heappr ov alof
thel ocalmet r opol i
tan.Basedonpr eciselyt hi ssamecanon, t
hepr edecessor s
ofGr egor yv ai nlyat tempt edt or ealizehi spr et ensionsandl egal izet hei rclaims
to cont rol.Thi s uncanoni cal‘ bishop’Aav a,once consecr ated as bi shop,
placedamonast ickl obukonhi sownhead,andt huscost umed,heappear ed
i
nt he f oreign di ocese of Fi nland.Ther e he i nstigat ed t he Lut her an
gov ernmentt oper secut ethecanoni calAr chbi shopofFi nland, Ser aphi m, who
was r espect ed by t he peopl e.The Fi nni sh gov er nmentpr ev iousl y had
request ed t he Ecumeni calPat riarch t o conf irm t he mosti llegalofl aws,
namel yt hatt hesecul argov ernmentofFi nlandwoul dhav et her i
ghtt or etire
theAr chbi shop.Thegov ernmenti nf actf ol l
owedt hr oughwi t
ht her et i
rement ,
falselycl aimi ngt hatAr chbishopSer aphi m hadnotl ear nedenoughFi nnishi n
theal lottedt ime.Heav enandear thwer ehor rif
iedatt hisi l
legal ,ty ranni calact
ofanon- Or thodoxgov ernment .Ev enmor ehor ri
fyingwast hatanOr thodox
pat ri
ar chhadconsent edt osuchchi caner y.Tot hescandaloft heOr thodox
andt heev i
l del ightoft hehet erodox ,thehi ghl ydubi ousBi shopGer manus( the
formerFr .Aav a)st roll
edt hest reet sofFi nlandi nsecul arcl othes,cl ean-
shav en and hai rcutshor t,whi let hemostwor thyofbi shops,Ser aphi m,
crudel ybet ray edbyhi sfalsebr other ,langui shedi nexi lef ort her emai nderof
11
hisl i
fei nat inyhutofamonast eryonast or myi sleonLakeLadoga. ”

Af
terthePatri
archrecov
eredfr
om hi
smi st
ake,
heandtheRussianChurch
as a whole sett hemsel
ves f
ir
mly agai
nstthe new cal
endar
.I n 1924
10
NunAngeli
na,op.cit
.,pp.64-
66.
11
SeeMonkGor azd,"QuoVadis,Konst
ant
inopol
'
skai
aPat
ri
arkhi
a?"
,Pr
avosl
avnai
aRus'
,no.2
(
1455)
,Januar
y15/ 28,1992,p.9.
 9

Met r
opolit
anAnt hony(Khr apovit
sky)ofKiev,thesecondhier
archinrankafter
thePat ri
archandPr esidentoft heSynodofBi shopsoftheRussi anChur ch
Abroad,setof fonasev en- monthtri
ptot heEasttomust ersupportagainst
ther enovati
onistref
ormsamonghi sf ri
endsf r
om beforetherev ol
uti
on–
Patri
archs Phot i
us of Al exandri
a,Gr egory of Anti
och and Dami an of
Jerusalem.Heal sovisitedMountAt hosi nspiteoft heoppositi
onoft he
Patri
archofConst ant
inopl e.

Thet hreeEast ernpat r

iarchs,togetherwi t
hPat r
iarchDemet r
iusofSerbia,
spokeoutst rongl
yagai nstthenewcal endarandt heot herref or
msi ntr
oduced
byConst antinople,andMet ropoli
tanAnt honyent ertai
nedhopest hateventhe
patriarchofConst antinoplewoul dreversecour se.Thusi nal ett
ertoGregory’
s
successor ,Const antineVI ,dated Febr uary4/ 17,1925,hebot hdefended
Patriarch Ti khon and compar ed Mel eti
us and Gr egoryt ot he heret
ical
patriarchsofConst anti
noplecondemnedbyt heSev enEcumeni calCouncil
s:
“Itisont hissamepat hofdi sobediencet ot heHol yChur chandt hecanons
12
thatt hetwol astpr edecessor sofy ourHolinessdescended. ”

Unfortunat
ely,howev er,Metr
opoli
anAnthonydi dnottaket hedeci
siv
eand
canonically cor
r ect course adopted by the Gr eek and Romani an Old
Calendaristsofbr eaki
ngcommuni onwit
hther enovati
onist
s.In1925heev en
tookpar t,withthepat riarchofConstant
inopl
e,i ntheenthronementoft he
new cal endari
stFr eemason Mi ron aspatri
arch ofRomani a.So i
tisnot
surpri
sing thathi sactionswer eul t
imat
elyunsuccessf ul
:t hepatr
iar
chof
Constant i
noplenev erabandoned thenew cal endar,and theChurchesof
AlexandriaandAnt i
ochbot hint
imeacceptedit
.

Whatwast heat tit

udeoft heRussianOr t
hodoxChur chAbr oad( ROCA)t o
theGr eekOldCal endar i
sts?Aswehav eseen,theRussi anChur chinallits
j
urisdi
ctionsretai
nedt heOl dCalendar,andi nout l
yi
ngpar t
soft hef or
mer
Russianempi rewhi chcameundert hepowerofnew cal endari
sts,suchas
Valaam andBessar abia, Russi
ansofferedstrongresi
stancet otheinnovati
on.
TheROCAcondemnedi t
,andin1930Met r
opoli
tanAnast asyconcelebrated
wit
ht heleadi
ngRomani anOldCalendarist
,HieromonkGl y
cer i
us.

Howev er ,t he f i
r st-
hierar
ch of t he ROCA, Met r
opolitan Ant hony
(Khrapov i
tsky )
,adopt edamor eambi guousposi tion.I
n1926,wr it
ingt ot he
Russi anAt honiteHi eroschemamonkTheodosi usofKar oula13,her
i ef
usedt o
breakcommuni onwi tht henew cal endari
stsoft heConst antinopoli
tanand
GreekChur ches:“ Youknow t he13th,14th and15th canonsoft heFirst-and-
SecondCounci l
,whi chspeaksaboutsepar ati
ngonesel ffrom aBi shopor
Patriarchaf t
erhi sconci l
iarcondemnat i
on.Andt henther eist hecanon( the
th
15 ) ,whichsay st hatt hatclergymani swor thy,notofcondemnat i
on,butof
praise,whobr eakswi thlinkswithhim[ theher eti
c]fort hesakeofaher esy
condemnedbyt hehol ycouncilsorf at
hers…,andbesi des‘ whenhe( thati s,
the f i
rst
-hierarch)pr eaches her esypubl i
clyand t eaches i topenl yint he
12
ArchbishopNikon(Rkl
it
sky),Zhi
zneopisanieBlazhennei
shagoMit
ropol
i
taAnt onia,1960,
vol.VI,p.164.
13
See“ Staret
sFeodosi
jKarul
’
skijSv
yatogorets”
,RusskijPal
omnik,
23,
2001,pp.15-43.
 10

Chur ch’.Butt his,gloryt oGod,nei therP[ atriarch]Basi l[IIIofConst ant i

nople]
nor[Ar chbi shop]Chr ysost om [ ofAt hens]hav edoney et.Ont hecont rary,t
hey
i
nsiston keepi ng t he f ormerPaschal ion,f oronl yi t,and nott he Jul i
an
calendari tselfwascov eredbyt hecur seoft hecounci ls.Tr ue,P[ atri
arch]
Jeremi ahi nt he15th [ correct:16th]cent ur
yandhi ssuccessori nt he18th
anathemat ised t he cal endari tself,butt hi s cur se:1)t ouches onl y his
contempor ariesand2)doesnotext endt ot hosewhoar ef ri
ght enedt obreak
communi onwi t
hhi m,t owhi char esubj ect edonl ythosewhot ransgr essthe
canoni cal Paschal i
on.Mor eov er( t
hisneedst obenot edi nanycase) ,themai n
i
deabehi ndt hedayofPaschai st hati tshoul dbecel ebr at edbyal lthe
Christi
ans( thatis,t heOr thodox)ononeandt hesamedayt hr oughoutt he
i
nhabi tedwor ld.True,Imy selfandmybr other sdonotatal lsy mpat hisewi t
h
thenewcal endarandmoder nism, butwebeseecht heAt honi tef ather snotto
behast yi n composi ng l et t
er s(Romans14) .– Do notgr iev eaboutour
readinesst ogot ot heC[ onst anti
nopl e]Counci l.Ofcour se,t her ewi llbeno
counci l
, buti fther eis,andi fwego, asSt .Fl avianwentt ot her obbercou[ ncil]
,
then,ofcour se,wewi llkeept hef aithanddel i
v ertheapost atest oanat hema.
Butasl ongast hel astwor dhasnotbeenspoken,asl ongast hewhol e
Chur chhasnotr epeat edt hecur sesofPat riarchJer emi ahatanecumeni cal
counci l
,wemustr etai ncommuni on,sot hatweour selv esshoul dnotbe
14
deprivedofsal vation,and, inai mingatagnat ,swal lowacamel …”

I
nanot herlett
erheadmi t
tedthatakri
veiawasonFr .Theodosius’si
de,but
arguedinf avourofoikonomi a:“I
tisinvainthatyout
ormenty ourconscience
withdoubt saboutcont i
nuingtobei ncommuni onwit
ht heConstanti
nopoli
tan
Patri
archate.Presentthi
smat t
ertothejudgementofthehier
archs,andunt i
li
t
15
hastakenpl aceremaini ncommuni on…”

Howev er,thewor dingoft he16th centuryCouncilsthatanat hemati

sedthe
newcal endardoesnotsuppor tt
hemet ropoli
tan’
sinterpret
ati
ont hati
tappli
ed
onlytot henew paschal i
on:“Whoev erdoesnotf ol
low thecust omsoft he
Church,… butwi shes t ofoll
ow t he Gr egori
an Paschal i
on and Menai on
[cal
endar],…l ethi m beanat hema. ”Mor eover,therei snowor daboutthe
anathemaappl yingonl ytothegener at
ionoft heanat hematisers.I
ngeneral,
anathemas,asexpr essingt heunchangi ngdeci si
onofGodwi thregardto
somet hi
ng t hati s eternal
lyfalse,ar e necessari
l
yappl i
cable,ifvali
d and
canonical,i
nal lplacesandatal lti
mes.

I
nt hesamey earof1926,adi ff
erentopini
ontot hatofMetropolit
an
Anthony,and oneclosertotheconcil
iarconsci
ousnessoft heOrthodox
Church,was expressed by t
he second memberof t he ROCA Sy nod,
Archbi
shopTheophanesofPol
tavaandPereyasl
avl
:

“
Questi
on.Hav ethepast
orsoft heOr
thodoxChur
chnotmadespeci
al
j
udgementsconcer
ningt
hecalendar
?

14
Pis’maBlazhennejshagoMi t
ropol
i
taAntoni
a(Khr
apovit
skago),Jordanv
il
le,1988,
p.195.
15
Pi s’
maBl azhennejshagoMi tr
opoli
taAntoni
a(Khrapovi
tskago),op.cit.
,p.197.ButFr.
Theodosius,right
ly,remainedincommunionwiththeAthonit
ezeal ot
sandnotwi ththenew
calendari
stinnovat
or s…
 11

“Answer
.Theyhave,manyt
imes–wi t
hregardtot
heintr
oducti
onoft
he
newRomancalendar–bot
hinpri
vat
eassembl
iesandi
ncounci
ls.

“
A proofoft hisist hef oll
owi ng.Fi rstofal l
,theEcumeni calPatri
arch
JeremiahII,who livedatt hesamet i
meast heRomancal endarreform,
i
mmedi atel
y,in1582,t ogetherwi thhi sSy nodcondemnedt henew Roman
system ofchronologyasbei ngnoti nagr eementwi ththeTr aditi
onoft he
Church.Inthenexty ear(1583) ,witht hepar ti
cipati
onofPat ri
archsSylv
ester
ofAlexandr
iaandSophr oniusVIofJer usalem, heconvenedaChur chCouncil
.
ThisCouncilrecognisedtheGr egoriancal endart obenoti nagr eementwith
the canons oft he UniversalChur ch and wi t
ht he decree oft he Fir
st
EcumenicalCouncilonthemet hodofcal culati
ngt hedayofHol yPascha.

“
Throught hel aboursoft hi
sCounci lther eappear ed:aConci li
art ome,
whichdenouncedt hewrongnessandunaccept abil
ityfortheOr t
hodoxChur ch
oftheRomancal endar,andacanoni calconci li
arDecr ee– t heSi gil
l
ionof
Nov ember20,1583.I nt hi
s Sigil
li
on allt hree oft he abov e-menti
oned
Patriar
chswi t
ht heirSynodscall
edont heOr t
hodoxf ir
ml yandunbendi ngly
,
event othesheddi ngofthei
rblood,toholdt heOr thodoxMenai onandJul ian
Paschalion,t
hreateningthetr
ansgressor
soft hiswithanat hema, cutt
ingthem
offfrom theChurchofChr i
standthegatheringoft hef ai
thful…

“I
nthecour seofthefoll
owingthreecent uri
es:the17th,18th and19th,a
whole ser
ies ofEcumenicalPatr
iar
chs deci si
vely expr
essed t hemselves
agai
nsttheGregori
ancal
endarand,ev aluat
ingitinthespiri
toft heconcili
ar
decr
eeofPatri
archJer
emiahII,
counselledtheOrthodoxtoav oi
di t
…

“
Quest
ion.I
sthei
ntr
oduct
ionoft
henew cal
endari
mpor
tantorofl
i
ttl
e
i
mport
ance?

“Answer.Ver yimpor t
ant ,especiall
yinconnectionwiththePaschalion,and
i
ti sanext r
emedi sorderandeccl esi
asti
calschi
sm, whichdrawspeopl eaway
from communi onanduni tywi ththewholeChur chofChr i
st,depri
vesthem of
thegr aceoft heHol ySpiri
t, shakesthedogmaoft heunityoftheChur ch,and,
l
ikeAr i
us,tearstheseaml essr obeofChrist,t
hatis,everywheredividesthe
Or t
hodox,depr iv
ing them ofoneness ofmi nd;breaks t he bond wi th
Ecclesiasti
cal Hol y Tr adit i
on and makes t hem f all under conci l
iar
condemnat i
onf ordespisingTr aditi
on…

“Quest
ion.How must t he Ort
hodox r
elat
etot
he new cal
endar
ist
schi
smati
cs,accor
dingt
othecanons?

“
Answer.Theymusthavenocommuni
oni
npr
ayerwi
tht
hem,ev
enbef
ore
t
hei
rconci
l
iarcondemnat
ion…

“
Quest
ion.Whatpuni
shmentisfi
tt
ing,accordi
ngtotheChur
chcanons,f
or
t
hosewhopraywit
hthenewcalendar
istschismati
cs?
 12

16
“
Answer
.Thesamecondemnat
ionwi
tht
hem…”

Sept
ember26/Oct
ober9,
2003.

16
Archbi Kr
shopTheophanes, at
kiekanonicheskiesuzhdeni
aol et
oschi
sleni
i,
inV.K.
,Russkai
a
Zarubezhnai
aTserkov
’naStezi
akhOtstupnichestv
a,St.Pet
ersbur
g,1999,pp.29-
30.