Try reading what the Old-Ritualists themselves say, rather than what their opponents say about them. And try looking at what happened to the other side; the Russian State Church went into a decline in monasticsm, iconography, liturgy and Church music - not to mention the charming innovation of the "Holy Governing Synod" which was a Lutheran style of government with a very thin Orthodox veneer. I won't even start discussing the religious aberrations of the Emperors and Empresses from Peter I to Alexander II, or even Alexander III. We are taught that "by their fruits you shall know them".
More to the point so far as we are concerned - it's fascinating to follow the history, because the Imperial government did the same things at the same times to the Greek-Catholics as they did to the Old-Ritualists (by the way, an Old Riter is a mis-spelling for someone like Ezra Pound). If it weren't so horrible and so tragic, the parallels would be hilarious - and what they prove, minus the mirth, is that Russian State Church was not motivated by either doctrine or rituals; they simply wanted (or rather the Tsars wanted) a monopoly so that the Tsar could govern the place more conveniently.
Were the Old-Ritualists justified in their protest? I would say that they were, and am prepared to argue the point if need be. You would say, and are saying, that they were not justified. But nobody has appointed either you or me to judge them, nor is much of anyone awaiting our determination. So from our vantage point, it makes more sense to agree that there are, in fact, two groups of Russian Orthodox Christians: those who accept the Nikonian innovations and those who do not. From there, it's a question of research to discern who has what to teach us. There is one potential problem that we do not have with the Old-Ritualists: they have never attempted to drive us out of business, nor are they usually inclined to be unfriendly towards us.
By the way, yes, there are still some Old-Ritualists who refuse to accept the Priesthood. They are a relatively small minority, and dwindling at that; since Communism collapsed the Russian Old-Ritualist Orthodox Church has provided many formerly Priestless communities with Priests. One of the largest groups has expressed a serious interest in renewing the Priesthood - they do not wish to judge their fathers, but they consider that an "emergency" that has lasted 350 years has lasted long enough.
The situation is a bit skewed in America and elsewhere in the diaspora, because it was flat-out impossible to obtain priests from Russia during the persecution. But, thanks to God, things are different now. There is a Bishop in the Pacific Northwest who is gradually and peacefully restoring the priesthood in communities where there had been no priest for several decades.
So we live in hope and in prayer for these brothers of ours who have shared our tears, and are now able to share our joy - and to share with us important spiritual treasures which they have kept.
Fr. Serge
Previous Topic
Index