Address of the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

Beloved in the Lord, faithful flock of the Russian Church Abroad!

At the September 2003 meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, it was decided to send a delegation of Bishops to Russia to meet with Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and of All Russia, as well as to get acquainted with church life in Russia, in preparation for the All-diaspora Clergy Conference and the Sobor [Council] of Bishops of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, both of which are scheduled for December of this year. The delegation was to clarify the position of the Church in Russia regarding a list of issues which determine our relationship with her and to investigate the possibility of beginning to develop further ties with her.

The official website of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, at the request of the delegation, posted two reports regarding its visit to Moscow. Upon reading these reports, some of the faithful of our Church came under the impression that the delegation was not only clarifying the position of the Moscow Patriarchate regarding certain questions, but that it had already taken some concrete steps and made certain decisions. This is not the case. The delegation had expressed our Church's desire to regularize many unresolved issues. The desire to draw nearer on an Orthodox foundation and the development of such a process in the spirit ofsobornost'[conciliarity] corresponds with the direction of our Church, as expressed in a series of Epistles of the Sobor of Bishops.

I urge our dear flock not to come to hasty conclusions and to remain calm.The members of the delegation will return from Russia in a few days and will brief me in detail concerning their encounters. They will communicate their impressions and report on their activities both at the All-Diaspora Pastoral Conference and the Sobor of Bishops.

It goes without saying that the delegation cannot on it's own make important decisions concerning the fate of our entire Church. Such decisions are exclusively in the sphere of the highest organ of our Church Authority, the Sobor of Bishops.

The All-diaspora Clergy Conference is being summoned to provide the opportunity for the pastors of our Church to pray together and constructively, in the spirit of brotherly love andsobornost', to hear lectures, to voice their opinions, to listen to their archpastors and co-pastors, and to communicate the desires of their parishioners. This conference goal remains intact.

According to the tenets of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, one of the primary tasks of our Church is to spiritually sustain the Russian Orthodox flock in the diaspora, regardless of their nationality, and to preserve and strengthen the purity and untaintedness of the Holy Orthodox Faith in the souls of our faithful. This goal, the salvation of the souls of the flock which has been entrusted to us, remains the most important goal for our Russian Church Abroad.

May the blessings of God upon you!

+Metropolitan Laurus
21 November 2003