In the book which most thoroughly describes the events to occur at the end o
the world, the Apocalypse of St. John the Theologian, at the opening of the
seventh seal, which precedes the final plague to come upon mankind; it is said
that there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour [Apoc
8:1]. Some have interpreted this to mean a short period of peace before
the final events o world history — namely, the short period of the restoration
of Russia, when the preaching of world-wide repentance will begin with Russia —
that “new, ultimate word” which even Dostoyevsky hoped Russia would give to the
world [Pushkin Speech, The Diary of a Writer, tr. Boris Brasol, New York,
George Braziller, 1954, p. 980]. Under present world conditions, when the
events of one country are known to the whole world almost instantly, and when
Russia, cleansed by the blood of its martyrs, indeed has a better chance than
any other country to awake from the sleep of atheism and unbelief — we can
already conceive the possibility of such an event. As Father Dimitry
Dudko and others have said, it cannot be that the blood of Russia's
innumerable martyrs will be in vain; undoubtedly it is the seed of the last
great flowering of true Christianity.
But it is easy to become lost in dreams of the future world. We should
be aware of what is to happen at the end of the world, and of what may happen
in Russia.
But spiritual events such as the resurrection of Russia
depend upon each individual soul. This seven will not happen without the
participation of the Orthodox people — our repentance and struggle. And
this involves not only the people of Russia
itself — it involves the whole of the Russian Diaspora, and all the Orthodox
people of the world.
Archbishop John, in the same report to the All-Diaspora Sobor of 1938 which
I have already quoted, speaks of the apocalyptic mission of the Russian people
outside of Russia:
“In chastising, the Lord at the same time also shows the Russian people the
way to salvation by making it a preacher of Orthodoxy in the whole world.
The Russian Diaspora has made all the ends of the world familiar with Orthodoxy;
the mass of Russian exiles, for the most part, is unconsciously a preacher of
Orthodoxy.... To the Russians abroad it has been granted to shine in the
whole world with the light of Orthodoxy, so that other peoples, seeing their
good deeds, might glorify our Father Who is in heaven, and thus obtain
salvation for themselves.... The Diaspora will have to be converted to
the path of repentance and, having acquired forgiveness for itself through
prayer to God and through being reborn spiritually (will) become capable also
of giving rebirth to our suffering homeland” [The Orthodox Word, 1973, no. 50,
pp. 92, 94].
Thus the Russians abroad by their living the true life of Orthodoxy, should
be already preparing the way for St. Seraphim's preaching of world-wide
repentance. To some extent this is happening, and one can even begin to
see, parallel to the Orthodox revival in Russia,
a genuine Orthodox awakening in America
and other lands outside of Russia.
But it all depends on each on of us: if we are awakening to true Orthodox
life, then Holy Russia will be restored; if we are not, then God can withdraw
His promises.
Archbishop John ended his report to the 1938 Sobor with a prophecy and a
hope that there will be a true Pascha in Russia
that will shine forth to the whole world before the very end of all things and
the beginning of the universal Kingdom
of God:
“Shake away the sleep of despondency, O sons of Russia!
Behold the glory of her suffering and be purified; wash yourselves from your
sins! Be strengthened in the Orthodox Faith, so as to be worthy to dwell
in the dwelling of the Lord and to settle on His holy mountain! Leap up,
leap up, arise, O Russia, you who from the Lord's
hands have drunk the cup of His wrath! When your suffering shall have
ended, your righteousness shall go with you and the glory of the Lord shall
accompany you. The peoples shall come to your light, and kings to the
shining which shall rise upon you. Then Lift up your eyes and see: behold your
children come to you from the West and the North and the Sea and the East,
blessing you in Christ forever. Amen” [Ibid, p. 94].
This address, delivered at the Orthodox Youth
Conference in San Francisco in 1981, was originally published in The Orthodox Word, Nos. 100-101 (1981; vol. 17,
nos. 5-6), pp. 205-217. A tape recording of the address is available from Holy Trinity Monastery Bookstore, Jordanville, NY 13361
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