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TIle St. Herman
Willter Pilgrimage, 1979 ORTHODOXY IN THE USA
ITS HISTORICAL PAST AND PRESENT
'rom the time of St. Herman's canonization in 1970, special
ons have been held in several places to commemorate him on
A Talk Delivered at the Saint Herman Winter Pilgrimage,
t day, December 12/25. Several such pilgrimages have been
Holy Trinity Monastery at Jordanville, New York (see a de- December 12/25, 1979,
of the 1973 pilgrimage in The Orthodox Word, 1973, no. 53). at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y.
the Jordanville piIgrimage attrac ted some 150 people, chie fly
ople from several nearby parishes. By Hieromonk Seraphim Rose
he invited speaker for this year was Hieromonk Seraphim of
St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, Platina, Ca.
Herman of Alaska Monastery at Platina, California.' His first
an informal one on Sunday afternoon, December 10/23, ad-
to seminarians and novices, exhorting them to take full ad· WE HAVE GATHERED here today to venerate St. Herman,
of the educational opportunities afforded by the monastery and first saint of the American land, first Orthodox missionary to Arneri-
and not to waste this opportunity by "taking for granted" the
ca, bringer of Orthodox Christianity to the New World. This feast
treasures -which may be obtained in such a place.
gives us an opportunity to look at_the Orthodoxy he brought: what
n Monday afternoon Archimandrite Cyprian, the Monastery's
iher and the one man perhaps most responsible for the spread has happened to it since his time, where it stands in this country
ional Orthodox iconography in the United States, gave a talk
today, what are the hopes for it- and for us, whe are today's Or-
on a new misuse of the popular interest in Byzantine icons
thodox Christians - in the years ahead, nearly t,..o hundred years
est: the use of traditional icons as decorations on Christmas
after the seeds ofthe true faith were planted here.
paper, indicating a disrespect for these icons which should
ed by Orthodox Christians. I will say only a few words about the past of Orthodoxy In
fter the splendid All-night Vigil and the Liturgy on the day of
America, in order to concentrate chiefly on what fa ces us today.
" the main talk of the pilgrimage (printed on the pages that
..as given by Father Seraphim. It evoked a lively discussion
THE PAS T 0 FOR THO D 0 XYIN A \1E RIC A
Lose present, particularly concerning the ways in which be·
>day can preserve their Orthodoxy in a world so out of harmony
First of all,of course, there .was the missim of S1. Herman
ollowing the discussion, Fr. Vladimir Malchenko of Toronto himself, with the seven other missionaries who cane with him from
lide s of his recent trip to Mt. Athos. In conclusion, the Abbot Valaam and Konevits Monasteries in the north of R ssia in 1794. It
mastery, Bishop Laurus , expressed his wish that all who had
is really astonishing what an Orthodox foundation these missiona-
.ed in the Pilgrimage might take back with them new strength
ries laid in Alaska, considering how few they were and what obsta-
.ve to lead a God-ple asing life.
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THE ORTHODOX WORD ORTHODOXY IN THE LSA
les they faced. One of these eight, Fr. Ioa saph , was consecrated However, even at this time the beginnings of weaknesses
ishop in order to increase the work in America, but he was lost at could be noted. America is a vast land; the Russians and other Or-
ea on the return voyage before he could even begin his work. There thodox settlers were widely scattered; priests were thinly spread;
ere Icw priests in the early years, SI. Herman himself wasn't a and perhaps most important of all, there were no other-worldly
rie st, and the Russian officials in Alaska were not very coopera- saints like St. Herman to plant the seeds of holiness deep in the
ve - but in those years thousands of natives were baptized, and American soil. Further, the English-speaking American people were
rcir descendents remain Orthodox today; and with SI. Herman's la- not simple like the natives of Alaska, and they already practiced
ors as a monk, preacher, and carer of orphans, America saw for the some form of Christian Faith. For all of these reasons we can sec
rs t time a living example of the traditional Orthodox piety and spi- the beginning, even before the Russian Revolution, of the terrible
tun I life which made Holy Russia. This is something very irnpor- disease we see in the Orthodox jurisdictions in America today; the
mt for our Orthodoxy today - this example of true Orthodox Chris- disease of worldliness. Outwardly, the Orthodox clergy began to
anity in practice. look like the non-Orthodox clergy around them; inwardly, the con-
The next great Orthodox missionary in America was the holy cern was mainly to provide priests for the wid£ly-scattercd ethnic
icr arch Innocent of Alaska, who first as priest and then as bishop flock, without deepening their Orthodoxy by providing English texts
ave a classic example of Orthodox missionary activity, translating of the classic Orthodox books or reaching out to tell the non-Ortho-
Ie Gospel into the local languages, caring for the bodies as well dox who might listen that there is a true Christi ani ty that is un-
s the souls of the flock of his vast missionary territory, In his last dreamed of in the West, the fullness of Holy Orthodoxy.
ears, when he became Metropolitan of Moscow, he supported mis- The Revolution of 1917 in Russia struck a deadly blow to
.onary labors in other places also. the Orthodox mission: support from Russia was cut off, the oneness
With the sale of Alaska to the American government in 1867, of the Church fell apart into national jurisdictions, and the clergy
re mission territory changed somewhat: the Russian government were left pretty much to themselves. The worldliness of American
.mti nued to send support to Alaska, but the seat of the Diocese life was left free to put its stamp on the Orthodox mission, and
JW became San Francisco, and for the first time an English-Ian- there was not much strength to oppose it. Vhen Archbishop Vitaly
uage mission was undertaken. The outstanding missionary at the (later of Jordanville) came to America in the 1930's to become rul-
cginning of this century in San Francisco was Archimundrite Se- ing bishop, he saw that Orthodoxy in Arneri ca, if left to itself, would
astian Dabovich, a Serb by birth who died in Yugoslavia in 1940, simply turn into an "Eastern-rite Protestant~sm" - thnt is, it would
hose books on Orthodox faith and practice in English are still in retain some of the externals of Orthodoxy, but inwardly would be
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rint. Bishop Tikhon (the future Patriarch of Moscow) also greatly sc~E.ciy....d~Cf(;'rer)t (ram Jbc worldly ProtestaI!tism which is the pte-
ncouraged the English-language mission, and under him and the d_ominant religion oC ACUfrica.
ther Russian bishops there were missions also for other national The second wave of Russian emigration after World War Il,
roups - Syrians, Serbs, etc. including the transfer to Jordanville of Archbishop Vitalys whole
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THE ORTHODOX WORD ORTHODOXY IN THE USA
nonastic community which he had established in Czechoslovakia- ca, and especially what we ourselves can do to make ourselves
vas the first major influence acting against the worldliness which more fervent, more Orthodox, more in the spirit of St. Herman, who
ias been engulfing America in the 20th century. But its influence for all time has set the "tone" for Orthodoxy in America.
las been mostly restricted to our Russian Church Outside of Russia To do this, we must first of all recognize the chief enemy
- the other jurisdictions in America for the most part have corn in- facing us: it is, of course, the devil, who wants to knock us off the
led their worldly path, and this is the chief reason for the widening path of salvation; and the chief means he uses in our times to do
liff'ercnce between us and them. this is the spirit of WORLDLINESS, This is what has weakened
One has only to go into a church of one of the moderni st Or- and watered down Orthodoxy in America - and not just in the other
hodox jurisdictions in this country to see some of the results of jurisdictions. The spirit of worldliness is in the air we breathe, and
his worldly spirit: pews, often organs, streamlined and sometimes we cannot escape it. You cannot watch television, you cannot go to
Jramatized services, various modern gimmicks for making money; a supermarket, you cannot walk in the streets of any city in Ameri-
md verv often the chief emphasis is placed on ethnic rather than ca - without being bombarded by this spirit. In supermarkets and
.piritual values - including the newest ethnic emphasis, American- other large stores they even play lighthearteu1.. scns cIc ss music ill
sm. order to catch you in this spirit and make sure- that you don't think
The churches of our Russian Church Outside of Russia are or feel in an other-worldly way. Our Church and everyone in it is at-
rsually quite different, with no pews or organs, and a more old- tacked by this spirit, and we can't escape it by isolating ourselves
vorldly Kind of piety; and there has been a noticeable revival or in a ghetto or in a small town; the outside influences can be les-
raditional church iconography and other church arts. The traditional sened, perhaps, in such ways, but if we are not fighting an INWARD
Irtho dox influence is visible even in such external things as the SPlRITUAL BATTLE against worldliness, we will sti 11 be con-
vay our clergy dress and the beards which almost all of our clergy quered by it without fail. And so the chief question regarding the fu-
lave. Just a few decades ago almost no Orthodox clergy in America ture of our Orthodoxy in America - and in the whole world, for thai
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lad beards or wore ras sas on the street; and while this is something matter - is: HOW DO WE REMA.IN ORIHODOX AND DI;YEL_QP
iutward, it is still a reflection of a tradi tion al mentality which has OU_R ORTHODOXY against the spirit of wcrldliness that attacks .!:lJi
IUd many inward, spiritual results also. A few of the more conserva- o~ides?
ive priests in other jurisdictions have now begun to return to more In order to answer this question we have: to ask first another
raditional Orthodox ways, but if so, it is largely under the influ- question that might be a little surprising; ,vhat is Orthodcuy? But
enc e of our Church, and a number of these priests have told us that this question is basic; if we aren't sure just what Orthodoxy is, we
hey look to our Russian Church Outside of Russia as a standard wou't know what we're trying to preserve und develop against the
md inspiration of genuine Orthodoxy. spirit of worldliness. And so let us ask thi: question:
However, the object of this talk is to go a little deeper than
hese externals and to see where our Orthodoxy is today in Arneri-
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_i:J_~~
Orthodoxy is: it iLSQ!Il.eJ.hin.gJlli_LQLall.n.Llb_~JiEART.. not
WHAT IS ORTHODOXY?
miqd~ something LlVIN~Labs~an~_~~2_some-
We can define Orthodoxy in no better way than in the words th~t.Qrned and practiced in LIFE, not just in school. -
)f the great 18th-ccntury Russian Father, SI. Tikhon ..of Zadonsk - A person who takes Orthodoxy seriously and beginsio really
1 Saint whose fervent spirit is nceded very much today by Orthodox work on understanding it with his heart and changing himself - has
:hristians. We should read him more and practice what he teaches. at least a little of a quality we might call the fragrance of true
it. Tikhon caIls Orthodoxy "the true Christianity," and he wrote a Christianity; he is different from people who live by nothing higher
vho le hook under this title. But "true Christianity" does not mean than the world. SI. Macariu s the Great, the 4th-century Egyptian des-
[ust having the right opinions about Christianity - this is not e- ert father, teaches in his Hornil ie s that "Christians have their own
rough to save one's soul. SI. Tikhon in his book, in the chapter on world, their own way of life, their own understanding and word and
'The Gospel and Faith," says: "If someone should say that true activity; far different from theirs are the way of life and understand-
'aith is the correct holding and confession of correct dogmas, he ing and word and activity of the people of this world. Christians are
vould be telling the truth, for a believer absolutely needs the Ortho- one thing, and lovers of the world quite another. Inasmuch as the
lox holding and confession of dogmas. But this knowledge and con- mind and understanding of Christians is constantly occupied with
'cssion byit se lf does not make a man a faithful and true Christian. reflection on the heavenly, they behold eternal good things by com-
Fhe keeping and confession of Orthodox dogmas is always to be munion and participation in the Holy Spirit. .. Christians have a dif-
'ound in true Faith in Christ, hut the true faith of Christ is not al- ferent world ... a different wny of thinking from all other men" (Ho-
vays to be found in the confession of Orthodoxy ... The knowledge mily V, 1:20). Later I'll try to say a word on how Orthodox Chris-
Jf correct dogmas is in the mind, and it is often fruitless, arrogant, tians should be absorbing this different world and way of thinking.
IOU proud ... The true faith in Christ is in the heart, and it is fruit- Orthodo~'y, the:;;t:ru-e;rChristianity, is not just another set of beliefs;
ul , humble, patient, loving, merciful, compassionate, hungering and it_is._a whole Ijfc th3tm~kes us different people, and it is di-
hirsting for righteousness; it withdraws from worldly lusts and rectly bound up with how much heavenly and eternal things are pre-
:lings to God alone, strives and seeks always for what is heavenly sent in our life.
md eternal, struggles against every sin, and constantly seeks and An Orthodox person who is NOT different can be worse off
regs help from God for this." And he then quotes Blessed Augu s- than the non-Orthodox. There is nothing sa Ider than the spectacle
ine, who teaches: "The faith of a Christian is with love; faith of Orthodox Christians, who possess a trea -ure that cannot be val-
vithout love is that of the devil" ("True Christianity," ch. 287, p. ued by any earthly measure, something which many are seeking and
~(j9). St. James in his Epistle tells us that "the demons also b~ do not find in today's world - nothing is sadder than Orthodox
ie\'e and tremble" (James ..3..;J.9). Christians who do not value and do not use this treasure.
St. .Tikhon, therefore, gives us a start in understanding what I'd like to tell you a little about a goup of Protestants who
216 live not too far from our monastery in northern California. In some
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TtIE ORTHODOX WORD
ORTHODOXY IN THE USA
ways I think they are actually an cxarnp le for us, in other ways a
and these Protestants don't have. Some C~-Our Orthodox young peo-
warning, and perhaps most of all an indication of the responsibility
ple are converted to groups like thi s, but lt works the other way a-
and opportunity we Orthodox Christians have because we have bcen
round also - some of these Protestants are being converted to Or-
given the TRUE CHRISTIANlTY. ,
thodoxy. And WHY NOT? If we have the true Christianity, there
These Protestants have a simple and warm Chri stian fai th
should be something in our midst that someone who sincerely loves
without much of the sectarian narrowness that characterizes many
the truth will see and want, We've baptized several people from
Protestant groups. They don't believe, like some Protestants, that
this Protestant group in our monastery; they arc drawn to Orthodoxy
they are "saved" and don't need to do any more; they believe in
by the grace and the sacraments who se presence th ey feel in Ortho-
the idea of spiritual struggle and training the soul. They force
doxy, but which arc absent in their group. And once they become Or-
thcrn selve s to forgive each other and not to hold grudges. They take
thodox, they find their Protestant experience, which seemed so real
in bums and hippies off the streets and have a special farm for re-
to them at the time, to be quite shallow and superficial. Their lead-
habilitating them and leaching them a sense of responsibility. In
ers give very practical teachings based on the Gospel, but after a
other words, they take Christianity seriously as the most important
while the teachings are exhausted and they repeat themselves. Com-
thing in life; it's not the fullness of Christianity that we Orthodox
ing to Orthodoxy, these converts find a wealrf of teaching that is
have, but it's good as far as it goes, and these people are warm,
inexhaustible and leads them into a depth of Christian experience
loving people who obviously love Christ. In this way they are an
that is totally beyond even the best of non-Orthodox Christians. ,[t_
example of what we should be, only more so. Whether they attain
whQ arc already Orthodox hav£...!.~.Lu!.easure and..J.hi.s_dj."..PJb_..ri.gh~-in
salvation by their practice of Christianity is for God to judge, for
fr_~:_e_mllS1...u.s e..ir.m 0r.e-fuU.y....Lhan-we-usua.u¥--do ; it is
some of their views and actions are far from the true Christianity of
a mattcr of spiritual life and death both for ourselves and for those
Orthodoxy handed down to us from Christ and His Apostles; but at
around us who can be awakened to the truth of Orthodoxy.
least an awareness of their existence should help us to be aware of
Just this last week 1crossed the whole of America by train
what we already have. Some of our Orthodox young people - for
- a vast land, with many different kinds .of landscapes and settle-
whatever reason, they don't realize what treasure their Orthodox
ments. And I thought of S1. Seraphim's vision of the vast Russian
faith contains - are joining such Protestant groups; and some of
land, with the smoke of the prayers of believers going up like in-
our uninformed young people go much farther from Orthodoxy - one
cense to God. Perhaps someone will say to me: "Oh, you talk like
of the 900 victims of Jonestown a year ago was a Greek Orthodox
a convert! America is America. It's full of Protestants and unbe-
girl, the daughter of an Orthodox priest. .
lievers, and the Orthodox will always bel little minority of people
I'm telling you about these Protestants both as a warrung of
who stick to themselves and have no influence on the rest of Ameri-
how Orthodox young people can lose the treasure they already have
ca." Well, I'ni not saying that we Orthodox will "convert America"
if they haven't been made aware enough of it, and more importantly,
- that's a little too ambitious for us. However, St. Herman himself
as a means of defining. a littl e better the true Christianity we have
did have such a dream. He wrote a Iette. after participating in the
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THE ORTHODOX WORD ORTHODOXY IN THE USA
rs t "missionary conference" on American soil, when that small of nothing but frozen, barren land and a Iev antelope herds - I was
md of missionaries divided up the vast land of Alaska and argued talking to an intense young man who was searching for the truth af-
.cr who would get the most land to cover. SI. Herman, hearing ter finding out that the "charismatic" movement is not from God. Af-
is, says that he was so exalted in soul that he thought he was ter becoming disillusioned with American religion - the Methodists,
escn t when the Apostles themselves were dividing up the world Roman Catholics, Baptists, and various Prot estant evangelists - as
r the preaching of the Gospel. a last resort he is learning Russian in order to go to Russia and
We don't have to have such exalted ideas in order to see find out what he'll be told by people who are suffering for their
at the prayers of believers could be going up to God in America. Faith. "Maybe that will be real," he said, as opposed to the reli-
hut if we who are Orthodox Christians began to realize who we gious hypocrisy he sees everywhere. He asked me eagerly about
'e? - to take our Christianity seriously, to LIVE as though we ac- many things, from doc.trines to customs to moral teachings, and then
ally were in contact with the true Christianity? We would begin to read the chapter on the charismatic movement in Our book, "OrthQ:
: different, others around us would begin to be interested in why d~oxy-a~nd ~the~R~eligi~on ~o~f th-..LI-;uture" - which he said put into
e are different, and we would begin to realize that we have the an- words what he felt (bas ed on his own experience) but didn't have
vers to their spiritual questions. the teaching to express. Here is where Orthodoxy, the true Christi-
On this same train trip across the country I had what could anity, can literally save someone who otherwise might fall into de-
: called missionary encounters. Of course, I wasn't passing out spair from the inadequacy of the Christianity of the West. Here a-
acts in the ai sle s; but just sitting there in my rassa with a cross gain a seed was sown; perhaps Wyoming won't become Orthodox,
id my heard, I attracted attention. Some of it wasn't fruitful, but but a few souls there might.
as typical of how we Orthodox are often regarded in America: one All this is by way of explaining that Orthodoxy, in SI. Ti-
naIl boy thought I was "Santa Claus," and a woman pointed me khan's definition, is the TRUE CHRISTIANITY, and it was never
It as "Ayatollah!" I also had several encounters with people who more needed than today. We must realize what a treasure we have ,
:}OULD have been Orthodox: one woman who was married to a and make it active in us. This need not mean going door to door
reck man; a man who was marri ed to a Greek woman, but neither like Jehovah's Witnesses, or preaching in the streets. The outward
: them Orthodox because the woman's grandmother had become a expression of our faith will come naturally once we have begun to
uth cran for social reasons - here it was obvious how worldliness go inward, finding out what this treasure is and letting ours elves be
ad taken its toll of yet another Orthodox family in America. truly changed by it.
But there were some Irui tful encounters, too. To several Recently an Orthodox person of some sensitivity and depth
eople I was able to speak about Orthodoxy (which they had never told me: "Orthodoxy is the truth, but it's too difficult for men to-
card of) and hand out some copies of "The Orthodox Word." One day, so I seldom speak of it." There is a kernel of truth in this
f these people had a story that should move our Orthodox hearts. statement. Orthodoxy IS difficult compared to the Western denomina-
For most of the day that I was crossing vast Wyoming - full tions; but still - anyone who is capable of wanting a demanding
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es and does - we must be trying to SATUR ATE ourselves in it. SI.
ith is capable of accepting Orthodoxy. We have to sow more, so
Seraphim, in his spiritual instructions, say _ that the Christian must
ere will be more to reap. But first of all we have to go inward and
be "swimming in the law of the Lord" - ar d this doesn't mean just
ak e the true Christianity of Orthodoxy a LIVING PART OF OUR-
making the Church a little part of one's life ; it means going deeper
:L VES.
and doing more. Of course, we start a little at a time. If you have
GOING DEEPER INTO ORTHODOXY
been going to church just on Sundays, you can begin to go to the
Vigil on Saturday night, and to Ieas t-dayvervice s. If you've been
How do we do this? To some extent, anyone who is close to
hurch and tries to keep the Orthodox discipline, knows the answer trying to keep the fast of Great Lent, you can be gin 10 go 10 more
of the very moving services of Lent - the Liturgy of the Prc san cti-
this question: you attend churcl.L.s.£..r..\:..is~t's, k.~·p the_[aiJh, receive
- ~li- Iied Gifts, the Canon of SI. Andrew of Crete, the Praises of the Mo-
oly Communion, read Orthodox b_~Jks. But it is possible to
ther of God.
is almost mechanically, without going deeper into Orthodoxy.
And another very important thing: You should be reading spi-
Therefore, first of all we must not merely attend services
ritual books. S1. John Chrysostom goes so far as to say that a Chris-
id keep the outward form of Orthodoxy - we must bc AWARE of
tian who doesn't read spiritual books can't be-saved. Why? Because
hat we are doing. If you've ever talked to an earnest Protestant or
the world, whose spirit we absorb unconsciously many hours a day,
ihe licver who really wants to know what you believe and why you
is so strong that we will almost automatically follow its ways un-
-havc the way you do, you will understand how important this a-
less we are consciously filling our minds and hearts with Christian
arcnes s is. You can literally sene the soul of someone like that if
impressions. Innumerable books exist for this purpose, both in Rus-
JU can begin, even in a liitl e way, to open up to him thc depths of
sian and English: first of all the Holy Scriptures and Orthodox com-
rtho dox Christianity. WJw.do you make th..e_£UJLQ..f tk_J'ross? .~
0;' rnent aries on them. Then the Lives of Saints and reccnt ascetics;
) you pray to ~s? '~b):_do you stand up in church, make pro-
"My Life in Christ" by St. John of Kronstadt; "Unseen Warfare" by
r..atioos during Le nt? W1J.Y-<U'c yOll alwClYs :-;inging "Lord, have mer-
St. Nikoderno s of the Holy Mountain and Bi shop Thcophan the Re-
~''? W~t is Jiu1~1COIDlDJlIlion? Why do you confess your s~ a
cluse; the Spiritual Instructions of SI. Abba Dorothcos ; the Homilies
~t? Especially today, when we are surrounded by people who
of SI. Macari us the Great; th e Orthodox servi ce books, sev eral of
iu't know the truth but some of whom are really thirsting for it -
which are now in English; the "Lausaic History" and the Lives and
e can't just do these things out of habi t; we must be able. as the
Sayings of the Desert Fathers, which are just as fresh now as when
postle Peter says, lo_gjve aD account of what we believe and do
~ -
uttered l~OO years ago; Lives of Russia's New Martyrs; Archbishop
l.J.!lOSC outside the Cfwrch. There are many ways to become edu-
Andrew's "The One Thing Needful." The Monastery bookstore here
atcd in Orthodox Christianity - ask your parish priest, read books,
can sell you these and many other books. If you have a spark of
otain a copy of some of the Church's services and begin to enter
Christian fervor in you, you will be surpri ed how much your soul
ore deeply into their meaning.
will be refreshed by reading books like the.e ; they will give you a
Further, we must be not just aware of what our Church teach-
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