Brethren and Sisters!

At the last Council of our Church, in October of 2000, documents were adopted which have elicited various reactions among our flock. The greater part of the faithful wholly approved of the Councils actions; but part of the flock was confused by certain assertions in the documents we adopted. These confusions were caused, firstly, but the Letter to Patriarch Paul of Serbia, and also by several clauses and statements regarding the Moscow Patriarchate.

We acknowledge that various views on the course of the Church of Russia exist among us, and it happens that these views do not always coincide. This is natural, since to define the one true path on the one hand, without falling under the process of universal apostasy, and on the other hand, without straying into sectarianism and schisms devoid of grace is a very complicated matter in our times. Thus, it often happens that careful correction must be applied to positions previously espoused, which are the result either of unwarranted opinions, or misinformation, or other causes. Such positions, which have not been thoroughly thought through, sometimes lie as a heavy burden on the conscience of more and more people.

The Letter referred to above, which in essence was private in character, is not a declarative expression of the general opinion of our whole Church. Also, not everyone considered objectively certain things said concerning the Moscow Patriarchate, in which our desire to see there positive changes turned out to be ahead of the real state of affairs.

However, even these imprudently uttered statements do not alter, yes, and should not alter, the general course of our Church, which is founded on the Sacred Scriptures and is uncompromising with regard to innovation in and the perversion of our dogmas. Notwithstanding, we have considered it necessary to make this statement.

Thus, for example, the Committee on the Unity of the Church of Russia was not conceived by us as a committee on unity with the Moscow Patriarchate, but as one to raise questions concerning the fragmentation of the Church of Russia into a multitude of sects, and how to halt this process and turn it around. Every right-minded Orthodox person must admit that this is not an idle question, but one which concerns us all.

No few such unjust reproaches were made during the period between the Councils. Accusations that we are uniting with an unrepentant Moscow Patriarchate have dogged us already for fifteen years. However, nothing of the sort has happened yet, inasmuch as this does not depend upon us, but upon the Moscow Patriarchate itself, on those processes which can bring about its return to health. And we truly desire that this healing take place as quickly as possible.

The schisms within our Church cause us immense pain and suffering, the moreso because they are often brought about or provoked by false information. It is essential to resolve questions of doubt and argument in frank and open dialogue, without unwarranted bitterness and preconceived opinions, and, all the more, without outside, ill-intentioned prompters.

We call upon those who have left the fold of our Church to reconsider the position in which they have placed themselves. It is not possible to watch with indifference as groups of reckless people, who call themselves Orthodox but in fact are stubborn in their errors, multiply in our days. While it is still not too late, we must exert all our efforts to stop this destructive process.

Every Orthodox believer must clearly understand that there is only one true Church, and there is nowhere else to flee; all around there yawns only the abyss of hell. For this reason one must with all one's powers avoid the temptation that our personal opinion is infallible; straining for the letter of the law, we often risk slipping from a firm footing. In the history of the Church in latter times there are only too many lamentable examples of such falls.

We call upon all of our faithful children in the homeland to cling with confidence to the Ark of the Church, and not to give in to the temptations of the spirits of wickedness, which thirst for our destruction. Trusting in our Lord Jesus Christ, we hope to abide forever in the Church He founded, for the purity of which the new-martyrs and confessors of Russia shed their blood.

With trust in God and His all-pure Mother,

The hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia: