Monastics on the Internet

   Be wary.   Find out who their bishop is.  Watch for signs of  behaviors unbecoming to monastics.

Monks, especially hieromonks, are supposed to spend most of the time in their monasteries, not on the internet.  Also, real monks and hieromonks have time-consuming prayer rules, avoid gossip and speculations, exhibit humility, refrain from antagonizing others, restrain their opinions, and mind their own business.  

There are several "hieromonks" on the internet at this time [2012], either with their own websites or on the forums, or both, who are obvious or highly-suspected KGB agents.

14. Royal Path is Hidden

Many things are "hidden" in our Faith, especially from those who are blinded spiritually.  Christ even prayed thanking the Father that certain things are hidden from the wise and revealed unto babes.  Our sacraments are called "Mysteries" because there is a spiritual reality in them.  The spiritual reality is hidden from those who are spiritually blinded, and they can only see the sacraments as ritual.  

It is the same with the royal path.  There is a spiritual reality to it that is hidden more often than not.  Those unable to see the spiritual reality will usually try to define the royal path as some place or compromise between the extremes of super-correct ["true" Orthodoxy] and world Orthodoxy.

But super-correctness and renovationism, Fr. Seraphim has taught us, are just flip sides of the same disease.

Fr. Seraphim taught that the world orthodoxy [renovastionism] and the

super-correct [true orthodoxy] are just flip sides of the same coin:

opposite manifestations of the same disease.  The Royal Path is not a

"mixture" of these extremes, but a path of it's own that is above them

both.  The world orthodox is a fleshy path and the "true" is an

intellectual path, both are worldly.

The Royal Path is other-worldly.  Fr. Seraphim found it.

Saints

Saints

KNOWN BY THEIR FRUITS

The true faith is Christianity.

The true Christianity is Orthodoxy.

And the best expression of Orthodoxy is the royal path.

To show that the true faith is Christianity , we point to the saints. These are the fruits of Christianity. Christ rose Himself up from the dead; nobody else has ever brought themselves back to life. Pagan religions can produce truly righteous men, for God created all men in His image. But even the height of human goodness is not meant to be a substitute for the sanctification/deification found in the Christian saints. The difference can be seen in their miracles. Christian saints, because of Christ, have power over death and over nature [animals, weather, time]. The pagan "miracles" are confined to the psychic realm.

To show that the true Christianity is Orthodoxy, again we point to the saints. Heterodox Christianity can produce exceedingly compassionate, loving, peaceful, devoted and self-sacrificing humans. But so can pagan religions produce such fruit. Sanctity is not simply righteousness which is earthly and which is good, sanctity has an otherworldliness which is not of this world and cannot be judged by earthly standards. Compare Mother Theresa with St. Seraphim of Sarov...

To show that the best expression of Orthodoxy is the royal path, again we point to the saints. While the saints are accessible to all Orthodox, it is the royal path that produces them. The royal path is not readily discerned, but it does exist. Fr. Seraphim Rose found it. He lived it and he wrote about it. He told us who was on it and who was not, so that we would know who to trust as our guides.

FRIENDS OF GOD

We meet the friends of God by reading lives of saints. Lives of saints are the "milk" and the "meat" of an Orthodox life. One of the holy people of Fr. Seraphim's time was Archbishop John Maximovitch, who was recognized as a miracle-working saint even during his lifetime by many. Archbishop John read lives of saints throughout his whole life. We never outgrow the need to read lives of saints. 

We start by learning about their many different lives. God is not a respecter of persons, so we find saints from all walks and stations of life. Then next we start to love them. It is only natural to love somebody who loves who or what we love. We begin to love the saints because we see how they love God. Next we start to talk to them. Christ told us to love one another, He called us His friends. It is natural for friends to talk to one another. The idea here is not the Protestant idea that we need a go-between to pray to God, or that we "worship" the saints. The idea is more that we have joined, or desire to join, the "cloud of witnesses." We've been invited to the "banquet," and we do not ignore the other guests.

The saints are like our big brothers who have walked the path ahead of us. They are eager to help us. God provides us with heavenly helpers, just like He provides us with earthly helpers [parents, teachers]. They inspire us, they encourage us, and they pray for us - just like our friends in Christ who are still on earth.

Changing Terminology

"True" and "Traditional"

Back in the old days - like 200 A.D. - there was only one Christian Church.  Everyone who was called "Christian" belonged to the same Church. 

But later, when many sects arose, the word "Christian" no longer had the same meaning and did not necessarily refer to the original Church.  

So, to differentiate, the term "Orthodox" Christian was introduced to differentiate the sects from original Christians.

Back in the old days -1970's - Archbishop Averky [Taushev] noted that the left-wing renovationists who were renovating Orthodoxy were still calling themselves "Orthodox." 

He was distressed, saying we have to come up with a new name for ourselves.  Because not everything that calls itself Orthodox is truly Orthodox anymore.

To differentiate between renovated Orthodoxy and unchanged Orthodoxy, Archbishop Averky started referring to us as "True" Orthodox. 

That was in the 1960's and 1970's.

Since then, and today [2008], the term "True" has been picked up by the right-wing factions.  They are calling themselves "True Orthodox."  The term "True Orthodox" today no longer has the same meaning as it did when it was first used.

Today it refers to the whole group of fragmented right-wing jurisdictions, both Russian and Greek. They also refer to themselves as "Traditional Orthodox."  So, if you see the terms "True" church or "Traditional" church, be alert to this is clue that this church might be in the right wing extreme.

When reading materials from earlier days and present days, keep this in mind so not to get confused.

Moderation and the Royal Path

The other night I googled "royal path" just to see what is out there. What I found is that a lot of Orthodox use that term without knowing what it means. And a lot of Orthodox imagine themselves to be on the royal path when they are not.

Much of the confusion seems to come from confusing the Holy Fathers' teaching of moderation in all things to be synonymous with 'royal path'. So somebody who is not overly strict with themselves, but not overly lax either, might consider themselves to be on the royal path. They stress moderation in all things, whether it be fasting, prayer, church attendance, almsgiving, entertainments, socializing, shopping, exercise, etc.

This is a pitfall. Using moderation does not cause us to be on the royal path. Moderation is a characteristic of the royal path. And using moderation is first a result of being on the royal path.

This pitfall can lead to an Orthodox person deciding for himself what is moderate. On the royal path we submit to what the Holy Church teaches. Our Church has already defined what is moderate. In fasting, for example, the Church has already defined the rules of how to fast moderately. If there is a desire to fast more strictly, or if there is a medical need to relax the rules, we need a blessing from the Church [through our spiritual father] to do this.

While the Church may modify the rules of fasting for an individual in certain circumstances, a jurisdicition [church] is not permitted to change the rules of the Church for itself or its flock. The rule of the Church is the consensus of the Holy Church Fathers of all generations including today's generation. It does not change using the excuse that "today" things are different. There is nothing new about "today".  Any jurisdicition that deviates from this consensus is not on the royal path, no matter what they claim.

The Holy Fathers have defined every aspect of Church life including how a jurisdiction is to be formed.  Many of the jurisdicitions in the political extremes [left wing and right wing] were formed improperly, so their very canonicity is imaginary.  The results are tragic worldliness, cancerous fragmentation, and spiritual starvation.

If a newcomer finds himself in one of these extremes, he can know this: it is the royal path that produces saints. But the saints [Holy Fathers] are accessible to all Orthodox, including our brothers in the extremes. The right wing says that the left wing is heretical and therefore outside the church and graceless. The left wing says that the right wing is uncanonical, schismatic and outside the church. The royal path sees the extemes are in the Church, but suffering from grievous spiritual disease. For this we recognize they need our prayers all the more and not our condemnation . This is the royal path, the way of the saints.

Just what exactly is this "royal path"?

Just what exactly is this "royal path"?

The Orthodoxy Church is divided into areas or JURISDICTIONS. Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, etc. From the beginning of Christianity it was so. St. Paul wrote letters to the Church in Corinth, the Church in Ephesus, Galacia, etc.

Unfortunately and shamefully, today there are political divisions, also. So in a given area we could see the Church divided into LEFT WING and RIGHT WING with each division operating as a separate "JURISDICTION". The royal path is neither to the left nor to the right. And in some areas the "ROYAL PATH" is completely squeezed out by these political extremes, The royal path is the way of the Holy Fathers, as Fr. Seraphim shows us in his writings.

The largest political division is the LEFT WING. All new calendar churches are left. But an Old Calendar church could be either left or right.

To be exact: The royal path has 4 Churches: The Greek Synod In Resistance, the Old Calendar Romanians, the Old Calendar Bulgarians, and the Russian Church Abroad under Metropolitan Agafangel.

In the left wing the newcomers usually are told to "Stay out of politics". In the right wing they are often steeped in politics. In the royal path, though, we ask our newcomers just to be aware these divisions sadly exist and to expect to develop, in time, a spiritual discernment of the royal path. In reading lives of saints things have a way of falling into place.

Orthodox who are raised strictly in either the left wing or the right wing, usually fail to develop the ability to recognize the royal path. The left sees it as right wing. And the right sees it as left wing. lf a newcomer keeps in mind that the royal path does exist and keeps an eye out for it, eventually he will start discerning it. There is no rush. Orthodoxy is a wonderful journey. The discoveries are never-ending. It is quite OK to savor each delightful step. Things come in God's time.

http://startingontheroyalpath.blogspot.com/2009/08/royal-path.html

http://rocorrefugees.blogspot.com/2009/12/inside-view-royal-path.html

Lives Of Saints Not Completely Safe?

Generally we should be able to expect that a newcomer could freely read any and all Lives of Orthodox Saints found on the internet or elsewhere. And basically this is true. I would only want to warn that the left wing has been very selective in which lives they offer in their stores and libraries. They tend to overlook saints who were against the liberal innovations they use. An example is that they ignore the saints who fought against the new calendar. Or they will overlook certain things about certain saints, such as St. Seraphim of Sarov's Diveyevo Mystery [19th century].

The right wing is good about including these Confessors who speak out against heresies, and about including Prophets who teach about the antichrist; but they tend to distort a saint to their right wing advantage. An example is St. Philaret [†1985] who held a private opinion that supports their ideas, so they present St. Philaret's opinion as if it were a canonical law. The left wing has done their share of distorting, too - recently with St. John Maximovitch [†1966]. They took something he did totally out of context and used it to justify a false union with Moscow.

A newcomer should be safe reading any and all lives of Orthodox saints, if he is aware of these tendencies of the extremes and aims to keep one foot on the solid ground of the royal path. Also it best to stick to Orthodox sources [not Roman Catholic, even for pre-schism saints], and to aim for a variety of types of saints: ascetics, confessors, martyrs, theologians, prophets, monastics, laymen, from different countries and all centuries including our most recent saints such as St. John Maximovitch 1966†, St. Philaret 1985†, and contemporary uncanonized righteous such as Jose Munos 1997†.

Should We Compete For Converts?

How can the Royal Path compete for converts?  We have so little and the OCA has so much!

A person is brought to the Orthodox Church by God.  Not by us.  It is by the person's will, their determination and with God's help that any one enters the Church.  There is nothing we can do to cause a person to become Orthodox.  If a person is being guided by heaven, and possesses the necessary determination, there is nothing we can do or fail to do that would change their course..

Such a person is brought into the fold only through his love for God and Truth.  However, somebody who is also seeking "churchy" benefits and/or protestant ideals, will naturally be drawn to the OCA.  And then there is nothing we can do.  Let them go.

This NEWCOMER'S PAGE on this STARTING ON THE ROYAL PATH BLOG is for us.  So that we have something to give someone who might ask direction of us.   Something we can give them with a clear conscience.  We can't send them to the nearest OCA church with a clear conscience.

Books By/About Fr. Seraphim Rose

Go to http://www.sjkp.org/ and type "Fr. Seraphim Rose" in the SEARCH BOX. Then click on GO.

The St. Herman Press, of the Platina Monastery, Fr. Seraphim's monastery, also sells retail, and may have additional titles.

Platina was in the Royal Path prior to Fr. Seraphim's death in 1982. After that Platina monastery left the Royal Path and ended up joining World Orthodoxy [the "left wing"] in 2001. Since then Platina has come to believe and to put forth the idea that Fr. Seraphim would approve of this and that he was headed for World Orthodoxy himself before he died. They rewrote Fr. Seraphim's biography partly, but not entirely, to reflect this new belief.

The original biography was published in 1993:

NOT OF THIS WORLD

The Life and Teaching of Fr. Seraphim Rose

Pathfinder to the Heart of Ancient Christianity

The rewrite was published in 2003

FATHER SERAPHIM ROSE

His Life and Works

The original is no longer in print. The rewrite is better in many ways. I own a copy of each. If I had to give one up, it would be the rewrite.

Everything written or co-written BY Fr. Seraphim Rose is going to be before he died in 1982. He knew his time was short so he published the important things first. As for things written or emphasized ABOUT Fr. Seraphim after his death, these can draw a fuzzy picture. Some writings published after his death, he may have never intended to have published. The book, Letters, for example, is a collection of personal guidances and encouragements that Fr. Seraphim gave to one man considering only that man's particular spiritual needs and spiritual condition. While the letters might be helpful to others, it is best to keep this in perspective. His writings to "all" were intended for everyone, and give a clearer picture not just of his teachings, but also of his self. Far worse, is that there is even a book somewhere out there written by a non-Orthodox about Fr. Seraphim's pre-baptism sins.  Out of love and respect for the righteous man Fr. Seraphim became and gratitude for his writings, I would not read that book.

Other wonderful books of immeasurable spiritual value are the Optina Elder series which Fr. Seraphim labored greatly to make available to us. Type "Optina elders series" in the search box at SJKP.org

Where is the nearest Church to me?

[in North America]

Start by checking a Directory that shows the Royal Path Churches in North America.

http://rocadirectoryusa.blogspot.com 

If you happen to live within a days drive from a parish, then you are one of the few.  The true church today has somewhat of a "catacomb" existence.  And as time goes on, as we progress towards the one-world church of antichrist, the church will go deeper and deeper into the "catacombs".   Now is the time to start adjusting ourselves to this.

The question for many of us today is how do we begin a fruitful Orthodox life being so far away from a parish?  

How to begin has always depended on individual circumstances.   In North America Fr. Gregory Williams is the Director of Missions.   I suggest making contact with him.  He may know of others in your area who are not listed in the directory.

What Is SCOBA aka "Episcopal Assembly"?

Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the Americas

-founded in 1960

Of course SCOBA has a different definition of itself, but here is ours:

SCOBA was formed in recent times [60's] for the purpose of legalistically formalizing a superficial false unity. SCOBA is a "club" where the members validate each other in their acceptance and/or condoning of renovationism and ecumenism. The only requirement for joining this club is to accept world Orthodoxy as valid, it is not necessary to adopt the innovations, just to approve of or overlook their use by other fellow SCOBA members. 

There were no such clubs in Apostolic times. If the SCOBA churches had true inner unity, they would not need the external show of a club.

Unity of the faith is something that is attained spiritually, it is not something obtained by declaring it. In the Prayer of the Hours we pray,

"...Compass us about with Thy Holy angels, that guarded and guided by their array, we may attain to the unity of the faith..."

As of May 28, 2010 SCOBA has a new name: Episcopal Assembly