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The following is an archival document from the Diocese of Sourozh web site, dating from before the web site's update in April 2007. These archival documents are provided for the benefit of those sites which maintain links to older documentation. Please also visit the current web site of the Diocese of Sourozh.

PATRIARCH ALEXEI OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA

His Eminence, the Most Reverend Innokenty, Archbishop of Korsun, Temporary Administrator of the Diocese of Sourozh

 His Eminence, the Most Reverend Anatoly, Archbishop of Kerch

 the Pastors, members of the Diocesan Assembly and
all faithful children of the Diocese of Sourozh

Dearly beloved in Christ, Archpastors, pastors and faithful children of the Diocese of Sourozh!

It is with deep sadness that I address myself to you at this time when, according to long established tradition, the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Sourozh gather from various parts of Great Britain for the Diocesan Assembly and Diocesan Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints: sadness, because this year this gathering will not be complete.  Certain laity and clergy, including the Administrator of the Diocese, His Grace Bishop Basil, have taken the decision to leave the Diocese of Sourozh and the Russian Orthodox Church as a whole, to which the ever-memorable Metropolitan Anthony remained faithful until his death.

The events which have taken place in the Diocese of Sourozh are all the more astonishing and regrettable, insofar as at the very same time we stand closer than ever before to the reunification of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Church Abroad.  Just now, when the long awaited time of the re-establishment of Church unity is drawing near, in the Diocese there is division – in effect, a schism.  This is our shared pain.

Who is responsible for that which has happened? Without prejudging the conclusions which the Holy Synod will come to, having studied the testimonies collected by the Commission which has been appointed for that purpose, I want to speak of that which is perfectly clear: division stems from the envy of the enemy of the human race, who, finding support in human weakness, seeks new means to wound the Church.  Just as unity is from God, division in the Church is invariably from the evil one.  At this point, it would be most helpful for each one of us to look into our soul and to ask our conscience: did we give opportunity to the devil (Eph. 4:27)?  Did we show impatience, lack of attention, insensitivity, from which the schism gradually developed?

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing in order that there be no divisions among you” (1 Cor. 1:10) says the Holy Apostle Paul.  Can the differences of language, culture, habits, social position, citizenship, wealth – can these specific qualities of the rather varied Orthodox flock in the British Isles become a reason for the division of the Church, which is the Body of Christ?  Indeed, when meeting with human differences, the strength of our love towards our brothers, which means, in turn, our love towards God, is often tested.  Overcoming such difficulty is a spiritual task which is extremely important for all of us.  It is not only the priests who are called to resolve this issue, but each of the faithful, “so that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another” (1 Cor. 12:25).

By bearing one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2), you – Archpastors, pastors and faithful children of the Diocese of Sourozh – can productively continue the work of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Anthony.  With his significant contribution, the fruit of the Russian Church diaspora has grown in Great Britain: many indigenous Western Europeans have become children of the Church. The blessed hierarch and your fathers in faith had hoped that, following the unification of the Church disapora, the time of the development of a single Local Church in Western Europe would come: a Church that would unite the various spiritual and cultural traditions of Orthodox nations.

We pray that these hopes will be accomplished.  Regrettably, the current division in the Diocese of Sourozh puts a new obstacle on the way to their fulfilment.  The sad experience of division is, however, not new for us: the body of the Russian Church was broken and crucified throughout the twentieth century.  Therefore, without falling into despondency, let us seek that which builds up and establishes peace, firmly remembering that the path to unity cannot lie through schism.

So, dear brothers in the Lord – bishops, fathers, brothers and sisters – let us raise up a fervent prayer to the one Head of the Flock, so that we may “with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:2-3).

+ ALEXEI
PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA