Mitred Protopriest Victor Potapov of the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Rector of St John the Baptist
Cathedral in Washington, DC, is renowned throughout the world, including
Russia. He broadcast reports on spiritual matters over the Voice of America for
30 years.
His parish is an active one, which responds
eagerly in times of need. For instance, they collected a large amount of money for
“Dobrota” Fund in Donetsk, which helps children injured in the civil war. The
parish celebrates Maslenitsa every year at the Russian Embassy in Washington,
DC, and the youth organize an annual Tatyana Ball every January.
Fr Victor has written many articles on
theology, church history and human rights.
He was born on December 24, 1948, in a
displaced-persons camp in West Germany to Sergei Mikhailovich Potapov and his
wife Praskovia Ivanovna (nee Golik). In 1951, the family moved to the United
States.
We spoke to Fr Victor in his cathedral, which
was feverishly preparing for a summer scout camp.
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Fr. Victor Potapov |
–What is large can only be seen at a
distance, they say. What can you say about Russia today?
– We
closely follow Church life in Russia here, maybe not to the degree we should,
for we have our own matters to tend to in America. We minister not only to
Russians, but to Americans who convert to our faith. We love Russia and suffer
the negative, Russophobic tendencies of the West, especially in the USA.
I am convinced
that people here have a hard time understanding religious life in Russia.
Western journalists emphasize the negative. There will always be problems
everywhere, people are people, after all, and the Church consists not only of
holy people but of sinners. They don’t notice positive aspects of Church life
in Russia. I am happy about what is happening in Russia, not the external
things, but the striving of people towards liturgical life.
Over a
million people have venerated the relics of St Nicholas of Myra the
Miracle-worker recently. People stood in line for 7-8 hours just to spend 1-2
seconds kissing the relics and pray. This says something about the spiritual
life of the people who hunger for spiritual nourishment.
– It is sad that some people actually laugh
at this.
– The
Washington Post just had a Facebook item with snarky commentaries. For
instance, Muscovites are willing to stand in line for hours just to venerate
the relics of St Nicholas, who is known in the West as Santa Claus. They ask
why, then answer: to be healthy, to do well on exams. They have a superficial
attitude, they don’t understand what is happening in Russia.
– In your opinion, why are parts of the
Russian mass media skeptical about Orthodox life in Russia?
– Man has
a sinful nature: it is much easier to discuss scandals, point out evils, than
to have a spiritual conversation, to regret one’s own fallen nature. The Gospel
says “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but
considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” This is nothing new.
– People ask on Orthodox Christian websites:
how do we respond to criticism of the Church, should we tolerate it, pay any
attention?
– Some clergymen in Russia find the courage to
say: let us refuse luxury, expensive cars, let us attract people to religious
life through personal example, not only in word, but in deed.
Sometimes
one should consider whether criticism and accusations have merit. We clergymen
should avoid providing fodder for such criticism.
– Another difficult question for Orthodox
Christians is Ukraine…
– Our
hearts bleed for Ukraine, half of my parishioners are Ukrainians, I am half
Ukrainian myself, my wife, Matushka Maria, is a great-granddaughter of Mikhail
Rodzianko. We pray for peace in Ukraine at every Liturgy.
There is
an artificial division in the Church, antagonism is imposed from without. We
empathize with His Eminence Onouphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, of course, he’s
having a very difficult time, he is a genuine spiritual ascetic and is trying
to restore peace. He keeps saying: Christ must be foremost in our minds,
everything else is secondary. We also commemorate His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
of Moscow and All Russia at every Liturgy, we pray for the strengthening of
faith and of the Church in both Russia and Ukraine.
– We recently marked the 10th anniversary of
the unification of our Churches; what can you say about this?
– I
rejoice that ten years ago, the Primates of the Moscow Patriarchate and of
ROCOR found the spiritual wisdom to overcome division between the two branches
of the Russian Orthodox Church, and commence restoration of Eucharistic unity.
The late Patriarch Alexy II and Metropolitan Laurus of Eastern America and New
York signed the Act of Canonical Communion, healing the ninety-year division in
the Russian Orthodox Church.
It is
noteworthy that both hierarchs were born outside of Russia. The Patriarch was
born in Estonia, of course, and Metropolitan Laurus was born in Carpathia. The
Lord specifically chose them, since both likely understood the abnormality of
the situation and the need for healing.
– What are the positives that you see?
– This
blessed beginning has benefited the Church. It gives us the opportunity to
serve together, we now have one Church, we commune of the Holy Gifts and
celebrate Liturgy together.
Clerics from
Russia visit us, whom we welcome with open arms; for instance, we recently had
Metropolitan Ilarion of Volokolamsk celebrate services at our cathedral. We
travel to Russia and they likewise welcome us with love. We celebrated that
important event at a seminar in Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery titled “St John of
Shanghai, the Unifier.”
The
righteous man of God always strove for the unity of the two Churches, he
considered the Russian Church Abroad an inseparable part of the Russian Church.
– You were a delegate at that Church Council
at which the all-important decision was made; can you tell us about it?
– In May,
2006, the 4th All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of
Russia was held in San Francisco, at which the matter of reunification was
discussed. I believe that the reunification of the Church was the result of the
prayers of St John of Shanghai. The debates were difficult, not all the
delegates supported unity. Many people spoke, and the optimism that I shared
with some delegates faded after a few hours, it seemed we could never achieve
unanimity.
At one
point, it was proposed that a resolution on Eucharistic communion with the
Moscow Patriarchate be drafted. Protopriest Alexander Lebedeff, the Secretary
of the Council and Rector of Transfiguration of the Lord Cathedral in Los
Angeles, told me that the process was difficult and at one point they reached
an impasse.
Then they
decided to have a recess, and to go to the cathedral and pray to St John of
Shanghai before his very relics. A draft resolution was placed on his chest,
along with a list of names of the delegates of the Council. Fervent prayer then
instilled in us the confidence that everything will happen according to God’s
will. After the moleben, the drafting of the resolution went smoothly.
Metropolitan
Laurus surprised everyone by proposing that we vote not on the entire
resolution, but on each paragraph individually. Most of the delegates voted for
unification. I sensed that St John was with us!
In 2007,
the important historic event took place, the signing of the Act of Canonical
Communion.
– You have a lot of young people in your
parish, how are you able to keep them engaged?
– Our
parents reared us with the understanding that we must preserve the Orthodox
Christian faith, our Russianness, our language. It’s not easy. It’s very easy
to assimilate to American culture.
Young
parents who recently immigrate to the US but never went to church in Russia
want to have their kids Orthodox Christian, to speak Russian. Within the walls
of the church, children come to the faith, learn to love God, they hear the
Russian tongue…
The most
important thing is to instill love to one’s historic Homeland, to one’s
spiritual roots. To help understand our historic Homeland and the role of the
Orthodox Church in Russia’s foundation.
– You are talking about parish life…
– Yes,
parish life and through the scout organizations.
Our
scouts gather at the parish twice a month. Every summer, the kids spend two
weeks in camp in a picturesque area of Virginia. The kids erect their own
tents, make an iconostasis out of branches and install icons in them. One of
our priests celebrates Divine Liturgy there, under the open skies. We priests
also live in tents.
– Your kids are also taught dancing.
– We have
a dance troupe called “Matryoshka.” Our ladies teach Russian folk dancing, and
the kids perform in traditional Russian costumes. Boys and girls are taught Russian
dancing and love for Russian folk culture, and they get to know each other
better.
– Your parish is bilingual?
– We
celebrate two Liturgies every Sunday, in English and Slavonic. We have American
parishioners, Romanians, Serbs, even some Chinese people. After early Liturgy,
everyone goes to the hall to have breakfast, and after the second Liturgy, to
lunch. The parishioners prepare the meals themselves.
We have
Russian and English Sunday schools, where we teach the Law of God.
Source: http://www.synod.com/synod/engdocuments/enart_protvictorpotapovstjohnsf.html
CONVERSATION