A fakir s miracle and the prayer of Jesus

CAN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH ENTER

A "Dialogue" with Non-Christian Religions?

III. A FAKIR'S "MIRACLE" AND THE PRAYER OF JESUS By Archimandrite Nicholas Drobyazgin

The author of this testimony, a new martyr of the Communist Yoke, enjoyed a brilliant worldly career as a naval commander, being also deeply involved in occultism as editor of the occult journal Rebus. Being saved from almost certain death at sea by a miracle of St. Seraphim, he made a pilgrimage to Sarov and then renounced his worldly career and occult ties to become a monk. After being ordained priest, he served as a missionary in China, India and Tibet, as the priest of various embassy churches, and as abbot of several monasteries. After 1914 he lived at the Kiev Caves Lavra, where he discoursed to the young people who visited him concerning the influence of occultism on contemporary events in Russia. In the autumn of 1924, one month after he had been visited by a certain Tubolx, the author of the book Black Magic, he was murdered in his cell "by persons unknown," with obvious Bolshevik connivance, stabbed by a dagger with a special handle apparently of occult significance.

The incident here described, revealing the nature of one of the mediumistic "gifts" which are common in Eastern religions, took place not long before 1900, and was recorded about 1922 by Dr. A. P. Timofievich, now of Novo-Diveyevo Convent, N.Y. (Russian text in Orthodox Life, 1956, no. 1.)

ON A WONDROUS early tropical morning our ship was cleaving the waters of the Indian Ocean, nearing the island of Ceylon. The lively faces of the passengers, for the most part Englishmen with their families who were travelling to their posts or on business in their Indian colony, looked avidly in the distance, seeking out with their eyes the enchanted isle, which for practically all of them had been bound up since childhood with so much that was interesting and mysterious in the tales and descriptions of travellers.

The island was still scarcely visible when already a fine, intoxicating fragrance from the trees growing on it more and more enveloped the ship with each passing breeze. Finally a kind of blue cloud lay on the horizon, ever increasing in size as the ship speedily approached. Already one could notice the buildings spread out along the shore, buried in the verdure of majestic palms, and the many-colored crowd of the local inhabitants who were awaiting the ship's arrival. The passengers, who had quickly become acquainted with each other on the trip, were laughing and conversing animatedly with each other on the deck, admiring the wondrous scene of the fairy-tale isle as it unfolded before their eyes. The ship swung slowly around, preparing to moor at the dock of the port city of Colombo.

Here the ship stopped to take on coal, and the passengers had sufficient time to go ashore. The day was so hot that many passengers decided not to leave the ship until evening, when a pleasant coolness replaced the heat of the day. A small group of eight people, to which I joined myself, was led by Colonel Elliott, who had been in Colombo before and knew the city and its environs well. He made an alluring proposition. "Ladies and gentlemen! Wouldn't you like to go a few miles out of town and pay a visit to one of the local magician-fakirs? Perhaps we shall see something interesting." All accepted the colonel's proposition with enthusiasm.

It was already evening when we left behind the noisy streets of the city and rolled along a marvellous jungle road which was twinkling with the sparks of millions of fireflies. Finally, the road suddenly widened and in front of us there was a small clearing surrounded on all sides by jungle. At the edge of the clearing under a big tree there was a kind of hut, next to which a small bonfire was smouldering and a thin, emaciated old man with a turban on his head sat cross-legged and with his unmoving gaze directed at the fire. Despite our noisy arrival, the old man continued to sit completely immovable, not paying us the slightest attention. Somewhere from out of the darkness a youth appeared and, going up to the colonel, quietly asked him something. In a short while he brought out several stools and our group arranged itself in a semi-circle not far from the bonfire. The youth came up again and threw a handful of some kind of roots into the bonfire. A light and fragrant smoke arose. The old man sat in the same pose, apparently noticing no one and nothing. The half-moon which arose dispelled to some extent the darkness of the night, and in its ghostly light all objects took on fantastic outlines. Involuntarily everyone became quiet and waited to see what would happen.

"Look! Look there, on the tree!" Miss Mary cried in an excited whisper. We all turned our heads in the direction indicated. And indeed, the whole surface of the immense crown of the tree under which the fakir was sitting was as it were gently flowing in the soft illumination of the moon, and the tree itself began gradually to melt and lose its contours; literally, some unseen hand had thrown over it an airy covering which became more and more concentrated with every moment. Soon the undulating surface of the sea presented itself with complete clarity before our astonished gaze. With a light rumble one wave followed another, making foaming white-caps; light clouds were floating in a sky which had become blue. Stunned, we could not tear ourselves away from this striking picture.

And then in the distance there appeared a white ship. Thick smoke poured out of its two large smokestacks. It quickly approached us, cleaving the water. To our great amazement we recognized it as our own ship, the one on which we had come to Colombo! A whisper passed through our ranks when we read on the stern, traced out in gold letters, the name of our ship, "Luisa." But what astounded us most of all was what we saw on the ship – ourselves! Don't forget that at the time when all this happened cinematography hadn't even been thought of and it was impossible even to conceive of something like this. Each of us saw ourselves on the ship's deck amongst people who were laughing and talking to each other. But what was especially astonishing: I saw not only myself, but at the same time the whole deck of the ship down to the smallest details, as if in a bird's-eye view – which of course simply could not be in actuality. At one and the same time I saw myself among the passengers, and the sailors working at the other end of the ship, and the captain in his cabin, and even our monkey "Nelly," a favorite of all, eating bananas on the main mast. All my companions at the same time, each in his own way, were greatly excited at what they were seeing, expressing their emotions with soft cries and excited whispers.

I had completely forgotten that I was a priest-monk and, it would seem, had no business at all participating in such a spectacle. The spell was so powerful that both the mind and the heart were silent. And then suddenly someone touched my heart with an invisible hand. My heart began to beat painfully in alarm. Suddenly I was beside myself. A fear took hold of my whole being.

My lips began to move and say: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" Immediately I felt relieved. It was just as if some mysterious chains which had bound me began to fall away. The prayer became more concentrated, and with it my peace of soul returned. I continued to look at the tree, and suddenly, as if pursued by the wind, the picture became clouded and was dispersed. I saw nothing more except the big tree, illuminated by the light of the moon, and likewise the fakir sitting in silence by the bonfire, while my companions continued to express what they were experiencing while gazing at the picture, which for them had not been broken off.

But then something apparently happened to the fakir also. He reeled to the side. The youth ran up to him in alarm. The seance was suddenly broken up.

Deeply moved by everything they had experienced, the spectators stood up, animatedly sharing their impressions and not understanding at all why the whole thing had been cut off so sharply and unexpectedly. The youth explained it as owing to the exhaustion of the fakir, who was sitting as before, his head down, and paying not the slightest attention to those present.

Having generously rewarded the fakir through the youth for the opportunity to be participants of such an astonishing spectacle, our group quickly got together for the trip back. While starting out, I involuntarily turned back once more in order to imprint in my memory the whole scene, and suddenly – I shuddered from an unpleasant feeling. My gaze met the gaze of the fakir, which was full of hatred. It was but for a single instant, and then he again assumed his habitual position; but this glance once and for all opened my eyes to the realization of whose power it was that had produced this "miracle."

CONCLUSION: THE GOAL OF THE "DIALOGUE WITH NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS"

1. "Christian" and Non-Christian Ecumenism

AS AN ANSWER to the question of the possibility of a "dialogue" of Orthodox Christianity with the various non-Christian religions, the reader has been presented the testimony of three Orthodox Christians who confirm, on the basis of Orthodox doctrine and their own experience, what the Orthodox Church has always taught: that Orthodox Christians do not at all have the "same God" as the so-called "monotheists" who deny the Holy Trinity; that the gods of the pagans are in fact demons; and that the experiences and powers which the pagan "gods" can and do provide are satanic in nature. All this in no way contradicts the words of St. Peter, that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteousness is acceptable to Him (Acts 10:34-35); or the words of St. Paul, that God in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:17). Those who live in the bondage of satan, the prince of this world (John 12:31), in darkness which is unenlightened by the Christian Gospelare judged in the light of that natural testimony of God which every man may have, despite this bondage.

For the Christian, however, who has been given God's Revelation, no "dialogue" is possible with those outside the Faith. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord (II Cor. 6:14-17). The Christian calling is rather to bring the light of Orthodox Christianity to them, even as St. Peter did to the God-fearing household of Cornelius the Centurian (Acts 10:34-48), in order to enlighten their darkness and join them to the chosen flock of Christ's Church.

How then are we to look upon the "dialogue with non-Christian religions" which is presently gaining momentum and drawing into its sphere not merely "liberal" Protestants and Roman Catholics, but more and more "Orthodox" theologians as well? Even since the beginning of this series of articles in mid-1971, this "dialogue" has been considerably accelerated, as the following examples will demonstrate.

1. Promotional material sent out by the "Temple of Understanding" reveals that Orthodox delegates were indeed present at the second "summit conference" of this organization in Geneva in 1970 and again at the third "summit conference" in the United States in the autumn of 1971, and that Metropolitan Emilianos of the Patriarchate of Constantinople is a member of the Temple's "International Committee." The "summit conferences" offer Orthodox delegates the opportunity to enter discussions aiming to "create a world community of religions," to "hasten the realization of mankind's dream of peace and understanding" according to the philosophy of "Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Gandhi, Schweitzer," and the founders of various religions; and the delegates likewise participate in "unprecedented" supra-confessional prayer services where "everyone prays according to the customs of the religion which he represents."1 Those who have read installment II of this series, "Hinduism's Assault upon Christianity," know what Vivekananda's "dream" actually was to "Hinduize" and destroy Christianity. One can only wonder what must be in the soul of an Orthodox Christian who not only collaborates in this task, but even prays together with those who invoke the demons of their religions in order to accomplish it.

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1 See The Orthodox Word, 1971, no. 3, p. 139.


2. The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches at its last meeting in Addis Ababa in January, 1971, gave its approval and encouragement to the holding of meetings as regularly as possible between representatives of the WCC and representatives of other religions, specifying that "at the present stage priority may be given to bilateral dialogues of a specific nature." In accordance with this directive a major Christian-Moslem "dialogue" has been set for mid-1972 involving some 40 representatives of both sides, unquestionably including a number of Orthodox delegates. (Al Montada, January-February, 1972, p. 18.)

3. In February of this year another "unprecedented" ecumenical event occurred in New York when, according to Archbishop Iakovos of New York, for the first time in history the Greek Orthodox Church (Greek Archdiocese of North and South America) held an official theological "dialogue" with the Jews. In two days of discussions definite results were achieved, which may be taken as symptomatic of the future results of the "dialogue with non-Christian religions": the Greek "theologians" agreed "to review their liturgical texts in terms of improving references to Jews and Judaism where they are found to be negative or hostile." (Religious News Service.) Does not the intention of the "dialogue" become ever more obvious? to "reform" Orthodox Christianity in order to make it conformable to the religions of this world.

But let us now look at the "theology" and the goal of this accelerating "dialogue with non-Christian religions," and see how it differs from the "Christian" ecumenism that has prevailed up to now.

"Christian" ecumenism at its best may be seen to represent a sincere and understandable error on the part of Protestants and Roman Catholics the error of failing to recognize that the visible Church of Christ already exists, and they are outside it. The "dialogue with non-Christian religions," however, is something quite different, representing rather a conscious departure from even that part of genuine Christian belief and awareness which some Catholics and Protestants retain. It is the product, not of simple human "good intentions," but rather of a diabolic "suggestion" which can capture only those who are no longer Christians in any sense at all, but already pagans: worshippers of the god of this world, satan (II Cor. 4:4), and followers of whatever intellectual fashion this powerful god is capable of inspiring.

"Christian" ecumenism relies for its support upon a vague but nonetheless real feeling of "common Christianity" which is shared by many who do not think or feel too deeply about the Church, and it aims somehow to "build" a church comprising all such indifferent "Christians." But what common support can the "dialogue with non-Christians" rely on? On what possible ground can there be any kind of unity, however loose, between Christians and those who not merely do not know Christ, but as is the case with all the present-day representatives of non-Christian religions who are in contact with Christianity decisively reject Christ? Those who, like Metropolitan Georges Khodre of Lebanon, lead the avant-garde of Orthodox apostates, speak of the "spiritual riches" and "authentic spiritual life" of the non-Christian religions, but it is only by doing great violence to the meaning of words and by reading his own fantasies into other people's experience that he can bring himself to say: "It is Christ alone who is received as light when grace visits a Brahmin, a Buddhist, or a Moslem reading his own scriptures," or: "Every martyr for the truth, every man persecuted for what he believes to be right, dies in communion with Christ."1 Certainly these people themselves would never say that it is "Christ" they receive or die for, and the idea of an "unconscious" confession or reception of Christ is against the very nature of Christianity. If a rare non-Christian does claim to have an experience of "Christ," it can only be in the way which Swami Vivekananda describes: "We Hindus do not merely tolerate, we unite ourselves with every religion, praying in the mosque of the Mohammedan, worshipping before the fire of the Zoroastrian, and kneeling to the cross of the Christian"2 – that is, as merely one of a number of equally valid "spiritual experiences."

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1 Sobornost, Summer, 1971, p. 171.
2 See The Orthodox Word, 1971, no. 4, p. 166.


No: "Christ," no matter how redefined or reinterpreted, cannot be the common denominator of the "dialogue with non-Christian religions," but at best can only be added as an afterthought to a unity which is discovered somewhere else. The only possible common denominator among all religions is the totally vague concept of the "spiritual," which indeed offers religious "liberals" almost unbounded opportunity for nebulous theologizing.

The address of Metropolitan Georges Khodre to the Central Committee meeting of the WCC at Addis Ababa in January, 1971, may be taken as an early, experimental attempt to set forth such a "spiritual" theology of the "dialogue with non-Christian religions."1 In raising the question as to "whether Christianity is so inherently exclusive of other religions as has generally been proclaimed up to now," the Metropolitan, apart from his few rather absurd "projections" of Christ into non-Christian religions, has one main point: it is the "Holy Spirit," conceived as totally independent of Christ and His Church, that is really the common denominator of all the world's religions. Referring to the prophecy that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh (Joel 2:28), the Metropolitan states, "This must be taken to mean a Pentecost which is universal from the very first.... The advent of the Spirit in the world is not subordinated to the Son.... The Spirit operates and applies his energies in accordance with his own economy and we could, from this angle, regard the non-Christian religions as points where his inspiration is at work" (p. 172). We must, he believes, "develop an ecclesiology and a missiology in which the Holy Spirit occupies a supreme place" (p. 166).

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1 Full text in ibid., pp. 166-174.


All of this, of course, constitutes a heresy which denies the very nature of the Holy Trinity and has no aim but to undermine and destroy the whole idea and reality of the Church of Christ. Why, indeed, should Christ have established a Church if the Holy Spirit acts quite independently, not only of the Church, but of Christ Himself? Nonetheless, this heresy is here still presented rather tentatively and cautiously, doubtlessly with the aim of testing the response of other Orthodox "theologians" before proceeding more categorically. But it will not be necessary to wait for Metropolitan Khodre's next exercise in "theology," for the "ecclesiology of the Holy Spirit" has already been written – and by an "Orthodox" thinker at that, by one of the acknowledged "prophets" of the "spiritual' movement of our day. Let us therefore examine his ideas in order to see the picture he gives of the nature and goal of the larger "spiritual" movement in which the "dialogue with non-Christian religions" has its place.

2. "The New Age of the Holy Spirit"

NICHOLAS BERDYAEV (1874-1949) in any normal time would never have been regarded as an Orthodox Christian. He might best be described as a gnostic-humanist philosopher who drew his inspiration rather from Western sectarians and "mystics" than from any Orthodox sources. That he is called in some Orthodox circles even to this day an "Orthodox philosopher" or even "theologian," is a sad reflection of the ecclesiastical illiteracy of such circles, which are precisely the ones most open to Berdyaev's conception of "spirituality" – as we shall see. Here we shall quote from his writings.1

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1 As cited by J. Gregerson in "Nicholas Berdyaev, Prophet of a New Age," Orthodox Life, Jordanville, N.Y. 1962. no.6, where full references are given.


Looking with disdain upon the Orthodox Fathers, upon the "monastic ascetic spirit of historical Orthodoxy," indeed upon that whole "conservative Christianity which... directs the spiritual forces of man only towards contrition and salvation," Berdyaev sought rather the "inward Church," the "Church of the Holy Spirit," the "spiritual view of life which, in the 18th century, found shelter in the Masonic lodges." "The Church," he believed, "is still in a merely potential state," is "incomplete"; and he looked to the coming of an "ecumenical faith," a "fullness of faith" that would unite, not merely different Christian bodies (for "Christianity should be capable of existing in a variety of forms in the Universal Church"), but also "the partial truths of all the heresies" and "all the humanist creative activity of modern man... as a religious experience consecrated in the Spirit." A "New Christianity" is approaching, a "new mysticism, which will be deeper than religions and ought to unite them." For "there is a great spiritual brotherhood... to which not only the Churches of East and West belong, but also all those whose wills are directed towards God and the Divine, all in fact who aspire to some form of spiritual elevation" – that is to say, people of every religion, sect, and religious ideology. He predicted the advent of "a new and final Revelation," "the New Age of the Holy Spirit," resurrecting the prophecy of Joachim of Floris, the 12th-century Latin monk who saw the two ages of the Father (Old Testament) and the Son (New Testament) giving way to a final "Third Age of the Holy Spirit." Berdyaev writes: "The world is moving towards a new spirituality and a new mysticism; in it there will be no more of the ascetic world view." "The success of the movement towards Christian unity presupposes a new era in Christianity itself, a new and deep spirituality, which means a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit."

The sober Orthodox Christian might at first be inclined to dismiss all this as the ravings of yet another of the would-be "prophets" of our disordered times, another "religious philosopher" gone astray by mistaking his own muddled feelings for a new "revelation." There is clearly nothing whatever in common between these super-ecumenist fantasies and Orthodox Christianity, which Berdyaev in fact despised. Yet anyone aware of the religious climate of our times will see that these ravings in fact correspond to one of the leading currents of contemporary religious thought. Berdyaev does indeed seem to be a "prophet," or rather, to have been sensitive to a current of religious thought and feeling which was not so evident in his day, but has become almost dominant today. Everywhere one hears of a new "movement of the spirit," and now a Greek Orthodox priest, Father Eusebius Stephanou, invites Orthodox Christians to join this movement when he writes an editorial in his Logos (Jan., 1972) entitled (in the very words of Berdyaev, as if it. answer to the latter's "prophecy"): "The Mighty Outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Our Day." And lest it be thought that Fr. Eusebius only accidentally talks in the language of Berdyaev, one need only look elsewhere in the same publication (March, 1972, p. 8) to find the Associate Editor Ashanin invoking not merely the name, but also the very program, of Berdyaev: "We recommend the writings of Nicholas Berdyaev, the great spiritual prophet of our age. This spiritual genius... [is] the greatest theologian of spiritual creativeness.... Now the cocoon of Orthodoxy has been broken.... God's Divine Logos is leading His people to a new understanding of their history and their mission in Him. The Logos, herald of this new age,... of the new posture of Orthodoxy..."

But Fr. Eusebius speaks somewhat more coherently of the new spiritual butterfly that is now supposedly hatching from the "cocoon of Orthodoxy." In his article Fr. Eusebius refers to the "charismatic revival" which, arising from the Pentecostal sect which was founded at the beginning of this century, in the past ten years has made sensational advances within all the leading denominations, including Roman Catholicism, and now has spread to several Orthodox churches in the United States. Fr. Eusebius believes that "this outpouring of the Spirit is transcending denominational lines... A large-scale outpouring of the Holy Spirit is occurring among Protestants and Roman Catholics many of whom have been receiving the gifts of tongues, prophecy, and healing.... The Spirit of God is moving in wonderful and exciting ways, dear reader, both inside and outside the Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church. Don't be left out. Open your heart to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and be part of the growing charismatic renewal."

These words, coming from someone who claims to be leading a movement of "Orthodox awakening," are a challenge to the sincere Orthodox Christian. Here it is of crucial importance to follow the command of the Apostle and Evangelist John, to believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God (I John 4:1). No Orthodox Christian can "open his heart" to any spirit if he is not absolutely certain that it is of God; and if it is not of God, then the appeal to join this movement can only be seen as an attempt to corrupt and destroy the souls of Orthodox Christians. The issue is literally a matter of spiritual life or death.

Let us then examine, from the viewpoint of Orthodox Christianity, the one true Church of Christ where we know the Holy Spirit is, the chief characteristics of the present-day "charismatic revival," expanding our conclusion to this series of articles into a final installment. Here it would seem that the "theology" of Metropolitan Georges Khodre and the "prophecy" of Nicholas Berdyaev receive their fulfillment in actual practice in a movement which its followers claim reproduces the fervor and the very miracles of the Apostolic age. The literature of this movement is already vast, and this enables us to study it in detail, comparing it point for point with the teaching of the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church, who were well acquainted with "charismatic" phenomena, both true and false. We shall find that this study, rather startlingly, brings us right back to the subject of this series of articles: non-Christian religion; only now, instead of mere "dialogue," it uncovers for us a more advanced stage of contemporary "spirituality," and indeed would seem to offer a key to the understanding of this rather nebulous realm. And beyond this, already visible on the spiritual horizon, lies the even more spectacular goal and end of the whole "ecumenical" quest of modern man.


Next issue: IV. The "Charismatic Revival" as a Sign of the Times