The abbess of Filaret the day before the adoption of the riigikogo decisions about the fate of the monastery turned to parliamentarians
“You should not be biased in court, you must
Listen to both small and great. ”
(Second -Zaconia 1:17)
On Wednesday, Riigikogu will decide our fate, the fate of the Pyukhtitsky Monastery, his sisters, the fate of the nuns of Pyuhtitsa. Unfortunately, we perfectly understand what this decision will be-our connection with the Church mother will be considered a violation of the law of the Estonian Republic …
At the same time, as we repeatedly emphasized, the connection with the Russian Orthodox Church is the basis of monastic life. This union is based on canons, which form the basis of church legislation. This is a law that is as unquestioned for church life as a constitution for secular society. We were offered the possibility of arbitrary transfer of jurisdiction to another jurisdiction – the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The proposal does not take into account the fact that the change of jurisdiction is an internal issue of church life, in which, according to the Constitution of the Estonian Republic, the state should not and cannot intervene. For members of the Riigikogu, the transfer of the monastery to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople seems to be a simple and reasonable decision. This is the position of people who are far from the church and consider what is happening from the point of view of political expediency. But for us, the inhabitants of the Annunciation Monastery, this is a canonical crime. We have no right to do this!
We are nuns, and the purpose of our life is to follow Christ. We brought him vows and swore in fidelity. We vowed with allegiance to Him, Jesus Christ, and not the state leaders, not to political parties, and admitted that we would remain faithful to him even until the hour of death, and our desire does not contradict the Constitution of the Estonian Republic. But we are accused of fidelity to the solemn vows of the nuns. In this regard, we would like to ask a question – dear members of the parliament, why do you force us to go against your conscience? Why are you trying to make us commit a canonical crime? Why don’t you feel sympathy for people whose life is different from your and, perhaps, even incomprehensible to you? Does the book that mankind venerates for many centuries does not say that “he (God) gave us the ability to serve the new covenant, not letters, but the spirit, because the letter kills, but the spirit of life” (2 Cor. 3: 6)?
If we violate at least one commandment of the Gospel, we are no longer a nun. For it is said: “And everyone who listens to my words and does not fulfill them will become like a person who has built his house in the sand. And it rained, and the rivers spilled, and the winds blew, and
He rushed at this house, and he collapsed, and his crash
He was harsh. (Matthew 7: 26-27).
Our sisters of the monastery on the mountain of the Virgin, we assure all Estonia citizens that the nuns of the Pyukhtitsky monastery do not call for bloodshed, terror, violence or military aggression. We are upset by the fact that the members of the Riigikogu, apparently, are of the opposite opinion, and the Minister of the Interior believes that if we remain faithful to our vows, we will have to leave the monastery. The minister does not understand that for us this is tantamount to death.
We do not wish anyone evil and pray that peace and compassion reign in the hearts of people. We feel acute pain because of the untruth of the reigning in the world. John, the Apostle of Love, claimed that « the whole world is in the power of the evil one. » So it was, it is, and so, unfortunately, it will be if humanity does not listen to God and does not take the path of truth. We pray for this.
With all our hearts, we thank everyone who expressed our support to us, and especially Estonia public figures for their open letter and for the Christian interpretation of the events.
We thank the nuns of the monastery of St. Catherine in Chiatatur MGVIMIEV, Georgia, the nuns of the monastery of St. Alexandria of Sincletics in Mtskhat, Georgia, as well as the noble parishioners of these monasteries, who sent a letter to the Riigogoga in support of the nuns of the Pyukhtitsky monastery.
With love in Christ, we pray and pray that the Lord blesses Estonia and give a blessing to create a country in the truth: « And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. » (John 8:32.)
With love – abbess and Filaret and sisters
The Post The abbess of Filaret the day before the adoption of the riigikogo decisions about the fate of the monastery turned to parliamentarians FIRST Appeared on gazeta.ee.
