Metropolitan of Tallinn and All Estonia Cornelius: I still rely on the staff of the PriestMartyr Platon

April 20, 2018 13:51 The Estonian Orthodox Church suffered a heavy loss. At the 94th year of his life Metropolitan of Tallinn and All Estonia Kornily resigned to the Lord. The long life of Bishop Cornelius contained many of the conflicts of the 20th century. The son of a white officer who emigrated to Estonia, the lord decided to serve in the Church, for which he was repressed after the war. On his shoulders lay the heavy responsibility of preserving the Estonian Orthodox Church after gaining independence. Three months before his death, the oldest hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church gave the last interview to the "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate" ( No. 2, 2018 ), in which he spoke in detail about his life and ministry in Estonia. - Your Eminence, the past year was marked by celebrations in honor of the 100th anniversary of the episcopate consecration of the PriestMartyr Platon, the first bishop of the Estonian Orthodox Church. What do these festive events mean to you? How do you assess the contribution of the Holy Martyr Platon to the preservation and development of Orthodoxy in the Estonian land? - Vladyka Platon (in the world - Pavel Petrovich Kulbush), unfortunately, did not manage our Church for long, but was always devoted to Orthodoxy. He is the first Estonian bishop. Earlier, the Estonian Church was ruled only by Russian bishops, and this could not but worry the local population. At that time, the northern part of the Estonian Orthodox Church was the vicariate of St. Petersburg's metropolitans, and the southern part was part of the Riga diocese . So, at the end of the theological academy in St. Petersburg, Father Pavel was appointed priest of the Estonian parish in St. Petersburg and for 23 years of church ministry proved himself to be a wise shepherd. He was considered one of the best priests of the capital, and at the request of parishioners on December 31, 1917, he was ordained bishop of Revel (Tallinn) with jurisdiction over all of Estonia. The ordination was performed in the cathedral in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky, the future martyr of Benjamin, Metropolitan of Petrograd. He gave the priest-martyr Platon a staff, which is a relic for all of us - a symbol of the spiritual power of the bishop. One martyr for Christ handed the rod to another martyr. On the staff of the PriestMartyr Plato, I still rely on. In a very short time of his episcopal ministry, Vladyka Platon tried to restore church life in Tartu after a revolutionary coup. Helping all the suffering word of consolation, he preached Orthodoxy among Estonians. In February 1919 local Bolsheviks, arranging violence against those who did not take their side, shot and Bishop Platon. Before the execution, he was imprisoned for a month, courageously suffered all humiliations and cruel tortures in prison. The body of the bishop was solemnly transferred to Tallinn and buried in the Transfiguration Cathedral. In 1931, that is, already in the years of independence, according to the project of the famous Estonian sculptor Amandus Adamson, a marble tombstone was installed on the funds appropriated by the Estonian government and collected by donations. It is important for us that the priest-martyr Platon did not serve any political forces, but remained always with God. And this is the most important thing for an Orthodox person. There have always been human suffering in our lives, which are perceived by the heart of an Orthodox Christian outside all parties. These sufferings and wanted to relieve the priest-martyr Platon, being an Orthodox pastor in Estonia. - Vladyka, you are already 93 years old, you are the oldest hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. How can you carry such a responsible ministry at this age? Where do you draw strength from? - "Responsible service" has no age. And in 93 years the Lord gives strength, if he sees that I still need it, not all of the affairs, apparently, have been altered by me. Today I am fed by what was laid down in my childhood, the warmest memories of which I have connected with my father - Vasily Vasilyevich Jacobs. A nobleman, a colonel of the White Army, he found himself in Estonia with the remnants of Yudenich's troops. This is a person who lived not in lies and knew what an officer's honor was. My father gave me the Gospel, on the page of which he wrote the words that have become for me a moral landmark: "Every day I ask the Lord, my dear, that He, Almighty, keep you for life as honest as you have been up to now." You can say that all my years fit into simple words: "Thank God for everything!". Not without the help of God all churches are equipped, parish life is established, the activity of church departments is developing, construction of Orthodox churches throughout Estonia continues. In recent years, our clergy have replenished with young clergymen who have graduated from the Russian theological schools on a new curriculum. In this I also see the care of the Mother Church for us, because the Estonian Orthodox Church does not have its own spiritual institution. This year, in memory of the bishop of Tallinn and Estonia Isidore (in the world John Yakovlevich Bogoyavlensky) - the master of theology and the editor of the almanac "Orthodox interlocutor", I decided to restore the publication, which ceased to exist in the 40s of last century. By this we renew the once-interrupted work of Archpriest John the Epiphany, the future Bishop of Isidore. - Why and how you were arrested in 1957? What people most influenced strengthening in the faith when you were imprisoned? "My arrest was a complete surprise for me. Of course, this was a shock. At that time I served as a priest in the cathedral for the Nativity of the Virgin in Vologda. Now I understand that by his naivete he did not notice much of what preceded the arrest. Those who came for me, tried to collect everything that could give a hint of anti-Soviet activities. The search lasted almost the whole day, then - for many months of investigation. The Tallinn pastor, Protopriest Valery Povest, rendered me a great help and spiritual support, as well as many ordinary believers, many of whom I have never even known - their attention and care greatly strengthened me. I was accused of allegedly cooperating with the Germans, as well as disseminating banned literature. One priest, whom I gave to read Berdyaev's book, showed her to a professor at the Leningrad Seminary. This professor was known as a "snitch" - from there it went ... When there was a trial, the regional prosecutor accused me of shouting: "We must give him 25 years, his hands are bloody, but we could not prove this and everything else ". Nothing of the kind, of course, could be proved to attribute treason to the Motherland. The prosecution was charged under Article 58.10, "The Storage and Dissemination of Anti-Soviet Literature and Defamation of Soviet Reality," and for the second part of 25 years it was possible to give ... The court considered the case, and in it two points were violated, the lawyer did not touch upon some issues, since believed that enough of my testimony that they were not included in the case, but they still included. But what she denied could no longer be included in the charge. In general, the court re-qualified the accusation from the second part to the first, and gave me 10 years of imprisonment. After the announcement of the verdict, they handcuffed me, although it was not supposed to be - I was not a dangerous criminal! The lawyer suggested that the handcuffs were worn on me so that I could not bless people! A lot of people came to the court, but only witnesses were allowed into the hall. The investigation lasted almost four months - in February I was arrested, and in May I was convicted. - How did your life develop after the camps? - After liberation, I returned to Estonia, where my family lived - a wife and daughters. Immediately joined the church life, became rector of the Ioanno-Predtechensky temple in Tallinn. There I also served 30 years. Over the years, a lot has been experienced: a serious illness and the death of my wife who courageously shared with me all life's difficulties, four fires in the temple that occurred through malicious arsons. Parish life had to be adjusted, adjusting to the formed Soviet atmosphere. It was difficult, but, with God's help, can be overcome. By the way, I described all my life's vicissitudes in the book "On my path", which was published in 2009. There are many interesting details about life in Estonia in the 1920s-1930s, about my school childhood and youth, about teachers and spiritual mentors, about the arrest and years of camp detention, about my pastoral service, and, finally, about the difficult cross of hierarchy. - 1990, when His Holiness Patriarch Pimen died, and in his place was elected Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Alexis , who for many years ruled Estonia, which brought to your life great changes ... - Yes, soon after enthronement, His Holiness the Patriarch arrived in Estonia and served in our church July 7, the feast day - Christmas John the Baptist. The Patriarch was assisted by two bishops: Bishop Istra Arseniy and Tapaschi Victor, rector of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. For the arrival of this was a historic event. Of course, the temple did not contain the whole people, many were standing on the street. And then I had to part with the dear heart of the parish. Patriarch Alexy invited me to accept the Estonian Diocese. I can not say that it was unexpected - there were practically no other candidates, as it was necessary to know the Estonian language, to know the local traditions. But I did not seek for the archbishop's rank and did not aspire to this. He accepted as the will of God only because he understood the inevitability of such a turn of fate. My ministry in the Nõmme church ended with a monastic vows and the ordination of a bishop of Tallinn. The monastic was tonsured in Pskovo-Pechersky monastery - Archimandrite Pavel, now Metropolitan of Minsk . And my admirer was a wonderful father - Father Archimandrite John (Peasant). Until his death, he always lovingly treated me, supported by advice and prayers. - What is the political and ecclesiastical situation now, what are the concerns and aspirations in the Estonian Orthodox Church? Is there any kind of communication with the Russian-speaking Orthodox countries of the Baltic States? - The time of my bishop's service was at a very difficult historical period. The Soviet Union broke up. Estonia declared its withdrawal from the USSR and the desire to be an independent national state. There were completely new collisions. Life was rebuilt, new trends appeared. Perhaps, I did not always manage to react quickly and correctly to events, I made mistakes in some ways, went at random. But I can say one thing: I have always tried to act in accordance with conscience, do not take hasty decisions, thought through every step and every appointment and movement of the clergy, tried to create the world as possible. I hope that my flock believes me and will forgive me if in some ways I was wrong. The Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate today is experiencing considerable difficulties: many of our churches in which we perform services do not belong to us, but to the Estonian state. We use them on loan. And the situation does not change. Different political parties have different attitudes towards the Orthodox Church. In politics, there is always a struggle for one's interests. We are not engaged in politics in the Church, but only, it happens, they suffer from politicians who somehow want to use the authority of the Orthodox Church. We are always for an open dialogue. Historically, a good relationship with the Diocese of Riga - are welcome to good communication. - On April 29, 1993, Tomos of Patriarch Alexy II was announced at the Pühtitsa Cathedral on the restoration of the autonomy of the Estonian Orthodox Church. Now in Estonia, officially two autonomous Orthodox Churches - the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople . What, in your opinion, are the reasons for the continuation of the split? - Then the opinion of the Church on the question of succession was expressed in the final document of the Council, in which it was said that the Estonian Orthodox Church is the successor of the Orthodox heritage in Estonia. However, the government of the Republic of Estonia decided to provide support not to the conciliar opinion of believers, but to a small group of activists, who relied on the so-called Stockholm Synod. The Department for Religious Affairs under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Estonia registered the Charter of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, thus provoking a church schism. As a result of this split, two church structures operate in the territory of the Republic of Estonia today. The Stockholm Synod was organized by Metropolitan Alexander (Paulus) in exile in 1948. But the Estonian Church was not destroyed in 1945, as the current head of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Stefanos, tries to say, and not at all the majority of Estonians went to the Constantinople Patriarchate. You know, dialogue is at the heart of all communication, but dialogue with Stefanos is extremely difficult, since his actions are not church ones, but political ones. The Church of Christ with politics is incompatible. The question of jurisdiction is the question of the relationship to the Mother Church. For me, it is very simple: how can you stay in some other jurisdiction if the roots of Orthodoxy in Estonia are in the Russian Orthodox Church. The healing of the church schism is a long and difficult task. I hope that my successors at the Tallinn department will be able to solve this task with the help of God. My episcopal ministry is in full view, and my path is not over yet ... And joy and sorrow-I am experiencing everything with prayer. I thank the Lord: I am surrounded by very good priests, assistants and friends who are ready to support their old bishop in difficulties.