№ 17  - 2005.

The Editorial Board is glad to inform our Readers that this issue of “Fidelity” has articles in English, Russian and Spanish Languages.

С удовлетворением сообщаем, что в этом номере журнала “Верность” помещены статьи на английском, испанском  и русском языках..

Contents -  Оглавление

1.   Only a unified front of all opponents.... Bishop Dionysius

2.    Экуменическое движение.  Арх. Серафим

3.   "Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair". SE.

4.    Сергианский раскол и возникновение лжепатриархии. Прот. Л. Лебедев

5.    Скоблины в рясах. А. Босоволков

6.    An open letter to the Orthodox Hierarcy. Fr. Michael Azkoul

7.    El Sergianismo. Nicolas Kasanzew  

8.    Контр-аргументы соглашателей.  А. Никонов  

9.   Экуменизм.  Ипод. Н. Шевельчинский     

10.   Нам пишут. Letters to the Editor

*********************************************************************************

Only a unified front of all the opponents of the “new course” can secure the future of the Russian Church.

                                                                          Bishop Dionysius of Novgorod and Tver

          Overall “Nasha Strana” and the Society of the Memory of the Blessed Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky have taken on a position which is most rational for Rus’ Abroad:  to remind the faithful of the legacy and ideals of the founders of ROCOR, to paint their moral-spiritual portraits – and to show the incompatibility of this “new course” and its leadership with that legacy and with those ideals.  To awaken the sleeping pastors, to breathe some confidence into those who have lost hope, that they are not alone, and that the battle for the Truth is not hopeless, -- all of this is a great thing.

            In its time, red propaganda was striving for the downfall of the spirit of the White Movement using a two-pronged approach:  declaring that it is unfair and unpatriotic (“fighting your own people”), and suggesting that it is hopeless and doomed to failure.  The MP propaganda has exactly the same approach presently:  playing its “patriotic” card and pressing on ROCOR’s hopeless position in its isolation.

            “Nasha Strana” has said a lot against the Soviet patriotism of the MP (more could be said in reference to the MP’s active involvement in the 60^th anniversary of the “Victory” celebrations.)  But many people are depressed by the hopelessness of their position.  It is true that the forces against the MP are split and divided by both objective and subjective reasons.  Nevertheless, only their consolidation into a unified front can secure the future of the Russian Orthodox Church.  In the future, perhaps not too near, we need to hold a Council (sobor)  with participation from all who are faithful to the ideology of the historical ROCOR –  delegates from Abroad and from within Russia.  Maybe initially this would not be a strictly religious council, but a social forum, without canonical decisions, but one which would unite those of like minds.  At any rate, we need to have some kind of alternative to the enticing Gundyaev “universal Russian sobors” held in the Danilov monastery. It would be appropriate for the initiative for this type of conference to come from a group of laypeople.

            Back in 1595 in Brest, two sobors were held simultaneously:  a Uniate one, and an Orthodox one gathered by Prince Konstantin of Ostrog.  When there is a lack of leadership among Bishops and clergy, the laity needs to step in.  Perhaps the Society of the Memory of the Blessed Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky under the leadership of G. M. Soldatow could play such a pivotal role – of a “collective Prince Konstantin of Ostrog”.

            The position of the MP is not as solid as it may seem, -- and therefore, the position of its opposition is not hopeless.  Recently, an anthology of essays by Deacon A. Kurayev, a person of the Patriarch, as he calls himself, appeared.  He admits there that the MP is standing on the brink of an anti-hierarchical revolution, similar to the reformation of the 16^th century, when the authority and trust had been lost within the church populace.

            Of course Kurayev does not write the entire truth, he leaves out that the “right wing” of the MP, which leads the protest against the Hierarchs, and which preaches “orthodox Stalinism” and other “orthodox sovietisms”, was created by the leadership of the MP (and the KGB) in the early 1990s to combat ROCOR,  to prevent the mass exodus of people into the ROCOR parishes which were then appearing in Russia.  But at this time, this wing, having engulfed many thousands of people, has left  the leadership of the MP and is headed by many self-proclaimed “starets” and lay-activists, such as Dushenov and his newspaper, “Rus Pravoslavnaya” (Orthodox Russia).  Therefore the process of unification of the MP and ROCOR also has an internal goal:  to strengthen the position of the MP in the religious population, to eliminate their opposition by successfully “joining with the schismatics of Karlovtsy.  Thus in the 15^th Century, when the Pope’s throne had already weakened, sovereigns and the laity rose up against him at the Constance and Basel Councils.  Pope Eugene IV, (1439) meanwhile, in Florence, was quick to bring together under him the Eastern Church, in order to break his internal, western opposition.  Presently in Russia there does exist, but perhaps scattered, an Orthodox force.  There are people who have separated from the ROCOR, and there is a high percentage still remaining within the MP, but in opposition to her leadership.  A unity of parts of ROCOR standing in opposition to the “new course” could raise their authority and would attract quite a few lay persons from the “right wing” of the MP.

This is why it is imperative to resist the MP, not only for those abroad but first of all – for Russia herself.

            Our Synod of the deceased Archbishop Lazar is ready for dialog with other groups, refraining from any hostile actions, not claiming any exclusivity, -- but has not yet received any response.  Maybe the gravity of the situation has not yet reached people’s consciousness.  At any rate, the time has not yet come for a dialog on the Bishops’ level.  However, on the level of lay people, the dialog amongst those faithful to the ideology of ROCOR and those opposed to the “new course” must continue.  And here is, especially appropriate, the forum of “Nasha Strana”.  

            In his article about “Don Quixotes”, (N.S. 2771) N. Kasanzev reminded us well, that the White heroes were people who did not lose hope even in the most hopeless of circumstances.  This is also very appropriate for the church situation.

Nasha Strana  No. 2776                                    Translated by Mrs. M.N. Nekludoff

           Арх. Серафим (Свежевский) Каракасский и Венецуэльский +1996

Последнее время все более и более распространяется в мире движение, называемое экуменизмом. Оно уже включило в себя не только протестантское и сектантское исповедание, но и Римо-католиков и большинство Православных церквей.

     Discussions regarding the proposed union between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia rarely, if ever, touch on the historical circumstances surrounding the Bolshevik revolution and its stated mission.  While a great deal is said pertaining to what Sergius did or did not do, almost nothing is said regarding the forces behind the revolution, its financiers, and the eschatological implications of it.  Despite a large body of writings warning of the apocalyptic nature of the putsch, few leading ROCOR hierarchs question whether rapprochement with the Moscow Patriarchate is simply the next phase in an anti-Christian occult agenda.[1]  For instance, the murder of the last Orthodox Tsar, St. Nicholas II, has been seen by some as a removal of the “hand that restrains.”[2]  With the murder of the Tsar, God’s anointed protector of the Church militant was removed, unleashing hordes of anti-Christ that wreaked destruction and havoc on the world from which it has yet to recover. 

     What, then, is the spiritual significance of this for the current debate regarding the future of ROCOR?  Are there good reasons for believing that the forces that set out to destroy Orthodoxy in Russia have lost power, subsided in strength and, in the end, “thrown in the towel?”  While no man can know the appointed time for the end or, for that matter, the nature of “the mystery that worketh iniquity,” remaining vigilant and guarding against possible deception seems more important now than ever.  We must ask ourselves, then, what was the source of the Bolshevik revolution, its spiritual nature and purpose?  While it may be impossible to determine its true inner core, those behind it left signatures that point in an occult, sinister direction.

     As many historians have observed, revolution in all areas of life is a defining feature of the modern age.  As Western Europe emerged out of the 14^th century, men like Petrarch ignited interest in classical antiquity, arguing that the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome were superior to what superseded them.  Pagan in orientation and increasingly hostile towards Christianity, Renaissance humanism sought a return to pre-Christian ways of thinking.  The most obvious expression of this can be found in the art of the time period: interwoven with Christian themes of the Virgin and Christ Child are all sorts of symbolic references to Greek and Roman mythology.  As Renaissance painting began to depart from medieval art forms more closely resembling traditional iconography, it also began to appropriate multi-layered meanings meant to resonate with esoteric, occult philosophies.  Perhaps this is no where better illustrated than in Botticelli’s “Primavera,” a painting which, according to historian Frances Yates, was intended as a talisman or manifestation of Italian occultist Ficino’s ideas regarding natural magic.[3] 

     During this time, interest in the nature of appearances, in discovering how to manipulate or master the empirical world began to express itself as well.  Here, a renewed interest in the ancient Greek Pythagoreans converged with an interest in what was thought to be the work of an ancient Egyptian wise man by the name of Hermes Trismegistus.  While not an actual, real-life person, the mythical figure of Trismegistus was imbued with an aura of ancient, mystical and arcane knowledge, supposedly forgotten over the centuries but kept alive through various esoteric schools and secret societies. 

     Combining elements of numerology, Cabala, and gnosticism, the writings ascribed to Trismegistus were of great importance to Renaissance thinkers such as Ficino and Pico della Mirandola.  Attempting to combine elements from what was essentially a mystical tradition most likely formed in ancient Persia and in ancient Judaic occultism during the Babylonian captivity, hermeticism provided the theoretical impetus necessary for many a Renaissance layman to pursue alchemy, numerology, Cabala, and other occult forms of inquiry.  Treatises began to proliferate regarding the mixture and concoction of different kinds of materials, alchemical formulas for discovering the “elixir of life”; astronomical charts and theories were formed to explain astrological meanings, events, and the harmony of the spheres; and, inquiries into magic and the power of eros in manipulating or controlling others finds expression in philosophy, literature, and poetry.[4]  In the end, the work of Ficino and Pico resulted in an attempt to combine what they understood to be Christian principles of the Godhead with the gnostic and occultic philosophies represented in the hermetic writings ascribed to Trismegistus.[5]  Already in the 2^nd century, however, St. Ireneaus in his Refutation of the Heresies, had soundly exposed these gnostic and occultic ideas for what they were – heretical ideas opposed to the Truth of Christ.  For some reason, however, they began to spread in western Europe during this time and are present in many so-called New Age forms of “spirituality” today. 

     Understood from this perspective, the Renaissance was not a time of scientific and cultural discovery as it is so often portrayed.  Rather, the Renaissance represents a time of resurgent pagan and gnostic occultism.  Ficino and Pico della Mirandola attempted to merge gnostic and Cabalistic magical ideas with what they understood to be Roman Catholic doctrine.  These ideas and developments would, in many ways, culminate in the execution of hermeticist Giordano Bruno on February 17, 1600 during the Inquisition in Rome.[6]  Although the Latin church found many of these ideas heretical, they had already infiltrated much of western thinking.  In a more pedestrian form they inspired many elements in rationalism – Leibnizian monadology and Spinoza’s pantheism – as well as the scientism that accompanied alchemist Isaac Newton’s Principia.  And, artistically, Mozart packaged numerous esoteric occult themes for public consumption in his opera, “Die Zauberflote,” as did Shakespeare in many of his plays a century earlier. 

     In fact, in Elizabethan England, many of the occult philosophies that formed the thinking of Ficino, Pico, and Bruno, found an adherent in the person of John Dee, Elizabeth’s official “Court Astrologer.”  The inspiration for Marlowe’s Dr. Faust in his play, Faustus, Dee engaged in occult practices rooted in the same hermetic traditions mentioned above.  Dee, known for invoking spirits, believed Cabala would protect the conjurer from invoking demons.  As such, Dee claimed to be an invoker of angels.[7]  His role as Elizabeth’s court astrologer placed in him in a position to promote certain occult ideas which led, according to some researchers, to the formation of an intelligence service with Dee taking on the designation of “007.”[8]  While the history of freemasonry is obscure and subject to dispute, some researches claim Dee was an important transmitter of the occult practices and philosophy that formed the tenets of Weishaupt’s Illuminati and Scottish Free Rite masonry.  According to Craig Heimbichner, “A solid occult beachhead was established in England under Elizabeth I, culminating in the Rosicrusian movement, the Renaissance exaltation of magic and alchemy by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535) and Paracelsus (1493-1541), and later the formation of a socially accepted system of lodges, free to recruit respectable men.  This English lodge system, exoterically a brotherhood and fraternal order copied from the Catholic guild of stonemasons, used the symbols of stonemasonry to teach apparently moral lessons but actually imported kabbalistic symbols from Judaism and reserved its occult teaching for higher initiates.  Hence, the new Masonic Lodge became the powerful inner occult channel between countries as it spread across Europe and to America.  Thus was born Freemasonry.”[9]  Given Dee’s relationship to Elizabeth and the government, his role in the formation of freemasonry’s occult doctrines should not be underestimated.

     During the Enlightenment and revolutionary era, figures such as Voltaire, Condorcet, Diderot, Hammann, Moses Mendelssohn, Goethe and countless others joined the masons and pledged allegiance to the god of theism or deism. The rapidity with which these ideas spread was truly astonishing.  While the Enlightenment era alone justifies several pages of discussion, rather than taking too many historical detours, readers interested in educating themselves about the spread of freemasonry during this time can consult any number of books by simply doing an online search pertaining to the topic.  However, some remarks are in order regarding the French Revolution.

     From alchemy to Cabala, Renaissance philosophical and theological speculation was influenced by occult ideas that would emerge during the early 18^th century in the form of Illuminism in Bavaria.  The nature of Illuminism is essentially “Luciferian” – that is, it rejects Orthodox Christianity’s understanding of Man’s Fall and his salvation through an ontological participation in the Triune God’s Divine Energies.  Illuminism taught the lie of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, namely that Man was a god if only he would reject God and embrace his capacity for Good and Evil as necessary polarities in a higher synthesis of knowledge or being.  Freemasonic doctrine appropriated aspects of Illuminism and sought to overturn the power of the Christian Church and the Old Order wherever possible. 

     While admitting as much 15 years ago in respectable academic circles would have resulted in derisive laughter, no less an authority than Librarian of Congress James Billington has documented these facts in his book, Fire in the Minds of Men.[10]  At the beginning of his exhaustively footnoted and researched book, Billington describes what motivated the Revolutionary age, including what took place in Russia:

     “The revolutionary faith was shaped not so much by the critical rationalism of the French Enlightenment (as is generally believed) as by the occultism and proto-romanticism of Germany.”[11] 

     A few pages later, Billington explicitly describes the revolutionary process by which European powers and Christianity were targeted for destruction:

    “The flame of faith had begun its migrations a century earlier, when some European aristocrats transferred their lighted candles from Christian altars to Masonic lodges.  The flame of occult alchemists which had promised to turn dross into gold, reappeared at the center of new ‘circles’ seeking to recreate a golden age: Bavarian Illuminists conspiring against the Jesuits, French Philadelphians against Napoleon, Italian charcoal burners against the Hapsburgs.”[12]   

     Billington’s description of the French Revolution provides an instructive overview of various elements that would converge to discredit the Monarchy.  Due to the manipulation of Mirabeau, the King’s brother Philippe, Duke of Orleans, allowed his estate grounds to be turned into the Palais Royale – a haven of free sex, pornography, narcotics, and revolutionary forums.  Here, the elite indulged in all manner of perversity and a hatred for the King and the “Ancien Regime.”  Plot after plot was hatched here, each one intended to cause unrest and resentment toward the Crown.  The famous “Diamond Necklace Affair” attempted to smear the Queen, Marie Antoinette, by alleging that a “lover” had given her a ridiculously extravagant diamond necklace as appreciation for her favours.  As in Russia, the conspiratorial forces created disinformation in an attempt to smear the King and demand his removal.[13]  And, as in Russia, the conspiratorial forces were engaged in occult philosophies that preached wild abandon and the embracing of decadence and experimentation.  The result?  As in Russia, a Christian country was defiled and desecrated, brought to Her knees by anti-God and anti-Christ forces.   

     The issue of freemasonry and the occult in Russia requires a study all its own.  Certainly, with Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, Enlightenment ideas – as well as Masonry itself –  made their way into Russia.  If fact, while Catherine’s son Tsar Paul is often maligned and misunderstood by western academics as an ineffectual, reactionary leader, he did a great deal to reverse the tide of libertinism and westernization Catherine had embraced.  During Paul’s reign, masonry was quite active in opposing Paul’s rejection of many of Catherine’s “reforms”; in fact, it may have played an important role in his assassination.[14]   Over the course of the 19th century, numerous occult and freemasonic ideas would infiltrate Russia, finding adherents and dabblers among the aristocracy and revolutionary classes.  While it falls outside the scope of this discussion to describe the history and transmission of these ideas among various figures, the rise of revolutionary nihilism and an interest in theosophy and other “luciferian” ideas is evident in the art and political movements of the 19th century.  Where these movements and ideas express themselves is in the Bolshevik putsch itself.      

     Perhaps the most telling indication that occult forces were behind the Bolshevik revolution is the very symbols of the Soviet regime itself: the hammer, sickle and star.  Occult symbols often have multiple meanings.  Publicly available associations or “exoteric” meanings are usually taken in an innocuous way.  However, these symbols can also have an esoteric meaning that operates almost like a code for the initiated that are aware of their double significance. 

     For instance, suppose a beer company has the slogan, “Too good for words.”  In order to create curiosity they might undertake a clever advertising campaign where they simply place the following words, without a picture of their product, in magazines and newspapers:

     People seeing the ad would of course wonder what it meant and may not even catch on that it is a code: exoterically, it is 2 “GOOD” and 4 “WORDS.”  Esoterically, it refers to the beer in question’s advertising slogan, “Too good for words.”  The psychological effect of the decoded or esoteric meaning would most likely stay with an individual who figured it out much longer than a literal campaign involving pictures of the product.  In a sense, one becomes an initiate of the campaign: once one deciphers its meaning, every time one sees the add, one thinks of the product.

     Culturally speaking, the 1960s witnessed the appearance of just such a symbol – the peace sign.  Plastered all over shirts, albums, ads, design sheets, and other spaces as well, many took the peace sign as simply an anti-war symbol and icon for the ideals of social justice.  Most did not realize that the so-called peace sign has an esoteric meaning as well: it is a Germanic “Todesrune” indicating an inversion of life.[15]  According to certain occult sources, it is also known as the “raven’s foot,” supposedly used during certain occult rituals that involve a denial of Christ.  In this connection, it appears as an upside down broken Cross, indicating an inversion or rejection of God’s order on Earth.

     Why, then, would a symbol associated with an inversion of life be used to represent the peace movement?  Here, one can only speculate.  If, however, we view the symbol as an esoteric code, various possibilities suggest themselves.  The political movements of the 1960s were, in many ways, a means by which society was transformed.  Grounded in nihilism and relativistic revolutionary philosophy, the radical thought of the sixties sought to restructure and redefine the family, sexuality, culture, morality, religion, and politics.  After the killing of John F. Kennedy, chaos erupted.  Not unlike other revolutions that involved the “killing of the King,[16]” social and spiritual forces were set loose that sought to destroy the “Old Order” – a more socially conservative society which held public morality in place. 

     Understood in this light, we begin to see an alternative use and meaning behind the so-called peace sign.  Hiding behind a façade of peace, various forces could appropriate the language of social justice and morality, thereby hiding their true intentions – the destruction or transformation of American culture.  So understood, the peace sign becomes a macabre jest, an esoteric signature that communicates to initiates both the true purpose of the “movement” and its sponsors.  In other words, the peace sign is not about peace at all – it is, in short, a false advertising campaign by which various forces sought the upheaval and transformation of society rather than its preservation.       

     When we look at the flag of the Soviet state we find symbols with esoteric and exoteric connotations.  If taken exoterically, the hammer is meant to refer to industry, the modernization and factory output of the new Soviet man.  The sickle, on the other hand, symbolizes the agrarian component of Soviet labour and organization for the growing of food.  The star presumably refers to the providence or destiny of the Soviet state in the formation of a new age of Man.  However, when we consult a dictionary of symbols, something else begins to emerge. 

     On page 200 of Carl Liungman’s Dictionary of Symbols, we learn that the sickle represents Saturn and Chronos.  Both the Greeks and Romans associated harvests with these gods, as well as death, due to the lengthy cycle of the planet’s orbit around the sun.  Additionally, Saturn and Chronos are associated with sorrow and deprivation, with the separation of human beings from the gods.  In the Middle Ages, this symbol would be associated with “Satan, the tester.”[17]  Researcher Michael Hoffman reminds us that Saturn is also associated with the Demiurge, the “operating engineer of the universe” and not its creator.[18]  Saturn-Chronos represents the end of the rule of the Olympians, the end of the age when Man lived in harmony with nature and the beginning of his separation and alienation from the gods through science and manipulation of the natural world.   

     In the case of the hammer, when candidates are initiated into the 3^rd degree of Masonry they are symbolically struck in the head with a hammer in imitation of the alleged assassination and resurrection of Hiram Abiff.[19]  (The “extreme” nature of this ritual coined the common harmless phrase, “he gave him the third degree” as a description of a particularly thorough or intense investigation and questioning.)  Craig Heimbichner claims that, “In the third degree, the blindfolded candidate, as ‘Hiram Abiff,’ is unexpectedly ‘slain’ (struck with a mallet on the forehead) and ‘resurrected,’ leaving the Temple of Solomon unfinished.”[20]  Here, then, is an esoteric reference to an initiation into the “resurrection” that must take place for the creation of a new consciousness, a new initiate into the New Order.  In this regard, the hammer or the “molot” may very well be an indication of what is happening to all Soviet victims: they are being “struck and killed” in order to resurrect new initiates into the post-Christian New Age.

     The five pointed star, or pentagram, is ancient and has a host of associations.  On page 43 of Liungman’s book, he informs us that the five pointed star without intersecting lines is a derivative of the ancient pentagram – that is, a five pointed start drawn with intersecting lines.  While it has had various meanings throughout the ages, it is also associated with the occult and used for sinister purposes.  On page 44, Liungman indicates that during the Middle Ages the pentagram was associated with the anti-Christ.  However, there are numerous other associations as well.  What, then, are we to make of it? 

     If our thesis concerning the development of occult traditions is correct, it might be helpful to consider whether the star has any associations within masonic thought.  Gleamed from the writings of various occultists and freemasons such as Albert Pike, it appears that the star is associated with the star of Sirius, the so-called “dog star.”  Sirius is in the constellation Canis – hence its designation as “dog star.”  Its helical rising occurs in July and August, during the hottest time of the year.  Our phrase “the dog days of summer” refers to this astronomical event. 

     According to the arcane teachings of freemasonry, the all-seeing eye is associated with the star Sirius.  On page 138 of his book, Heimbichner tells us under the entry for “Ayin,” the following:

     Ayin: An eye.  The “eye in the triangle” is one of the most basic Masonic figures, exoterically the All-Seeing Eye of God, but esoterically the Eye of Set-Sothis-Shaitan (Satan); represented astronomically as Sirius . . .[21]

     Who or what, then, is Set-an or Shaitan?  In Ancient Egypt, Sirius was associated with Isis, as well as the jackal-headed god Anubis.  While information on these connections is readily available from a number of different websites, one New Age page claims that,

“Sirius was revered as the Nile Star, or Star of Isis, by the ancient Egyptians. Its annual appearance just before dawn at the Summer Solstice, June 21, heralded the coming rise of the Nile, upon which Egyptian agriculture depended.”[22]

     The mythological reasons for this association are related to the killing of Osiris by his brother Set and the mourning of him by his sister-wife Isis.  Said to take place around the time of the summer solstice, Isis wanders the Nile, Grief-stricken by her brother-husband’s death, tears filling the river, causing it to rise.[23]  For this reason, both Isis and Osiris are sometimes associated with Sirius.  Sirius itself has two sister stars, Sirius A and Sirius B.  Sirius B is associated with the jackal-headed god Anubis, the god responsible for judging and ferrying souls into the afterlife.  Eventually, the evil principle of Set and the hidden, dark aspect of Anubis were taken to refer to “Set-An.”  The Egyptian word “An,” referring to dog, was coupled with the word for soot or the dirtiness of sin, “Sut” – forming Set-An.[24]  Eventually, “Satan” would linguistically derive from this Babylonian-Egyptian connection to the myths surrounding Sirius. 

     In relation to freemasonry, Heimbichner writes that, “the essence of Freemasonry can be traced to the current of ancient Sumerian worship of ‘Shaitan’ (Satan).  This current was given shape in ancient Egypt and Babylon, but ironically was most effectively preserved from disintegration through the oral teaching of its rabbinical heirs in the form of the ‘traditions of the ancients’ or ‘elders.’”  In short, the five pointed star used by the Soviets is rich in esoteric and occult connotations.

     If our thesis is correct and the Soviet symbols are esoteric codes for initiates of an occult conspiracy, can we draw any conclusions with regard to the scope of the conspiracy?  Obviously, if there is such a conspiracy, it is unlikely its adherents would publicly divulge their intentions or plans – although they may encode them in various ways.  Here, we can only speculate from evidence, circumstantial and otherwise. 

     Take, for instance, the back of the US dollar bill.  Well known for its strange all-seeing eye and pyramid, many conspiracy theorists and religious critics have pointed out its obvious connection to the Illuminati and freemasonry.  While esoteric symbols often have multiple meanings – even at the exoteric level – patterns and commonalities in intent and kind should lead in directions of interpretation that are more plausible than others.  In the case of the US dollar bill, what is of particular interest is the use of Illuminati symbolism.  As mentioned earlier, the all-seeing eye is associated with Sirius and Set-an by mystical freemasonry. 

     Now, if we take the Soviet flag below and trace a border outline around the symbols, we form a triangular shape with the star sitting at its top.  If we understand the star to refer to Sirius and its esoteric connotations, it would also stands in for the “all-seeing eye” of the Illuminists and esoteric freemasons.  This bears a striking resemblance to the Illuminati symbol on the back of the one dollar bill: 

Taken as a coded signature, is it possible that the Soviet symbols are intended to form a pyramid with the star of Sirius sitting on top?  Is there any connection between these esoteric symbols and that of the all-seeing eye on the back of the dollar bill, adopted in 1935?  Are the conspirators telegraphing a message regarding the shape of things to come?  Is it possible that the occult forces behind world revolutionary movements have put their stamp on a Hegelian dialectic between the capitalist West and the communist East?  Could it be that these same occult forces have created the illusion of difference, of conflict, for the sole purpose of creating a synthesis of the two systems, bringing them together in a single global government? Is it possible that to the initiated, the symbols mockingly and knowingly testify to the fact that one and the same group or power owns and runs both systems?[25]   

     In addition to its significance as an esoteric symbol, Sirius also has astronomical significance as well.  As mentioned earlier, our notion of the “dog days of summer” is a direct reference to Sirius’ helical rising during the summer months.  The period in question actually commences sometime around June 21 and runs through mid-August.  During this time, the sun is aligned with Sirius on or around each July 4^th.  Again, there are numerous astronomical and astrological pages on the internet that provide information pertaining to Sirius’ helical rising and its conjunction with the sun.  According to a New Age website,

“The Fourth of July is linked to the brightest star in the heavens, Sirius. Every year on July 4 from our Earth's position, our Sun is in conjunction with the star Sirius. Esoterically this star is our Spiritual Sun and is associated with liberation. According to ancient teachings, the concept of freedom resides in human consciousness because of the influence of this star system. Astrologically, a conjunction is the strongest aspect celestial bodies can have. Our Sun exactly conjoins Sirius in the sign of Cancer at 14 degrees, which occurs around July 4–7.”[26]

     Interestingly enough, a number of important revolutionary events have occurred during this time period.  To cite only a few, American Independence was declared on July 4^th , 1776; Bastille Day in Revolutionary France is July 14; and, most importantly for the Church, the Royal Martyrs were killed on July 4^th, 1918 (Old Calendar).[27]  Of course, it could be a coincidence that certain Masonic-occult inspired events happen to coincide with the sun’s conjoining with Sirius – the esoteric symbol for the all-seeing eye of Set-An.  Here again, we are confronted with a correspondence or pattern that betrays a spiritual reality behind the subterfuge and dissimulation of Masonic organizations.[28]

     The “teachings” associated with Sirius and other occult doctrines are false, heretical, and an abomination.  We know they are from the teachings of our Lord and God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  What we must remember, however, is that the adherents of these false teachings believe them to be true and act accordingly.  In the process of doing so, however, they sometimes leave markers testifying to that fact.

     However, these symbols also have an additional layer of meaning, a meaning contained in the very words themselves.  In Russian, the word for “hammer” is “molot.”  The word for “sickle” is “serp.”  Now, if we take these two words and combine them we have.

     In certain unholy and blasphemous acts, occultists speak parts of the Liturgy backwards.  Understanding this as an esoteric and occult “signature,” when we turn around the words that refer to hammer and sickle we get

     Interestingly enough, “prestolom” has a double meaning: it can mean either “by the throne of the King” or “through the Altar of the Church.”  In effect, then, hidden within the symbols of the Bolshevik revolution is an occult message that speaks of an inversion of God’s Law and Order on Earth.  It is, in short, not unlike a satanic inversion of our Lord’s Cross – a “todesrune” in another form.

Equally compelling and suggestive is the murder of the Royal Family.  For those familiar with Russian history there is little doubt as to the conspiratorial nature of the killings.  While some debate whether or not Lenin actually gave the orders, other prominent historians seem convinced he did.[29]  In any case, what is important is what the killers left behind in the death chamber at the Ipatiev house.  As many historians have indicated and, as reported by Sokolov, strange writings were left on the wall.[30]  The meanings behind these writings point in an occult and conspiratorial direction.  As  monk Zachariah writes: 

Finally, after midnight on July 4, 1918, the entire family, with their doctor and two faithful servants, was brought to the basement of the house of their confinement under the pretext of moving them once again. There they were brutally and mercilessly murdered, the children as well as the adults, under the cover of darkness — for "Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil"(John 3:19). The Tsar was shot as he stood forward to defend his family. Tsaritsa Alexandra was able to make the sign of the Cross before she, too, fell. Amid screams, the children were shot, clubbed and bayoneted, in an act of indescribable brutality. There is evidence that the murders were ritualistic; strange symbols were found on the walls of the room where the crime took place. Thus ended the life of the gentle, Christ-like Tsar, as a sacrifice for the Orthodox Faith and for the Russian people, both of whom he so fervently loved and believed in..[31]

     What, then, were these “strange symbols” and writings referred to?  Two will occupy us here – the altered fragment of a poem by the German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine and a series of cabalistic symbols scrawled on the wall.

     The fate of King Belshazzar is well known from the Old Testament book of Daniel (Daniel, Chapter 5).  In the book of Daniel, Belshazzar was a proud, arrogant King who despised the people of God, the people of Israel.  In the course of a feast, strange writings appear on the his palace wall.  Daniel interprets them, indicating the extent to which Belshazzar has outraged and offended God.  For speaking the Truth, Daniel is bound and Belshazzar ignores God’s warning.  Later that night, Belshazzar is slain by the Chaldaens.  Afterwards, his removal made possible the rebuilding of the Temple of God in Zion by Zerubbabel.  Now, keeping this in mind, let us take a look at the following fragment from a Heine poem scrawled on the wall of the Ipatiev house:

 Belsatzar ward in selbiger Nacht

Von seinen Knechten[32] umgebracht.

     Before translating the couplet, let’s first take at a look at the lines as they actually appear in Heine’s poem:

Belsazar ward aber in selbiger Nacht
Von seinen Knechten umgebracht.

     Notice that the word “Belsazar” (the German spelling for “Belshazzar”) has been intentionally altered to read “Belsatzar” – that is, to mnemonically include the world “Tzar.”  This sort of punning and word play are hallmarks of occult practices, intended to bring out Janus-like qualities to the “seen” and “hidden” aspects of events and reality.[33]  The actual translation of the couplet also suggests further meanings.  Translating the original, we get the following:

On the same night Belshazzar

Was killed by his own slaves.

This, of course, refers to the murder of the proud and arrogant King Belshazzar who opposed the righteous Israelites.  However, in the altered fragment written on the wall of the Ipatiev house – obviously a reference to the writing that appeared on Belshazzar’s walls that Daniel interpreted – the line takes on a different meaning: was the “Belsa-tzar”, that is, “Tzar” killed because he stood in the way of the building of a different kind of Zionist Temple?  Or, more importantly, if these forces were active agents of anti-Christ, could he have been killed to make way for the “building” of the final “abomination of desolation?”   

     Here, we must be careful not to fall into the trap of accusing the Jews themselves of conspiracy.  While international Zionism may have played a role in the financing of the Bolsheviks, the occult conspiracy involves more than just any one ethnicity or nationality.  While apostate, atheistic Jews may have been instrumental in bringing the revolution to Russia, there is an historical and ideological link between the occult, hermetic systems discussed earlier in this essay and their spread throughout Europe via secret societies that infiltrated every country.  The fact that the conspiracy involved more than just any one ethnic group seems evident from the next set of “writings” to be discussed – the esoteric, cabalistic inscriptions found in death chamber.

     Perhaps the most puzzling inscription on the walls at the Ipatiev house is the letter “L,” written in three different languages: Hebrew, Samaritan, and Greek.  There is a line written beneath these three letters as well.  The explanation offered for these cryptic symbols amounts to an indication that the Tsar was killed as “punishment” for his “crimes.”  However, the translation of these symbols into a statement or message is not as important for our purposes as the means by which an interpretation of them is made possible.  According to the book, Waters Flowing Eastward: The War Against the Kingship of Christ, the sources used for decoding these writings include writings by John Dee, the famous occultist Eliphas Levy, and the famous French occultist and acquaintance of Helena Blavatsky, Papus.[34]  As such, there is good reason to believe that these symbols required someone with a knowledge of the occult, hermetic and cabalistic traditions that have informed revolutionary movements throughout the modern age since at least the Renaissance.  Here, we have an indication that the conspiracy was bigger than just Zionists: whoever carried it out seems to have been a product of the freemasonic/luciferian secret societies that were involved in other revolutions throughout Europe and America.  As the author says,

Finally, the line drawn beneath these three letters (in Magical Science the horizontal line is the symbol of the passive principle) indicates that those who killed the king did not do so of their own will, but in obedience to superior command.  Whoever wrote this inscription was a man well versed in the secrets of the ancient Jewish cabbalism, as contained in the Cabbala and the Talmud.  IN accomplishing the deed in obedience to superior order, this man performed a rite of Black Magic.  It is for this reason that he commemorated his act by a cabbalistic inscription in cipher, which belonged to the rite.  The inscription therefore proves: 1.) That the Tsar was killed.  2.) That the murder of the Tsar was committed by men under the command of occult forces; and by an organization which, in its struggle against existing power resorted to the ancient cabbalism in which it was well versed.[35]

     Even if our thesis is correct and there is reason to believe an occult conspiracy lies behind modern revolutionary movements – including the Bolshevik putsch – what connection, if any, does the MP have in all of this?  Here, a word of caution is in order.  First, despite what might seem plausible in regard to the existence at different times in history of a hidden, conspiratorial hand, it would be wrong to believe it has absolute, total power.  The Triune God, working in conjunction with Man’s Faith and free acceptance and return of God’s Love, determines the time and place of eschatological events according to His Wisdom known only to Him.  No matter the extent of a conspiracy, keeping the Faith and praying fervently to God, the Church has the Grace and Power of God.  And, as Vladyka Averky has taught in his book[36], the actions of Man can bring the End Times closer, now further, now closer again.  In other words, the world’s time is like an elastic band which can be stretched and shortened according to the degree to which Man is Faithful to God.  So, even if an occult conspiracy existed or exists now, it is not in ultimate control and can never prevail against the Church.

     Having said as much, we are also instructed to be vigilant.  To what degree, then, has the Russian nation been subjugated to anti-Christ occult forces bent on rebelling against God?  We have tried to trace elements involved in the rise of an occult philosophy involved in modern revolutionary movements.  In the case of Russia, it would seem there is some evidence that an occult conspiracy played a role in the removal of the Tsar and the subsequent destruction of Holy Russia.  To what extent are these forces still active in current Russian society, culture, and religion? 

     In her book, Ecumenism: Path to Perdition, Ludmilla Perepiolkina discusses the presence of the occult in the current Moscow Patriarchate.[37]  In a chapter entitled, “Dark Spirituality in the Bosom of the Moscow Patriarchate,” Mrs. Perepiolkina describes Alexey II’s involvement with various clergy connected to the occult.  According to the chapter, Alexey II was friends with the late  Metropolitan Ioann of St. Petersburg and Archpriest Vasily Lesnyak.  Both were involved with the Scientific Council of the International Institute of Reserve Potential of Man – an organization practicing different kinds of hypnotic and New Age spirituality techniques.[38]  The existence of “sorcerers” and “wizards” in the MP clergy is also discussed by Mrs. Perepiolkina, including priests engaging in occult activities and truly blasphemous acts such as baptizing the dead.

     From these facts alone, are we not entitled to ask to what extent the MP has been corrupted and infiltrated by the same occult forces that sought to destroy Orthodoxy in Russia?  Given the current stage of world political events, do we not see the same forces evident in the Bolshevik putsch acting in recent events as well?  Are our leaders pursuing global government and the marginalization of Christ’s Truth or are they embracing self-determination and a rolling back of modern, secular heresies? 

     Given the nature of the current world, what reason does the Synod have – or, better yet – what GUARANTEE does she have that she is not being “hoodwinked” by hidden forces bent on her destruction?

     We have only touched on a very small number of questions and issues related to occult conspiracies and their relationship to secret societies.  However, it bears keeping in mind that if occult conspirators have publicly used esoteric symbols before in an ambiguous or dubious context, they will likely continue to do so today.  Of course, these public displays will likely be “encoded,” ambiguous enough so that only the “initiated” will understand what is being communicated. 

     As the MP begins to reach out to the Latin church, the ecumenical prerogative both are battling for speaks volumes as to what is being prepared.  We have been warned about a coming “religion of the future” whereby the masses will be prepared to accept anti-Christ.  In order to do so, however, a global “spirituality” must be cultivated.  So, where is Rome in all of this?  Consider the pictures below and ask yourself why the Bishop of Rome would allow the abomination of the satanic inverted Cross to adorn his throne – regardless of its “exoteric” reference to Peter’s crucifixion?  What “tradition” within the Roman church does this refer to?  How many other Popes in the past have used an inverted Cross?  If it is a relatively recent development, why does it come during a highly ecumenical era, not only for the Roman church but for all of Christianity?  What does this say about the spiritual condition of Rome or its infiltration by forces opposed to Christ?  Was the Pope, without his knowledge, an unwitting tool of these forces?  

http://www.blessedquietness.com/journal/housechu/inverted.htm

And, we also have the strange, global event in connection with John Paul II’s funeral – a event bringing all religions and leaders together, televised across the world.  Using stagecraft that would have made Marshall McLuhan proud, for three days people all over the world were presented with images surrounding his death and funeral.  He was presented as someone who attempted to build bridges and bring peace.  His ecumenical undertakings were praised and held up as an example for all. 

     But, what was being said in all of this?  To what extent did John Paul II present his” mission” as one first and foremost grounded in the Truth of Christ?  He participated in services with non-Christians and claimed that pagan traditions had something to add to the Church.  Was this a betrayal on his part regarding the fullness of the Christian Truth?

     It’s interesting to think about these and other matters when inspecting how his funeral was staged and the psychological purposes behind it.  The presentation of his coffin in itself raises questions with regard to esoteric symbols, possibly hidden in plain view for the purposes of the initiated.  What, if anything, are we supposed to “see” in the placement of the coffin and the “design” of the carpet used?  Are we imagining things?