Friday, October 28, 2005
THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE MOTHER OF GOD TRANSFIGURED
has turned up in yet another odd place given its close attachment to Fr. John Rossner's seances. Check out Medjugorje U.S.A. There you can read a letter from an assistant of Archbishop John, Fr. Maxim, who writes about the "Kingdom of Holy Spirit within us", and "the grace of Nuptial Palace of Our Lard and His Blessed Mother" (Can he really be suggesting a sexual union?!).
You can read that at the Sobor in Russia--the weekend long liturgy--"the Immaculate Mary has blessed personally New Holy Russia, Ukraine and Byelorussia." It was here that the Blessed Virgin supposedly "announced to the thousands of attending people about the engendering of New God-civilization and the necessity of waiting for the coming down of Holy Spirit into the world." Does that mean that the Sobor is a weekend long charismatic event? The letter continues: "The triumph of Her Immaculate Heart is approaching, and for all the mankind, finally, the gates of the Sunny Pentecost will be opened, then the Sun of Divine Glory submerges the World."
The letter thanks Medjugorje U.S.A. "for your address - it was read at the official moment from the stage." That seems to indicate that someone from the organization sent a statement to be read at the Sobor. There are good pictures here of the Sobor and of the church in Moscow. All of the priests are wearing blue vestments, I presume since blue if the color of the Blessed Virgin.
Another page in the Medjugorje U.S.A. website presents more pictures. Here the Orthodox-Catholic synthesis is mentioned, and Fatima, Medjugorje and Montechiari and Russian prophecies are mentioned. There is a "Prayer to Sophia" which begins "Savior of the World, Sunny Lady" and asks her to "incinerate the Hearths of the world fundamentalism". Huh??
The MIR Group, also, has pictures of Archbishop John and of the priests all in blue vestments which look to have on them symbols of the sun and stars. Here you can learn that "...There will be no Third World war. But the mankind must be changed and listen to the signs of Divine Interference." Here, finally, they refer to the Blessed Virgin as the "Theotokos" as all Orthodox do. The lack of that specific title has been significantly lacking in other websites of this group.
You can read "A Letter from Russia" at the Circle of Prayer website (Scroll down. Letter is at bottom of website.). There you will learn that "Archbishop John leads the Marian branch of the Orthodox catacomb Church" and also that "The Reign of Holy Spirit will come - a Divine civilization!!!! The triumph of the Immaculate Heart is coming!"
This letter tells us that there are about 30 convents in Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Japan, Croatia and other places, and that there are 150 priests in the new Marian movement under Fr. John's guidance. This letter is signed "Mary in Galway". It doesn't get any more traditionally Catholic than this Circle of Prayer website. Could there be here a sense of an almost over-zelousness which can be one of the tricks of the Evil One when drawing someone away from the faith doesn't work? When I reflect on my mother-in-law's enthusiasm for Marian apparitions in the past, the question nags. I'm sure those involved are sincerely trying to follow God's leadership, but why would they be associating themselves with an organization that associates with channelers and an excommunicated Orthodox priest?
There is a document online titled "Russian Federation, April 2002, Country Information & Policy Unit" which is a branch of the Immigration & Nationality Directorate, Home Office. The purpose of the assessment is background for those involved in the asylum determintion process and concerns violations of human rights. One segment of the cocument applies to Archbishop John. This section is titled "Cults and Sects". It discusses three groups, the Church of the Last Precept in which the leader claims to be Jesus Christ, married to Mary Magdalene; the White Brotherhood which believes that God became incarnate in the form of Mariya Devi Khristos, and The Church of the New Holy Russia of which it says:
The Church of the New Holy Russia (or Church of the Transfiguring Mother of God, formerly known as the Mother of God Centre) founded by Ioann Bereslavskiy in secret during the Soviet years, believes that at Judgement Day the Virgin Mary will separate the pure from the impure world.
When a visionary is concerned, doctrine is vital. As soon as the visionary departs from accepted theology you know that the vision is prelest. It is perhaps significant, then, to read the following passage in the excerpt of Dr. Charles Mercieca's book WORLD SPIRITUALITY OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM, in which he talks about the Orthodox Church of the Mother of God Transfigured, and New Holy Russia:
The traditional way of viewing spirituality in terms of observation of rules and regulations in religious practice needs to become somewhat flexible. God is letting the spirit of every Russian to move toward Him in manifold different ways. We need to respect this variety of spiritual approaches that are being adopted. The only questions that need to be raised are these: "Are these new spiritual approaches leading people closer to God or farther away from God? Are these new spiritual approaches leading people closer to our Blessed Mother or farther away from her?"
Dr. Mercieca says, further that "This is the ultimate mission of the Mother of God Church.......focusing on the Blessed Mother more than anything else."
No, that is not the question or the ultimate mission. The question is "Are these new spiritual approaches leading people closer to Jesus Christ or farther away from Him?"
The Blessed Virgin always points to her Son. She never desires attention placed upon her while her Son is forgotten. Therefore, this movement which fills its church with icons of the Blessed Virgin, as the pictures show, but seems to have few images of Jesus, requires very careful discernment.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
