Open Letter to The Honourable Gavin Newsom, Governor of California from His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America

Open Letter to The Honourable Gavin Newsom, Governor of California from His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America in light of the decree issued by the Governor of California that forbids choral singing in churches.

I hereby express my protest against the recent prohibition of liturgical singing in houses of worship, which is an infringement of the rights and religious freedoms of the clergy and faithful of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Diaspora, the other Local Orthodox Churches, performing their ministry in this state, as well as other religious bodies.

During the years of Soviet rule, when the Russian Orthodox Church was subjected to persecution, Russian émigrés and their descendants comprising the Russia Church Abroad, came to the United States of America and other countries overseas, in order to freely confess their Orthodox Faith, to freely perform Divine Services, to observe the feast days, fasts and all the customs established by the Orthodox Church. In this manner, they followed the example of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, who sought the possibility of freely confessing their faith.

From the very beginning of the current global outbreak of the coronavirus the clergy and faithful of our Diocese, desiring to preserve the health of the population and stop the spread of the coronavirus, and respecting those in power, rigorously strove to adhere to all the standard norms and restrictions introduced by local health authorities. Even though they were deprived of the reverent Divine Services of Great Lent and the joyous celebration of the Triumph of the Holy Resurrection, our parishioners were sympathetic to our directives, attending our churches “virtually.”

However, we now observe a contradiction in that mass protests take place everywhere, at which absolutely all precautions are violated with impunity. Yet, liturgical singing performed during the Divine Services and while observing all of the rules, is forbidden. This is open discrimination, hypocrisy and the infringement of our religious rights, prompting us to recall the era of godless persecutions in the USSR.

Nonetheless, we will continue to pray with gratitude “for this land, its authorities and armed forces,” and “for this city, every city and country and all who in faith dwell therein.” Yet, at the same time, we will defend the rights of our clergy and our parishioners who possess full citizenship in the United States of America.

+KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America Secretary of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad

The following is copied from the Daily FR Thread called “Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem”, which I have been posting in the RF for the last ten years. (We are currently doing a series on “Music In The Bible”):

“OK, OK,” says the Powers-That-Be. “You can go back to Church, but wear masks, sit six feet apart, and...NO SINGING!!!”

Seriously? Who came up with THAT? The entire Judeo-Christian Tradition involves Music, whether it be by a designated Clergy, a Cantor, a Choir, an Organist, a Band, an Orchestra, or even just the Congregation. In Our Religion, we SING. While other World Religions may involve rote prayers, solitary meditation, Philosophical Rumination, study of holy books, self-denial and good deeds, etc, it can be argued that the Faiths based on the Bible involve Music in their Worship. From a boy chanting his Torah portion on his Bar Mitzvah to Bach’s B minor Mass, From David’s dancing before the Ark to Handel’s “Messiah”, there is no escaping that fact. “NO SINGING!” REALLY??? ((((I am SO SICK of this nonsense!)))

Poor Jeremiah! He tried and tried to warn the King and the People that Disaster was coming, and what did they do? Well, among other things, the King burned up Jeremiah’s letters, had the prophet thrown into a well, imprisoned him, and humiliated him. Yet, Jeremiah stood his ground, and was, of course, right all along.

But Jeremiah’s Message was not all “doom and gloom”. Sprinkled throughout his Prophecies, Letters, and Songs are the beautiful themes of Forgiveness, Restoration, and Hope. These things always seem to be accompanied by Music. Jeremiah also had some of the saddest songs in the Bible, which were written at the destruction of his beloved Jerusalem. We will begin exploring those tomorrow. (PFTPOJ 7/7/20)

((((I should have added the INCREDIBLE Singing that is so important in the Russian Orthodox Faith. I could listen to it for hours, and I’m not even Russian Orthodox!)))

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