Author: Joseph, Metropolitan of the USA, Canada and Australia,
Bulgarian Orthodox Church – Bulgarian Patriarchate
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death
of Metropolitan Andrey of New York – August 9, 1972
A popular proverb says: “A good start is a job half done”. If we take the beginning of the archpastoral ministry of the Great Bishop Andrew as diocesan bishop of the newly created by H. Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) in 1938, Bulgarian diocese in the USA and Canada, we will see quite clearly why the ministry of the new bishop and then metropolitan until his blessed death in 1972 was filled with difficulties, sighs, dissatisfaction, slander, protests and all kinds of threats. How the poor man lasted 34 years, only God and he himself know. Today we read and revere in the spirit of another proverb: “All’s well that ends well!”
Here is the beginning. According to the pamphlet “Bishop Andrey the Closer Emissary in America”, published by the Central Committee of the IPO (Central Committee of Macedonian Political Organizations) in the USA, Canada and Australia (June 1938, Indianapolis, Indiana. Printed by “Macedonian Tribune”, Indianapolis, Indiana ”), the emissary of Koseivanov[1], as Bishop Andrey was called, mocked the touching patriotism of the Macedonian exiles in America. They accused him of wanting to bring them under the wing of the traitorous policy of the Serbophiles in Bulgaria. “We spit on this policy of his”, we read in the pamphlet, where it is also written: “Bishop Andrey, who was sent to distract us from the fulfillment of our innermost desire – a free and independent Macedonia, is completely denied by us.”
On April 20, 1938, the Central Committee of the IPO read to Bishop Andrey in the hotel in Indianapolis their statement that they were “against Kimon Georgiev and Damian Velchev, as well as against Tsar Boris the Third and his government, which forbids working for the salvation of enslaved Macedonia”. The Central Committee of the IPO even forced Bishop Andrei to inform them about the purpose of his mission in America. Moreover, they sharply protested to him that he was sent to America by Prime Minister Koseivanov: “If you come among us to push such a policy, says the statement, we consider it our imperative duty to declare that not we can recognize you as our spiritual shepherd” (p. 23).
“Your Eminence, continued the members of the Central Committee of the IPO, we had the opportunity to carefully read the district message that Holy Synod of the BOC has sent to us on the occasion of your appointment as the administrator of the newly opened diocese in America. In principle, we agree with the thoughts expressed in the message in question… However, we hasten to declare the following:
1) You have no right to represent our people’s interests, which right is given to you by the message of H. Synod, but not by the organized Macedonian forces in the US and Canada. These interests, according to our constitution and the traditions of the Maedonian liberation movement in America, have been represented, are represented now and will be represented in the future only by the legal institutions of our organizations, namely: the congresses of the ILO and its supreme authority – the Central Committee .
2) We recognize the right of St. Synod to appoint you as temporary manager of the newly opened diocese in America. We say temporary because you have not been elected by us according to the decrees of the Exarchial Statute.
3) The Macedonian-Bulgarian emigrants in North America… cannot accept the royal decree that was issued in Sofia to confirm the decision of H. Synod for your appointment… We have the right to reject this decree not only as citizens of the USA and Canada, but also as warriors of the Macedonian liberation movement fighting for the creation of a free and independent Macedonia…”
“Your Eminence”, concludes the statement of the Central Committee of the IPO, “our attitude towards you will be determined only by your behavior towards the Macedonian liberation movement”.
In fact, why did the Central Committee of the IPO not recognize and accept Bishop Andrey as their spiritual superior?
1) “The defeatist attitude of the bishop towards the Macedonian cause, who stated before the Central Committee of the IPO that he is not interested and will not be interested in the Macedonian liberation movement in the future, because he has never been involved in politics in his life”.
2) “Our conversations with Bishop Andrey”.
Question: “What does Your Eminence think about the just struggle that the Macedonians are waging for the salvation of their enslaved and divided homeland?”
Answer: “I am a spiritual person. I don’t deal with politics. That’s why I don’t understand anything about your… works.”
Question: “Do you agree with the principle (autonomy) of a free and independent Macedonia?”
Answer: “Oh, yes, yes. I don’t mind if you manage to win her over.”
Question: “However, we are fighting today not for autonomy, but for a free and independent Macedonia, which will unite the three fragmented parts of our enslaved homeland into one independent state unit.”
Answer: “I will not interfere with you, gentlemen, in this respect. Don’t get me involved in such a thing…”.
And what annoyed the Central Committee of the IPO the most against our bishop in America, grandfather Andrei, to declare him an enemy of the Macedonian liberation movement?
This was his question to worshipers in Macedonian-Bulgarian Orthodox churches:
“Do you know what a bishop is?… He has authority from God. You must listen to me! I am your spiritual father. Yes, yes, you should listen to me, not the Indianapolis Central Committee, which is misleading you. I will pray to God to divert them from the crooked path…”.
This is how, dear friends, His Eminence the Great Bishop Andrew spoke to the trustees of the church “St. Elijah”, who must have been members of the MPO “Pellister” in the city of Akron, Ohio, when they came to him to hand him a protest statement and to tell him that they would not recognize him as their spiritual leader.
On June 13, 1963, already as Metropolitan, His Eminence Andrey was interviewed by another active Bulgarian politician – Prof. Spas Raikin, as well as by Colonel Raicho Raichev in the Metropolitan’s House in New York.
To the question “What did you do about the arrival of Pimen (Metropolitan Pimen of Nevrokop, b. b.) in America?”, Metropolitan Andrey answered: “I did not know about his arrival. A week before his arrival I received a letter from H. Synod that they would notify me by telegram of this and begged me to receive him as a guest in the metropolis, explaining that they knew about the miserable condition of our premises. It wasn’t long before I received a telegram that he was arriving.”
Raikin: “Pimen comes to America as a functionary of the Bulgarian communist government.”
Metropolitan Andrey: “He was sent here by H. Synod, not by the government.”
Question: “Your Eminence, on these issues we will never seem to agree… Tell us: how do you think the policy you lead serves our cause?”
Metropolitan Andrey: “She serves the church cause. I walk in God’s way. In God’s way, any positive cause is best served. He who is sincere and honest and walks in God’s way, he will succeed.”
Question: “What attitude would you like us to take towards the church authorities in Bulgaria?”
Answer: “Do not abuse them, do not revile them. They are reviled enough in Bulgaria.”
Raikin: “On this matter, we cannot accept your advice, since the church authorities in Bulgaria have become an instrument, a tool of the communist party, they are an emanation of communist legislation and conductors of communist propaganda to kill the spirit of resistance in the Bulgarian people.. .”.
Metropolitan Andrey: “He who serves the Church cannot serve the Communists.”
The statement of the Bulgarian secret services is interesting. Regardless of the fact that in 1962 St. The Synod of the BOC recognizes Metropolitan Andrey as the Metropolitan elected by our Diocese in America and Canada, according to the “services” he is the biggest schismatic in the Diocese and zealously follows the line of the American authorities to “liquidate the churches as the center of Bulgaria”. The secret services even testified in their reports that, according to Patriarch Kirill, “Metropolitan Andrey often does not carry out the instructions he receives from Sofia in the United States.”
However, in private conversations with the agents, Metropolitan Andrey always emphasized that he was not involved in politics and that he was faithful to the Bulgarian Holy Synod. Throughout his stay in the USA, he fought for the preservation of Bulgarian self-awareness among the emigration, but he did not support political movements and causes.
When in 1969 St. A synod divided his diocese into three and isolated him only in the city of New York, Metropolitan Andrey did not recognize the decision and made efforts to have it reversed. Because he is convinced that Ep. Kiril Yonchev, although as a bishop, ordained by the Russian synod behind the border, will not return and take the place created for the purpose by St. BOC Synod and vacant Detroit Diocese.
Mr. Momchil Metodiev, Ph.D., author of the book “New York Metropolitan Andrey. Biography, memories, diaries” (published by Riva, 2016), very accurately notes that “the reluctantly recognized New York Metropolitan Andrey concentrates in himself all the provincialism of socialist state functionaries, which they attribute to a long-time emigrant in America mystical abilities, connections and above all riches.”
Yes, this is absolutely true, and not only for the “state functionaries”, “State Security”, but also for the supreme church government, which is also oriented and influenced by the just mentioned influential authorities in our country. Because there is a lack of accurate information about Grandfather Andrew’s church service, and there is irresponsibility on the part of those who send high-ranking clerics for church obedience in America, Canada and Australia, and behind their backs spread the most shameful and slanderous things about them and point out their various weaknesses.
As the successor in the chair of the blessed New York Metropolitan Andrew, who died 50 years ago, I write these lines with a clear conscience, with the conviction that he did not defend himself, but as an apostle of Christ confidently continued until the end of his life the mission assigned to him by H. Synod of the BOC.
Here are the words of recognition and humility in the form of a confession prepared by Prof. Spas Raikin to say at the memorial service on the 3rd day (August 13, 1972) of the death of the old man in the church “St. Andrew” in New York, but the then board of the temple did not allow him to pronounce them (!):
“Grieving brothers and sisters, H. Eminence has moved to eternity. For those of us who have shared with him long years of sorrows and tribulations, adversity and success, friendship and strife, it is hard to believe that he will not return to us again… We the “old guard” feel, that his absence opens a great void in the life of our emigration… He has been at the center of incessant emigrant storms and upheavals… during the last 20 years. When there was no one to blame and judge for our own weaknesses in Bulgarian politics, we turned to blame him, and he, the unfortunate, without defending himself, but without making concessions, continued to follow his chosen path steadily… Let to confess to you that after 15 years I admitted to him that after many years of experience with Bulgarian emigrants I came to the conclusion that he was right and that my thesis was wrong…
From the beginning of his activity in America until his last breath, His Eminence defended the thesis that the Church should not be involved in politics, that the Church belongs to every Orthodox Bulgarian, that when we cross the threshold of the church chapel, we must forget our political differences and see in the face of each one of us, an Orthodox Bulgarian brother. Let’s remember that we never figured it out. We never gave him the right to defend such a thesis and pursue such a policy. We insisted that he should interfere in our political quarrels. After many years of experience with the Bulgarian political organizations and after a long rethinking of the Bulgarian church affairs, let me admit that we were all on the wrong path and that the Bishop was on the right path…
Today we can regret that the results of Metropolitan Andrew’s policy were not remarkable. Many times he celebrated the Holy Liturgy without worshippers. We all abandoned him… It is good to remember that, despite everything, this old man serves the Bulgarian language well in New York. Every Sunday at 11 o’clock in the morning, that heavy door there was opened for every Bulgarian who lost his homeland and family, it was opened for every exile looking for a place to calm down and pray. Every Sunday, H. Eminence’s feeble voice rose to pray for all of us, in and out of this chapel. Every Sunday in this million-strong city, the Bulgarian “Lord, have mercy” was heard. No one kept track of how many troubled Bulgarians, how many restless souls crossed this threshold and prayed in Bulgarian in this Bulgarian church. If this is the only merit of His Eminence, it is enough for justification before the throne of the Most High and before the petty banter of souls poisoned by partisanship… For decades, his chapel was a symbol of our Fatherland, of the homes we left thousands of kilometers from here … Grandfather Bishop maintains this chapel for all of us as a second home and a second Fatherland…
Let’s not hold him responsible for not being able to unite us. The reason is in ourselves – not in him.
Metropolitan Andrey never despaired and until the end of his life, with epic patience and Christian humility, he fulfilled his duty to God, people and Motherland with dignity.
Eternal be his memory!”
[1] Georgi Kyoseivanov (1884-1960) was Prime Minister of Bulgaria from November 23, 1935 to February 15, 1940. He headed four government cabinets during the Kingdom of Bulgaria. In his time, Ep. Andrey goes to the USA.
Biographical reference:
New York Metropolitan Andrey was born on December 31, 1886 in the village of Vrachesh, Orkhaniysko (Botevgrad), grew up in Targovishte, studied at the Sofia Theological Seminary and the Moscow Theological Academy. He worked first in Russia, then in Bulgaria, developed a great missionary activity, especially among the youth in the difficult years after the First World War. He became a monk at the age of 43 and in just two months he was ordained as a Great Bishop, vicar of Metropolitan Simeon of Varna and Preslav. In 1937 St. The BOC Synod decided to send him to lead the Bulgarian Orthodox Church communities in the USA and Canada. In 1963 he was elected metropolitan. He died in Bulgaria on August 9, 1972.
Short address of the original publication (in Bulgarian) of August 9, 2022: https://dveri.bg/8yrfu
