When choosing
a name for something, like a dog or your children, a lot of thought goes into
the decision. You may talk with family members, you may seek advice from your
priest, you may even pray about the decision. All of these are noble and good, and
in the end the name that you give your child especially will be carried with
them the rest of their earthly and eternal lives. So too when I took up my keyboard
to first write this blog, I took my time in deciding a name for it. As you all
know by now if you’re reading this, the name of the blog is The Tsar’s Corner. That’s
not by accident, and certainly not a misnomer. When something is laid on your
heart, a wellspring of the Holy Spirit pours forth and if you allow it, God can
speak through you. I don’t imagine God uses this 29-year-old young man from the
spiritually inept regions of the United States to do much good, but I pray that
as God guides me on my journey, he might just give me the grace of the Holy Spirit
to do a few good things in this life. This article you are about to read is one
of those things I pray God blesses with the uttermost blessing. A chance to
share with you a passion of mine, as well as something that I have grown to
understand is the basis of how God not only rules the universe but has ordained
man to govern the earth. It is a foreign concept in our age of enlightenment,
in our age of reason, but nonetheless it is the way God has intended. I am of
course talking about monarchy. And my friends that is why this blog is called
the Tsar’s Corner. Named in honor of St. Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia.
With
that said, let’s look at the most recent Orthodox monarchy, that of Russia for
our first inspiration. Russia, that bastion of orthodoxy that has in recent
years come under so much scrutiny from the west and the United States of
America was once the mightiest of the Orthodox lands, the third Rome if you
will. Now, I am not going to go into detail over whether it is the Third Rome,
that is an entirely different argument, but it is important that it was center
for Orthodox thought from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to 1917 when it itself
fell to the abominable and morally heinous Soviet Regime. Out of Russia, great
saints of the faith rose certainly after this especially during the great
periods of persecution and tribulation that was suffered at the hands of the
soviets, but so too before this. We witness of course, Seraphim of Sarov, of
who’s name I carry. We witness the Optina Elders, Valaam had its greatest
period of spiritual growth during the reigns of the Tsars and certainly the
people were allowed to worship fully in spirit and in truth during the reigns
of the Tsars from St. Vladimir the Great, to the final Romanov monarch St. Tsar
Nicholas II. St. Vladimir, influenced by the repentance of his grandmother St.
Olga of Kiev, sought the light of Orthodoxy in Constantinople. It was there
that his emissaries said, “We knew not whether we were in Heaven or on Earth…
We only know that God dwells there among the people, and their service is
fairer than the ceremonies of other nations." The truth of Christianity was brought back to
Kievan Rus and there it stayed and has not left since.
Though
Russia was the last bastion of Orthodox Monarchy, it was not the first. We know
that from the reign of St. Constantine the Great and his mother St. Helen, that
Byzantium and the Eastern Roman Empire was a Christian nation. It was there
when the forging of the great Nicene Creed, the ecumenical councils, and when
the church fathers began to write. God was the King of the Universe, and the Emperor
was God’s chosen vessel to rule. Now this seems eerily familiar with the so
called “Vicar of Christ” title the Pope of Rome has assumed, but no, it was
different. The Emperor wasn’t chosen by God to rule over the Church and create
new teachings and new policies or to rule over the thoughts of men, but rather
to bring peace and stability to the people and govern justly and with the heart
of Christ. The Emperor would from time
to time be asked to solve disputes within the church, but as an outside adjudicator.
The Emperor was after all, not an ordained priest, but a layman, under the
guidance of a spiritual father. A confessor. The Emperor was meant to be one of
virtue. Now we know that this wasn’t often the case, many were corrupt men, as
all men are. We also know that many saints and many of the elders of the church
were at one time royalty, surrendering everything they had for the sake of Christ.
These men and their spouses were to uphold the commandments for all to follow,
to be the shining example of their people. If we compare it to today’s politicians,
we see that those men are not examples for us to follow, rather they are laughed
at, mocked, and often times are involved in things that as Christians we should
and must scorn.
Finally,
we reach the last argument I will make regarding monarchy. Heaven. Yes even
heaven is a monarchy. With Jesus as King and Sovereign over the universe, and
the angels his ministers, or as the bible more eloquently puts it, “He makes
winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.” (Psalm 104:4) I am
reminded of the Lord of Spirits podcast, of the teachings of Fathers Andrew
Damick and Stephen De Young, who as Orthodox priests proclaim the truth that Orthodoxy
has maintained, in that Jesus as the King, and the angels his ministers, sit in
council together, and final authority rests of the shoulders of God, and thus
heaven itself is a monarchy. Though God does take counsel, he being creator of
all, and omniscient, knows everything. He makes the decisions for the world
that is best for us. He being the good king, like an Aragorn of Lord of the
Rings note. Again, don’t take my word for it, rather read Isaiah 37:6 which
says, “O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the
cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You
have made heaven and earth.” Or Psalm 95:3 which says, “For the Lord is
a great God And a great King above all gods,” I might do a future post on God
of gods, and the like but now is not the time. Another verse that shows that
heaven is a monarchy, is 1 Timothy 1:17 it reads, “Now to the King eternal,
immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Psalm 47:8 says, “God reigns over the
nations, God sits on His holy throne. Even Matthew says in 4:!7, “From
that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand.” Revelation 11:15 talks about the victory that Christ won at His
Resurrection, and the establishment of the eternal Kingdom of God when it says,
“Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ;
and He will reign forever and ever.”
So
you have seen the examples of Russia and Byzantium. You have also been given
scriptural references that Heaven is a monarchy. So what do we do with this information
now that it is presented. There are always two options. The first is to reject
it. As often men do when it doesn’t fit their narrative. They reject it and
come up with a rational explanation. No, heaven is a monarchy, people should be
free to govern themselves, a king would only make matters worse. If we look at
the democracies of the world in which this argument has been made, then, it is
a lie. Countries of the west, like Britain, France, Germany, Poland, and the
United States are all spiritually weak, and feeble minded. We see this with the
politicians, and leaders of the countries allowing mob rule and for morality to
be thrown aside for comfort and ease. Places like Russia and Ukraine and the
Eastern European nations that once held fast to the Tsar are albeit spiritually
sound but struggling against the pulls of the devils and their wiles to bring
down these nations and destroy them. When power rests in the hands of one
person, decisions can be swift, and taking the council of a few chosen who have
been learned in the scriptures and writings of the Church can make the actions
of the ruler much more informed. What happens when we allow all to make a
decision is that no one agrees on anything, and they try to profit off gaining
their own interests and power. Sad really. So that is why I pray for the return
of an Orthodox Emperor, one who can unite the Commonwealth of Peoples under the
Orthodox banner of faith and restore peace and stability to the world. Not in a
one world new world order sort of way, but one that will bring honor and glory
to God and God alone.
Amen.
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