EXILED BY ANGLICANS?
Christopher Howse investigates
claims that one group of Christians is throwing another onto the street
AT NOON the melancholy Slavonic chant of the 10.30 liturgy still rose and fell from behind the screen of icons. Fifty or 60 people were standing in the body of the church, periodically crossing themselves and bowing low — some old ladies in long overcoats stooping down to the floor and touching it with the fingers of one hand. One of the few who sat was an old man with white hair and a beard and carefully brushed black clothes and shoes. I recog- nised him from the bus queue in Shepherd's Bush, for this was not Russia, but Emperor's Gate, near Gloucester Road station, in London.
In the porch of this church, dedicated to the Dormition (the Orthodox equivalent of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary), is a notice: 'We are being sent into exile again. Save our church.' The Church of England wants to turn the Russians out on 31 January and redevelop the site. Those with suspicious minds think the timing is no chance, for a not quite simple reason. A Commonly held version of events begins with the fact that the congregation which worships here belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile, not the official Russian Orthodox Church which takes its orders from the Patriarch of Moscow. It is widely recognised that the hierarchy of the Church in the Soviet Union has been Complaisant to the regime to the point of subservience. But, now that the rulers of Russia are no longer so brutish as they were, so the theory goes, there seems little reason why the members of the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile should not be reconciled with their brethren in England, led by Bishop Anthony, under the jurisdic- tion of the Moscow Patriarchate. So it is reasonable to ask the congregation at the Church of the Dormition to leave. Princess Andrew of Russia (whose late husband was the Tsar's nephew) takes a keen interest in the affair of the church at Emperor's Gate, buf does not subscribe to the politico-ecclesiastical conspiracy the- ory. 'They have always wanted flats to be built,' she told me. `I wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury just before he went to Kiev, the holy city of Russia, and he told me the building was not under his
jurisdiction, but he would do what he could. I feel sorry for the dear, dear old people of 80 or 90 who are just about able to walk home from Easter services, but couldn't manage a longer journey.'
The story is more complicated than many of the parishioners seem to realise. For one thing, the church is not technically the property of the Church of England, but of a body called the Fidelity Trust. The trust acquired the church, a redundant nonconformist building of unprepossessing external appearance, on behalf of the nearby Anglican church of St Stephen's. When, 30 years ago, it was leased to the Russians,- it had been used as a furniture store. The lease ran out ten years ago, but the Russians were allowed to stay while they looked for an alternative.
Moreover, it is not true that the church is to be pulled down to make way for flats. Local people objected, and planning per- mission has now been granted for internal changes only. The idea is to install a caretaker's flat, turn the nave into a parish hall for St Stephen's and let a couple of offices upstairs. The Treasurer of the church of the Dormition, Mr Gregory Wolcough, admits with engaging candour that 'we are not poor, though we are not rich. We want to buy a plot of land in West London to build a Russian church from scratch.' Reports that a plot in Chiswick has been secured are premature, though. Nor does Mr Wolcough see it as the Church of England worshipping Mammon. 'I think it's going to cost them £750,000 putting the place right, so their returns are going to take some time to come back. Commercially speaking, they have been generous to us.'
The whole affair seems to have thrived 'Fancy a game of squash?' on what Stalinists would term 'errors and distortion'. This week it was reported that Grand Duke Wladimir, the heir of the imperial throne, flew in to Britain to appeal for money to build a new church. But the equivalent of a churchwarden of the Dormition, Sophia Goodman, denies that this was the reason for his visit (he went to a grand emigre ball where tongues wagged to the press). Not only that, he is not generally conceded the title of Grand Duke, which goes to grandsons of tsars. And hardly anyone thinks he is the heir to the throne. These matters are important to Russians in this country, just as the Tolstoy family get hot under the collar when the now well known historian calls himself Count Nikolai, rather than Mr Nikolai Tolstoy-Miroslaysky.
Five years ago it seemed the problem might solve itself by the congregation dying off. But more young people are coming along each Sunday. Visitors from the Soviet Union are often told by their priests at home (who suffer under the yoke of compromised leadership from their own bishops) to go to the church at Emperor's Gate, rather than those run by the official Russian Orthodox in London. 'It is odd,' comments Princess Andrew, 'that at a time when they are opening churches in Russia, visitors to England are being told that the next time they come our church will be closed.'
Through all the economic complexities of the affair, among the Russian worship- pers there glows a feeling approaching resentment that the Church of England has not been able to help them more. Their bishop, Mark (who is based in Germany) appealed when he was last here to Dr Graham Leonard, the Bishop of London, to find a church they could use. At one point there was an offer of St Botolph's, in the City, but even the Russians admit that it would be hard to transform a Grade I listed Georgian interior into a liturgically suitable Orthodox church without vanda- lising it. Other offers also failed.
`Both sides probably should have acted differently in the first place,' Mrs Good- man admits. 'We've got rather a bad reputation for ourselves, staying on ten years after our lease expired. But there is no reason why we should not now keep to any temporary agreement to use a different place until a new church is built.' It is her opinion that St Philip's and, more particu- larly, the 'unapproachable' Fidelity Trust have acted unreasonably and uncaringly.
On the Church of England side there is disappointment that the help that has been given the Russians over the years is now unappreciated. There are no villains in the affair, only victims. The Vicar of St Stephen's must be feeling like the Warden in Trollope's novel — accused of greed when he was only doing his job conscien- tiously. In conclusion Princess Andrew says, 'Something will happen to help us. I still believe in miracles, I really do.'
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