THE THIRD ROME IN HISTORY AND IN PROPHECY
Can it really be that no one today is even slightly familiar with the "Povest'
o belom klobuke" ("The Tale Of The White Cowl") -- that very same Cowl
which was placed upon the head of Patriarch St. Tikhon, nearly a
century ago?
The "Povest'" (which is an integral part of Russian Church history)
clearly states that St. Constantine was baptized by Pope St.
Sylvester shortly after the miraculous victory that Christ gave
him over his pagan rival, Maxentius, at the battle on the Milvian
Bridge (AD 312) and not "on his deathbed" by Eusebius of Nicomedia, as modern "scholarship" so likes to assert.
For that service, in gratitude, Constantine bestowed upon St. Sylvester
the dignity of wearing a White Cowl, which is symbolic of the purity of
the Orthodox Faith and the Radiant Third-day Resurrection of Christ.
Soon after the Church in Rome fell to the Appollinarian heresy, the
then-Pope, commanded to do so by an Angel of the Lord who appeared to
him in a threatening dream, sent the Cowl to the Patriarch of
Constantinople.
Later, a "radiant youth" (also an Angel of the Lord) appeared to the
then-Patriarch of Constantinople and commanded that he send the Cowl on
to the Holy Russian Land:
"For Old Rome hath fallen away from the glory and the faith of Christ
through pride and self-will; in New Rome, which is in the City of
Constantine, the Christian faith will likewise perish through Hagarene
(Muslim) violence; while upon the Third Rome, which is in the Russian
Land, the Grace of the Holy Spirit hath shone forth" ... for "there
truly is the faith of Christ glorified" ... "and honoured ... more than
anywhere else on earth".
"The Tale Of The White Cowl" further predicts the establishment of a
patriarchate in Rus' ("... and the great rank of Patriarch ... will be
given to the Russian Land in its time, and that nation will be called
radiant [or: Holy] Rus'").
This prophecy would only find fulfillment in 1589, one hundred thirty
six years after the "infidel Turks" broke down the gates of the City of
Constantine and a century and a half after the Greeks had betrayed
their Faith in Florence.
With the establishment of the Russian Patriarchate, the White Cowl
became the headgear of Russia's Patriarchs (St. Tikhon being the last
to wear it legitimately).
Thus, the Third Rome was spiritually linked with the First, by way of
the Second (II [IV] Esdras 11). And, inasmuch as "a Fourth [Rome] there shall not be", the
"Povest'" informs us that "at the end [of the Age] all Christian realms
will come together into a single Russian Tsar'dom [i.e., the Third Rome
resurrected], on account of the Orthodox Faith ... and the Lord will
exalt the Russian Tsar' over many nations...".
This prophecy was also passed on to us by, among others, St. Seraphim
of Sarov, who informs us that even the antichrist will tremble at the
mere mention of the Russian Tsar'!
We know, for example (according to the prophecies of St. Feofan of
Poltava) that "[i]n Russia, the startsy [elders] used to say, through
the will of the people, the Monarchy and Autocratic rule will be
restored. The Lord has forechosen the future Tsar'.
"He will be a man of burning faith, of brilliant mind and of iron will.
First of all, he will bring about order in the Orthodox Church by
removing all the false, heresy-preaching and lukewarm hierarchs. And
very many indeed -- almost all, with few exceptions -- will be those
removed by him: while new ones, true and steadfast hierarchs, will take
their place.
"Through the female line, he will be from the lineage of the Romanovs.
Russia will be a mighty state, but only for 'a short time'. ... After
that, the antichrist will come into the world, with all the horrors of
the end, as described in the 'Apocalypse'."
Elsewhere, St. Feofan states:
"Oh, Russia, Russia! How terribly has she sinned before the loving kindness of the Lord.
"The Lord God favoured Russia, and He gave her that which He had not
given to a single other nation on earth. And this nation turned out to
be so ungrateful.
"She left Him; she rejected Him; and it is therefore that the Lord has
given her over to be tormented by devils. The devils took up their
residence in the souls of men, and the nation of Russia became
possessed; literally, devil-ridden.
"And all the terrible things that we hear about what went on -- and
what continues to go on -- in Russia: all the sacrilege, all the
militant atheism and theomachy, -- all of this stems from her being
possessed by devils.
"But, through the inexpressible mercy of God, this possession will pass
and the nation will be healed. The nation will turn to repentance; to
faith.
"That will occur, which none expects. Russia will be resurrected from the dead, and the entire world will be astonished.
"Orthodoxy in her will be reborn and triumph. But that Orthodoxy which had existed formerly will be no more.
"The great startsy have said that Russia will be reborn; that the
people themselves will restore the Orthodox Monarchy. A mighty Tsar'
will be placed upon the Throne by God Himself.
"He will be a great reformer, and he will be strong in the Orthodox
faith. He will cast down the unfaithful hierarchs of the Church.
"He himself will be an outstanding personality, with a pure and holy
soul. He will possess a strong will. He will be of the Romanov Dynasty,
through the maternal line.
"He will be God's Chosen One, obedient to the Lord in all things. He will transform Siberia.
"But this Russia will exist only for a very short time. Soon thereafter
will come to pass that of which the Apostle John speaks in his
'Apocalypse'."
For more information concerning "Orthodox Prophets and Prophecies
Concerning Russia and the 'End-Times'" (in both English and Russian) go to: http://www.geocities.com/kitezhgrad/prophets/index.html
For more information concerning "The Russian Concept Of Orthodox Christian Monarchy" (in both English and Russian) go to: http://www.geocities.com/kitezhgrad/monarchy/index.html