Vsevolode Spiller

Written in 1966, this document is a memorandum addressed by Archpriest Vsevolod Spiller to Metropolitan Nikodim of Leningrad, translated and slightly condensed by Nicolas Lossky. It constitutes a first-hand account of the internal situation of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Soviet regime. The text analyzes two major issues: the canonical formation of the young episcopate, drawn from an atheist background and bearing a monistic conception of law that excludes any autonomous ecclesiastical legislation, and the consequences of the synodal and conciliar decisions of 1961 on parish structure. Spiller shows that these decisions, by canonically marginalizing the rector in favor of a lay executive body, weakened parish life. He nonetheless argues that the council of 1961 preserved a minimal canonical continuity and opened the way for a necessary revision, grounded in the principle of conciliarity.