Епископ Вальтер Фрир (in memoriam 346 ) (1863–1938) 347

Following the early and, according to human understanding, untimely death of our American friend, Fr. F. Gavin, we were destined this year, following him, to lose our beloved and honored English friend and comrade-in-arms, the gallant Bishop Freer. Death extinguished the quietly burning torch, and the bright old man departed to the Lord in peace, venerating his fathers. General respect for him as a spiritual authority is also combined with a warm personal feeling, as if in him we had lost not only one of the spiritual leaders, but also our own faithful and affectionate friend or relative. Such was his personal charm, which simultaneously combined high spirituality with subtle culture. Spiritual aristocracy was combined in him with simplicity, modesty and humility, illuminated by childish gaiety and friendliness. His appearance invariably caused general joy and involuntary movement towards him. I happened to know both of these pillars of the Anglican episcopate, Bishop Gore and Bishop Freer, who were closely connected in many ways personally and by continuity. And both of them were marked by spiritual freedom and special personal nobility, and both of them belonged to the highest representatives of Anglican theology. Bishop Gore is one of the leading theological minds in England in the 19th and 20th centuries; Bishop Freer was a tireless worker in the field of theological research, mainly liturgics. His last work under the characteristic title “The Anaphora or Great Eucharistic Prayer. An eirenical Study" was published shortly before his death, which found him with pen in hand in the monastic cell in his beloved monastery of the Community of Ressurrection (Mirfield). But his significance for the Anglican, as well as for the entire Universal Church of Christ, lies not only in the compilation of “irinical” studies, but also in his “irinical” activities aimed at the reunification of the now divided Church of Christ. A strict and responsible Anglican bishop, he was also a bearer of the universal spirit. He was an active participant in the “Malin Conversations” of Anglicans and Roman Catholics, which took place under the chairmanship of Cardinal Mercier. In Malin, one might say, the first meeting of the Anglican Church with the Roman Church took place, after the unfortunate rejection of the Anglican ordinations in the bull of Pope Leo XIII. Although these meetings could not produce tangible results, they, of course, achieved intangible, spiritual results. The main merits of Bishop Freer on the paths of “ecumenism” crowned the last years of his life, his blooming old age. This was his work for the vital rapprochement of Anglicanism and Russian Orthodoxy, not on the basis of hierarchical negotiations and agreements, but on the basis of the organic fusion of both church bodies at certain, albeit limited points. Everyone knows that the last 10 years have been marked by the emergence of an intense rapprochement between Anglo-Catholics and Orthodox Christians (mainly Russian youth). It is expressed in annual conferences, the characteristic feature of which is not only theological discussion, but also systematic liturgical communication, expressed in the daily service of the Orthodox Liturgy and the Anglican Mass (alternately), together with other services, with the general prayerful participation of all members. This liturgical rapprochement, which is generally something new in the life of the Universal Church, invariably found one of its inspired leaders in the person of Bishop Freer, who did not shy away from the difficult and responsible questions that arose along these paths. One of these indicative subjects of discussion was, by the way, the question of mutual participation in the Eucharistic Meal within the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius, which was formed from regular participants in the conferences. This question still remains unresolved, but it should be noted that it found in Bishop Freer a supportive and spiritually fearless participant in the various stages of its discussion. 348 Bishop Freer, the first president of our Fellowship, was, as it were, its patriarch and, we believe, left the indelible stamp of his spirit on it. He also appeared as patriarch for the purely theological rapprochement of Russian and Anglican theologians. Under his chairmanship, in a peaceful and friendly atmosphere, our theological conference took place in April 1936 in his native Mirfield in the Community of Resurrection, where his ashes (like those of Bishop Gore) now rest. (At this conference I also read a report on sophiology). In the spring of 1936, during the Anglo-Russian Conference in Paris, a prophetic vision was revealed of what those who pray “for the unification of all” always yearn for. In the Paris Russian Cathedral (on rue Daru) one could see the Anglican bishop along with his clergy in the middle of the church performing a short service (a type of prayer service). It was the president of the Anglo-Russian Fellowship, Bishop Freer, who was given the opportunity at the end of his life to experience the anticipation of the joy of removing confessional boundaries in prayer. The Anglican bishop, who always loved and honored the Russian Church (he visited Russia in his youth and knew some of our language), united in prayer with the Russian Orthodox people. Bishop Freer was himself a living emblem of the future. With a feeling of grateful love we worship his ashes. May God rest his bright soul! In memory (lat.) – Approx. edit Published by “The Path”... No. 56. May-June 1938. P.66–68 – Approx. edit I personally feel grateful to Bishop Freer, not only for the sympathetic attention which he invariably gave to the idea of ​​eucharistic communion between the members of the Fraternity, which I defended, but also for the friendly moral support given to me personally when the movement raised against my sophiological doctrine began to exert influence in some English circles. It can be said that thanks to him (as well as to other English friends) our young Fellowship remained unaffected by this movement.