I did not know such details: it turns out that in the early twentieth century Orthodox Christians in America were accused of being agents of the Russian state

I did not know such details: it turns out that in the early twentieth century Orthodox Christians in America were accused of being agents of the Russian state. In 1901, when Saint Tikhon of Moscow was a bishop in the United States, he called “meaningless words” the charge that anyone who embraces Orthodoxy becomes a Russian subject and is forcibly made to swear allegiance to the Tsar.

In a letter of 1899 to Mr Sheldon Jackson, Saint Tikhon answers the accusation that his mission in Alaska was Russifying that land, calling it wholly false:

“We pray for the Russian Tsar only because he is the patron of the Orthodox Church, and it is by his generosity that the local Orthodox clergy and schools are supported; but we compel no one to pray for him as our ruler in our land. On the contrary, alongside the prayers for him, prayers are offered for the President of the United States.”

In his Discourse at the consecration of the church in the settlement of Vostok in Canada Saint Tikhon dwells on these accusations at length.

…even now the voice of those who call is heard. These callers are the successors and continuers of the work of the apostles, the archpastors and pastors sent by them.

In recent years their voice has resounded in your country too, and to this saving call some of those living here have responded, while others, neglecting it, went off to their village and their trading, and others even vexed those who called. And indeed, how many insults, lies and slanders the followers of the wisdom of God sometimes have to hear here.

We are called, echoing the Latins, “schismatics”, called so by those who themselves, some three hundred years ago, broke away from the faith of their forefathers, from our common mother, the Church.

They accuse us of sowing discord by our preaching, of introducing confusion and division among those who until now were one in faith and in kin. But for this division we are not to blame, but those who, from various motives, do not heed our voice and do not wish to follow the truth. For Christ the Saviour Himself bears witness that by His preaching He brought to the earth not peace but a sword, for He set the son against his father and the daughter against her mother. But is it anyone other than men themselves who are to blame for this?

They slander us, saying that we convert people to Orthodoxy with money, that we buy ourselves followers. We dare to say that if this were so, we would have far more followers than we have now; for to many here the “golden calf” is an “idol”. All our buying consists in this: that we sometimes supply the poorest churches with the most necessary utensils, and also give some support to our own parishes, in many places less than that which the “most reverend fathers” receive from their spiritual sheep.

They call our church “tsar-glorifying”, say that whoever becomes a member of it becomes a Russian subject, invent that we make people swear allegiance to the Russian Sovereign, and so on: insane utterances. And all this has for its sole pretext that, alongside the local rulers, at divine service we mention the name of the Russian Tsar, as the most pious Sovereign, patron and protector of the Orthodox Church.

In their blind malice our opponents do not confine themselves to vexing us with words alone; there have been occasions when they were ready to offend by deed the servants of the Wisdom of God who called them to the spiritual supper. But let us leave those who wrong us to the judgement of God