BOOKMARKS www.mospat.ru Moscow Patriarchate website
en.hilarion.orthodoxia.org Archbishop Hilarion
RUSSIA NOW WWW.RBTH.RU
Alfeyev website
SECTION SPONSORED BY ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA, RUSSIA
orthodoxengland.org.uk Orthodox England DISTRIBUTED WITH THE DAILY Society
11
TELEGRAPH TUESDAY_SEPTEMBER 29_2009
Religion In state-Church relations, the latter holds most of the cards Quotes
The Russian Church’s emerging role
The search for an identity that ers in Ukraine, the Moscow Pa-
began after the collapse of triarch is the spiritual leader
Communism remains a critical whom they receive as head of
question for Russians. The their church.
Orthodox Church is the only At the same time, the Russian
institution that unites Russians Church has refused as a matter
with their “near abroad” and of principle to extend its juris- SERGEY SEVOSTIANOV_RG
has survived throughout the diction to the territories of Ab- Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev
country’s long history. Today, khazia and South Ossetia, The Patriarchate’s External
the state needs the church much which were recognised as inde- Church Relations Department
more than vice-versa. pendent states by Russia.
It made its position quite clear:
‘The Church is abso-
NADEZHDA KEVORKOVA
the fact Russia has recognised lutely free in its inter-
RUSSIA NOW them as independent states
nal affairs: to elect the
does not mean they have ceased
Patriarch, our bishops
When foreigners convert to Or- to be the canonical territory of
thodoxy, more often than not it the Georgian Orthodox
– this is what we call
is because they are impressed Church.
non-interference.
by the splendour and majesty of It is difficult for the state not to For our part, we do
Russian liturgy. take into consideration the re-
not interfere in politi-
They appreciate that strict Or- sults of Russian opinion polls
cal affairs. This does
thodox priests do not connive at and even those conducted by
human weaknesses or play up to the Gallup Organisation (USA),
not mean the Church
the individual, accustomed to which show more than two
does not express
indulgence. They are attracted thirds of people support the views on various polit-
by the centuries-old spiritual idea of religious education at
ical and social issues.
tradition, which is inevitably IGOR ZAREMBO_RIA-NOVOSTI schools and chaplaincies in the
We explore theologi-
conservative and infl exible but Patriarch Kirill, in his job for less than a year, is encouraging the Church to engage with all parts of society army.
all the stronger for that. There are more people in the
cal and moral themes,
It stands in stark contrast to the Church than in the powerful
but also history and
“fl exibility” of Western Church- thodox Church Abroad (ROCA, fierce competition and the only thing that binds together corporations. current events.’
es adapting to changing cir- Church of Russian émigrés). motto “time is money”. the peoples of Russia, Ukraine, True, the majority of believers
cumstances, which in many After many years of effort by the It is not the Church which has Belarus and Moldova, as well as are not well-off: in fact, most of
ways has left them today in a Moscow Patriarchate and ac- sought union with the state in a number of other countries, de- them are rather poor.
‘The main unresolved
“social ghetto”. tive work with their compatri- recent years. Rather it is the spite their confl icts and squab- The Russian Church reveres the question remains
The Russian faith, like the Rus- ots, in May 2007 the Russian state that has been eager to bles - the only thing that makes beauty of the church building
Church property. It
sian revolution and like life in demonstrate its loyalty to the them feel they are a single and and the majesty of the service.
seems the Church has
Russia itself, never condescends Church – and perhaps to seek indissoluble whole, a part of That’s why you are more likely
to the individual. ‘The Patriarch’s ac- its counsel. that spiritual and cultural to see a church as pretty as a
a lot of property, but
In the 20 years since the collapse
tive stance on the
It turned out that after the col- space which is Russian Ortho- picture surrounded by ram-
doesn’t own it. Even
of the Soviet system, the Russian
post-Soviet scene is
lapse of the Soviet Union only dox civilisation. shackle hovels than a crooked churches that were
Church has been rebuilt from
not Great Power nos-
one institution – the Church – The Patriarch’s active stance on little church next to the fi ne vil-
restored from ruins
ruins inhabited by shuffling old had ideas, understanding of the post-Soviet scene is not las of the nouveaux riches.
women and somewhat eccentric talgia…’
remain the property of
what was happening and vi- Great Power nostalgia; it un- The crisis has wiped out world-
zealots into the most powerful sion. derlines his devotion to the ly riches. Yesterday’s money-
the state. The Church
body on the post-Soviet stage. Russia is in search of its identi- common identity of Orthodoxy, bags do not know how to live in
must have ownership
No other Russian social institu- Orthodox Church and the ty. It needs to re-establish key which has no national or state simplicity and fear prison, ruin of its property to guar-
tion has experienced such a ris- ROCA were reunited. reference points that were lost borders. and destitution.
antee indepedence
ing from the ashes. And no other Since then, Russian relics have in the Soviet period. And the During Patriarch Kirill’s recent The Church has priceless expe-
and stable income.
country has seen such an obvi- travelled to the flock outside Church, while not calling for visit to Ukraine, in the western rience. It has seen not only lux-
ous revival of faith as has oc- Russia, and then fi nally Russian the past to be restored, relies on part of the country, which is not ury, the golden decorations and
Today, the Church
curred in Russia. people in Russia too could see traditional values that under- considered to be within the rich brocade of bishops, but
continues to operate
Just recently the Kursk Root the great sacred object. pinned the life of Russian peo- Russian Orthodox Church’s also ditches, executions, mar- exclusively on dona-
icon, one of the most revered People are willing to queue up ple for centuries, whether they area of infl uence, he was met by tyrdom and total destruction.
tions, but this can’t be
Russian icons – the icon of “Rus- for two to three hours to rever- were Christians, Muslims or ad- tens of thousands of believers. The Church has emerged from
enough for widescale
sian émigrés” – returned to Rus- ently cross themselves, fall to herents of other faiths. When his addresses were broad- this desecration even more
sia for a few days for the first their knees, kiss the icon and When Patriarch Kirill is ad- cast on Ukrainian television, powerful.
charity social causes.’
time since 1920. After the 1917 leave. dressing believers he often uses they were watched by about So why should it seek favours
revolution it was taken out of God knows why people need to the concept of Holy Russia. This 30pc of the country’s viewers – from the state which so often Conversation with members of
Russia and became the main sa- do this in these days when eve- is not simply a historical refer- an absolute record. It is obvious seems to live in a state of confu- the Valdai Discussion Club
cred object of the Russian Or- ryone seems to be driven by ence. Today the Church is the that for the majority of believ- sion?
-
Mark
your calendar
Don t forget
to read
our next issue!
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16