:ohvey:
2003.11.20 Pravda/RIAN:
Pravda, Russia
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/364/11326_church.html
Is the Russian Orthodox Church Opening the Door? - 11/20/2003 17:13
The dialogue between Orthodox Christians and Catholics and Christians of
other confessions is proceeding on a regular basis but it has its ups and
downs. There were two major events in Novembers: the second meeting of
President Vladimir Putin with Pope John Paul II, and the visit of a
delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), which began on
November 18. The ROCA split with the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1920s,
when revolutionary atheists came to power in Russia till the end of times,
as they thought.
However, these two events cannot fling the door wide open. Putin's
meeting with the Pope was an element of political etiquette. Mikhail
Gorbachev, the first and only president of the Soviet Union, and Russia's
first president, Boris Yeltsin, visited John Paul II to promote state
rather than religious relations. But it was a good sign in our mad world.
Regrettably, the hypothetical reunification of the two Orthodox churches
could strengthen their isolation from the rest of the Christian world. The
conservative Russian Orthodox Church Abroad has denounced ecumenism as heresy.
Some observers believe that a broader dialogue with the Roman Catholic
and Protestant churches could encourage awareness of modern realities in
the Russian Orthodox Church.
Why does the Russian church prefer isolation and rapprochement with the
ROCA to broad dialogue with other Christian confessions? One of the main
reasons is the numerous Russian phobias, in particular the fear that the
Roman Catholic Church wants to absorb the Russian Orthodox Church, says
Rev. Georgy Chistyakov, priest of the Church of Saints Kozma and Damian
(Stoleshnikov Pereulok) and dean of the Church of Virgin Mary in the
Pediatric Republican Clinical Hospital. (Chistyakov is also board member of
the Russian Biblical Society, rector of the Open Orthodox University, and a
prominent historian, theologian and public figure.)
In his opinion, the top hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, though
they zealously protect their interests, would nevertheless agree to talk
with Roman Catholics. On November 10, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the newly
appointed representative of the Holy See in Russia, met Metropolitan
Kirill, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian
Orthodox Church. They agreed to carry on talks to improve relations between
their churches and mapped co-operation prospects in the social sphere. But
only six months ago the Metropolitan denounced the Roman Catholic Church
for unethical attempts to change its structure in Russia. The reason for
that accusation was apparent: a struggle for spheres of influence.
No wonder relations between the two churches are so complicated and have
more than one layer. On the one hand, members of the Holy Synod and
Patriarch Alexy II are children of the era when religion in Russia survived
largely thanks to the powerful assistance of the Roman Catholic Church.
Besides, there were many more Catholic dioceses and flocks before the
Bolshevik Revolution, yet the churches did not clash.
On the other hand, we cannot expect relations to improve rapidly at the
level of ordinary people. One can cite numerous examples when local
governments, the press and provincial public attack people of other
confessions. "The strong rejection of Catholicism by believers exists at
the psychological level," says Rev. Chistyakov.
There is one more side to the problem and it does not clash with either
of the former two. Polls show that 75% of Russians believe Catholics and
Orthodox Christians can coexist peacefully and 60% of the respondents have
a positive attitude to the potential visit of John Paul II to Russia.
Regarding the problem from the psychological angle, George Chistyakov
believes that Orthodoxy is looking into the past in terms of structure and
guidelines. It sees the modern world as an era of degenerating belief, a
time when the world is departing from God. Personal will to suffer
privations, fast and pray are very important in the Russian Orthodox
Church. So, fervent believers who try to apply the principles of
Christianity in secular life will resort to Catholic experience simply
because there is no such experience in the history of Orthodoxy.
The first groups of young families have appeared in Russia who call
themselves the Movement of Cana of Galilee and emulate the Catholic
association in France. We now also have the movement Mothers in Prayer,
also modelled after a Catholic movement. Monastic life outside the walls of
monasteries and nunneries is not widespread in Russia and this is where we
can draw on the experience of other confessions, too.
"Contacts between Orthodox believers and Catholics are developing where
life is churning, where human beings remain Christian believers in the
midst of daily routine," says Rev. Chistyakov. The country has opted for
Western guidelines in its secular life and is gradually becoming integrated
in international organisations. But religion in Russia is still dominated
by anti-Western sentiments. This situation is in serious contradiction with
modern realities.
Theologians are coming to believe that the Orthodox Church will have to
review its dogmas or else it will lose the public's trust. Sergei Filatov,
director of the project the Encyclopaedia of Modern Religious Life in
Russia, says the importance of religious rituals will decline under the
influence of current processes, but the role of social service to any
religion will grow. It should be said that the ritual side of believing is
so strong in the Russian Orthodox Church that even non-believers frequently
strive to comply with them.
The Russian Orthodox Church joined the Ecumenical Movement in 1961. It
energetically supports the peacekeeping actions of the World Council of
Churches and maintains a dialogue with its participants also on other
issues. "It is believed in Russia that Christians from all churches stand
in opposition to the modern a-religious world," says Rev. Chistyakov. When
elaborating the European Constitution, Catholics, Orthodox Christians and
Protestants joined forces to demand that Christianity be mentioned in it as
the spiritual source of the European civilisation. In this age of secular
thinking, we should support each other because "we all stand for firm
families, against abortion, drugs and mass culture, which makes human
beings the slaves of the consumerist civilisation," the priest holds.
"The life of a Christian is not in denying himself or herself meat on
fasting days but in carrying on Christian ideals, so that they triumph not
only in personal but also in societal life," says Rev. Chistyakov. "When
Orthodox Christians come to see this, they will also understand that
ecumenism and co-operation of believers of different confessions is the
only road for Christians."
So, is the Russian Orthodox Church opening the door? It seems so. But
this process will be complicated and slow, owing to internal confessional
and national features. And it would be useless to try to speed it up. As
the Russian saying goes, "Move slowly but surely."
Yelena Shakhova, RIAN
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