An unexpected reader discussion about Orthodoxy

On December 8, 2003, among the letters of Izvestia readers, the opinion of the war veteran L.I. Lopatnikov regarding the annual celebrations in honor of the Battle of Moscow in 1941 was published. veterans was held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Referring to his atheistic convictions (formed not only as a result of Soviet upbringing, but also the unworthy behavior of clergymen in the USSR, in particular, cooperation with state security agencies) and the unwillingness "to annoy the believers who I respect in a holy place for them with their obviously non-Slavic appearance " , the author of the letter announces his refusal to participate in the solemn event and indicates that he is probably not alone in this situation.

The letter provoked an unexpected reaction. On December 17, a remark by Yulia Gerasimova was also published in the same place, who in the words about "non-Slavic appearance" saw statements that " a) all Orthodox Slavs, b) all Orthodox are nationalists. The first is incorrect, and the second is already an insult and not only to individuals, but also of the Orthodox faith . Yu. Gerasimova believes that such statements do not at all indicate respect for the Orthodox, she defends the Orthodox Church from accusations of repressions against the Old Believers in the era of Alexei Mikhailovich and Peter the Great and in cooperation with the KGB in Soviet times. (In turn, this caused another letter dedicated to the already historical crimes of the ROC).

However, in our opinion, it was not this, albeit not quite correct, statement of L.I. Lopatnikov that should have been the subject for discussion. Not to mention that, perhaps, he knows about the negative attitude towards "non-Slavic appearance" in some churches.

More interesting is the very fact of holding such an event in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The veteran quite reasonably pointed out that he, like many other participants in the battle of Moscow, people of various nationalities, beliefs and religions, are actually being imposed - moreover, it is not clear out of thoughtlessness or consciously - if not Orthodox teaching, then at least communion with an Orthodox religious organization. I would like this discussion to become the subject of another section of our site.

**Lopatnikov L.I. Orthodox defenders of Moscow // Izvestiya. 2003. December 8.

Gerasimova Julia. What kind of respect is there // Ibid. December 17th.

Yasko George. We ask you not to shed blood // Ibid. December 22.**