Representatives of Russian religious organizations talk about plans to build a Vedic center in Moscow

On November 3, 2003, in the Bolshoy Gorod newspaper, the famous Orthodox publicist Deacon Andrei Kuraev expressed his attitude towards the plans for the construction of a Hare Krishna temple in Moscow. According to him, “this center is a natural payment for the status of Moscow as one of the world capitals. But Moscow is not London. The influx of Indians into England is retribution for centuries of British expansion, but Russia has not sinned in anything before India and therefore should not become a hostage some kind of response mission."

In his article “Will it be possible to make sacrifices to Indian gods in Moscow?”, published on the website of the Orthodox news agency “Russian Line” on November 4, Deacon Andrei Kuraev spoke more fully on this issue. In his opinion, “it would be strange to open a Hindu religious center in Moscow without waiting for and achieving an improvement in the situation of Christians in India itself.”

In addition, writes A. Kuraev, “one cannot help but notice the asymmetry in Russian-Indian religious relations. If an Orthodox church is built in India, it will be a temple for Russian women who married Hindus during the era of Indo-Soviet friendship. But it will not become the center of preaching Orthodoxy among Hindus.

However, if a Hindu sanctuary appears in today’s Moscow, then its priests will by no means limit themselves to working with the Hindu community.”

A. Kuraev believes that “the state helps the pagan cult. Namely, the cult, not the culture of India.

If Hindus living in Moscow need a place for their prayer meetings, then such a place could well be provided to them by the Indian Embassy on its territory (this is how Orthodox parishes are created today in Beijing or Rome).”

“In any case, on the eve of the city hall elections, there is no need to rush to register pagan gods in our city,” concludes A. Kuraev.

The Interreligious Council of Russia, which unites representatives of “traditional” religions, also spoke out against the construction of a Hare Krishna temple. Secretary of the Council Roman Silantiev said: “It is surprising that a non-traditional religious organization proposes to build a religious building in the center of Moscow, which in size will be comparable to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.” In addition, the representative of the MSR expressed concern that the new building will be used by the Hare Krishnas “for even more active efforts to convert residents and guests of the Russian capital to their faith.”

Priest Mikhail Dudko expressed the point of view of the Moscow Patriarchate. He noted that the number of followers of Krishna's teachings in Moscow "is approximately equal to the number of people for which the future temple is designed." This, according to the priest, will put the Hare Krishnas in an exceptional position, since representatives of other religions have nothing similar. Mikhail Dudko also recalled that it would be worth asking the opinion of people living near the place where the temple is supposed to be built.

The MSR representative noted that in Moscow there is a large community of Sikhs - followers of the traditional Hindu religion, and it would be better to provide them with a place for construction. The Sikhs themselves do not consider the Hare Krishnas to be co-religionists, and as one of the community leaders, Joli Gurdeep, said, they see “nothing good” in the construction of a Hare Krishna temple.

On January 29, the MSR again opposed the construction. Members of the council's presidium on this issue: the head of the DECR MP, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, the chief rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar (FEOR), the deputy chairman of the Central Muslim Spiritual Directorate of Russia, the mufti of the Perm region, Muhammadgali Khuzin, outlined their position on this issue during a press conference dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the MSR. (Note that during this press conference, members of the MSR also expressed their position on theintroduction of the subject “OPK” and similar courses on the basics of other religions in secular schools, as well as preparations for the II Interreligious Peacemaking Forum in March 2004. )

According to Met. Kirill, “the construction of a huge Hare Krishna center, a kind of architectural and cultural dominant in Moscow, would be wrong. This does not correspond to the cultural tradition and will be incomprehensible to most residents of the capital.” “Let them build, but respect cultural traditions,” he added. “Everything should be proportionate so as not to arouse negative sentiments in Russian society.”

Berl Lazar stated that “there are accepted world religions, and one must beware of the aggressive preaching of faiths that are non-traditional for Russia on its territory.” In his opinion, “unfortunately, many sects are active in Russia. The authorities should carefully look at what activities the Hare Krishnas are engaged in.”

Mufti Khuzin spoke in the same spirit: “Russia is a country with a thousand-year tradition of Orthodoxy, as well as Islam, Judaism and Buddhism, and the construction of a large Hare Krishna center in its capital would be to some extent blasphemous.”

On March 24, 2004, the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church MP, priest Mikhail Dudko, and the executive secretary of the MSR, Roman Silantiev, again stated that the construction of the temple would infringe on the rights of “traditional” confessions for Russia and would contribute to the missionary activities of a “non-traditional” religious organization for both Russia and India.” Society for Krishna Consciousness."

In April, Patriarch Alexy II said in an interview with Interfax that the Society for Krishna Consciousness seriously threatens interreligious peace in Russia.

Sources

• "BIG CITY": Sokolov A. Khodynka passions // Portal-Credo.ru. 2003. November 3.
• In Moscow they are arguing whether or not to exist a Hare Krishna temple on Khodynka // NEWSru.com. 2003. November 11.
• The Interreligious Council of Russia is against the construction of a large Hare Krishna center in Moscow // Sedmitsa.ru. 2004. January 29.
• The Hare Krishna temple should not disturb the architectural and spiritual appearance of the capital // NEWSru.com. 2004. March 24.
• The Krishna Consciousness Society threatens interreligious peace in Russia, says Alexy II // Religion and Society. 2004. April 13.