| About 5 million Russians took part in the celebration of Orthodox Easter The unity of spiritual and secular power is becoming a distinctive feature of modern Russia. The presence of the highest officials of the state at festive services has ceased to seem something unusual. And the President’s Easter congratulations fit well into the minds of Russians on the same shelf as the Patriarch’s Easter address. Moreover, they were talking about approximately the same thing.
Vladimir Putin noted the fruitful activities of the Russian Orthodox Church, aimed “at preserving civil peace and harmony in the country, solving pressing social problems”, at “strengthening the authority of family values in society, and the moral education of the younger generation.” And Patriarch Alexy II called on “to preserve chastity, the internal integrity of the soul created in the image and likeness of God,” called on every Christian to “increase their labors, so that our society is freed from sin and unbelief, so that bitterness, injustice, any misfortunes and trials are softened by the kindness of our shower".
It is noteworthy that in terms of citation ratings in relation to Easter celebrations, Vladimir Putin was even ahead of Alexy II and took an honorable second place after Jesus Christ in the list of people most frequently mentioned in the media in the Yandex News collection.
According to sociologists from the Yuri Levada Analytical Center, about 80% of the population celebrated Easter 2006 in one way or another. About 76% of Russians surveyed painted eggs, 39% bought Easter cakes, 32% went to visit on the occasion of the holiday, about 7% decided to give gifts to loved ones. Despite the assurances of church representatives that Easter Sunday is not the most suitable day for visiting cemeteries, almost a quarter of our fellow citizens still went to the resting places of their loved ones. The municipalities of all major cities have provided special buses for Russians who are not privy to all the intricacies of the Orthodox canons.
For the majority of residents of our country, the Holy Resurrection of Christ was still somewhat formal. Sociologists predicted that no more than 7% of Russians would attend the all-night vigil. In reality it turned out that it was even less. As the press center of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs stated yesterday, “5 million people took part in festive services and religious processions in 8.7 thousand Russian churches and temples.” Easter was celebrated most widely in the capital. As representatives of the Moscow City Internal Affairs Directorate told reporters, about 125 thousand people came to churches and held a religious procession.
The country's main service began on Saturday around midnight in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where the Holy Fire, which descended on Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, was also delivered to Moscow on a special flight. It was here that the Russian political elite was present along with the highest officials of the Russian Orthodox Church. And he was not just present, but even participated in some parts of the Easter action. Thus, in particular, having completed the first part of the Easter service, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church congratulated Vladimir Putin on the holiday, presented him with Easter gifts and kissed the president three times in a Christian manner. The Patriarch said that while visiting Moscow churches, he saw thousands of Muscovites in a joyful mood. “Today, when asked if they have everything for life, they answer: “Everything is there.” Just a few years ago, such optimism was not felt,” the patriarch noted and wished Vladimir Putin that the Lord would strengthen him in his feat for the good of the people. Alexy II also congratulated Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, head of the presidential administration Sergei Sobyanin, presidential plenipotentiary representative in the Central Federal District Georgy Poltavchenko and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. In turn, the country's leadership did not leave the patriarch without a gift. Vladimir Putin presented Alexy II with a large bouquet of white roses. Kirill VASILENKO |
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