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Dobrodeev with Ernst will teach everyone Orthodoxy

May 11, 2006 Svetlana Solodovnik

Yesterday's news that the government approved the new composition of the Commission on Religious Associations under the Cabinet of Ministers and the international meetings of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church allow us to draw quite certain conclusions about the further development of relations between the church and the state and the ideological component of our near future. As, probably, about which direction the foreign policy of Russia will mutate.



In the interval of the May holidays, the Orthodox Catholic Conference on the topic “Give the soul of Europe was held in Vienna. The mission and responsibility of the churches ”, which clearly fixed the success of the Russian Orthodox Church in the international arena. Both Patriarch Alexy II and Papa Benedict XVI addressed the conference participants with a welcoming speech. “For the first time after so many years of confrontation, representatives of both churches sat at one table and together discussed the most important issue of how the churches could continue to participate in the construction of a united Europe. I think this is a historical event, ”so, in an interview with the correspondent of the Hedgehog, one of its participants from the Catholic side, the director of the Moscow Cultural and Educational Center“ Theological Library ”, Jean-France Tiri, appreciated the meeting.

However, during the period of very cool relations with Catholics, which began at the turn of the century with the introduction of full-fledged dioceses in Russia instead of temporary administrators, the Moscow Patriarchate actively established ties with Europe. At the end of 2002 , the permanent representation of the Russian Orthodox Church under European international organizations in Brussels began to work, which has since turned into a solid information center. It produces the EUROPAICA electronic ballot in three languages ​​- English, French and German - and the Russian -speaking application “Orthodoxy in Europe” with materials of both news and analytical nature. The main topics are the role of religion in modern Europe, the relationship between religious values ​​and secular humanism ... 95 bills of the ballot has already been published.

The head of the representative office, Bishop of Vienna and Austrian Hilarion (Alfeev) and its other employees, as far as possible, participate in the discussions that are being conducted in the institutions of the European Union. Sometimes they even manage to influence the vote. According to Vladyka Hilarion , at the beginning of last year, the European Council was preparing a resolution that legitimized the so -called active euthanasia, that is, the killing of a seriously ill patient with a doctor. A few weeks before the meeting, at which a discussion of the resolution was planned (according to forecasts, it should have been adopted with a slight superiority of votes), at the request of the representative office, Patriarch Moscow turned to the deputies of the Council of Europe from Russia with a special statement. The deputies took into account the words of the patriarch, and the resolution did not pass.

In the spring of 2004, the representative office of the Russian Orthodox Church in Strasbourg was opened, designed to introduce the Council of Europe (CE) to the position of the Moscow Patriarchate. Only the Vatican is a full -fledged member of the SE, representing the interests of the European religious majority. However, during his last arrival in Russia in the month of March, the Commissioner for Human Rights, Se alvaro Hil-Robble, announced the possibility of creating the advisory body of traditional religions at the Council of Europe-in ​​order to more actively involve representatives of the religious community to the work of the secular institution. Like other public chambers, he will only receive advisory voting right. However, its members can apply for participation in expert groups, the right to conduct a religious examination of political decisions of CE and the opportunity, thus, at the stage of discussions to block decisions that do not meet the interests of faiths.

Now that relations with the Catholics are rapidly being established (yesterday another joint event began-a two-day meeting of theologians, which will summarize the first results of the joint commission on the Orthodox Catholic dialogue, which officially resumed its work last year), it is time to monitor these very interests. The Vienna Conference, at which clergy, theologians, philosophers and other scientists, Christian public figures, in fact, were devoted to this. A variety of people participated in it from the Russian side: from the leaders of the patriarchy and iconic characters of the cultural community (for example, the director of the Institute of Synergy Anthropology, philosopher Sergei Khozhozi ) to the Orthodox politicians of the temperate wing (as the head of the Union of Orthodox citizens Valentin Lebedev).

“The Viennese meeting without exaggeration can be called a new stage in the relationship between churches,” her other participant Sergey Chapnin, the responsible editor of the “church messenger”, the official publication of the Russian Orthodox Church, shared with the “hedgehog”. - There was a clear understanding of this (of course, related to the new dad) that those unresolved problems that still spoiled our relations are local problems, to a large extent determined by the position of the Catholic clergy in Russia. Of course, not without support in Rome, but still these are local problems. And there are more serious problems: what looks a little speculative and partly seems to be ideological speculations, in fact, the problem is large and important - this is Christianity before the challenge of European secularism, which is really quite tough. The problem of evidence of Christian values ​​and related issues of the language of preaching, church and state relations, Christian organizations within the framework of civil society, etc. “A huge list of problems creep further, and all this list we have in many ways a general vision.”

Naturally, the Orthodox were invaded by the might and main of the Universal Russian People's Cathedral by the Declaration on the rights and dignity of man. At the same time, the Metropolitan and Kaliningrad Cyril, who headed the Russian delegation, emphasized that the Declaration does not approve the understanding of the rights opposite to the Western. Just the Orthodox “tried to bring the theological basis under the concept of human rights and thereby reunite this concept with traditional Christian views. We tried to show the Christian roots of the concept of human rights, ”Vladyka specified.

Catholics do not deny Christian roots, however, having more experience in interaction with secular society, they refrain from radical calls. As a result, the final document of the Vienna meeting turned out to be even more streamlined than the Cathedral Declaration, the main emphasis is on the connection of the principle of freedom with the principle of moral responsibility. “We were ready to clearly and clearly talk about the need for support for Christianity in the United Europe, but the Catholics asked for milder formulations. This is due to the political context in which the Catholic Church is located, ”says Sergey Chapnin. According to him, the Catholics were very surprised, realizing that the Orthodox occupy a very active position in society and could be much freer than them, to talk about a church vision of various issues. “I thought that their circumstances are more comfortable than ours, but it turned out the other way around,” Chapnin admitted.

It is likely that that period came in the relationship of churches, when Catholics are interested in contacts with the Orthodox even more than the Orthodox in contacts with Catholics. There are fewer believing in Europe. The bishop from Ireland complained at the conference that 60 people were studying in all Catholic seminaries of the country. And Russian theological schools annually produce at least one and a half thousand seminarians. The Orthodox, of course, is far from the passionarity of Muslims, but in comparison with the religiously indifferent "post -Christians" Europe and the Orthodox, which are only included in the taste of social activity, are brave guys. Their enthusiasm and willingness to defend the interests of believers, and, accordingly, the church to the Catholics are very at hand. Not without reason, a year ago, the head of the Papal Council for the assistance of Christian unity, Cardinal Walter Kasper proposed to create a “Catholic-Orthodox Alliance” for the “new discovery” of the Christian roots of Europe. Everything indicates that the alliance is developing.

Apparently, the authorities are ready to put on a church component in foreign policy. It is clearly not possible to infuse painlessly to liberal Europe, recently it has been more and more actively expressing dissatisfaction with flaws in Russia - and we have a counter project: we will revive Christianity together with Catholics in Europe. And now Metropolitan Cyril and the rector of MGIMO sign an agreement on cooperation, believing one of his goals, the study of the “role of a religious factor in modern politics and international relations”. MGIMO students are published by the Orthodox socio-political journal “We are in Russia and Abroad”. And the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Mikhail Kamynin notes the special role of the dialogue of churches in the confrontation of terrorism.

Now, when the Prime Minister signed an order on the new composition of the Government Commission for Religious Associations, it is clear that if the authorities are not going to start a large-scale PR campaign of the Orthodox Church and, possibly, other traditional religious denominations, then, in any case, is ready to provide them with much more space than this has been practiced so far-and no Orthodox television channel, as it is found, is not found out, as it is found out. need to. Among the members of the commission is the director of the Department of Mass Communications, Culture and Education of the Government Denis Molchanov, Minister of Culture and Mass Communications, Alexander Sokolov, head of the Roosculture Boris Boyarskov, chairman of the VGTRK Oleg Dobrodeev, head of the painting Mikhail Seslavinsky, general director of the First Channel Konstantin Ernst (as agreed). And he now is headed by this bright team of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev-one of the possible successors of the president. Comments, in general, are unnecessary. (Although I can’t resist one thing: so far, as far as I know, only the Minister of Culture of Sokolov showed some interest in religious problems and some knowledge of the issue. Well, the rest will have to undergo an accelerated course of Likbeza.)



Orthodoxy, as it may seem to be sad, is increasingly turning into a sign that is used for a variety of needs (power, for example, for the election), while camouflaging their true goals with conversations about the revival of moral principles and the search for the highest meaning of life. Alas, a significant part of the society is ready to accept such a situation - at least the latest VTsIOM polls talk about this. According to the April study, 47% of citizens want the church more affect the life of society, 35% are expressed for the “special rights” of Orthodoxy, and 18% generally see the core of all Russian statehood in it. However, only 4% is ready to follow Christian norms in his behavior. Here's another, to rest ...
But about the same thing happened with democracy. No matter how the word "Orthodox" would not turn into a abusive fifth years later.


Svetlana Solodovnik

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