Cultural and aesthetic ideals of the Russian Orthodox Church

The "Russian Review" of the Keston Institute publishes an article by the editor of this publication, Sergei Filatov, "The Russian Orthodox Church in search of a cultural and aesthetic national ideal" . S. Filatov highlights the principles on which the position of the Russian Orthodox Church in the field of aesthetics is based:

1. The doctrine of "Russian civilization". ""Russian civilization" - a term introduced into church vocabulary several years ago by Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyaev) acquires a sacred, "para-religious" meaning in church circles, - writes S. Filatov. - Loyalty to Russian civilization is comprehended as a duty of an Orthodox Christian ... <...> The most important characteristic of Russian civilization is its rigidly declared ethnicity, which is especially conspicuous in the conditions when the current Russian state asserts its multinational nature. concern for the church nourishment of people of Russian nationality throughout the world (as Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyaev) put it at the VIII World Russian People's Council, "the church is making efforts to consolidate the entire Russian world"), not showing much interest in Orthodox people of other nationalities living even in Russia itself In recent years, the ethnocentric orientation has manifested itself most clearly in various textbooks and methodological manuals that have been prepared by church and near-church organizations for teaching "the foundations of Orthodox culture" at school. The subject of these educational texts is "Russianness" no less than Orthodoxy.

Like any ideology focused on ethnic values, the doctrine of "Russian civilization" highly appreciates the national peasant culture, sees the peasantry as the most spiritually healthy social class, which should serve as an example for the whole society. The peasantry is the guardian of the national spiritual tradition."

At the same time, the image of “the longed-for image of Russian civilization” remains vague and internally contradictory: “On the one hand, the moral and spiritual superiority of the “Russian civilization” is affirmed and, for this reason, loyalty to it is declared a moral duty. On the other hand, the need to preserve unique national cultures (and Russian among them) that are threatened by liberal globalization, leveling everything in its path. It seems to follow from this statement that all national cultures, and not just Russian, are of equal value.

The defining feature of "Russian civilization" is its dissimilarity to the West, and "opposition to the West is one of the main pillars of sacred Russian history" (see also below). Accordingly, “cases of military confrontation with the West throughout Russian history become relevant and are perceived as a manifestation of the eternal struggle of Orthodox Russian civilization with the Antichrist. The heroes of this struggle acquire an aura of holiness. It is amazing that even World War II, in which Russia was the USSR, was a country of militant atheism , without noticeable objections, becomes one of the pages of this sacred chronicle.<...>

Increasingly occurring recognition of the achievements and merits of the great power of the Soviet Union, the collapse of which is recognized as an unconditional evil, reconcile church thought with the Soviet past. The adaptation of the Soviet period of history and Soviet culture as integral elements of the Russian heritage is a natural consequence of the establishment of the doctrine of "Russian civilization", the spiritual core of which is Russian Orthodoxy.

1. The idea of ​​the Church as the guardian of the Russian cultural heritage. According to S. Filatov, "back in the early 90s, discussions about the correspondence (or degree of correspondence) of a particular style, author or cultural phenomenon of past eras to the Orthodox worldview were widespread in the church media and at various meetings. The most striking manifestation of these disputes there were sharply critical assessments of the anti-Orthodox nature of Leo Tolstoy's work. Now such discussions, if they happen occasionally, look like a marginal anachronism. The official position of the ROC is expressed quite definitely by the patriarch: "The meaning of Christian creativity is to reveal eternal truths in the language of theology, art in a new way, not introducing nothing that would come into conflict not with the old, but with the eternal. Not a single century is diminished before God, not a single generation of believers is left without the grace of the Holy Spirit... We do not refuse anything from the fullness of our heritage" ("Annual diocesan meeting of the city of Moscow", ZhMP, 2002, No. 1, p. 43) Another part of Russia's cultural heritage, no less important for the ROC, is folklore, traditional peasant culture.For almost any Sunday school or Orthodox holiday, folklore dances and songs are an obligatory element (not necessarily having anything to do with religion).Children , and even part of the adult parishioners at all kinds of celebrations are dressed in traditional peasant outfits. A symptomatic phenomenon was the appearance of "Slavic-Goritsa" wrestling clubs in Orthodox parishes. Slavic-Goritsa wrestling arose in the 80s in the circles of Russian Slavic pagans and to this day remains an important element of the pagan movement.The easy adaptation by the Orthodox Church of this sport, filled with great ideological meaning for pagans, reflects cultural interests that go beyond the strictly Christian identification of "Russian civilization". The romanticization of traditional peasant culture is becoming an essential part of the ROC's appeal to society."

2. Opposition to the West and the Western Christian Tradition. “The defenders of the “Russian civilization” react most painfully to the borrowed elements of culture associated with the Western Christian tradition,” notes S. Filatov. “The appearance in Russian mass culture over the past 15 years of certain holidays or attributes of holidays of Western origin causes indignation and rejection. Santa Claus as a hero of the New Year and Christmas holidays has become a constant subject of denunciation. And it is not the commercialization of this character that causes dissatisfaction, but the character himself (i.e. Nikolai Ugodnik) per se. He is opposed to "our Orthodox Santa Claus". the diocese became the center of the churching of the cult of Father Frost. The city of Veliky Ustyug was declared by the secular authorities the birthplace of Father Frost, the secular and spiritual authorities of Vologda were involved in his all-Russian "glorification" Bishop Maximilian announced the "baptism" of Father Frost and supported the initiative of the authorities.

Valentine's Day is no less hostile. Valentine, the saint of the undivided church, is declared a "fornicator known to history", and the holiday itself is a manifestation of lust. The church consciousness also reacts painfully to the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, which is also a saint of the undivided church, which has been spreading in recent years. Church writers constantly condemn modern mass culture for its immorality and lack of spirituality, but at the same time they almost always speak of it as a Western phenomenon. <...>

On the other hand, an integral feature of the cultural and aesthetic ideal of Russian civilization is the glorification and even sacralization of the military victories of the Russian state over the countries of the West.

1. Perception of the exclusively "patriotically oriented" modern Russian secular creativity: "In this case, there is no hint of a willingness to recognize and accept all genres, styles and schools. The Church interacts only with writers, artists, realist directors and patriots. Numerous Orthodox representatives of the artistic intelligentsia - "democrats" are not recognized by the church as carriers of Orthodox consciousness and, accordingly, their work is at best not a subject of care, support or popularization.At the same time, writers and other representatives of the artistic intelligentsia are "patriots" in a realistic manner glorifying the patriarchal world The Russian village and the greatness of the Russian state are in-demand participants in church and public life, and their work receives the approval of the Hierarchy."

“The term “Russian civilization,” S. Filatov concludes, “has become today the name of the cultural and socio-political program of the Russian Orthodox Church (and it can be conditionally called the doctrine of Russian civilization), which acquires a quasi-religious meaning in its ideology. This program will soon be To a certain extent, to form the relationship of the ROC with Russian society. In line with this doctrine, the Moscow Patriarchate affirms quite certain cultural and aesthetic values ​​of "Russian civilization". The cultural and even narrowly aesthetic side of this program is of great importance in the Church's view. society is still waiting for heated debates about "Russianness" and "Orthodoxy" in artistic creativity. And these debates will have not only aesthetic, but also general ideological and even political significance."

Sources

• Filatov S.B. The Russian Orthodox Church in search of a cultural and aesthetic national ideal // Russian review. 2006. October.