“They are trying to drive us into a ghetto”

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad defends the right of the church to evaluate state policy

The approaching Day of National Unity could not go unnoticed by the Russian Orthodox Church, which timed a whole series of “church-social events” to coincide with this holiday, which had not yet taken root in the consciousness of Russians. From November 1 to 4, under the auspices of the Moscow Patriarchate, the “Orthodox Rus'” forum will be held, which, according to tradition, will be opened by Patriarch Alexy II. According to the organizers, in addition to the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church Abroad, top officials of political parties will also take part in public hearings and discussions - it is reported that invitations have been extended to the Vice Speaker of the State Duma from United Russia Lyubov Sliska, the head of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov and the leader of Yabloko Grigory Yavlinsky. The press conference preceding the forum was also devoted to relations between the church and the state, in which the head of the department for external church relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, and the deputy head of the DECR, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, took part. The hierarchs did not hide the fact that they were not satisfied with everything regarding secular and ecclesiastical authorities. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church is very concerned about the bill on changes in the structure of the state education standard, which is currently being considered by State Duma deputies. The Church fears that if the law is adopted , the course “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” will disappear from the regional educational component. “Indeed, you cannot pass laws that contradict the sentiments and beliefs of the majority of people,” Vladyka Kirill insisted. “This is a very dangerous practice.” However, the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church hopes that the church will be able to influence the opinion of legislators, especially since, according to the head of the DECR, “the law met strong opposition in the Duma.” At the request of a Vremya Novostei correspondent, Bishop Kirill answered several of our questions.

— How do you assess the state of relations between the state and the church?

— I am personally satisfied with the current level of interaction, but I am deeply convinced that we are at the very beginning of the journey. In such areas as education, culture, youth education, and the fight against social vices, we have a lot to do. It is not for nothing that the exhibition, opening on November 1, was conceived as a church and public event with the participation of government agencies, in order to show that a lot is being done today.

If we take the Soviet period as a starting point, then, of course, 2007 seems like a colossal breakthrough. But for me there is another starting point - 1917. If we compare what we see now with what we had before our national catastrophe, then there is no special progress.

— When listing the challenges currently threatening the church, you mentioned the danger of marginalizing its role. But now they often talk about the opposite - about the danger of clericalization of society.

— It may seem strange to some that today we are talking about attempts to marginalize the church, but these attempts exist, and it is very important to talk about this topic. Certain forces are frightened by the degree of cooperation and dialogue between church and state. Some media and pressure groups are frightening our authorities, telling them that they have gone too far in dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church. “Clericalization” is a politicized mythology.

Of course, the opinion that was expressed in the “letter of ten academicians” has a right to exist . But it is necessary to clearly define the starting point - for the authors of the letter, such a measure of church life is Soviet reality. But what is Soviet reality? These are thousands of destroyed churches and monasteries, this is genocide against a believing people, the complete suppression of all religious thought. I repeat, we are now at the very beginning of the path, but if the beginning of the path causes such a painful reaction, then what will be the reaction to the further natural development of the Russian Orthodox Church? The last thing I would like is for any images of enemies to arise in the form of the same representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences. I am convinced that they are mistaken.

- But those who talk about clericalization argue that the church threatens the secular nature of the state.

-- Our position is based on the Constitution and the legislation existing in Russia. Our country is secular.

But it is necessary to clearly understand that there are two approaches to the participation of a believer in the life of society. One approach involves limiting the role of the church to purely personal and family life - conducting religious services and worship. There is nothing new in this - it was the same in Soviet times, when the law strictly limited any activity other than religious activities. And this has been preserved in the minds of people who say that the church should not be present in the public sphere. They tell us: “Your business is worship. What right do you have to assess the political situation in the country? By what right do you allow yourself to comment on the economic situation in the country?” This is exactly the reaction we saw after the last Russian People's Council, when we started talking about the monstrous disproportions between rich and poor.

Another view is the evangelical one, which comes from the word of God, the apostolic tradition of the church and patristic tradition, which assumes that a believer cannot limit religious motivation only to the framework of personal or family life. A Christian responsible approach to work, to attitude towards other people, towards nature - this is what should be instilled. But in the context of this internal secularization, which is encouraged by certain political forces and the media, how can we really change the life of our country? They are trying to drive us into a ghetto, including through the efforts of respected academics. Responsibly, as a bishop, obliged to reflect the apostolic tradition, when addressing society, I say: everything that has to do with reality has to do with the church.

Mikhail MOSHKIN