Representatives of various faiths are against “confessional anonymity” in missionary work

The newspaper "Orthodox Moscow" published a fragment of the diaries of Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin "Patches", where the priest talks about missionary work. In his opinion, the widespread practice of "confessional anonymity" contradicts the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations", which requires religious organizations to indicate their full names when carrying out religious activities. Nevertheless, the priest notes, often "missionaries do not say which church or community they represent. At the same time, they claim, for example, that they preach a supra-confessional "Christianity in general." Or even mimic Orthodoxy."

Representatives of different faiths commented on this publication.

Archpriest Boris Mikhailov, rector of the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God in Fili, also believes that a missionary "should respect local national and religious traditions. He must also clearly and clearly explain what confession or denomination he represents."

The head of the international department of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Rushan-khazrat Abbyasov, believes that "sermons should be conducted in places that are specially designed for this: temples, mosques, synagogues, etc. <...> Now anyone can come to the mosque if he want, and the "preachers" who go to apartments and electric trains - cause people only rejection.

Konstantin Bendas, managing director of the Russian United Union of Evangelical Christians (Pentecostals), agreeing with Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin that “anonymity in preaching is unacceptable,” adds: “Father Vsevolod is not entirely accurate when he says that there is no punishment for “anonymity” : according to Russian law, if a religious organization does not indicate its full official name when producing and distributing printed materials, it will be punished. And after a second warning, a religious organization can be liquidated by a court decision. True, I don’t remember ever getting to a second warning, usually one lesson is enough.

According to the chairman of the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations of Russia (KEROOR), Rabbi Zinovy ​​Kogan, "false missionaries" need to be fought: "But not only by legislative measures, but also by education: people need to be told about their religion and warned of emerging dangers" .

Sources

• Newspaper "Orthodox Moscow": "Scraps. From the sketches of Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin" // Interfax-religion. 2008. May 22. (Publication from "Orthodox Moscow", 2008. No. 9)
• Priests about the rules of missionary work // Regions.ru. 2008. May 23.