Punk action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior: opinions

On February 22-24, 2012, various opinions were published about the punk action that took place in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ .

Alexander Shchipkov is convinced that “ the action, for sure, there are high-ranking instigators - the same ones who a year ago "gave good" to defame and insult the Orthodox from the screens of state and pro-state TV channels . « If not to take legal action in such cases (albeit taking into account all mitigating circumstances like age), legal nihilism towards the Church will become into legal chaos ,” the journalist believes.

According to Alexander Nevzorov, we can say that “the girls created their chant in a very psalmistic style”, which in many ways testifies to their deep faith. “ Their performance is done in mode primitive consciousness, this is such an Orthodox primitive animism, which in general, this division of Christianity is different ,” he said. - But, at the same time, they turned out very funny, very accurate and very lively caricature of the Moscow Patriarchy, because that none of those who react so violently - not Kuraev, not Chaplin, not Gundyaev - I did not notice myself in these girls. They didn't notice the parody of what's going on with their faith and with their customs and rites ."

Leader movement "Slavic Power" Dmitry Demushkin believes that the participants of the action "should suffer the most severe punishment up to criminal.

Head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseeva urged the Church to take a less rigid position in relation to the members of the group. She recalled that “the Church, unlike the state, is called not to execute, but pardon and appeal to mercy, kindness and forgiveness,” she reminded.

“I don’t like the trick of the girls from “Pussy Riot”. No need to break into the church, I agree. But the punishment for that should be adequate. It must be judged according to the law - not softer and not tougher. I fear that these our court will sentence the girls to cruel punishment,” said the human rights activist.

With a call to pardon the participants of the "punk prayer" to the patriarch The leader of the Yabloko party, Sergei Mitrokhin, also applied. "Christianity teaches forgiveness, therefore, the Church should also show Christian mercy here and forgive these girls. In turn, law enforcement agencies could impose a fine on them. for hooliganism. This would be the best measure,” the politician believes.

A number of senators are convinced that girls should be severely punished. Member of the Federation Council Mikhail Kapura believes that the action in the temple was "the purest water hooliganism, so they should be punished.” True, the senator stressed that does not call for "putting them against the wall or sending them to Kolyma." He also noted that “the Cathedral of Christ the Savior today has been turned into such a worldly an institution where various kinds of banquets, conferences, founding congresses”, which could be the reason for such a speech.

Deputy Head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Valery Shnyakin also considers the action a "hooligan trick" and an "insult and desecration of the feelings of believers”, so I am surprised that behind “Pussy Riot” human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin interceded. The senator thinks that if the girls are not punished, this will serve as a "bad example" to other "reckless girls”, who will start organizing such actions.

Andrey Glotser, spokesman for the Chief Rabbi of Russia, said that "Pussy Riot "offended not only Christians, but in general all believers." "They don't care on any temple, which means, if you take a broader look at the situation, they don’t give a damn about other people: the desire to demonstrate their views in them turned out to be stronger than a sense of respect for another person,” the representative of the FEOR believes.

The Academic Council of the Moscow Theological Academy on March 12 discussed the comments to the "punk action" of Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev, who proposed to consider performance of "Pussy Riot" as part of the Maslenitsa festivities. Council members stated that they cannot agree with such an assessment “fraternally reminded” Father Andrey that “the title professor of the Moscow Theological Academy imposes a high responsibility for form and content of public statements.

March 16, 2012 was published opinion of Andrey Zubov, professor at MGIMO(U) and the Russian Orthodox Church university. He recalls that for the action held in the Cathedral of Christ, at the beginning XX century, when "Orthodox faith was declared to be the first and dominant,” the girls would receive from three up to six months in prison. Professor I am convinced that the punishment of "those who interfere with worship" in a secular state is not must exceed this limit.

« If follow the norm of the Russian Constitution, then the closest relation to the crime imputed to Mrs. Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina has Art. 75-1 Criminal Code of March 22, 1903 of the Russian Empire. First section of this article reads as follows: "Guilty of shouting, noise or other outrage, obstructing public Christian worship or committed in a church, chapel or Christian meeting house, is punished arrest for not more than three months.” Section four of the same article states, that if the outrage is "perpetrated by the crowd", then the guilty person is punished by "imprisonment in prison for not less than six months." The court must decide whether five young women to be considered a crowd, and, of course, to consider that their actions did not lead to a break in worship (suspension of worship is an aggravating circumstance), since at that time the service was not performed in the cathedral ", - says A. Zubov.

On March 21, 2012, an open appeal of the Youth brotherhood of St. Belogorye to the members of the group "Pussy Riot". Its authors urge girls during Great Lent to repent of their deeds.

“Many of us are your peers and each of us has our own mistakes that we are not ashamed to admit to our conscience and God and fix them. At our age, life is just beginning and what it will be further, depends, first of all, on us.

Believers mourn for every sinner, because sin harms, first of all, the sinner himself. And we hope you find strength to ask for forgiveness from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and from the faithful Orthodox Christians for your words and actions,” the appeal reads.

March 28, 2012 Vladimir Kolokoltsev, head of the Russian Interior Ministry for Moscow, assessed punk action in the XXC.

“ Personally, I rally in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior as an Orthodox person I regard it as a spit in my soul personally , - he said. - The cynicism of this action, its opposition to the whole of society - this led to a corresponding reaction law enforcement ."

In his opinion, those under the arrest of the members of the group “there is no prejudice” .

In early April, several more state and public figures spoke out about "Pussy Riot".

April 5, speaking in St. Petersburg at the Senate readings in At the Constitutional Court, the Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Alexander Konovalov stated that he "as practicing Christian" was unpleasant to the action of the group, but he does not believe that girls deserve such severe punishment. "Just deserve punishment, probably a criminal record. But hardly real imprisonment. It should the judges decide ,” the minister said.

A day earlier, the representative of the President of the Russian Federation for international cultural cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy in his blog on "Echo of Moscow" expressed fear that the persecution of "Pussy Riot" may lead to the persecution of non-believers. "A Is there a place for atheism in our modern society? And won't people become religious non-believers to be seen as incapable of teaching in schools or be in public service? - M. Shvydkoy asks questions. According to him According to the group members, “they have already received theirs. And further litigation persecution is hardly reasonable and beneficial to society .

April 11, 2012, answering journalists' questions about the assessment of the arrest of members of the group "Pussy Riot", Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin stressed that "it is not in his power to reverse the decision" on detention, although he opposed pre-trial arrest. According to him opinion, a “reasonable decision” of the court and an “adequate punishment” would be to give those arrested fine.

May 3, 2012 Ludmila Shvetsova, Vice Speaker State Duma, told reporters: “What longer we fan the fire around this event [punk promotions group “Pussy Riot”], the more we exacerbate the conflict in society.”

IN In mid-May 2012, a conversation between journalists from the German TV companies MDR c prot. Dimitri Smirnov, dedicated to the punk action "Pussy Riot.

Priest I am convinced that the February action in the Moscow church “ was a kind of signal to start an attack on the Church, and after this is how it began (already in that month, one temple was painted over, another temple set on fire), and since very serious people are interested in attacking the Church, then connected the media, the attack on the patriarch began . In his opinion, the video, which was “demonstrated on all channels dozens of times, was specially created to signal to everyone people who are interested that the Church can be torn apart.”

Prot. Dimitry Smirnov stressed that he was not interested the question of punishing the participants in the action is much more interested in the question “how a Russian and, probably, a baptized person could reach such rabidness" in order to commit "blasphemous acts in relation to temple." He suggested, at the same time, that the best solution would be the expulsion of the group "Pussy Riot" from Russia and the deprivation of its members parental rights. " I would expelled them from Russia, ” the priest told journalists, “would destroy their Russian passports and make them persona non grata. And, of course, I would take their children away from them in foster families (if such mothers, whom bring up). I pity them, but even more I pity the children who see how swear at the Church, which is the main religion of your country .”

When asked "Do you rate this action as extremism”, Prot. Dimitri replied: “Of course, by definition. Action is extreme. natural extremism.

July 15, 2012, speaking on the air of Radio Liberty, prot. Vyacheslav Vinnikov in response to a question from journalists, he said that “ he considers the prosecution in the hooliganism of the absurd ."

He is convinced that if the " Church does not release the girls, the people who thought to come to Christ will not will go to this Church, and the people who are in the Church will leave such a Church, because that the Church that plants is not the Church .”

« Girls prayed , - the priest is sure. - Everyone addresses [to God] in the way he knows how. Their the whole world heard the prayer, which means they prayed well. And people began to pray for them. There was a prayer fellowship." "The priests could call the girls to them, - he continued, - and say: "You are praying incorrectly, it is customary for us different" and that 's it .

Sources

• Shchipkov A. Girls dance in the XXC. Liberals are ecstatic // Territory of the Church. 2012. February 22.
• “I saw Chaplin, Kuraev and Gundyaev in them. If the girls had put on beards, no one would have noticed the change” (conversation with Alexander Nevzorov) // Portal-Credo.ru. 2012. February 23.
• Sing criminally // Daily log. February 24, 2012.
• Feminists staged dances on the pulpit of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior // News. 2012. February 21.
• Berman A., Rev. Polovtsian dances in the XXS. Any attempts by the clergy to invade where they are not expected will cause more and more relapses of "amateur art" // Portal-Credo.ru. February 24, 2012.
• Lyudmila Alekseeva asks the Church in the "Pussy Riot" case to change anger to mercy // Interfax-Religion. 2012. March 11.
• Yabloko leader asks Church to forgive 'lost children' from 'Pussy Riot' // There. March 13.
• Russian Senators Call for Punishment of 'Pussy Riot' Members // There.
• In the Jewish community of the Russian Federation, the performance of "Pussy Riot" in the temple is called barbaric and vile // There. March 12th.
• A meeting of the Academic Council was held at the MDA // MDA website. 2012. March 12.
• Shrovetide in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior // Blog about. Andrey Kuraev. 2012. February 21.
• Zubov A. Fear God! Will the punishment be heavier and more blasphemous than the crime imputed to two young women? // New Newspaper. 2012. March 16.
• An open letter to members of the group "Pussy Riot" // Department for work with youth of the Belgorod and Starooskolskaya diocese. 2012. March 21.
• Kolokoltsov: Members of "Pussy Riot" spat in the soul, they were planted justifiably // Interfax-religion. 2012. March 28.
• Minister of Justice outraged by the action "Pussy Riot", but does not consider it fair to deprive them of their freedom // Interfax-Religion. 2012. April 5.
• fatal art // M. Shvydkoy's blog. 2012. April 4.
• Chernaya E. Russian Ombudsman opposed the arrest of members of Pussy Riot // RIA-Novosti (Tomsk). 2012. April 11.
• Members of the Pussy Riot group should have been “educated, but nothing more,” says State Duma Vice Speaker Shvetsova // Site of the United Russia faction. 2012. May 3.
• "Let Madonna take Pussy Riot into her backup dance group": A fragment of an interview with the head of the "military department" of the ROC MP Dimitry Smirnov of the German television company MDR // Portal-Credo.ru. 2012. May 16.
• The Pussy Riot case in Russian public consciousness // Radio Liberty. 2012. July 15.