Since its inception in 2005, the cult of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has acquired hundreds of thousands of followers around the world. People who declare themselves Pastafarians do this for a variety of reasons: some just want to have fun, others oppose the new faith to traditional faiths, and still others regard such a step almost as a political statement. One way or another, the number of Pastafarians on the planet is growing every day.

The Russian Pastafarian Church (RPC) was registered as a religious group on July 12, 2013. Today the church has everything: flock, bishops and even the patriarch, that is, the pastor who calls himself Kama Pasta I. Lenta.ru talked with the pastor about the Flying Spaghetti Monster, self-irony and the surrounding reality.

Lenta.ru: How long have you believed in the Flying Spaghetti Monster? How did you come to him?

Kama Pasta I: I believed two and a half years ago, in January 2011. A pasta revelation descended on me that the mission was chosen for me by the Flying Pasta Monster - to create his church and spread the true faith. Since then, I have served day and night as the pastor of the Russian Pastafarian Church.

For what purpose did you register the religious group of the Russian Orthodox Church?

The hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, the bishops, have long planned to follow the path of registering the church as a religious organization, so that our flock would have all the same rights as believers in other gods. The final impetus was legislative initiatives to protect the feelings of believers from insult. We decided that it was necessary to speed up the process of legitimizing our church so that Pastafarian religious sentiments would also be protected, although we do not like this very law.

The first step on this long path in accordance with the federal law “On Freedom of Conscience...” is to notify local governments about the establishment of religious groups (On July 12, Pastafarians certified the relevant documents in the municipality of the Moscow district of Khoroshevo-Mnevniki - note by Lenta.ru ). The first groups have already been created. In Russia, work is currently underway to establish more than fifty such groups.

Where are the religious ceremonies of the Russian Orthodox Church held?

Pastafarianism is not a normative religion, unlike many others. This means that we do not establish any specific rituals that the laity are required to observe. The main thing for us is agreement with the eight commandments “It would be better for you not to do this” and life in accordance with them. Each Pastafarian can conduct his own rituals and offer them to the church, and we through our website share them with the flock . For example, newlyweds recently approached us with a request to conduct a wedding according to the Pastafarian rite. We are currently developing it together with the congregation.

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Holy pasta

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That is, a Pastafarian does not have to follow any special rules?

Pastafarianism does not communicate with believers from a position of “should” or “must”, but respects the free choice of its parishioners. As you remember, the Spaghetti Monster's commandments are called "You better not do that." In other words, we advise, but do not force under pain of punishment, as is customary in some religions. However, it is recommended to partake of His body at least once a week.

Eating pasta while being a Pastafarian? Doesn't this contradict your religion?

Definitely not! For this is essentially communion with His body. It is recommended to prepare pasta from durum wheat and eat it with holy meatballs.

What holidays exist in Pastafarianism?

Every Friday is a holiday for Pastafarians. Because on Friday, the Flying Spaghetti Monster kissed the Beer Volcano and hit the ground, falling out of bed. On Friday he created the Dwarf, who later turned into modern man. During Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, we celebrate a holiday called Holiday. It does not have a specific date and special rituals, since Pastafarianism denies dogma. On holidays we greet each other and say: “Happy Holidays!” or "Happy Holidays!"

The founder of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is American Bobby Henderson. He founded the new cult in 2005 in response to the Kansas Department of Education's decision to introduce Intelligent Design into the school curriculum . At the heart of Pastafarianism (the word was formed as a result of the merger of “Rastafarianism” and the word “pasta”) is the principle of reducing everything to absurdity. Pastafarians believe that the universe was created by a creature made from spaghetti and meatballs. It gave the Ten Commandments to the pirate Moses. During the transfer of the tablets, two of them broke, and only eight points remained. After praying, you need to say the word “ramen” - a hybrid of “amen” and “ramen” (a type of noodle). The Gospel of the FSM was written by Henderson in 2006. In addition to him, one of the most famous Pastafarians in the world is the Austrian Nico Alm, who was photographed with a colander on his head, citing his religious views. At the end of July 2013, he was joined by the Czech Lukasz Novy, who took a photo in a colander for his ID card.

How can a simple Pastafarian even meet a pastor?

As for the meeting with the pastor, numerous dioceses have been created within the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church, in which bishops and archbishops serve on a territorial basis. A Pastafarian who needs pastoral care can contact his local bishop. There is a section on the church website that contains a gallery of the faces of bishops and contacts of dioceses.

How does the church choose bishops? Who can become an official clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church and what needs to be done for this?

At the stage of rapid growth of the Russian Orthodox Church, everyone could choose for themselves whether they wanted to become a bishop of the church and care for the flock in their area, or to be a simple layman. In the near future, we will introduce catechesis for bishops, and only those who successfully complete it and prove their knowledge of the Canon and the ability to carry His word to the neophytes will be able to officially speak on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Why did you become the pastor? And if someone now takes it and declares himself a true shepherd, what then - will there be a split in the church?

I became a pastor because there was a revelation to me, as I already said. Is a split possible? I don't think. Pastafarians share a developed sense of common sense and self-irony. Pastafarians by nature operate on principles of cooperation, mutual support and respect, which, in my opinion, excludes the desire to split and harm the church.

Are you trying to remain incognito? Why?

In the revelation that came to me from the Flying Spaghetti Monster, it was said that I should conduct my service humbly and engage in organizational work in order to unite the Pastafarians and direct them to spread our faith. That’s why I don’t strive to somehow promote myself. Few people know that, for example, the 14th Dalai Lama in the world is called Ngagwang Lovzang Tenjing Gyamtsho ( in fact, at birth, the future Dalai Lama received the name Lhamo Dhondrub, and only then, after recognition, began to bear the name Zhetsun Zhampel Ngagwang Yeshe Tenjing Gyamtsho - note "Lenta.ru" ). Likewise, I prefer to be known by my church name Kama Pasta I.

Is there reliable data on the number of followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster cult in Russia?

As for the number of followers in Russia, I am sure there are millions of them. These are people for whom freedom of choice, critical thinking and self-irony are the highest values. And the Russian Orthodox Church not only preaches these values, but also defends them. According to the canon, every person who recognizes himself as one and follows the commandments “It would be better if you didn’t do this” becomes a Pastafarian. Those wishing to receive a certificate of ordination can fill out a simple form on the website. There are already more than nine thousand of them throughout the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Has the number of Pastafarians increased since the emergence of the religious group?

Before the good news about the establishment of the first religious group on July 12, 2013, about two thousand people filled out forms to join the Russian Orthodox Church. Over the next three weeks, the congregation more than quadrupled. I think that in terms of the rate of growth of followers, it is unlikely that any other cult can now compare with the Russian Orthodox Church. And this is an indicator that the Russian Orthodox Church has occupied an important and hitherto empty spiritual niche, in which sensible people find joy and answers to the questions that concern them.

You mentioned the law on protecting the feelings of believers. How can you offend a believer in the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

It is extremely difficult to offend a Pastafarian. But if someone tries very hard, then perhaps the Pastafarians will take advantage of the adopted law, although we do not like prohibitive norms that limit freedom. I heard there was a case when a Pastafarian threatened to write a report against someone who threw pasta in the trash. This is, of course, shepherding!

Perhaps you have heard that a priest from the Ivanovo region suspected adherents of Pastafarianism that they were scammers and were working at the expense of the American intelligence services? What can you say to this? What should you do so that people don’t consider you some kind of charlatan?

I believe that a number of traditional confessions are currently experiencing a crisis, because their parishioners see injustice within these churches, a departure of the leadership from their own proclaimed values. As a result, there is a reduction in the number of parishioners. And when they see such a rapid growth of the Pastafarian flock, perhaps their eyes are clouded with envy and other bad feelings. Let’s not pay attention to negative emotions, but rather, let’s offer them His love of pasta and the warmth of His meatballs and pray. Ramin.

Is your church going to interact with other religious groups in the country?

We are, of course, open to communication with all people who recognize freedom of choice, critical thinking and self-irony as the highest values.

In general, when creating a religious group, did you understand that you might face some kind of persecution? Russians somehow don’t do very well with self-irony.

Self-irony and healthy humor are those feelings that, I am sure, can help Russians overcome adversity and find happiness. This is such a high mission, for the sake of which one can go through persecution, if fate and His will so decrees. In addition, persecution will not only strengthen us, but will also further increase the number of neophytes. Although, of course, it would be better to avoid them.

Do you keep in touch with your foreign colleagues? Do you know how Pastafarians in other countries reacted to the fact that there is now a Russian Orthodox Church in Russia?

The Russian Orthodox Church is a distinctive autocephalous Pastafarian church. We reported our creation to the prophet Bobby Henderson ( Henderson is the creator of the cult of the Flying Spaghetti Monster - note by Lenta.ru ). We now have a bishop who heads the department for external relations, which is now establishing contacts with foreign churches.

What are your plans for the near future? Do you want the Russian Orthodox Church to receive official status in the country?

The church has many plans. This is the continuation of the path to obtaining official status in Russia, and the holding of pastoral councils, and the catechesis of bishops, and the holding of pasta walks in all dioceses, and the publication of the Gospel of the Flying Pasta Monster in Russian, and much more. I have already said that, according to my feelings, in terms of the rate of growth of our flock, no other religion can compare with Pastafarianism. And the reason for this is the spirituality of modern times, which forms the basis and framework of the Pastafarian religion. This spirituality craves free exploration more than that which relies on external authorities. Pasta spirituality is not based on belief in immutable dogmas. And now people who were looking for such spirituality have finally found it in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church.

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