Temple on the front line

Orthodox priest in St. Petersburg was punished for supporting Ukraine

At first, the St. Petersburg Orthodox Priest wanted to deprive San for the preaching of the world with Ukraine, and then they sent them to serve in the monastery.

The priest Nikolai Savchenko in the temple of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the village of Lesnoy is known as an attentive and kind priest. The queues always lined up in confession, he listened to his pastoral word, parishioners appreciated that in the evenings, his father Nikolai had to come to the sick and poor, and often did not take money for Treba at all. He himself says that he never considered the service in the temple as a source of income - his family with five children always provided at worldly work: he is a programmer, a graduate of the Polytechnic, on weekdays he works at the computer, on weekends - in the temple.

But the moment came when the other priests of his temple and part of the parishioners took up the good and seemingly beloved priest, a storm on the Internet rose, the father of Nikolai was called a fascist, a Bandera and even an American spy. The last epithet was reinforced by the fact that Father Nikolai knows English well, for two years served in one of the London temples. Once he was almost beaten on the street. What is the reason for such a sharp change?

In every Orthodox church, at the beginning of the liturgy, these words are necessarily sung: "The peacekeepers are blessed, as the sons of God will be called." When the Federation Council gave the president permission to enter troops into Ukraine, Father Nikolai did not hide his negative attitude to a possible war with Ukraine. The fact that the fratricidal war is bad, he wrote on his blog, and when the weekend came, during the service from the amvon he said a sermon in which he said literally the following: "So the Lord says: do not go and do not start war with your brothers!" An amazing thing, a quote from Scripture brought into a fury and clergy, and some parishioners, and patriots living on the Internet. They were even more furious by the appearance of the priest on an anti -war "walk" on Isaacievskaya Square, and then on the May Day procession on Nevsky Prospekt - both times he was in the underpants and with a small Ukrainian flag in his hands. In fact, enthusiastic people write: “We put on the armor on top of the T -shirts. The Holy Slavic War, and we are the Slavic army - soldiers ... We will close the tributaries of the Volga and the Dnieper ... We will make a cripple from the West ...” - and then it is not known who starts his little trick about the world, and still waves an enemy flag!

The indignant records rained down on Nikolai’s father: “Hello dear! Explain why and why do you support the obviously Russophobic regime in Ukraine? Why are you defiantly waving the flag of the state whose leaders are openly urging the Russians? Why do you support people who have untied the civil war in the fraternal, Orthodox, state?” (spelling preserved). The priest tried to convince: "... the reunification of the original Russian peninsula with the continental Russia was a brilliant stroke to prevent NATO expansion !!! And what do you write in your interview ??? Crrit the reunification of Crimea with continental Russia can either a paid enemy of Russia, or a person very distant from an understanding of what is happening ..."

Father Nikolai himself believes that they misunderstood him:

-Actually, I always try very hard to choose words in my oral speeches and in written. After all, I have repeatedly performed on our diocesan radio "Grad Petrov", I can choose expressions, I try to be restrained, I never scold anyone, except perhaps the children of the guilty. I have no radical statements, so, of course, there are never quotes in accusations. And yet my statements caused such an explosion of indignation. If I confused someone, if someone misunderstood me, I asked everyone and ask for forgiveness. But at the same time I ask for understanding - I cannot agree with what is happening between Russia and Ukraine. This is disgusted by our whole history, the law of God, Orthodox moral teaching: we must find a common language, must reconcile, should expose the hatred that is now glowing in us.

According to about. Nicholas, his position caused the indignation of so many people who openly said that they would achieve him to be deprived of a priestly dignity. But the diocesan authorities decided differently: the priest was simply transferred from the temple of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the forest in the male monastery, in the Trinity-Sergius of deserts in Strelna. Father Nikolai calls on to consider what happened not as an intra -church conflict, but as a result of the pressure of society on the church. He humbly accepts the order of his translation, moreover, he believes that in a sense, the diocese thus brought him out of the blow:

- We must understand that the diocese, the Russian Orthodox Church is part of society, and it is exposed to all the forces acting in society, including diseases. It’s like in the February Revolution, when crowds chanted slogans, and the church, as it were, reluctantly forced to go on the heels. So now there was a very strong pressure of different public groups that demanded to deprive me of a dignity for my performances. There were such explanations - since I protect Bandera and fascists, it means that the dignity should be deprived. Among these groups, there were few parishioners, mainly third-party people, Internet sitors, but there were several such people in the parish. But in my speeches I did not criticize the Russian authorities as such, I said that we are all to blame. I still have such a fundamental approach: I think that since all this is done with the approval of the majority, we are all to blame, and not specifically the president, prime minister, government. And the priest’s duty is to call people to realize that our actions lead to sin, to evil, to lawlessness. This is a moral question, not political. Peacekeeping is not a politician, it is that we are obliged to carry out everywhere, even if it causes any inconvenience.

Press Secretary of the St. Petersburg diocese, Priest Alexy Volchkov, explains that the translation of the priest Nikolai Savchenko in the Trinity-Sergius desert is not a punishment:

- This is a normal practice, not repressive, priests often change their service. Priest Nikolai Savchenko is still a priest, can perform a liturgy, but in his translation there is a certain moment of edification. He was indicated by the hierarity of our diocese that the priest’s duty was to preach the gospel. He did this, however, attending rallies and similar events, which is hardly permissible for the priest when he is in a cassock and a cross. But the main reason for the translation is the conflict caused in the parish by his preaching. This is the omission of Nikolai's father-because if his words cause discord, a split, this in itself suggests that this priest is not entirely done correctly.

The Orthodox Church did not survive the Reformation, so it will always have a conflict between free -thinking priests and conservative hierarchs, ”says historian Daniil Kotsyubinsky.

- This is still amplified by the strict dependence on the authorities in which the Russian Orthodox Church has always been. I always welcome any dissent - in contrast to unanimity - and in this sense, I think this is very good that there are such priests. Another thing is that its preaching has occurred for a difficult time: Russia has been developing under the sign of the inferiority complex for the past 500 years, first in relation to Europe, and now also to America, and now the patient suddenly gave analgin - they returned the Crimea, the east of Ukraine seems to gravitate towards Russia, there was an illusion that we are finally successful. This causes obscurantist, absurd reactions to life.

Sociologist Maria Matskevich recalls that aggression in Russian society has become noticeable long before the events in Ukraine, although in recent months it has intensified many times:

- Unfortunately, this aggression penetrates everywhere, including the church, and in an extremely politicized form. After all, here the conflict is not about church rules, but about whether the priest expressed the correct position. In essence, the same political debate continues in the church that they go beyond its walls. This anger, this intensity of passions, apparently, is in no way packed by religious views or their absence. As for whether the priest can go to rallies-I don’t know whether there are relevant rules prohibiting this, but even if they are, then the highest church hierarchs themselves have been violated for a long time, speaking on political topics. True, there are few such statements about Ukraine, and it seems to me that this is good, for no matter what reasons this happens.

Father Nikolai mentioned his work at the Grad Petrov radio station, indeed, they know him well there. The head of the information service of the radio station, Alexander Krupinin, has repeatedly sat with Father Nikolai at the microphone.

- This is a real shepherd who deeply understands the events taking place in our country. I remember that I met him on Isaakievskaya Square on March 1, when there was an anti -war action, he was there with a Ukrainian flag, in a cash, and this made a deep impression on everyone. Many said that Father Nikolai saved the reputation of the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with Ukrainian events.

Father Nikolai is not just a priest, he is a real Orthodox Christian, ”the parishioner of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the forest thinks.

- We had many cases to make sure what a good preacher this is, what a disinterested person. I know his mother and children, they personify a real Orthodox family. When he appeared in our temple on Orbeli, people immediately reached for him, because he is very kind, very attentive, always sincerely wants to hear a person, very sensitive.

In this situation, one thing pleases - that next to angry and rude records on the Internet you can find a huge number of thanks about. Nikolai for his position of the peacemaker. "Dear Father, how a Ukrainian I want to say thank you for an attempt to watch the situation soberly, not through the TV and without Russian exaltation over the Ukrainians. Help you Lord." "Father! Give me, God, you will find quiet joy and peace in the Sergiev Desert. We, who remained here, like shockers ... Let's hope and wait for you back. Save, Lord, for everything!"

Father Nikolai considers his transfer to the monastery as a useful test, says that he is ready to stay there at least 75 years old, at least up to 80.

“I only regret that I confused those who misunderstood me.” But I do not think that I need to repent for my position. To go outside where it is allowed, with the flag of the fraternal Orthodox country is not a violation, this is a sign that I am for peaceful good -neighborly relations with Ukraine. I hope that the appeal will occur, and I believe that each of us should be ready to pay a huge price for the war to stop, and so that there is reconciliation between our peoples. I am ready to pay this huge price myself.