Hegumen Peter (Meshcherinov): “The Gospel says nothing about the “competent authorities””

On March 10, 2015, the website "Orthodoxy and the World" published interview with the rector of the Metochion of the Danilov Monastery in Moscow Abbot Peter (Meshcherinov). The priest discusses how the Church could react to performances films and concerts that believers find offensive without creating conflict.

The conversation took place before the staging of Richard's opera Wagner "Tannhäuser" at the Novosibirsk State Opera and Ballet Theater was terminated due to the lack of corpus delicti, so the priest turned attention to the "ethical awkwardness" of the discussion about the boundaries of an artist's creative self-expression when one of the participants in the discussion is in the dock.

As for the theatrical performance itself, which has become reason for the appeal of the Orthodox to the prosecutor's office, Fr. Peter suggested that "Orthodox the public, as well as the local church authorities <...> with great difficulty imagines who Wagner is and what his opera "Tannhäuser" is . In any when Christians feel that their religious feelings have been offended, they should adhere to the gospel principle “love your enemies”, and “ turn to to the prosecutor's office, to bring to court and demand punishment for religious offenses from state - this Christ did not command .

Classical music specialist, the priest would prefer so that directors are more careful about the author's intention when staging opera. However, he considers it categorically unacceptable to involve "competent bodies" to resolve conflicts around works of art. As an acceptable way to resolve conflict the interlocutor of "Orthodoxy and the World" offers a conversation with the director, and in the case failures - a warning to parishioners that this performance may offend them feelings.

With this option, I'm sure about. Peter, “a mediocre production would have gone down by itself to no " : " And now - the press has been involved, which, of course, tuned in militantly, providentially showing us our apostasy from the gospel norms of action; a scandal was inflated throughout the country, the performance received an unusual advertising, the Church is exposed as a persecutor of progressive culture ... this could, I think, be avoided if instead of criminal prosecution discussion took place on an equal footing . Such a discussion, the priest believes, in addition to other things, "would increase the authority of the Church, and would not cause a new wave of her dissatisfaction . "

Sources

• Hegumen Peter (Meshcherinov): About Wagner and the Defense of Religious Feelings // Orthodoxy and the world. 2015. March 10.