"Partisan as I can." Priests against the war

From the first days of military invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Orthodox Church publicly supports the war. Patriarch Kirill justifies the invasion, promising Russian soldiers the remission of sins. Rectors of parishes go to the war zone in order to bless the military. Despite this in the Russian churches, there are and remain clergymen who do not agree with what is happening, but do not talk about this publicly. North. Realia tells the stories of two such priests from the Leningrad region.

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Father C. and Father Sh. ( at the request of the heroes, we do not indicate their names. - SR ) serve in different temples near St. Petersburg. Both signed a letter from priests in defense of political prisoners in the "Moscow case" in 2019, when a rally for fair elections was held in Moscow. Both priests oppose the hostilities of Russia in Ukraine. One of them in March 2022 signed the appeal of clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church calling for the reconciliation and end of the war, under which almost 300 signatures cost.

Since the beginning of the Russian Orthodox Church, the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine in February 2022 has supported military operations, engaged in the "nourishment" of Russian military personnel. The clergy are publicly supporting the military, and the ministers who occupy a peacekeeping position, the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church, exerts pressure.

At the very beginning of the war, the Patriarchate sent to all temples in the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate a special prayer "to restore the world." There are lines in it: "In a monastic language, who also wants to take the holler Russia to the Holy Rus', - forbid them and their ideas."

In September, the prayer was renewed and began to be called "about Holy Rus'", and the wishes of the victory of Russia appeared in it. In their speeches, theologians from the Russian Orthodox Church, Orthodox activists and ministers repeat the narratives of propaganda, which are shown on TV: about the external forces sharing fraternal people once, about the satanization of Ukrainians, the corrupting influence of the West, about the sacrificial death in the war, cleansing soldiers from sins.

"Nobody signed a letter"

The ancient village, where the father of Ch. , Is 1.5 hours of driving from St. Petersburg. Now there are old wooden houses and fashion cottages, covered from the eyes with high fences, broken sidewalks intersect with paved tracks. A beautiful bleached temple rises near the central road, around which the village lined up. A little less than 1.5 thousand people live here. In front of the temple - a burnt abandoned wooden house. But around the temple everything is tidied and well -groomed, there is even a gazebo where local residents and parishioners can go. With the father of Ch. We meet in his temple.

In March 2022, he became one of 300 priests in the country who signed an appeal against the war in Ukraine. I put a signature because it is "his priestly duty."

-The signing of this letter was not on my part there, you know, with front, or some kind of declaration, or an attempt, so to speak, to show myself in some original light. I just fulfilled my priestly duty, which consists in the fact that we pray for peace and in every possible way to contribute to the world. As long as it is possible, while it is in our power. And I, as a priest, as a public person to a certain extent, had to declare my position. This is my direct duty. This is my direct duty. I really do not like it when the church is perceived as a kind of collective essence. Because the church is not the path of the team. The church is an individual path of every person to God. And when we pray in worship and pronounce the word "church", we mean, first of all, not so much the social structure, but each unification of people at the micro level in following Christ - this is the church. When we pray for the welfare of the Holy of God of God, we are just praying for these communities, the community is equal to the parish. Therefore, on behalf of a special parish, I expressed my position. This was not my political position, ”says the priest.

The leadership of the diocese did not introduce direct sanctions against the priest, but they had a conversation with him, in which they asked not to leave any signatures under anti -war letters and not to express their position publicly.

-A colleague-priest asked about a confidential meeting and took my word honestly that I would not sign anything anti-war. I gave such a word. No one else called me anywhere, ”says the clergyman.

Later, the priest began to write denunciations with a demand to remove him from work. There were complaints from the Orthodox activists who indicated that the priest opposed the military operations of Russia and loves Ukrainian culture.

- I respect the contribution of the Ukrainian people in world culture. The author of the appeal does not like this, and he considers this an act of such national betrayal. He believes that among the clergy, such pastors are unacceptable, and such as me, there is no place. And there should be only pastries as, for example, father Alexander Shargunov (a priest, known as the author of numerous articles in support of the military operations of the Russian army in Ukraine and support the current political regime. - SR) , ”says the priest.

Donation did not end. A little later it turned out that a local resident appeared in the village where the priest served, who wrote a letter demanding to remove the clergyman from work.

-He tried to make some kind of collective letter in the name of the Holy, in particular, the name of the Holy Principle was called, demanding to remove me and prohibit the priesthood. The scheme is such, according to which John Burdin was removed from the service in the temple of his father (a former priest in one of the parishes of the Kostroma region, who, during a preaching in the temple, said about the inadmissibility of hostilities in Ukraine. They made a protocol for the “discredit” of the RF Armed Forces after one of the parishioners came to him. After the official version, he himself left the parish. That is, there was a kind of appeal in which people turned to the ruling bishop. And on this basis, obeying the requirements of the parishioners, the father was suspended. This man unknown to me collected signatures in our village against me. The parishioners just told me that such a letter exists. But, as I know, no one signed it, ”says the priest.

"I am lying to the liberal"

70 kilometers from the village where Father Ch. Serves, there is another small rural temple. A small wooden parish is a new building, next to which are the ruins of the old church. She has not yet been restored. Before the war, the clergyman was the rector of the temple in a neighboring village, but later he was lowered and transferred to another parish.

“I am lying in a liberal in my midst,” says Father Sh. “and partly paid for it. Once I told one person that I signed a letter in support of the political prisoners, for which he honored the title of “Fifth Column”, “Traitor” and so on. And then I poisoned me.

The abbot was transferred to another temple and reduced in office. The priest who is replacing the abbot, where the father of Sh. used to serve, began to read the sermons "militants." The priest is told about this by parishioners who, for many years of work, became his friends. The priest says that he does not know why he was “left”: either because of liberalism, or because the arrival did not bring enough money.

- The diocesan tax ( every parish pays a tax called "Diocesan contribution." - SR) Nobody canceled ... This is like a "franchise," he ironizes. - I had the feeling that they had "left." Military operations were greatly influenced by me. It oppressed me very much ... I talked with the former military on this subject, they are also in shock. One I said so: do not go there. When there was a mess with Crimea ( the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014. - SR ), the officers came to me, and I spoke to them. I know what to talk about with them, my father is an officer. Thank God he did not live a nightmare before. I know what the "oath" means, although I myself did not serve, but unlike some I understand what the question is. I asked these officers: "Here people were in the Ukrainian Navy, and now they moved to the Russian Navy. Are you ready to go into battle with such a person? He essentially broke the oath. He swore allegiance."

The clergyman for this year has become more secretive, and to himself says: "I am listening to everyone, but I myself am like an Indian." He fears that one of the parishioners can convey for an anti-war position.

- The partisan, as I can. We have everything, as in ancient times of Christianity. A prefect of the city and some Christian could live on one street, and there would be nothing to this Christian until they bring the prefect official paper to him that he was a Christian. And then the case will be promoted. So now: until no one will write, they will not touch it, and when they write, they will look at your accounts, a place of work. And it turns out that you come under the discrediting of the Russian authorities ... And it turns out: you think, you speak neatly and will, by willy, you begin to study the tongue, unfortunately ... But the people are in principle responsive! We and I are discussing what is happening in private conversations, we say (about Putin), as in Harry Potter: “The one who cannot be called,” says Father Sh. ..

He convinced him to refuse a trip to Ukraine of several men who wanted to go to the war zone and came to him for a blessing. But "not everyone managed to hold." For a blessing for hostilities, they came to the priest in 2014, when the fighting in Ukraine was just beginning, and in 2022. They come now, almost 1.5 years after the start of the invasion.

- I didn’t let anyone in. One directly saved! I can be proud of this, he has five children, and he decided to become a volunteer foolishly. I submitted documents, but then I took it. The brains finally turned on! Managed to save. And so yes - propaganda works. Well, the main reason why they are going - there is no work, ”the priest argues.

Take off

The parishioners came to the war and did not give him to the war, but he did not give him, because the requesting already decided that he had to participate in hostilities, and the blessing was given when a person is faced with a choice.

He discusses the military priests carefully and says that one of the largest fears of the clergy today is to lose the dignity for words.

- It's not about salary or status. We are all strong, healthy, we will find a job. We are not afraid for money. One way or another, our brother is afraid that he will be forced to serve. And the bishop can do this just with one stroke of the pen. This, you understand how Aivazovsky is forbidden to draw, how to prohibit playing playing, how to cut his tongue to Cicero, ”the rector explains. - My task as a priest is as much as possible to give a person a direction to save his soul in modern conditions. As for this phrase "Modern Conditions", since the gospel events, little has changed. The passions of people are the same as a person will adhere to: he supports the actions of the government or condemns - it does not matter. This is all, you know, very shameless, very variable. But if a person is constantly in some kind of anger towards people and the world around him, if he is gnawing a feeling of envy, depresses despondency, if he feels frightened, depressed, then my task is somehow a little, as they say, to raise from his knees. For some reason, many people think that the task of the church is to lower a person to their knees. This is completely wrong, ”the priest argues.

Father Sh. says that people who support the war in Ukraine today should be exposed when it ends.

- Sooner or later, the war will end. This is inevitable. And those who drowned for the war, for Wagner (PMC "Wagner"), they should not change shoes. They must be exposed. And then - no new blood! It’s scary when what you devote your life, suddenly went to dust, that it is useless - this is the worst punishment. We, as a church, should only preach Christ, because besides Christ we have nothing more to give! - explains the clergyman.

Pastoral word

Democents, complaints and requirements to remove priests who do not support the military operations of the Russian authorities in Ukraine write not only in Russia. Due to such a denunciation in Madrid for three months, they were banned in the ministry of an Orthodox priest, a native of Leningrad Andrei Cordochkin.

- A group of people living in Spain, who are not at all members of either our church or other community, sent a letter. This is a letter, which combined accusations against me in some things that I really spoke and which I never hid, in particular about the emergence of a fascist dictatorship in Russia. But there were quite ridiculous accusations. For example, the fact that we do not pray for the Russian power, the Russian army, ”says Cordochkin. -There were some false accusations that I supposedly prepare church real estate for transfer to another jurisdiction and so on. As a result of this, I was banned in the service for three months of this year (2023), this period has already ended. Now I continue to serve.

Andrei Kordochkin is one of the authors of the public letter of the clergy, who still opposed the hostilities of Russia in Ukraine in the spring of 2022.

“We were accused of taking a political position,” says the priest. - I don't think so. We said that the troops should be divorced on both sides, that all soldiers - Russian, Ukrainian - should return home. We believe that this letter was a pastoral word. Many of those people who took an anti -war position very criticized us because they believed that the letter was not radical enough, that it avoids acute formulations, such as "aggression", "invasion" and so on. The appeal of the Church is always repentance, it should not be offensive and humiliating, it should not even be a court of man, because the court ultimately leave the court for God.

According to Cordochkin, a large number of clergymen with an anti -war position remains in Russia, but they do not publicly talk about their views: in addition to the deprivation of the dignity, priests can fall and fall for their statements under administrative and criminal liability under the articles about the "fakes" and "discredit" of the Russian army.

- I personally know many. They, of course, are in absolutely anti -war positions, but are faced with a choice: to speak publicly, they must emigrate. Or you can be concluded, like Father John Kurmoyarov (former hieromonk John Kurmoyarov, who is judged in St. Petersburg under an article on fakes. - SR) , says the priest. - Or they should, in the biblical language, “put your hand on their mouth” in a public discourse and continue to serve their arrival, to their communities in the situation in which they were now. Father Alexei Uminsky recalls the words from the song of Grebenshchikov "Teach us to breathe under water." These words that accurately convey the current situation. There are no correct solutions in this situation. Now there is a radicalization of society. It goes with seven -mile steps, because there is no place left in public discussion for dissent. This applies not only to society, but also to the church. Remember the example of Father John Koval, who was first forbidden in the ministry, and then a decision was made to deprive his San (the Moscow priest, who changed the text of the prayer “On Holy Russia”. In the phrase “Get up, God, to help yours and give us your power”, he changed the word “victory” to the “world”. In February, the patriarch Kirill has signed the decree that prohibited the decree that has been prohibited. John Koval to conduct services - cf. In this situation, the court was committed not only on it - it was a trial of all of us. We were all made to understand what is possible, what is impossible.

The " Christians against war " community conduct statistics of anti -war statements and actions, but the data is not advertised so as not to harm people. According to one of the creators of the community, Nalla Vasilevich, there are many such priests in Russia.

“When the priests oppose the war, they simply do not stick out this and try to simply preserve their temple, the community from this virus - the infection of theodicide,” says Vasilevich.

"Christians against the war" is a community of not only Orthodox Christians, but also Catholics and Protestants. Just believers can come here and get help and support. The organization leads its statistics on the number of priests who died in Ukraine who have been persecuted in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, forced to emigrate.

- At the moment, non -participation in evil is already an important action. Many priests are simply cowards - we admit that it is. People are afraid, and this is normal. Although, it would seem, we all grew up on stories about martyrs, everyone wanted to serve Christ. As Father John Burdin says, we have been preparing all our lives to the fact that it would be necessary to testify to Christ's truth, and when the moment came, this exam is going on, and we were not ready for Him.