| |illustrations |
Biologist Mikhail Gelfand called the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who defended theology, “an absurd phenomenon.”
Speaking at the opening of the Supreme Church Council, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' said: “The state supports theology like any other branch scientific knowledge. The question of why theology is needed sounds no less absurd in science than the question of why philosophy or psychology is needed.” Professor of the Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics of Moscow State University, Dr. biological sciences Mikhail Gelfand, who stated that theology is not a science: “Let's start with the fact that Patriarch Kirill himself is an absurd phenomenon in any picture of the world. Theology is not a science the following reasons. First: it does not have a subject, that is, it is not clear what it is studying. Representatives of theology with whom I have spoken over the past year have given completely different answers to this question. Second: it does not exist as a single science. There is no single theology for different religions, it is very religiously determined, unlike other sciences, which are not so dependent on the personal beliefs of the researcher. Third: theology has no common language with any other science. A biologist and a physicist, even a biologist and a historian, where they have common interests, will always agree and find mutual language. Theology does not have this property. There is the study of religious texts within the framework of philology, there is the history of religion, religious studies, psychology of religion - a lot of sciences that study religion, and these are wonderful, very worthy sciences. But theology studies it’s not clear what.” According to the scientist, the massive opening of theology departments in institutions that have nothing to do with the humanitarian field of knowledge was a continuation of the trend of church intervention in the secular life of society, which is observed in Russia in Lately. “The opening of theology departments at universities is one of the manifestations of the pressure of religious obscurantism and clericalism that we observe in all areas of human life. Bishops are trying to censor theatrical performances, art exhibitions, and they also teach in departments at institutes. And in this situation, the department of theology, for example, at MEPhI seems to me less scary than a similar one at the Military Academy of Strategic Missile Forces. And this one also exists,” Gelfand noted. Theology received the status of a science in Russia in 2015. Two years later, the first defense of a candidate’s dissertation in a new discipline took place, the applicant academic degree became Archpriest Pavel Khondzinsky. Five were read out at the defense negative reviews from biologist opponents, but they themselves were not present in the hall. Before the recognition of theology as a science in Russia, there was the possibility of defending dissertations on its issues, but it took place in the scientific specialty “Religious Studies.” philosophical anthropology, philosophy of culture". The opening of departments of theology in Russia began back in the 90s, but then this process took place in the provinces - Omsk was the first to open its doors to theologians State University in 1994. The most notable was the opening of the department at the capital's National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in 2012. 
Patriarch Kirill also stated at a meeting of the Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church that state funding of theological education is a “symbolic ending” to the atheistic education system in Russia. “It is necessary that people have no doubt that theology is rightfully included in the system of scientific knowledge today,” he noted. Religious education, according to Kirill, is required not only for future church ministers, but also for students of secular universities. “This may seem like a paradox, but theological education inevitably broadens one’s horizons and teaches respect for representatives of other cultures,” the patriarch emphasized. Support for church teachings does not prevent the state, according to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, from remaining secular. “The state supports theology like any other field of scientific knowledge,” Kirill explained. - Now the question is: why do we need theology? In science, this question sounds no less absurd than the question why psychology or philosophy is needed.” The Higher Attestation Commission recognized theology as a scientific discipline in 2015, and in June last year the defense of the first candidate's dissertation took place. Its author was the dean of the theological faculty of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's humanitarian university(PSTGU) Archpriest Pavel Khondzinsky
OPINION OF AN AMATEUR FROM SCIENCE
When studying the processes occurring on Earth, it is necessary not only to know all the laws of the phenomenal world, but also to be able to analyze past events, establishing connections between them.. You can believe everything that science has presented to us today, but knowledge cannot be built on this, and the convincing evidence that science provides is built in the absence of another system of knowledge. Regarding theology and theological education, today direct evidence of the lack of science is the church, who is unable to explain the miracles she talks about. Well, the conclusions, as always, are ours...
About true faith, obscurantists and « pop » – Andrey Muzolf, teacher at Kyiv Theological Seminary.
Photo: © Natalya Goroshkova/Orthodox Life
– There is a certain negative background around Orthodoxy in society. Orthodoxy says unpleasant things: it points out sin, talks about punishment for violations, that is, it acts as a moral censor. This role irritates society. But in fact, Orthodoxy does not set itself such tasks. Please comment and explain what are the global goals and objectives of Orthodoxy?
– To say that Orthodoxy creates some kind of negative background around itself is the same as saying that hospitals and other medical institutions- this is a breeding ground for disease and death, because it is in them that, to a large extent, people get sick and die. But such a statement is absurd!
Orthodoxy does not create negativity around itself. It only testifies to the fact that humanity is sick with sin and warns what consequences such a disease can lead to. If a doctor tells us that we have health problems, we will not blame him for telling us something unpleasant. Yes, it is unpleasant for us to hear about our diseases, but otherwise, if we do not know about them, we will not be able to cure them.
Orthodoxy is a testimony that a person is sick, but has received hope for healing from the disease that he contracted in heaven, at the dawn of his existence. Having succumbed to the temptation of the devil - “a murderer from the beginning,” as the holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian calls him, man fell away from God as the source of Eternal life and, as a result, began to die. According to St. Gregory Palamas, the primordial man died twice: the first time - spiritually - at the moment of committing a sin, and only after long years life away from God, man died for the second time - physically. But despite the fact that man himself, by his own free will, left the Creator, God still comes to meet him. The Lord shows mercy and immeasurable love for the human race: He Himself becomes one of us in order to save humanity from the power of sin and death.
Based on this, the main task of Orthodoxy, according to one modern Christian writer, is for every Christian to become a “little Christ”, to be able to embody in his life the ideal to which Adam was called from the moment of his creation - to become not only an image , but also in the likeness of God. And this is only possible if a person remains in the Church of Christ, because only there is real reunion with God possible, that is, deification.
– People are happy to find something to reproach Orthodoxy for. They point to the “spots” and say, look at yourself, and then learn. How to be here? After all, Orthodoxy is about both holy and unholy people.
– Let’s give an ordinary life example: if a person does not trust this or that doctor, he will not reject the importance of all medicine entirely. A similar approach can be transferred to the church sphere: if we do not like this or that priest, this is not at all a reason to reject the importance of the Church and question the necessity of Its existence.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh once said the following words about himself: “I am not good man, but what I say about God is true.” If a person sincerely seeks the Lord, he will definitely find Him. If a person comes to the Church to find the Truth within its walls, the Truth will be revealed to him, because the Truth is Christ Himself. If a person tries to catch the Church and its ministers in something bad, then this means that this is his main goal, and not at all a spiritual quest.
A person’s external behavior is a kind of litmus test that reveals his inner world. And therefore, the abundance of gossip and slander addressed to the Church is, first of all, evidence that it is lies that fill the human heart, because, according to the Holy Scriptures, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). For an Orthodox Christian, slander has never been something terrifying. One ascetic once said: “It doesn’t matter to me what other people think about me; All that matters to me is what my God thinks of me.”
And regarding the idea that the Church, which preaches the high ideal of holiness, itself should consist only of holy people, while avoiding everything unclean and vicious, the famous Orthodox theologian L. Uspensky noted: “ Orthodox Church never equated holiness and infallibility.” The Church is holy not because its members are holy, but because its Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, is holy. Interesting characteristic Given to the church by a Christian ascetic of the 4th century Reverend Ephraim Sirin: “The whole Church is the Church of the penitent... all of it is the Church of the perishing...”
Unlike sectarians, the Orthodox never claimed that they were holy, so to speak, a priori, only because they became a member of the Church, and therefore “automatically” chosen by God for Eternity. Eternity is not given to a person just like a “club card”: it must be earned, and this is not an easy matter, because “the kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). And only the Church can show a person the path that will lead us to eternal life in Christ.
– Why is Orthodoxy not fashionable? Why doesn't it keep up with the times? Protestants, for example, go door to door, campaign, invite people to cafes, throw parties... This is fashionable and fun. Why can’t Orthodoxy become a little “pop”, because then the people will flock?
– The famous English writer of the last century, G. K. Chesterton, wrote: “The Church always seems to be behind the times, when in fact it is timeless.” And the main reason why the Church has always been and will be timeless is that the Gospel - that Good News about the salvation of fallen man by God, which the Church reveals to each of us - has no boundaries, either temporal or spatial. The Gospel is intended for every person, regardless of his place of birth, material or social status.
If we want to change something in the Church, if we don’t like something about it, we must think about one elementary thing: the Church has existed for almost two thousand years and in its history it has already seen more than one hundred similar “reformers”, who tried to free her from something, to somehow “improve” her, to make her more accessible to the public. We should remember the words of the great teacher of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, who in one of his sermons said: “A person comes to the Church not to bring something into it; a person comes to the Church to take away with him nothing else and no one else but Christ Himself.”
Based on this, the main task of the Church is to sanctify man, and through man, the entire visible created world with the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is the mission of the Orthodox Church, this is its salt. And, in the words of Christ, “If the salt loses its strength, then with what will you make it salty? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out for people to trample underfoot” (Matthew 5:13).
- “The Orthodox are obscurantists, ignoramuses, aliens from the 10th century, generally backward people in all respects.” How can you comment on such statements addressed to Orthodox believers and priests?
– Despite such statements, the Orthodox Church has never encouraged ignorance. Saint Philaret of Moscow said: “The faith of Christ is not in enmity with true knowledge, because it is not in alliance with ignorance.” We all know well that most great scientists, such as Copernicus, Bacon, Kepler, Leibniz, Descartes, Newton and many, many others, have always positioned themselves as deeply religious people. For example, the founder quantum physics, the German physicist of the last century M. Planck wrote: “Wherever and no matter how far we look, we find no contradictions between religion and natural science... Religion and natural Science are not mutually exclusive...the two areas are complementary and dependent on each other.”
Another question: what exactly modern society does the concept of “obscurantism” mean the Orthodox? By the “obscurantism” of believers, we mean, first of all, that the Orthodox do not want to make concessions to the modern secular world. What concessions? First of all, recognize sin as the norm of human life.
Today, almost all the media extol what was considered something shameful and unnatural just half a century ago. Even the holy Apostle John the Theologian wrote that all the values of the world come down to three main factors: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life (see 1 John 2:16). That is why, in the words of another apostle, “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4).
Consequently, the modern world and the Church point a person to completely opposite values: if the world demands to take everything from this life, to strive for ambition and vice, then the Church, on the contrary, calls its children to humility, meekness and piety. And it is in such piety that modern society, unfortunately, sees “obscurantism.”
– They say: “Orthodoxy is difficult to understand. Everything about it is complicated and incomprehensible to modern man. None of this is relevant today.” Please tell me, is Orthodox teaching accessible to the average person? How can he comprehend the incomprehensible truth that philosophers and theologians have comprehended throughout their lives?
– It is impossible to understand Orthodoxy, if only because it is not a philosophical concept at all. Orthodoxy can only be experienced on oneself, or rather, in oneself. Orthodoxy is not a theory, it is not a sum of some knowledge or philosophical conclusions. Orthodoxy is, first of all, life in Christ. And therefore His relevance does not depend on certain chronological boundaries. Orthodoxy will always be relevant, as long as this world still exists and until man reaches his highest goal - universal resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment of Christ.
Unlike the comprehension of a particular philosophical system, which requires some preliminary intellectual preparation, the general educational level is not important for the perception of Orthodoxy, because God does not look at a person’s intellect, but at his heart: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).
Philosophers of the pagan world tried to comprehend the truth of existence, neglecting the Creator of this existence. And it is quite understandable why they could never achieve their desired goal. Not a single philosophical system could give a person what he was able to receive in the Church, namely, God Himself. That is why the English writer G. K. Chesterton, whom we have already mentioned above, says that if such lights of ancient philosophy as Plato, Pythagoras or Aristotle had stood for even a minute in the light that comes from Christ, they would have understood that the light of their own teachings - twilight.
Interviewed by Natalya Goroshkova
Gifted to priests? Why be surprised? The fact that Mr. Nobody named Poltavchenko, appointed for the post of Mayor of St. Petersburg, unilaterally made the decision give to priests St. Isaac's Cathedral (which never was not the property of the Russian Orthodox Church!) - a completely expected milestone in the aggressive planting [at the instigation of the state] of religious obscurantism into the towers of our fellow citizens...
No, I, of course, understand the state’s concern for filling the gaping void (left by the evaporated ideals of socialism and the other moral code of the builders of communism) in the souls of people, but I not only cannot approve of the state course towards the rapid immersion of Russia in the swamp of black religious obscurantism - I resolutely against this!
Still, it was an interesting historical experiment: after centuries of unbearable pressure from religious obscurantism, in 1917 the people of Russia (considered pious and even “God-bearing”), for some reason with pleasure began to completely burn and rob churches and hang fat priests! Well, yes - they were a wild people, dark and uneducated, but it seems to me that the priests were also not sugar, but slightly sick, since the God-bearing people, without a command, purposefully trampled them and chopped down icons with axes...
But! The leaders of the USSR were not idiots - they understood that the void in the souls of papillation (formed in place of the disavowed cult of the Russian Orthodox Church!) needed to be filled with something, for which they came up with a creative state quasi-religion - communist, which quite organically replaced the destructive religion implanted by the Russian Orthodox Church slave! Relying on the creative quasi-religion of communism, the USSR in a historically short time turned into a Great Power, won the most destructive and bloody war in the history of mankind, conquered space, and built the first social state in history, and this became one of the most significant achievements of human civilization !
And when the people of the USSR, having gone crazy, destroyed the great power and the communist quasi-religion died, then a void formed in the souls of the people again, what? That's right - the state has decided to fill this void again!
But! Unlike the USSR, the state of the times of the nitty Yeltsin was weak and schmuck, so this thieves’ state, understandably, did not master the project of a new quasi-religion, and the new “ideology of profit” had no bearing on religion. Therefore, they filled the souls of “dear Russians” with what was within walking distance and literally lying under their feet - with that pathetic garbage that was eaten up in the trash for 70 years in shit and piss, but did not die completely - Russian Orthodox Church! They lifted them up, shook them off, washed them, fed them, rewarded them, apologized for the past, and declared the Russian Orthodox Church a “spiritual anchor” and a “support-pillar of the state”...
Unfortunately, in Russia we don’t have balanced, well-thought-out decisions - only maximum hardcore!
And shit went down the pipes: duty-free trade tobacco products and alcohol, massive seizures of real estate for the “return” of it to the Russian Orthodox Church, golden rain pouring on the priests from the bins of the state, etc. Next - “Gundyaevskaya apartment nanodust”, the blatant “seizures” by the Russian Orthodox Church of park areas of large cities for the construction of their religious buildings, etc., etc.
Just 15 years ago, the propaganda of religion and the Russian Orthodox Church caused bewilderment and laughter, but now those who are especially active in “bewilderment and laughing” can be put in a prison zone for this very “bewilderment.” new article Russian Federation for “insulting the feelings of believers,” and the President is taken for granted at church services! Criticism of the Russian Orthodox Church is almost completely prohibited, and we hear terrible, disgusting PR and shameless propaganda of the importance of the Russian Orthodox Church from every iron!
What is especially disgusting and dangerous is that the Russian Orthodox Church methodically, persistently and consistently sticks its black dab into schools, which is very cunning and prudent - you need to prepare your own herd for “hilling” from a young age. If possible. And, this possibility is becoming more and more realistic!
Well, what about the citizens... And what about the citizens? Russian citizens are thirsty Miracle!
Well, here it is: Citizens believed in Miracle : "Only the Russian Orthodox Church will save Russia and make it prosperous!" The other side of the MIRACLE, which opened the people's chakras, is also not bad: “Whoever is not a fan of the Russian Orthodox Church is an enemy of Russia!”
And off it went Miracle, t.s., to the masses:
Millions of communists, who just yesterday denounced, branded with shame, voluptuously trampled on those who dared to subject their children to the rite of baptism, today suddenly en masse passionately and fanatically believed in Jesus and, with a devilish fire in their eyes, frantically rushed to defend even the most vile movements of their newfound “spiritual father.” " - ROC! And now these “new crusaders,” religious fanatics and “adherents of the faith,” pointing their fingers at those dissatisfied with their obscurantist goodies, shout with schizoid pleasure: “LET’S CRUCIFY THEM!!!”
On the one hand, all this, of course, is funny, but on the other, it’s really disgusting, because obscurantism is always disgusting, and mass obscurantism is dangerous both for its bearers and for the state...
In general, the constitutional declaration: "The church in Russia is separated from the state" at the current political moment, it has turned into meaningless letters on paper, since in fact Russia, having abandoned the course towards enlightenment and education, is rapidly plunging into the fetid, black swamp of state religious obscurantism of the lowest sort, and this is very sad.
I return to the “gift”. The fact that someone (I don’t believe that Poltavchenko made such a decision on his own, without instructions from above) donated St. Isaac’s Cathedral to the priests is just another milestone, and there will be many more of these. Well, then, perhaps, the new year of 1917 will break out, which in this situation is very likely, gygygygy!
This is how we get ouroboros!...
Continuation:
Some time has passed since then, and I realized that not everything is as bad as I thought - after all, in Russia there are many educated, smart people, who openly opposed the obscurantism of the Russian Orthodox Church in general and the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral to the monks in particular:
in St. Petersburg, thousands of people held rallies against the transfer of the Council to greedy priests,
a petition against the transfer of the cathedral to the priests collected more than 200,000 signatures,
Scientists and art critics opposed the transfer,
But, of course, the obscurantists never sleep! The bastards have launched an unprecedented campaign to smear all those who oppose the unjustified preferences of the Russian Orthodox Church (the main slogan of the obscurantists: "Whoever is against the transfer of IP to the Russian Orthodox Church is against Russia, and is a liberal working for the State Department!" ), and also began to write slanderous libels, in which they throw shit at the workers of the “Museum of St. Isaac's Cathedral” - they claim that the museum workers are saboteurs, plunderers, thieves and criminals. True, I do not understand how to logically link these “revelations” with the “necessity” of transferring the IP of the cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church. Well, just remember that the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church have always been a model of selflessness, lack of money, virtue and service to the flock and the Fatherland. Just don’t make a face!
Here typical example Such a libel, which was copied and copied (this uneducated, tongue-tied Baba Yaga can’t even write two words without mistakes!) for a long time and irrevocably crazy Parishioner, is simply a classic:
Why do you think the religious obscurantists jumped up and down at the command of the Russian Orthodox Church? and shook with a petty demon in hatred of educated people? It’s simple - because there was a campaign to justify the transfer to thieving priests state property- the priests realized that society was not yet ready to lie down under obscurantists in robes! Well, everything is clear here - the business of priests is like this, they cut money for their money!
But I want to say a special “thank you” to the morel named “Parishioner”:
Listen, black grandmother, “investigations and denunciations” regarding theft by employees of the St. Isaac’s Museum are just as schizophrenic as everything that religious fanatics are trying to prove. Because normal people don't really care about questions huge salary (55 thousand rubles) for museum workers and whether the director of this museum steals or not!
What concerns us is this: state property is what belongs to all citizens of the Russian Federation(including religious idiots), but when real estate is owned by the greedy priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, then this is only THEIR sphere of business, and normal people access there is closed despite all the priests’ assurances that “for ordinary people nothing will change"! Yes, of course it won’t change, we all understand: Gundyaev needs a new watch - the current one, he already bought it for 320,000 bucks, the nanodust damaged it, gygygyy!
The most interesting paradox is that after the transfer of the IP to the Russian Orthodox Church, All cash flows will flow into the pockets of “deeply honest” priests, and even such a stupid “investigation” will be completely impossible. What do you think, grandma, can you find out and publish how much money the priests “working” in the IP will earn for their salary? It’s clear - you won’t answer, but I know the answer, gygygygy!
Summary. No, I do not have vain hopes - the decision to transfer the Council was clearly not made at the level of zero-Poltavchenko, and the victorious march of obscurantism will continue.
But there is also a positive thing - there are many of us, normal, educated people, and we need to resist religious obscurantism at all levels. We especially need to concentrate on keeping priests out of schools. If we miss this moment, then it will be a complete disaster!
PS. By the way. Are you aware that the Parishioner “...consults with her CONFESSIONAL on issues of maintaining her blog, including who to ban!” (c) How do you like this manual control? From my point of view - nutcase in its purest form and complete control of the “spiritual fathers” of the Russian Orthodox Church over such nutcases, which gives very broad prospects...
P.P.S. The Crimean and Simferopol diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church asked to transfer to them for free use 24 objects of the Tauric Chersonesos museum-reserve, which are located in Sevastopol. The application was submitted to the Federal Property Management Agency back in November last year (this became known only now), but the department rejected it “due to incompleteness of the documents.” Now representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church are going to submit another application.
That's how things are, little ones...
More details and a variety of information about events taking place in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of our beautiful planet can be obtained at Internet Conferences, constantly held on the website “Keys of Knowledge”. All Conferences are open and completely free. We invite everyone who wakes up and is interested...
In a region where schoolchildren are required to study “Orthodox Culture,” the number of infections has increased sharply venereal diseases among children and adolescents
"In the Belgorod region over the past seven years number only Teenagers with syphilis increased 14 times, children under 12 years old - 35 times. According to the regional dermatovenous dispensary, the main source of infection is unprotected sexual contact, reports the correspondent of “Portal-Credo.Ru” with reference to Belgorod information Agency Bel.Ru".
According to a poll “15% of girls and 22% of boys noted the presence of sexual contacts in their lives. Moreover, 50% of them indicated that their first sexual intercourse was committed before the age of 15...” As a preventive measure Doctors talk about the need for sex education for children and adolescents in the family and school with the participation of specialists (venereologists, urologists) and psychologists, the use of condoms.
What is preventing us from stopping this African squalor - syphilis in teenagers!? Here's what:
In 2006, defense and industrial complex became a compulsory subject for study in schools in the Belgorod region from grades 2 to 11 (in the regional version it is called "Orthodox culture"). At the beginning of 2010, the ruling bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church MP, Archbishop Ioann (Popov), set the task for priests to check the quality of teaching of the military-industrial complex, which is conducted by secular teachers.
The Russian Orthodox Church MP considers sex education for schoolchildren and more broadly - the whole range of measures called “Family Planning” - "Western invention", the main purpose of which is to destroy the foundations of Russian family tradition.
"Many Orthodox Christians are concerned conversations about the possibility of introducing sex education for schoolchildren and juvenile justice (the Western juvenile justice system) in Russia, said Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill at a meeting with the Secretary of the Presidium of the General Council of the United Russia party Vyacheslav Volodin and his deputy Andrei Isaev on Wednesday in Moscow"
...
“United Russia assured the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church that they will defend Russian traditions in the field of raising children and protecting their rights. Volodin and Isaev promised to counteract
understanding such an interpretation of the Social Charter of the Council of Europe, which would push Russia to introduce sex education
and juvenile justice."
In some circles, it has become commonplace to assert that today Russia is experiencing a surge of obscurantism and onionist Black Hundreds. The country smells like incense: clericalization is overtaking archaization. They're about to burn you for atheism. The pathos is not new and not very interesting. Users discussing this unimportant topic tend to make a number of inaccuracies, which, in turn, are important.
The Russian state, for all its obviousness, which is often mistaken for stupidity or sluggishness, is read quite ambiguously. It seems that there is an object whose sides are equally equal for all observers, but the results of these observations are contradictory, and radically contradictory. For radical Russian nationalists Russian Federation the state is anti-Russian, destroying the Russian people and pandering to non-Russians, but in communities of non-Russian nationalists Russia is already perceived as an oppressor, strangling Kumyr freedom with its furry chauvinistic paw. For liberals, the Russian state is completely Soviet, but for Soviet people The state is ruled by liberals who have ruined everything. The opinions are so contradictory that a compromise cannot be found even in the middle - this would threaten schizophrenia. The answer should be sought in the plane from which they are trying to interpret Russia, in the field of beliefs of the most different colors, which have in common the fact that they are equally neurotic. Their neuroticism lies in the fact that stereotypes shared by an individual or a group of individuals are transferred to an entire nation or an entire state. Hence the mutually exclusive conclusions: well, the state cannot be both Russophobic and ultra-Russian, Soviet and liberal, but it cannot be, then the problem is not in the state, but in you.
However, it seems that clericalization Russian society there are objective reasons. These are Orthodox activists, and the growing role of the “ROC” in society, and the law on the protection of the feelings of believers, and scandals with a religious flavor, and the attack of faith on education, and religion in general, in particular Christianity and its representatives, is now quite a noticeable part of public life. Another “milestone” was the scandal surrounding the film “Matilda”. The editor-in-chief of the Carnegie Center even remarked on this matter: “In just a few days, Russia has crossed important feature, which has been a long time coming: Orthodox extremists have committed two real attempts at terrorist attacks. One in Yekaterinburg crashed into a cinema window in a car loaded with gas cylinders; others burned cars near Konstantin Dobrynin’s office – all for Matilda.
Alas, the stereotype trap has worked. He led the Carnegie Center to an article by Andrei Arkhangelsky, where the publicist guessed that the state, having finally punished the persecutors of “Matilda,” seemed to demonstrate to the liberals: we are still the only European here protecting you, Westerners, from a dashing person. An attempt at analysis again stumbled over the beliefs that determined the following prophecy of Arkhangelsky: “However, from now on we live in a post-Matilda space, where every word and every gesture is capable of shaking the foundations. And this is not a story about a film or a sect, but about the fact that society is too fragile and does not have any internal bonds - the louder they shout about them, the more they fall out of the skin with a crash.”
Is it so?
November 1997. Ostankino. Orthodox protesters are protesting against the showing of Martin Scorsese's film "The Last Temptation of Christ" on NTV. The minimum limit of participants is one and a half thousand, the maximum is ten. More than ever opposed the Matildas. The film was withdrawn from the broadcast network twice, and NTV received a letter from the Pamyat society, which (if the film was shown) did not guarantee the safety of the company’s employees. The situation is mirrored, only its scale is greater, and the result is brighter. IN State Duma The topic of “Anti-Christian action of the NTV television company” was discussed. Unlike Matilda, the head of the Patriarchal Church, Alexy II, spoke out against the film, although the current head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, maintains a reserved silence. As a result, the film, as originally planned, was not shown on Easter Eve. Does this mean that since 1997 we have been living in a post-“Last Temptations of Christ”, where the Orthodox caliphate has risen from the ruins of secular culture? Of course not. Because you don't need to use your beliefs as evidence.
A careful study of Russian “Orthodox fundamentalism” indicates a completely different reality - earlier, before V. Putin, society was more radical, evil and fragile, and Christian fanatics did not rip off “blasphemous” T-shirts, but killed cops and planned to build a theocratic monarchy by armed means.
In 1999, on the eve of Easter, Orthodox fanatics Alexander Sysoev and Yevgeny Kharlamov tried to raise a popular uprising against the Sanhedrin in Vyshny Volochyok. As a result, they killed three cops and seriously wounded one. For a minute, this is the most “effective” single action of Russian radicals against the System. And it was not carried out by the Primorsky Partisans, but by men who went to work with icons. If today some person who considers himself Orthodox killed three policemen in the name of the Orthodox State, the next day the newspapers would be full of headlines that “The game is over” and “It has begun.” Few people articulate this, but the peak of “Orthodox obscurantism” was precisely in the late eighties, nineties and early 2000s - this is “RNE” (with all the reservations), with which it is a shame to compare “Forty Sorokov”, this is the “Memory” society, this is literature Ioann Snychev, and these are militants like the mentioned Alexander Sysoev. Behind last years In Russia, there has only been one real terrorist attack based on Christian fundamentalism, and this is by no means the case with a mentally ill man from Yekaterinburg.
What is fundamentalism anyway? This is thinking, in all its apologetic completeness, standing guard over some idea. Fundamentalism is not only characteristic of religion - there is liberal or left fundamentalism. Modern Orthodox fundamentalism in Russia has gone through several stages. But, unlike Protestant fundamentalism, in Russia there was one important feature- a seventy-year-old atheist state. A time gap has formed between the religious past and the post-Soviet present. This gap had to be filled, and it began to be filled not only with a newly constructed continuity, but also with a complex of inevitable myths. These are myths about the pre-revolutionary church, about monarchism, about the tsar, about the spirituality of the previous society, about which Christian institution or non-institution is true. The gap was never bridged. He predetermined the path of development of Orthodox fundamentalism, which initially branched out from the “Memory” society. This is, so to speak, informal fundamentalism, which has broken up into many patriotic, nationalist and sectarian organizations. Another root reaches to the “ROC”, where it is called “traditionalist”. It was the “traditionalist” wing that actively supported the new federal law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” of 1997. The preamble of this law contains the wording that the Federation recognizes “the special role of Orthodoxy in the history of Russia, in the formation and development of its spirituality and culture.” The previous version of the law did not include such important language. Then, in the late nineties, the future Patriarch Kirill corrected his previous line and began delivering anti-liberal sermons.
Without going into details of the internal polemics of the “ROC” and without listing numerous informal Christian organizations, we can generalize that the so-called. The “clericalization” of Russian society proceeded in two directions – vertical, institutionalized and horizontal, informal, partly marginal. These were not parallel lines: they intersected when the interests of informal fundamentalists coincided with the interests of church traditionalists. As in the protests against NTV, Gusinsky and Scorsese, where “Memory” and Alexy II “united” on one topic. This leads to a very important feature - Orthodox fundamentalism in modern Russia he achieved something only if the main Orthodox institution showed solidarity with his position. And vice versa. If temporary travel did not work out, informal fundamentalists continued to eke out a boring existence in their tiny organizations and on the pages of their small-circulation press.
Under V. Putin, vertical “fundamentalism” has strengthened significantly. Suffice it to say that the head of the patriarchal church was Kirill, a man who eventually turned to anti-Western and anti-liberal views. Having strengthened, the “ROC” continued its previous policy, the first serious fruit of which was the adoption federal law 1997. At the same time, the institution curbed its most radical “traditionalists” such as the notorious Dmitry Smirnov. But informal fundamentalism was fading. The thousands of movements of the past were falling apart, fragmenting, and for new noticeable nationalist organizations the issue of religion was secondary to political and national self-determination. If organized “traditionalism” received a certain legitimation, then the heap of horizontal organizations was successfully marginalized. To the point of hostility towards, in fact, the “ROC”. Thus, Alexander Barkashov took monastic vows in the True Orthodox Church organization and regularly accuses the Russian Orthodox Church of deviating from faith and truth. Of course, the “ROC” could no longer somehow identify itself with its former fellow travelers. Yes, she didn’t need these marginalized people. But the scandal with Pussy Riot showed that there is no mass and organized youth lay movement around the Russian Orthodox Church capable of resisting on the street those who encroach on non-street institutional values. And then everything that they talk about today appeared - “Forty Sorokov”, “Holy Rus'” and other communities. “God’s will” was raised on the same topic.
Let us remember that informal fundamentalism in modern Russia sought limited success when the Russian Orthodox Church agreed with him on something. The Patriarchal Church, although it has very different views, was quite pleased that rallies, stands and peaceful actions were being held in its defense. But the consent or tacit approval of the “ROC” inevitably led to the radicalization of its informal supporters, such as the events in Torfyanka Park or the “pogrom” of Vadim Sidur’s exhibition. At the same time, the highest hierarchs of the “ROC” never justified violence against their opponents, although they did not speak harshly against those who allowed this violence (very insignificant). That is, the successful activities of “Soroka Sorokov” are primarily associated with the goodwill of the “ROC”. Without this goodwill, such organizations would, as always, remain marginal.
The communications revolution and the postmodern state have left their mark on informal fundamentalism. This is frivolity, playfulness, eccentricity, entertainment, shockingness, formalism. The same Dmitry Enteo came out of a typical new-age. This is funny even in modern times - a user who makes sacrifices to Ganesha then becomes a defender of the Orthodox faith. Yes, a break with a past unrighteous life is a classic hagiographic plot, but still, it’s not something that is enthusiastically talked about on YouTube. The attention paid to such characters and their antics, and even the analysis that they are subjected to for some reason, is similar to the analysis of wrestling. It looks like someone is jumping, the ring is shaking and the audience is roaring, but everyone understands that this is a production. Same with the “Christian State”. An informal organization of several people, that is, in fact, something that does not even exist, thanks to a couple of loud statements and allegedly burning cars, grows into a fundamentalist moloch similar to the “Islamic State”. But in reality - no mass organization, no numerous supporters, no serious actions. Again a fiction, the weight of which was given by a stereotype from the outside.
But the matter does not end there with vertical and horizontal fundamentalism, the latter of which has also split into post-modern buffoonery. Numerous radical texts written over a quarter of a century have not disappeared anywhere and have had their influence. In December 2015, two young people were detained in St. Petersburg, accused of attempting to kill police officers. During interrogation, the guys announced that they believed government bodies the offspring of the Antichrist, established in the world.
Anton Golovyrtsev and Nikolai Motovilov, who were not even thirty, were supporters of the priestless agreements of the Old Believers. The guys were not parishioners of any St. Petersburg communities, but they sympathized with the radical wings of the Old Believers, especially the runners. Hence the lack of communication with the communities - the one who in the 18th century made pilgrims by consent, the monk Euthymius, baptized himself, thereby breaking with the rest of the non-priesthood. Following Euthymius, the guys believed that a spiritual Antichrist had established itself in the world, which meant that everything was poisoned - churches, authorities, hierarchies, money. So the young people took the armed path. According to investigators, they twice tried to blow up traffic police posts using artillery mines. One of the alleged terrorists, Anton Golovyrtsev, fought for the DPR. Moreover, he was not photographed at checkpoints, but spent the summer-autumn of 2014 in the infantry. Both Anton Golovyrtsev and Nikolai Motovil face life imprisonment. That is, this is no longer a joke. This is not breaking a plate and giving a winning interview. Actually, this is the only terrorist attack involving Orthodox fundamentalism in Russia over the past years.
Moreover, it was allegedly committed by people who are not associated either with the Russian Orthodox Church, or with other “Nikonian” groups, or with the Russian state. For them these are enemies. Antichrist. There was an important rejection of the concepts that worried the previous informal fundamentalism (even the one that was negatively disposed towards the “ROC”) - this is a rejection of the tsar, the monarchy, Russia, the church, as a hierarchy, etc. What is described does not fit into any of the stereotypes, that neither the “liberal” nor the “fundamentalist” press simply writes about what happened. And this, of course, new way development of informal fundamentalism - network, independent, non-canonical, solitary, sectarian, but, most importantly, not appealing to the “ROC”, empire, monarchy and tsars. The spiritual Antichrist has triumphed in the world and that’s it. Almost for the first time in modern Russia, the fuel for informal fundamentalism stemmed not from the conventional Shafarevich, but from the Old Believer literature of the 17th-18th centuries.
However, these are isolated cases. They are unlikely to happen again soon. Even despite the war in Ukraine, which attracted a fair number of religious fanatics, even despite the patriarchal church, expressing more and more conservative ideas, despite the communication hysteria supported right up to the State Duma deputy - a religious response to all these matters and initiative remains extremely low. Whoever hyped up “Matilda” and how many times they didn’t scam users whose feelings were excited by the unwatched film, but the whole result of the massive, months-long hype was threats, two burned cars and the ramming of a cinema by a madman. Well, even during the early screenings, someone will spray a gas canister in the hall, and they will also talk a lot about this.
Neither Sysoev nor Golovyrtsev. Just made-up nonsense. But this nonsense is indicative. Somehow, imperceptibly and somehow suddenly, Russia approached its most significant anniversary - its centenary October revolution. In a year when society had to conflict, swear, argue, fight with each other because of the most ambiguous, tragic, great, bloody event in its history, which changed the lives of tens, hundreds of millions of people, users enthusiastically argue about a film that even did not see.
What is this - stupidity or madness?
Why not? It’s just that the Russian state, in which all sides are equal and which is still considered so ambiguous, is not at all engaged in the clericalization of society. It freezes him. It chills him. So that it doesn't hurt. So that it doesn't bleed. Historical stability, national reconciliation. Now even in May it snows.
There remains only a vague hope that someday a dashing person will step on the numb gum.
Loading...