Anatoly Strelyany:

At the end of last year, the World Russian People's Council took place in Moscow. Muslims, Jews, communists, and almost outright fascists spoke, but it was organized by the Russian Orthodox Church, and most of the participants declared themselves Orthodox. However, this was not a church council in the strict sense of the word; bishops and priests were in the minority. First of all, the attitude towards the West and everything in Russian life that comes from the West was discussed. The democratic public reacted coolly to the event, and the speeches of high church officials were said to be unnatural, even mocking. What's the matter here? Where is that conciliarity, that special unanimity, which Slavophiles of all times interpret as an exclusively Russian property and phenomenon? How does ideal conciliarity relate to real Councils?

Yakov Krotov:

For the first time, the World Russian Council, then without the addition of “people’s”, was convened in December 1993. Then his meetings came almost unnoticed, because they were too stormy political events in the fall of '93. For the first time, the public and newspapers paid attention to the World Russian Councils at the end of 95, this was the third World Russian Council. Then, for the first time, the Prime Minister of the country, Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin, took part in the meetings of the Council. There were also sharply negative reviews about the Council at that time, and there were also apologetic ones in (mostly) government newspapers. And now - the sixth World Russian People's Council, the first at which Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke. Of course, attention to the Council increased accordingly. But here’s the difficulty: who should we ask for an opinion on what happened at the Council? After all, this is not a council of bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, but still the majority of speakers are hierarchs, the patriarch himself opened the council. And people who are loyal to the patriarch, of course, think before criticizing him, and before praising him. And therefore, our program today will feature people who are members of alternative Russian Orthodox churches. There are quite a lot of them in Russia now, they are not only Old Believers, there are also arch-conservative Orthodox groups, for example, the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church. Recently, the Russian Orthodox Church "Renaissance" arose, among its members are priest Gleb Yakunin and Archbishop Kiriak Timertsidi. And another participant in our program is Hegumen Innokenty Pavlov, in the early 90s an employee of the Department of External Church Relations, biblical scholar and theologian.

When it comes to the World Russian People's Council, the first question that arises is: how free is this meeting? After all, it was the church people during the 60s, 70s, 80s, as they themselves later admitted, who were not free, the Soviet, Bolshevik, atheistic system dominated over them, and people made compromises in order to They explained that ordinary believers could retain the opportunity to attend churches and pray with others. But if a person has been unfree in one situation for many years, to what extent can one talk about freedom now? And what has changed qualitatively, to what extent was this reflected in the meetings of the World Council?

Innokenty Pavlov:

A person is spiritually free to the extent that he strives for it. And I, for example, knew people in those years, including people who held certain church positions, but who were spiritually free, and there was this field of freedom around them. As for those characters who participated here, I will tell you about this that, if we speak along the line of Metropolitan Nikodim, but Metropolitan Kirill, who is responsible for the organizational side of these parties, he really is both his successor and the continuer of his line. Sometimes in intellectual circles you can hear: oh, he deviated from his line, he was such an ecumenist, so open, but this one is instilling in us something so contrary to this. This is wrong. The fact is that Nicodemus was (in a certain sense) a political opportunist, let’s call things by their proper names. Another thing is that, for example, in the Catholic Church he liked, I would say, what I would call the term hierarchism. In fact, I agree with Bishop Vladimir Krivoshein, he did not know the Catholic Church, and not in the sense that he did not know its history, the names of the popes, the dates of their pontificates, no, he knew that, he had a good memory, but did not know her inner life. And his ideal was an influential church with strong centralized power. Now we are also strengthening the power vertical. This prospect awaits us sooner or later, and there will also be the idea of ​​strengthening the vertical of church power. At the same time, he understood that in Russian conditions, own strength There’s not much to count on: neither in terms of material and human resources, nor in terms of historical tradition. And the same Kirill once told me that in a narrow circle of his people he sometimes liked to say (in the mid-80s): “Wait, we will live to see the time when Politburo meetings will begin with the “King of Heaven”.” . That is, his hope was for a change in the historical paradigm, when the place of Marxism-Leninism would be taken by what I call “Orthodoxism,” not to be confused with Orthodoxy.

In the new historical conditions, now (first of all to name Metropolitan Kirill) they are trying to pursue this line. Moreover, as we see, it finds understanding in the government leadership that we need something to fill the so-called ideological, sometimes called spiritual, vacuum. People, apparently, did not read the Gospel, because in principle there cannot be a spiritual vacuum. Because, you know, if the upper room is swept out, then seven evil demons will come.

Yakov Krotov:

It just so happens that in today’s Russian Orthodox Church there are primarily two factions fighting. And the names of Cyril and Methodius personify this struggle. Cyril and Methodius are two bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. Bishop Kirill is the Bishop of Smolensk, Bishop Methodius is the Bishop of Voronezh.

For the general public, this struggle manifests itself in the form of an exchange of feuilletons. Vladyka Methodius of Voronezh is represented in the newspaper "Moskovsky Komsomolets" by journalist Sergei Bychkov, and so he speaks sharply critically about the World Council, because he does it (as he writes): "an Orthodox showman, Vladyka Gundyaev." “And at the same time,” writes Sergei Bychkov, “ important detail at the opening of the Cathedral, there was a greeting from President Vladimir Putin,” emphasizes Sergei Bychkov. “It is known that he is a church-going person, and when meeting with the Patriarch, he always accepts the blessing. Having met Comrade Gundyaev at the presidium of the Council, he shook his hand and once again emphasized that he perceived him, first of all, as a successful businessman.”

Journalists representing Metropolitan Kirill in the press are more numerous. This is Alexander Korolev in the newspaper "Trud" and the newspaper "Arguments and Facts". Many people know Metropolitan Kirill from his television speeches about faith and the church. At the same time, Bishop Kirill’s side refrains from such aggressive attacks on Bishop Methodius of Voronezh. There is no unity in the Russian Church, and there is great concern about unity. The President, opening the Council, said: “It is not enough to unite the efforts of states; we need social unity. I consider the direction of the work and basic ideas of the Council as a clear manifestation of the positions of Russian civil society.” The representatives of the church themselves at the Council said - His Holiness the Patriarch: “Russia and the entire Orthodox civilization should become one of the decision-making centers in the world.” And here are the words of Metropolitan Kirill: “Russia should become one of the centers of the modern world order.” What do such speeches say and how realistic are such tasks?

Gleb Yakunin:

After all, I was also in politics then, starting in 1990, I was an influential deputy in the Committee on Freedom of Conscience. And I know Yeltsin’s position. The authorities are to blame, of course, and Yeltsin is largely to blame for dissolving them. I cannot say everything in detail, but I once had a personal conversation with Boris Nikolaevich, despite all his mistakes, I deeply respect and honor him. And yet, you know, there was an opportunity to truly reform the church, but he clearly did not go for it, although he perfectly understood what the Moscow Patriarchate stood for, what it was. But do you understand what Yeltsin did? Yeltsin, not being able to quickly reform the country, having colossal positions, decided to do with the church the same way as he did, for example, with the military, with officials, that is, excuse me, he gave the opportunity to steal to anyone who was not too lazy. Do you remember this scandal with the Torpischevsky Sports Fund, and a similar situation occurred with the Moscow Patriarchate? Oil exports opened up, then diamonds, and they were almost involved in fishing. Banking system Moscow Patriarchate?

The specificity of a person’s religious life is when he receives some enormous benefits, he believes that the Lord God strengthens him, he receives some kind of power. For a believer, this charm is understandable, and people think that they are really gaining some kind of enormous authority, influence, and that God is calling them. And it is not for nothing that the highest hierarchy of the Russian Church is at the head of the World Russian Council, and they spiritually lead this World Russian Council.

The communists dreamed first of the USSR, then of taking over the whole world, but they failed. But maybe through our president Putin, who became a devout Orthodox Christian? As stated, for example, by the Izvestia newspaper, Archimandrite Tikhon is called the president's confessor. And, apparently, they are now dreaming of creating such a model, President Putin, maybe he will implement such an idea. Moreover, this will no longer be just a clericalization of Russia, of the whole world, but it will be something theocratic - as if governing the whole world under the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. All these speeches (especially by Patriarch Alexei at the last World Russian Council) speak of such incredible claims, such a spiritual haze, which our church leaders are obsessed with. But I’ll tell you that all this is terribly reminiscent of “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish.” And there is our church, which was broke. It was not enough for her that she received a house, became a pillar noblewoman, she needed a goldfish, and in this case, the function of a goldfish should be performed by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, so that he would be on her errands, and the Moscow Patriarchate is would be the mistress of the sea. This is the picture that is emerging.

Yakov Krotov:

At the Council there were many statements that said that the church is called to be the leader of the people. Here is Metropolitan Gideon of Stavropol: “The ancient godless principle is turned against us: divide and conquer. This is not how the Lord teaches, this is not how Orthodoxy teaches, calling us to unity.” I note that here, in a strange way, separated by commas, as if these were some separate phenomena, it speaks of Christ and Orthodoxy. And further - Metropolitan Gideon: “Terrible temptations are far from being overcome. They will not be overcome until we overcome divisions in society, until we unite around holy Orthodoxy. Those who do not want unity in Christ will inevitably come to godless unity in Antichrist." And, of course, the question arises: “Why then were Muslims, representatives of the Jewish community of Russia, invited to the Council?” How did it feel for them to hear the words that “those who do not want unity in Christ will inevitably come to godless unity in Antichrist”? Is this why many reviews of the Council, even in print, said that there remained a feeling of some theatricality and insincerity. It's as if people don't say exactly what they mean. How sincere were such speeches?

Kiriak Timertsidi:

The insincerity lies in the fact that everything here is built on sand, because it does not correspond to the universality. First, the Russian Orthodox Church controls a very small percentage of the population. These symposiums, these councils, they began in 1948, when it was the 500th anniversary of autocephaly. Then it was gathered by Stalin - they wanted the Moscow Patriarchate to take all Orthodoxy under itself. They wanted all Orthodox cathedrals under the auspices of the restored patriarchate. And then - under all the changing regimes, in the sense of managers, both under Khrushchev and under Brezhnev, they gathered in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and invited representatives of all religions under the auspices of the Moscow Patriarchate. And they boasted that they had a great influence not only on Soviet Union, but also the eastern bloc and so on. And here they are - the bearers of truth. How can any part of the church, even if it is legitimate, be the bearer of truth? And this is great pride, this is fundamentalism, which does not understand its place both in the church and in the world. And, of course, it’s a terrible thing if the first impression, when you turn on the TV, and the same audience is sitting there, is that if such influence goes to Putin, he will be a big loser. Because this audience is known to everyone and Orthodox world, and in the Christian world, it has no respect and trust, relations with both the Greek Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, not to mention others, are very strained. Because there is hypocrisy and pride, and even the idea is being hatched that, of course, Moscow is the Third Rome. Islamic fundamentalists have the same exorbitant claims, contrary to the Koran, contrary to classical Islam, Islam. Of course, they will lead to the collapse of public life, if they want to lead, and, of course, to the collapse of real faith.

Yakov Krotov:

Muslims and Jews were invited to the World Russian People's Council, but representatives of Russian Catholics were not invited, and Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz was not present. Perhaps because the Russian Islamic community is deeply divided. And Imam Tajuddin, whom many Muslims do not recognize, was invited, but Imam Gainuddin was not there. There was one of the chief rabbis of Russia, Adolf Shaevich, but there was no alternative chief rabbi of Russia, Berl Lazer. There were no Catholics at all. The resolution, the address of the Council says, for example: “Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists survived great troubles: wars, revolutions, atheistic persecutions, emerging from them as a united people.” What, Catholics didn’t experience these troubles? It turns out, according to this terminology, that if a religion is not folk, but purely personal, then it does not count. And so Archbishop Augustine of Lvov, representing the Russian minority in Western Ukraine, spoke at the Council. He sharply criticized nationalism, Ukrainian nationalism, against the fact that in Ukraine “state structures were proclaimed to be the highest value. The national idea,” said Bishop Augustine, “is not the basis on which the issue of unity and reconciliation of Christians can be resolved. There is no other way.” there would be a need for a New Testament and the coming into history of our Lord Jesus Christ." And suddenly, at the end of his speech, the same Bishop Augustine said: “Russia will only attract other nations, including Ukraine, when it remembers Bogdan Khmelnitsky.”

Where then is our Lord Jesus Christ? Or was he eclipsed by Bogdan Khmelnitsky? Why involve other nations? The World Russian People's Council did not adopt any specific resolutions; it adopted only one appeal. And therefore it is difficult to say whether he will be able to influence real life Russian society. But what was said at the Council certainly reflects the ideas and sentiments of very real church leaders, although they relate directly to the dogmatic, doctrinal content of the Christian faith.

The speeches at the Council caused internal and often external resistance among many Orthodox Christians in Russia, and caused delight among some. A conflict situation is created. How should a believer act in it? How should atheists respond?

For the first time such meetings attracted public attention in December 1995. Now the Council was devoted primarily to discussing the problems of terrorism and civilizations. Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk, speaking at the Council, said: “It is worth talking about the conflict of traditional values, including religious ones, with secular-humanistic ones. It is the non-religious, de-ideologized liberal standard that is offered to the world community as a universal model for organizing the life of a state or an individual.”

At the same Council, Chairman of the Union of Writers of Russia Ganichev said: “Our fellow citizens, under the guise of civilized enlightenment, have been attacked (in books, television films) under the guise of the latest manifestations of culture by a clip of mysticism, murders, horrors, robberies, pornography, violence that corrupts people, "especially young people, bringing them to a state of bestiality. It's time to start preparing society for a new September 11th, which will not be prepared for us by the bin Ladens." I note that here, from the point of view of a religious person, it is quite strange that mysticism is on a par with pornography, robbery and horror, because, in fact, faith and religion are mysticism. But the very idea that all troubles are primarily due to Western secular humanism, how can it be assessed?

Gleb Yakunin:

What is secular humanism? The world is developing, really developing in the sphere of the rights of society, the rights of the individual, the rights of the people. The great turning point occurred after the collapse of the totalitarian fascist regime. Speaking about secular humanism, our conservatives are trying to fence themselves off from European values, because (ultimately) the question is: are we a European country or not?

Peter the Great still tried to prove that this European country. Putin now faces this most difficult problem. There is no turning back for Putin; it is no longer possible to retreat. Therefore, they also understand this very well; they resist as much as possible. The Moscow Patriarchate itself has now actually turned, I would say, into such a totalitarian sect with a powerful vertical of power. The Council took place, which speaks about freedom of conscience, which is absolutely unacceptable for the world community. “The affirmation of the legal principle of freedom of conscience indicates the loss of religious goals and values ​​by society, mass apostasy, that is, retreat, and actual indifference to the church’s cause of victory over sin.”

We agreed to such terrible things.

Putin took a great step, a courageous step, when he said that America is greatest country that New York is a great city. He struck at the very heart of our fundamentalism. Because, starting from our, excuse me, “father of the Taliban,” Metropolitan John, they kept saying - 666, New York, these are all Jewish Masons, Zionists. They are all against the world, against Russia! The Jews want to destroy Russia! These are literal quotes.

If the civilized norms of the United Nations declaration, the European Declaration of Freedom are implemented here (including freedom of conscience), the Moscow Patriarchate will not be able to exist in these conditions. That is why they so stubbornly resist all these reforms and try to portray that their path is special, that under no circumstances should we follow the path of unity with Europe. Although our great Pushkin, look, we can see in the personality of this great, brilliant poet how a Russian person, a Russian patriot can be at the same time one hundred percent European. This is the path our Galina Starovoitova walked, who was baptized, who became a believer before her death. There are a lot of intellectuals, not to mention our Chaadaevs, Slavophiles, who followed this path of combining, for example, Russian ideas with European ones.

Yakov Krotov:

It was widely reported in the press that the Council discussed the problem of international terrorism. But this discussion was quite specific. Here is the speech of Archbishop Augustine of Lvov: “The terrorist attacks were remembered here, but somehow it all seemed one-sided. I think it should have been on a larger scale, in the context of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to remember, in the context of Vietnam, how enriched uranium was dropped on people.” Speech by cinematographer Burlyaev: the Taliban were punished - it’s good, but “the time has come to punish with the same severity those who kill a person spiritually, taking hostages, corrupting his consciousness.” And here is the appeal of the Council, the final document: “Whoever claims that only his worldview is universal, progressive and universal to mankind is opposing himself to other people, for he is trying to push them to the margins of history. It is unacceptable to suppress the will of humanity and society for the sake of a vague future prosperity, provoking thereby creating an inevitable response." Then it turns out that all the troubles are the result of the provocations of Western secular humanism. That the Taliban were merely provoked, and thus their guilt is reduced, is a response from people who are defending their culture. How justified is this formulation of the question?

Kiriak Timertsidi:

In the West, there are big problems with spirituality, and big problems with the cadre of clergy in all faiths. But here we have only one arrogance: that we are Orthodox, that we protect Orthodox values. We have lost these values. We don’t care about people socially, and at the same time we don’t feed them any spiritual values. Therefore, we kind of open our mouths and say that all this rot came to us from the West - this is completely unfair. Works there Catholic Church, Protestant churches they work, they feed the people, they have a truly public ministry, a real liturgy in action. But we don’t have this. And in difficult years, they went by all means to meet our persecuted Christian world and transported here the Bible, the Word of God, and literature. Very positive. Why then do millions of people go there in order to liberate themselves and work creatively? People are running away from a terrible totalitarian regime, from a hopeless regime. And not only for the sake of physical food, but also, of course, to live creatively and develop.

Yakov Krotov:

Speaking at the World Council, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensky said: “The world will soon demand the ideals of self-restraint, the priority of the spiritual over the material, sacrifice and duty over consumerism and selfishness that are characteristic of Russian civilization.”

Innokenty Pavlov:

They say that people are completely incapable of sacrifice. I know Kirill very well as a typical consumer, a lover of comfort, a lover of good cars, good clothes, in modern youth language, good church gadgets. So, when all this sounds, I, like Stanislavsky, could shout: “I don’t believe it!”

Why are these conversations happening? This is a demonstration of an inferiority complex. That is, I want to be a consumer myself, I want something good to be produced, and for it to be enough, so that it is accessible to the broad masses, so that everything is quiet and calm. But it doesn’t work. Moreover, these conversations are not clear to whom they may be addressed? The people will not understand this, we will call a spade a spade. Well, they hang out among themselves, don’t trust each other, perform literary etiquette, in the words of Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev. What about going out and being with these people? Go to military unit, go to the factory, go to the dead state farm and talk there about sacrifice!

Yakov Krotov:

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk said: “The conflict between liberal humanism and the so-called civil faith, that is, patriotism, is obvious. We, and not only us, but most nations modern world believes that it is better to die defending the homeland by force of arms than to allow it to fall apart or be enslaved. This means that in our society there are values ​​that morally exceed the price of our life. We have a lot to teach the current fast-paced world."

Innokenty Pavlov:

A person would rather sacrifice his life for his home, for the country where he is the owner, and for the country that protects him. The ideology of our sovereignty did not give morale. Let's remember how in the first days and months after Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union, entire formations of Red Army soldiers surrendered. Let's remember this real facts, no one denies them, everyone knows and everyone recognizes them. So here everything is exactly the opposite. The more freedom a person has, the more he values ​​it, first of all, economic freedom, that is, what makes a person an owner, when a person has something to fight for.

Yakov Krotov:

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy said in an interview with the newspaper “Arguments and Facts”: “The revival of morality is not only a matter for those in power. This should become the concern of each of us. Society will change if we turn off the TV when there is a film promoting debauchery, crime, hostility if we stop a reckless drunkard, a drug addict, a hooligan, or a lewdly dressed woman on the street.” Of course, this call to rein in a lewdly dressed woman is something new; until now the Holy Patriarch has not called for such a thing in his speeches. Leaving aside the legality of such calls, can toughening state policy, personal attitudes, and personal behavior help cope with the bad things that are coming from the West? Yes, by the way, is this rot coming only from the West?

Gleb Yakunin:

We had all this in one form or another (even during the harshest Stalinist dictatorship). Lord Jesus Christ came to Ancient world when he was probably at the very stage of his final moral decay. That's all it was in Ancient Rome, and in Ancient Greece. The Lord allowed it, and the gospel basis is that he said: “let both the wheat and the tares grow until the appointed judgment.”

They definitely want to eradicate the tares and build the Kingdom of God under the leadership of the World Russian People's Council, to build such an iron structure in the style of the Great Inquisitor.

Yakov Krotov:

Many Orthodox Christians have left the Moscow Patriarchate over the past ten years. As they themselves say, they could not stand the mockery of themselves, they could not stand the fact that church leaders make irrational statements and try to command in areas where there is no need to command. They are trying to enter into an alliance with the government that the Christian conscience cannot approve of. I note that most people leaving the Moscow Patriarchate go nowhere at all, they simply don’t go anywhere, they just stay at home and quietly pray to God there. Moreover, in the provinces it is often impossible to find any alternative Orthodox group, and not everyone wants to go to the heterodox, to Protestants or Catholics. People prefer to remain inside the Moscow Patriarchate, to endure with clenched teeth. By what criteria can Orthodox Christians advise their co-religionists to determine and build their relationships with church hierarchs when a person’s conscience dictates that one or another hierarch violates some ideas of decency, rationality, mocks common sense and is drawn into a political showdown?

Kiriak Timertsidi:

I’ll say it straight out, categorically, or so it sounds, but the way I feel is that, of course, a self-respecting person cannot be in this structure. This should not be a structure, not an organization, but a real organism of the body of Christ. Why does the Lord say: He who has ears, let him hear? We must have ears, eyes, and see. When there is such a terrible atmosphere, when, okay, the KGB men, the FSB men are doing their own thing. But when the hierarchy is widespread, are the highest hierarchs involved in this snitching? Terrible behavior that cripples souls and future shepherds by its example - this is a terrible thing. A self-respecting person will not be in this. Another thing is Father Gleb and Father Alexander Men, other wonderful clergy, they were at one time in the bosom of the Moscow Patriarchate, but, as they say, “they came from us, but they were not ours.” We had a protest from the student bench, normal person the one who reads the Word of God cannot, because everything diverges from the covenants of Christ. How can a normal person perceive? You can’t speak badly about the dead when, for example, it’s the millennium of the baptism of Rus', there’s a press conference, foreign journalists are here, His Holiness Pimen is dead, Gromyko is sitting on one side, and the dead man is calling on us all to return to Leninist standards of life, not to the covenants of Christ. And this continues. This is groveling before the authorities, or such pride that the rulers are next to us.

But the church must be above politics, not of this world. The persecuted church, on the contrary, wins. What is it famous for? Here all rottenness grows by leaps and bounds. Yes, we can tell who comes to us. Let me give you an example. An intelligent person, graduated from foreign language, smart, about forty years old. I am his confessor, but he had to go to church. He went to confession, the Nativity fast, it was recently, and the young priest tortured him: “How do you fast, by what rules?” He says: “I’m fasting, I’m cleansing the body, I’m fasting and adding it to Christmas or Lent.” “How? Are you doing this? This is demonic! But how did Christ go hungry for forty days? What is Christ, what are the apostles?” And he couldn’t restrain himself, he said: “Fuck you, you goat!” I say: “Why didn’t you know?” This is what this shepherd got, he should be a psychologist, see who came, how to talk to whom. This is a terrible picture.

We, of course, offer, Orthodox apostolic church“Renaissance” came out with a declaration that, of course, we are not inventing anything, we must return to the origins, that is, to the scriptures, to the words of Christ, which should be, check everything and sift through the sieve of Christ.

Gleb Yakunin:

The situation may be completely different in different cities, in different villages, but somewhere in a village or city, where there is no alternative, a person can walk. Despite all the harsh criticism, for example, they excommunicated me from the church because I told the truth, demanded that the money that was stolen be returned, demanded that those who collaborated with the State Security repent. But, nevertheless, I, like most alternative churches, because in Orthodoxy there are many very small, perhaps, but alternative churches that believe in the same creed, and we still recognize grace. The most important thing is that in the Moscow Patriarchate we do not deny the presence of grace. No matter how bishops, patriarchs, clergymen sin, no matter what moral level is seductive, grace still flows through it. Therefore, we must proceed from this. Therefore, when there is a need, you have to go. The one in the catacombs, I don’t remember, either Bishop Afanasy or Alexey Mechov, said this: “You know, you go to church, take communion, communicate less with priests who teach you what is contrary to your Christian principles ".

Yakov Krotov:

These were the opinions of people who left the Moscow Patriarchate. But here is a priest of the Moscow Patriarchate, albeit a supernumerary one, Father Innocent. If a hot-tempered young man comes to confession to a priest of the Patriarchate and says: “Father, I can’t stand this mockery, I can’t. I’m about to leave, don’t be angry.” What advice could you give to such a young man?

Innokenty Pavlov:

Now I don’t often have to engage in pastoral practice, mainly among my own people and a narrow circle. But I remember my parish ministry, when these parties were just emerging; perhaps they were not very noticeable then. They came to me different people, and these were people of different views, relatively speaking, patriots, and, relatively speaking, liberals, although it is not clear why a liberal cannot be a patriot and vice versa. And you know that I can say that to the extent that people were nevertheless sufficiently churchly, they very much separated their spiritual life and the actual mystical life of the church from all this scum. It’s hard for me to imagine such a situation, although I fully admit that it could happen now. As a church historian, I can say: “Dear friend, there were long periods in the history of the church, and periods when there were holy fathers-teachers and devotees of piety, but in which there was much, much more tempting than what we see now ". It is true that it was said, if I am not mistaken, by Friedrich Engels that history has a tendency - once as a tragedy, another time as a farce, but now we are dealing with a farce, and we will treat it accordingly.

In November 2015, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow witnessed a significant event - the grand opening of the 19th World Russian People's Council took place there. In addition to hierarchs and clergy, the participants in such a representative international forum included representatives of all branches state power, including representatives of the Russian government, law enforcement agencies, public organizations, as well as prominent figures in science and art, and even guests from near and far abroad.

Birth of a new social structure

The World Russian People's Council is an interstate non-profit structure, the purpose of which was the desire to consolidate the spiritual forces of all representatives of the Russian people, regardless of their country of residence. The main initiator of this global project was the Orthodox Church of Russia, which, with the support of the general public, officially registered new organization. On this day, her first regional office.

Basic provisions of the charter

According to its charter, the World Russian people's council headed by the Primate. Every year, with his blessing, cathedral meetings are held, at which the most pressing issues of the current moment are considered. From the day the organization was created until his blessed death, it was headed by Alexy II, who was then replaced by the current Patriarch Kirill.

Between congresses of the cathedral, the work of the organization is managed by its permanent presidium, headed by its bureau. The Human Rights Center of the World Russian People's Council, which also does not cease its activities in the periods between convocations, is called upon to fully promote the observance of the rights of representatives of all layers of society, regardless of political affiliation and religion.

General recognition of the organization's activities

The need for its creation was quite obvious, since by this time the task of forming a civil society in the country had become particularly urgent. It was the concern for the future of Russia that united people of various social strata and political views, for whom the World Russian People's Council became a forum where they could discuss all aspects of the problem and outline ways to solve it. Since the founding of this organization, seventeen cathedral congresses have already been held in various cities of the country.

Every year, the World Russian People's Council gained more and more authority in Russian society and abroad. The President of the country, V.V. Putin, participated in its next plenary meeting, held in 2001, and four years later, a clear indication of the recognition of the cathedral in the international arena was the granting of consultative status to it in the United Nations. In the same year, the representative office of the VRNS, created under the Economic and Social Council UN.

Peace initiative of the cathedral

In 2012, among others, the World Russian People's Council took an active part in the matter of fully promoting the establishment of peace in the Caucasus. Stavropol became the site of the opening of its next regional branch, whose task was to unite everyone who wanted an end to the bloodshed in this vast region, full of social, religious and political contradictions.

The cathedral opened in November 2015

The 19th World Russian People's Council (VRNS), which took place in November last year, was dedicated to a very important topic today - the implementation of spiritual heritage Prince Vladimir today. The significance of the cathedral was emphasized by the greetings received from the head of state V.V. Putin and large number politicians. The work of the cathedral was carried out under the leadership of Patriarch Kirill.

Addressing those gathered, he spoke about difficult path, which the World Russian People's Council has done since its creation. His Holiness expressed the hope that right now this organization, which has united the efforts of millions of people to consolidate Russian society, is ready to fully reveal its potential. Its members, holding different political views, remain united in recognizing fundamental basic values.

Problems identified in the Patriarch's speech

Further, the chairman called on the XIX World Russian People's Council (VRNS), as one of the topics of its meetings, to consider the tragedy experienced by the people of the country at the beginning of the 20th century and which left its mark on its entire further history. Special attention he drew attention to the connection of these events with everything that happened during the terrible war years, when our country suffered greater losses than any other nation in the world.

Separately, he drew the attention of those gathered to the problems that have arisen in the field public education. According to him, it is necessary to create a unified general educational space to form in the younger generation the correct approach to the perception of spiritual values, which from time immemorial have been basic for all members of Russian society. He noted obvious miscalculations made in the creation of history and literature textbooks, on the basis of which the worldview of the younger generation is largely formed.

The role of the church in the consolidation of society

In his speech, Patriarch Kirill thanked God for the fact that the XIX World Russian People's Council (VRNS) became a platform for such a fruitful discussion, pursuing common goals, excluding any confrontation and filled with goodwill. In this regard, he emphasized that the church organization managed to create conditions for constructive dialogue and open conversation mainly because it is not a competitor to the political forces involved in the struggle for power. Such a position in no way corresponds to the purpose of the church and contradicts its basic principles.

A choice made a thousand years ago

Touching upon the main topic to which the 19th World Russian People's Council was dedicated, His Holiness Patriarch pointed out the fallacy of the current assertions that the choice made by the baptizer of Rus' should be interpreted as European, as a result of which Russia is doomed to blindly imitate the Western model, without any reasoning, transferring their experience to its soil.

He also sharply criticized attempts to present interaction as a relationship between civilization and barbarism. This approach, in his opinion, is a consequence of ignorance of the historical realities inherent in that time. In-depth and comprehensive research shows that this was a dialogue of equal partners, and it served mutual benefit. Proof of this can be considered the marriage concluded between Prince Vladimir and Princess Anna.

Only by rejecting attempts to present the choice made a thousand years ago as European or Byzantine and unconditionally defining it as purely Russian, can we explain how the Russians managed to realize their spiritual and creative potential to such an extent. Those gathered in the hall greeted with unanimous approval the words of the patriarch that the legacy of the holy baptizer of Rus' is the covenant to build a society on the basis of universal solidarity, guided by highly humane Christian principles embedded in the teachings that, thanks to Prince Vladimir, were revealed on the banks of the Dnieper. The main provisions of Patriarch Kirill's speech were reflected in the final document, which upon completion was adopted by the 19th World Russian People's Council.

Speeches at the final meeting of the council

At the final meeting of the council, the main leitmotif of the speeches of most speakers was the concern that our today's society will leave a legacy for its descendants. The delegates emphasized that if the two thousand years passed under the sign of the country’s restoration after the chaos of the nineties, now, having found solid ground under our feet, it’s time to think about the future and the role assigned to us on the path that began with the baptism of Rus' by the holy prince Vladimir.

Yesterday the Twentieth World Russian People's Council took place in Moscow. It is significant that this happened on the birthday of Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, on the day the Second People's Militia captured Kitay-Gorod in 1612 and on the eve of the National Unity Day.

What is the World Russian People's Council? This is, first of all, an organization created in 1993, the chairman of which is the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church- first Alexy II, and after his death - the now living Patriarch Kirill. The task of the World Russian People's Council is to unite the Russian world and strengthen its identity on the basis of the Orthodox Church and, more broadly, the Orthodox worldview, solidarity, unity and justice.

Orthodoxy created our people. Yes, East Slavic tribes existed before the 10th century. Probably, our ancient pre-Christian ancestors also knew some forms of statehood, most likely, being an integral part of the Sarmatian-Slavic, and even earlier - Scythian, political entities. After all, ancient historians spoke about Scythian farmers, although the Scythians led an exclusively nomadic lifestyle. And our Slavic ancestors were primarily engaged in settled agriculture. And since the mentioned Scythian farmers lived precisely on those lands of the Russian Plain, where Slavic settlements were later reliably recorded, it was almost certainly them.

But still, tribes, culture, communities and language are one thing, and another thing is the people as historical subject, as a continuous thinking Living being, aware of its unity, its uniqueness and its difference from all surrounding peoples. The Russians became a people only after the Kiev statehood was created, and soon after that the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir baptized Rus' in the Dnieper. The people must have a Logos. Tribes can live by tradition, the people need orthodoxy - that is, an intellectual elite, a ruling idea, a worldview. Without this, a people cannot exist in history: it does not have a tool for understanding good and evil, goals and obstacles, friends and enemies.

A people without history is not a people. But not all time is history, but only meaningful time, time that has a source and a goal. We became a people in the full sense of the word in the 10th century. Together with baptism, we died and were born again in the Dnieper. And we received a new name, and a doll of kindness, and a cross that we still bear, and we accepted the Holy Spirit within ourselves, and the kingdom of God is now within us. And we entered history as such sons and daughters of Christ. We promised ourselves to Christ once and for all and became his warriors. And no matter how scared we were, we always secretly remained faithful to him. And if we renounced, then with blood, with horror, uprooting our own heart, knowing that we were losing... As a people, we Russians were both cold and hot, we went through the paradise of Holy Rus' and the hell of apostasy, but we were never warm were. For us, everything is only extremes, and even in this we are Christians: we can fall and fall into the abyss, but we are also capable of taking off.

The World Russian People's Council was created to remind us what it means to be Russian. To once again draw attention to the historical imperative: “We must be together.” The Russian World must be restored to its unity, which means our national Russian font of the Dnieper and the holy city of Kyiv must return to the bosom of our Russian civilization.

How prophetic are the words of Kuzma Minin, which awakened the Russians to mobilize the Second Militia: “Coupled and united!” This is the goal of the World Russian People's Council, so that we, Russians, Russians of the whole world - moreover, all people of Light, of all peoples and countries, and to be Russian means to be the Son of Light - are all together and all at the same time. And not separately and not against each other. And it is called the Cathedral according to its original meaning - it is called upon to collect sparks of light into a single Russian Temple. This is all the more important because the times we live in clearly bear signs of the end. But only people who have their own history, which means they exist in the full and highest sense of the word, can read them.

All the best, you watched the program “Dugin’s Directive” about the World Russian People’s Council.

You may ask: is the World Russian People's Council fulfilling its purpose? This is a question not for him, but for yourself. After all, every Russian is an integral part of our single and indivisible Russian world. Stop waiting for something from the outside - the Kingdom of God is inside you, inside every Russian person. Find him, and the goal of the World Russian People's Council will be fulfilled.