A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 15 - Tuesday, April 13th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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Easter Interview with PatriarchPATRIARCH ALEKSII II: A TIME WHEN OPPORTUNITIES ARE OPENING An interview with Patriarch Aleksii II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church Trud, 9 April, 2004 - Patriarch Aleksii II has headed the Russian Orthodox Church for almost one-fifth of his lifetime. It has been his fate to lead the Church out of the "Soviet ghetto." Here he describes the current stage of the Church's development, and discusses the priorities of the Church in Russia today. Question: You have been the Patriarch for almost one-fifth of your lifetime. It has been your fate to lead the Church out of the "Soviet ghetto." How would you describe the current stage of the Church's development? What are the priority issues at present? Patriarch Aleksii II: A great deal has been done in recent years. Thousands of churches and hundreds of monasteries have been restored; dozens of theological colleges have resumed their activities. But the present is not only a time of achievements and completed things. To a large extent, it is also a time when opportunities are opening up. And the Church is using those opportunities to witness to the world of the eternal verities of the New Testament, to promote the moral rebirth of the peoples of our country and neighboring countries, to work for peace and harmony in society. Among our priority objectives are strengthening the partnership between the state and the Church, creating a system of cooperation between the Church and the political authorities, based on appropriate laws and agreements. We would like to believe that cooperation between Church and state at all levels will be independent of political circumstances or the personal qualities of Church and state leaders. I consider it no less important to develop the educational and awareness activities of the Church. A new system of theological education is currently being developed, taking into account both the rich experience of pre-revolutionary Russia and the achievements of modern science. The question of teaching the basics of religion in secular schools is also important. Until recently, state educational institutions had no alternative to the materialist, agnostic outlook shaped in the Soviet era, when religious faith could only be discussed from a Marxist standpoint. Then Marxism was replaced in school syllabi by a skeptical "equal distance" from all religions. Obviously, this contradicts the world view of children who are believers, and their parents. And many parts of society are interested in overcoming this burdensome legacy of the atheist system of education. It is essential to develop cooperation among different religious faiths. At present, an exceptionally high level of dialogue has been achieved in Russia between the traditional faiths. This has enabled the CIS Inter-Faith Council to be established, at the Second Inter-Faith Forum that took place in early March. It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of joint efforts by the leaders of the traditional faiths to promote peace and harmony across post-Soviet territory. Nowadays, when in many countries religious diversity is used as a pretext for division or even violence, in Russia and its neighbors this diversity is becoming a significant factor in drawing different peoples closer together. Question: Some of the secular media consider last year's dismissals and appointments among the senior clergy to be "a real personnel revolution." Do you agree with this definition? What are the original causes and aims of these personnel changes? Patriarch Aleksii II: Such evaluations of the personnel decisions of the Church have appeared earlier. People who are ill- informed about the Church sometimes start projecting the relations which are typical for secular politics or business onto the Church. However, the way of revolutions, including cadre ones, is alien to the Church. These or those changes in the structure of church leadership in the centre and in eparchies have been always done for the church's good. The situation in Russia and the rest of the world changes very quickly, and that's why the priorities of the church activity can be changed too. So, the work of a person, who occupies this or that post in the church management, can demand some new personal and professional qualities. Question: What ways do you see for overcoming of the Orthodox schism in Ukraine? Patriarch Aleksii II: The schism in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church causes us serious anxiety. The church schism inflicts sufferings on the faithful and people. We hope that those, who separated from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, will return and the church unity and peace will be restored in Ukraine. The Orthodox Church has always waited for its lost children and been ready to embrace them as a mother. Question: It is considered that the present relations between Church and state are practically the most favorable ones in the Church's history. How can you explain the fact that the questions concerning passing of churches and lands to the Church and relaxation of tax burden are so difficult to resolve? Patriarch Aleksii II: The case is that all these problems touch upon the lives and interests of many people. You see, the change of the order to taxation exerts some influence on the state budget. The same thing concerns the Church property, which was seized by the Soviet authorities. These buildings changed their owners for several times under the Soviet regime, residential areas and industrial enterprises appeared on these lands. That's why the settlement of the situation with taxation and specification of the status of lands, which are being used by the Church, demands a lot of efforts from each side, compromise and can't be achieved for one day. The present mechanisms of the dialogue between the Church and state allow us to place hopes on overcoming of troubles, which will be acceptable for both sides. Question: How would you estimate the role of President Putin in the mental recovery of Russian society, strengthening of positions of the Orthodox Church and of opportunities for activities of other traditional faiths? What do you speak about with the head of the state during your meetings with him? Patriarch Aleksii II: The president carries out the consistent policy of revival and strengthening of Russian state. It is very good that the positions of the Russian Orthodox Church meet his understanding concerning different socially significant questions. Basically, we discuss different aspects of the relations between the Church and state, problems of revival of church life, prospects of inter-faith cooperation and questions concerning moral well-being of citizens of our country at our meetings. Question: The present stratification of our society is too obvious. Do you agree that, to a considerable degree, it was caused by the dangerous devaluation of moral values in the sphere of Russian business? Are there many examples of inclination of successful businessmen for the Church and for charity? Patriarch Aleksii II: The stratification of society into the poor and the rich has always existed and, probably, will remain until doomsday. St. John Chrysostom answered as follows when he was asked about the causes of social inequality: "God gave his blessings to us unequally, in order that we could help each other." In other words, social inequality can and should be the cause for virtue and moral growth, not for opposition, violence and suffering. A lot of businessmen and well-to-do people considered the wealth which was given by God to them as the cause for virtue and moral growth. The existence of many orphan children, elderly and sick people and fulfillment of some church charitable programs would be impossible without generous charitable, sometimes secret, aid of these people. The Church is sure that the economy and business undertakings can't be brought to "the pure mathematics"; they can't be deprived of the moral dimension. A lot of representatives of Russian business class draw this conclusion today. The Code of Moral Principles and Rules in Management, which had been adopted by the World Russian People's Council in February 2004, was considered with some interest in business circles of Russia. Some entrepreneurs said that they were ready to follow the regulations of this document in their activity. I'm sure that others will join them in future and it will approach the revival of traditions of Russian private entrepreneurship, which were lost some time ago. Question: Can the Church, and the increase in the numbers of believers, have any influence on the crime situation? What is your attitude to the death penalty for major crimes? Patriarch Aleksii II: Contemporary crime has various causes, including economic, social, political ones. It is obvious to us, as Christians, that the sinful damage to a soul is the basis of any crime. Our Church together with the state and society has always striven to vanquish crime. The special task of the Church is exerting moral influence on people, because only strengthening of high values and ideals can stop violence, theft and untruth. Believers assess their thoughts from the position of eternal reference points. They see God's image in every other person, and believes that no secular acquisitions can justify the destructive influence exerted on a criminal by the crime. It is impossible to base one's personal happiness on the sufferings and pain of other people. The Church contributes to preventing crime and pays attention to those our citizens, who took false steps and are imprisoned. The history of the Orthodox Church is full of examples of self- sacrificing social, enlightening and pastoral service to prisoners. As for the death penalty, one should remember that the Orthodox tradition doesn't consider the revenge as the main purpose of penalty. It sees the main purpose in a criminal's correction. We know that there is no ban against death penalties as a preventive punishment of heinous crimes in the Holy Scripture. However, a critical attitude toward this kind of penalty was born in the Christian society. For example, it was expressed in the custom of the Church's interceding for someone condemned to death. Although the Church lets the state to reach the final decision, it welcomes the steps of the secular authorities in commutation of the sentence, which would bring a criminal to repentance and rule out the possibility of judicial error. The inevitability of the penalty for major crimes in combination with their prevention becomes a more efficient means in fighting evil than a simple toughening of the penalty. Question: You have said in one of your recent speeches that the next High-Ranking Clergymen's Council would take place in October of 2004. If it is so, tell us, please, about the problems, which will be discussed by the Council?
Patriarch Aleksii
II:
The meeting of the Holy Synod in Moscow on March
25 decided that the next Senior Clergymen's
Council would take place on October 3-8. It is
planned to sum up the activity of the Russian
Church
for last four years and to draw up plans for the
nearest future. Questions concerning the relations
between the Church and state and inter-Christian
relations will be discussed too. Moreover, we will
discuss about overcoming of the schism of Russian
Orthodoxy and restoration of unity with the
Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. We hope also to
discuss the vital questions of church-building -
for example, the creation of a church court. (Tr.
by Gregory Malyutin from WPS monitoring service).
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