The Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia demands the resignation of the Director of the Hermitage…. Metropolitan Hilarion: The Orthodox Church needs intelligentsia

St. Petersburg public organization

CATHEDRAL OF THE ORTHODOX INTELLIGENTIA

Russian Federation, 190068, St. Petersburg, Voznesensky pr.46, 4th floor, room 466, t/f: 570-25-93

Dear Sergei Alexandrovich!

Favorable conditions have been created in our country to meet the religious needs of all citizens, including military personnel. Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees "freedom of religion, including the right to profess, individually or jointly with others, any religion." Order of the Minister of Defense No. 79 dated February 28, 2005 “On the improvement of educational work in the Armed Forces Russian Federation”recommends commanders and commanders “in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, to assist military personnel in their religious needs, religious education and upbringing within the framework of traditional confessions.”

In this regard, the actions of some officials in respect of the constitutional rights of their subordinates and the implementation of the order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation cause surprise and deep regret.

So, by decision of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief Navy of the Russian Federation for educational work of Vice-Admiral Smuglin F.S. Excluded from the lists for the campaign of the training ship "Perekop" were the chairman of the Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of the St. Petersburg Diocese, Archpriest Alexander Ganzhin, and an employee of the same department, Priest Georgy Volobuev. The question arises: How will cadets, sailors and officers be provided with religious needs for three months, and how will religious education and upbringing be carried out without priests on board?

In the St. Petersburg Rocket and Artillery cadet corps the head of the 5th Directorate of the Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense considered it inappropriate to introduce the course "Spiritual and Moral Traditions of the Russian Army", aimed at studying the best domestic traditions, at instilling in future officers a sense of patriotism and love for military service.

AT Military Space Academy them. A.F. Mozhaisky for the first time in many years, the head of the academy, Lieutenant General Frolov O.P. forbade inviting a priest to solemn events dedicated to the graduation of young officers.

All these facts, in our opinion, speak of the violation by individual commanders and chiefs of both the constitutional rights of military personnel and the orders of higher command.

The assertion of these leaders that preference for Orthodox priests in spiritual and moral education and upbringing can cause religious conflicts is untenable for the following reasons:

Firstly, the history of the Russian Armed Forces knows no religious conflicts. At all times, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Jews defended their homeland shoulder to shoulder, respecting the faith of their comrades. This respect was brought up by Orthodox priests. Just the absence of a spiritual pastor can cause negative phenomena in the relationship between representatives of different religions;

secondly, among all traditional confessions there are no contradictions in matters of spiritual and moral education of servicemen. As early as December 25, 2006, the Federation of Jewish Communities (FEOR) and the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims (TSDUM) of Russia voiced their positive attitude towards the introduction of the institution of military clergy in the army;

thirdly, giving priority in the Armed Forces to the Orthodox clergy is fully consistent with democratic norms, of which our state has declared itself an advocate. According to the Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of Educational Work of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Rear Admiral Nuzhdin Yu.F. Of the number of believing military personnel, 83% are Orthodox Christians, 6% are Muslims, 2% are Buddhists, 1% are Protestants, Catholic Jews. It follows from this that Orthodox priests, much more than other denominations, must visit ships and units.

The statements of some commanders and superiors that our Church is separated from the state, and therefore the priests have nothing to do in the Armed Forces, are also untenable:

firstly, the Church is separated from the state in most democratic countries, which does not prevent them from having institutions of military chaplains;

secondly, the Orthodox Church, while spiritually nourishing the servicemen, in no way interferes in the activities of the Armed Forces, in the orders, orders and orders of commanders and superiors. The Orthodox Church condemns and even forbids those priests and bishops who join the political struggle or incite their flock against the actions of secular authorities. The decision of the last Council of Bishops is a clear confirmation of this position;

thirdly, the experience of the 90s of the last century shows that if Orthodox priests are not allowed into military units and ships, their place is taken by sectarians whose activities are aimed at agitating against service in the Armed Forces,
on the destruction of our statehood and our national traditions.

The Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia, as an Orthodox public organization, which also includes representatives of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, expresses concern about the above facts and hopes that they are just an unfortunate misunderstanding.

Julia Sokolovskaya

22.02.11. Man goes: where, with whom, in the Name or against? Why does the traveler so stubbornly choose the wrong travel companion? It is clear that communication with the “sinful god” (Kazin A.L.) does not ask for “Truth-Truth” (Semenov V.E.), but really the straying traveler will not think about the Light? We believe, he will think: there are people walking the paths of justice who will lead him out. It is to the Glory of the Light of God that for a decade the Cathedral of the Orthodox Intelligentsia of St. Petersburg has been directing us to true values.

On the basis of the Alexander Lyceum of the city on February 11-12, 2011, a scientific and practical conference "The Orthodox Church and Russian Culture" was held, in the preparation and conduct of which the journal " Native Ladoga". From the first issues, the editorial board of the journal includes many members of the Council of the Cathedral. Members of the editorial board of this well-known St. Petersburg edition, Chief Editor which Andrei Rebrov is also a member of the Council of the Cathedral, took part in all previous conferences. The current conference was especially significant for the "Native Ladoga" not only because it was an anniversary, but on the stated topic concerning issues Orthodox culture. In many ways, these issues in connection with other areas are considered on the pages of the journal. During the two-day meetings, a significant number of reports and messages were read on the most diverse aspects of comprehending the spiritual component of the Russian cultural tradition.

The plenary session was opened with the inspiring words of Aleksey Nikolaevich Shvechikov: “We can see the consolidation of the right-wing forces of the city, and we had an impact on this, but the path to restoration is far from short. historical role Orthodoxy in the life of Russian society.

Photo 1: , Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Director of the Interuniversity Center for Religious Studies, Co-Chairman of the Council of the Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia "On the ten-year activity of the organization."

The report “Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia as an Expression of the Russian-Orthodox Mentality and the Need for Truth-Truth” by Valentin Evgenievich Semenov convinced the audience that “Russian people not only strive for Truth-Truth (and where there is Truth, there is Justice)”, but also selflessly tries to keep it in our society: actions against the mutilation of human souls through advertising, against the mutilation of St. Petersburg, against attempts to threaten the Orthodox faith. “There is an increasing immoralization of society, but it’s good that young people are involved in charitable deeds, it’s good that they declare themselves.”

V.E. Semenov, Doctor of Psychology, Professor, Full Member of the International Academy of Psychological Sciences, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Director of the NIIKSI of the Faculty of Sociology of St. Petersburg State University, Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia.

A.L. Kazin, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Head of the Department of Art History of St. Petersburg State University of Cinematography and Television, member of the Union of Writers and the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, member of the Council of the Cathedral of the Orthodox Intelligentsia.

The topic of Alexander Leonidovich Kazin's report "Russia and Progress" is the most important, because Russia, as always, "sets a riddle", i.e. “Russia, in a sense, does not want to participate in this. The problem is related to the source of progress. It's hard for us. On the one hand, we must participate, and at the same time something is preventing us. The answer, I think, is in the variant of secularization. The idea of ​​progress is modernist, the transition of the west from classicism.” Disease from the West has overcome our fatherland more than once. It is clear from the present state of society's spirituality that the path to conscious indistinguishment of basic values ​​cannot but lead to a dead end. For Russia, salvation is only in Orthodoxy, “there must be neither anti-Christianity nor non-Christianity. Modernization without westernization, modernization with the preservation of the non-saleable type of person.

Photo 2:Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Head of the Department of Philosophy of the Higher School of Folk Arts, member of the Council of the Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia "Autocracy, Orthodoxy, Nationality - the task of Russia in the XXI century ».

“State-forming people, state-forming church, independent national power = healthy state”

Why is the replacement of the people taking place, why is the issue of rooting guest workers in Russia more concerned about the authorities than the preservation of the native fund?

“There is a Russian-speaking population, but not the people!” "There must be a reunification of Great Russia, including Little and White." The editors of Rodnaya Ladoga asked the question: “After all, the western part of Ukraine is not disposed to be a “fallow species of Muscovites”, Russification is painful for them.” Sergey Viktorovich: “Absolutely, and neo-Russification cannot delight them ...” But can't unity with the Great State be useful in the spiritual, cultural and existential understanding?

Photo 3: Secretary of the Union of Writers of Russia, Chairman of the Orthodox Society of Writers of St. Petersburg, member of the Council of the World Russian People's Council, member of the Council of the Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia “Overcoming national deafness. Problems of perception of N.S. Leskov and his connection with the national Orthodox ideology. To the 180th anniversary of the birth of the writer.

“The blow to the national Russian consciousness under Peter I led to the fact that being Russian is uncivilized. Only the peasants did not become nationally deaf”, steadfastly kept their faith and traditions.

In the second part of the chronicle "The Seedy Family" by N.S. Leskov, social non-embodiment in the Russian life of Christianity was affirmed, which caused discontent of the editor of the "Russian Messenger" Katkov: "He is not at all ours." For some reason, national deafness is convenient?

Dvernitsky Boris Georgievich about the interaction in the history of Christianity and humanism - as the spiritual and spiritual components of human existence, which are embodied in a special way in the Russian type of civilization. “Without the Fatherland, without the Church, there is no complete person.”

B.G. Dvernitsky, candidate of geological and mineralogical sciences, editor-in-chief of the journal "Russian Self-Consciousness", member of the Council of the Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia.

There were also alarming notes in the reports presented at the conference. In particular, they spoke about the danger of mass culture, which replaced the culture of the people, ousted education from the media and completely flooded the concert stage and television screens, forming new “models” for imitation based on the cult of the “golden calf”, idolatry and vulgarity.

Photo 4: an employee of the missionary department of the Gatchina deanery. "Orthodoxy and mass culture".

"Do not believe when they say that scientists are unbelievers!"

Georgy Nikolaevich Fursey, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, laureate of the USSR State Prize, member of the Council of the Cathedral of Orthodox Intelligentsia. "The role and place of science and education in Russian Orthodox culture".

“The passion for language sores can destroy the Russian language. It is important for us to conciliously and prayerfully defend it!”

B.B. Sergunenkov, Member of the Board of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood, Chairman of the Council of Entrepreneurs of the DeloRus Business Community, Member of the Council of the Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia. "Russian language in the modern world".

"Glorifying God in the tongue is an example for all mankind."

V.V. Sementsov, candidate of pedagogical sciences, chairman of the Society of Orthodox Teachers of the St. Petersburg Diocese, member of the Council of the Cathedral of Orthodox Intelligentsia. "Mission of the Russian language in modern society".

“The media have ceased to reflect Russian life, interests, style, i.e. there may be an information war against Russian statehood.”

Photo 5: Deacon, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Faculty of History, St. Petersburg State University. "Aspects of the security of the modern Russian language".

“The word is the degree of communion with God: grace or ungrace. Words alien to God destroy a person.”

Priest Alexy Moroz, Grand Doctor of Psychology, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, professor, writer, member of the Council of the Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia, head of the International Spiritual and Educational Center "Vozrozhdeniye", head of the Diocesan Outpatient Consulting Center "Resurrection". The word and its impact on man.

G.D. Koldasov, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Professor, Theological Department of PANI. "Creativity and the Russian language".

“We must move to the spiritual level, we must not stop only at the emotional-sensual level.”

V.E.Semenov. "Russian language in modern Russia(Based on materials of sociological research). “How do young people assess the shortcomings of modern Russian speech? It turns out this situation: you can, but you can’t, you can’t, but you can.”

A.L. Kazin. Dostoevsky is our contemporary. "Dostoevsky's novels are a justification for the existence of Russia." "Fyodor Mikhailovich has the truth without the renunciation of a living person in all his guises."

V.E.Semenov. "Dostoevsky and Russian mentality". "The Brothers Karamazov" is a model of the Russian soul. “80% of the surveyed contemporaries believe that happiness is love, and giving love to other people is a must!”

Photo 6: Doctor of Cultural Studies, Professor of St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts. "Dostoevsky and the Byzantine-ascetic ideal of Russian spirituality". "There is a light by which Russians smell each other." "The Byzantines themselves understood that the spiritual relay belongs to Rus'." "Dostoevsky's beauty is mountainous."

The conference participants state that Orthodox values ​​are an integral spiritual foundation of Russian civilization and Russian culture; that the Russian people in the current conditions of globalization and “general averaging” can and must rely on their centuries-old spiritual traditions, without which it is impossible to preserve the people as political force and the country as a sovereign participant in world processes; that the Russian language - as one of the foundations of the existence of a nation in history and as a cultural bond in a multinational state - needs legislative protection and general attention; that the Russian Orthodox civilization can offer the world its project of modernization and development, which is based not on the cult of money and usurious capital, but on the idea of ​​solidarity in society, the desire for knowledge of God's world and the role of man in its arrangement, for spiritual perfection for the benefit of the living and future generations.

Decree: to petition the St. Petersburg Education Committee to organize an approbation of a model of spiritual and moral development and education of students based on Orthodox tradition in those schools where there are already the necessary conditions (teaching staff, parent query).

The Rodnaya Ladoga magazine provided its pages for publication in the current issues of the best reports made at this important conference, the resolution documents of which should be announced to the general public, interested in the future of Russia and not losing hope of personally influencing this future.

In St. Petersburg, a new public organization arose under? humble? name - "Cathedral of the Orthodox intelligentsia?". The Constituent Assembly - according to the name - took place in the assembly hall of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. The purpose defined by the statute is "restoration of the historical role of Orthodoxy in shaping the spiritual and moral foundations of the life of Russian society", "unification of the intelligentsia on the basis of Orthodox values ​​of life and culture and the establishment of these values ​​in real social relations?".
I wonder what is meant by this - to make the entire intelligentsia Orthodox in one fell swoop? Or, to begin with, separate the sheep from the goats, which will either have to be weaned or re-educated? For clarification, she turned to the director of the Research Institute of Complex social studies Professor Valentin Evgenievich Semenov, standing at the origins? Cathedral?.
- In addition to me, - said Valentin Evgenievich, - are the Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, director of the interuniversity center at the origins? Science and religion? Alexey Nikolaevich Shvechikov, Academician Russian Academy education Alexander Arkadyevich Korolkov, philosopher Alexander Leonidovich Kazin and artist Timur Novikov. We are not clerics at all, but the state of mind in our country does not suit us all.
Western society, according to Max Weber, is a society of Protestant morality, and we, - the professor believes, - will put a firm foot on the Orthodox platform.
- But wouldn't it be a shame, - I asked, - to some, how to put it more accurately, not quite Orthodox intellectuals, who will not be accepted in? The cathedral?
It was immediately explained to me that Russians in our country are 82 percent, and there are also Ukrainians and Belarusians, that the Orthodox denomination is the most massive, and therefore to keep a person? from anomie? (a - denial, nomos - law, that is, the denial of laws and norms) there are no other mechanisms, except for Orthodoxy.
Does Professor Semenov also have his own theory about singularities? Russian polymentality?, according to which in Russia there is not one, but as many as five mentalities. The first and main, of course, Orthodox-Russian - is this? the values ​​of God, the Spirit (exactly so, separately, which, in my opinion, clearly smacks of heresy. - TV), the commandments of Christ, holiness, conscience, catholicity? The second is collective socialist, rooted in the peasant community and formed over the past 70 years. The third is individual capitalist, whose roots lie hidden in Western culture, but whose values ​​are? individualism, rationalism, personal success, pragmatism, money as an absolute universal?. The fourth mentality is criminal-mafia, the fifth is mosaic-eclectic, which is, according to Valentin Evgenievich, complete entropy. There are also all sorts of Islamic, Jewish and other inclusions, but, as I understand it, it is not worth dwelling on them, since the Orthodox are still the majority.
But it's hard not to dwell on how a professor of sociology (and the head of one of the departments of St. Petersburg University) explains the existing mentalities. The capitalist mentality, the professor complains, “is widely promoted on television and radio, in books and magazines, in film repertoire, in concert and exhibition activities. Even in the Russian Museum exhibitions of Western painters and sculptors already compete with exhibitions of Russian artists? From native? ours? Professor separates not quite? ours?: "Among the original Russian-speaking representatives of this mentality, one can name Nabokov, Brodsky, Neizvestny, Shemyakin, Baryshnikov?"
In this series, in addition to the plastic artists Neizvestny and Shemyakin, Baryshnikov is especially remarkable: it turns out that the dance can also be Russian-speaking.
The logic chosen by the professor makes it possible to operate with statistics with extraordinary dexterity. People are asked, for example, what kind of Russia they want to see - in the first three places, respectively, is democratic, spiritual and Orthodox Russia. The commentary explains that this triad resembles the Uvarov formula? Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality?, only autocracy has been replaced by spirituality, and democracy is the power of the people, that is, nationality.
honorary chairman? Cathedral of the Orthodox intelligentsia? unanimously elected rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Bishop Konstantin of Tikhvin, who managed to become famous last year for scandalous persecution of students who did not want to come to terms with the ordination of a man known to them as an atheist, a cynic and a blackmailer. Bishop and future pastor of the entire Orthodox intelligentsia in a speech dedicated to the birth? Sobor?, in particular, he said that from the point of view of the Church it is unacceptable to take semen from soldiers going to the Chechen war for DNA analysis - for the subsequent identification of corpses. The shepherd was unspeakably outraged not by the fact that people were being killed, but by this one? delicate? moment.
For autumn? The cathedral? planning to convene a conference? Spiritual and social problems of Russia?. Which, I dare to assume, will be easily solved by introducing a slogan? Orthodox of all Rus', unite!?. Well, and whoever does not wish to be Orthodox, presumably, will automatically become Russian-speaking. And there, as you know, - "who did not hide - I'm not to blame?". The world, which seemed to some short-sighted individuals to be one, will again be divided into an inner paradise, this time exclusively Orthodox, and outer darkness, western, where, as you know, there is only weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The meeting of the Pope and Patriarch Kirill, which caused worldwide interest, has many consequences. As it turned out, it served as a catalyst for conflict within the ROC. For the first time, disagreements among the Orthodox appeared at the public level. Secular "Fontanka" understood the claims and the reasons.

Andrey Mosienko/Kommersant

About 400 people (mostly members of the religious organization "Sobor of the Orthodox Intelligentsia"), who gathered on March 6 in St. Petersburg, criticized the current leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. "Schismatics," as they were called in the diocese of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, booed the envoy from Metropolitan Barsanuphius, who was trying to stop the "church revolution." As observers say, this is not an ordinary dispute at all.

“We are faithful to what the Russian martyrs have always confessed. We are members of the church that is faithful to orthodox dogmas, we do not accept new heretical teachings, as well as the corruption of our church from within. We do not want the church to decay from within, we want our church to save people, lead them to the Kingdom of Heaven, and not turn into some kind of external church bureaucratic organization like the Catholic Church without spirit and faith ... I say right away that this is our church, and we are from we are not going to leave it,” began his speech at the “round table” “The Russian Orthodox Church and the Havana Declaration – Victory or Defeat?” its organizer Father Alexy Moroz, drawing applause from those present.

Then he continued in more detail: Patriarch Kirill, they say, does not observe the principle of catholicity, but decides everything individually. “How could it be that Cyril concealed his visit to the Pope, concealed from the Council of Bishops a meeting with a heretic, declared him his brother? Father Alexy asked. “Everything was done secretly and presented personally from him, the patriarch. This is impossible, this is a violation of the catholicity of the church.”

Moroz's other claim was more mundane - parishes are not financially independent, and corruption and bureaucracy reign in all structures of the Russian Orthodox Church: “Everything is done for money: moving to departments, parishes. At the same time, all property belongs to the patriarch, nothing to the parish.”

He was followed by Associate Professor at MGIMO Olga Chetverikova who put forward a theory, the essence of which is summary sounds like this: you can’t meet with Catholics, as they are spies who want to seize power over the world, and Russia in particular. "Vatican and Catholic Church- a theocratic state with an extensive financial system and developed intelligence agencies working in conjunction with Western intelligence communities. They work under the guise of religious organizations and orders. One of these is the order of the Jesuits... The Jesuits have always been pushed forward - they have established control over the elite, excluding it from the general cultural environment. Any unity with them leads to a split, ”said the learned lady. In a half-hour speech, she also noted that the Vatican has always staked on a country engaged in globalization: for example, Nazi Germany, and now - to America, and every time the Catholics played against Russia. “This is a diversion against the Orthodox Church,” she summed up, referring to the meeting of the heads of the two churches.

There were about a dozen more such speeches, however, among them there was one speech of a different tone. Went to the pulpit Deacon Vladimir Vasilyk, representing the St. Petersburg diocese, and tried to convey a different point of view: “I have published more than once on various resources, including analyzing the Havana Declaration (adopted in Havana during a joint meeting of the pope and the patriarch. - Note ed.) and those provocative statements that are buried in it, related to the muddy point on euthanasia and non-condemnation of homosexuality. But now I'm talking about something else. We must understand what is happening, namely the terrible onslaught of pro-Western forces. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill is under pressure. The result of these forces is the Havana trip. ... It is wrong to declare His Holiness Patriarch Kirill a heretic, after all, we are his children.” Outraged voices were heard from the hall. In response to Vasilik’s call to admit that “our father is mistaken, he trusted swindlers, but his subjects cannot judge,” shouted from the audience: “Our father is Christ!” The deacon accused critics of the Russian Orthodox Church of wanting to stage a provocation and split.

“I came to the hall rented at Rosatom to testify about the need to maintain the unity of the church and loyalty to the hierarchy. My presence was agreed with Metropolitan Barsanuphius. I tried to convey to the audience my personal opinion that the Havana Declaration is an ambiguous document, but in general it is aimed at preserving the lives of Eastern Christians, preserving moral Christian values ​​in the West. Unfortunately, there were provocateurs who, instead of discussing, staged a farce and tried to drown out my speech with screams, ”Vladimir Vasilyk told Fontanka.

According to him, the conference itself was attended by people who had nothing to do with the diocese. “None of the authoritative priests of the St. Petersburg Metropolis supported the event. Priest Alexy Moroz, a provincial cleric of the Novgorod diocese, serves at the Alexander Lyceum, but without the permission of Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg, a man with dubious views.”

“People with dubious views” on March 6 at the conference turned out to be several hundred in a room rented from Rosatom on Aerodromnaya Street. According to Fontanka’s interlocutors in the diocese, some of them have been taken out of the church: the same Alexy Moroz is allegedly banned from serving in the Novgorod region, the books of the cleric from Yekaterinburg Sergey Maslennikov are not recommended by the patriarchate, and the parishioners allegedly disown the elder Rafail Berestov. Some ministers of the Russian Orthodox Church call the "Council of the Orthodox Intelligentsia" a "circle of church opposition," which has been forming, in particular, in St. Petersburg since the late 1990s. Others are revolutionaries.

“In the 1990s, our city was the center of church conservatism. The flock was ruled by Metropolitan John Snychov, who has views of a semi-nationalist persuasion. Several right-wing Orthodox publications have established editorial offices in St. Petersburg. Since then, the city has become the capital of such movements,” Fontanka’s interlocutor noted.

"Fontanka" asked the experts to assess what was happening at the conference.

Deacon Andrei Kuraev I am sure that the correct name for the past meeting is a sect. “This is a group of people who have been feeding each other bad news for decades. Christ is less interesting to them than the demons or the Antichrist, to whom they turn all their thoughts. The official church does not agree with them, once Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin negotiated with them, but even then they did not listen to their opinion, and they still gathered at conferences and adopted memorandums. The most they can do is take a few dozen parishioners away from the Russian Orthodox Church, as was the case with the “Penza zakopantsy” (a group of believers who went into voluntary retreat in a makeshift cave in 2007 in anticipation of the end of the world. - Approx. ed.)».

To the question of how the Church allows the existence of opposition in its ranks, challenging the leadership of the opinion of the patriarch, Fontanka's interlocutors almost unanimously answer that excommunication is the highest measure that will no longer allow schismatics to be led to the true path. “You can excommunicate them from the church, but they are working with them. However, they rarely visit temples. In parishes, no one is interested in the opinion of this " round table"", - approved "Fontanka" well-known activist from Orthodoxy Vitaly Milonov. On the other hand, the interlocutors add, not all criticism and propaganda should be responded to, primarily in order not to give it the proper effect and significance.

Nevertheless, the effect has already been produced - they have heard a lot about the church gathering not only in religious circles, but also in secular ones. “I heard about this meeting and I believe that these people need to be helped and supported. These are not heartless church officials who are ready to worship the penguin. These are intellectually strong or poor - it doesn't matter - people who want to keep the traditions of their faith. They were violated. In the recent past, much smaller adjustments to the Church's course have drenched the country in blood. Orthodox Rus' responded to insignificant changes in its spiritual traditions with self-immolations and turmoil,” I am sure publicist Alexander Nevzorov.

Despite the position of ignoring the ROC, supporting only the light and, in fact, the inability to influence the change leadership positions in the Russian Orthodox Church (the same patriarch - lifelong rank), "renegades" sent a resolution of the "round table" to the members of the Holy Synod (it is the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the period between Bishops' Councils, headed by the patriarch. - Note ed.) and are waiting for an answer: “We urge you to raise your voice in defense of Orthodoxy and overcoming the heresy of ecumenism. To this end, we ask you to take measures to convene a Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church with the participation of representatives of the clergy and Orthodox laity to condemn the ecumenical heresy, to refuse further meetings of the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church with the heretic Pope."

Ksenia Klochkova, Fontanka.ru