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Church lashes out at critics

RPTsMP COMPARES PEOPLE WITH BIBLICAL HAM
ReligioPolis, 9 April 2012

The head of the synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, Bishop of Smolensk and Viazemsk Panteleimon, compared the Russian people who are criticizing Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill with the biblical personality Ham. The bishop made such a statement in an interview with the magazine Neskuchnyi Sad.

According to Bishop Panteleimon, "our people, brought up in soviet times, has lost completely its inner nobility and become like the biblical Ham." The bishop stated that Patriarch Kirill serves the Orthodox church selflessly. "If it were not for his initiatives, the social ministry of the church would not be developing as actively as it is now.  What is being done now for restoring church life is like nothing ever in Russia. And in response to this he gets threats and insults," Bishop Panteleimon said.

He also added that the patriarch has "an inhumanly tight schedule; he sleeps very little and works continually, even though he is already an elderly man. He has no personal time; his whole life is devoted to serving the church," the bishop declared.

According to the Bible, Ham was a son of Noah and after the Great Flood he lived in the land of Shinar. Then Ham quarreled with his father. According to the scripture he "saw the nakedness" of Noah and did not give him clothes and he also spoke about what he saw with his brothers Shem and Japheth, thereby insulting his father.  It is thought that Ham's conduct produced the label "hamstvo" ["loutishness"]

A wave of criticism of Patriarch Kirill has arisen in the news media and blogosphere after a number of controversial incidents:  the patriarch's support of the candidacy of Vladimir Putin in the elections, the arrest of the members of the "Pussy Riot" punk group who protested against this, a 20 million ruble lawsuit because of dust in the Moscow apartments of the head of RPTs, and the removal with the help of Photoshop of an elite Breguet wristwatch from his photograph.

Some members of the Public Chamber of the Russian federation stated that in the spring of 2012 there began the "persecution" of Patriarch Kirill which was commissioned by the disorganized opposition and supported by western countries.   (Source:  Lenta.ru)

ReligioPolis commentary:  However sad it may be, but more and more new facts have convinced people that the clerical corporation has chosen to use "a defense policy" of baseless charges against fellow citizens of those evils of which it is guilty itself. However, intensification of clerical aggression against the secular public institutions speaks for itself showing more and more how the clerical expansion plays a destructive role for the atmosphere of social peace in the country.  (tr. by PDS, posted 9 April 2012)

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Studying religion in schools not popular

SCHOOLCHILDREN BEING LED TO SECULARISM
Ministry of Education and Science interprets Putin's words about participation of clergy in educational process in own way
by Lidia Orlova
NG-Religii, 4 April 2012

In Russian schools, parents of pupils who will enter the fourth grade in the next academic year are choosing modules of the course "Foundations of religious cultures and secular ethics" (ORKSE). As is known, beginning in September fourth graders throughout the country will study this required course. We recall that the course includes the foundations of Orthodox, Islamic, Buddhist, Jewish, and world religious cultures as well as foundations of secular ethics.

At a press conference devoted to the introduction of the new course, the director of the Department of General Education of the Ministry of Education and Science, Elena Nizienko, reported "preliminary results of the selection of modules by future fourth graders . . . are not significantly different from what occurred in the trial." According to the latest data, 41% of parents chose "Foundations of secular ethics" for their children, 29%, "Foundations of Orthodox culture," 20%, "Foundations of world religious cultures," 6%, "Foundations of Islamic culture," around 1%, "Foundations of Buddhist culture," and 0.1%, "Foundations of Jewish culture."

Despite the fact that ORKSE will be introduced into schools throughout the country in less than six months, questions about the academic methodological base of the new subject and the retraining of teachers remain open. According to Nizienko, "teaching resources have now been prepared and practically 85% of the schools have already been fitted out." "The main task," the bureaucrat noted, "is training of teachers, because this is a slow process and in 72 hours of classes for continuing education, of course, it is impossible to train a teacher sufficiently." However, according to Nizienko, already "more that 50% of the teachers have gone through advanced training."

On his part, the general director of the "Prosveshchenie" publishing company, Alexander Kondakov, has noted a number of problems connected with preparing the teaching materials for the ORKSE course. He said that complications arise because of the age characteristics of fourth grades—most of whom are ten-year-olds—and because of the peculiarities of the presentation of the material. According to Kondakov, "the biggest problems turned out to be the "Foundations of secular ethics" book, the textbook for the module that was selected by the majority of parents. The Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which was asked for help in preparing the textbook, suggested that the fourth graders study the ethics of Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, and other philosophers. Personnel of the Institute of Philosophy explained that the concept "secular ethics" does not exist. Of course, this alternative was rejected. In addition, Kondakov recalled, the textbook on secular ethics is the only one of the entire complement whose authors refused to allow their names to be used. The textbook appeared anonymously.

As Kondakov reported, "in developing textbooks on the foundations of religious cultures it was vitally important to avoid the possibility of any conflict and therefore after the texts had been made we sent the textbooks first for a multiconfessional expert analysis." As Kondakov explained, he had "problems with the author of the book on foundations of Orthodox culture." "The children only studied lessons on the foundations of the structure of the universe, rotations of the planets around the sun and the moon around the earth," he said. "Suddenly in the book on the foundations of Orthodox culture there appears the explanation that there is a kind of heavenly sphere where planet balls are strung like on a rod and the Almighty moves these balls as seems correct to him." There also were less harmless mishaps. As Kondakov related, on the obverse of the original version of the textbook on foundations of Islamic culture "there was Arabic script." As it turned out, these were lines from the Quran declaring "that under certain conditions the devout Muslim is obliged to kill an infidel." Only by chance was it possible to correct this blunder.

According to Kondakov, "after the first year of trial, the textbooks were reworked and again sent for expert analysis." Thus, future fourth graders will begin studying from new, revised editions of the textbooks.

The officials were asked about possible participation of clergy in teaching the ORKSE course. We recall that Vladimir Putin, back when he was a candidate for the presidency, expressed concern that the new subject could be turned into a "formal campaign against illiteracy." "Therefore such disciplines, of course, should be taught by well trained people, either theologians or priests," he affirmed. Then Putin noted that "the Ministry of Education and Science will be given appropriate assignment: to provide all necessary help and support for religious organizations in this area of work." Elena Nizienko proposed the following interpretation of Putin's statement. She said, "including [priests] in teaching does not mean a specific one in a specific class." "We have agreed, and here there is not any doubt on anybody's part, that at the beginning stage this is a secular, culturological course." However Nizienko thinks that "including priests and theologians in preparing teachers is necessary in any case, and this is a completely understandable situation." In his turn, Alexander Kondakov notes that priests and representatives of other religions "by virtue of their official affiliation can teach purely religious studies elements of this course."

Representatives of religious organization are more concerned that the majority of parents chose for their children the "Foundations of secular ethics" module. This choice really places in doubt the usefulness of the whole project. We recall that one of the most important goals of the ORKSE course was said to be developing in schoolchildren a tolerant attitude toward representatives of various religious traditions. The "Foundations of secular ethics" module was meant to guarantee the rights of nonbelieving pupils and, it seems, it was originally supposed that parents would not like it. However, interest in this subject remains strong. It turns out that almost half of the pupils will not receive information about religions themselves.

On the basis of conversations with school principals, on the condition of anonymity, the editorial board devised its own explanation of this situation. "Foundations of secular ethics" seems to teachers and parents to be "the lesser evil." There are technical and psychological problems of guaranteeing the breadth of the whole subject. Schools simply do not have the capacity to provide the pupils' individual choice of a module and they advise the parents to come to a collective decision for the whole class. In a multinational assemblage of pupils, especially in Moscow, it is impractical to settle on a single religion module. The "Foundations of world religious cultures" is seen by teachers as too complex for fourth graders to grasp. Therefore the module on secular ethics remains as the compromise alternative. So such a practice has introduced a correction in the government project, eviscerating it, and essentially turning it into its opposite. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 April 2012)

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Passover in Moscow

MEDVEDEV AND PUTIN NOTE CONTRIBUTION OF JEWISH COMMUNITY TO DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIA
Interfax-Religiia, 6 April 2012

President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin greeted Russian Jews on the holiday of Passover.

"The successful development of our country is directly linked with the defense of the rights and freedoms of citizens, with the maintenance of cultural and religious diversity, and with the struggle against xenophobia. The Jewish community of Russia has actively cooperated with the government in the performance of these tasks and it has made its contribution to the expansion of interconfessional dialogue and strengthening of social harmony," the president said in his greeting, the Kremlin website reports.

In his turn, V. Putin noted that Russian Jewish organizations "have done much for the successful development of our society, for the formation of an atmosphere of tolerance within it, and for mutual respect of representatives of diverse confessions and nationalities."

"In these days Jews turn to the spiritual and moral values of their very rich cultural heritage which even today has indispensable universal significance," the premier's letter of greeting says, according to the press service of the government on Friday. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 April 2012)


SEVERAL THOUSAND JEWS PARTICIPATE IN CEREMONIES FOR PASSOVER IN MOSCOW
Berl Lazar calls rebirth of Judaism in Russia a divine miracle
Interfax-Religiia, 6 April 2012

Friday evening ceremonies devoted to the holiday of Passover will be held in the Moscow Jewish Community Center.

On this day there will be simultaneously several Passover ritual meals (seders), one of which will be conducted by the chief rabbi of Russia, Berl Lazar. In all, several thousand persons will take part in them, the press service of B. Lazar told Interfax-Religiia.

Addressing believers in connection with the holiday, the chief rabbi declared that the main lesson of Passover is that "in the way of the righteous a person can accomplish everything. It is merely necessary to be faithful to the righteousness of his cause and rely on God."

As he recalled, Passover still is called "the holiday of freedom," tied to the fact that when the Hebrews left Egypt they relied completely on God's will.

"Now we have lived in a free country for more than two decades. While the older generation still remembers the hard days when it was forbidden in Russia to teach the Torah and to observe its commandments, our children were born and grew up free people. But it is not without significance that at the Passover seder we should again eat bitter herbs. This is not only a memorial of the bitter years in Egypt, but also a symbol that in each person's life there are moments of bitterness and disappointment, and only faith in divine help permits us to overcome any difficulties," the appeal said.

According to B. Lazar, threats have often arisen when the very existence of Jews was placed in doubt, but every time there were people "who were ready to be Jews for the sake of freedom, to live the Jewish life, and in response to their heroism God performed miracles."

"Just look at the recent history of Russian Jewry; isn't this really an example of such a miracle? Today, look at the path that our community has gone along in the past 25 years; we must acknowledge that without divine intervention we would have no future. But God helped us to be revived just because we ourselves followed him, not heeding the difficulties and trials," the chief rabbi emphasized.

He expressed the wish that God would always help Jews to realize themselves so that their children would grow up "as proud, free Jews," adding that then Jewish life in Russia will develop dynamically and the community will prosper.

Passover is an eight-day holiday of spring that begins on the eve of the 15th day of the month of Nisan according to the Jewish lunar calendar. It is devoted to one of the chief events of biblical history, the exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Hebrew people from 400 years of slavery. The Passover ("going past") received its name in memory of how, according to the Pentateuch, the angel of death went past the homes of Jews, striking only the Egyptian first-borns. So that the angel could distinguish Hebrew homes from Egyptian, each Hebrew family was told to sacrifice a lamb and anoint the door jambs with its blood. Only after the death of all Egyptian first-borns did pharaoh give in and permit the Hebrews to leave Egypt. The death of the first-borns was the last of the ten plagues described in the Pentateuch, which were visited upon the Egyptians for pharaoh's refusal to liberate the enslaved sons of the Israelites. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 April 2012)

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Patriarch tries to clear air

IS THIS BUSINESS NOT PATRIARCHAL?
Church feels full brunt of uncompromising political battle
by Andrei Melnikov
NG-Religii  4 April 2012

"We all are witnesses nowadays of powerful antichurch rhetoric," Patriarch Kiurill said yesterday at a session of the Supreme Church Council of RPTs. "My modest person has been subjected to information attacks," he added. "Thus the point is, of course, that today we are dealing with an information strategy against the church. It is necessary to think about how we can oppose it."

The Russian Orthodox Church really has recently experienced a moment that is sharp and critical for its reputation.  A series of diverse attacks, from the sensational action in the church of Christ the Savior to the resonant judicial case regarding an apartment in the House on the Embankment, at first produced serious confusion in church services on relations with the public. But 28 March produced a turning point. On that day the head of RPTs met with Vladimir Soloviev and talked frankly with the popular broadcaster on the burning issues and, more importantly, in language society understands.

Several days later the patriarch took another surprising step. The American ambassador, Michael McFaul, was invited to the patriarchal residence on Chisty Lane. We note that the American ambassador has quite recently been accused of beginning to patronize the disorganized Russian opposition since his arrival in Moscow. It has been noticed that the recent attacks on the patriarch by ultraliberals followed right away.

After these steps by the patriarch, pressure on the church lessened. What is discussed is not so much the scandals themselves as how Soloviev is defending the patriarch. Possibly after some hesitation the leadership of the church managed to find the right tone to communicate with fellow citizens. And the patriarch himself had to give answers to the sharp questions without restricting himself to help from church leaders who are responsible for PR and certainly not awkward defenses of RPTs on the part of Orthodox bloggers.

The patriarch himself apparently understood that society is not very receptive to purely ecclesiastical genres like a sermon and "pastor's word," and he decided on the unusual format of a heart-to-heart conversation with a journalist. This journalist is not only famous throughout the country and conducts emotionally intense broadcasts on state television, but he also emphasizes at every convenient occasion that he does not profess Orthodoxy. Besides, in recent years he has incurred the displeasure of Orthodox watchdogs with his frivolous "Gospel according to Soloviev." And so the patriarch opened his soul to a person who is alien from the church and at the same time popular and holding the sympathy of the public.

It is interesting that this was not an interview in the normal sense of the genre. Vladimir Soloviev recounted a conversation with the patriarch on air from radio station "Vesti FM." This approach allowed him not only to explain the essence of the patriarch's answers but also to add the personal opinion of the journalist, his confidence in the words of the head of RPTs, a confidence that he tried to convey to listeners.

Soloviev told how he put the sharpest questions to the patriarch, which pertained to all three years of Kirill's patriarchate. Beginning with clocks that cost 35,000 Euros and ending with the latest scandals over "Pussy Riot" and an apartment in the House on the Embankment. According to the journalist, the patriarch gave long and detailed answers to questions that arose after the appearance in the blogosphere and news media of information about an apartment belonging to him in the prestigious residential complex and a lawsuit for 19.7 million rubles against his neighbor, former minister of health Yury Shevchenko, who caused damage to the patriarch's apartment.

The patriarch acknowledged that the apartment in the house really did belong to him. But, according to the head of RPTs, he had not obtained the living space, as some news media alleged, but it had been allotted to him back in the 1990s by the government of Moscow for a residence. Soloviev added that "His Holiness did not spend even one week of his life in this apartment." And now the patriarch is not participating in the case of the lawsuit against Shevchenko. "The Master said: 'I do not want to meddle in this; act in accordance with the law. A nurse is registered to this apartment and thus everything necessary according to the law; call the housing office and the sanitation control, that is, everybody who should investigate. I will not meddle myself in such litigations,'" Soloviev related. As the journalist quoted him, Patriarch Kirill assured him that in the apartment in the House on the Embankment assigned to him there live "two of his second cousins, one of whom is 65 years of age, and the other, 55." Apparently one of these cousins is Lidia Leonova herself, who filed a lawsuit against the neighbor below. A collection of valuable books that Patriarch Kirill's father had amassed was damaged and cleaning the library required the expenditure of a substantial amount.

Probably if this had not been a recounting of the conversation but a direct interview, the listener would have learned more. And so it turned out that Soloviev's radio monologue did not dispel all doubts of ordinary citizens and a comprehensive answer was not given to every question. For example, it seems some details are missing relative to the rights of ownership of the notorious apartment  and the question has not been cleared up regarding the administrative resource in the lawsuit against Yuri Shevchenko and the rights of the plaintiff have not been specified.

Although the genre chosen by the journalist, employing the moralizing manner typical of Vladimir Soloviev, permitted this raising of several problematic and pressing issues. First of all, to add a discussion about ownership by ministers of the church and the tradition of nonpossession—all of which roils people in Russia where they traditionally distrust rich folk. After Soloviev's monologue there followed questions from listeners, and the journalist in answering them expressed his understanding of monastic vows and recalled that Jesus, judging by the gospel narrative, was by no means an ascetic, anointing himself with expensive oils and eating "in restaurant style." It is just not clear whether this opinion is associated with the conversation with the patriarch or it is just the journalist's own thoughts.

Vladimir Soloviev was not the only one who was enchanted during conversation with the head of RPTs. The American ambassador in Moscow, Michael McFaul, after a visit to the patriarchal residence in Chisty Lane acknowledged that Patriarch Kirill seemed to be "a gracious host and wonderful conversationalist." McFaul promised the patriarch that in the future American reports about the religious situation in Russia will be more objective and will be based on a wider range of sources. One of the most important sources of information, one would suppose, will be the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate. The embassy and OVTsS are planning a joint meeting for discussion of the situation in the religious life of Russia.

It is interesting that during these days there ensued a series of commentaries by political scientists who are close to the party of power. The commentaries univocally have blamed the informational attacks on RPTs on "russophobes," certain foreign forces patronizing the enemies of Russia and its "state-forming" church. One would suppose that this was an echo of the already dying away information war.

Nevertheless, yesterday at the session of the Supreme Church Council the patriarch thanked everybody who "came to the defense of the church, of its sacred things, and of the good name of its clergymen." "We should think of reasonable responses for which we would never be ashamed, answers that will not make us like the slanderers, liars, and revilers of God's name but will clearly testify to our firm, thoughtful Christian position and unwavering adherence to principle," he added.

Apparently the head of RPTs heeded the opinion that the church should be more open with fellow citizens now that the church has made a bid for an important social and political role. This is especially important after the past winter when the leadership of the Moscow patriarchate was too obviously taking one side of the political contest. The church felt the full brunt of the political information struggle. From the start self-control was lost and then RPTs tried to go on the offensive. Subsequent events will show whether the church will manage to work out a correct PR strategy and continue active engagement in the political field or will return to the framework of self-sufficient existence from which it broke away in recent years. (tr. by PDS, posted 5 April 2012)

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