RPTs CALLS ORGANIZERS OF EXHIBITS ON RELIGIOUS THEMES TO BE RESPONSIBLE
The Moscow patriarchate called for greater responsibility on the part of organizers of exhibits and other public events that in one way or another touch on a "delicate" religious theme, as well as journalists who write on these topics.
A great public resonance in Russia was evoked by the actions of activists of the movement God's Will, who attempted on 14 August to interfere with the conduct of an exhibit of works from the 1960s and 1970s, "Sculptures that we do not see," in the Manezh. After the incident, the press service of the Manezh told RIA Novosti that several sculptures by Vadim Sidur were damaged and several works were smashed.
According to the head of the synod's Information Department of the Moscow patriarchate, Vladimir Legoida, such actions, of course, are unacceptable and "do not have anything to do with the Christian confession." At the same time, he noted, a religious topic in Russia, "by its complexity and sensitivity, which it requires, is just like a nationality topic" or the topic of inter-ethnic relations.
"So long as we do not understand this, we will very often fall into a situation which could have been avoided or mitigated. . . . A colossal responsibility lies on the organizers of exhibits who should still not only deliver monologues, even correct ones, but also should understand that the coexistence of people with different views in a civilized democratic society is essentially a dialogue," Legoida said in a broadcast on radio station Vera.
He said organizers of cultural events, in particular, should "take into account the context" of the time, which today may be substantially different from that which existed, for example, in the 1960s and 1970s in the USSR.
The head of the synodal department, having in mind what happened in the Manezh on 14 August, called attention to the fact that "a degree of experience" to a great extent was given by the specific feed in the news media, where the words "sculpture" and "pogrom" were constantly used.
However, as Legoida clarified, the so-called Orthodox activists "did not have anything to do with sculptures at all." They "damaged works on linoleum by the famous soviet sculptor Sidur." "If they did not touch sculptures, why say that they broke them? And this is not a nuance; these are facts, the truth of facts. . . . I think that here the word 'responsibility,' as in many cases, is key," he noted.
In addition, Legoida added, at the exhibit in the Manezh not only works of art of the soviet era were displayed, as was reported everywhere, but also "a number of works which had nothing at all to do with art and were pure provocations" were displayed. In particular, Legoida said, there was a work from 2014 by a certain contemporary woman artist that represented, in her opinion, the "head of John the Baptist," which also happened to be damaged. (tr. by PDS, posted 22 August 2015)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.