SPEAKER
OF ST.
PETERSBURG PARLIAMENT SUPPORTS MENTION OF GOD IN RUSSIAN
CONSTITUTION
Interfax-Religiia,
12
February 2020
The
speaker of the
Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, Viacheslav Makarov,
supported the
inclusion of mention of God in the constitution of the RF.
"I
wholly and
completely support the position of His Holiness Patriarch
Kirill. Russia is an
Orthodox country. Russia is an imperial power. As we say, it is
the last hope
of
God on earth," Makarov told journalists on Wednesday.
"This is
important for each believing person, regardless of which faith
he belongs to.
As an Orthodox person I am convinced that it is necessary to do
this—in the
first place for the cohesion of our society, for elevating
spirituality,
morality, and concern for one's neighbor. Certainly it is not
simply possible
to introduce such amendments in the constitution but even
necessary," the
speaker of parliament emphasized.
Patriarch
of Moscow
and all-Rus Kirill earlier devised an initiative to include
mention of God in
the Russian constitution.
"Let's
pray and
endeavor that God be mentioned in our fundamental law. Because
the majority of
Russian citizens believe in God. I am talking not only about
Orthodox; I am
talking also about Muslims and about many, many others. If our
national anthem
can have 'Native land preserved by God,' why cannot this be
mentioned in our
constitution?" the patriarch said at a dinner on the occasion of
the
eleventh anniversary of his enthronement. (tr. by PDS, posted 12
February 2020)
COMMUNIST
PARTY NOT AGAINST GOD IN CONSTITUTION
Moral
Code of the Builder of Communism was copied from the Bible
Interfax-Religiia,
11
February 2020
The
Communist Party of the Russian Federation does not oppose
mentioning God in the
preamble of the Russian constitution, the leader of the party,
Gennady
Ziuganov, declared.
Responding
at a press
conference in the central office of Interfax to a question about
the
possibility of the mention of God in the preamble of the
constitution, Ziuganov
stated that "this is more likely the image that corresponds to
the
fundamental moral and spiritual values of our state," and he
recalled the
mention of God in the anthem of the Russian Federation.
In the
opinion of the
leader of the K.P.R.F., biblical themes were a part of communist
ideology.
"Whenever I study the Bible, in the epistle of the apostle Paul
. . .
there in the chief slogan of communism, 'whoever does not work
shall not
eat," Ziuganov explained.
"Properly
speaking,
to a great extent we copied the Moral Code of the Builder of
Communism from the Bible. And if someone tries to say otherwise,
then simply
put the documents side-by-side," the leader of the K.P.R.F.
concluded.
Patriarch
of Moscow
and all-Rus Kirill earlier devised an initiative to include
mention of God in
the Russian constitution. Meanwhile, the head of the State Duma
Committee on
Legislation and State Construction, Pavel Krasheninnikov, spoke
out against it.
(tr. by PDS, posted 12 February 2020)
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