West has betrayed Christianity, Russia will save it - Orthodox Church official

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Published time: May 14, 2012 13:54
Edited time: May 14, 2012 17:54

Countries of the “Russian world” are capable of changing the globe within ten years, believes top cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church Vsevolod Chaplin.

­By the “Russian world” he means states with a historically strong tradition of Orthodox Christianity which, apart from Russia, include Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, Romania and several others. 

“Our Orthodox civilization may not be that large, but today it has a key role in the world as it knows how to find a way to a better life for the whole world and especially Europe,” Chaplin said on Monday during a videoconference between Moscow, Kiev and Minsk. 

The West has betrayed the ideals of Christianity, which Emperors Constantine and Justinian merged with Roman law, Chaplin says. In his opinion, the Europe, which was based on these principles, no longer exists. 

Bearing this in mind, the Eastern Christian civilization should not follow in the steps of either the “weak-willed West” or the “intellectually weak East, ” he says.

“We do not need to be led… we have to reunite mind and will, traditions and innovations, faith and living, the spiritual and the secular. Our duty is to change the world in ten years, and we are able to do so,” he concluded.