Church insists reform only valid with popular support

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Published time: April 19, 2012 14:18
Edited time: April 19, 2012 18:18

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Meeting, Politics, Religion, Russia

A top Russian Orthodox cleric has said that the Church supports a strong Russian state, but only if it exists in unity with the people and with all traditional faiths.

“All changes made without the people’s will, without understanding on the people’s part, without heeding the people’s advice, are morally illegitimate. Policy introduced without the people’s understanding and agreement is morally illegitimate, this must be clearly said now to those trying to make the people happy without the people’s own participation,” head of the Department for Relations between the Church and the Society of the Holy Synod Vsevolod Chaplin told representatives of the World Russian People's Council- an international forum founded and led by the Russian Orthodox Church for discussing the future of the country and its place in global politics and culture.

Chaplin said most of the forum’s members support a strong state. This, he stressed, does not mean that the people must always be led, always following instructions from above, especially if these are instructions from the so-called elite which, he noted, has not been elected and is accountable to no one, be it in the information, economic, expert or political area.

Chaplin also insisted that the people must have the deciding role in all state affairs, including social policy, education, mass media and culture. The cleric paid special attention to what he called the “resurrection of morals”, and to the people’s role in this process.

“Over the past 20 years, the changes suggested in these areas were often in direct opposition to the people’s will, to their way of life and mentality, their soul, without which Russia simply cannot exist,” the church official stated, adding that “we should not make Russia live by the alien rules that we are always using in our game”.

“We have our own rules – for ourselves and for the world, and we should do our best to live by these rules, remembering that when we lived by these rules before, we were winning,” Chaplin said.

Chaplin called on forum participants to remain vigilant, even in the current stable situation, stressing that existing contradictions within society will not disappear by themselves and are already affecting life in Russia.

Comments (8)

Birchwood 22.07.2012 18:06

The Russian Orthodox Church has endured, only through the people of Russia when it was not a popular entity to past situations in Russia.............. ...... With Mr. Putin, Mr. Medvedev, Mr. Lavrov, etc. stating Democracy will prevail and urging the Russian People to attend the church of their choice........ The "Spirit of Our Creator" no matter your manner of Worship, is literally shining brightly upon the people of Russia.

Humbly, I wish the Best to all........

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Ayelyah (unregistered) 10.07.2012 21:55

True believers MUST understand this is CRITICAL ....ZIONIST "israel" IS a counterfeit state, the brainchild of a Zionist criminal cabal syndicate controlled by descendents of the House of Ananus and elite Sadducee Jewish families, the money changers that justifiably enraged Jesus Christ enough to upturn their tables in the temple…the same who had him killed…The vehicle to create a false Messiah is a false Jewish blood group. You support the criminal imposter 'state' of israel ( a name they have zero authority to use) you bow your knee to baal. Believers in Christ Jesus do not be fooled, "christian zionists" are a tool of this criminal cabal of ritualistic occult worshippers.

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Bianca 19.04.2012 20:03

Michael (unregistered) April 19, 2012, 19:18 quote form.vote input.minus, form.vote input.plus1 {width:17px;} "The Church is a front for Freemasonry. This applies to all Christian churches around the world. The Freemason Gorbachev brought down the Soviet Union so that other Freemasons could impose Christianity and capitalism upon the Russian people." Th is is oversimplification, and a dangerous one. When we oversimplify, we promote nihilis m and are defeated. Most of the Western governments sin ce WWII propagate a theory of "No alternative". & nbsp; The message is coming loud and clear from political leadership of all stripes, media, religiou s institutions. It is a way to define the universe to population --- people that are not required to feel and think. All religions in the world in essence say same thing: we are born with a soul. Soul is the guide that makes us instinctively know what is right and what is wrong. Science calls it conscience. Even when the institutions of men try to persuade us that killing is good, and mercy is bad --- we know in our hearts that it is a lie. None of us --- atheists included --- would claim that we must pu t faith in a particular person, and follow his/her commands no matter what the conscience says. I commend the Church for recognizing this. Russian State has collapsed twice in twentieth century. Both times because of the weak social and economic synergy. Elites in both cases were oblivious to the dangers. All religions at times serve elite and the established order. Thus, today, orthodoxy is unique in Christianity, as it believes in constant striving for getting closer to God's morality. Western religions are supporting the established order, and have accepted the idea of perfection embodied in men. Pope in Roman Catholicism is supposed to "know" and "define" the truth, while human interpretors of the words of the Bible in Protestant movement are the definers and gatekeepers of our, now corrupted, soul and conscience . Both have assigned to an elite human beings the power of defining truth. Thus, there is a greater tendency in the West to rely on definitions or interpretations of the world around us --- and little to no rely ing on our own quest for morality.

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