(Photo is St. Basil's, Red Square, Moscow by bcplaces)In Russia, the resurgent Russian Orthodox Church, with the backing of the Russian government and its secret police, is fighting tooth and nail to stop the establishment of other, non-Orthodox church groups.
Proselytizing by Protestants is almost totally banned, and Protestants who dare hold worship services are harassed by agents of the government often resulting in those worship services being shut down.
The Russian Orthodox Church has, for all practical purposes, become the "official" Russian church/religion. This has been accomplished with the blessing of President Vladimir V. Putin, who often appears with Patriarch Aleksei II, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, on television networks controlled by the Kremlin.
Stories coming out of Russia tell of Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah Witnesses, Pentecostals and others being verbally and even physically assaulted by officials of the Orthodox Church and/or the government.
One Orthodox priest said in a sermon that Protestants were heretics "who cut Christ's robes like bandits, who are like the soldiers who crucified Christ, who ripped apart Christ's holy coat."
It's hard to believe that Russia's Protestant population is much of a threat, consisting of only 2 million people out of a population of 142 million. But they are, and in spite of the government's insistence that freedom of religion is respected in the country, the "heretics" face continual pressure.
All of this is to be expected, of course. History shows clearly that anytime a religious group gains enough governmental power to enforce its will on the people, it will do so, and it matters not the cost in good will or blood. The motto has usually been, "Convert 'em. It they won't convert, kill 'em!"
Up until fairly recently, anti-Semitism has been a major and unpleasant reality in Russia. Thousands of Jews have left Russia for other, more welcoming countries. But Putin has denounced anti-Semitism, and at the present time there is something of a renewal among the Jewish population in Russia.
That is very good news, of course. The question is whether or not it will last. The bad news is that anti-Semitism has been replaced by anti-Protestantism, and also, to some extent, anti-Catholicism.
I guess everybody has to hate someone.
4 comments:
Russian Jews have never had an easy time in Russia. Huge numbers have always left when given the opportunity. I suspect they will continue to leave if possible.
Bob Poris
You said: "The Russian Orthodox Church has, for all practical purposes, become the "official" Russian church/religion"
The fact is that Russia = Orthodoxy. Russia has been an Orthodox country for almost 1020 years. That's one thousand and twenty. Russia had only stopped being officially Orthodox when the commies came to power in 1917. Since commies hated God, many thousands of Orthodox priests and believers died for their faith. Many more spent years doing hard labor in GULAG.
Protestants do convert to Orthodoxy, and that happens even to those who come to Russia to spread Protestantism. I urge all Protestants to discover the true Christianity, the only non-heretical Christian faith which has retained uninterrupted succession among the bishops from the Apostles themselves - The Orthodox Christianity.
My point was that "now" Orthodoxy has become the de facto "official" church of Russia which has led to the usual church/state problems - unofficial groups are harassed or worse. Is that all right with you? Or must all non-Orthodox convert to Orthodoxy?
In my opinion, governments should be democratic and all people should have the right to believe what they wish or nothing if they wish.
How do you "know" that Orthodoxy is "true" Christianity? And I hate to spoil your dinner, but there is no such thing as "uninterrupted succession among the bishops from the Apostles themselves."
We don't even know who the so-called "apostles" were! There was no "church" as we know it until long after the "apostles," whoever they were, were long dead!
I thank you for writing.
Jacob
First: Communists didn’t hate God. They did not believe God existed! There is a difference.
Second: The Orthodox Church was always the official church of the rulers of Russia until the Communists took over and abolished religions.
Third: Jews were a special group throughout Russian history. Not only their religion was trashed but Jews were considered a separate nationality under the Communists and as always, Russia, persecuted simply for being Jews, regardless of their religion or lack of religion.
Millions of Russian Jews were killed, left or found another identity. Most forms of religion were hounded and persecuted, including the Orthodox under Communism. Putin apparently retained his belief in the Orthodox Church and now supports it as the proper denomination to return to. Other Christian denominations could be a threat to the Orthodox and must be controlled. The few remaining Jews and other non Christian religions are not a threat and can be shut down quickly as long as they are known to the government. It is easier to control any threat by religion if there is only one to control and it is dependent upon the leaders for survival. It has been true throughout history and will probably continue forever. The major religions of any nation use its majority position to maintain its influence. I do not see that changing anywhere, regardless of which religious denomination is in charge.
Bob Poris
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