In an exclusive interview, Patriarch Kirill spoke about the inscrutable paths leading to God and the true essence of serving the church. Patriarch Kirill about the Slavs Interview with the Patriarch
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill is 70 years old. Each Primate of the Church has his own mission. The post-war patriarchs Alexy I and Pimen had a mission to preserve the Russian Orthodox Church. It wasn't easy. Especially in Khrushchev times, when the Church was subjected to new persecutions.
In 1990, Alexy II was elected to the patriarchal throne. New times have come. The church revived after communism. The mission of Alexy II was the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church. Thousands of new parishes were opened. Monasteries and religious educational institutions were restored.
Patriarch Kirill ascended the patriarchal throne seven years ago. I think that his mission is the churching of Russia. Patriarch Kirill says: "Russia is a primordially Christian country." And we see how, for millions of people, church life is turning from exotic into the norm, becoming part of everyday life. We congratulate His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on his jubilee. Many years.
Even on jubilee days, the busy schedule of the Patriarch's work remained unchanged. It’s just that holiday chores were added to everyday affairs. In the morning there were journalists, then a meeting with Metropolitan Tikhon of America and Canada. And so on until late in the evening.
“Yes, we have very little time. Press conference - you can't be late, there are a lot of people there. A patriarch is not only an administrator. The patriarch needs spiritual, intellectual nourishment, and he can carry out this nourishment only in more or less free time. Unfortunately, I have almost no such time,” admits Patriarch Kirill.
However, the Patriarch admits, this time was always lacking even before enthronement. After all, serving God requires complete self-giving. The choice of who to be, the son of the Leningrad priest Vladimir Gundyaev, as His Holiness was called in the world, made as a child, perfectly understanding that the path to the intended goal would not be easy.
The first entry in the personal file of Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev is that he was accepted as an apprentice draftsman of the cartographic bureau from 12/01/1962.
Despite all the difficulties, the Patriarch recalls this period of his life with special warmth. After graduating from eight classes, he leaves school and gets a job in the Leningrad complex geological expedition to draw maps, first as a student, and then on his own. In parallel, in the evenings, he continues to study at the so-called school of working youth.
“We lived very poorly, and I wanted to help my parents, and therefore I practically left home and helped my parents financially as best I could. This is such a kind of material part of this plan. On the other hand, to be honest, I was a little bored at school, I felt great among adults. It was the time of my formation,” says Patriarch Kirill.
On this path of becoming, each new stage turned out to be more difficult than the previous one. It was not easy at the theological academy, where, at the request of Metropolitan Nikodim of Leningrad, the future priest took two courses in one year. And finally finished it educational institution Honours. It was during this period, despite his age, that he made one of his main decisions: to renounce everything worldly and become a monk named Cyril.
“At 22, it’s hard to choose. What happened to me, in a sense, is really the finger of God, apparently it had to be so, and I thank the Lord that he strengthened me at that time. Because after all, the age was quite young. And he helped me get through those years in such a way that, as they say, not to waste myself, to save myself for future service, ”said Patriarch Kirill.
At that time, the young hierodeacon could not even imagine what this ministry would be like in the end. He only wanted to devote himself to theology and work at the Theological Academy. And later even became its rector. But in 1984, a sharp turn takes place in the fate of the future patriarch. He is removed from office. As it turned out later, at the direction of the Soviet officials who oversaw the church, who did not like the excessive activity of the rector, they were sent to head the Smolensk diocese, and later also Kaliningrad.
Unique footage taken more than 20 years ago: the young and energetic Metropolitan Kirill is constantly on the move, he accepted the diocese in a very deplorable state. Things were worst in Kaliningrad, where there was nowhere even to hold services. St. Nicholas Church. Before the formation of Kaliningrad, it was the Juditten Church. After the war and until 1985 it was destroyed. It was with the restoration of this temple that the development of the Kaliningrad diocese began.
The first rector of the current St. Nicholas Cathedral was Father Sophrony. It was Metropolitan Kirill who sent him here. At that time, state aid was out of the question. Parishioners and Bishop Kirill personally helped to rebuild the church.
“There was one temple, today there are over a hundred of them. Of course, Vladyka Kirill brought his inner feeling of love for God, his understanding of the strength of spirit and faith, and with this he could not but infect his parishioners in a good sense of the word, and above all the clergy, ”said Archimandrite Sophrony, rector of the Cathedral of St. Cathedral of the Baltic Fleet.
Kirill ruled the Smolensk and Kaliningrad dioceses for a quarter of a century - years that changed his whole life.
“There would be no Patriarch Kirill today if there weren’t that same Metropolitan of Smolensk, because my final formation took place there, and it didn’t take place in some cloudless space, I constantly had to overcome difficulties and carry the cross,” Patriarch Kirill notes .
With the adoption of the patriarchate, these difficulties did not decrease. The primate is sure: the church should become more accessible. Therefore, new churches are opening all over the country, and with them the number of dioceses is increasing. For seven years - almost twice. But His Holiness makes the main emphasis on making as many people as possible want to come to church. Find your way to God, no matter how difficult this path may seem.
“The expression is well known that God does not give a cross beyond one's strength. And the difficulties we face, the problems we face, they need to be overcome. What is overcoming? This is the concentration of forces, this is a constant movement forward. Here, I think, not only the clergy need to understand this, everyone needs to understand that the bearing of the cross is a movement forward and upward, ”said Patriarch Kirill.
January 7, 2017, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, on the TV channel "Russia 1" showing the traditional Christmas interview with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church answered the questions of the political observer of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, the host of the Vesti program A.O. Kondrashov.
— Your Holiness, thank you for the fact that we meet on these holidays. Over the past few years, some kind of test after test has simply fallen on Russia. So the past year brought us a big one: people like you died, our pride national life, symbols. How to answer the question that sounds both at work and at home, I hear it very often: why does God call the best to him? How can we find solace?
— This question accompanies all human history. And every time we come into contact with grief that really burns our nature - not some kind of superficial, artificial, but real grief that our soul touches - we ask this question.
I am ready to voice some thoughts now, but the first thing I would like to do is once again express my deepest condolences to all those who are first of all burned by this suffering, this grief. And the family of our wonderful in Turkey, and the relatives of all those who died in the Tu-154 plane. And speaking of the ways of God, the Word of God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and My ways are not your ways” (Isaiah 55:8). It is impossible for us to understand what is happening in terms of our logic and our idea of justice. God leads the human race and each of us in a way known to Him alone. What is a tragedy for us is not a tragedy for God, because God is in eternity. He knows what happens to a person after death. But while we are here, while we are in the body, while we are limited by our logic, our attitude to what is grief and what is happiness, we, of course, will never be able to fully answer the question that you are now putting before me .
I think that finding the answer to these questions lies not in the rational plane, but in the spiritual life of a person, when suddenly in prayer he feels relief, when through the commemoration of the dead something opens before him that he suddenly begins to feel in his heart and calm down. That is why I always call on people and now I would like to once again, addressing the loved ones of those who died, say: we need to pray especially strongly for the repose of the departed and for the Lord to calm the souls. The Church prays for this, many people in our country and abroad pray for this, because what happened really became a grief for our people.
— Your Holiness, last year you visited a number of large European states, such as France, England, and met not only with the flock, but also with the leaders of these states. What are your impressions of these meetings? After all, on the one hand, we seem to have a common Christian beginning, but in last years we are witnessing a severe de-Christianization in Europe. Do we have something left to rely on and follow the path of rapprochement, or have we been apart for a long time?
— What remains of the Christian heritage continues to be something that can unite us. Nothing else can unite us. What is happening in Europe, after all, did not collapse at the end of the 20th or the beginning of the 21st century, it matured in the depths of historical development, which at some point (and we know that this moment is called the Age of Enlightenment in history) began to exclude God from human life and equip human life exclusively on a rational basis. It seemed to many that this is the right way, that God is an outdated concept, and in general, as the agnostics say, it does not concern us whether He exists or not, let's arrange life exclusively rationally.
Much has been achieved along this path, but a historical development that excludes God is not viable. A remarkable example of the collapse of such a historical development, of such an experience of organizing life, is our own post-revolutionary history. We threw out God, we gave up everything that was holy and ideal for us. Relying on the power of reason, on the power of organization, on the power of the party, on the power of the army, on the power of everything that was in our hands, we have not been able to build a just and prosperous society, which we wanted to build based on this rationalism.
The same is happening now in the West. We faced the collapse of our atheistic idea at the end of the 20th century, and I think that now there is a critical reassessment of rationalism and in Western Europe. Of course, the establishment, the political elites associated with big business, the media, the education system are working hard and trying to reproduce these phantoms. But the soul of the people, the human conscience, the real experience of life tells people that this is the wrong way, and if we say that today the whole of Europe is de-Christianized, we will say something very wrong.
- Probably, this power is de-Christianized ...
Elites, authorities, those who want to control social processes are powerful forces associated with finance, the media, the political establishment. And the life of the people is still different from what appears, as it were, in the window of the Western world. Therefore, I am deeply convinced that if, as you said, the remnants of the Christian heritage are preserved, then they can become a common value basis for rapprochement between the East and West of Europe. By definition, there simply cannot be any other basis.
- But how can some common troubles bring us closer, like at a fair in Berlin, the vile murder of our ambassador in Ankara?
- Maybe, but this rapprochement will never be organic. I'll give you an example. The war, the fight against fascism brought the Soviet Union closer to the Western coalition. The last volleys of World War II had not yet died down, and Truman began to hatch plans for the nuclear destruction of the Soviet Union. What's this? After all, we shed blood together. The meeting on the Elbe - after all, it was not a fake manifestation of feelings, and not just allied feelings, but friendship, respect, military brotherhood. It would seem that now mutual understanding has been ensured for many years, but everything disappeared very quickly. This does not mean that it is not necessary to fight together - on the contrary, it is necessary to fight together.
Why don't they want to help us in the common fight against terrorism?
Well, this is purely a political issue. They do not want to, because the fight against terrorism is understood by many as one of the tools to influence the world in terms of achieving their own political goals. And if the phenomenon of terrorism begins to be used as a tool to achieve their own political goals, then there will be no real fight against terrorism. This is clearly what we are facing today in the Middle East. What has been happening lately, that Russia has managed to organize a coalition in the fight against terrorism on the territory of Syria, of course, is a remarkable phenomenon in modern political life. I sincerely wish that the victory over terrorism will really be achieved - first in Syria, and then everywhere where terrorism raises its head.
But I will say it again: peoples draw closer, organically draw closer when there is a commonality—not only a struggle, but a community of values. And I want to emphasize once again: it is the Christian heritage that is the community of values that gives hope for a genuine rapprochement between East and West. If this phenomenon disappears from Western life, if it is really destroyed, then we will lose everything. There will no longer be any value community, and pragmatism will not get you far, be it economic, political or even military pragmatism.
— Your Holiness, we all know that the Russian Orthodox Church, and you personally spent a lot of energy fighting for the life of unborn babies. Women often say that the reason is material unsettledness, but we know that in fact the problem is wider. This is our way of life. Someone needs to finish their studies, someone needs to find a job, but they found a job - now you need to make a career. There is no time, no time, no time… How deep is this problem today? And how can we make sure that we have fewer abortions and more children?
- Yes, everything rests on ourselves, on our inner world, on our goal-setting, because everyone wants to make a career to one degree or another, in one area or another, and it is desirable that this career be accompanied by an increase in material well-being - all this is completely fine.
Now let's ask the question: what should a person do to make a career? First of all, he must learn to manage himself. He must learn self-restraint. Someone wants to go dancing, and someone is preparing for exams very seriously. Someone wants to spend a vacation, liberating himself and enjoying life, while someone at this time loads himself with additional tasks, some problems that he needs to solve, preparing himself for a successful career.
I want to give an example from the Soviet past. I had many acquaintances from the scientific world, from the medical world, and many of these wonderful specialists wrote their doctoral dissertations in the kitchen, in small Khrushchev apartments. Is this not a feat? Isn't that self-restraint? And if they refused to write these doctoral dissertations and said: “Yes, I can’t be in the kitchen, pans are knocking here, kids are running around”? But this self-restraint led to a brilliant career ...
— And what discoveries! We are still using it!
- To discoveries. Well, it's the same with children. It is impossible for the sake of a career to relieve yourself of the tasks that confront you as a person. You have to go to self-restraint. Yes, a child appears - of course, the cost of time, effort, spiritual energy, limitations in comfort. But without such a limitation, there can be no human growth. Therefore, when they tell me that in order to be happy, you need to have an abortion, I answer: this is a terrible delusion. You will not be happy if, in order to secure your living space, you go to the point of killing a child. That is why it is important to restructure the mind. It is necessary for everyone to understand: without self-restraint, without achievement, without sacrifice, the human personality cannot come into being. And that means that the real career will not take place. Anyone successful person ask: how did you manage to achieve this? And the answer will be this: through work and self-restraint. It is a sine qua non for human growth. And God grant that this understanding enters deeply into the consciousness of our people.
I would like to say the same about one more thing. Love does not exist without self-restraint. Love is always accompanied by sacrifice. If a person is unable to give himself to another, then there is no love. The ability to self-restraint in love is the true test of whether you love a person or not. If you cannot do anything for him, there is no love, no matter how attractive this person is to you - externally, emotionally or in some other way.
Therefore, all this is very closely connected - sacrifice, self-restraint, feat, career, love and human happiness. And the preservation of the child in this whole system is a very important factor that determines the fullness of human life.
— Your Holiness, at the end last year with your participation, as well as with the participation of the Primate, we have witnessed how Ukraine received its prisoner of war. He was, and without any conditions - such a very kind and demonstrative gesture. Please tell me, do you think the Church in Ukraine will play at least some role in the process of national reconciliation? Indeed, in principle, probably, Ukrainians still believe in God - take at least, in which so many people took part. But is national reconciliation itself possible now? Is there anyone to help?
- I will say more: if national reconciliation begins, it is precisely because the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has taken the position that it takes. This is the only correct position. In reality, there is a civil war, a civil confrontation, the country is divided. There are civil contradictions that have historical, religious, cultural reasons - we will not go into this now - and no dictatorial approach to regulation public life these contradictions cannot be removed. The Orthodox Church understands that these contradictions exist, but we need to live together, otherwise the country will really fly to pieces. And the Orthodox Church is this peacemaking force; she has a flock both in the east and in the west. After all, the procession went both from the east and from the west: both there and there tens of thousands of people! It was a symbol and a sign that the potential for peacekeeping, for the creation of a just and peaceful life in Ukraine, remains. But I must say that we must all work for this reconciliation. I understand that some events on the territory of Ukraine, which the media convey to us, arouse a feeling of protest in people. But it is very important that this feeling of protest does not develop into a feeling of hatred. And it is very important that the media cover Ukrainian topics in such a way so that there is no negative, negative, hostile attitude towards Ukraine among our people. And all this unfavorable political context will pass.
- So you think that what is upstairs now, this foam will come down?
“It will all pass. The Ukrainian and Great Russian people will remain. We were always together, we were one people, then this people went to different apartments. But we remain people who are united by a common faith, a common history and common values. And everything must be done to ensure that hostility does not arise in the hearts of people and negative attitude specifically to the people. Our Church also serves this cause of reconciliation. We pray at every service that the Lord would pour out His mercy on the Ukrainian people and end the civil confrontation. And we are trying to educate and, I think, not without success, our people in love for their brothers and sisters living in Ukraine. This is the only way to preserve the close bonds that have bound us for centuries. The same is being done by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, despite very difficult conditions.
— Over the centuries of existence, our Church has created all the prerequisites for our great Russian culture to flourish. In recent months, a strange conflict has suddenly come to light - of course, you have heard about it. The conflict between creative people: some are against the fact that creativity has some kind of framework; on the other hand, those who believe that there should be such a framework, because some of their ideas about goodness are violated. And sometimes the latter fight with their own methods, sometimes even by force. Someone bans some productions, someone criticizes films, and so far neither one nor the other has reconciled with each other. Here, in your opinion, Your Holiness, how to seek a compromise, how to reconcile them?
- It seems that Brodsky said: all creativity is a prayer. All creativity is in the ears of the Almighty, this is what goes to Him. Figurative expression, but it speaks about the most important thing. Creativity and culture must elevate the human personality. If a production, a film, a work of art, literary work elevates a person, if it gives him the strength to love, sacrifice, work, respect another, then this is a true culture. These examples of cultural creativity cultivate the human personality and elevate it.
But it must be confessed that many works of the so-called modern culture turn a person into a beast, liberate instincts, and encourage the most vile manifestations of human nature. Can we call culture that which destroys the human personality, that which turns the human community into a herd, into an animal pack? After all, each of us knows examples of films and books that liberate the Dionysian principle in a person, this black energy. And if people, due to religious, ideological, cultural and historical principles, disagree with such works of culture and art, why should they be silent? Silence tramples God. Truth is trampled on in silence. There are times when you can't be silent. Another conversation is that this should not turn into acts of vandalism, into violence. This is completely obvious.
If we shut the mouth of a person who, based on his understanding of what is good and evil, protests against the manifestations of so-called creativity, then we will make a huge mistake. Another conversation is that all this discourse needs to be introduced into a civilized field. But what needs to be done for this? Of course, now everyone is paying attention to those who are radically protesting, and not to those who provoke these radical actions. I'll give you an example. The famous exhibition in the Manezh is the works of Vadim Sidur. A couple of months before this exhibition, some official at the Ministry of Culture signs an order declaring these blasphemous images to be works of art. And then an exhibition is held in the center of Moscow. What it is? direct provocation. So, if we punish only those who protest, and do not figure out when and how these images became works of art, why they were exhibited in Moscow, then we will have a one-sided approach to the topic.
But I am for freedom of creativity, for freedom of expression. Something in the images on religious themes may not be quite convenient for my perception, but I respect the work of real artists, and in this sense the Church has always been very sensitive and has always known the limits of expressing its disagreement. Therefore, I am for freedom of creativity, for the absence of censorship, but also for mutual respect, for the fight against both vandalism and provocations.
“Your Holiness, such is life now, a frantic rhythm, time seems to have compressed. Such a number of events occur in a certain period of time - it seems to me that this has never happened, and we are in this rhythm. And still against the backdrop of a gigantic informational noise, wars that in one way or another concern not only journalists, but all people. We are all outraged at how much injustice against the Russians is now being pronounced in the world. This noise, noise, rhythm, rhythm - there is no time to stop, think. Please teach, advise, Your Holiness, how to stop and, at least for a second, comprehend the very feast of the Nativity of Christ, the significance of the very event of the birth of Christ for all mankind and for individuals, for each of us.
“A person must have some kind of shelter. During the war, the shelter saves from physical death. We are constantly in incredible turbulence, you are right. The information flow of colossal power brings conflicts of the world around us into our homes, into our families, into our consciousness, into our soul. A colossal impact is exerted on the human psyche, his nervous system and, of course, moral feelings. If you are constantly in the conditions of this turbulence, then it really threatens with very negative consequences for a person. And we know how neuroses develop, how mental illnesses develop, how the human body cannot cope with stress, how the number of suicides is growing, including among young people. For me, the temple of God has always been a refuge. When you come to the temple, everything seems to remain behind its walls. You find yourself in an atmosphere where the influence of God's grace is especially felt, when a person begins to think not about what is outside the temple, but about what is in his heart, what is in his soul, when he turns to God with the secret. And this can happen both during the service and outside it. A lot of people just come during the day, put a candle, stand, keep quiet, think, take a short break in this whirlwind. And if you can’t go to the temple (sometimes there is not enough time for this, even when the temple is very close and on the way), then you need to have such time at home. Believers call this the time of prayer - at the beginning and at the end of the working day. Prayer helps to calm down, focus, gain strength. After all, it is no coincidence that there are people who devote their entire lives to prayer. Not because they want to impose some unbearable burdens on themselves, but because a person has such a need.
Well, the Nativity of Christ is a special time, because everything that surrounds us reminds us of this event: both solemn services and the way people celebrate this event. Therefore, in these days we should especially feel God's presence. And I would like to wish everyone who hears and sees us today a Merry Christmas - in the sense that this holiday really gives us the opportunity to experience heartfelt happiness, joy, peace and tranquility. Without this, human life is deprived of its fullness, and no matter how difficult the circumstances of external life are, it is very important to find strength in oneself, including touching the holy, bright and joyful, to influence one’s soul so that it has more peace, goodness and truth.
“Thank you, Your Holiness. Happy holiday!
- Thank you. Happy holiday!
Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Condolences of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in connection with the murder in Syria of two priests of the Armenian Catholic community
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill took part in the opening of the II Baku Summit of World Religious Leaders
Speech by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the II Baku Summit of Religious Leaders [Patriarch: Greetings and Appeals]
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk made a presentation at the international forum of Christian journalists "Christianity in the Modern World"
Report of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk at the International Forum of Christian Journalists "Christianity in the Modern World" [Article]
Bishop Nikolay Balashikha. Theological responses of Patriarch Kirill to the challenges of our time [Patriarch: Greetings and Appeals]
Representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia under the Patriarch of Antioch took part in the traditional Christmas meeting of the clergy in Damascus
On January 7, 2019, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Russia 1 TV channel aired a traditional Christmas interview with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church answered the questions of Dmitry Kiselyov, a journalist and TV presenter, General Director of the Rossiya Segodnya international news agency.
— Your Holiness, on these Christmas days, let's start our interview with a sad one. It seems that the main event of the past year will be the drama in universal Orthodoxy. How painful is it and what are the points of support?
“People who are familiar with history and interested in history know that there have never been simple times, and drama is the very right word when we talk about history. History is not comedy, history is not tragedy, history is drama. What is drama? And drama is a realistic representation of life. Here there can be tears and smiles, joy and sorrow - this is what human life is. After all, every person knows from his own experience what drama is and in family life, and in professional life. There may be joys and smiles, or there may be tears... The same thing is happening today in the sphere of interchurch relations. The only thing that can be and should be said about is that today there is probably more sadness than joyful. First of all, this is due to the fact that there is a division within Orthodoxy, and I think that all the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches share this feeling with me: nothing good can come from these divisions.
The Orthodox Churches must unite in the face of all the problems that are falling upon a person today - I do not say “on the Church”, but specifically on a person. Those problems that destroy the integrity of the human personality, as a result of which a person becomes very fragile, weak, subject to influences. This is the most important task of the Church - to deal with a person, to help a person resist what in the church language is called temptations, and if we speak in the language of physiology, in a language understandable to modern man, then a person must be able to resist the voice of the flesh, what is on the language of the Church is called lust.
What is lust? Lust is the voice of the flesh, which drowns out the voice of reason, which suppresses the most sublime feelings, and a person no longer lives according to the law that God gave him, but the moral law embedded in his nature, that law of God that corresponds to the moral feeling, but is given us and in Scripture, but lives according to the laws of instinct. Instinct is the greatest force that motivates a person to certain actions. So, the task of the Church is that people live according to the law that God gave them. Following this law, a person elevates his mind, his feelings, tempers his will, becomes a strong personality - first of all, a person who is able to love and share his life with others.
Looking ahead, I will say that the future will certainly be good. Because the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is on the side of the world, on the side of God's truth; and everything that today opposes the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is on the side of darkness. And it's easy to prove. Here was the so-called unification council in Ukraine. According to the puppeteers and according to the President of Ukraine, this “council” was supposed to unite everyone and create a single Orthodox Church for the whole of Ukraine. And what happened? What happened was that two schismatic groups united, and the Orthodox Church, as it was itself, a blessed spiritual organism, remained itself. And what is also very remarkable in this whole story is the unprecedented intervention of state power. Ukraine seems to be a country aspiring to Europe, a country that claims to share European values. But after all, one of the very important values of Europe is the principle of separation of the Church, religion from the state - the secular nature of the state. What do we see? We see the president of Ukraine presiding over a church “sobor”, which determines who should be at the head of the “local church”, who grossly interferes in church life and does not hesitate to do so in public, so that it all turns into a theater of the absurd.
Can you imagine what would happen if the President Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin presided over the Church Council, if he directly said who should be elected, if he then represented the newly elected Patriarch to the public? This is hard to imagine...
- Impossible…
- Impossible. Can you imagine how the world would react? How alarmed all human rights activists would be, how alarmed all states would be, what a flurry of destructive criticism would be, right? What about today?
- They took water in their mouths ...
- Hey, where is Europe? Hey, where is the United States? With their desire to uphold the fundamental principles of liberalism, which include, in particular, the separation of church and state.
— Independence of the Church…
— Independence of the Church. This story shows that everything can be trampled down, any principles can be abandoned if specific political goals are pursued. And in this sense, the political order concerning the destruction of Orthodoxy in Ukraine is quite obvious.
“That kind of risk is always there. A lot depends on the driver, a lot. Imagine if in that revolutionary era there were machinists at the head of Russia who could cope with it. There were analogues in the 19th century, when the supreme machinists of Russia coped with very strong challenges, including those aimed at the destruction of the Russian statehood. Therefore, a lot depends on the machinists, on those people who are entrusted with full responsibility for the fate of the country, for the fate of the people. It is not only those who personify the highest power, not just one person, it is generally an elite, a state elite. The level of responsibility for everything that happens in the country depends on the education of this elite, on its patriotism. Again, you can get off track if the drivers develop too much speed when cornering, or if the drivers do not care about the technical condition of the composition. Both of these lead to destruction. Therefore, a very big responsibility lies with those who have power. And I want to emphasize once again: this is not only about the president or the prime minister. We are talking about all those who responsibly exercise power today, but not only about them. After all, they do not fly to us from somewhere in the universe - they grow from their own people. They are flesh from flesh, blood from the blood of the people, they study in our schools, our universities, they watch modern television programs, they watch modern cinema, they may even read books, although this is quite difficult when busy. So, the general cultural fund of the country is of great importance in terms of determining our future, and this cultural fund is created not only by cultural figures, not only by theater and cinema (although they too), but also created by the mass media; in addition, this process is influenced by the Church, influenced by the conscious, responsible participation of people in public life.
Therefore, the future of the country is our common cause. And if we are in solidarity in the implementation of this common cause, if we have clear goals - that we want the good for our people, we want Russia to be independent, strong, self-sufficient - then we must think in solidarity and act in solidarity . Therefore, the idea of a solidary society today is a very important idea, in relation to which the Russian Orthodox Church is seriously working. We believe that the Church can contribute to the formation of a solidary society on completely new foundations, without any ideology. Solidarity was also spoken of in the past, but solidarity did not save the Soviet Union from destruction. Therefore, we all need to work to form a person who can be in solidarity with other personalities, especially in our common movement forward.
— Quite right. When I talk about ideology, I mean a set of certain philosophical ideas on the basis of which state life is built. Well, we can remember Marxism; Liberalism now dominates in many countries. This is ideology when there are certain philosophical postulates that underlie legislation, the formation of public consciousness, and so on. Every historian will say that ideologies do not last long - three, four, five generations. The ideology is gone. But what remains? The man remains. What should be the basis of all our joint work, including our solidarity activities aimed at the development of our state? First of all, you need to think about the moral and spiritual state of the human person. A society cannot be solidary if selfishness, permissiveness, consumer ideology become the ideals of a person. Such people cannot walk the path hand in hand with others. That is why the spiritual upbringing, the moral upbringing of a person predetermines the ability of the whole society to be in solidarity and to jointly solve the problems that arise along this historical path.
- Well, first about love. Love hasn't gone anywhere. Love is inherent in human nature. God put this great gift into our nature, and every person experiences this feeling at some point in his life. Another conversation is how he realizes this feeling. This feeling can be exploited by turning it into promiscuous sex. Then love is destroyed, a person ceases to be able to love another. We are asked why there are so many divorces. Yes, because a person lives dissolutely, changes partners, and love goes somewhere, to a very distant plan, and first of all - lust, the desire to satisfy his physiological needs. All these things are incompatible, more precisely, such a way of life is incompatible with what we call love. because main characteristic love is - do not believe that? - sacrifice. There is no love without sacrifice. An indicator of whether you love a person or not is the answer to the question “what can I do for him?” And then bend your fingers. Can I give my life for him? Can I give up my health for him? For him, can I give up the level of consumption that I had before meeting the person I fell in love with? What can I donate for this person? You don't need to ask yourself these questions in front of a TV camera. You need to ask them alone before yourself, before your conscience. And if you say: “I don’t know if he is handsome, if he is good, but I can’t live without him, this is mine; for the sake of this person, I am ready to do everything that I can only”; if the realization that you treat a person this way becomes dominant, that is, it absorbs all your thoughts, all your feelings, then this is definitely love. Such a feeling must be cherished, because it is a sacred feeling, and a person can live his whole life on this feeling. Of course, many factors that support human intimacy change with age, but if true love exists, then it is to the grave. And if, having loved him or her, after a while a person says to himself: “Well, it’s nothing special if I do something else,” then this is the path that leads to the destruction of love.
And now what concerns interstate relations. In general, there is no love between states; there is always pragmatism between states. Because the state is not the people. There can be love between nations. We know that Russian people have sympathies for certain peoples; and to someone - restraint, which is dictated not by our thoughtless attitude, but simply by the historical context. Painfully, we burned ourselves in communication with this or that people, and therefore there is restraint; and for some - very great sympathy. And so it is with many peoples of the world. Sympathy between peoples is a very good feeling, and even if it does not exist, it must be developed through cultural contacts, interreligious contacts, which is very important, through scientific, technical, and political interaction. But sincerity is very important in these relationships. Although in politics, of course, sincerity must always be taken, as it were, with a certain coefficient, this is not the sincerity that should be in relations between people. But nevertheless, there must be decency in politics, and states, peoples must trust each other. It is impossible to declare one feeling and one idea in interstate relations, but in fact to carry out secretly, covertly a completely different strategy. I think older people remember the Helsinki Act on Security and Cooperation in Europe...
- 75th year.
— Quite right. What was the enthusiasm of the European peoples! And what enthusiasm was when the Berlin Wall fell! And we all thought: behold, we are entering a new era. Ideological contradictions and mediastinums have collapsed, and now something will begin that will lead us to very good relations with European countries, to cooperation. Well, as a result, we know what happened: NATO moved closer to our borders, various manifestations of an aggressive policy - all this, of course, destroys trust. Therefore, between states, even if there is no love, there must be an honest, I would say, decent policy. Actions must correspond to what is declared in interstate relations. It should not be that statesmen, when meeting, say good words to each other, and then politics does not correspond to these words. In this area, as I said, culture, art, religion, and public organizations should work, because it is close relationships with people that can, among other things, melt the ice in interstate relations.
- Family is joy, and this, of course, is a sacrifice, this is a feat, as everyone knows. Here a man lived alone before he got married, he was completely free, disposed of his time. And then he married and became not so free; and when the children appeared, even less free. There are more and more obligations, and the reaction to this reality can be the following: either I accept it as a gift from God and see great joy and happiness in this, I see the fullness of my life in this ...
- The realization of my freedom ...
- The realization of freedom, and one that does not devastate, but enriches. Or, conversely, “Why do I need all this? Lord, a headache…” And the man himself, with his own hands, destroys the gift that God has given him. Therefore, everything again depends, as it seems to me, on ourselves. From our attitude towards people, from our ability to be decent, from our ability to act, to speak those words that correspond to our internal state. Do not deceive people and build those relationships to which the Lord has called us.
- I'm not against technological progress, not at all! Suffice it to recall the story: the ancient Russian people threw their god Perun into the waters of the Dnieper. There was a destruction of paganism, but who is Perun? This is the god of thunder, lightning, this is an analogue of Zeus. A few centuries later, the Christian Mikhailo Lomonosov began to study the phenomenon of atmospheric electricity. That's what Christianity is! Christianity cannot be against science, against scientific progress, because the whole history of the development of science is connected with the Christian cultural context. It was in the depths of Christian Europe that scientific knowledge developed.
But here is what is causing concern. I have already had the opportunity to talk about this publicly and I will repeat it again. A person is strongly influenced by two circumstances, two goals. One is convenience and the other is pleasure. Convenience and pleasure powerfully enough determine our thoughts, our way of acting. The same gadgets are convenient, they open the way to pleasure, and in this sense the gadget is very attractive. But after all, few people know, and perhaps they even know, but do not attach any importance to this. great importance: whenever you use a gadget, whether you like it or not, whether you turn on geolocation or not, someone can know exactly where you are, know exactly what you are interested in, know exactly what you are afraid of. That's why worldwide network gadgets makes it possible to exercise universal control over the human race. And if not today, then tomorrow, both methodology and technical means may appear that will provide not just access to this information, but the use of this information. Can you imagine what kind of power will be concentrated in the hands of those who have knowledge of what is happening in the world? Starting from a conversation between two girlfriends on harmless topics and ending with serious negotiations of people who are building a life strategy, discussing plans in the field of economics, politics, and so on... So, control from one point is a harbinger of the coming of the Antichrist, if we talk about the Christian view . The Antichrist is the person who will be at the head of the world wide web that controls the entire human race. So the structure itself is dangerous. And there should not be a single center, at least in the foreseeable future, if we ourselves do not want to bring the apocalypse closer.
Therefore, gadgets are good from the point of view of convenience and pleasure, but from the point of view of control over the human personality, this is a dangerous business. This is what the Church should talk about, realizing that she draws on herself, though not righteous, but very pronounced wrath. We will be accused of being against progress, that we are retrogrades, but in fact we are not talking about scientific and technological progress, but about the development of a system that is aimed at controlling the human personality on a global scale. This is what the Church is against.
Yes, this is another side of the coin. Quite right. In addition to what we just talked about, there is an important topic that you just raised. After all, addiction also deprives a person of freedom. What is an alcoholic? A person deprived of liberty cannot live without drinking alcohol. So are drugs, gadgets, because the devil works very wisely. Here is a toy that gives you unlimited freedom. There are no distances, everything is on your screen, access to information, exchange with people, establish personal relationships - well, what could be better? In this case, total control can be exercised, and the person is completely absorbed by this technology. He goes into it from life, from reality, for him it is ...
- Substitution.
— Yes, pseudo-reality or quasi-reality.
- Virtual reality.
Yes, virtual reality. She becomes his life, and he is inside her more than outside. Of course, this is very dangerous for humans. This is the dehumanization of the human personality. After all, we become people, we develop human qualities from personal communication. We exchange thoughts, we exchange feelings, but, I will say such an unexpected thing, we exchange energies. After all, every person is a generator. He has a very strong, powerful energy, and the Lord arranged it all in such a way that we are mutually enriched with the correct construction of interpersonal relationships. And now all this wealth is being replaced by the exchange of information through electronic devices, with all the ensuing consequences.
Therefore, the conclusion from this part of our conversation can be as follows. Let people not think that the Patriarch is categorically against it. I would like to cite the words of the Apostle Paul, “test everything, hold fast to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). But please, never be enslaved by what is in your hands or what comes into your consciousness from outside. You must remain internally free and not fall under any addiction - neither alcohol, nor drugs, nor addiction to gadgets.
- Well, of course, there are no such plans as the state is building. Do you have any ideas for further development? church life. Now, I think it is premature to talk about it, but I would like to note that a lot has been done over the past ten years. I avoid always using the word “reform” when talking about changes in church life, because the reforms in the past have done great harm to our Church, and people have a cautious attitude towards this word. That's why I'm talking about transformations. The transformations are very big. The nature of our parish has practically changed. At the very least, the Councils clearly stated that parish life today, in addition to worship, which, of course, remains the center of parish life, should also include various types of activities aimed at supporting parishioners and helping them. In this sense, social work in the parish is very important, work with youth at the parish level is very important, educational work is very important. All this has now begun to be carried out in our Church, and I pray that the wonderful examples of parishes in Moscow, St. major cities and not only in cities, they spread throughout our Church, so that even every small parish would remember that the main thing is the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, but a community of people should be created around this. And if our parishes increase their activity in doing good deeds, in educational activities, especially in working with youth, then this will be a very important act for the Church. Therefore, I dream that the principles laid down in the past decade for the development of church life will be further developed.
- The first is not to refuse a feast and gifts. This is also a very important dimension of human life. We know how good it is when a family gathers around the table, when close people come, when there is an opportunity to communicate, support each other, and rejoice together. Therefore, all this must remain. And if we talk about what Christmas is for us, then there are wonderful words in the Holy Scriptures: “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not embrace it.” The light of the Nativity, that is, the light that came into the world through the birth of our Lord and Savior. What forces have been working during these two thousand years to drown out this light! It is impossible to enumerate, but it shines! It shone during the time of Roman slavery, it shone during the very difficult life of Byzantium, it shone during the time of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, it shone during the dawn of the Russian Empire, it shone during the persecution of the Russian Church in the 20th century, it will shine to the end . God grant that we are always on the side of the world. Because if there is light, then darkness is also present, and it depends on the person which side he will be on. Therefore, God grant that our people remain on the side of the world, despite all these temptations, temptations, for all the soul-destroying information flow that is directed at a person today - so that people remain able to see the light and stay on the side of the light.
- Thank you.
Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Christmas interview with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
— Your Holiness, in these Christmas days, let's start our interview with a sad one. It seems that the main event of the past year will be the drama in universal Orthodoxy. How painful is it and what are the points of support?
“People who are familiar with history and interested in history know that there have never been simple times, and drama is the very right word when we talk about history. History is not comedy, history is not tragedy, history is drama. What is drama? And drama is a realistic representation of life. Here there can be tears and smiles, joy and sorrow - this is what human life is. After all, every person knows from his own experience what drama is both in family life and in professional life. There may be joys and smiles, or there may be tears... The same thing is happening today in the sphere of interchurch relations. The only thing that can be and should be said about is that today there is probably more sadness than joyful. First of all, this is due to the fact that there is a division within Orthodoxy, and I think that all the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches share this feeling with me: nothing good can come from these divisions.
The Orthodox Churches must unite in the face of all the problems that are falling upon a person today - I do not say “on the Church”, but specifically on a person. Those problems that destroy the integrity of the human personality, as a result of which a person becomes very fragile, weak, subject to influences. This is the most important task of the Church - to deal with a person, to help a person resist what in the church language is called temptations, and if we speak in the language of physiology, in a language understandable to modern man, then a person must be able to resist the voice of the flesh, what is on the language of the Church is called lust.
What is lust? Lust is the voice of the flesh, which drowns out the voice of reason, which suppresses the most sublime feelings, and a person no longer lives according to the law that God gave him, but the moral law embedded in his nature, that law of God that corresponds to the moral feeling, but is given us and in Scripture, but lives according to the laws of instinct. Instinct is the greatest force that motivates a person to certain actions. So, the task of the Church is that people live according to the law that God gave them. Following this law, a person elevates his mind, his feelings, tempers his will, becomes a strong personality - first of all, a person who is able to love and share his life with others.
- We will return to lust and love, but still I want to continue the conversation about what is happening now in Ukraine. It looks like the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is now under crossfire. On the one hand, the Ukrainian authorities are firing at her, on the other hand, the Istanbul Patriarchate. What is the future of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and how can we help it?
Looking ahead, I will say that the future will certainly be good. Because the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is on the side of the world, on the side of God's truth; and everything that today opposes the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is on the side of darkness. And it's easy to prove. Here was the so-called unification council in Ukraine. According to the puppeteers and according to the President of Ukraine, this “council” was supposed to unite everyone and create a single Orthodox Church for the whole of Ukraine. And what happened? What happened was that two schismatic groups united, and the Orthodox Church, as it was itself, a blessed spiritual organism, remained itself. And what is also very remarkable in this whole story is the unprecedented intervention of state power. Ukraine seems to be a country aspiring to Europe, a country that claims to share European values. But after all, one of the very important values of Europe is the principle of separation of the Church, religion from the state - the secular nature of the state. What do we see? We see the president of Ukraine presiding over a church “sobor”, which determines who should be at the head of the “local church”, who grossly interferes in church life and does not hesitate to do so in public, so that it all turns into a theater of the absurd.
Can you imagine what would happen if the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, presided over the Church Council, if he directly said who should be elected, if he later represented the newly elected Patriarch to the public? This is hard to imagine...
- Impossible…
- Impossible. Can you imagine how the world would react? How alarmed all human rights activists would be, how alarmed all states would be, what a flurry of destructive criticism would be, right? What about today?
- They took water in their mouths ...
- Hey, where is Europe? Hey, where is the United States? With their desire to uphold the fundamental principles of liberalism, which include, in particular, the separation of church and state.
— Independence of the Church…
— Independence of the Church. This story shows that everything can be trampled down, any principles can be abandoned if specific political goals are pursued. And in this sense, the political order concerning the destruction of Orthodoxy in Ukraine is quite obvious.
- An important date of the past year was the 100th anniversary of the execution of the Royal Family. In your sermon you said a very important thing, that the people then became like a train, the driver of which did not calculate the speed and rushed towards an inevitable catastrophe. How relevant is this risk today?
“That kind of risk is always there. A lot depends on the driver, a lot. Imagine if in that revolutionary era there were machinists at the head of Russia who could cope with it. Analogues in XIX there were centuries when the supreme machinists of Russia coped with very strong challenges, including those aimed at the destruction of the Russian statehood. Therefore, a lot depends on the machinists, on those people who are entrusted with full responsibility for the fate of the country, for the fate of the people. It is not only those who personify the highest power, not just one person, it is generally an elite, a state elite. The level of responsibility for everything that happens in the country depends on the education of this elite, on its patriotism. Again, you can get off track if the drivers develop too much speed when cornering, or if the drivers do not care about the technical condition of the composition. Both of these lead to destruction. Therefore, a very big responsibility lies with those who have power. And I want to emphasize once again: this is not only about the president or the prime minister. We are talking about all those who responsibly exercise power today, but not only about them. After all, they do not fly to us from somewhere in the universe - they grow from their own people. They are flesh from flesh, blood from the blood of the people, they study in our schools, our universities, they watch modern television programs, they watch modern cinema, they may even read books, although this is quite difficult when busy. So, the general cultural fund of the country is of great importance in terms of determining our future, and this cultural fund is created not only by cultural figures, not only by theater and cinema (although they too), but also created by the mass media; in addition, this process is influenced by the Church, influenced by the conscious, responsible participation of people in public life.
Therefore, the future of the country is our common cause. And if we are in solidarity in the implementation of this common cause, if we have clear goals - that we want the good for our people, we want Russia to be independent, strong, self-sufficient - then we must think in solidarity and act in solidarity . Therefore, the idea of a solidary society today is a very important idea, in relation to which the Russian Orthodox Church is seriously working. We believe that the Church can contribute to the formation of a solidary society on completely new foundations, without any ideology. Solidarity was also spoken of in the past, but solidarity did not save the Soviet Union from destruction. Therefore, we all need to work to form a person who can be in solidarity with other personalities, especially in our common movement forward.
- You say “solidarity without any ideology”, but solidarity is built around something, around a system of values, around common system values. If there is no common system of values, then it is impossible to be in solidarity with someone. So based on what?
— Quite right. When I talk about ideology, I mean a set of certain philosophical ideas on the basis of which state life is built. Well, we can remember Marxism; Liberalism now dominates in many countries. This is ideology when there are certain philosophical postulates that underlie legislation, the formation of public consciousness, and so on. Every historian will say that ideologies do not last long - three, four, five generations. The ideology is gone. But what remains? The man remains. What should be the basis of all our joint work, including our solidarity activities aimed at the development of our state? First of all, you need to think about the moral and spiritual state of the human person. A society cannot be solidary if selfishness, permissiveness, consumer ideology become the ideals of a person. Such people cannot walk the path hand in hand with others. That is why the spiritual upbringing, the moral upbringing of a person predetermines the ability of the whole society to be in solidarity and to jointly solve the problems that arise along this historical path.
“But at the heart of Christian morality there has always been love, and it seems that love is now disappearing. It is either replaced by sex, or somehow commercialized. That same love, bequeathed by the Creator, has largely either disappeared or been transformed, or few can interpret it and make it the guide of their own lives. Love disappears both from relations between people, when relations become petty, and from relations between states; and the impression is that it is being replaced by real predation. In the world - the struggle for resources, the arms race and so on - where, in fact, is love here? So what happened to love, and where are we flying? And isn't it time to start fighting for peace and remember what you did in the 80s, when it was acutely relevant, precisely on the basis of love?
- Well, first about love. Love hasn't gone anywhere. Love is inherent in human nature. God put this great gift into our nature, and every person experiences this feeling at some point in his life. Another conversation is how he realizes this feeling. This feeling can be exploited by turning it into promiscuous sex. Then love is destroyed, a person ceases to be able to love another. We are asked why there are so many divorces. Yes, because a person lives dissolutely, changes partners, and love goes somewhere, to a very distant plan, and first of all - lust, the desire to satisfy their physiological needs. All these things are incompatible, more precisely, such a way of life is incompatible with what we call love. Because the main characteristic of love is - do not believe it? - sacrifice. There is no love without sacrifice. An indicator of whether you love a person or not is the answer to the question “what can I do for him?” And then bend your fingers. Can I give my life for him? Can I give up my health for him? For him, can I give up the level of consumption that I had before meeting the person I fell in love with? What can I donate for this person? You don't need to ask yourself these questions in front of a TV camera. You need to ask them alone before yourself, before your conscience. And if you say: “I don’t know if he is handsome, if he is good, but I can’t live without him, this is mine; for the sake of this person, I am ready to do everything that I can only”; if the realization that you treat a person this way becomes dominant, that is, it absorbs all your thoughts, all your feelings, then this is definitely love. Such a feeling must be cherished, because it is a sacred feeling, and a person can live his whole life on this feeling. Of course, many factors that support human intimacy change with age, but if true love exists, then it is to the grave. And if, having loved him or her, after a while a person says to himself: “Well, it’s nothing special if I do something else,” then this is the path that leads to the destruction of love.
And now what concerns interstate relations. In general, there is no love between states; there is always pragmatism between states. Because the state is not the people. There can be love between nations. We know that Russian people have sympathies for certain peoples; and to someone - restraint, which is dictated not by our thoughtless attitude, but simply by the historical context. Painfully, we burned ourselves in communication with this or that people, and therefore there is restraint; and for some - very great sympathy. And so it is with many peoples of the world. Sympathy between peoples is a very good feeling, and even if it does not exist, it must be developed through cultural contacts, interreligious contacts, which is very important, through scientific, technical, and political interaction. But sincerity is very important in these relationships. Although in politics, of course, sincerity must always be taken, as it were, with a certain coefficient, this is not the sincerity that should be in relations between people. But nevertheless, there must be decency in politics, and states, peoples must trust each other. It is impossible to declare one feeling and one idea in interstate relations, but in fact to carry out secretly, covertly a completely different strategy. I think older people remember the Helsinki Act on Security and Cooperation in Europe...
- 75th year.
— Quite right. What was the enthusiasm of the European peoples! And what enthusiasm was when the Berlin Wall fell! And we all thought: behold, we are entering a new era. Ideological contradictions and divisions have collapsed, and now something will begin that will lead us to very good relations with European countries, to cooperation. Well, as a result, we know what happened: NATO moved closer to our borders, various manifestations of an aggressive policy - all this, of course, destroys trust. Therefore, between states, even if there is no love, there must be an honest, I would say, decent policy. Actions must correspond to what is declared in interstate relations. It should not be that statesmen, when meeting, say good words to each other, and then politics does not correspond to these words. In this area, as I said, culture, art, religion, and public organizations should work, because it is close relationships with people that can, among other things, melt the ice in interstate relations.
- But if we continue the theme of love, then what is the future of a traditional family? You mentioned this, but still, if directly about the family?
- Family is joy, and this, of course, is a sacrifice, this is a feat, as everyone knows. Here a man lived alone before he got married, he was completely free, disposed of his time. And then he married and became not so free; and when the children appeared, even less free. There are more and more obligations, and the reaction to this reality can be the following: either I accept it as a gift from God and see great joy and happiness in this, I see the fullness of my life in this ...
- The realization of my freedom ...
- The realization of freedom, and one that does not devastate, but enriches. Or, conversely, “Why do I need all this? Lord, a headache…” And the man himself, with his own hands, destroys the gift that God has given him. Therefore, everything again depends, as it seems to me, on ourselves. From our attitude towards people, from our ability to be decent, from our ability to act, to speak those words that correspond to our internal state. Do not deceive people and build those relationships to which the Lord has called us.
- If you continue the theme of freedom, then you once said that excessive enthusiasm for modern gadgets limits freedom. Are you against technological progress?
- I'm not against technological progress, not at all! Suffice it to recall the story: the ancient Russian people threw their god Perun into the waters of the Dnieper. There was a destruction of paganism, but who is Perun? This is the god of thunder, lightning, this is an analogue of Zeus. A few centuries later, the Christian Mikhailo Lomonosov began to study the phenomenon of atmospheric electricity. That's what Christianity is! Christianity cannot be against science, against scientific progress, because the whole history of the development of science is connected with the Christian cultural context. It was in the depths of Christian Europe that scientific knowledge developed.
But here is what is causing concern. I have already had the opportunity to talk about this publicly and I will repeat it again. A person is strongly influenced by two circumstances, two goals. One is convenience and the other is pleasure. Convenience and pleasure powerfully enough determine our thoughts, our way of acting. The same gadgets are convenient, they open the way to pleasure, and in this sense the gadget is very attractive. But after all, few people know, and maybe even know, but do not attach great importance to this: whenever you use a gadget, whether you like it or not, whether you turn on geolocation or not, someone can know for sure where you are, know exactly what you are interested in, know exactly what you fear. Therefore, the worldwide network of gadgets makes it possible to exercise universal control over the human race. And if not today, then tomorrow, both methodology and technical means may appear that will provide not just access to this information, but the use of this information. Can you imagine what kind of power will be concentrated in the hands of those who have knowledge of what is happening in the world? Starting from a conversation between two girlfriends on harmless topics and ending with serious negotiations of people who are building a life strategy, discussing plans in the field of economics, politics, and so on... So, control from one point is a harbinger of the coming of the Antichrist, if we talk about the Christian view . The Antichrist is the person who will be at the head of the world wide web that controls the entire human race. So the structure itself is dangerous. And there should not be a single center, at least in the foreseeable future, if we ourselves do not want to bring the apocalypse closer.
Therefore, gadgets are good from the point of view of convenience and pleasure, but from the point of view of control over the human personality, this is a dangerous business. This is what the Church should talk about, realizing that she draws on herself, though not righteous, but very pronounced wrath. We will be accused of being against progress, that we are retrogrades, but in fact we are not talking about scientific and technological progress, but about the development of a system that is aimed at controlling the human personality on a global scale. This is what the Church is against.
- Well, this is a look at the planet Earth from the universe, but what about a person? After all, gadgets cause dependence on this pleasure, on this convenience. Already, narcologists equate this addiction with a drug one. How to cope with it and how to recognize this addiction in yourself?
Yes, this is another side of the coin. Quite right. In addition to what we just talked about, there is an important topic that you just raised. After all, addiction also deprives a person of freedom. What is an alcoholic? A person deprived of liberty cannot live without drinking alcohol. So are drugs, gadgets, because the devil works very wisely. Here is a toy that gives you unlimited freedom. There are no distances, everything is on your screen, access to information, exchange with people, establish personal relationships - well, what could be better? In this case, total control can be exercised, and the person is completely absorbed by this technology. He goes into it from life, from reality, for him it is ...
- Substitution.
— Yes, pseudo-reality or quasi-reality.
- Virtual reality.
Yes, virtual reality. She becomes his life, and he is inside her more than outside. Of course, this is very dangerous for humans. This is the dehumanization of the human personality. After all, we become people, we develop human qualities from personal communication. We exchange thoughts, we exchange feelings, but, I will say such an unexpected thing, we exchange energies. After all, every person is a generator. He has a very strong, powerful energy, and the Lord arranged it all in such a way that we are mutually enriched with the correct construction of interpersonal relationships. And now all this wealth is being replaced by the exchange of information through electronic devices, with all the ensuing consequences.
Therefore, the conclusion from this part of our conversation can be as follows. Let people not think that the Patriarch is categorically against it. I would like to cite the words of the Apostle Paul, “test everything, hold fast to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). But please, never be enslaved by what is in your hands or what comes into your consciousness from outside. You must remain internally free and not fall under any addiction - neither alcohol, nor drugs, nor addiction to gadgets.
“Important warning, thank you. Your Holiness, in just a few weeks it will be 10 years since you were enthroned, since you were elected Patriarch of All Russia. Do you have a plan for the next ten years?
- Well, of course, there are no such plans as the state is building. There are some thoughts on the further development of church life. Now, I think it is premature to talk about it, but I would like to note that a lot has been done over the past ten years. I avoid always using the word “reform” when talking about changes in church life, because the reforms in the past have done great harm to our Church, and people have a cautious attitude towards this word. That's why I'm talking about transformations. The transformations are very big. The nature of our parish has practically changed. At the very least, the Councils clearly stated that parish life today, in addition to worship, which, of course, remains the center of parish life, should also include various types of activities aimed at supporting parishioners and helping them. In this sense, social work in the parish is very important, work with youth at the parish level is very important, educational work is very important. All this has now begun to be carried out in our Church, and I pray that the wonderful examples of parishes in Moscow, St. Petersburg, other large cities and not only cities will spread throughout our Church, so that even every small parish will remember that the main thing - celebration of the Divine Liturgy, communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, but around this a community of people should be created. And if our parishes increase their activity in doing good deeds, in educational activities, especially in working with youth, then this will be a very important act for the Church. Therefore, I dream that the principles laid down in the past decade for the development of church life will be further developed.
The holiday of Christmas symbolizes hope. But isn't it so lately that the content is replaced by a feast and an exchange of gifts? Why this holiday at all? And what would you like to wish your flock in connection with Christmas?
- The first is not to refuse a feast and gifts. This is also a very important dimension of human life. We know how good it is when a family gathers around the table, when close people come, when there is an opportunity to communicate, support each other, and rejoice together. Therefore, all this must remain. And if we talk about what Christmas is for us, then there are wonderful words in the Holy Scriptures: “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not embrace it.” The light of the Nativity, that is, the light that came into the world through the birth of our Lord and Savior. What forces have been working during these two thousand years to drown out this light! It is impossible to enumerate, but it shines! He shone during the time of Roman slavery, he shone during the very difficult life of Byzantium, he shone during the time of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, he shone during the dawn of the Russian Empire, he shone during the times of persecution of the Russian Church in XX century, it will shine to the end. God grant that we are always on the side of the world. Because if there is light, then darkness is also present, and it depends on the person which side he will be on. Therefore, God grant that our people remain on the side of the world, despite all these temptations, temptations, for all the soul-destroying information flow that is directed at a person today - so that people remain able to see the light and stay on the side of the light.
- This is your wish! Thank you very much, Your Holiness, for this already traditional interview.
- Thank you.
– Your Holiness, thank you for this already traditional Christmas interview. But this year our conversation differs from all the previous ones in that Russia is fighting. How should a believer deal with this? It is clear that we are talking, first of all, about the Orthodox, but also about Muslims too.
“Killing a person is a sin. Cain killed Abel, and, having embarked on the path of committing sin, mankind found itself in a situation where a violent way of influencing a person, a group of people, countries quite often turns out to be a means and a way to resolve conflicts. This, of course, is the most extreme and most sinful way. But the Gospel contains amazing words, the essence of which is that he is blessed who gives his life for another (see John 15:13).
What does this mean? This means that participation in certain activities that may result in death may be justified. The gospel clearly describes in what cases this is possible - when you give your life for others. Strictly speaking, the idea of a just war is built on this. Even Blessed Augustine tried to describe the parameters of such a war in the distant 5th century. Now, perhaps, there are somewhat different ideas, but the essence remains the same: military actions are justified when they protect a person, society, and the state.
What is happening today in seemingly distant Syria, which in fact is not far at all, it is literally our neighbor, is the defense of the Fatherland. Many people today speak clearly about this, because if terrorism wins in Syria, it has a huge chance, if not to win, then extremely darken the life of our people, bring misfortunes and disasters. Therefore, this war is defensive - not so much even a war as targeted impacts. But, nevertheless, this is the participation of our people in hostilities, and as long as this war is defensive in nature, it is fair.
Besides, we all know very well what terrible misfortunes terrorism brings. Our people went through terrible trials - Beslan, Volgograd, it is impossible to list them all. We are burned by this pain, we know what it is. What about our plane that was shot down over Sinai? Therefore, everything that happens is retaliatory defensive actions. In this sense, we boldly speak of a just struggle.
In addition, there is another very important point. Through our actions, we are participating in the salvation of so many people in Syria and the Middle East. I remember how in 2013, when we celebrated the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia, the Patriarchs and representatives of all the Local Orthodox Churches came to Moscow. We met with Vladimir Vladimirovich in the Kremlin, and the main topic was to save the Christian presence in the Middle East. It was a general appeal to the President. I do not want to say that it is this motive that is decisive, but it is about protecting people who are unjustly destroyed as a result of terrorist actions - including, of course, the Christian community.
Therefore, like any war and any military action involving the death of people, this war is grief and can be a sin. But as long as it protects people's lives and our country, we treat it as a just act aimed at achieving just goals.
– Your Holiness, you are talking about saving people, but this war (I mean the war in Syria and our military operation as part of it) complicates the position of the Orthodox in the world – they are in any case associated with Russia…
As they say, there was nowhere else to go. The position of Christians in Syria, Iraq, and many other countries has reached an extreme. Today, Christians are the most oppressed religious community, not only where there are clashes with Islamic extremists, but in many other places, including prosperous Europe, where public display of Christian feelings, such as openly wearing a cross, can lead to the person will be removed from work. We know how Christianity is being squeezed out of public space - in many countries today the word "Christmas" is not used.
Christians are indeed in a very difficult situation, and what is happening now in Syria, it seems to me, will not worsen it. On the contrary, we know cases of return from captivity, we know cases of the liberation of Christians and entire Christian settlements, places of their compact residence. From the reaction that we receive from our brethren, it is quite clear that they are looking forward to Russia's participation in this liberation war, in these actions aimed at overcoming terrorism.
– In that case, to what extent what is happening in Syria now is a religious war? What can be opposed to fanatics, who, as they say, are driven by faith? What is the nature of this phenomenon?
– It has already become commonplace to say that this is not a religious war, and I join this attitude towards this conflict. Let me give you a historical example. Relations between Christians and Muslims in history have not been cloudless. We know that there were cases of forced conversion to Islam and the conquest of the Christian territories of Byzantium. But, if we leave out of the brackets the actual military operations, which were always accompanied by losses on both sides, then there has never been anything like what is happening now in the Islamic world.
Take even the example of the Ottoman Empire. There was a certain order of relations between religious communities. Until now, in the hands of a Muslim Arab - the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is all from those very Turkish times, when a Muslim was responsible for security, for keeping Christian shrines. That is, such a way of interaction between communities was developed, which, of course, cannot be called the most favored nation regime, but people lived, performed their religious duties, there were patriarchates, the Church existed - and all this in antiquity, in the 1st millennium or in the so-called dark Middle Ages .
But enlightened times have come - the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. And what do we see? The genocide of Christians, as we have just said, is the extermination of the Christian population. The presence of Christians in Iraq, Syria has decreased by an order of magnitude, people are fleeing from fear of being destroyed by entire families ...
There is such a thing as fanaticism, that is, an idea brought to the point of absurdity. So, fanatics believe that they have the right to decide the fate of people, that is, to freely decide whether the Christian community should exist or not - most often, that it should not exist, because Christians are "infidels" and are subject to destruction. This fanatical idea itself, carried to the point of absurdity, is opposed to the religious idea, contrary to God. God did not call anyone to destroy in the name of relations with Him, or, better, for the sake of displaying a religious feeling. Therefore, behind fanaticism, in the end, is godlessness, only the dark mass of people who are involved in these terrible actions do not understand this. To act in this way is to reject God and God's world.
Are fanatics atheists?
– Fanatics are de facto atheists. Although they will talk about their belonging to the faith and even perform certain religious rites, but according to their convictions, according to their views, these are people who deny His will and God's peace. Otherwise, it could not be. In order to create a terrorist community, people need to be inspired to hate, and hatred is not from God, it comes from another source. Therefore, when we talk about the so-called religious fanaticism, extremism and terrorism, we are talking about a phenomenon associated with a person's refusal to be a believer and be in union with God.
– The world is split, and maybe the fight against terrorism is a chance for it? Can the fight against terrorism unite humanity, and if so, on what basis?
- Perhaps, tactically, it will reconcile some forces to solve common problems, but the fight against someone can never unite. We need a positive agenda. We need a system of values that would unite people, and let me take this opportunity today to say something about the phenomenon of religious terrorism that I have never said before.
How are people lured into the terrorist community? Money, drugs, some promises - all this, so to speak, non-idealistic factor works to the fullest. And there is no need to idealize everyone who enters this community. Very many are driven by exceptionally rigid pragmatic interests - to cash in, win, steal, grab. Same usage Syrian oil fully testifies to the presence of a thirst for profit, conquest.
But there are also honest people, or at least those who join the ranks of terrorists for really religious reasons. I am sure that there is, because people most often respond to the call of extremists in mosques, after prayer, but how can you influence a person who has just prayed to make him take up arms? It is necessary to connect his religious feelings, his faith with very specific arguments aimed, among other things, at participation in military operations and on everything else that accompanies terrorist activities. And what can be an argument - have we ever thought about it? "You become a fighter for the Caliphate." “What is a caliphate?” “And this is a society where faith, God, is at the center, where religious laws dominate. You are creating a new civilization in relation to the one that is now established in the world - godless, secular and also radical in its secularism.
We now see that this godless civilization is really attacking, including the rights of people, which are proclaimed almost the highest value - but you can’t wear a cross. Parades of sexual minorities can be held, this is welcome - and a million-strong demonstration of French Christians in defense of family values is dispersed by the police. If you call non-traditional relationships a sin, as the Bible tells us, and you are a priest or pastor, you can not only lose the opportunity to serve, but also go to prison.
I can continue to give simply terrible examples of how this godless civilization is advancing. And that's what they point fingers at to young people who are seduced by extremists. "Look at the world they are building - the world of the devil, and we invite you to build the world of God." And they respond to it, for this they go to give their lives. Then they can use drugs, and anything else, but in order to arouse a person to fight, you must first show him the enemy. That is what they do, naming specific addresses and saying why certain people are enemies in relation to you, and perhaps in relation to the entire human race.
Therefore, it is necessary to reconcile not on the basis of the fight against terrorism. We all need to think about ways to develop human civilization, we all need to think about how to combine modern scientific and technical or, as they say now, post-industrial society with those spiritual and religious values without which a person cannot live. The Church can be oppressed, pushed aside, people can be deprived of the opportunity to fulfill their religious needs, but religious feelings cannot be killed, and this is well known.
It is necessary to combine human freedom with moral responsibility. Every person should be given the opportunity to live in accordance with God's law. There is no need to limit the manifestation of religious feelings and at the same time there is no need to limit the freedom of human choice. If we can combine all these constituent parts, then we will build a viable civilization. And if we fail, then we are doomed to constant struggle and constant suffering. It is impossible to try to build the future by tug-of-war, by winning one model over another, by creating some artificial forms of human community that do not correspond to either moral nature or religious feeling. And if humanity manages to achieve a moral consensus, if this moral consensus can be somehow included in international law, in legislation, then there is a chance to build a fair global civilizational system.
- Here you are talking about a chance and you mentioned France. In France, after these terrible terrorist attacks in Paris, the public response to them was a call to prayer - and this is in a country where, according to statistics, Christians are already a minority, less than half. So what was it? Taking advantage of the chance you were talking about?
“It was a natural reaction of people. You know, the same thing happened after September 11 in New York – temples of all denominations and religions began to overflow with people. The same thing happened when the seemingly completely atheized Soviet society turned to God during the Great Patriotic War. The temples were crowded; as I was told by people who participated in the hostilities, there was not a single atheist on the front line. When a person comes face to face with a danger that he cannot overcome on his own and even together with others, he turns to God - and indeed he hears this God's answer! Otherwise, they would not contact Him.
Therefore, while leading us through some trials, the Lord, of course, is waiting for our conversion. And in this sense, I highly appreciate what is happening in our country today. I do not idealize what is happening, but I see how slowly, not without difficulty, but there is a certain convergence of the two principles in the life of our people, how there is a certain synthesis of the material, scientific, technical beginning, the aspiration of people to a prosperous life with the growth of their spiritual needs. I cannot say that we have achieved much. We may be at the very beginning of the path, but this is a very correct path. When I see young people, educated, prosperous, with a bright, strong faith in their hearts, - You know, the soul rejoices. You see the image of the new Russia - in fact, it is worth living for.
– Your Holiness, when you talk about our country, then, of course, we recognize Russia. On the other hand, you have more than one country of yours, for example. Ukraine is also your country, and the Russian Orthodox Church lifts up prayers every service for Ukraine, for the suffering. How do you assess the processes that are going on in Ukraine?
- For me, Ukraine is the same as Russia. There are my people, the Church, which the Lord blessed me to lead in this historical period of time. This is my joy and my pain. This is the reason for sleepless nights and the reason for the high enthusiasm that sometimes visits me when I think about people who defend their convictions, their right to remain Orthodox with such strength and faith.
What is happening in Ukraine today, of course, fills the heart with anxiety. We are witnessing terrible stories with the capture of temples. Ptichye village, Rivne region. Several women, two priests sit huddled together for several days - cold, electricity cut off, no heat, no food, no water. Miraculously, one managed to make a phone call and we learned about what was going on inside. And there is a roaring crowd around, demanding to throw these people out and hand over the temple that they built, which belongs to them, to another religious group, which we call schismatics, which does not belong to the canonical Church. The court stands for the rights of the believers of our Church, but no authorities protect these rights.
Maybe someone will say: “Well, what are you talking about a particular case? You look at the life of the country as a whole.” But what does this say? People have chosen the so-called European path of development - well, they have chosen and chosen, no one is tearing their hair on their heads about this and no one is trying to interfere with this path. Well, follow this path! Is terror a factor in modern European life, with all its costs, which we talked about? Is it possible in this way to attract people to the European path of development, when for many it is associated with blood and suffering? I'm not talking about the hunger and misfortune of many people ...
And this is what I would like to say, and I know that my words will be heard in Ukraine. All this struggle is going on, including for a united Ukraine, for the preservation of its unity. But how can unity be maintained in this way? After all, people who do not want to repeat the experience of the village of Ptichye, they will fight with all their might so that the authorities condoning such a seizure of churches and the oppression of believers do not come to their homes! This means that this kind of policy encourages the division of the Ukrainian people. Therefore, from a pragmatic point of view, this is stupid. It is necessary to unite people, but it is possible to unite, which everyone knows from the example of family relations, only with love, openness, readiness to hear. We need to make efforts to make everyone feel good, we need to calm down the too zealous who are trying to rock the boat, we need to give others a chance to prove themselves. But, unfortunately, nothing of the kind is happening in Ukraine today.
I have only one hope, that there is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a Church-confessor, which really unites the people today. Not a single political force unites the people, not a single political force works for a united Ukraine, especially those very loud talking people who proclaim the idea of a conciliar Ukraine as their political program. They do not work for this program, but the Ukrainian Orthodox Church works, which unites both the east and the west, both the north and the south, which humbly but courageously speaks the truth, which leads people to unity, and only in this way and only with this unifying factor can be linked to the prosperous future of Ukraine.
I pray for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, for the episcopate of our Church, for the clergy, for the believing people, and I believe that in this way Ukraine will be preserved and will be a prosperous, peaceful, calm country, friendly towards its neighbors, open towards Europe. No one will feel bad about this, so God forbid that it be so.
– Ukraine is going through difficult times not only in the spiritual, but also in the material sense. The people fell into poverty, and the economic crisis affects both Russia and many countries of the world. People who only yesterday considered themselves to be the middle class are becoming poorer and begin to feel poor, even if they live not in poverty, but in a material sense worse than yesterday. They have a certain low self-esteem, and recently there has been such an ideological construction that only a good life is valuable, and a bad life is not needed at all. This leads to the fact that someone may even end up committing suicide, someone falls into despair, gives up ... Still, the value of life - how does it change, and does it change, in an economic crisis, in a lack of something ?
I think it all depends on what's inside the person. After all, we went through, and our parents went through the most difficult periods, from an economic point of view, much more difficult than now. Now, in general, the severity is relative - a person earns a little more or less, but God forbid that the economic situation worsens, but in general there is no tragedy in the country today. Therefore, weak-nerved, internally weak, empty people are disappointed.
If you associate all your well-being only with money, if well-being is measured by the quality of your vacation, the material conditions of life, then the slightest reduction in consumption can seem like a monstrous tragedy. And what does it mean? And this means that the person is not very viable. He cannot always live in some especially favorable conditions; and even if the conditions are materially favorable, then after all, everything happens in his soul. And how often quite prosperous people go through a crisis of family life, through despair, how many suicides among rich and prosperous people!
The only thing that should be fought against, which should never be allowed, that we need to eradicate, is to eradicate poverty. There is a difference between poverty and poverty. This is very well said by Dostoevsky in Crime and Punishment. There Marmeladov philosophizes about this, that poverty does not destroy pride, that is, a certain self-confidence, but poverty sweeps people out of human communication ...
- "Poverty is not a vice, poverty is a vice" ...
- In fact, poverty throws a person out of society. Who will communicate with the unfortunate tramp who spends the night on the street, who will let him into the house? A poor man, cleanly dressed, intelligent, will be let in, and they will talk, and they will hire him, but the beggar is all, he is an outcast. But after all, these are our people, these are not some aliens who have descended to us. And if you delve into the history of these poor people? Often they were prosperous a year or two ago, but various circumstances - a raider seizure of an apartment, loss of work, loss of health - lead to such a state.
Therefore, one of our national tasks should be to ensure that there is no poverty in Russia, that there are no homeless people in Russia. The Church is trying to do everything in its power to help, warm in the winter, wash, dress, give advice, buy a ticket home. These are not very significant measures, but a program for the complete eradication of poverty must be adopted on a national scale.
But even with all this, we will not solve the problem of human happiness. No slide interest rate and the increase in income will not play a decisive role. I say this because it is now on everyone's lips, people are very worried about what is happening with their investments in banks, with loans, with everything else. This, of course, is important, I am not minimizing this problem, but I want to say that it does not in the first place determine what human life and human happiness mean.
But on what concerns the internal state, you need to work every day. After all, what is faith? This is a way of constant self-control and influence on your soul, on your consciousness. When we pray in the morning and in the evening, we must subject ourselves to careful analysis. I know that it is sometimes difficult for people to read prayers, because it doesn’t work very well in Slavonic, and there seems to be not enough time, but there is enough time to think about yourself, reflect on your life, about the day you have passed. So do it before the face of God! Subject your actions to analysis, control them, ask God for forgiveness and admonition so as not to repeat mistakes. He spoke incorrectly with someone, raised his voice to someone, pulled someone down, caused pain to someone, offended someone, deceived someone ...
If we talk to God about all this and ask for His help, then we will change ourselves, we will change our inner world. We will become stronger, and our well-being depends on this inner spiritual strength, in my opinion, to a much greater extent than on external material factors. Although these factors should not be minimized, given all that we have said in connection with the miserable existence of many of our citizens.
– Your Holiness, I cannot but ask this question in the coming year. We will be celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the Russian monastic presence on Mount Athos. How should this holiday be celebrated?
– This is a very important event in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the history of Athos and, of course, of all universal Orthodoxy. On Athos, in our monasteries, on the eve of this holiday, a grandiose restoration work was and is being carried out. Private benefactors are investing heavily in the restoration of Russian Athos monasteries, and we very much hope that our monasteries, which fell into disrepair during the 20th century, will be transformed by the celebration of this event, because there was no influx of monks, ties with Russia were severed.
Also in our country, scientific conferences will be held, numerous research projects and publications. We want to involve our scientific community, our intelligentsia and, of course, our people in this celebration. Why? Yes, because Athos was, is and will be a center of special spiritual significance for us, for all our people. Surprisingly, Athos has played, is playing and, apparently, will continue to play an important role in the Christianization of our society. After all, many go there for the sake of exoticism - just to see what kind of place it is where women are not allowed, where monks govern themselves, some kind of state within a state ... They come - and feel in their hearts the grace of God that dwells there, and forever keep in touch with Athos. For many, this connection leads to God and strengthens their spiritual life. Therefore, the anniversary, in addition to cultural, historical significance, is also of great spiritual significance for our people.
– What will be most important for your flock in Russia and the world in the coming year? What to avoid, what to strive for?
I can't give any specific advice right now. Because for each person all this is very individual, and what is good for one may not be very good for another. And some general advice, general wishes do not touch the mind and heart too much ... But I would like to say about very important things that will help in the implementation of plans and overcoming life's difficulties.
We have already talked about the fact that it is good every morning and every evening, standing before God, to analyze your life, repent and act in accordance with this analysis in the future, but now I would like to talk about prayer in general. This is a very special phenomenon, because God created us autonomous, including from Him. He gave us such freedom that we can believe in Him or not, live by His law or not live, turn to Him or not turn. Then we simply live according to the laws and elements of this world. There are physical laws, and we live according to these laws, or we ourselves create some laws and live according to them. And prayer is a way out of this autonomy. The man says: "You created me this way, but I want to be with You." Prayer is drawing God into your own life. Through prayer, we kind of make God our co-worker. We say: “Help me, come into my life, limit my freedom,” because very often we do not know what to do.
So they come to the priest and say: “Father, should I get married or not?”, “Should I get married or not?” I always say to confessors: “Be careful with such answers, how can you know?” These are the questions a person should turn to God, as well as, perhaps, smaller questions related to everyday life. When we ask God, when we pray, we connect with Him, God is really present in our life, and we become stronger. Here is the first thing I would like to wish people: learn to pray. Learning to pray means learning to be strong, and what hinders our relationship with God in any way is when we deliberately sin. Of course, we can repent - sincere repentance removes sin and responsibility for it, but, which is very important, if we consciously live in unrepentant sin, then our prayers do not reach God. Sin is the only wall that really separates us from God. There is a wall, and there is no this contact, the circuit does not close ...
- Unrepentant sin?
- Unrepentant sin. Therefore, when we realize that we are doing bad things, we need to repent, first of all, before God, well, and if someone has the strength and ability, then in the temple before the priest. This is the second thing I would like. By the way, confession is not before a priest, but before God, the priest is only a witness to the fact of repentance. The sinner was excluded from church communion, he could not take communion, he could not enter the temple, and therefore there had to be a witness to his repentance in order to say: “Yes, he can come, he can pray with us.” This is where the tradition of repentance comes from in the presence of a priest, but before the face of God.
Well, the last thing I would like to say. Our lives become pleasing to God if we simply do good deeds. Many people need these good deeds - from the closest ones with whom we live, to those with whom we meet in the line of work, in different life circumstances. If we learn to do good, we will become happy people, because good multiplies good. This is what I would like to wish to myself, to you and to everyone who listens and sees us.
– Thank you very much for this important interview, Your Holiness. Thank you.
Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
September 21, 2010, during the First Hierarch's visit to Far East, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with journalists from the Patriarchal Pool and answered questions from a Rossiya TV correspondent.
- Your Holiness, you travel a lot, and it seems that you are on the road all the time, meeting a lot of different people. What do you take away from these trips?
Travel is a very important part of the Patriarch's ministry. Great is his responsibility for what is happening in the Church, and in order for the decisions to be correct, correlated with real life, taking into account the real situation in the Church and in society, you need to see a lot with your own eyes and hear with your own ears.
But if we talk about impressions, then from Western Ukraine to the Far East you meet people whose life is based on spiritual values of great power that came to us from a common tradition; and this forms a certain backbone, a certain basis of being. We are really talking about a single Orthodox civilization: people belong to different ethnic groups, to different cultures, but the civilizational code is one; and this is expressed most clearly in the way people meet problems.
I think the biggest problem and the biggest question today is how a person copes with what is on modern language we call "challenge". This is what really appeals to us as a kind of strong irritant, something that requires us to make decisions. And after all, most often these are not just technological decisions - to do this, and not otherwise, to do one or the other. Most often, the answers involve a moral dimension. And I think that a huge problem of modern man is the inability to match these answers to the challenges of modernity with his spiritual and cultural foundation.
All this is a big task for the Church. When we talk about the churching of the people, we are not talking only about the fact that people know what holidays they should go to church on. First of all, we are talking about the fact that a person has gained the ability to use this huge spiritual and cultural layer that is in him, often in a kind of “sleeping” state, especially in moments of crises, stress, experiences. Then interpersonal relationships will become completely different, and much that today upsets and causes concern will leave our lives.
- Let me ask a question that is very relevant for modern man. Now many people live very rich and extremely difficult lives. And they often ask: “Well, why do we need the Church, why do we need prayer - we don’t have time for this.” What would you say to such people?
One of the prayers that Orthodox Christians must read in the morning - they must, but many, of course, do not read due to lack of time - contains amazing words: “help me at all times, in all things, and deliver me from all worldly evil.” things and from the devil's haste. These words “deliver me, Lord, from the devil's haste” should have been hung over the bed so that a person, getting up, would immediately read them. After all, the problem of time is the problem of our internal state. We really all the time rush somewhere, we have a catastrophic lack of time. We certainly do something, we develop tremendous energy. Sometimes it happens that a person develops energy all his life or half his life, and then suddenly, simply due to external circumstances - he fell ill, got out of the rut - a breakdown in his career, as they say now, and a forced stop. And the person begins to think: “what did I do? Well, yes, it seems like I changed my apartment, I changed my car ... And what did I do, what did I leave behind? A huge amount of effort is a devilish haste, it is running in one place. And in order not to get into this wheel - like a squirrel that develops tremendous speed, but does not move in space - we must learn to stop. Prayer is the ability to stop. When you turn to God, you enter into a completely different dimension of life. You seem to be looking at your life from a bird's eye view. You see: Lord, my God, yes, all this is vanity of vanities, well, this is not the main thing ... And prayer helps a person to build life priorities, come to a state of calm, cope with stress.
Well, the fact that there is not enough time to pray, so we do not have enough time to go to the doctor either. From the point of view of modern medicine, in order to maintain health, you need to donate blood about once every two to three months. Then scientists analyze the state of the blood and can correct the state of human health with medication. But none of us do that. We go to the doctor when it hurts, especially when it really hurts. This is how it is in spiritual life - there is not enough time for prayer, and we run to the temple when there is nowhere to go. These are the flaws in our lives, and another task of the Church is to help people understand the meaning of prayer. This is not just a ritual, these are not pagan actions - this is, first of all, the ability to correctly orient one's life, this is a methodology of life.
Therefore, religion is necessary for the life of a modern person like air, and after all, further the devil's haste will be even greater. Every innovation that I look at, starting with mobile phone, convinces me that any new technological introduction into human life reduces time - increases opportunities and reduces time. Therefore, the religious factor is very important in the conditions of intensive scientific and technological development and the subordination of life to the laws that are formulated as a result of this development.
- But after all, some people who grew up in the Soviet and post-Soviet times perceive the Church as something outdated, from another world. Can such people be taught to pray, can they be called to the Church?
The Lord is calling. Of course, the job of a priest is to arrange a person, to help him understand. I don’t know, maybe our simple conversation with you will help someone understand something. I will thank God for this. And someone, perhaps, will say: “Yes, listen, and okay.” But more often than not, God calls us, each in his own way. Someone in a light breath of wind - something touched you, and you felt it, and someone - like thunder and lightning.
When something happens to us, especially troubles, people perceive it as something very bad, wrong in their life. In fact, even illnesses, sorrows must be looked at as God's admonition. Well, such a successful person is spinning, he or she, everything seems to be working out, there is no time for anything - what kind of prayer is there, everything is subordinated to the achievement of these momentary goals ... And suddenly some kind of bell, and the person suddenly stopped. Sometimes through these bells the whole life changes. That is why it is very important for a modern person to understand that turning to God is always God's participation in his life. This is a kind of signal that we can, of course, respond to, but we may not. God grant that as many of our contemporaries as possible could recognize these signals, separating them from the noise of our noisy time.
- Can a person brought up in atheism become a believer?
You know, ideological atheism, if taken seriously by a person, carries such a huge number of worldview challenges that a restless person - in the good sense of the word, that is, critical of the state of his mind, his views - will certainly reach the idea of God.
I will not name names, but in 2005 I visited the Far East and met with a local statesman who was an atheist and constantly spoke about his atheism. The more I talked with him, the more I became convinced that sooner or later this person would become a believer. Because such sharpness on the topic of religion and atheism already indicates the absence of indifference.
But what about our intelligentsia, which so powerfully influenced the development of the religious idea in the country? After all, they still came out of atheism - through torment, through suffering, through reading, through comparison, through hard inner work. And today, many people come to God this way. Therefore, I don’t see anything incredible here: if a person is an unbeliever, especially an unbeliever in the everyday sense (who among us thinks about any ideas when we live in conditions of devilish haste - and there is no time to read a book), then he will have a lot of circumstances when you suddenly have to think about the sky, think about the eternal.
God calls every person. The most terrible thing is that a believer does not practically become an atheist - this is what the Patriarch prays for very strongly.
- Your Holiness, but there is another side. Some people - thank God, they are few - say that the Russian Orthodox Church does not meet the needs modern world, and seeks his spiritual expectations in non-traditional for our country religions, occult forces, movements. What would you say to such people?
In general, the fascination with various kinds of creeds that appear like mushrooms after rain is a very specific phenomenon, which is based, first of all, on religious and, forgive me, cultural illiteracy. For example, a person becomes a Christian, but not an Orthodox Christian, but some visiting missionary taught him something. You just need to ask yourself the question: and this teaching, which is offered to me as true, as saving, and most often as the only saving one - when did it appear? This is either the 21st century, or the 20th, or the 19th century. But from the Lord Jesus Christ to the moment when the founder of this doctrine dawned, nineteen centuries passed. And at this time that no one was saved? Nothing happened in the spiritual life? Of course, they were saved, and a lot happened in their spiritual life. Therefore, before you listen and give your heart and mind to a visiting missionary who told you that he is the ultimate truth, bother to read at least something - the history of the Church, the history of culture, the history of your country, and you will see a huge amount saints, ascetics, people illumined by the Spirit of God, who conveyed this faith to us - and after all, all this is from the holy apostles.
I know that people have different attitudes towards the Orthodox Church, but this is the Church that continues from the holy apostles until the 21st century. On each bishop lay the hand of his predecessor - and so, if I talk about myself, from me to the holy apostles, and you can draw this line, calling everyone by name. One transfers to another the faith, the Tradition coming from the Lord Himself, punishing to keep this faith, not to erode it, to keep it pure. Even outwardly, the ordination of a bishop by others, as it should be, by several bishops is a symbol of the fidelity of the transmission of this Divine Tradition.
I don't want to criticize anyone - it's none of my business; I just root for those people who are on the wrong path. Sometimes this is due simply to deceit and dishonesty, with the desire to make money on simple-minded people. But there is one more, if you like, social moment, socially dangerous - religious pluralism, religious fragmentation create new lines of division within society. It used to be like this: rich and poor, right and left came to the temple, and all became one people; and in this single faith of a single people there was a colossal potential for unity, solidarity, and cooperation. But if these dividing lines also pass through the spiritual life of society, often accompanied by very sharp conflicts, then what is left for people? That is why the Church insists on the need to preserve the Orthodox faith - both as a truly saving force and as a spiritual foundation and a solid foundation for national life.
(And now the same fragment:)
- Your Holiness, social problems have hit the indigenous peoples of the North very hard. Please tell us how the Russian Orthodox Church expresses its position towards the indigenous peoples of the North and their defense?
The Orthodox Church preserves in its history, in its Tradition, the wonderful names of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius. In a sense, we are the Church of Cyril and Methodius. They came out of the enlightened Greco-Roman world and went preaching to the Slavs. And who were the Slavs? These are barbarians, people speaking in an incomprehensible language, these are second-class people, they are almost animals. And so enlightened men went to them, brought them the light of Christ's truth and did something very important - they began to speak with these barbarians in their language, they created the Slavic alphabet, Slavic grammar and translated the Word of God into this language. This tradition lives so deeply in our Church that for us all peoples are equal, there are no barbarians among them. Because for someone we were once barbarians, although in fact we never were barbarians. So, all peoples are equal and everyone needs to be addressed, preferably using their culture, their language.
If, however, we move from the church topic to more practical things, then it can be noted that the nature of the North is very fragile, it is very easy to destroy it, because these are not powerful centuries-old oaks and not hundred-meter pines - these are blades of grass, lichen, shrubs, mosses. They are so easy to trample, chop, destroy, and who knows whether they will grow later or not, because it is cold and the weather does not at all encourage nature to flourish. In the same way, the northern peoples are fragile peoples, very susceptible to the negative influences of modern civilization. I thank God that during this trip I had the opportunity to see the life of these peoples very closely. And it seems to me that in order to preserve them, in order for them to live comfortably, we must learn two things. Firstly, not to impose your way of life on those people who lived differently for centuries - unfortunately, this was done in Soviet times. And another thing is to help them do what they are used to doing and what they love to do. And for this, it is necessary to preserve nature, preserve the ecosystem in which the northern peoples live, provide them with the opportunity to engage in traditional crafts, fish, hunt, sell products, receiving good money for this, so that people feel their involvement, need and, at the same time, significance , because the salary is the equivalent of significance.
With all this, it is important to take care of health care, more comfortable living conditions than now. This should include, of course, the development of transport infrastructure. A person living in the Far North or somewhere in Koryakia should not look at the world how the inhabitants of Moscow look at space - any movement should be quite real for him. It is very important to take care of not only transport infrastructure, but also energy, the creation of decent living conditions, especially in settlements, so that small nations, living on their own land, glorify the Lord and be happy. Well, the Church should turn to these people, carrying the word of truth, strengthening the moral foundations of life, helping people to be able to fight such temptations as alcoholism, drug addiction - something that greatly destroys people's lives. We have something to do - this is good, creative work. I very much hope that the Church, as well as the state, will actively work to change the lives of these people for the better.
In contact with