A Procession of Patriarch St Germogen
1881
______________________________
At a meeting of the World Russian People’s Council (VRNS), His Holiness said that the spiritual and moral unity of believers should serve to strengthen Russian society. Several hundred people gathered at the hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to discuss plans for celebrating the 400th anniversary of the end of the Smuta (Time of Troubles) in Old Rus, which will be solemnly celebrated on the Day of National Unity, 4 November 2012 {this is an old Tsarist holiday revived in 2005: editor}. The meeting had the theme, Patriarch St Germogen: The Russian Clergy and Church in Service to the Motherland… and the VRNS didn’t just idly choose it, either.
In the history of the Russian State, the decades around the turn of the 17th century witnessed one of its deepest predicaments; later generations called it the Time of Troubles. The Poles and Swedes invaded, there were many natural disasters, the power vacuum gave rise to confusion and disarray in the society of Old Rus, a crisis so deep that it threatened the very existence of Russian culture, Russian Orthodoxy, and the Russian state. The rising of the First and Second Opolchenie (People’s Militia) saved the nation and state. Ordinary people banded together to oppose the invaders, fought against them, and they elected a new tsar after they threw the foreigners out. Patriarch St Germogen, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church, was the spiritual leader of the Russian people; he inspired and blessed the people to defend the Motherland. He died a martyr’s death in February 1612.
Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias spoke at the meeting, saying, “St Germogen’s feat (подвиг) isn’t just a legacy of bygone days, it hasn’t lost its significance for us, his posterity. The lessons of the Smuta are relevant nowadays, as Russia’s subject to similar temptations and challenges. Once again, as 400 years ago, we see hostile acts aimed at undermining our spiritual values, at the weakening of the state. Once again, we see confusion in our society, sowed by those who rebuff our worthy national values, searching for “saviours” from outside Russia. They warn us not to bring our faith, our culture, and our ethics into the public square. They tell us that if we don’t shut up, things will get worse for us; they’ll desecrate our churches and smash our icons. As it was in times past, we can only oppose such if we have a unified Russian society, which they can’t browbeat or ignore. We must base our unity on loyalty to our spiritual and moral traditions”.
Yevgeni Yuryev, Advisor to the RF President on Social Policy, said, “Modern Russian society needs a so-called civil action or a peaceful mobilisation in defence of its traditional-national values and the Church. Even though sceptics may criticise it, the active intervention by the Church and its believers in public life is inevitable. Don’t be afraid, from the standpoint of the state and of reasonable believers and nonbelievers, in any country, in any time, the unshakeable authority of traditional religion, the authority of the Church, is a powerful prop underpinning the institution of the state. Those who seek to harm the Church’s credibility do harm to the state. Those who strengthen and promote its efforts benefit the country. In our recent past, our country went through a period of persecution and genocide at the hands of the Soviets. They killed hundreds of thousands of people, crucified priests before the Royal Doors, and hundreds of thousands were buried alive and left to rot in the camps. Yet, in today’s world, Russia is one of the more religious countries. Today, from the standpoint of the state, one of the most promising avenues of action is acting in partnership with the traditional religions of the country. We have to work on unleashing their potential, to contribute to our development”.
10 May 2012
Milena Faustova
Voice of Russia World Service
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_05_10/74262052/
Editor’s Note:
What His Nibs condemns is the wretched Western meddling in the Orthosphere (not just Russia; not just the lands of Historic Rus). The West has nothing but tawdry atheism and materialism to offer (even though some of it comes packaged in “religious” verbiage). Yet, I find the Western Left LESS of a threat than the Western “conservatives”. Most Western Leftists are openly agnostic or sceptical at best, which means that believers are on their guard concerning them. One can work with them, as their faults are obvious.
The Western “conservative” is another story… especially the American Religious Right. There, irreligion comes vested in tawdry supposed pseudo-religious garb… that’s blasphemous… the sceptic is merely mistaken, but the Sectarian takes what’s of God and profanes it. Note well that “traditional religions” build up society. If such is so, then, the corollary is that Radical Religiosity tears down an ordered society. That’s to say that Mormonism, Pentecostalism, and any other form of Fundamentalism (in the loose colloquial sense) that you can imagine is Anti-Christian, in the apocalyptic sense, literally. The centre of Christian devotion is the Eucharist, which embodies Christ-With-Us (one finds the Eucharist even amongst the Radical Reformers); it isn’t “giving your heart to Jayzuss”, writhing “in the Spirit”, or wearing magic gotchies. One’s the Lord Himself Incarnate Amongst Us… the other’s sheer hypocrisy and a profanation of the Lord’s Name and the Holy Scripture.
The Church teaches Social Justice… the Church teaches Cooperation… the Church teaches, “You ARE your brother’s keeper”. The Sectarians are nothing but a religious apologia for social, religious, and economic anarchy (with a strong streak of self-satisfied philistine ignorance thrown in)… but they want to patrol your bedroom to make sure that you’re not using The Pill. There’s a real choice here. You can have “the race goes to the swiftest” or “come unto Me, all ye that are heavy-laded”… it’s your choice.
BMD
The Podvig of Patriarch St Germogen the Martyr… A Legacy to His Descendants
Tags: Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Christian, Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Church, Gulag, Ilya Repin, Kirill I of Moscow, Moscow, Moscow Patriarchate, Orthodox, Orthodoxy, Patriarch Kirill I, political commentary, politics, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, right-wing, Russia, Russian, Russian culture, Russian history, Russian Orthodox Church, Smuta, Soviet Union, St Germogen, Time of Troubles, USSR, World Russian People's Council
A Procession of Patriarch St Germogen
Ilya Repin
1881
______________________________
At a meeting of the World Russian People’s Council (VRNS), His Holiness said that the spiritual and moral unity of believers should serve to strengthen Russian society. Several hundred people gathered at the hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to discuss plans for celebrating the 400th anniversary of the end of the Smuta (Time of Troubles) in Old Rus, which will be solemnly celebrated on the Day of National Unity, 4 November 2012 {this is an old Tsarist holiday revived in 2005: editor}. The meeting had the theme, Patriarch St Germogen: The Russian Clergy and Church in Service to the Motherland… and the VRNS didn’t just idly choose it, either.
In the history of the Russian State, the decades around the turn of the 17th century witnessed one of its deepest predicaments; later generations called it the Time of Troubles. The Poles and Swedes invaded, there were many natural disasters, the power vacuum gave rise to confusion and disarray in the society of Old Rus, a crisis so deep that it threatened the very existence of Russian culture, Russian Orthodoxy, and the Russian state. The rising of the First and Second Opolchenie (People’s Militia) saved the nation and state. Ordinary people banded together to oppose the invaders, fought against them, and they elected a new tsar after they threw the foreigners out. Patriarch St Germogen, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church, was the spiritual leader of the Russian people; he inspired and blessed the people to defend the Motherland. He died a martyr’s death in February 1612.
Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias spoke at the meeting, saying, “St Germogen’s feat (подвиг) isn’t just a legacy of bygone days, it hasn’t lost its significance for us, his posterity. The lessons of the Smuta are relevant nowadays, as Russia’s subject to similar temptations and challenges. Once again, as 400 years ago, we see hostile acts aimed at undermining our spiritual values, at the weakening of the state. Once again, we see confusion in our society, sowed by those who rebuff our worthy national values, searching for “saviours” from outside Russia. They warn us not to bring our faith, our culture, and our ethics into the public square. They tell us that if we don’t shut up, things will get worse for us; they’ll desecrate our churches and smash our icons. As it was in times past, we can only oppose such if we have a unified Russian society, which they can’t browbeat or ignore. We must base our unity on loyalty to our spiritual and moral traditions”.
Yevgeni Yuryev, Advisor to the RF President on Social Policy, said, “Modern Russian society needs a so-called civil action or a peaceful mobilisation in defence of its traditional-national values and the Church. Even though sceptics may criticise it, the active intervention by the Church and its believers in public life is inevitable. Don’t be afraid, from the standpoint of the state and of reasonable believers and nonbelievers, in any country, in any time, the unshakeable authority of traditional religion, the authority of the Church, is a powerful prop underpinning the institution of the state. Those who seek to harm the Church’s credibility do harm to the state. Those who strengthen and promote its efforts benefit the country. In our recent past, our country went through a period of persecution and genocide at the hands of the Soviets. They killed hundreds of thousands of people, crucified priests before the Royal Doors, and hundreds of thousands were buried alive and left to rot in the camps. Yet, in today’s world, Russia is one of the more religious countries. Today, from the standpoint of the state, one of the most promising avenues of action is acting in partnership with the traditional religions of the country. We have to work on unleashing their potential, to contribute to our development”.
10 May 2012
Voice of Russia World Service
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_05_10/74262052/
Editor’s Note:
What His Nibs condemns is the wretched Western meddling in the Orthosphere (not just Russia; not just the lands of Historic Rus). The West has nothing but tawdry atheism and materialism to offer (even though some of it comes packaged in “religious” verbiage). Yet, I find the Western Left LESS of a threat than the Western “conservatives”. Most Western Leftists are openly agnostic or sceptical at best, which means that believers are on their guard concerning them. One can work with them, as their faults are obvious.
The Western “conservative” is another story… especially the American Religious Right. There, irreligion comes vested in tawdry supposed pseudo-religious garb… that’s blasphemous… the sceptic is merely mistaken, but the Sectarian takes what’s of God and profanes it. Note well that “traditional religions” build up society. If such is so, then, the corollary is that Radical Religiosity tears down an ordered society. That’s to say that Mormonism, Pentecostalism, and any other form of Fundamentalism (in the loose colloquial sense) that you can imagine is Anti-Christian, in the apocalyptic sense, literally. The centre of Christian devotion is the Eucharist, which embodies Christ-With-Us (one finds the Eucharist even amongst the Radical Reformers); it isn’t “giving your heart to Jayzuss”, writhing “in the Spirit”, or wearing magic gotchies. One’s the Lord Himself Incarnate Amongst Us… the other’s sheer hypocrisy and a profanation of the Lord’s Name and the Holy Scripture.
The Church teaches Social Justice… the Church teaches Cooperation… the Church teaches, “You ARE your brother’s keeper”. The Sectarians are nothing but a religious apologia for social, religious, and economic anarchy (with a strong streak of self-satisfied philistine ignorance thrown in)… but they want to patrol your bedroom to make sure that you’re not using The Pill. There’s a real choice here. You can have “the race goes to the swiftest” or “come unto Me, all ye that are heavy-laded”… it’s your choice.
BMD