Patriarch Kirill said that Money can’t Save Us and that it can’t Ease the Longings of Our Souls

Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias (1946- )

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On Sunday, on the feastday of the finding of the relics of St Sergei of Radonezh, Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias pointed up that if our hearts have lost touch with sacred principles, material possessions won’t give us happiness. “When our soul is full of craving, when its full of sorrow, when its full of internal dissension, then, no amount of money can save us”, the Patriarch said after he served a Liturgy and a Molieben before the icon of St Sergei of Radonezh at the Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra. According to His Holiness, you could develop the economy, enhance its organisation, and give people a surfeit of things, “but you could kill the spirit of the people and of the country, because people don’t find the meaning of life in sating their material needs, but they do find it in the fulfilment of their soul’s longing. We all need to remember this as we go through life, for there’s no other way. We can’t revive our Motherland, strengthen its families, and increase its spiritual and material well-being unless we hold the great sacred principles in our hearts; only then are we capable of sharing with others the cares of life, to work to improve our common life”.

Patriarch Kirill called to mind the words of the Scripture… Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. His Holiness went on to say, “How could we shoulder another’s burdens, if we don’t hold the great principles in our hearts? If we didn’t hold these precepts, then, no one would want to carry another’s burdens… they’d only want only to satisfy their own needs. Such covetousness has no limits, it transforms mankind from an icon of God into a caricature of an animal consuming as much as it can, animals who do nothing but consume. If we bear one another’s burdens, we can maintain the real unity of our people, of our country, of historic Rus, of our Church, of our families, and of our work collectives even when it seems that hardship makes it impossible to share with others. To bear another’s burden is an imperative laid down by God”. Patriarch Kirill is of the opinion that the Church doesn’t call anyone to carry “a crushing burden, only enough for salvation… that goes for every individual, for the Church, and for our people”, according to a report posted on the official MP website on Monday.

18 July 2011

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=41534

Editor’s Note:

His Nibs does it again! He raps out the Church’s real teaching, and even dolts can see that it has no resemblance to the Neoliberal Free Market “greed is good”. Let’s look at what he said:

Such covetousness has no limits, it transforms mankind from an icon of God into a caricature of an animal consuming as much as it can, animals who do nothing but consume. If we bear one another’s burdens, we can maintain the real unity of our people, of our country, of historic Rus, of our Church, of our families, and of our work collectives even when it seems that hardship makes it impossible to share with others. To bear another’s burden is an imperative laid down by God.

There it is… plainly put, no froufrou, no lawyerly parsing, no selfish exceptions, and no special exemptions for the rich. His Nibs exposes the “lust of the flesh” in the mindless consumerism advocated by the rightwing. Note also that he talks of “historic Rus”, not “Russia”… that means that the Church favours a reunification of (at least) the three main Slavic core-nations of our Great Russian heartland, if not the ingathering of the entire old Soviet state. The Church doesn’t favour anything from NATO… it isn’t just the present madcap adventure in Libya; it opposes all of NATO’s foul and perverse works and plans (as it did so successfully in the Ukraine).

In short, without measure, His Nibs opposes the globalised consumer “society” that America’s trying to force on the world. Reflect on this… the rightwingers amongst us are apologists for godless Neoliberal consumerism (for they’ve benefited from it). Do be wary of them… if they make loud claims, then, demand real proof from them. If they can’t give you a quote from His Holiness or an image of this-or-that, disbelieve them. The truth WILL set you free…

BMD

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words… The European Council of Religious Leaders Met at the Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow

There’s nothing wrong, and everything right, with religious leaders meeting and talking over topics of concern, so long as no phoney “ecumenism” is involved. There was none here. Ergo, it was a worthy (if somewhat toothless and bootless) and harmless thing… indeed, it probably did some good in allowing people to talk over potential problems in mutual relations. “Jaw-jaw” is always better than “claw-claw” (although one must have sharpened talons, just in case).

There’s also none in the so-called “Episcopal Assemblies” that recently arose in the Orthodox diaspora… they’re overblown and overrated, the EP thinks overly much of them, and they’re not nascent “Local Churches”, but as a forum where Orthodox bishops can meet and talk… that’s never a bad thing, as that will avoid us sticking our collective feet into many a steaming and pungent cow pie. Just because the pseudo-intellectual clowns at SVS praise something, it doesn’t mean that it’s utterly a Slim Shady deal… do look it over carefully, they’re questionable sorts to be sure, but rotters can praise a good thing (it’s just not as important or relevant as they claim).

God smiles when people solve things in a decent way… I wonder when Syosset and SVS will tumble on to that (probably, only when it’s too late… after all, Bishop Job did warn them and us about our beastly and mean-spirited behaviour, didn’t he?)…

BMD

A Photo Essay. Patriarch Kirill Served Pannikhida at the Transfiguration Cemetery in Moscow to Mark the 70th Anniversary of the Beginning of the VOV

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More than 10,000 Red Army soldiers who fell in the defence of Moscow lie buried in the Transfiguration Cemetery. His Holiness served a Pannikhida in memory of all those who fell for Russia during the VOV. Yet again, the Patriarch doesn’t condemn the Soviet past… rather, he honours the good in it.

BMD

Patriarch Kirill Laid Wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown at the Kremlin Wall on the Day of Remembrance (22 June 2011)

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Anyone who has any knowledge of Russian military history and usages can easily see that the present-day Russian forces use a mixture of “Red” and “White” symbolism and traditions. His Holiness enthusiastically blesses this, as it’s correct. Again, His Holiness honours the sacrifice of the men and women who served in the Red Army, who saved Russia from being plunged into the racist Nazi nightmare. There’s a reason why virtually all Russians hate the Vlasovtsy… they dared to take up arms against their brothers under the banner of those who considered us subhumanity.

As always, look at the evidence… do reflect that the rightwingers offer you NONE… now, THAT’S “food for thought”…

BMD