Deacon Kuraev. Andrey Kuraev, Protodeacon of the Russian Orthodox Church: biography, family, activities and creativity
3rd century, St. Cyprian Carf .:
“Even if there are tares in our Church, this should not prevent our faith and love from preserving her unity. One thing we must be concerned about: to become wheat, in order to get into the barn of the Lord during the harvest. The Apostle writes to us in his letter: in a rich house there are dishes not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; that one deserves honor, and this one deserves dishonor; we must do everything to become vessels of gold, or at least of silver, but only the Lord has the power to break earthen vessels, for in his hands is an iron club. A slave cannot be higher than his master; no one has the power that a father gave only to his son: to hold the staff, purify the air and separate the tares from the wheat, judging by a man "(St. Cyprian of Carthage. Letter 51. To Presbyter Maximus).
On the eve of the conversion of Emperor Constantine, that is, at the end of the persecution, Lactantius said: “We are not holding anyone against his will, for God is useless if he is devoid of faith ... Torture and piety are far from each other; truth does not want to unite with violence ... I should defend religion not by killing, but by dying ... Nothing is so voluntary as religion ”(Divine Institutions 5,19,13-22).
And one patristic creation dedicated specifically to this topic, I will cite almost in its entirety. This is a letter from the Monk Theodore the Studite to those bishops who considered it permissible to intercept the sword from the persecutors in order to deal with the heretics (at the time of writing this letter, the situation was such that it was the Orthodox who were persecuted - from the iconoclast emperor). So:
“… We are talking about the truth, more important and worthy of which there is nothing. What is regrettable in the letter? “We,” you say, “did not advise either to kill the Manichaeans or not to kill; but if they had allowed, they would have done the greatest of the beautiful. "
What do you say, venerable one? The Lord forbade this in the Gospel, saying: no, so that when you choose the tares, you do not pull out the wheat with them, leave both of them growing together until the harvest (Matt. 13, 29-30). But you call the greatest of beautiful works the permission to pluck them out.
And the fact that He called the heretics, both the then and the subsequent ones, that is all, we will hear about this from Chrysostom, who, explaining the same words, says: “What the Lord forbids, saying: didn’t pull out the wheat with them? With these words, Christ forbids war, bloodshed and murder; and a heretic should not be killed, otherwise it will give rise to an irreconcilable war in the universe. "
And further: “What did the Lord understand when he said: so that when you choose the tares, you do not pull out the wheat with them, if not that if you take up arms and begin to kill heretics, then many of the saints will inevitably be destroyed along with them? " (Chrysostom. Conversation 46 on the Gospel of Matthew). This is what happened in our times; for bloodshed and murder have filled our country, and many of the saints are put to death; the word of the Lord was in vain.
And why do we say that it is not permissible to kill heretics? We are not even allowed to wish them harm. Let us again listen to the Lord, Who, according to the wise Dionysius, said to Saint Karp: “Strike Me, I am ready to suffer again for the salvation of people; for Me it is longed for, if only other people would not sin ”(Dionysius the Areopagite to Demophilus. Ch. 6 // Chetyi-Menaia, May 26 and October 3).
You see, God-wise, the wrath of God against the saint because he prayed for heretics that they would be deprived of life; and if the saint had remained with this disposition, he would have been condemned. Thus, one should by no means wish evil to enemies, as the truth has shown; but, on the contrary, you need to pray for them, as the Lord Himself showed during His suffering, saying to His Father: Father! forgive them their sin: for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23, 34).
As for the fact that, as your holiness says, some saints agree with your opinion, then forgive me, father, we do not understand the words of the saints well and therefore we find ourselves introducing new things in spite of the fathers, or, better to say, in spite of God. Thus, the divine Cyril, in his speech against Julian, expressed himself in accordance with the ancient law, without confusing the Old Testament with the New; - yes it won't. For he could not but know that what was said in the law was said to those who lived under the law (see: Rom., 4); equally he could not but know the comparison made by the Savior in the following words: it was said by the ancients this and that; and I tell you this and that (see: Matthew 5, 21-22). Therefore, we, as the divine Dionysius says to a certain Demophilus, will not accept your too zealous aspirations, at least a thousand times you referred to Phinees and Elijah.
Having heard the same, Jesus did not approve of the disciples, who were alien to a meek and good spirit (see: Luke 9, 54–56). It is necessary to teach the ignorant, not to punish. Likewise, Ignatius the God-bearer says: "Those who hate God must be hated and indignant at His enemies, but we must not persecute or beat them, like the pagans who do not know God." If, however, should not beat, then hardly should kill them.
Since you, Vladyka, believe that both the saint (Simeon the Monk Simeon the Stylite, Divnogorets, and St. John the Postnik, Archbishop of Constantinople, lived at the end of the 6th century), who lived on the Wonderful Mountain, agree with you, then do not think this. For the saint could not resist Christ or the teachers higher than him. But what then? He spoke an admonition to the then emperor about the pagans who tortured the Christian people, trying to ensure that Christians were not oppressed by the Samaritans. This is good. In addition, we now admonish when we say that the emperors should not spare, but fought against the Scythians and Arabs, who are killing the people of God. But that is another matter, and that is another; this refers to the enemies, and even to the subject heretics.
What is reported about John the Postnik, Primate of Constantinople, that he commanded to impale wizards, does not seem true to me, but maybe he allowed it. For they, too, are murderers, with whom the rulers are not forbidden to act according to Roman law; for they do not in vain, says the Apostle, carry a sword, but they are avengers to those who do evil (cf. Rom. 13: 4); but this is impermissible in relation to those about whom the Lord has pronounced a prohibition. The rulers of the bodies have the right to punish those guilty of crimes concerning the body, and not those guilty of mental affairs; for the right to punish the latter belongs to the rulers of souls, and punishment here is the essence of excommunication and other penances.
So, Vladyka, we think, the humiliated; and, let's say out of foolishness, even to our Beatitude our Patriarch, we boldly said that the Church does not take revenge with the sword, and he agreed with this. To the emperors who committed the murder, we said to the first: it is pleasing to God such a murder ", and to the second, who demanded approval for the murder:" First let my head be removed, rather than I agree to this. " This is the answer from us sinners. But you, holy ones, if you have read another Gospel, which we do not know, then it is good; if not, then consider what the apostle announced. "
The Monk Theodore the Studite. Letter 26 (155). To Theophilus, Bishop of Ephesus // Venerable Theodore the Studite. Messages. Part 2.P. 56–59.
And also: “It is not typical for the Church of God to avenge itself with flogging, exile and prison. In addition, I want to say about the Pauline case and their persecution: after all, church law does not threaten anyone with a knife, sword, or scourge. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. But since all these means were applied, this Christian heresy (iconoclasm - AK) broke out, destroying everything "(The Monk Theodore the Studite. Letter 114. Leo, the seller of fragrances // Ibid. Vol. 2. pp. 232– 233).
“If the Sacrifice of Christ is a voluntary Sacrifice, then it is voluntarily and is taught to those who wish, and not to those who do not. The Lord Himself says to the apostles about those who have departed from Him: do you not want to depart from Him too? ... The great Peter also says: you need to feed willingly, and not under compulsion (1 Peter 5: 2). So, let those who forcibly draw unwilling people into communion with themselves know that they are acting pagan, offering not the Body of Christ voluntarily sacrificed, but, on the contrary, some kind of sacrifice to idols, similar to the sacrifices of demons that are not voluntarily offered "(St. Theodore the Studite. Letter 7. Theodotus the military leader // Ibid. Vol. 2, pp. 16–17).
To make it clear the mention of John the Postnik, it is necessary to recall the story told by the historian Theophylact Simokatta (History 1,11,3-21): that he cast his soul into the abyss of witchcraft. The way in which he was caught in his savage teaching was unusual. I'll tell you about him because he really is one that deserves surprise. This sorcerer had a silver bowl in which he collected streams of different blood when he entered into communion with the rejected forces. He sold this bowl to people who traded in silver. These merchants, having paid for the bowl to Peacock, tried to sell this vessel; therefore, they put it in front of the doors of their premises, giving them the opportunity to buy it to anyone who wanted it. At this time, the bishop of the city of Heraclea had to be in Byzantium and see the cup of this sorcerer put up for sale. He bought it and, leaving the capital, took it to the place where his episcopal throne was. Since the miraculous ointment that the martyr Glyceria exuded was poured into some kind of copper bowl, the bishop, out of reverence for the priesthood, changed these vessels: he removed this copper vessel from the most holy church service, and put a silver bowl in its place for the perception of the worshiped world. But from that moment on, the flow of the wonderful world stopped and the source of grace disappeared. The martyr no longer showed her strength, retained her grace, took away her gifts, decided, out of disgust for this vessel, not to exude more peace. All this plunged the bishop into great grief: he grieved over what had happened, mourned the cessation of miracles, called upon grace again; he did not consider himself guilty of this, tried to find a reason and could not bear the shame that had befallen him; life became out of life for him after the church was deprived of such a miracle. Because of this, fasts and prayers were established, tears were set in motion, groans were called to help, everyone engaged in night vigils. Everything was collected that only God's wrath can stop and again call upon his mercy. And now, when God so miraculously turned away from this vessel of misfortune and in his justice took pity on their ignorance, a vision appeared to the bishop of the city in a dream, showing him the terrible evil spirits contained in this bowl. Immediately, the priest ordered to secretly take out of the temple the cup he had bought and bring it into the sanctuary of copper; he again entrusted the shrine to this blessed, old cup, as a virgin innocent and not tainted by any disgusting witchcraft. And indeed, miracles immediately resumed and myrrh began to flow out again, grace began to flow out, gifts flowed out; tears and sadness stopped, there was no place for despondency. And so the bishop, returning to the imperial capital, found out from those who had sold him the cup from whom they had bought it; appearing to Patriarch John, he reported to him about everything that had happened from the very beginning. The patriarch was horrified by such a story and, unable to keep secret what he had heard, immediately went to the emperor in the palace and gave him what was told to him. Mauritius did not approve of death sentences for those found guilty; he considered it more just to heal sinners with their repentance than punishment. But the patriarch insisted, trying to act in accordance with the apostolic teaching in his objections, and demanded that those who had fallen from the faith be sent to the stake. He cited a quote from Paul's teachings, which read: "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and tasted the gift of heaven, and became partakers of the holy spirit, and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and who fell away again to renew by repentance, when they again crucify the son of God in themselves. and they swear at him. The land that drinks the rain that falls on it many times and grows a grain useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; and that produces thorns and thistles is useless and is close to damnation, the end of which is burning. " The strong opinion of the emperor wavered, and with these words John prevailed over him. The next day, the court gathered, the sorcerers were interrogated and, convicted by irrefutable evidence, were punished. The peacock was set on a strong pillar, the top of which was split in half; his neck was put into this crack, and he suffocated, thus ending his life of crime; but before that, he saw how his son's head was cut off - he made him an accomplice in his wicked and criminal witchcraft "(Theophylact Simokatta. History. M., 1996, pp. 25-27).
The researcher of the life of St. John the Postnika says that “this story of Theophylact fits so little with everything that is known about Postnik that one involuntarily suspects whether there is any misunderstanding here. It is not impossible to assume that Theophylact wrote down the fact in a form that had already been reworked by popular fantasy. We are inclined to recognize the news of Postnik's active participation in the condemnation of Peacock as the inept rhetoric of Theophylact, in our opinion, perhaps, adjoining the crowd, with which the patriarch fought inappropriately in his time. We repeat: without denying the fact of the execution of Peacock, we suspect the report that it was exclusively or only mainly the work of Postnik. The inconsistency of the message being analyzed is so great that even to Theodor the Studite it “did not seem true”.
However, another case of massacre is also known, which occurred at the time of the patriarchate of St. John the Faster. A certain hieromonk was punished with canes.
St. Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome, wrote angrily to Constantinople in July 593: “If your holiness knew what was done with the Isaurian monk and presbyter Athanasius, after that they wrote to me, but they did not mention this, then I cannot answer it is otherwise, as in the words of Scripture: the lips of the unrighteous kill the soul. I ask you, holy brother, did abstinence come to such an extent that he hid from his brother what he knew he had done? Wouldn't it be better if these mouths ate meat than exude lies to deceive your neighbor ... I yearn for peace with everyone. But if you do not observe the canons and overturn the decrees of the ancients, then I do not recognize you ... And what the rules say about bishops who want to instill fear with whips, you know well that your brotherhood: we are appointed shepherds, not murderers. The Apostle says: "expose, forbid, pray, with all patience and teaching." This is a new and unheard-of preaching - to guard the faith by beatings ”(St. Gregory the Great. Letter 52, to John).
So Vasily Rozanov was not quite right when he asked - “How did Christianity, so benevolent to man, come to the Inquisition? After all, we do not see a break from "yes" to "no", a break in beliefs, faith, ideals! This is the whole point, that there is no fault !! This is not to say, historically it was not that 1000 years "stroked on the head" but then "began to burn." Nothing like this! No break, no reformation, no storm: a quiet breeze. It blows, blows, strokes the hair, sweet, edible, blows, blows again, bitterness, sweet again, even sweeter, blows, blows, someone moaned, but everything froze, blows, blows, carnations fell out, needles fell out, someone then they pricked, deadly, blows, blows, whether it is good or bad, everything gets in the way, everything is already incomprehensible, blows, blows. The Inquisition entered the Church with "differentials" ... Nobody noticed it! When those 5-6 cardinals who decided to "burn" and really "burned" someone, it did not come to anyone's mind to ask whether they "fell into heresy?" ...
This is not entirely true: they noticed, and protested, and separated ...
In particular, after the first execution of the heretic, “the horror caused by this everywhere shows that everyone regarded the execution as a disgusting innovation. tyrant Maximus in Trier, was tortured and put to death with six of his disciples, and the rest were exiled to the islands in the direction of Brittany, then a loud cry of indignation was heard throughout Europe. the other himself retired.St. Martin of Tours, who did everything possible to prevent this cruel decision, refused to have communion not only with these bishops, but also with those who were in relations with them .... St. Martin could not foresee that in time, in the Luther case, the pope will present the execution of Priscillian as an example worthy of imitation; the same pope, despite the fact that St. Ambrose excommunicated from the Church of Maximus, did not hesitate to place him among the "venerable and pious emperors" "(however, from the books of Priscillian published in the 19th century, it is clear that he himself believes that his opponents are worthy of death for their views).
And St. Later, Martin of Tours more than once mourned the fact that through this forced union with the Itatians (the Bishop of Itatians insisted on the death penalty of Priscillian), he lost a lot of spiritual strength and no longer so easily and quickly healed the possessed.
Firmer was St. Ambrose of Mediolansky: he refused church communion with the bishops - the perpetrators of the death penalty for heretics ... The protest of Martin and Ambrose found support in the person of the Roman bishop Syritius. The Council in Turin deprived Itatius of the episcopal dignity (Prokoshev P. Priscillian and priscillianists (Church-Historical Sketch) // Orthodox Interlocutor 1900, October, supplement, pp. 25-26).
“It is not permissible for Christians to subvert error by coercion and violence. Therefore, not a single king who accepted the teaching of Christ issued edicts against the pagans "(John Chrysostom. The Word about Blessed Babel, and also against Julian and to the pagans, 3).
"A person can neither be drawn by force, nor by fear to compel, but by conviction he must again lead to the truth, from which he had previously fallen away" (Six words about the priesthood. Word 2).
“And a heretic must not be killed, otherwise it will give rise to an irreconcilable war in the universe” (On Matthew 46: 1).
“No pious tsar ever dared to punish and torment any of the unbelievers, forcing him to lag behind delusion” (Praise to the Holy Great Martyr Drosis about remembering death).
“Today we are engaging in warfare with heretics, but our war does not make the dead from the living, but from the dead - alive. I do not drive away by deed, but by word, not a heretic, but heresy, not a person, but I hate delusion. I am used to enduring persecution, not persecution, being persecuted, not persecuted. So Christ also conquered, not crucifying, but crucified ”(Conversation about the holy martyr Phocas and against the heretics, 2).
Chrysostom, as if on behalf of Christ, speaks of the apostles - “I could make you more terrible than lions ...” (Matthew 33.2), but left in human weakness in order to give place to the apostolic human deed, “dooming them to suffer others ”(On Matthew 33.2).
“You must go against the wolves, and not just against the wolves, but in the midst of the wolves. So, let us be ashamed to act contrary to the commandment of Christ and attack enemies like wolves. As long as we are sheep, until then we will win. If we are wolves, we will be defeated, because the help of the Shepherd will depart from us: He grazes not the wolves, but the sheep ”(On Matthew 33: 1).
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But there was something else: St. Cyril of Alexandria:
“When God is offended in his worship, then it is not safe to be merciful; and even very harmful - not at the right time to soften up in a faint-hearted, mutual well-being. Let then the law of sympathy disappear and the power of natural love and everything that relates to philanthropy disappear, so that, so to speak, through pious cruelty, reverence may be given to God. Will you not call it a pious deed, so that those who commit innocent apostasy would be mercilessly punished, as offending the highest glory over all "(St. Cyril of Alexandria. On worship and service in spirit and truth // Creations. Moscow, 1880, part 1. p. 304).
It seems to me that only in one issue is a serious conflict between the Church (Scripture) and science possible. This is a question about the reason for homosexuality. If in world science there is a reasoned consensus around the thesis that the emergence of gorientation does not depend on the individual's free choice, but is predetermined by his genetics, then this scientific thesis (I will emphasize again if it is proved) will come into conflict with a purely moral assessment the phenomenon of g-zma by Scripture. Scripture insists on the complete sanity of a person for choosing ld.
At this moment on NTV there is a broadcast with a scientific apology of g-zma. Allegedly, experiments on mice showed that if in the last third of pregnancy a female is experiencing severe stress, then her cub will be homosexual ... Strong arrogance. Probably no one experienced as much stress as pregnant Russian women during the Civil War. But they gave birth to a generation of boys who won the Patriotic War.
Chibrik considers himself entitled to be rude to the Patriarch - "they say, I am not saying that the Patriarch is a heretic, I am only saying that he expresses heretical judgments." This seemingly subtle thought allows him to be rude to the Patriarch and remain in Eucharistic and ecclesiastical communion with him. According to innovators of this kind, a heretic is only one who is condemned by a council.
In fact, a heretic is only one who expresses heretical thoughts. Why invent bicycles? A person becomes a fornicator at the time of fornication, and not at the time of receiving a penance for fornication.
We open the Orthodox Encyclopedia "(v. 18 p. 607):" A heretic is a follower of a heretical teaching. Period. There is NO continuation "... condemned by such a council."
So when you talk about someone preaching heresy, you call him a heretic. Well then, do what the church canons prescribe in such cases: break canonical communion with such. For example, if you called your bishop or patriarch a heretic, from that moment stop canonical communion with him and with those who will concelebrate with him.
But Chibrik is a coward. He wants to use the priest bonuses of the mainstream church. He wants more power. He is ready to spit on the canons - just to have a stronger influence on the church life of Moldova.
In this thread, I will not allow discussion of the question of whether Chibrik is right or not in his assessment of certain words, said by Metropolitan Kirill. Here the question is only about the relationship between the words "heretic" - "heretical judgments"
On November 11, Chibrik posted on his website a photo and a video about yesterday's http://www.toaca.md/?&page=news&row_id=187
Its useful to note:
- "religious procession" from the metropolis to the city hall, and then to the Academy. For this, as well as for the rally and for the blockade of the Metropolitanate, there was certainly no blessing from the Metropolitan.
Chibrik's lies that I came without the blessing of the Metropolitan. I came to the diocese at the invitation of the metropolitan court. Surely this court acted without the blessing of the ruler?
Chibrik's lie (3.39 seconds of recording): "You saw how he came out and again provoked you with his words. He is a provocateur of the Russian Orthodox Church." It's funny that I was just silent. If I had said anything, it would have been on their video. The chibrikists shoved me a microphone (loudspeaker) and demanded that I say something to them, but I understood that they use ANY word of mine as an excuse for splashing out their "sacred anger" and as an excuse for the mutilation they were expecting, and therefore nothing spoke. I answered questions from journalists. It can be seen from the video that the crowd could not hear these words, because they themselves were shouting incessantly. For Chibrik, when I speak it is bad, and when I am silent, it is also a "provocation".
And more about the strange:
The Chibrikists distinguished themselves by their aggression in December 2009, defeating the Jewish Chanukiah in Chisinau. And now, it turns out, in the spring of 2010, Metropolitan Vladimir awarded him the right to serve the Liturgy with the royal gates open. Http://www.toaca.md/? & Page = news & row_id = 186
These are the answers of the head of the Department of Religious Education of the Vladimir diocese. I believe that what is stated in them is very important for analyzing the situation. In any case, this shows that one should not hastily blame the diocese and patriarchy for the lack of an adequate response. Here, not so much "scenes from monastic life" as (as in the case of Yegor Bychkov), the boundaries of permissible interference in the personal and family life of people are unclear.
Father Sergiy, recently there has been a wave of publications in the press about the situation in the Bogolyubsky monastery, about alleged cases of violence against children there. Moreover, it is known that there are no children and no shelter within the walls of the monastery for a long time. As the main prosecutor of the monastery, journalists and, in particular, Boris Klin in Izvestia refer to the head of the boarding school in Mikhaly, priest Vitaly Rysev. What is your position, the position of the diocese and personally Vladyka Eulogius regarding this whole scandal, which, if you recall last year, resembles some strange déjà vu?
I think that Vladyka Evlogy, if he wishes, can voice his position himself. I can speak only as the head of the diocesan department of education. You rightly noted that this is very similar to the events of last year. And not only reminds, but, in fact, we are talking about the events of the past year, which suddenly received an unexpected update. For many, everything has been messed up in their heads for a long time. And some of the events of the past year are deliberately passed off as today's! This is what amazes and depresses me most of all! So far, our diocese has not received any official statements either from the former inmates of the Bogolyubsky orphanage, or from their parents, or from other persons. Therefore, we, like many others, are now focusing on the information provided by the media. It turns out to be some kind of vicious circle. The media ask us about what they themselves write and at the same time want to hear what they themselves wrote. We believe that in this situation it is necessary to rely not on someone's opinions, judgments, but on real facts, on what is really happening. First of all, you need to really decide: where, when and with whom it happened and, most importantly, what exactly happened. The background to this problem is as follows.
At one time, somewhere in the late 90s, at the Bogolyubsky Monastery, a kind of community of parents with children was formed. We know what the 90s are. Many people were left homeless, many families broke up. And so it turned out that the only place where they received attention and provided some kind of help: they provided shelter, food, etc., was this monastery. Many of these people still stayed to work in the monastery, that is, he also gave them a job, a livelihood. But then the question arose about children: what to do with children? And as a result, a kind of informal association of parents arose around the Bogolyubovsky monastery. Parents from their midst singled out educators who looked after the children when other parents were at work. And it is clear that this could not be ignored by the diocese, because children are children. Although they have parents, nevertheless, all this takes place on the territory of the monastery, that is, the institution that is part of our diocese. The parents asked Vladyka to create an orphanage, that is, some kind of boarding-type institution, a gymnasium with boarding schools for children. Since the children at that moment were really there, living on the territory of the monastery, Vladyka gave his blessing and this work began.
That is, we can say that what is called a shelter is, as it were, a spontaneous form of self-organization of the people themselves, an attempt to create a kind of cell of a parallel society, which did not arise from a good life? Is the rescue of drowning people the work of the drowning themselves?
Like that. But here I must say right away that the work ran into certain difficulties. Indeed, in order to create such an institution, you need land, a building that meets sanitary standards, etc. Since none of this happened, and it is extremely difficult to create or obtain all this, we can say that from the very beginning there were difficulties of an objective nature. I would like to emphasize: the monastery itself never sought to maintain any shelter, it simply responded to the needs of people in a desperate situation. Formally, from a legal point of view, no shelter has ever existed at the Bogolyubsky Monastery. It was just an idea, a wish, realized to a certain extent. The unification of parents with children spontaneously developed due to life circumstances. It is clear that neither the monastery nor the diocese were and are not the legal representatives of these children. They were just children with parents who themselves chose this form of existence, such a way of life. For example, the same Valya Perova, a well-known case. You probably know from last year's publications that her mother wandered with three girls, with three daughters, she was dying of cancer, and, dying, as if bequeathed to her daughters her parental will to remain in the monastery, to devote herself to monasticism. She probably believed that they would disappear into the world. As a teacher and as an acting priest, as a confessor, I can say that these are all such delicate, delicate topics and, I think, it is not entirely correct to bring all this to the public, as some of your colleagues do. There were several cases when the abbess's guardianship was issued for orphans.
Last year, after the complaint of Vali Perova, as you know, many commissions worked, including the diocesan one. You also know the results: the “facts” stated in her letter have not been confirmed. But the objective difficulties associated with the so-called orphanage, which the diocese and the monastery already knew before that: the absence of a special building, etc., have also become clearer ... In addition, there was another serious problem: the difficulties with paperwork for children: medical policies, passports, etc. The monastery, naturally, accepted the recommendations given then by the commission of the Patriarchate. But it is clear that the implementation of such recommendations as, say, the construction of a building that formally meets sanitary and hygienic standards for forty children is an impossible task in such a short time. Also, when preparing documents, certain difficulties often arose. But the interests of children must be protected! Therefore, a compromise option arose that satisfied all parties: the diocese, the monastery, and the parents - this is the stay of the children in the diocesan boarding school in Mikhaly in Suzdal. There is only one such school in the diocese where children can be accommodated in a boarding school. According to the parents' statement, 34 children were placed in this boarding school. And two orphans were sent to the Kameshkovsky orphanage. And, as a matter of fact, this is where the union, which we talked about, disappears. The only exception was made for five girls who graduated from the 10th-11th grades of the Novoselsk school, to which they are registered. Due to the fact that they were completing the course of study, they did not want to change the educational institution. There was a mutual desire for these girls to stay in the monastery - both the parents and the children themselves. We agreed that this is probably a reasonable decision. And now the next plot twist is when two of the three girls who remained in 2010, Sarina and Kuznetsova, leave the boundaries of the Bogolyubsky monastery. This happened on October 5 this year. They turned to the juvenile affairs room, from there to the Suzdal guardianship. At the time of clarification of all the circumstances, the girls were placed in the hospital. And then it turned out: they themselves wanted to be in a boarding school, and the mothers were strongly in favor of the monastery. It is illegal to place children in a boarding school without a written statement from their parents, on the other hand: if the children themselves do not want to live in a monastery, then why keep them there? Since, you know, the only legal representatives of children are their parents, and by no means a monastery, diocese or guardianship authorities, we consulted and found a compromise solution: return them to their families, to their parents, who soon left with the children to their former place of residence. : to the Voronezh region and to Bugulma in Tatarstan. This option satisfied both parents and children. A corresponding statement was written, on October 10 these girls went to their place of residence. That, in fact, is what the entire objective side of the situation boils down to today.
(taken from RNL)
The last phrase is not entirely correct. What was said by Fr. Sergius, I think, is quite reliable. But the question of the motives of the attachment of this group of parents to this particular monastery remained aside. It is clear that the sisters and the confessor are of common Orthodox views. But there is also a certain peculiarity - and it is in a quite distinct "Diomidism". Does this peculiarity really have no effect on the psychological climate in the monastery and on the children?
10 days ago I turned to Abbot Savvaty Bastovoy:
"Father, an extremely disgusting remark appeared on your blog behind your signature:
"This is the" world Orthodoxy "to which Russia will lead us through Patriarch Kirill, if we remain indifferent."
A) the Orthodox participants in the session did not see the pagan rituals performed in front of the entrance to the stadium, because they walked from their hotel through other gates.
B) upon learning of what had happened on the square, all Orthodox delegations protested and announced that they would leave the WCC if this was repeated. Having received assurances that this would no longer be the case, they returned to work, but after that all the 90 years there was a difficult dialogue between the Orthodox and the WCC, culminating in the decision that the Orthodox, regardless of their quantitative presence in the WCC, would be given a blocking package (veto). And in fact - since you are using a video from '91, it means that nothing of the kind has been repeated since then.
Father, did you not know that? I do not believe. In the same video there is a clipping from the words of Met. Cyril, where he mentions the criticism that the Orthodox expressed about the session of the WCC in Canberra
But now you know by anyone. If after that you do not change your boorish tone in relation to Russia and the Russian Church, from which you received the holy order, you will be guilty before God not only for lying, but also for the worst thing: inciting ethnic hatred between Orthodox peoples.
By the way, since you so blindly reproduce the agitation of the Greek schismatics, can you admit - what kind of schism do you personally find yourself in now? The Romanian Church is more ecumenical than the Russian ... ".
I am an abbot. Savvaty did not deign to answer. Unless he scared ::
na etot raz, daje smerti ne spasiot protodiakona Andreia ot tzerkovnogo suda ()
But he stated his reaction in his letter to Met. Chisinau and all Moldova Vladimir:
diaconul Andrei Kuraev creează un precedent inadmisil pe teritoriul canonic al Mitropoliei Moldovei reinstaurînd instituț ia comisarilor poporului care împuș că fără judecată, subminînd bărără judecată, subminînd Bönd.
“Deacon Andrei Kuraev created an unacceptable precedent on the canonical territory of the Moldovan Metropolis by restoring the institution of people's commissars, whom he shot without trial, thus replacing the authority of local hierarchs and making an attempt on the conciliarity of the Church”.
So, Live Journal, it turns out, is the canonical territory of the Moldavian Metropolitanate. I didn't know.
To ask the abbot to apologize for the boorish and deceitful words addressed to his own Patriarch - does it mean “to shoot without trial”?
To ask for an explanation means to "substitute for collegiality"?
Father Savvaty missed his chance. Now it is clear that he has degenerated into a banal sharper, ready to throw a tantrum instead of a calm conversation ..
God, how many more similar fruits have ripened in the greenhouse of Moldova?
Unfortunately, the history of the veneration of the Mother of God icon in Russia, which was then transferred to Czestochowa, remains completely unclear. The ancient Russian saints and mesaslovy do not mention her. In the printed month words of the 19th century, the day of her veneration is March 6, while according to the Catholic calendars it is August 27. The celebration of March 6 is most likely established as a book's guess. It is under this number in the monthly words that Empress Helena found the cross in Jerusalem, with which the legend also connects the discovery of our icon. The establishment of a specific day for the celebration of the icon occurred, apparently, due to the fact that in 1813, after the capture of Czestochowa by the Russian troops, a copy of the icon was placed in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. ()
(From the video of Chibrik's summer sermon)
"Persecution of the Church began in Russia through the hierarchs of the Church themselves
persecution has begun and there will be persecution and suffering. I was in the Bogolyubovo monastery with Fr. Petra ... I came there in the evening of that day as Fr. Peter was summoned to the diocese. And there the archbishop forbade him and his priests to preach in the church and read only the lives and words of the Fathers. This was not even the case during the communist era.
Moreover, the central Moscow leadership is putting pressure on the local Vladimir leadership.
They say that in Moscow the other day the Moscow Patriarchate presented a bill on extremism, which is directed against Orthodoxy and there is an article according to which Christians will be judged: "if you defend the faith, you will be judged as an extremist."
Patriarch Kirill in 2009, in the week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, said that the slogan "Orthodoxy or death" is not healthy. It means that it is clear where the thread is twisted from. Everything from there. They said it first. And then the prosecutor's office starts its work. The head and mind and tongue of the one who uttered this is unwell (see 16 min 34 sec).
Yesterday I met with the editorial board of the Pravoslavny Krest magazine, which is the former Spirit of the Christian, banned by the Patriarchate. This edition contains our entire line (19 min 19 sec). Subscribe and distribute this newspaper to all Russian speakers.
I found them with great difficulty. They are in the shadows.
They have a problem: they come from the FSB with searches almost every day. The same problem is with all Orthodox and patriotic organizations that profess the faith: they are intimidated and persecuted. And we will have the same.
We must clearly tell this government, which is not the government of our country.
We had a commission from Moscow on our appeal to the patriarch.
The persecution of the church comes from within the church, from those who lead the church from the hierarchs. We will all send a letter to the Patriarchate: "You have no paternal care for the people!"
As it was in Romania when the new style was introduced. There was no bishop. But the priests and the people stood up for the old style, and then the Lord sent them a bishop. The Russians are outraged that they do not have a bishop. But this is because they are not firm enough.
We told the patriarch: "you and I will not go into your delusions." We were asked: "Where will you go?" And we are not going anywhere. We stand still. How many years it will take - 10,20,30 - we stand still. If we stand still, the Lord will send us an Orthodox bishop.
We have no insolence, but we will not allow the faith to be betrayed.
If they impose bans for what I said, they will be invalid.
The persecution began from within the Church from the hierarchs who want to unite us with the Catholics, want to enslave us.
What a fear in Russia, you have no idea!
Where two gather, there are six KGB fighters!
The great rampart is approaching, in Russia it is obvious, but in our country it is still hidden.
I said to Father Peter: if you do not oppose your archbishop, then concessions will come one after another. "
The priests do not understand many things because they did not understand the problem with the codes. At first there were those problems, but now they do not stand up to defend the faith. We will never be forgiven. Antichrists, those who go against Christ, will not forgive us. No compromise with them! Depart from me, Satan, whoever he is! We all say this in the spirit of Christ's love. We say this because we do not want to plant heretical teachings.
If you heard that somewhere they are gathering in defense of the faith, but you did not go, then you are condemned!
Look for an opportunity to give all your money to defend your faith!
You are not allowed to travel abroad. And a man came to me and brought me the necessary document. "
"It is very surprising that a cleric of another diocese, without the blessing of his ruling bishop and the ruling bishop of Moscow, arranges public meetings in Moscow," V. Legoyda told the Interfax-Religion correspondent on Monday.
He added that this is not the first time that Father Anatoly has been active in the Russian capital. In his interviews, the priest claims that he is fighting for the purity of the canons, however, according to V. Legoida, "the joy for the purity of the faith in the case of public violation of the canonical rules looks rather strange."
Recently, a round table organized by Father Anatoly was held in Moscow, dedicated to criticism of the hierarchy, which the participants of the meeting consider heretical for the dialogue with Catholics and active missionary activity.
As reported, about two weeks ago, the mentioned priest also staged a pogrom at the lecture of Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev in Chisinau: several dozen aggressive-minded people, supporters and supporters of Father A. Chibrik burst into the room where the lecture was held, with threats, beat up the dean of one of the faculties and they hit Father Andrey in the face.
And finally, the first book came out with an appeal to this source:
Maria Akhmetova. End of the world in a single country. Religious communities of post-Soviet Russia and their eschatological myth. M. RGGU, 2010.
The book is useful for shaking off the noodles from the gorge, which are hung by those who like to speak on behalf of the "simple Orthodox people."
P. 142-143:
thanks to the number of Chinese, the Orthodox world instantly gains an advantage, which terrifies the opposite side - America [PDZP].
Having been baptized, the Chinese acquire almost angelic properties. Even their former paganism turns out to be a factor, on the one hand, opposing them to the Jews, on the other, favorable to their conversion:
And they are people very, such, God-passionate, they are afraid of God<...>They are pagans [male, approx. 50 p., Orthodox, from Moscow; 2003, Diveevo].
According to the stories, “the grace of the Holy Spirit descends on the Chinese” [male, c. 35 p., From Moscow; 2002, Diveevo]; informants speak of some kind of "charisma", apparently, quoting a text that is, unfortunately, unknown to us. This charisma lies in a special type of clairvoyance - only the Chinese will be able to distinguish the righteous from the sinful: they will see the crosses invisibly drawn by angels on the foreheads of true believers, and destroy those who do not find this cross.
The Bible says it. In the book of Daniel. An angel will descend from heaven, and will fly, and seek all his own, to anoint them with the cross<...>Duck it says there about what angel? The angel is Seraphim. Now he walks on the ground and puts crosses for all of his. On the forehead. Not around the neck, so that everyone can be hung with crosses. And all this will not bother anyone. Everyone rips off [male, approx. 50 p., Orthodox, from Moscow; 2003, Diveevo].
Other Orthodox informants assert that the Chinese will not touch people who have a cross even on their necks [husband, 45 y., From Vladivostok; 2003, Diveevo]. Thus, the Chinese not only act in concert with the angels and saints, but in a sense they themselves act as formidable angels, restoring order and carrying out judgment (in the Apocalypse, angels punish those who accepted the mark of the beast (Rev.16: 1- 11); it is worth recalling a similar motive from the Old Testament book of Exodus).
But even the converted Chinese remain a force that is potentially hostile and requires the utmost caution; on the contrary, conquerors should be given a benevolent reception:
And whoever speaks, fires a pistol at least once, everyone will be killed. Or from a slingshot, where anyone gets in the forehead, everyone will be immediately destroyed<...>When the Chinese come, you will hear about it, you immediately open the doors: “Come in. You can even eat, build up strength and go ahead ”[male, approx. 50 p., Orthodox, from Moscow; 2003, Diveevo].
The vagueness of the image, the monstrous destructiveness, the similarity to the elements are somehow inherent in the "eschatological peoples" in the popular beliefs, in particular, "Lithuania" is associated with water chaos ("Lithuania will flood everything") [Maslinsky 2000a: 5]. However, these peoples, unlike the Chinese, are always harmful. The conversion of the Chinese is the introduction of a heroic motive into the circle of eschatological images and performs the function of a kind of domestication of chaos, the development of the world.
This became one of the most discussed topics in the early days of 2014.
During the meeting, the issue of the lack of a positive reaction on the part of Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev to the decision of the Academic Council of March 12, 2012, in which he was fraternally reminded that: “The title of professor of the Moscow Theological Academy imposes high responsibility for the form and content of public statements, because they are used to judge both the educational institution and the whole Church. "
The Scientific Council stated that Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev regularly appears in the media and in the blogosphere with outrageous publications, and that his activities in these areas remain in a number of cases scandalous and provocative.
In this regard, the Academic Council decided to expel Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev from the teaching staff and exclude him from the number of professors of the MDA, bearing in mind that he was awarded the title of professor at another higher educational institution.
Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev: It will be fair to return the purity of life to Kazan seminarians
On the air of the Dozhd TV channel, Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev answered questions about his dismissal.
- Tell me, why were you fired?
- As far as I can judge from the press service of the MDA, for those judgments in the blogosphere that seemed shocking to the Academic Council. For me, as a professional, this is a joyful wording - it means that there are no complaints about me as a professor of the Academy - those lectures that I read, those books that I wrote on my subject “Missiology” - there are no complaints. It's good.
- Has anyone ever been fired from the Moscow Theological Academy before you for speaking out on blogs?
- For this they fired Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky, who taught at the MDA for 36 years, and then ran for the State Duma on the list of not monarchists, but cadets. But he was not fired by the Academic Council. There was a decision of the Synod, the rector insisted - and so that all colleagues get dirty - this is the first time.
- Why didn't your colleagues speak out against it?
- I was not at the Council, it happened in my absence, I had, unfortunately, the funeral of a person close to me, but I was told that there were different voices, both in essence and in procedure. A significant part of the MDA professors, they are also professors and graduates of Moscow State University, are people of university culture. And in my mind - and I have been teaching at Moscow State University for 20 years, as in the minds of other graduates of Moscow State University, it is inconceivable that the Academic Council of Moscow State University fired a professor for what he does outside the university space, for private statements on the blog. Even in Soviet times, this was unthinkable.
- So you were legalized as a church dissident?
- You know, this is a very strange decision, illogical. If the Academy fires me for doing something wrong on my blog, bringing something outside, telling something from church secrets, it instantly means that the entire blogosphere rushes to me. What is happening - in the language of the Internet - is a strengthening of the audience, a multiple strengthening of the audience. That is, the effect is exactly the opposite. They wanted to hide something. On the contrary, it has become extremely obvious.
- The fact that the authorities follow your blog is, on the one hand, flattering for you, on the other hand - have there been such hints before?
- There were such hints, including in the situation with Pussy Wright, when my opinion differed from the official opinion of the Patriarchate. You see, we are talking about issues that are about my conscience.
Archpriest Maxim Kozlov: Unfortunately, the father of the protodeacon did not hear the fraternal admonition that took place more than a year and a half ago, in March 2013, when his corporation asked him to take care of the dignity of the place in which he was called to serve, asked to stop shocking provocative speeches in the mass sphere. information. The problems that exist in the Kazan Seminary, and which, in particular, led to the dismissal of the vice-rector, they, as in any theological school, there are certain problems, they are being considered. Dismissal of Fr. Andrei from the MDA professorship should in no way be associated with this Kazan case, in this sense he takes the desirable for the reality.
- What is this Kazan affair?
- This is an unprecedented case - the dismissal of a professor in the middle of the academic year. not at the end, when it was possible not to renew the contract. It is clear that something has happened right now, not sometime in the past. In the past, I had a disagreement about Pussy Riots, but they are now at large. Now this topic is irrelevant.
I spoke harshly about the surrogacy of Philip Kirkorov and Alla Pugacheva, but my position now is the official position of the Church. Check out the Synod's statement at the end of December on surrogacy.
Therefore, the only thing that could be considered scandalous was the Kazan case. At the end of December, a commission headed by Fr. Maksim Kozlov traveled to Kazan in response to numerous complaints from seminarians about sexual harassment from the leadership of this seminary. They tried to contact the local metropolitan for many years. The commission also went to the honor of Father Maxim - it confirmed their correctness. A survey of seminarians was conducted - out of 74, 42 or more said that harassment had occurred.
The vice-rector, who was accused, was fired from the post of vice-rector, but this was not transferred to the police. And the boss sticking to a subordinate is an article. There was no appeal to the prosecutor's office, there was no church court, it was not announced that this would be done, there was no removal of dignity or a ban, he was immediately issued a free flight, he began to look for a new place of improvement and found it in the Tver diocese. I wrote about this, but I'm not the first, I took it from the Kazan press.
Then when the local seminarians saw that I was on their side, they began to send me their claims. In particular, they sent me a speech by Metropolitan Anastassy in front of them after the departure of the commission, they say, how dare you complain, we will feed you, and you have betrayed me, and so on.
- Did you expect any reaction?
- A normal reaction is what the test results are about. Maxim Kozlov is being transferred to the Investigative Committee. So far, it turns out that there is a scandal in the Kazan seminary, but for some reason I am fired for it.
- Our speaker explained that you wishful thinking, and the motives were different.
- He bends his soul and wishful thinking. There are no other motives.
- He said that you were warned about something and then you did not hear.
- In March, there was a meeting of the Scientific Council dedicated to me, specially convened: in March we usually do not hold meetings, only at the end of December and at the end of May. There was one issue on the agenda - Kuraev and Pussy Riots. But my statements were not scandalous - the offer to feed pancakes - what is shocking here? What is scandalous here?
- Have there been such scandals before?
- Were. For example, in Yekaterinburg in 1994 there was a scandal with Bishop Nikon of Yekaterinburg, but only when it went to the press. The patriarchy did not react in any way. When the prospect of a criminal case arose and the press of the federal level began to react, then an inspection commission from the Patriarchate was sent with a grunt and the decision was this: to dismiss everyone. Bishop - according to the wording - for not controlling the situation in the diocese. That is, not for pedophilia, but for the fact that the squeak was heard outside the walls of the diocese.
- What else could have influenced your comments on blogs?
- Everything else has been tested for many years in the framework of normal theological discussion.
- Will you try to appeal the decision?
- I think it will be unpleasant for my colleagues. I do not like to appear where they do not expect me. Even if the Patriarchate forces them to re-vote, it will still be unpleasant. People made their decision one way or another, albeit in violation of protocol.
- So you don't want to fight for justice?
- For me it will be fair if the purity of life is returned to the Kazan seminarians.
- You write that the “official position of the ROC” on current political topics in its claim to infallibility and intra-church commitment is a theological remake ...
- There is no such term in the Bible and in the ancient canons of the Church. There are commandments, there are church dogmas, canons - we all know them. But there is no such rule that if the church leadership has given any commentary on social and political life, then all members of the Church must agree with this. All comments are inevitably partisan, that is, this is the opinion of the part (the word “party” is from the word “part”). And the Church unites people on the basis of faith in Christ. Therefore, the Church cannot put a political party filter upon entering itself and cannot demand political loyalty.
There are 5 people in the Church - Patriarch, Metropolitan Hilarion, Archpriest. Vsevolod Chaplin, Vladimir Romanovich Legoida - they have such a hard job - to conduct GR - dialogue with the government - they have to pay compliments to the government. But they do not require all priests to say the same in their sermons.
I have been teaching at Moscow State University for 20 years, already now I am receiving very interesting proposals from various universities in Moscow and abroad, my writing work is always with me. I'm not an idiot enough to take the position of a man who was kicked off the train, and he shouts from afar: "You will now crash without me!" Everything will be fine in the Church, wonderful people have remained at the Academy, whom I respect and put above myself in terms of theological level. I am not going to leave the Church. Patriarch Kirill is my canonical Patriarch.
- Are you not afraid of further persecution?
- It is possible that I will be expelled from several more commissions where I am a member. I might be deprived of my dignity. Probably, the dioceses will be afraid to invite me to lecture. If the bishops are afraid to invite me, how do you go about the mission? They say to me: “Write books” - show me the publishing house that will agree to publish me. We'll have to go out into the secular field more.
Comments (1)
Archpriest Vladislav Tsypin,
Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy commented on the reason for the exclusion of Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev from the professorship
“The Council of the Academy did not discuss the position of Father Andrey on theological, church-historical issues, or on issues of relations between the Church, state and society. Ethical issues were the reason. Since Fr. Andrey had already been warned about the need to change the tone of his publications about two years ago, to introduce it into the framework of church etiquette, but neglected this warning, the Theological Academy had no choice but to take administrative measures. ”
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin:
According to Chaplin, a bright, original, non-standard statement is not always a bad thing, and “today, in order to shout out to people, sometimes you need to speak briefly and brightly”.
“But on many issues - let us at least recall the history of blasphemy in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior or the view of Russian statehood, the principles of church life, the possibility of a Christian turning to power to protect the values and shrines that are significant for Christians - the opinion of Fr. what they think and what they say, with a few exceptions, practically all the pastors and laity of our Church. And it is worth listening to their voice, because this voice lies in the mainstream of the Orthodox tradition, based on the Gospel and being God's revelation to people, ”said the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Archpriest Maxim Kozlov
According to Archpriest Maksim Kozlov, the decision to expel Kuraev from the number of professors of the MDA "concerns a person speaking in the public sphere - this is not some kind of disciplinary charge or a violation of professional discipline within the corporation."
Prot. Maxim Kozlov noted that the Protodeacon, in turn, “did not inform the Academic Council of the Academy that he would not be present at it”. As the clergyman noted, the methods of making decisions at the Academic Council are different. “The overwhelming majority of the issues discussed at the Council do not imply a vote by hand, let alone some kind of secret ballot. We have an academic corporation, a family where people discuss certain issues with each other, and when it is clear that a consensus and a common vision of the situation has been reached, then this does not require any formal procedures with the counting of votes, ”said Archpriest. Maxim Kozlov RIA Novosti.
“It’s strange to say that we are discussing the statements of a person who was not present himself (at the meeting of the MDA council) and writes (about what happened there). Maxim Kozlov.
In absolutely all spheres of human life, there are people whose activities in some cause respect sometimes even admiration, while others are dissatisfied, very often bordering on hatred. It is no secret that especially difficult relationships arise in a religious environment, where love and honor today or tomorrow can be transformed into accusations of unseemly activities and incitement to conflicts. One of such controversial, but at the same time very colorful characters of our time is Andrei Vyacheslavovich Kuraev, a well-known clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church. We will talk about his life, work and creativity in as much detail as possible in the article.
Birth and family
The biography of Andrei Kuraev says that he was born in Moscow on February 15, 1963. For several years of his childhood, the boy lived in the capital of the Czech Republic, where at that time his father and mother worked. By the way, it is worth noting that they were all unbelievers. The father of our hero, Vyacheslav, worked as secretary of Peter Fedoseev, who was a famous scientist of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The mother of the future churchman was an employee of the sector at the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
Early years of life
The current protodeacon of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kuraev, was raised as an atheist in childhood, which is not surprising, because in Soviet times there were very few people who believed in God, and almost all of them were persecuted. If a young man positioned himself as an Orthodox Christian, then he could well experience problems both with entering a university and with subsequent employment.
As a schoolboy, Andrei Vyacheslavovich Kuraev published a wall newspaper with the sonorous title "Atheist", in which he consistently explained his position.
Getting higher education and coming to faith
In 1979, Andrei Kuraev, reviews of which will be given below in the article, became a student of the Faculty of Philosophy at Moscow State University. And just three years later, the young man made the final decision to be baptized and on November 29, 1982 performed the sacrament in the church. As the priest himself later admitted, he was inspired to take this step by acquaintance with Dostoevsky's work, namely reading the novel The Brothers Karamazov.
It goes without saying that Andrei Kuraev's family was in absolute shock from such a step. One fine day, the parents came home and saw their son reading the Gospel. After that, all the father's hopes for a brilliant career of his own and a bright future for his son could be safely buried. The persuasion did not give any results, and the man at first lost a prestigious business trip to France, and a little later he was completely fired. Despite all the difficulties in the family, no significant discord between the parents and Andrey did not happen.
In 1984, Kuraev graduated from Moscow State University, and he received a red diploma for his achievements. Kirill Nikonov was the head of his scientific work at the university. After that, Andrei entered graduate school in the direction of foreign philosophy, but never finished it.
Study in theological educational institutions
In 1985, Kuraev holds the post of secretary of the Moscow Theological Academy. At the same time, he began to deeply comprehend the basics of religion in the theological seminary, but already in 1986 there was a serious fire in it. Andrei was forced to go to work on a construction site, where he worked until the moment when the building was completely restored, and the rector of the seminary called him back to study again. Kuraev graduated from the seminary only in 1988.
Timid steps
Andrei Vyacheslavovich made his first publications on theology back in 1988. At the same time, he initially took the pseudonym Andrei Prigorin, and his works were published in a magazine called Vybor. Under his real name, the confessor was published in Moscow News and in Questions of Philosophy.
In the period 1988-1990, the man studied within the walls of the University of Bucharest at the Department of Orthodox Theology. It is worth noting that he got to study at this university thanks to a victory in an open dispute at the Kolomna Pedagogical Institute, where he was able to unconditionally bypass the inveterate atheists.
Receiving church dignity
July 8, 1990 became somewhat historical for Kuraev. It was then that in the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest he was ordained to the rank of deacon by Patriarch Theoktist.
After that, Andrei returned to Russia and until 1993 was the personal assistant of Patriarch Alexy II.
Training
In 1994, Andrei Kuraev, for whom Orthodoxy became a matter of his whole life, became a candidate of philosophical sciences thanks to the successful defense of his dissertation on the basis of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Pavel Gurevich was his scientific advisor in this matter. And a year later the clergyman became a candidate for theology, having defended his work entitled “Tradition. Dogma. Rite "at the Moscow Theological Academy. In 1996, the Second appointed Kuraev professor of theology on the recommendation of the academic council of the RPU.
Teaching activities
In 1993-1996, theologian Andrei Kuraev served as dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the Russian Orthodox University of St. John the Theologian. As the minister himself now recalls, he was not just a dean, but one of the founders of this now prestigious university. Also, world famous and respected professors were invited to the educational institution, who lectured to students. Kuraev himself listened to them with pleasure.
For twenty years (1993-2013) the churchman was an employee of the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary. In addition, he headed the Department of Apologetics and Theology at the St. Tikhon Orthodox University for the Humanities.
Peer recognition
In March 2002, on the basis of a decision of the Synod, Kuraev was included in the editorial board of a collection called "Theological Works". In December 2004, he became a member of the Synodal Theological Commission. And on the last day of March 2009, he was enrolled in the ranks of the Church-Public Council, which oversees issues of protection from the alcohol threat. The professor was also a member of the expert advisory council dealing with the problems of freedom of conscience, which functioned on the basis of the State Duma Committee for Religious Associations and various public organizations.
Very often many people today ask the question: "Where does Andrey Kuraev serve?" It is reliably known that until the end of 2007 he performed the church duties assigned to him in the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist (Presnya, Moscow), and then moved to the Church of the Archangel Michael (Troparevo).
Step up
Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev received his current rank during the liturgy within the walls of St. Isaac's Cathedral on April 5, 2009, which was personally led by Patriarch Kirill. Our hero was exalted thanks to his active and productive work with the younger generation and zealous missionary work.
Film strip
In November 2007, director Valery Otstavnykh, who is also a religious scholar and an employee of the missionary department of the regional diocese, shot a film on the basis of the Tula Orthodox studio Svet, entitled “48 Hours in the Life of Deacon Andrei Kuraev”. Taking into account all the technical nuances of the film work, as a result, it was released only after a year and a half.
Problems
On December 30, 2013, an event occurred due to which many believed that Andrei Kuraev had been excommunicated. The reason was the news that the confessor was expelled from the teachers and professors of the academy for rather outrageous behavior, as well as provocative work in the media and the Internet space (in blogs). The clergyman himself expressed his indignation about this and linked this "attack" on him by his leaders with the fact that he exposed the scandal that took place in the Kazan Theological Seminary, which is worth dwelling on in more detail.
In December of the same 2013, a special inspection headed by the archpriest arrived at the Kazan Theological Educational Institution. There was a reason for such close attention from the ROC Study Committee to the seminary: many students complained of sexual harassment from the rector and other mentors. As Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev said on this occasion, the young people actively confirmed all the facts of sodomy in front of the commission that came, only a few people from the fifth year were silent. Ultimately, the vice-rector and press secretary, Abbot Kirill, were fired.
Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev, discussing what happened in Kazan, said in one of his interviews that the overwhelming majority of clergy in Russia are absolutely normal, adequate people. Despite the fact that there are a lot of monks in the country, even among these voluntary recluses there are no manifestations of homosexual inclinations. However, to our great regret, there is a certain group of church-office employees who began to use their power and capabilities, forgetting what they generally serve and what they were originally called for. At the same time, talking about the fact that he was excommunicated, Andrei Kuraev said that he was not afraid to be thrown out of the bosom of Orthodoxy, since, relying on history, he was absolutely sure that even after a potentially possible excommunication, he would invariably be restored by the next patriarch.
In addition, Kuraev believes that an additional factor of attacks on him can be considered the fact of his performances in defense of the sensational punk group Pussy Riot in Russia. She "became famous" for trying to perform within the walls of the Epiphany Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Opinion about Islam
In the fall of 2004, Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev became the sole author of an article for the Izvestia newspaper. And although in it he admitted that strategically terrorist attacks are planned on behalf of Islam in Western states, nevertheless, the clergyman directly pointed out the full responsibility of the religious movement itself for the increase in terrorist attacks. Kuraev believes that various calls from television screens and newspaper pages that terrorism has no religion or nationality are absolutely groundless. As arguments, he says that it is not Buddhists who seize schools, it is not Taoists who blow up planes, it is not Christians who take people hostage. Kuraev also draws people's attention to the fact that terrorism is to some extent a consequence of a very distorted understanding of the Koran, and not any other book. Moreover, the authors of these distortions are highly educated Islamic men, not illiterate Arabs. But the most important thing, according to Andrey, is that a significant part of the entire Muslim world does not consider terrorists to be scoundrels, but classifies them as heroes and very often tries to imitate them to some extent.
The confessor showed his dislike for Islam in one of his monasteries - Crimea. In 2006, Andrey Kuraev's lectures on this peninsula were aimed at opposing the extremely radical policy of the Mejlis - the ethnic parliament of the Crimean Tatars.
Attitude towards the LGBT community
The churchman is an ardent critic of homosexuality. Many of Andrei Kuraev's books, including "The Church in the World of People", signal to believers that tolerance for homosexual contacts is a kind of cover for "an attack on the traditional Christian family." In addition, in one of his conversations with journalists, Andrei Vyacheslavovich equated homosexuality and drug addiction, calling pity for these sins "harbingers of death." In 2007, the hero of the article stated that the church is simply obliged to help those gays who admit their weakness and sinfulness. At the same time, Kuraev called the unrepentant sodomites “scoundrels”.
In early 2008, Andrei made an appeal to the then-President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev with an appeal to give the most objective assessment of a number of New Year's programs aired on the NTV channel, where there were allegedly a lot of "homosexual gestures" and half-naked girls. At the same time, Kuraev stressed that if the appeal is not considered and an official response is not given, then such a position of the authorities will be regarded as the desire of the country's leaders to corrupt young people and promote homosexuality.
In 2012, a large-scale public outcry arose due to the proposal made by Kuraev. The thing is that the confessor wanted to disrupt the planned concert of the American pop singer Madonna in St. Petersburg, at which this world famous woman wanted to express her indignation and dissatisfaction with the law against the promotion of homosexual relationships. Answering the question of one of the Russian deputies about how the residents of Northern Palmyra should act, Andrei made a short speech: "A normal person in such situations takes the phone and makes a call to the FSB, telling law enforcement officers that someone has planted explosives somewhere." ...
Verbal battles with Lolita Milyavskaya
What else distinguished the worker of the Russian Orthodox Church? Andrei Kuraev also distinguished himself by the fact that after the birth of Philip Kirkorov's daughter from a surrogate mother, he demanded that the People's Artist of Russia be excommunicated from the church. The confessor, describing his vision of the situation, explained that the essence of this issue is not in surrogate motherhood as such and not in the position of the Church on this situation, but the main point is the issue of human dignity. Simply put, if you buy or sell a child, then be prepared for the fact that after a while you will also be able to either be sold or redeemed.
Kuraev zealously defended his opinion in the framework of a television program called "Duel" on April 26, 2012, where Lolita Milyavskaya opposed him. By the way, in fairness it should be noted that the winner in this dispute was the representative of the Orthodox Church.
Ukrainian theme
Some of Andrey Kuraev's lectures and his interviews on the political situation in Ukraine have always evoked a violent reaction in society. For example, on March 29, 2014, the confessor consistently in nine points outlined his vision of the situation on the annexation of the peninsula by Russia. As a result of his thoughts and analysis of the situation, Kuraev came to the sad conclusion that the Russian Federation still loses more because of such a conflict, and does not gain. Needless to say, such an opinion of the clergyman is inherently oppositional and does not add credibility to Andrei on the territory of the country.
Kuraev also spoke extremely negatively about the silence of Patriarch Kirill about the situation with Crimea, but later Andrei Vyacheslavovich spoke positively about the main person of the Russian Orthodox Church, noting that he was under severe pressure from the Moscow elite.
Confession
Despite loud scandals, for his turbulent life in many respects, the churchman was awarded the following distinctive signs:
About the tsar and cinema
In 2017, there was a scandal in Russia over the release of the film "Matilda". Many Orthodox activists felt that the film was blasphemous and presented the last Russian autocrat in a negative light. However, Kuraev notes that, in his opinion, there is nothing in this work that could tarnish Nicholas II. He believes that we should all remember the canonized king as a great martyr, and not as an ordinary person who has the sins of youth and youth. The confessor paid special attention to the fact that Nicholas did not commit adultery.
Personal
Who are the children of Andrei Kuraev? A large number of people are interested in this question today. The church leader himself replies to him that he has no blood sons and daughters. At the same time, thanks to his numerous wanderings, he meets ordinary people, military personnel, prisoners in prisons, students, schoolchildren. At the same time, the churchman considers all of them to some extent his offspring, albeit spiritual.
In conclusion, I would like to say that you can treat the hero of the article in any way you want, but you cannot in any way note the fact that he is still a full-fledged Christian who is trying to urge society to change its mind and live according to the laws of God.
January 7th, 2014, 11:49 am
Yesterday my acquaintances visited me, and I learned that some of them are concerned about what is being discussed in LiveJournal about. Andrew. Therefore, he reassured them, explaining the meaning of what was happening.
Today I thought that others might also have bewilderment, so I decided to express my opinion on this matter for everyone.
***
In the first grade of school, children learn to write noughts and crosses.
Likewise, in the spiritual life one should first learn to “avoid evil,” then learn to “do good,” then “seek peace” Ps.33.
Until you learn the first, the second and third are out of the question.
Observing Father Andrey's LiveJournal, we can conclude that he and his followers have not yet learned to evade evil.
First, they somehow strangely understand the meaning of "evasion" Rather, how to "destroy"
Secondly, you must first learn to “not be angry with your brother in vain” (Matthew 5:21 and beyond) and only then exercise against lust (Matthew 5.27 and beyond). This order is suggested by the Gospel of Matthew. If the order is violated, then the Inquisition will appear, etc.
Let's hope (pray) that Father Andrey and his followers will someday pay attention to the laws of asceticism. I think that any scribe, if he wants, can learn the Kingdom of Heaven.
