Posted on 02/04/2013 6:43:57 AM PST by marshmallow
(Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the Orthodox Church should be given more say over family life, education and the armed forces in Russia, as he celebrated the leadership of its head Patriarch Kirill.
Faith runs deep in Russia after the fall of the officially atheist Soviet Union and Putin has looked to the largest religion in Russia for support since he began his third term as president after a wave of protests against his rule.
He has also tried to mix spirituality with his own brand of patriotism in order to unify the officially secular country where ethnic and political fault lines are beginning to show.
"At the heart of all Russia's victories and achievements are patriotism, faith and strength of spirit," Putin said in the Kremlin's gold encrusted Alexeyevsky hall, celebrating the fourth anniversary of Kirill's accession as patriarch.
Putin's relationship with the church has strengthened since band members of protest punk band Pussy Riot entered Russia's Christ the Saviour Church last year and sang a vulgarity-laced song, urging the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out".
Without giving specifics, Putin said a "vulgar" understanding of secularism must be swept away to give the Church, and other religions, control over more aspects of Russian life.
"While preserving the secular nature of our state, and not allowing the over-involvement of the government in Church life, we need to get away from the vulgar, primitive understanding of secularism," he said.
"The Russian Orthodox Church and other traditional religions should get every opportunity to fully serve in such important fields as the support of family and motherhood, the upbringing and education of children, youth, social development, and to strengthen the patriotic spirit of the armed forces."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Faith does not run deep in Russia. I talked to a priest a few months ago who is a missionary there. The communists destroyed any semblance of Christianity through persectuions & executions that lasted for over 60 years.
As a result, divorce rates are through the roof & the average Russian woman has upwards of 25 abortions in her life.
Putin is FOS. There’s more to this than meets the eye....smells like propoganda for a state-controlled church.
More info....I met this priest in San Fransisco while he was speaking there. He has been in Vladiviostok since the early 90s & his website is
www.vladmission.org
I find it hard to take Putin and faith in the same sentence. This must be so that “the church” can dictate Russian policy. It could get interesting.
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