The Past and Present of The Russian Orthodox Church Contain Some Valuable Lessons for Roman.....

Abyssus Abyssum Invocat / Deep Calls to Deep ^ | 12/15/14 | Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev

[marshmallow]

Atheism and Orthodoxy in Modern Russia

By Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev

May 2001

In this talk I propose to outline the history of atheism in Russia during the last hundred years. I will start by considering the kind of atheism present in Russia before the Revolution. Then I will say something about the development of atheism during the Soviet period. And finally I will conclude with some observations concerning the nature of Russian post-Soviet atheism.

I should like to begin with the following questions. How did it happen that the country known as ‘Holy Russia’, with such a long history of Orthodox Christianity, was in a very short period of time turned by the Bolsheviks into ‘the first atheist state in the world’? How was it possible that the very same people who were taught religion in secondary schools in the 1910s with their own hands destroyed churches and burned holy icons in the 1920s? What is the explanation of the fact that the Orthodox Church, which was so powerful in the Russian Empire, was almost reduced to zero by its former members? 

I should say at once that I cannot interpret what happened in Russia in 1917 as an accident, the seizure of power by a small group of villains. Rather I perceive in the Russian revolution the ultimate outcome of the processes which were going on within the pre-revolutionary society and so, to a considerable extent, within the Russian Church (as there was no separation between Church and society).

I would claim that the Russian revolution was the offspring of both the Russian monarchy and the Church. The roots of the post-revolutionary atheism should be looked for in pre-revolutionary Russian society and in the Church. It has been said that Russia was baptized but not enlightened. Indeed, as far as the 19th..........

[marshmallow]

Note: this talk was given in 2001 but posted to the blog Abyssus Abyssum Invocat today.

"The Past and Present of the Russian Orthodox Church Contain Some Valuable Lessons for Roman Catholics in the Papacy of Pope Francis"

[Mrs. Don-o]

for later

[cizinec]

Amazing how many of Metropolitan Hilarion’s fears have come to pass, in Russia, Serbia and other former Soviet states.

[Kolokotronis]

WOW! Thank-you very much for this!

[Prospero]

This was great. I had never heard of Hilarion of Volokolamsk, and after reading this, I found myself reading his speech in Naples and then discovered this nobleman had been in the neighborhood, in Charlotte, a month or so ago, and now I'm enjoying reading his remarks delivered there.

Lots of bookmarks, stashed away.

Many thanks.

[omega4412]

The site with Metropolitan Hilarion's talk has a link at the bottom to "If Metropolitan Hilarion were to be elected the next Russian patriarch, the Great Schism of 1054 might end."

Speculation on that is way above my pay grade, but Hilarion has some interesting points:

The anti-Christian rhetoric of many politicians and statesmen becomes all the more open as they call for the total expulsion of religion from public life and the rejection of the basic moral norms common to all religious traditions.

The question is, does anyone know what Metropolitan Hilarion's FR screen name is?!