Posted on 01/22/2015 7:45:09 PM PST by marshmallow
MOSCOW--The head of the Russian Orthodox Church on Thursday delivered a historic first address to parliament in which he urged lawmakers to guard against Western "pseudo values".
Speaking to the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, Patriarch Kirill also warned Russians against interfering with "God's plan" by having abortions or using surrogate mothers.
Patriarch Kirill's address was the first time the head of the Russian Orthodox Church had delivered a major address to the State Duma in post-Soviet Russia.
"The idea of the absolute priority of freedom -- freedom of choice -- and the renunciation of the priority of moral norms have become a timebomb of sorts for Western civilisation," said the black-robed cleric in the speech repeatedly interrupted by applause.
He slammed Western countries for legalising same-sex marriages and euthanasia, saying the pattern of behaviour seen in some countries contradicted common sense and the instinct to preserve the human race.
Our country's ability to withstand the pressure of modern pseudo values, which are harmful for man and human civilisation on the whole, will depend to a great degree on the active stance of Russian lawmakers," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at thepeninsulaqatar.com ...
“Patriarch Kirill also warned Russians against interfering with “God’s plan” by having abortions...”
It would be interesting to know how much the numbers and attitudes have changed in Russia since the Soviet days. Abortion numbers in many the communist nations during the Cold War and shortly thereafter were often staggering. Romania’s abortion rate, for example, once hit 80% - 8 out of every 10 pregnancies ending in abortion.
Orthodox Christians can be pleased that the church in Russia is no longer persecuted and is making a contribution to society.
As long as that church is in thrall and bows down to master Putin, their God, it will “no longer be persecuted”. If it tries to be Christian, it’s a goner.
Based on what I know about Russia, it seems that very few are listening to this advice. It is still mostly drinking, fighting, and abortion.
If that is true, and I am pretty sure it probably is, then "Russia" and "values" shouldn't be used in the same sentance.
I don’t know what things are like in Russia. Orthodox Russians I know here tend to be cconservative and traditional. I was listening to Sputnik Radio tonight and they had a long discussion on the need for traditional values. A big change from the days of Radio Moscow! At least the government, church, and perhaps the media there seem to be encouraging traditional values, in contrast to what we are getting from the government, some churches, and the media here.
According to this Russia’s abortion rate has declined steeply from the unreal numbers in the early 90’s. This says there where around 42 abortions per 100 live births in 2012 Russia, in 2003 USA there were 24 from what I have found.
“So, in 2012 there were about 42 abortions per 100 live births, not 130. The last time the number of abortions exceeded the number of births by 30% or more was in 2002. Additionally, rather than representing “the most grisly statistic the world has ever seen,” an abortion rate 30% larger than the birth rate was actually a huge improvement from rates that prevailed in the early 1990s”
According to this, in Russia there was a peak of something like 280 abortions per 100 live births in the early 90’s. It could be that they are just using better western style birth control now, I suppose. Does anyone know if there is an official Russian Orthodox position on birth control within marriage? I have heard different things from posters on here before.
Freegards
New churches are opening each week—The churches are full and church groups are helping to bring the word of God and his son to prisoners, orphanages and old people’s homes. The impact has been profound. Russia has improved for it. In several regards they realize that their war against Islam is a holy war—they reject modern concepts of Gay culture—and Gay Mariage. Maybe in time they will open up to new ideas—but they are NOT PC—or Mulicultural. They have a long way to go in Russia but they are now on the right path.
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