Posted on 03/20/2017 5:37:57 PM PDT by marshmallow
Moscow, March 17, Interfax - Representative of the Moscow Patriarchate calls extremely untimely the idea to bury Lenin's body and urges to introduce a moratorium on a war against political symbols in Russia.
"We understand that his presence on Red Square has nothing to do with Christian traditions. But we can raise a question about reburial only when a campaign on decommunization and desovietization is stopped in the post-Soviet territory. And afterwards, when we pose this question, we should base only on religious, not political grounds," first deputy chairman of the Synodal Department for Church, Society and Media relations, PhD Alexander Shchipkov writes in his article posted in Russian by Interfax-Religion.
Earlier, the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the revolution urged to liberate cities and towns from monuments to Lenin and to rid the center of Moscow of his body. According to the ROCOR, liberation of Red Square of "the remains of the main persecutor and executioner of the 20th century and the destruction of monuments to him" will become a symbol of "reconciliation of Russian people with the Lord."
The Moscow Patriarchate does not share such an opinion. "We see that our close neighbors use the theme of decommunization for the sake of derussification. Should we bring grist to this ideological mill? Certainly, no," Shchipkov writes.
He believes it is necessary to accept "a temporal moratorium on any war against political symbols in Russia, no matter what origin they have."
"It certainly does not mean that we should not return original Russian names to streets and cities. It should be done, but only out of historical, not political grounds. We should not get involved in political campaigns connected with political symbols. It is extremely destructive affair," the church official said.
For the same reason he believes it untimely to raise a question on reburial of Lenin's body "on clearly political motives."
According to the synodal department official, it is necessary to understand that both sides are responsible for fratricidal civil war, as a part of Russian people supported each of the sides.
"Our task is to overcome the schism, to unite people. We will not be able to achieve this aim recognizing that only one side of the civil war was right. It is possible to finish this war in people's hearts and minds only when we stop searching for the winners and will understand that the both sides historically lost the battle," Shchipkov stressed.
Lenin has to go, to make room for Vladimir, some 20 years out.
Lenin was an anti-God fanatic who ordered the murder of maybe half a million people.The only reason he didn’t order more, was that he himself died.
He was nearly worshipped thereafter as a god himself. (’Lenin lived, Lenin lives, and Lenin shall live!’)
Get rid of the false idol.
This doesn’t make any sense. What’s wrong with this guy?
That’s a bunch of BS gibberish.
Dear Russia: Keep your communist and socialist ideologies. Please keep sending the vodka and surplus firearms.
Sincerely,
CC
He’s right, they shouldn’t bury it. They should drag it out in the middle of Red Square and *burn* it.
Have they no wood chippers in Russia?
It seems to me what he's saying is that, in their zeal to rid Russia of all vestiges of it's Communist legacy, those in the Orthodox Church outside Russia have too much of an anti-Russian tone to them and that maybe they better wait until it can be done out of purely religious motives, not nationalistic ones.
I'm not agreeing with one side or the other, that just seems to me what's going on here.
This makes no sense to me at all. It’s as if the ROC has lost its mind.
State Church is as State Church does.
“State Church is as State Church does”
-Forresti Gumpovich
CC
I wonder how Russia is planning to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of The Bolshevik Revolution.
I agree. They should have buried Lenin 54 years before his death...
So the old KGB-run Moscow Patriarchate wants to keep Lenin’s idol. No surprise there.
IOW, they're waiting for more of the old school communists to depart this earthly existence.
“Untimely”?
Please... it’s never the wrong time to bury a Communist.
In particular, Lenin!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.