Posted on 12/17/2004 9:02:06 PM PST by jb6
MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti) - Commerce is not to penetrate the Church, stressed Alexis II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, while addressing a diocesan conference of the Moscow clergy today.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church came down on such priests as succumb to the secular world's pressure, reports the conference press service.
"The Orthodox Christian mind is secularizing. The ecclesiastical spirit is receding. Spiritual blindness is coming in. Commerce is getting ever stronger in many aspects of parochial life as an alarming token of all those evils. Material interests come into the foreground ever more often to oust and strangle everything living and sublime.
"Nothing frightens the flock off religion worse than the clergy's cupidity. It is not for nothing greed for money is known as an abominable deathly passion, an infernal sin-betrayal of the Lord on a par with the sin of Judas," said the Patriarch.
He strongly warned against clerical fees for administering sacraments, especially baptism.
"We are in duty bound, and we are able to explain to the flock that churches are property of the entire people of God, so it is Christian duty to donate what each can afford to church maintenance. Yet our explanations are by no means to turn into begging donations, or forcing one into them. This must be a kind, fatherly explanation and encouragement."
Russia is getting through a demographic crisis, its population dwindling apace. There is an appalling number of abortions. Spiritual values are thrown overboard. That is the principal cause of those disastrous evils, the Patriarch went on. A majority of marriages end in divorce. The number of babies coming into the world lags desperately behind the number of babies killed in mother's womb. Ever more men and women turn to drugs and heavy drinking. Ever more commit suicide. That is what comes of "godless life, forgetfulness of the good, and ignorance of moral duty".
"We are doomed to live in a horrible time when our nation is extinguishing. We have every reason to say that its extinction has moral roots," the Patriarch went on.
"To kill a baby in mother's womb is the most heinous of deadly sins. That precept has always been part and parcel of the Church doctrine. Meanwhile, the number of abortions in Russia defies imagination year in, year out. The nation is dying out, and that is nothing surprising. Does this nation deserve to survive at all, we wonder."
From his invectives, the Patriarch went on to a more hopeful matter-Church statistics. The outgoing year added another 85 houses of prayer in Moscow. Now the city possesses 645 churches and chapels, as against 560 last year. More than a hundred added to the city clergy, 1,586 from last year's 1,485.
"At present, the Russian Orthodox Church possesses 132 dioceses, with a total 167 bishops. Twelve of them have retired. The Church has 26,590 parishes-12,638 of these in Russia," said the Primate.
There are 652 monastic abodes. Of these, Russia has 189 monasteries and 205 convents, Ukraine 79 monasteries and 76 convents, Belarus seven monasteries and 18 convents, and Moldova 25 monasteries and 24 convents.
Responsible for theological education in Moscow are three seminaries, a theological academy and, last but not least, the St. Tychon Orthodox Humanitarian University. It was upgraded to a university status this year, and presently has 3,732 students.
May God continue to bless this Vicar of Christ.
Don't miss this!
Thanks for the ping.
Maybe one good thing that will come out of these news stories about 'fetuses' is that people will rethink abortion. This isn't good news for abortionists or feminists.
"Arise, then, O Lord, our God; may Thine hand be lifted up. Forget not Thy wretched, miserable ones to the end. Let God also arise in the hearts of all the other nations of the present day, that they might extend to one another a mutual, brotherly embrace, having forgiven everything by the resurrection, and having ceased from the bloody fray; and that they might again acquire their spiritual strength, their happiness, and their true life in Christ, the Victor over hell and death."
I recall being about that pregnant. The horror of being killed and thinking your child was also being killed....I cannot even imagine it.
She was only 23 years old. I prayed for her off and on throughout the day. She never had the opportunity to hold that baby in her arms. There are just no words.
I didn't know abortion was a issue in Russia. Because contraceptives are not readily available, the average Russian woman has 30 abortions.
That sounds pretty wild to me. Where did you get that number?
I know they have a battle on their hands but 30??
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1289163/posts
This is a newer article, where a woman (about 3rd paragraph) admits to having 30 abortions. I can't find the older one which gives 30 as the average number. I'' do more searching.
Every pastor and religious leader in America should memorize this and put these ideas into practice!!!!
No, priests are not allowed to marry. They must marry before they are ordained and are never allowed to remarry. They also have large families, one it cuts down on the little boy molestations and two they can actually lecture you on marriage, since they know what they are talking about.
Actually it's a lot lower and has been dropping on its own for 15 years. Further, abortion after 12 weeks is illegal and partial birth abortion was always illegal. I'll give them 5 years before all non-medical emergency abortions are illegal.
I thought the number was closer to six not thirty. I am so thankful to see some committed folks in the Evangelical and Orthodox churches in reaching out to the youth to discuss moral and sexual purity. There is a great work to do!
Yes, it is really unbelievable that after that many times to an abortionist, she couldn't just get her tubes tied while there.
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