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Russian Church Should be Open to Debate - Patriarch Kirill

03 April 2012 18:38 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA.The Russian Orthodox Church should be ready for public debates with its opponents but not reply in kind to a smear campaign against it, the churchâ€™s leader, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, said on Tuesday, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

â€œToday, we are all witnesses to a powerful antichurch rhetoric that unfortunately coincided in time with the Great Lent,â€ the patriarch said while speaking at a meeting of the Churchâ€™s Supreme Church Council he led.

â€œWe hear many attacks on the Church, to begin with the infamous case in the Christ the Savior Cathedral, followed by three appalling desecrations of churches,â€ Patriarch Kirill said.

In February, five members of the all-female punk group Pussy Riot, clad in bright balaclavas, chanted a song entitled â€œHoly Sh*tâ€ against Vladimir Putin that also contained words insulting to Patriarch Kirill in Moscowâ€™s downtown Christ the Savior Cathedral. The performance took place next to the main altar, which is off-limits to all but priests.

The group said the performance was a response to Patriarch Kirillâ€™s support for President-elect Putin in the run-up to his March 4 election victory. Their actions have been widely condemned by believers and the Church.

The females have been charged with hooliganism, which means they may face up to seven years behind bars. Their detention on charges of hooliganism pending trial split Russian society on the issue of possible punishment. However, the Church has said it would ask authorities for leniency should the sentence be too harsh.

â€œAfter that, there were personal attacks on my humble self,â€ the patriarch said apparently referring to a recent high-profile scandal involving his neighbor and fellow Orthodox priest, doctor and former health minister Yury Shevchenko.

A court ruled that Shevchenko should pay some 20 million rubles ($682,000) for damage caused to the patriarchâ€™s downtown apartment by dust from repairs conducted in his own apartment below. Many people said the sum was unjustifiably big and should not be claimed.

Russian tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets reported that Patriarch Kirill and Yury Shevchenko have been in conflict for a long time, in particular because Shevchenko, who had good relations with previous Russian Patriarch Alexy II, went to Ukraine to be ordained by a Ukrainian archbishop rather than turning to the new Patriarch when Kirill was enthroned in 2009 following Alexyâ€™s death.

â€œThat is why we can certainly say we deal with a certain information strategy against the Church,â€ the patriarch said.

He said Russian Church representatives should be â€œready for public and open debates and remember that ill-wishers may use â€˜weak points in their speechesâ€™ against the Church.â€

â€œWe should not become like those who lie, slander, and are full of malice. We should not reply in kind, otherwise the uniqueness of our message to the world is lost,â€ the patriarch said.

â€œOn the other hand, we should never lose spiritual sight, or fail to realize what is going on, or take the stream of lies and slander that is falling upon the Church at its face value,â€ he said. â€œWe should work out reasonable answers that we would never be ashamed of.â€

Patriarch Kirill said the Churchâ€™s reaction to conflict situations should not be associated with â€œaggressiveness or harshnessâ€ but should be focused on Christ and its core should be the message of salvation.

â€œWhile assessing the information stream from the Church, I, frankly speaking, do not always notice this core,â€ he said.

The patriarch thanked all those who opposed attempts to damage the Churchâ€™s reputation.