The Moscow Times - Homo Orthodoxus Are Destroying Russia

Vă ofer spre lectură un interesant articol (în limba engleză) despre starea relația dintre Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă și Statul Rus, o relație care îmi provoacă senzația unui fel de ”deja-vu”. Lectură cu folos!

Homo Orthodoxus Are Destroying Russia 

The Pussy Riot case is a useful case study to understand the religious views of a large segment of Russia's Orthodox Christian community, a group I will call "Homo Orthodoxus." 

First, this belief holds that God does not forgive. A typical example: During a recent demonstration against Pussy Riot, an Orthodox activist screamed "God does not forgive, and to claim otherwise is blasphemy," while beating a female supporter of the punk group. This unforgiving nature is such an important characteristic of God for the Homo Orthodoxus believers that they hold it in a category apart from the direct commandments of Christ.

The second belief of Homo Orthodoxus is that God bestows lavish material gifts on the church's leadership: luxury apartments, fancy cars and expensive Swiss watches. For the Homo Orthodoxus, such perks are part of being close to the Godhead. This is clearly reflected in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral, a commercial venue where pricey VIP tickets allow people to view the cathedral's holy relics without standing in the typically long line. 

Third, this God does not make any moral demands on his chosen followers but gives them full authority to make such demands on everybody else. This is a very important point. Christianity — at least theoretically — is a system of moral obligations that an individual willingly assumes. But the Homo Orthodoxus system is constructed differently. It allows for church leaders to... (articol integral - aici -)