Interview with the patriarch. Christmas interview with Patriarch Kirill to Rossiya TV channel

– Your Holiness, thank you for this traditional Christmas interview. But this year our conversation differs from all previous ones in that Russia is leading fighting. How should a believer feel about this? It is clear that we are talking, first of all, about Orthodox Christians, but also about Muslims.

– Killing a person is a sin. Cain killed Abel, and having embarked on the path of committing sin, humanity found itself in a situation where a violent method of influencing an individual, a group of people, or a country quite often turns out to be a means and way of resolving conflicts. This, of course, is the most extreme and most sinful way. But the Gospel contains amazing words, the essence of which is that blessed is the one who gives his life for another (see John 15:13).

What does this mean? This means that participation in certain activities that could result in death can be justified. The Gospel clearly describes in what cases this is possible - when you give your life for others. As a matter of fact, this is what the idea of a just war is built on. Even Blessed Augustine tried to describe the parameters of such a war back in the 5th century. Now, perhaps, there are slightly different ideas, but the essence remains the same: military actions are justified when they protect a person, society, and the state.

What is happening today in seemingly distant Syria, which in fact is not distant at all, it is literally our neighbor, is the defense of the Fatherland. Many people speak clearly about this today, because if terrorism wins in Syria, it has a huge chance, if not to win, then to extremely darken the life of our people, to bring misfortune and disaster. Therefore, this war is defensive - not so much a war as targeted influence. But, nevertheless, this is the participation of our people in hostilities, and as long as this war is defensive in nature, it is fair.

Besides, we all know very well what terrible troubles terrorism brings. Our people went through terrible trials - Beslan, Volgograd, it is impossible to list them all. We are burned by this pain, we know what it is. What about our plane that was shot down over Sinai? Therefore, all that happens is a defensive response. In this sense, we boldly talk about a fair fight.

In addition, there is another very important point. Through our actions we are participating in the salvation of many people in Syria and the Middle East. I remember how in 2013, when we celebrated the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus', Patriarchs and representatives of all Local Orthodox Churches came to Moscow. We met with Vladimir Vladimirovich in the Kremlin, and the main topic was to save the Christian presence in the Middle East. This was a general appeal to the President. I do not want to say that this particular motive is decisive, but we are talking about protecting people who are unjustly destroyed as a result of terrorist actions - including, of course, the Christian community.

Therefore, like any war and everything military action, associated with the death of people, and this war is grief and can be a sin. But as long as it protects people's lives and our country, we treat it as a just action aimed at achieving just goals.

– Your Holiness, you are talking about saving people, but this war (I mean the war in Syria and our military operation as part of it) complicates the position of the Orthodox in the world - in any case, they are associated with Russia...

– As they say, there was nowhere to go further. The situation of Christians in Syria, Iraq, and many other countries has reached the extreme. Today, Christians are the most oppressed religious community, not only where there are clashes with Islamic extremists, but also in many other places, including prosperous Europe, where public display of Christian feelings, such as openly wearing a cross, can lead to the person will be fired from work. We know how Christianity is being squeezed out of public space - in many countries today the word “Christmas” is no longer used.

Christians are indeed in a very difficult situation, and what is happening now in Syria, it seems to me, will not worsen it. On the contrary, we know cases of return from captivity, we know cases of liberation of Christians and entire Christian settlements, places of their compact residence. From the reaction we are receiving from our brethren, it is quite clear that they look with hope at Russia's participation in this war of liberation, in these actions aimed at overcoming terrorism.

– In that case, to what extent is what is happening in Syria now a religious war? What can be opposed to fanatics who, as they say, are driven by faith? What is the nature of this phenomenon?

– It has already become commonplace to say that this is not a religious war, and I subscribe to this attitude towards this conflict. Let me give you a historical example. Relations between Christians and Muslims in history have not been rosy. We know that there were cases of forced conversion to Islam and the conquest of Christian territories by Byzantium. But, if we leave out the actual military actions, which were always accompanied by losses on both sides, then nothing like what is happening now has ever happened in the Islamic world.

Take even the example of the Ottoman Empire. There was a certain order of relations between religious communities. The keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher are still in the hands of an Arab Muslim. This is all from those very Turkish times, when a Muslim was responsible for security and for the custody of Christian shrines. That is, a way of interaction between communities was developed, which, of course, cannot be called the most favored nation regime, but people lived, fulfilled their religious duties, patriarchies existed, the Church existed - and all this in ancient times, in the 1st millennium or in the so-called Dark Middle Ages .

But then enlightened times came - the end of the 20th and beginning of XXI century. So what do we see? Genocide of Christians, as we just said, the extermination of the Christian population. The presence of Christians in Iraq and Syria has decreased by an order of magnitude; people are fleeing for fear of being exterminated as whole families...

There is such a thing as fanaticism, that is, an idea taken to the point of absurdity. So, fanatics believe that they have the right to control the destinies of people, that is, to freely decide whether a Christian community should exist or not - most often, that it should not exist, because Christians are “infidels” and are subject to destruction. This fanatical idea itself, taken to the point of absurdity, is contrary to the religious idea, contrary to God. God did not call on anyone to destroy in the name of a relationship with Him or, better said, for the sake of displaying religious feelings. Therefore, behind fanaticism, in the end, there is godlessness, only the dark mass of people who are drawn into these terrible actions do not understand this. To act this way is to reject God and God's world.

– Are fanatics atheists?

– Fanatics are de facto atheists. Although they will talk about their belonging to the faith and even perform certain religious rituals, by their convictions, by their views, these are people who deny His will and God’s peace. It couldn’t be otherwise. In order to create a terrorist community, people need to be inspired to hate, and hatred is not from God, it comes from another source. Therefore, when we talk about so-called religious fanaticism, extremism and terrorism, we are talking about a phenomenon associated with a person’s refusal to be a believer and to be in union with God.

– The world is divided, and perhaps the fight against terrorism is a chance for it? Can the fight against terrorism unite humanity, and if so, on what basis?

– Perhaps, tactically, it will reconcile some forces to solve common problems, but they can never unite the fight against someone. We need a positive agenda. We need a value system that unites people, and let me take this opportunity today to say something about the phenomenon of religious terrorism that I have never said before.

How do they lure people into the terrorist community? Money, drugs, some kind of promises - all this, so to speak, non-idealistic factor works in full. And there is no need to idealize everyone who joins this community. Very many are driven exclusively by strict pragmatic interests - to profit, to conquer, to steal, to seize. The same use of Syrian oil fully demonstrates the presence of a thirst for profit and conquest.

But there are also honest people, or at least those who join the ranks of terrorists for truly religious reasons. I’m sure there is, because people respond to the call of extremists most often in mosques, after prayer, but how can you influence a person who has just prayed to force him to take up arms? It is necessary to connect his religious feelings, his faith with very specific arguments, aimed, among other things, at participation in military operations and everything else that accompanies terrorist activity. What could be the argument - have we ever thought about it? “You become a fighter for the caliphate.” - “What is the caliphate?” “And this is a society where faith and God are at the center, where religious laws dominate. You are creating a new civilization in relation to the one that is now established in the world - godless, secular and also radical in its secularism.”

We now see that this godless civilization is really attacking, including the rights of people, which are proclaimed as almost the highest value - but you cannot wear a cross. Parades of sexual minorities can be held, this is welcomed, and a million-strong demonstration of French Christians in defense family values dispersed by the police. If you call unconventional relationships a sin, as the Bible tells us, and you are a priest or pastor, you may not only lose your opportunity to minister, but you may also go to prison.

I can continue to give simply terrible examples of how this godless civilization is advancing. And this is what the finger is pointed at at young people who are seduced by extremists. “Look what kind of world they are building - a devilish world, and we invite you to build the world of God.” And they respond to this, they go to give their lives for this. Then they can use drugs and whatever they want, but in order to motivate a person to fight, you must first show him the enemy. Which is what they do, naming specific addresses and saying why certain people are enemies in relation to you, and perhaps in relation to the entire human race.

Therefore, reconciliation must not be done on the basis of the fight against terrorism. We all need to think about the ways of development of human civilization, we all need to think about how to combine modern scientific and technological or, as they now say, post-industrial society with those spiritual and religious values without which a person cannot live. The Church can be oppressed, pushed aside, people can be deprived of the opportunity to fulfill their religious needs, but religious feelings cannot be killed, and this is well known.

It is necessary to combine human freedom with moral responsibility. It is necessary to give every person the opportunity to live in accordance with God's law. There is no need to limit the manifestation of religious feelings and at the same time there is no need to limit the freedom of human choice. If we can connect all these components, we will build a viable civilization. And if we fail, then we are doomed to constant struggle and constant suffering. It is impossible by tug of war, by the victory of one model over another, by creating some artificial forms of human society that do not correspond to either moral nature or religious feeling, try to build the future. And if humanity manages to achieve a moral consensus, if this moral consensus can somehow be included in international law, into legislation, that is, a chance to build a fair global civilizational system.

– You talk about chance and mentioned France. In France, after these terrible terrorist attacks in Paris, the national response to them was a call to prayer - and this in a country where, according to statistics, Christians are already a minority, less than half. So what was it? Taking advantage of that chance you were talking about?

– It was a natural reaction of people. You know, the same thing happened after September 11 in New York - churches of all faiths and religions began to overflow with people. The same thing happened when the seemingly completely atheized Soviet society turned to God during the Great Patriotic War. The temples were overcrowded; as people who participated in the hostilities told me, there was not a single atheist on the front line. When a person comes face to face with a danger that he cannot overcome on his own and even together with others, he turns to God - and he hears this answer from God! Otherwise they would not have turned to Him.

Therefore, taking us through some trials, the Lord, of course, is waiting for our conversion. And in this sense, I very highly appreciate what is happening in our country today. I do not idealize what is happening, but I see how slowly, not without difficulty, but there is a certain rapprochement of two principles in the life of our people, how there is a certain synthesis of the material, scientific, technical principle, people’s aspiration for a prosperous life with the growth of their spiritual needs. I can't say that we have achieved much. We may be at the very beginning of the path, but this is a very correct path. When I see young people, educated, successful, with bright, strong faith in the heart, - you know, the soul rejoices. You see the image of the new Russia - in fact, this is worth living for.

– Your Holiness, when you talk about our country, then, of course, we recognize Russia. On the other hand, you have more than one country, for example. Ukraine is also your country, and Russian Orthodox Church Every service he offers prayers for Ukraine, for the suffering. How do you assess the processes taking place in Ukraine?

– For me, Ukraine is the same as Russia. There are my people, the Church, which the Lord blessed me to lead during this historical period of time. This is my joy and my pain. This is the reason for sleepless nights and the reason for the high enthusiasm that sometimes visits me when I think about people who with such strength and faith defend their convictions, their right to remain Orthodox.

What is happening in Ukraine today, of course, fills the heart with anxiety. We are witnesses scary stories with the capture of temples. The village of Ptichye, Rivne region. Several women, two priests sit huddled together for several days - it’s cold, the electricity is off, there’s no heat, there’s no food, there’s no water. Miraculously, one managed to make a phone call, and we learned about what was happening inside. And there is a roaring crowd around, demanding to throw these people out and hand over the temple that they built, which belongs to them, to another religious group, which we call schismatics, which does not belong to the canonical Church. The court stands for the rights of the believers of our Church, but no government protects these rights.

Maybe someone will say: “Well, what are you talking about a special case? You look at the life of the country as a whole.” But what does this mean? People have chosen the so-called European path of development - well, they have chosen and chosen, no one is tearing their hair out about this and no one is trying to interfere with this path. Well, follow this path! Is terror a factor in modern European life, with all its costs that we talked about? Is it possible to attract people to the European path of development in this way, when for many it is associated with blood and suffering? Not to mention the hunger and misfortune of many people...

And this is what I would like to say, and I know that my words will be heard in Ukraine. This whole struggle is going on, among other things, for a conciliar Ukraine, for the preservation of its unity. But how can unity be maintained in this way? After all, people who do not want to repeat the experience of the village of Ptichye - they will fight with all their might so that the government that condones such a seizure of churches and the oppression of believers does not come to their home! So this kind of policy encourages division Ukrainian people. Therefore, from a pragmatic point of view, this is stupid. We need to unite people, and we can unite, as everyone knows from the example of family relationships, only with love, openness, and a willingness to hear. Efforts need to be made to make everyone feel good, we need to calm down the overzealous who are trying to rock the boat, we need to give others a chance to prove themselves. But, unfortunately, nothing like this is happening in Ukraine today.

I have only one hope, that there is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a Confessor Church, which today really unites the people. Not a single political force unites the people, not a single political force works for a conciliar Ukraine, especially those loudest talking people who proclaim the idea of a conciliar Ukraine as their political program. They do not work for this program, but the Ukrainian Orthodox Church works, which unites both the east, and the west, and the north, and the south, which humbly but courageously tells the truth, which leads people to unification, and this is the only way and only with this unifying factor can be linked to the prosperous future of Ukraine.

I pray for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, for the episcopate of our Church, for the clergy, for the believing people, and I believe that in this way Ukraine will survive and will be a prosperous, peaceful, calm country, friendly towards its neighbors, open towards Europe. No one will feel bad from this, so God forbid that it be so.

– Ukraine is going through difficult times not only spiritually, but also materially. The people have fallen into poverty, and the economic crisis is affecting both Russia and many countries of the world. People who only yesterday considered themselves middle class are becoming poorer and starting to feel poor, even if they do not live poorly, but in a material sense they are worse off than yesterday. They develop a certain low self-esteem, and recently such a worldview has developed that only a good life, and a bad life is not needed at all. This leads to the fact that someone may even commit suicide, someone falls into despair, gives up... Still, the value of life - how does it change, and does it change, in conditions of an economic crisis, in conditions of a shortage of something? ?

– I think it all depends on what’s inside a person. After all, we, and our parents, went through difficult periods, from an economic point of view, much more difficult than now. Now, in general, the severity is relative - a person earns a little more or less, but God forbid that the economic situation worsens, but in general there is no tragedy in the country today. Therefore, faint-hearted, internally weak, empty people become disappointed.

If you associate all your well-being only with money, if well-being is measured by the quality of your vacation, the material conditions of your life, then the slightest reduction in consumption may seem like a monstrous tragedy. And what does it mean? This means that the person is not very viable. He cannot always live in some particularly favorable conditions; and even if the conditions are materially favorable, then everything happens in his soul. How often do quite prosperous people go through a crisis? family life, through despair, how many suicides there are among rich and prosperous people!

The only thing that we should fight against, that we should never allow, that we need to eradicate, is to eradicate poverty. There is a difference between poverty and destitution. This is very well said by Dostoevsky in Crime and Punishment. There Marmeladov philosophizes about this, that poverty does not destroy pride, that is, a certain self-confidence, but poverty sweeps people out of human communication...

- “Poverty is not a vice, poverty is a vice”...

– In fact, poverty throws a person out of society. Who will communicate with the unfortunate tramp who spends the night on the street, who will let him into the house? A poor person, cleanly dressed, intelligent, will be allowed in, they will talk, and they will hire him, but a beggar - that’s all, he is an outcast. But these are our people, these are not some aliens who came down to us. What if you delve into the history of these poor people? Often they were prosperous a year or two ago, but various circumstances - raider seizure of an apartment, loss of work, loss of health - lead to this state.

Therefore, one of our national tasks should be to ensure that there is no poverty in Russia, that there are no homeless people in Russia. The Church is trying to do everything in its power to help, to warm in winter time, wash, dress, give advice, buy a ticket home. These are not very significant measures, but a program for the complete eradication of poverty must be adopted on a national scale.

But even with all this, we will not solve the problem of human happiness. No reduction in interest rates or increase in income will play a decisive role. I'm saying this because it's on everyone's lips right now, people are very concerned about what's happening with their investments in banks, with loans, with everything else. This, of course, is important, I am not minimizing this problem, but I want to say that it is by no means what primarily determines what human life and human happiness mean.

But when it comes to your internal state, you need to work every day. After all, what is faith? This is a way of constant self-control and influence on your soul, on your consciousness. When we pray morning and evening, we must subject ourselves to careful analysis. I know that sometimes it’s hard for people to read prayers, because they don’t do well in Slavic, and they don’t seem to have enough time, but there’s enough time to think about yourself, reflect on your life, on the day that’s passed. So do it before the face of God! Subject your actions to analysis, control them, ask God for forgiveness and admonition so as not to repeat mistakes. I spoke to someone incorrectly, raised my voice at someone, scolded someone, caused pain to someone, offended someone, deceived someone...

If we talk to God about all this and ask for His help, then we will change ourselves, we will change our inner world. We will become stronger, and our well-being depends on this inner spiritual strength - in my opinion, to a much greater extent than on external material factors. Although these factors should not be minimized, taking into account everything that we have said in connection with the miserable existence of many of our citizens.

– Your Holiness, I cannot help but ask this question in the coming year. We will celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the Russian monastic presence on Mount Athos. How should you celebrate this holiday?

– This is a very important event in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the history of Athos and, of course, of the entire universal Orthodoxy. On Mount Athos, in our monasteries on the eve of this holiday, grandiose restoration work was and is being carried out. Private philanthropists are investing heavily in the restoration of Russian Athonite monasteries, and we really hope that in celebration of this event our monasteries, which fell into disrepair during the 20th century, will be transformed because there was no influx of monks and ties with Russia were severed.

Also in our country there will be scientific conferences, carried out numerous research projects and publications. We want to involve our scientific community, our intelligentsia and, of course, our people in this celebration. Why? Yes, because Athos was, is and will be a center that has a special spiritual significance for us, for all our people. Surprisingly, Athos has played, is playing and will apparently continue to play an important role in the Christianization of our society. After all, many go there for the sake of the exotic - just to see what kind of place it is, where women are not allowed, where the monks are self-governing, some kind of state within a state... They come - and in their hearts they feel the grace of God that resides there, and forever maintain a connection with Athos. This connection brings many people to God and strengthens their spiritual life. Therefore, the anniversary, in addition to being cultural, historical significance, also has great spiritual significance for our people.

– What will be most important for your flock in Russia and the world in the coming year? What to avoid, what to strive for?

- None specific advice I can't give it now. Because for each person it is all very individual, and what is good for one may not be very good for another. And some general advice, general wishes do not really touch the mind and heart... But I would like to say about very important things that will help in implementing plans and overcoming life’s difficulties.

We have already said that it is good every morning and every evening, standing before God, to analyze your life, repent and act in the future in accordance with this analysis, but now I would like to talk about prayer in general. This is a completely special phenomenon, because God created us autonomous, including from Him. He gave us such freedom that we can believe in Him or not, live according to His law or not live, turn to Him or not turn to Him. Then we simply live according to the laws and elements of this world. There are physical laws, and we live by these laws, or we ourselves create some laws and live by them. And prayer is a way out of this autonomy. The man says: “You created me this way, but I want to be with You.” Prayer is bringing God into your own life. Through prayer, we seem to make God our co-worker. We say: “Help, come into my life, limit my freedom,” because very often we do not know what to do.

So they come to the priest and say: “Father, should I get married or not?”, “Should I get married or not?” I always tell confessors: “Be careful with such answers, how can you know?” These are the questions a person should address to God, as well as, perhaps, smaller questions related to everyday life. When we ask God, when we pray, we establish a connection with Him, God is really present in our lives, and we become stronger. This is the first thing I would like to wish people: learn to pray. Learning to pray means learning to be strong, and what will hinder our connection with God in any case is when we deliberately sin. Of course, we can repent - sincere repentance removes sin and responsibility for it, but, what is very important, if we consciously live in unrepentant sin, then our prayers do not reach God. Sin is the only wall that really separates us from God. There is a wall, and this contact is not there, the circuit does not close...

– Unrepentant sin?

- Unrepentant sin. Therefore, when we realize that we are doing wrong, we need to repent, first of all, before God, and if anyone has the strength and capabilities, then in church before the priest. This is the second thing I would wish for. By the way, confession is not before a priest, but before God; the priest is only a witness to the fact of repentance. The sinner was excommunicated from church communion, he could not receive communion, he could not enter the church, and therefore there had to be a witness to his repentance in order to say: “Yes, he can come, he can pray with us.” This is where the tradition of repentance comes from in the presence of a priest, but in the face of God.

Well, the last thing I would like to say. Our life becomes pleasing to God if we simply do good deeds. In these good deeds many people are in need - from those closest to us with whom we live, to those whom we meet through our line of work, in different life circumstances. If we learn to do good, we will become happy people, because good multiplies good. This is what I would like to wish for myself, you and everyone who listens and sees us.

– Thank you sincerely for this important interview for everyone, Your Holiness. Thank you.

Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

Photo: Tsvetan Tomchev - newspaper "Trud"

On the eve of his visit to Bulgaria, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' answered questions from Bulgarian journalists representing the Trud newspaper, Bulgarian National Television and Bulgarian National Radio.

— Your Holiness, what message to the Bulgarian people are you going to Bulgaria with?

- With the same message with which the patriarchs usually come to Bulgaria, and with approximately the same message with which the Bulgarian patriarchs come to Russia. The Russian and Bulgarian Churches have very long history brotherly relations. Precisely because our peoples are mostly Orthodox, because our peoples have much in common in culture and even language, Bulgaria has always been perceived in Russia as a fraternal country. History convincingly confirms this thesis. I will come in connection with the celebration of the 140th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria, and I would like to say that it was the Russian Church, performing prayer services in almost all churches of Russia for the suffering Bulgarian people, that formed public opinion, which influenced political decisions regarding Russia's participation in military operations in the Balkans. It is difficult to say whether the then Russian government to make such sacrifices without support from below, without popular support. Tens of thousands died, tens of thousands were maimed, lost their health, and this sacrifice was explained by the most important and powerful argument - we give our lives for our fellow believers. No matter how the political situation develops - and it develops differently, just as the political relations between Russia and Bulgaria have developed differently - the relations between the Russian and Bulgarian Churches have always been and remain fraternal and the warmest. Suffice it to say that when the so-called Bulgarian-Greek schism arose and the Bulgarian Church was not recognized in the family of Local Orthodox Churches, then in 1945 the decisive voice of the Russian Orthodox Church in defense of the Bulgarian Church became decisive, which ultimately led to the recognition of the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Church by the world Orthodoxy. And in 1953, the same decisive voice of the Russian Church contributed to the recognition of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, which, as is known, at one time ceased to exist due to the policies of Turkey. After 1953, for 8 years it was necessary to convince some Orthodox Churches so that the Bulgarian Patriarchate would be recognized by all. And here I cannot help but remember the name of my teacher, Metropolitan Nikodim, a man well known in Bulgaria, at least at that time, who did a lot to persuade the Local Orthodox Churches to unconditionally recognize the Bulgarian Patriarchate.

There have been such episodes in our history, and I think that the fraternal relations between our Churches have stood the test of time. I would also like to note the important fact that many Bulgarians received their education in religious institutions of the Russian Church, and Russian Orthodox people studied in Bulgaria. We have a Russian courtyard in Sofia and a Bulgarian courtyard in Moscow. All these are the very bonds that maintain good relations between our Churches and, I hope, have a positive impact on relations between our peoples.

— Do you think that the modern information idol - the Internet - robs a person of spirituality?

— Idols are generally created by people, and in every era, their own. More recently, television was such an idol - perhaps it still is for many people. People stop reading books and even newspapers, and spend all their leisure time in front of the TV screen, so the Internet is not something unique in this regard. And before television, a huge role was played by newspapers, various kinds of political texts - and what not! To fall into slavery to the Internet or not - and an idol is what dominates human consciousness - depends on the person. In the same way, whether to become a slave to alcohol or not depends on the person.

In every era, in every time, in every nation, people face different challenges, and the task of the Church is to teach a person to be free. Free from external pressure, and it can be political, cultural, informational. Perhaps the main mission of Christianity is modern world and is to protect a person from slavery - against the backdrop of loud statements about freedom as the main human value. Because political freedom does not provide true freedom of spirit. You can be politically free, but enslaved by fashion, a system of false values and ideals that are vigorously instilled by means mass media And popular culture. And a person who relies on a system of Christian values is able to evaluate everything that happens around him, not following this or that political or information fashion, but remaining free. If the Church copes with this task, then we will help modern man to remain free, and therefore to maintain hope for the fullness of life. Because a materially rich, but spiritually unfree person cannot be happy.

— We heard about problems with Orthodox churches in Ukraine and, presumably, about the persecution of Orthodox Christians. Is there any truth to these stories?

— Yes, the situation in Ukraine is very difficult, real persecution has befallen the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Just recently, 50 temples have been seized by force. There are constant attacks on churches, priests and laity are beaten. There are documentary footage of how this happens - a priest in vestments is covered in blood, and he is beaten and called an occupier, although he is a Ukrainian, born in Ukraine, speaking Ukrainian. He is beaten only because he is in the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which local authorities and nationalist forces call the occupier church. It’s a monstrous situation, but, unfortunately, we don’t hear of Ukraine being seriously criticized for violating human rights and religious freedoms. And this is not just a violation of rights - a monstrous violation, with the use of violence, and all this was recorded on television, in various kinds of documents.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church today is the only one in Ukraine peacekeeping force. After all, Ukrainian society is very divided, and what is happening in Donbass is Civil War, due to the fact that part of Ukraine did not accept what is accepted in another part of the country. Ukrainian society turned out to be very polarized. There are practically no real peacekeeping forces, and only the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has peacemaking potential. Why? Because she has a flock in the east, and in the west, and in the center.

Recently, the Ukrainian Church organized a grand peacemaking religious procession. Believers from the east and believers from the west, hundreds of thousands of people, went to Kyiv, and it was a procession for the sake of peace, for the sake of reconciliation within Ukrainian society. And we really hope that the political turbulence will pass and the people will live in peace again; Human rights will be respected, including religious freedoms, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will continue to continue its ministry. There is such hope, and we pray for it.

— In Bulgaria there is an extremely negative attitude towards the so-called Istanbul Convention, or, rather, to that part of it, which in practice declares the biological essence of men and women meaningless. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church opposes this document. Does the Russian Orthodox Church have a position on this issue?

— The same as that of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The document you are talking about declares that the panacea for troubles that can arise within the family, including violence against women, is intervention in family life by public organizations. We are categorically against this. The state, of course, should not allow violence, but under the guise of fighting violence, one cannot interfere in the holy of holies of a person’s personal life - family relationships. In addition, this same document presupposes an appropriate attitude towards such a phenomenon as same-sex unions, and the Orthodox Church categorically does not accept them.

Therefore, for doctrinal and theological reasons, it is very difficult for the Orthodox to agree with such documents. I welcome the fact that Russia has not signed or ratified this document, and I have great understanding and sympathy for the position of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which opposes the ratification of this document by Bulgaria.

— History remembers periods of crises in relations between the Orthodox Churches of Russia and Bulgaria. How do these relationships develop in last years?

— I would like to say that there has never been a crisis in relations between the Churches. Crisis relations occurred between states. There was a period when there were no diplomatic relations; there was a period when, during military operations, Russia and Bulgaria were on opposite sides of the barricades. But the Churches have always been together - this has been the case throughout history. I have already spoken about the Russian Church’s support of Bulgarian Orthodoxy when it was not recognized by Greek Orthodoxy, when there was the so-called Bulgarian-Greek schism. I also mentioned the active position of the Russian Church in ensuring the autocephalous status of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Bulgarian Patriarchate. Therefore, there were no dark, difficult pages in our inter-church relations, and this is very important. Because if there are no dark pages in relations between Churches, then there cannot be any in relations between peoples. As for politics, the political context often changes, and it is important that fraternal peoples, regardless of this, maintain good relations and a common system of values.

— How do you, Your Holiness, feel about ecumenism?

— Ecumenism is a Protestant concept; we use it only as a technical term. In fact, we are talking about inter-Christian cooperation, and if we talk about theological cooperation, it is very, very difficult today, primarily due to the fact that Protestant churches have always, throughout history, walked in the wake of secular thought. Today, liberal trends in Protestant theology are the result of the influence on Protestant theologians and Protestant churches of secular concepts, including human rights and freedoms, which imply, among other things, a change in attitudes towards the sexes, support for same-sex unions, and so on. Therefore, unfortunately, in theological terms we are now at a standstill, and I do not see the possibility of real movement forward in the coming years. But the Orthodox are not to blame for this. We constantly tell our Protestant brothers: we need to have more freedom, more spirit and the ability to say no. strong of the world this. The Orthodox have learned to say “no,” because we have had a very difficult history, including in relations with the authorities. Unfortunately, in the Protestant world today we see the capitulation of basic Christian ideas to liberal philosophical approaches to the human person.

As for practical interaction, despite all the theological differences, we have, I would say, good experience of working together in different areas. In particular, a serious dialogue is now being established on the interaction of the Orthodox Churches, the Catholic Church and Protestant churches in providing humanitarian aid in Syria. I think the fact of cooperation between Orthodox Christians and Protestants and Catholics in the humanitarian sphere is very positive, and we must develop it. Likewise, I think that since the space for theological dialogue has narrowed dramatically and we have lost the prospect of reaching agreements in the field of theology, other areas remain, such as cultural dialogue. Religions have always played an important role in culture, and today cultural dialogue through religious organizations, through churches could help establish greater mutual understanding between people. So I see that there remains space for joint action in the humanitarian and cultural spheres.

— Orthodoxy is often accused of Caesar-papism, of subordinating the Church to the authorities. What is the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the state, where is the place of the Church in the state?

— In pre-revolutionary times, the Orthodox Church in Russia was under the authority of the state; I'm not even talking about the Greek Churches located in territories controlled by Islam - it is generally difficult to talk about any kind of freedom and independence of the Church there. But also in Russian Empire, according to all laws starting from Peter I, the actual head of the Church was the emperor, and the Church was included in the state system. She was part of this system and suffered greatly from it, because she was deprived of the opportunity to address the public with a message concerning not only personal morality, but also social or political issues. The emperor spoke on behalf of the Church, but the Church was silent. Many problems that began to arise in the 18th and especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries and ultimately led to revolutionary events took shape in this vacuum. The Church did not have the opportunity to directly address people; society did not hear its voice on the most important pressing issues of the day. These are the results of Caesar-papism.

Then came a difficult time of persecution, when there was no talk of any Caesar-papism. It was about survival, and you know that hundreds of thousands of martyrs and confessors died on the territory of the former Soviet Union, but remained faithful to Orthodoxy and the Church.

As for current conditions, the Church in Russia is separated from the state. The state does not interfere in any way in church affairs, and the Church does not interfere in state affairs. The Patriarch never speaks with the head of state on the topic of appointing government officials, just as never during the entire time of my patriarchate (and I know that during the patriarchate of my predecessor, His Holiness Alexy), none of the government officials discussed with the Patriarch the topic of appointing bishops or other clergy. We have complete autonomy in all internal matters. But the Church plays a large role in society, and a significant percentage of people identify themselves with Orthodoxy. Not such a large percentage goes to church on Sundays, although they do. According to the latest statistics, 80% of the population said they know what it is Lent, and a significant portion reported that they would fast during Lent. Now you can find the Lenten menu in government institutions, and in secular restaurants, that is, people began to very actively perceive Orthodox traditions and participate in them.

Nothing like Caesar-Papism in modern Russia, of course not. We value the opportunity to make decisions that are not determined by any external force, including the state. But, in addition, we must remember that the Moscow Patriarchate is a Church not only Russian Federation, but also Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and in general we are present in 60 countries of the world. There can be no talk of any Caesar-Papism, because Caesar-Papism in one state may not suit another state very much. Therefore, we believe that the Church should be independent of the state, that is, remain free to make decisions that affect its internal life.

— We are seeing more and more difficulties in the process of introducing young people to the Church, as well as in the matter of Christian education. Are there similar difficulties in Russia, and how do you cope with the secular orientation of society?

— There is a youth problem. Still, the majority of young people do not attend churches, this is obvious. But the number of active youth in the Church is growing. We believe that working with young people today is a priority for the Russian Orthodox Church, and have taken concrete steps to help us strengthen our work among young people. Thus, we carried out a reform of parish life in Russia. We insist that in parishes - in every parish, or at least those where there are financial resources, there are, in addition to the priest, deacon and clergy, people responsible for youth, social, and missionary work. And we not only proclaimed the principle that there should be activists in every parish, we created a system for training them. In our higher educational institutions, faculties and courses have appeared where we train such specialists. Not every person can go to study specifically for this profession; people most often combine parish work with some other work, but, nevertheless, they need to receive an education. Therefore, we also create short-term training and advanced training courses for lay people who work in the social, youth, and educational spheres. We already have some successes - still very small, but I can still name a few numbers. Thus, the youth activists of the city of Moscow, that is, young people who actively participate in church life, are more than 8 thousand people. But around these eight thousand there are still larger group youth, so we are talking about tens of thousands of young people who take an active part in the church life of the city of Moscow.

But this, again, is a minority in relation to the total number of young people. The main problem is that general development modern civilization does not presuppose a place for God in it. We are talking about a godless, non-religious civilization, which, by the way, fills itself with various values. Most often these are false values, idols, as you said. These idols are very attractive to young people - more attractive than to mature people who have already developed life experience, so that they can distinguish one from another, good from bad. Young people very often pay tribute to fashion and begin to worship idols.

Of course, working with young people today is not easy, but I am deeply convinced that this is the most important priority in church activities. We must learn to work with young people, including via the Internet, through social media. Many of our priests preach on the Internet and social networks - sometimes very successfully, sometimes, in my opinion, not entirely correctly. I don’t like it when priests try to speak the language of young people, using slang. There is no need to imitate young people; you just need to convey to young people those ideas that will be attractive to them, and learn to speak in a language that they understand. This is the task of the priest and the task of the Church.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' turned 70 years old. Each Primate of the church has his own mission. The post-war Patriarchs Alexy the First and Pimen had a mission to preserve the Russian Orthodox Church. It wasn't easy. Especially in Khrushchev's times, when the Church was subjected to new persecution.

In 1990, Alexy II was elected to the patriarchal throne. New times were coming. The Church came to life after communism. The mission of Alexy II was the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church. Thousands of new parishes were opened. Monasteries and religious educational institutions were restored.

Patriarch Kirill ascended the patriarchal throne seven years ago. I think that his mission is the churching of Russia. Patriarch Kirill says: “Russia is a primordially Christian country.” And we see how for millions of people church life is turning from exotic into the norm, becoming part of everyday life. We congratulate His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on his anniversary. Many years.

Even on anniversary days, the Patriarch’s busy work schedule remained unchanged. It’s just that holiday worries have been added to everyday affairs. In the morning there were journalists, then a meeting with Metropolitan Tikhon of America and Canada. And so on until late in the evening.

“So, we have very little time. Press conference - you can’t be late, there are a lot of people there. The patriarch is not only an administrator. The patriarch needs spiritual and intellectual nourishment, and he can only provide this nourishment in more or less free time. Unfortunately, I almost don’t have that kind of time,” admits Patriarch Kirill.

However, the Patriarch admits, this time was always not enough even before enthronement. After all, serving God requires complete dedication. The son of a Leningrad priest, Vladimir Gundyaev, as His Holiness was called in the world, made the choice of who to be as a child, fully understanding that the path to his intended goal would not be easy.

The first entry in the personal file of Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev states that he was accepted as an apprentice draftsman of the cartographic bureau on December 1, 1962.

Despite all the difficulties, the Patriarch remembers this period of his life with special warmth. After graduating from eight grades, he left school and got a job in the Leningrad complex geological expedition to draw maps, first as a student, and then independently. At the same time, in the evenings he continues to study at the so-called school for working youth.

“We lived very poorly, and I wanted to help my parents, and so I practically left home and helped my parents financially as best I could. This is a kind of material part of this plan. On the other hand, I’ll be honest, I was a little bored at school, I felt great among adults. This was the time of my formation,” says Patriarch Kirill.

On this path of development, each new stage turned out to be more difficult than the previous one. It was not easy at the Theological Academy, where, at the request of Metropolitan Nikodim of Leningrad, the future priest took two courses in one year. And ended up finishing it educational institution Honours. It was during this period, despite his age, that he made one of his main decisions: to renounce everything worldly and become a monk with the name Kirill.

“At 22 years old it’s hard to choose. What happened to me, in a sense, is really the finger of God, apparently it was meant to be, and I thank the Lord that he strengthened me at that time. Because after all, the age was quite young. And he helped me get through those years so that, as they say, I did not waste myself, but saved myself for future service,” notes Patriarch Kirill.

The young hierodeacon could not even imagine what this service would ultimately be like. He only wanted to devote himself to theology and work at the Theological Academy. And later he even became its rector. But in 1984, a sharp turn took place in the fate of the future patriarch. He is removed from his position. As it turns out later, on the instructions of Soviet officials who oversaw the church, who did not like the rector’s excessive activity, he was sent to head the Smolensk diocese, and later also the Kaliningrad diocese.

Unique footage taken more than 20 years ago: the young and energetic Metropolitan Kirill is constantly on the move, he took over the diocese in a very deplorable state. The situation was worst in Kaliningrad, where there was even nowhere to hold services. St. Nicholas Church. Before the formation of Kaliningrad, it was the Juditten Church. After the war and until 1985, it was destroyed. It was with the restoration of this temple that the development of the Kaliningrad diocese began.

Father Sophrony became the first rector of the current St. Nicholas Cathedral. It was Metropolitan Kirill who sent him here. At that time, government assistance was out of the question. The parishioners and Bishop Kirill personally helped rebuild the temple.

“There was one temple, today there are already over a hundred of them. Of course, Vladyka Kirill brought his inner feeling of love for God, his understanding of the strength of spirit and faith, and he could not help but infect his parishioners and, above all, the clergy in a good sense of the word,” notes Archimandrite Sophrony, rector of the Cathedral of St. George’s Sea Cathedral of the Baltic Fleet.

Kirill ruled the Smolensk and Kaliningrad dioceses for a quarter of a century - years that changed his whole life.

“There would be no Patriarch Kirill today if there had not been that same Metropolitan of Smolensk, because my final formation took place there, and it did not take place in some cloudless space, I constantly had to overcome difficulties and bear the cross,” notes Patriarch Kirill .

With the adoption of the patriarchate, these difficulties did not diminish. The primate is confident: the church must become more accessible. Therefore, new churches are opening all over the country, and with them the number of dioceses is increasing. In seven years - almost doubled. But His Holiness’s main emphasis is on making as many people as possible want to come to church. Find your way to God, no matter how difficult this path may seem.

“The expression is well known that God does not give a cross beyond one’s strength. And the difficulties that we face, the problems that we face, they require overcoming. What is overcoming? This is a concentration of forces, this constant movement forward. I think it is necessary not only for the clergy to understand this, but for everyone to understand that bearing the cross is a movement forward and upward,” notes Patriarch Kirill.

On January 7, 2019, on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Rossiya 1 TV channel aired the traditional Christmas interview with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church answered questions from journalist and TV presenter, general director of the international news agency "Russia Today" Dmitry Kiselev.

- Your Holiness, these Christmas days we will nevertheless begin our interview with a sad one. It seems that the main event of the past year will be the drama in universal Orthodoxy. How painful is it and what are the fulcrum points?

— People familiar with history and interested in history know that there have never been simple times, and drama is very the right word when we talk about history. History is not a comedy, history is not a tragedy, history is a drama. What is drama? And drama is a realistic representation of life. There can be tears and smiles, joy and sorrow - this is human life. After all, every person knows from his own experience what drama is both in family life and in professional life. There may be joys and smiles, or there may be tears... The same thing is happening today in the sphere of interchurch relations. The only thing that can be and should be said is that today there are probably more sad things than happy ones. First of all, this is due to the fact that there is a division within Orthodoxy, and I think this feeling is shared with me by all the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches: nothing good can come from these divisions.

The Orthodox Churches must consolidate in the face of all the problems that befall man today—I don’t say “the Church,” but specifically man. Those problems that destroy the integrity of the human personality, as a result of which a person becomes very fragile, weak, and susceptible to influence. This is the most important task of the Church - to deal with a person, to help a person resist what in church language is called temptations, and if we speak in the language of physiology, in a language understandable to modern man, then a person must be able to resist the voice of the flesh, that which in the language of the Church is called lust.

What is lust? Lust is the voice of the flesh, which drowns out the voice of reason, which suppresses the most sublime feelings, and man no longer lives according to the law that God gave him - the moral law embedded in his nature, that law of God that corresponds to the moral feeling, but is given us and in Scripture, but lives according to the laws of instinct. Instinct is the greatest force that motivates a person to take certain actions. So, the task of the Church is to ensure that people live according to the law that God gave them. Following this law, a person elevates his mind, his feelings, strengthens his will, becomes a strong personality - first of all, a person capable of loving and sharing his life with others.

— Looking ahead, I will say that the future will certainly be good. Because the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is on the side of the light, on the side of God’s truth; and everything that today opposes the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is on the side of darkness. And this is easy to prove. The so-called unification council took place in Ukraine. According to the puppeteers and the President of Ukraine, this “council” was supposed to unite everyone and create a single Orthodox Church for all of Ukraine. What happened? What happened was that two schismatic groups united, and the Orthodox Church remained itself as it was - a grace-filled spiritual organism. And what is also very remarkable in this whole story is the unprecedented intervention of government power. Ukraine seems to be a country striving for Europe, a country that claims to share European values. But one of the very important values of Europe is the principle of separation of the Church, religion and state - the secular nature of the state. What do we see? We see the President of Ukraine, who presides over a church “council”, which determines who should be at the head of the “local church”, who rudely interferes in church life and does not hesitate to do it publicly, so that all this simply turns into a theater of the absurd.

Can you imagine what would happen if the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin presided over the Church Council, if he directly said who should be elected, if he then presented the newly elected Patriarch to the public? This is hard to imagine...

- Impossible…

- Impossible. Can you imagine what the reaction would be around the world? How alarmed all human rights activists would be, how alarmed all states would be, what a barrage of destructive criticism there would be, right? What about today?

- They filled their mouths with water...

- Hey, where is Europe? Hey, where is the United States? With their desire to defend the fundamental principles of liberalism, which include, in particular, the separation of Church and state.

- Independence of the Church...

- Independence of the Church. This story shows that everything can be trampled underfoot, any principles can be abandoned if specific political goals are pursued. And in this sense, the political order regarding the destruction of Orthodoxy in Ukraine is completely obvious.

— Such a risk is always relevant. A lot depends on the driver, a lot. Imagine if in that revolutionary era there were machinists at the head of Russia who were able to cope with it. There were analogues in the 19th century, when the supreme machinists of Russia coped with very strong challenges, including those aimed at destroying Russian statehood. Therefore, a lot depends on the drivers, on those people who are entrusted with full responsibility for the fate of the country, for the fate of the people. These are not only those who personify the highest power, not just one person, but generally the elite, the state elite. The level of responsibility for everything that happens in the country depends on the education of this elite, on its patriotism. Again, you can get lost if the drivers go too fast on turns, or if the drivers don't take care technical condition composition. Both lead to disaster. Therefore, a very great responsibility lies with those who have power. And I want to emphasize once again: this is not just about the president or prime minister. We are talking about all those who responsibly exercise power today, but not only them. After all, they do not fly to us from somewhere in the universe - they grow from their own people. They are flesh of the flesh, blood of the blood of the people, they study in our schools, our universities, they watch modern television programs, they watch modern cinema, they maybe even read books, although this is quite difficult when they are very busy. So, the general cultural fund of the country is of great importance in terms of determining our future, and this cultural fund is created not only by cultural figures, not only by theater and cinema (although they too), but also by the media; In addition, this process is influenced by the Church and influenced by the conscious, responsible participation of people in public life.

Therefore, the future of the country is our common cause. And if we are united in the implementation of this common cause, if we have clear goals - that we want the good for our people, we want Russia to be independent, strong, self-sufficient - then we must think and act in solidarity . Therefore, the idea of a solidary society today is a very important idea, regarding which the Russian Orthodox Church is working seriously. We believe that the Church can contribute to the formation of a solidary society on completely new principles, beyond any ideology. They talked about solidarity in the past, but solidarity did not save Soviet Union from destruction. Therefore, we all need to work to form a personality capable of being in solidarity with other individuals, especially in our common movement forward.

- Absolutely right. When I talk about ideology, I mean a complex of certain philosophical ideas, on the basis of which state life is built. Well, we can remember Marxism; Liberalism now dominates in many countries. This is ideology - when there are certain philosophical postulates that underlie legislation, the formation of public consciousness, and so on. Every historian will say that ideologies do not last long - three, four, five generations. Ideology is leaving. What remains? The man remains. What should be the basis of all our joint work, including our solidarity activities aimed at the development of our state? First of all, you need to think about the moral and spiritual state of the human person. Society cannot be united if selfishness, permissiveness, and consumer ideology become human ideals. Such people cannot walk the path hand in hand with others. This is why spiritual education moral education a person is predetermined by the ability of the entire society to be in solidarity and to jointly solve problems that arise along this historical path.

- Well, first about love. Love hasn't gone away. Love is inherent in human nature. God has placed this great gift in our nature, and every person experiences this feeling at some point in their lives. How he realizes this feeling is another matter. This feeling can be exploited by turning it into promiscuous sex. Then love is destroyed, a person ceases to be able to love another. We are asked why this is a large number of divorces. Yes, because a person lives dissolutely, changes partners, and love goes somewhere, into a very distant place, and first of all, lust, the desire to satisfy one’s physiological needs. All these things are incompatible, or rather, this way of life is incompatible with what we call love. Because main characteristic love is - you won’t believe it? - sacrifice. There is no love without sacrifice. The indicator of whether you love a person or not is the answer to the question “what can I do for him?” And then bend your fingers. Can I give my life for him? Can I give up my health for him? For his sake, can I give up the level of consumption that I had before meeting the person I fell in love with? What can I sacrifice for this person? You need to ask yourself these questions not in front of a television camera. You need to ask them alone, before yourself, before your conscience. And if you say: “I don’t know if he’s handsome, if he’s good, but I can’t live without him, it’s mine; for this person I am ready to do everything I can”; if the awareness that you treat a person this way becomes dominant, that is, absorbs all your thoughts, all your feelings, then this is definitely love. Such a feeling must be cherished, because it is a sacred feeling, and a person can live his whole life on this feeling. Of course, with age, many factors that support human intimacy change, but if true love exists, then it lasts to the grave. And if, having loved him or her, a person after some time says to himself: “Well, it’s nothing special, if I do something else,” then this is the path that leads to the destruction of love.

And now what concerns interstate relations. In general, there is no love between states; there is always pragmatism between states. Because the state is not the people. There can be love between peoples. We know that Russian people have sympathies for certain peoples; and towards someone - restraint, which is dictated not by our thoughtless attitude, but simply historical context. We have been burned too much in our interactions with this or that people, and that is why there is restraint; and for some there is very great sympathy. And so it is for many peoples of the world. Sympathy between peoples is a very good feeling, and even if it does not exist, it needs to be developed through cultural contacts, interreligious contacts, which is very important, through scientific, technical, and political interaction. But in these relationships, sincerity is very important. Although in politics, of course, sincerity always needs to be taken as if with a certain coefficient, this is not the sincerity that should exist in relationships between people. But nevertheless, there must be decency in politics, and states and peoples must trust each other. You cannot declare the same feelings and ideas in interstate relations, but in reality, secretly, covertly implement a completely different strategy. I think people of the older generation remember the Helsinki Act on Security and Cooperation in Europe...

— 75th year.

- Absolutely right. What enthusiasm there was among the European peoples! And what enthusiasm there was when the Berlin Wall fell! And we all thought: here we are entering a new era. Ideological contradictions and mediastinums have collapsed, and now something will begin that will lead us to very good relations with European countries, to cooperation. Well, as a result, we know what happened: NATO moved closer to our borders, various kinds of manifestations of aggressive policies - all this, of course, destroys trust. Therefore, between states, even if there is no love, there must be an honest, I would say, decent policy. Actions must correspond to what is declared in interstate relations. It shouldn't be like that statesmen when meeting, they say to each other Nice words, and then the policy does not correspond to these words. In this area, as I have already said, culture, art, religion, and public organizations, because it is close relationships with people that can, among other things, melt the ice in interstate relations.

— Family is joy, and this, of course, is a sacrifice, this is a feat, as everyone knows. Here is a man who lived alone before he got married, was completely free, managed his time. And then he got married and became not so free; and when children appeared, even less free. More and more obligations, and the reaction to this reality can be the following: either I accept this as a gift from God and in this I see great joy and happiness, in this I see the fullness of my life...

- Realization of my freedom...

— Realization of freedom, and one that does not devastate, but enriches. Or, on the contrary: “Why do I need all this? God, headache..." And man himself, with his own hands, destroys the gift that God gave him. Therefore, everything again depends, as it seems to me, on ourselves. From our attitude towards people, from our ability to be decent, from our ability to act, to say those words that correspond to our inner state. Do not deceive people and build the relationships to which the Lord has called us.

— I’m not against technological progress, not at all! Suffice it to recall the story: the ancient Russian people threw their god Perun into the waters of the Dnieper. There was the destruction of paganism, but who is Perun? This is the god of thunder, lightning, this is an analogue of Zeus. And a few centuries later, Christian Mikhailo Lomonosov began to study the phenomenon of atmospheric electricity. This is what Christianity is! Christianity cannot be against science, against scientific progress, because the entire history of the development of science is connected with a Christian cultural context. It was in the depths of Christian Europe that scientific knowledge developed.

But here's what's causing concern. I already had the opportunity to talk about this publicly and will repeat it again. A person is strongly influenced by two circumstances, two goal-settings. One is convenience, and the second is pleasure. Convenience and pleasure quite powerfully determine our thoughts and our way of acting. The same gadgets are convenient, they open the way to pleasure, and in this sense the gadget is very attractive. But few people know, and maybe they even know, but don’t pay attention to it great importance: Every time you use a gadget, whether you want it or not, whether you turn on geolocation or not, someone can know exactly where you are, know exactly what you are interested in, know exactly what you are afraid of. Therefore, the worldwide network of gadgets makes it possible to exercise universal control over the human race. And if not today, then tomorrow a methodology and technical means may appear that will provide not just access to this information, but the use of this information. Can you imagine how much power will be concentrated in the hands of those who have knowledge of what is happening in the world? Starting from a conversation between two girlfriends on harmless topics and ending with serious negotiations between people who are building a life strategy, discussing plans in the field of economics, politics, and so on... So, control from one point is a harbinger of the coming of the Antichrist, if we talk about the Christian view . Antichrist is the person who will be at the head of the World Wide Web, controlling the entire human race. This means that the structure itself is dangerous. And it shouldn't be single center, at least in the foreseeable future, if we ourselves do not want to bring the apocalypse closer.

Therefore, gadgets are good from the point of view of convenience and pleasure, but from the point of view of control over the human personality, they are a dangerous business. This is what the Church should talk about, realizing that she is incurring upon herself, although not righteous, but very pronounced anger. We will be accused of being against progress, that we are retrogrades, but in fact we are not talking about scientific and technological progress, but we are talking about the development of a system that is aimed at controlling the human personality in on a global scale. This is what the Church opposes.

- Yes, this is another side of this coin. Absolutely right. In addition to what we just talked about, there is an important topic that you have just raised. After all, addiction also deprives a person of freedom. What is an alcoholic? A person deprived of freedom cannot live without drinking alcohol. So are drugs and gadgets, because the devil acts very wisely. Here's a toy that gives you unlimited freedom. No distances, everything is on your screen, access to information, exchange with people, establish personal relationships - what could be better? In this case, total control can be exercised, and the person becomes completely absorbed in this technology. He goes into it from life, from reality, for him it’s...

— Substitution.

- Yes, pseudo-reality or quasi-reality.

- A virtual reality.

— Yes, virtual reality. She becomes his life, and he is inside her more than outside. Of course, this is very dangerous for humans. This is the dehumanization of the human person. We become people, we develop human qualities from personal communication. We exchange thoughts, we exchange feelings, but, let me tell you something unexpected, we exchange energies. After all, every person is a generator. He has a very strong powerful energy, and the Lord arranged it all so that we mutually enrich ourselves with the correct construction of interpersonal relationships. And now all this wealth is being replaced by the exchange of information through electronic devices, with all the ensuing consequences.

Therefore, the conclusion from this part of our conversation may be as follows. Let people not think that the Patriarch is categorically against it. I would like to quote the words of the Apostle Paul, “Test all things, hold fast what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). But please never be enslaved by what is in your hands or what comes into your consciousness from outside. You must remain internally free and not fall under any addiction - neither alcohol, nor drug addiction, nor addiction to gadgets.

— Well, of course, there are no such plans as the state makes. There are some thoughts on the further development of church life. Now, I think it is premature to talk about this, but I would like to note that quite a lot has been done over the past ten years. I always avoid using the word “reform” when talking about changes in church life, because reforms in the past have caused great harm to our Church, and people have a cautious attitude towards this word. That's why I talk about transformations. The transformations are very big. The nature of our parish has practically changed. At the very least, the Councils clearly stated that parish life today, in addition to divine services, which, of course, remains the center of parish life, should also include various types of activities aimed at supporting parishioners and helping them. In this sense, social work at the parish is very important, work with youth at the parish level is very important, educational work is very important. All this has now begun to be realized in our Church, and I pray that wonderful examples of parishes in Moscow, in St. Petersburg, in other large cities and not only cities, will spread throughout our Church, so that even every small parish will remember that the main thing is - the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, but around this a community of people must be created. And if our parishes increase their activity in doing good deeds, in educational activities, especially in working with young people, then this will be a very important act for the Church. Therefore, I dream that the principles for the development of church life laid down in the past decade will receive further development.

— The first thing is not to refuse the feast and gifts. This is also a very important dimension of human life. We know how good it is when a family gathers around the table, when loved ones come, when there is an opportunity to communicate, support each other, and rejoice together. Therefore, all this must remain. And if we talk about what Christmas is for us, then there are wonderful words in Holy Scripture: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” The light of Christmas, that is, the light that came into the world through the birth of our Lord and Savior. Whatever forces have worked during these two thousand years to drown out this light! It’s impossible to list, but he shines! He shone during the times of Roman slavery, he shone during the very difficult existence of Byzantium, he shone during the Tatar-Mongol yoke, he shone during the dawn of the Russian Empire, he shone during the persecution of the Russian Church in the 20th century, he will shine until the end . May God grant that we always be on the side of the light. Because if there is light, then there is also darkness, and it depends on the person which side he will be on. Therefore, God grant that our people remain on the side of the light, despite all these temptations, temptations, and all the soul-destroying information flow that is directed at people today - so that people remain able to see the light and remain on the side of the light.

- Thank you.

Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

Christmas interview with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill

— Your Holiness, on these Christmas days we will nevertheless begin our interview with a sad one. It seems that the main event of the past year will be the drama in universal Orthodoxy. How painful is it and what are the fulcrum points?

— People familiar with history and interested in history know that there have never been simple times, and drama is a very correct word when we talk about history. History is not a comedy, history is not a tragedy, history is a drama. What is drama? And drama is a realistic representation of life. There can be tears and smiles, joy and sorrow - this is human life. After all, every person knows from his own experience what drama is both in family life and in professional life. There may be joys and smiles, or there may be tears... The same thing is happening today in the sphere of interchurch relations. The only thing that can be and should be said is that today there are probably more sad things than happy ones. First of all, this is due to the fact that there is a division within Orthodoxy, and I think this feeling is shared with me by all the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches: nothing good can come from these divisions.

— We will return to lust and love, but I still want to continue the conversation about what is happening now in Ukraine. It seems that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is now in the crossfire. On the one hand, the Ukrainian government is firing at it, on the other hand, the Istanbul Patriarchate. What is the future of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and how can we help it?

- Impossible…

- They filled their mouths with water...

- Hey, where is Europe? Hey, where is the United States? With their desire to defend the fundamental principles of liberalism, which include, in particular, the separation of Church and state.

- Independence of the Church...

— An important date last year was the 100th anniversary of the execution Royal family. In your sermon you said a very important thing: that the people then became like a train, the driver of which did not calculate the speed and rushed towards an inevitable disaster. How relevant is such a risk in our time?

— Such a risk is always relevant. A lot depends on the driver, a lot. Imagine if in that revolutionary era there were machinists at the head of Russia who were able to cope with it. Analogues in XIX centuries were when the supreme machinists of Russia coped with very strong challenges, including those aimed at destroying Russian statehood. Therefore, a lot depends on the drivers, on those people who are entrusted with full responsibility for the fate of the country, for the fate of the people. These are not only those who personify the highest power, not just one person, but generally the elite, the state elite. The level of responsibility for everything that happens in the country depends on the education of this elite, on its patriotism. Again, you can go astray if the drivers develop too much speed on turns, or if the drivers do not care about the technical condition of the train. Both lead to disaster. Therefore, a very great responsibility lies with those who have power. And I want to emphasize once again: this is not just about the president or prime minister. We are talking about all those who responsibly exercise power today, but not only them. After all, they do not fly to us from somewhere in the universe - they grow from their own people. They are flesh of the flesh, blood of the blood of the people, they study in our schools, our universities, they watch modern television programs, they watch modern cinema, they maybe even read books, although this is quite difficult when they are very busy. So, the general cultural fund of the country is of great importance in terms of determining our future, and this cultural fund is created not only by cultural figures, not only by theater and cinema (although they too), but also by the media; In addition, this process is influenced by the Church and influenced by the conscious, responsible participation of people in public life.

Therefore, the future of the country is our common cause. And if we are united in the implementation of this common cause, if we have clear goals - that we want the good for our people, we want Russia to be independent, strong, self-sufficient - then we must think and act in solidarity . Therefore, the idea of a solidary society today is a very important idea, regarding which the Russian Orthodox Church is working seriously. We believe that the Church can contribute to the formation of a solidary society on completely new principles, beyond any ideology. Solidarity was talked about in the past, but solidarity did not save the Soviet Union from destruction. Therefore, we all need to work to form a personality capable of being in solidarity with other individuals, especially in our common movement forward.

— You say “solidarity without any ideology,” but solidarity is built around something, around a value system, around common system values. If there is no common value system, then you cannot be in solidarity with someone. So based on what?

- Absolutely right. When I talk about ideology, I mean a complex of certain philosophical ideas on the basis of which state life is built. Well, we can remember Marxism; Liberalism now dominates in many countries. This is ideology - when there are certain philosophical postulates that underlie legislation, the formation of public consciousness, and so on. Every historian will say that ideologies do not last long - three, four, five generations. Ideology is leaving. What remains? The man remains. What should be the basis of all our joint work, including our solidarity activities aimed at the development of our state? First of all, you need to think about the moral and spiritual state of the human person. Society cannot be united if selfishness, permissiveness, and consumer ideology become human ideals. Such people cannot walk the path hand in hand with others. That is why spiritual education, the moral education of a person predetermines the ability of the entire society to be in solidarity and to jointly solve problems that arise along this historical path.

“But the basis of Christian morality has always been love, and it seems that love is now disappearing.” It is either replaced by sex or somehow commercialized. That same love bequeathed by the Creator has largely either disappeared or been transformed, or few can interpret it and make it a guide own life. Love disappears both from relationships between people when relationships become petty and from relationships between states; and it seems that it is being replaced by real predation. In the world - the struggle for resources, the arms race, and so on - where, exactly, is love? So what happened to love, and where are we going? And isn’t it time to start fighting for peace and remember what you did in the 80s, when it was urgently relevant - precisely on the basis of love?

- Well, first about love. Love hasn't gone away. Love is inherent in human nature. God has placed this great gift in our nature, and every person experiences this feeling at some point in their lives. How he realizes this feeling is another matter. This feeling can be exploited by turning it into promiscuous sex. Then love is destroyed, a person ceases to be able to love another. People ask us why there is such a high number of divorces. Yes, because a person lives dissolutely, changes partners, and love goes somewhere, into a very distant place, and first of all, lust, the desire to satisfy one’s physiological needs. All these things are incompatible, or rather, this way of life is incompatible with what we call love. Because the main characteristic of love is - would you believe it? - sacrifice. There is no love without sacrifice. The indicator of whether you love a person or not is the answer to the question “what can I do for him?” And then bend your fingers. Can I give my life for him? Can I give up my health for him? For his sake, can I give up the level of consumption that I had before meeting the person I fell in love with? What can I sacrifice for this person? You need to ask yourself these questions not in front of a television camera. You need to ask them alone, before yourself, before your conscience. And if you say: “I don’t know if he’s handsome, if he’s good, but I can’t live without him, it’s mine; for this person I am ready to do everything I can”; if the awareness that you treat a person this way becomes dominant, that is, absorbs all your thoughts, all your feelings, then this is definitely love. Such a feeling must be cherished, because it is a sacred feeling, and a person can live his whole life on this feeling. Of course, with age, many factors that support human intimacy change, but if true love exists, then it lasts to the grave. And if, having loved him or her, a person after some time says to himself: “Well, it’s nothing special, if I do something else,” then this is the path that leads to the destruction of love.

And now what concerns interstate relations. In general, there is no love between states; there is always pragmatism between states. Because the state is not the people. There can be love between peoples. We know that Russian people have sympathies for certain peoples; and to some - restraint, which is dictated not by our thoughtless attitude, but simply by the historical context. We have been burned too much in our interactions with this or that people, and that is why there is restraint; and for some there is very great sympathy. And so it is for many peoples of the world. Sympathy between peoples is a very good feeling, and even if it does not exist, it needs to be developed through cultural contacts, interreligious contacts, which is very important, through scientific, technical, and political interaction. But in these relationships, sincerity is very important. Although in politics, of course, sincerity always needs to be taken as if with a certain coefficient, this is not the sincerity that should exist in relationships between people. But nevertheless, there must be decency in politics, and states and peoples must trust each other. You cannot declare the same feelings and ideas in interstate relations, but in reality, secretly, covertly implement a completely different strategy. I think people of the older generation remember the Helsinki Act on Security and Cooperation in Europe...

— 75th year.

- Absolutely right. What enthusiasm there was among the European peoples! And what enthusiasm there was when the Berlin Wall fell! And we all thought: here we are entering a new era. Ideological contradictions and mediastinums have collapsed, and now something will begin that will lead us to very good relations with European countries, to cooperation. Well, as a result, we know what happened: NATO moved closer to our borders, various kinds of manifestations of aggressive policies - all this, of course, destroys trust. Therefore, between states, even if there is no love, there must be an honest, I would say, decent policy. Actions must correspond to what is declared in interstate relations. It should not be the case that statesmen, when meeting, say good words to each other, but then politics does not correspond to these words. In this area, as I have already said, culture, art, religion, and public organizations should work, because it is close relationships with people that can, among other things, melt the ice in interstate relations.

— But if we continue the theme of love, then what is the future of the traditional family? You mentioned this, but still, if it’s directly about the family?

- Realization of my freedom...

— Realization of freedom, and one that does not devastate, but enriches. Or, on the contrary: “Why do I need all this? Lord, it’s a headache...” And man himself, with his own hands, destroys the gift that God gave him. Therefore, everything again depends, as it seems to me, on ourselves. From our attitude towards people, from our ability to be decent, from our ability to act, to say those words that correspond to our inner state. Do not deceive people and build the relationships to which the Lord has called us.

— If we continue the theme of freedom, then you once said that excessive passion for modern gadgets limits freedom. Are you against technological progress?

— I’m not against technological progress, not at all! Suffice it to recall the story: the ancient Russian people threw their god Perun into the waters of the Dnieper. There was the destruction of paganism, but who is Perun? This is the god of thunder, lightning, this is an analogue of Zeus. And a few centuries later, Christian Mikhailo Lomonosov began to study the phenomenon of atmospheric electricity. This is what Christianity is! Christianity cannot be against science, against scientific progress, because the entire history of the development of science is connected with the Christian cultural context. It was in the depths of Christian Europe that scientific knowledge developed.

But here's what's causing concern. I already had the opportunity to talk about this publicly and will repeat it again. A person is strongly influenced by two circumstances, two goal-settings. One is convenience, and the second is pleasure. Convenience and pleasure quite powerfully determine our thoughts and our way of acting. The same gadgets are convenient, they open the way to pleasure, and in this sense the gadget is very attractive. But few people know, and maybe they even know, but don’t attach much importance to it: every time you use a gadget, whether you want it or not, whether you turn on geolocation or not, someone can know for sure, where you are, to know exactly what you are interested in, to know exactly what you are afraid of. Therefore, the worldwide network of gadgets makes it possible to exercise universal control over the human race. And if not today, then tomorrow a methodology and technical means may appear that will provide not just access to this information, but the use of this information. Can you imagine how much power will be concentrated in the hands of those who have knowledge of what is happening in the world? Starting from a conversation between two girlfriends on harmless topics and ending with serious negotiations between people who are building a life strategy, discussing plans in the field of economics, politics, and so on... So, control from one point is a harbinger of the coming of the Antichrist, if we talk about the Christian view . Antichrist is the person who will be at the head of the World Wide Web, controlling the entire human race. This means that the structure itself is dangerous. And there should not be a single center, at least in the foreseeable future, if we ourselves do not want to bring the apocalypse closer.

Therefore, gadgets are good from the point of view of convenience and pleasure, but from the point of view of control over the human personality, they are a dangerous business. This is what the Church should talk about, realizing that she is incurring upon herself, although not righteous, but very pronounced anger. We will be accused of being against progress, that we are retrogrades, but in fact we are not talking about scientific and technological progress, but we are talking about the development of a system that is aimed at controlling the human personality on a global scale. This is what the Church opposes.

- Well, this is a view of planet Earth from the universe, but what about a person? After all, gadgets cause addiction to this pleasure, this convenience. Already, narcologists equate this addiction to a drug addiction. How to cope with it and how to recognize this addiction in yourself?

— Substitution.

- Yes, pseudo-reality or quasi-reality.

- A virtual reality.

— Yes, virtual reality. She becomes his life, and he is inside her more than outside. Of course, this is very dangerous for humans. This is the dehumanization of the human person. We become people, we develop human qualities from personal communication. We exchange thoughts, we exchange feelings, but, let me tell you something unexpected, we exchange energies. After all, every person is a generator. He has a very strong, powerful energy, and the Lord arranged it all in such a way that we mutually enrich ourselves with the correct construction of interpersonal relationships. And now all this wealth is being replaced by the exchange of information through electronic devices, with all the ensuing consequences.

— Important warning, Thank you. Your Holiness, in a few weeks it will be 10 years since your enthronement, since you were elected Patriarch of All Rus'. Do you have a plan for the next ten years?

— The Christmas holiday symbolizes hope. But isn’t it happening lately that content is being replaced by feasting and exchanging gifts? Why this holiday at all? And what would you like to wish your flock for Christmas?

— The first thing is not to refuse the feast and gifts. This is also a very important dimension of human life. We know how good it is when a family gathers around the table, when loved ones come, when there is an opportunity to communicate, support each other, and rejoice together. Therefore, all this must remain. And if we talk about what Christmas is for us, then there are wonderful words in the Holy Scripture: “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” The light of Christmas, that is, the light that came into the world through the birth of our Lord and Savior. Whatever forces have worked during these two thousand years to drown out this light! It’s impossible to list, but he shines! He shone during the times of Roman slavery, he shone during the very difficult life of Byzantium, he shone during the Tatar-Mongol yoke, he shone during the dawn of the Russian Empire, he shone during the persecution of the Russian Church in XX century, it will shine until the end. May God grant that we always be on the side of the light. Because if there is light, then there is also darkness, and it depends on the person which side he will be on. Therefore, God grant that our people remain on the side of the light, despite all these temptations, temptations, and all the soul-destroying information flow that is directed at people today - so that people remain able to see the light and remain on the side of the light.

- This is your wish! Thank you very much, Your Holiness, for this traditional interview.

- Thank you.

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Interview with the patriarch. Christmas interview with Patriarch Kirill to Rossiya TV channel

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