All's Not Quiet on Eastern Front

In 2009, Patriarch Kirill was elected to be the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the six years since his installation, there has been a great deal of debate about the inner corruption of the church and its work with the government. For the most part, the voices of the grassroots activists have not been heard outside of Russia or they have been completely ignored because of their unpopular opinions. The following is a list of grievances that I have gleaned from watching various videos on YouTube in Russian.

1. Fascist treatment of non-mainstream Orthodox groups. In an address given several years ago, Patriarch Kirill referred to the members of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) and other catacomb groups which do not recognize him as “subhuman sectants.” There have been numerous attempts by the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian government to shut down these groups. In Udmurtia, the parish church of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas was evicted from its property several times by the local diocese and patriarchate. In Suzdal, the ROAC and the government as well as the Moscow Patriarchate have been engaged in a long standing legal dispute over an ancient church in the historic city as well as the relics of a local saint.

The Moscow Patriarchate wants to stamp out all opposition in Russia that comes from non-MP groups. It views all of these groups as schismatic and, therefore, not worthy of being treated with any respect. In a Moscow suburb, there has been a case where a local catacomb family was forcibly evicted from its property by a parish priest who wanted to expand his church building. It is simply inconceivable why Father X. couldn’t build his church in the opposite direction or build on the land he was already given. 

2. The Collaboration between the Church and the Government. This item is not new. The symbol of the Russian tsars and the Byzantine emperors was the double-headed eagle, which symbolized the emperor and the patriarch working together. During the latter years of tsarist rule in Russia, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church worked in close collaboration with the regime because it was a government department under the personal rule of an ober-procurator who was responsible to the tsar. (This was one of Peter the Great’s many church reforms, but that’s a discussion for another day.)

In today’s Russia, most politicians and oligarchs portray themselves as being Orthodox. There are many photographs of Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill that make their way into newspapers. The Church has a strong lobby in the parliament and is able to lobby for educational and other reforms that are basically rubber stamped by the Kremlin since they go along with its party line.

One of the most recent reforms under discussion in Russia is the teaching of catechism classes beginning in the second grade.  This initiative was put forward by Patriarch Kirill himself. However, it flies in the face of the Russian constitution where it states, in language similar to our own Bill of Rights, that government shall create a state religion or impose one. Unfortunately, mandatory catechism classes in public schools violates freedom of religion in Russia and creates problems for educators since Russian public schools have been secular since 1917.

3. Corruption of the Clergy. This is not a new issue either. In tsarist Russia, there were numerous members of the clergy who were skin flints, drunkards, or worse. However, tsarist Russia did not have YouTube, iPhones, or any other methods for recording and reporting the corruption of the clergy and making it public. Due to the internet, a great of clergy corruption has been exposed for the whole world to see.

Patriarch Kirill’s lavish lifestyle including a palatial residence outside of Moscow that is currently being built for him as well as expensive watch (Photoshopped out of photographs) have come under criticism from believers and non-believers alike. Back in 1918, St. Tikhon did not ride around in a Mercedes or wear a Rolex. Way, way back in the 1300s, St. Alexis of Moscow did not need an entire motorcade to get from one part of Moscow to the other. To a certain extent, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus has become a politician and celebrity in his own right. His expensive lifestyle being part of it and it is this that befuddles so many people.

4. Church Scandals. The Russian Orthodox Church in Russia is not immune to scandals either. Over the last several years, there have been reports of children being routinely abused in monastic orphanages. They were starved and beaten for minor infractions. They were kept on a monastic rule and did not have clean clothes. These stories have scandalized many people into wondering who is controlling the monks and nuns that run these places. Indeed, these stories are so shocking to so many believers that they refuse to believe them in the first place.

Without a doubt, these and other incidents have made people wonder about whether there is any oversight at the top levels of the Church organization. Many wonder why the Patriarchate has not put its foot down and stopped the numerous false elders who are marching around Russia and influencing hundreds of thousands of people to hand over their life savings to build churches and their children to be educated in monastery.

(Note: An elder in the Orthodox tradition is a monk who possesses the gifts of the Holy Spirit in a way that is very different from that of a parish priest. In most cases, he is clairvoyant and can work miracles as well as give advice.)

Of course, this is only a short list of things that I find disturbing about the Church situation in Russia. I have no doubt that there are many fine members of the clergy in Russia, but there are also many rotten apples as well. The preceding article has been done as a public service.

Further information in Russian and English can be found here and here.