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28 April 2008, 13:08Scraps by Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin. Part 4
"Scraps" are deputy head of Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Father Vsevolod Chaplin's sketches on various subjects beginning from church life to international politics. The Interfax-Religion continues publishing some of them.
German Lutherans always believed that Russian "church diplomats" were too square and conservative, finally got tired of them and decided to ask over a real "man of the people." He would understand everything and wouldn't drive everyone crazy with theological differences They invited a well-known archimandrite with students of a provincial seminary and started visiting Lutheran communities together, drinking bear and exchanging fair words to convince each other in having much in common... They spent the last evening in the house of a local bishop and shared the moments of total fraternization. The archimandrite was deeply moved and told the host:
- You're a very good man, really fine! But why don't you marry your wife? And you'd better get baptized...
The Germans haven't asked him over ever since and are still looking for new "liberals of the people."
* * *
The modern world should come back to such virtue as self-restriction. Many economists state that if population of the entire world follows Western standards of water, food and energy consumption, the planet will break down. Such conclusion is absolutely unacceptable for those who get used to increase their "life standard" and fight with others for consumables rather than make concessions. Are westerners and other countries' elite ready to give at a least a part of their comfort for the poor, to refuse their "pets" in expensive nutriment for saving starving children in Africa? Most likely, they aren't. Ant it results in abounding conflicts and inequity.
* * *
Metropolitan Kirill has more than once pointed out that various inter-religious and inter-civilization forums issue general, not binding slogans a-la "People, let's come together." Today, we'd better urge: "People, let's walk honestly."
I don't mean not to steal as no one seems to do it, but to overturn the idol of political correctness that in fact should be called convenient lie. For example, let's honestly confess to each other: Orthodoxy and Catholicity consider themselves and no one else keepers of one true Church, Islam reserves the right to be the last revelation, Judaism thinks it's the only one appropriate for Jews, humanism will never give up defining "human values..."
Yes, such values do exist, but their hierarchy varies. For example, someone considers this life and prosperity in this world most important, someone thinks that most important is eternal salvation and believes it impossible to reach without true faith and "non-humanistic" organization of society. If the first and the latter are ready to coexist in dialogue and cooperation - God bless. But considerations of earthly, practical use shouldn't be imposed on everyone as they don't reach further than a life of individual, ethnos and today's humanity. If political correctness keeps me out of calling truth - truth, lie - lie, sin - sin, heresy - heresy, than it's nothing else but totalitarianism. And even if it serves to "peace and harmony," any war is better than such peace.
To be continued. |
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