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Scraps by Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin. Part 8

"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.

Two more words about urging Christians run after "progress" and public opinion. Fr. Wojciech Giertych, one of the cleverest Catholic theologians today and the Pope's closest adviser, once said wonderful words: "Those who want to go with the fashion in the Church soon get out of date."

* * *

An experienced Russian Baptist once again compared our nation to Jews wandering in the desert for forty years after their Egyptian slavery. People who couldn't live in freedom, died... The pastor believes, nowadays such people leave for America.

Meanwhile, not only numerous Protestants left new Russia, but even some Orthodox intellectuals. Life without persecutions, the KGB and "dissidence" appeared to be wholly void of sense. In the early 90s I persuaded former "underground Christians" to come out with mass sermon on TV, in mass media and large halls... They couldn't do it. And mostly they didn't even want to try. There were only few - individual - exceptions. Their argument against it was "adamant": we won't do it on these pop channels, with these yesterday's young communists, new Russians and rockers-bikers! Not for anything in the world!

They still spend their time in "dissident" kitchens, drinking liters of coffee and vodka, reading underground press and talking about "filthy Russia." The most decisive of them have left the country. Now they live in the same kitchen atmosphere somewhere in the suburbs of New York or Paris and make little money with articles about horrific Putin's regime and age-long Russian imperialism.

It is very bad in fact. Not only because their articles sustain wild western myths about Russia. Mainly because the people we speak about are faithful, clever, and talented but they couldn't answer the Lord's appeal to a free sermon when it was needed. The Soviet reality made them hate people and be afraid of them. They didn't manage to overcome this hatred and this fear. Eventually those who had a chance to create a new Christian culture for Russia, to show and engrain it through broadcasts and papers, didn't manage to step out the limits of narrow, stuffy circle of "the chosen."


To be continued.

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