Orthodox Christians Can Help Rebuild East-West Ties
The Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg
Kazan, Russia -- For decades, many social scientists had pretty much two things to say about Eastern Orthodox Christianity:
1) that like all religions, it was disappearing with the advance of modern civilization;
2) that it derived most of its support from the reactionary tides of authoritarianism and nationalism.
Those pronouncements are being proved wrong. Today, as in the parable of the prodigal son, throughout Eastern Europe people are returning to the Orthodox Church in droves, and the effect in the public sphere, contrary to most expectations, is quite benign.
Though historically viewed with suspicion by Catholic and Protestant Europe, Orthodox Christianity can actually help bridge the Russia-West gap.
A monastery in Kostroma, one of the towns in the Golden Ring around Moscow
At the heart of much of the miscommunication between Russia and Europe today lies the unacknowledged and untapped longing of Orthodox Christians to be recognized as part of a common European cultural family again. The latest effort to bridge this divide was Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II's remarks in France, where he spoke poignantly of how the Christian identity Europeans historically share should promote dialogue on issues like human rights and peace, even with atheists and members of other faiths.
The patriarch was pointing out that, while they may differ on specific political issues today, a profound religious bond actually underpins Western and Eastern European cultural and political values. Sadly, this common bond is rarely mentioned, in either Russia or the West. Today's Slavophile Russian nationalists seem uncomfortable recalling that, despite his uncompromising critique of Western secularism, their avatar Fyodor Dostoyevsky always regarded Europe as Russia's "mother" civilization.
In the West, this oversight has more to do with the fact that Catholic and Protestant Christianity have so often denied an equal voice to those who disagreed with them. In both instances, Orthodox Christianity is seen as part of the problem in East-West relations, instead of part of the solution, as it should be.
Western suspicion of Eastern Orthodoxy can be traced back to before the Great Schism that divided the Christian Church in 1054. One hundred and fifty years later, it fueled the Crusaders' zeal for the sacking of Constantinople. In the 18th century, it became a main theme of Edward Gibbon's influential interpretation of the Roman Empire, which was later echoed in the writings of Oswald Spengler and Arnold Toynbee. And in modern times, Samuel Huntington, among others, has warned direly of the potential for clashes between "Slavic-Orthodox" civilization and the Catholic-Protestant West.
With the exception of Greece, this sad legacy has made Western Europeans notoriously slow to accept countries with large Orthodox populations into pan-European institutions. In the current expansion eastward, however, it is inevitable that the values and mores of European institutions and alliances will be shaped more and more by the traditionalist views of Orthodox Christian believers and less and less by the modern, secularized Protestant assumptions of Western European democracies. Orthodox believers already far outnumber Protestants across Europe, and by some estimates they may eventually even surpass Roman Catholics. If 21st-century Europe ever develops a religious complexion, it will be predominantly Eastern Orthodox.
In the long run, therefore, while the greatest challenge to Europe's cultural and political identity may come from the growth of Islam, its more immediate challenge is how to deal with some 40 million to 140 million Orthodox Christians who, when given a voice in European policymaking, will argue that churches should have a more prominent voice than heretofore in the shaping of social policy.
There are two ways of dealing with this challenge. One way is to stick to a narrow definition of "the West." Make modern-day secularism the gold standard of democracy and decry all challenges to secularism as examples of a "values gap" between East and West. This tried and true formula has the advantage of already being familiar, thanks to the cold war. Unfortunately, it is also a recipe for a conflict within European institutions. And, given the rapidly growing numbers, influence, and wealth of the Orthodox Churches of Eastern Europe, it is a conflict Western Europeans are likely to lose.
Another way is to expand the definition of what is "Western" through dialogue with Orthodox Christians. The goal of such a dialogue would be to stress the common roots that bind various religious traditions, to encourage models of tolerance that do not presume secularism, and the different ways to balance the disparate roles of church and state, while avoiding total estrangement of one from the other.
Such a dialogue would allow Europe to build a new foundation for East-West relations that is based on the common Greco-Roman and Christian heritages. Most important, it would promote a greater understanding in the West of the Orthodox churches' de facto role as the largest nongovernmental organization in Eastern Europe. In this capacity, they inspire the philanthropy, social welfare, and civic activism that help establish a healthy civil society.
It's time to rethink old assumptions about Orthodox believers and to tap the enormous contributions that they can make to the creation of a peaceful and prosperous continent.
This article was originally published in Christian Science Monitor.
Nicolai N. Petro is professor of political science at the University of Rhode Island. He has served as special assistant for policy in the U.S. State Department, and as civic affairs advisor to the mayor of the Russian city of Novgorod the Great. His books include: The Rebirth of Russian Democracy (Harvard,1995), Russian Foreign Policy (Longman, 1997), and Crafting Democracy (Cornell, 2004).
His web site is: www.npetro.net
Comments
"In the West, this oversight has more to do with the fact that Catholic and Protestant Christianity have so often denied an equal voice to those who disagreed with them."
Let's not gloss over this. As the Orthodox church becomes stronger, there is more evidence of it working to suppress the work of Protestant churches, particularly in rural areas.
Skepticism of the Church also exists in the West (and among Russians) because the Orthodox church worked for the KGB during Communist days, whereas the Catholic church in places like Poland stood with their congregations.
Further skepticism exists because the Orthodox church makes money selling cigarettes and bottling their own vodka. This is questionable ethically, given the health problems these create for Russians.
Posted by: JTapp | October 12, 2007 12:45 AM
"the Orthodox church worked for the KGB during Communist days, whereas the Catholic church in places like Poland stood with their congregations."
This is a naive and poorly informed view. All major Churches (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant or whatever) worked and are now working with the authorities. You fail to understand that the Church is just another tool to keep sheeple under control. That's perhaps why the Church refers to its clergy as "pastors" (which means "herdsman" in Latin) and to its customers as "flock", "herd".
Here's a recent example, if you still have doubts: U.S. FEMA program is training Pastors and other religious representatives to become secret police enforcers who teach their congregations to "obey the government" in preparation for the implementation of martial law, property and firearm seizures, mass vaccination programs and forced relocation.
So when Halliburton finishes building concentration camps and the martial law is implemented you should know whose side the Church in going to be on.
Posted by: Epet | October 12, 2007 8:48 PM
"...whereas the Catholic church in places like Poland stood with their congregations."
Not really:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16524325/
Posted by: Religious skeptic | October 12, 2007 9:46 PM
J. Tapp:
Some Polish Catholic clerics were found to have collaborated as agents for the Polish Communist regime.
After WW II, elements of the Vatican gave refuge to Nazis like the Croat Ustasha.
During the Soviet period, not all of the ROC hierarchy were Communist agents.
The point of this message is to show how easy it can be to collectively stereotype a whole group in a way that's offensively wrong.
Regarding the ROC and the West, here's a recently released article on the subject:
http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=Politics&articleid=a1191934312
I take issue with your characterization with the ROC position on Protestant churches. Part of the problem relates to well funded outsiders having a religiously imperial attitude (if you may) that pre-supposes Russia as either not having discovered "true Christianity" or not respecting the ROC's place in Russia.
Put it this way, I'm not quite sure how Utah would embrace a well funded ROC campaign aimed at establishing a base in that state and seeking new converts.
All Christian and other major religious denominations need to work to create a better understanding among themselves.
Like other Russian orgs., I sense that the ROC might need help in better communicating its position to the non-Orthodox Christian English language community at large.
Posted by: Michael Averko | October 12, 2007 11:41 PM
I do not know if either of you have spent much time in either Poland or Russia, nor are acquainted with any of the religious community there.
Sure, there were Polish churches who sold out congregants to the KGB. But that was more the exception than the rule. That's why the Catholic church remains strong to this day. Recent polls have shown that only about 3% of Russians attend any form of church at all in a given year. I don't have the figure onhand for Poland, but it's significantly higher.
Secondly, I know of no Protestant pastors who have come out against any Orthodox activities. But, I know several protestants who have been beaten, jailed, and even stoned (in rural areas) because Orthodox ministers incited their followers to do so, while the police either participated or looked the other way. Every week there are reports of this from religious unions as well as secular NGOs in the country.
And for the wildly exaggerated article on FEMA working with pastors, I suggest you cite a more credible news source. There are hundreds of thousands of churches in the US. If a few dozen pastors, separatists, or community leaders participate in such things then it doesn't mean much in reality.
Posted by: JTapp | October 13, 2007 5:24 AM
And I would also point out to the person who linked the "Polish Spy Scandal" that you sort of proved my point. The whole reason it's a scandal, and the whole reason the "brothers" asked the leader to step down, is because the vast majority of church leaders didn't cooperate with the KGB. It was outside the norm, and thus it's a "scandal." Why no such "scandals" in Russia? Because it was accepted as the norm for the clergy to be pawns of the KGB back then. Ask any Russian on the street what they think of clergy and government. Just about anyone over the age of 35 will express some resentment in their participation in government schemes.
Posted by: JTapp | October 13, 2007 11:52 AM
J. Tapp
Your commentary overlooks a number of variables which show a lack of sympathy and respect for the ROC heritage. It relates to this below review related to the subject:
Christmas Cheer in Russia http://www.russiablog.org/2006/12/christmas_cheer_in_russia.php
Excerpt:
"It is interesting on several counts, one being that an Orthodox revival has not generated discernible antagonism toward other faiths, even though the governmental bureaucracy is suspicious of new, proselytizing faiths to the point of harassment in some cases."
A September 29, 1997 PBS News Hour feature "Limiting Religion in Russia" ( http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/europe/july-dec97/russia_9-29.html ) addresses the above excerpted quote.
As per the cited PBS News Hour feature, here're the following excerpts from Father Leonid Kishkovsky, of the Orthodox Church in America:
"And I think it's very important to remember that less than 10 years ago Russia and the other parts of the Soviet Union were closed totalitarian societies and the Russian freedom, which we all welcome and certainly the Russians welcome, brought with it also a very massive and aggressive missionary effort from North America, Western Europe, and Asia, and that very high profile and well-financed missionary effort by groups coming from outside certainly created some social tensions. And I think that they are understandable tensions; they are tensions that would exist in our own American society should there be such a massive in-rush of missionary activity coming at a weak moment in national history when people are disoriented, anxious about the future, hopeful for freedom, but also not certain how to live in free circumstances."
and
"Let me give you one illustration. Several years ago the Unification Church, which we all know in the United States, in Russia reached an agreement, signed a kind of contract with the Russian federation's Ministry of Education and through that contract had direct access into the public schools of Russia providing a curriculum on moral values. Now, understandably, that created a real unhappiness for the Russian Orthodox Church and I would guess for Baptists and for Catholics in Russia as well. And it's that sort of un--I don't like the word 'regulation,' but it is this--this kind of chaotic reality of how religion entered into the public arena that has produced what I think is a very unfortunate reaction."
Granted, that PBS feature was about ten years ago. However, the wrongs done during that period, only started to significantly change with the Putin presidency. Added to that, is the roughly 70 year Communist period, which doesn't so easily wear off.
Posted by: Michael Averko | October 14, 2007 9:23 AM
I have to agree with Mike Averko. How much business does the Catholic church control? Not to mention the fact of routinely "excommunicating" those politicians who do not toe the party line. Where is the separation of church and state. Also, Mike's point about putting up orthodox cathedrals and flagrantly recruiting in another's home turf is just plain rude. It is a little like Condi Rice going over to Russia and saying that Putin has to change his form of government because it is too authoritarian. I am not sure who she is comparing it to. Why don't we tell the same thing to the Saudis for example, or even to Pakistan? No explanation. So, if RF decides to put up a missile shield in Canada and Mexico to protect them from rogue missiles from Israel, well that would make about as much sense. But Russia is older and wiser. We are the impudent teenagers on the globe. Didn't anyone ever hear of customary international law? OR even the concept of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you?" Its part of Christian theology last time I checked. OR are we dealing with ANTI CHRISTIANS here?
Disgusted with US foreign policy.
Lois White Buffalo
Posted by: Lois DuPey | October 14, 2007 6:42 PM
Are there any good Catholic churches in Poland. please let me know... love to hear that.
Posted by: Ashish | October 15, 2007 5:44 AM
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost...world without end, Amen.
Posted by: Alexander Nevsky | October 29, 2007 8:45 PM
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Posted by: Jesus Christ | November 16, 2007 11:20 PM