You are on page 1of 19

Understanding Russia

Part Four A: Christianity in Russia

By

Raymond Buniak, Ed.D.

Fullbright-Hays Seminar 2008


University of Chicago, CEERES
American Home

Video Essay text:

Limitations text:

This video essay was created for limited educational purposes only. It may not be
used for commercial purposes or reproduced. Permission must be obtained for all
additional uses of this video.

Dedication text:

This composition is dedicated to the hospitality of the Russian people. It is a


characteristic that raises them to the forefront of humanity.

Overture text:

We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such
splendor or beauty anywhere upon earth. We cannot describe it to you: only this we
know, that God dwells there among men, and that their worship surpasses the
worship of all other places. For we cannot forget that beauty. (Primary Chronicle,
12th century). The tenth century envoys from Rus considered the central place of
beauty in worship and holiness that laid the foundation of the seven hundred year
old Byzantine culture.

Title text:

Understanding Russia
Part Four A: Christianity in Russia
University of Chicago
Fulbright-Hays Seminar 2008

Byzantium and Early Rus text:

Constantine I's impetus began a remaking of the Roman world according to Platonic
and other theories. The foundations required the resolution of universal questions
(e.g., justice, morality, correct living, happiness, etc.). The Byzantines found
answers by fusing the State and Christianity. Christianity, in turn, reconciled its

1
gospel with paganism through compromise. This foundation of dualism ultimately
produced the most absolute form of government ever known. Byzantium's emperor
stood above the State and the Church and each upheld him as God’s representative
on the earth. No one could participate or question his authority for his will was
identical with God's will for men. Ultimately they viewed their society as the arrival
of a God ordained eternal order.

Legitimacy stemmed from Christian and pagan relics which were buried under
Constantine I's pillar in the new city. Icons were later produced and disseminated to
further this authority. There were 88 emperors from Constantine I to Constantine XI
but only the strong survived (13 entered monasteries and 30 others died violently).
Justinian once survived by filling the Hippodrome with blood. Constantine I killed
both his son and wife. The Empress Irene blinded her son and took his title.
Perhaps it was because of this precariousness that only certain kinds of
characteristics were cultivated. Innovation might become incompatible with
security and, so, deviation might become a heretical abnormality and a civil crime.
Thus the conservators of Orthodoxy's essential timelessness became the
monasteries.

The Rus were Vikings (from Birka?) who traded along axis rivers from northern
Europe to Constantinople. Ryurik was the quasi-legendary founder of Rus. Arab
chroniclers described them as a warlike nation predisposed to trade. The Viking Rus
ruled over Slavic tribes (e.g., Drevlians, Radomichi, Severians, and Vyatichi).
Intermingling led to the adoption of the Slavic language and translation of
Scandinavian customs and military ideas. Valdamar became Vladimir, Helga
became Olga, and Ingvar became Igor. The characteristic of importing things and
ideas through trade or raiding was established.

Christianity in Rus text:

As in the rest of medieval Europe, bells regulated daily life and rituals of worship.
Ultimately Moscow had 5,000 church bells.

Christianity was known in Rus at a very early date. One legend says that St. Andrew
visited the future site of Kiev. Most significant, however, was the 9th century
evangelization of the Balkans, Moravia and Bohemia by Cyril and Methodius. A
fundamental aspect of Eastern Christianity was now established: the faith was
disseminated according to the culture and language of the local people. The
Glagolithic alphabet was devised for translating service books and essential Bible
sections. This yielded to the Cyrillic alphabet and eventually worship texts were
exported to Rus.

The Primary Chronicle suggests that Askold and Dir, two 9th century Viking
warlords, were baptized for a church was built on their burial mound. Kiev's next
ruler, Prince Oleg, however, was a pagan. Christians, Jews, and Muslims,
nevertheless, seem to have been tolerated in Kievan Rus.

2
During Prince Igor's 10th century reign, Christians were active in the army and
administration of the state. Igor's widow Olga was baptized in Byzantium in 946 as
a part of a trade agreement with Constantine VII. Later her son, Prince Svyatoslav,
initiated a pagan revival which was continued by her grandson Vladimir. Therefore,
it is interesting that Prince Vladimir adopted Christianity for Kievian Rus in 988 AD.
His people were baptized in the Dneiper River under the threat of the sword and
struggles with paganism ensued. It is thought that Christianity won out over Islam
because, drinking was the joy of Rus. Contemporary thought favors political
motives for Rus joined the Byzantine commonwealth on equal terms. Byzantium
acquired an ally and peace on its northern frontiers. Vladimir married the Byzantine
Princess Anna to seal the understanding.

Another stream of thought is simply that Vladimir completed a process that had
begun centuries before. He may have found himself to be an ever more isolated
pagan ruler in a spiritually and culturally Christian Rus and, so, found it expedient to
follow in Constantine I’s footprints. Prince Vladimir was baptized according to the
rites of the Byzantine Church in 988 at the southern Greek town of Chersones on
the Black Sea. The consequences were monumental. Rus became an interpreted
replica of the Byzantine philosophical State with a strong resistance from pagan
elements. This experience cemented a resistance to religious tolerance after
Orthodoxy was established. Pagan symbolic elements, however, persist until the
present time.

The nature of the new church in Rus is vague. Its basis was the Byzantine form of
worship together with elements like the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and Church
Slavonic texts. Vladimir built a church next to his palace and pledged a tithe. At
first, Greek prelates were appointed from Constantinople for this new ecclesiastical
province. Six dioceses were organized around important centers like Novgorod and
Turov. Monasteries did not exist in 10th century Rus. Vladimir instituted regulations
for tithes and the appointment of clergy, and worked towards an autonomous
Church of Rus. Evidence suggests that there was no hostility between the Latin and
Byzantine species. The 16th century Nikon Chronicle records an exchange of
envoys between Kiev and Rome circa 1000. Bishop St. Bruno of Querfurt was
received in 1007 by Vladimir.

After 1015 a time of violence ensued. Vladimir's sons, Boris and Gleb, were
martyred by their half brother Svyatopolk. In this they established a peculiar kind of
Russian spirituality whereby evil is conquered by a serene, self-emptying martyrdom
modeled after Christ’s passion and self-sacrifice on the cross. Yaroslav “the Wise”
(1015-1054) emerged as Vladimir's successor. During his reign over 600 churches
were established. The Cathedral of St. Sophia was modeled after Byzantium's Hagia
Sophia and Kievian Rus saw itself as a spiritual rival to Constantinople. Master
church architects were engaged, monasteries were organized, iconography, Russian
spiritual literature, hymnography and the Znamenny chant all developed.
Relationships between the Princes of Rus and Western Europeans developed. Oaths
3
and peace treaties between princes were arbitrated by bishops. Now the driving
impetus for development and activity was local.

Yuri Dolgoruki founded Moscow and played a key role in transitioning power from
Kiev to Vladimir-Suzdal. Along with fortresses, he established Ksniatin, Pereslavl-
Zalesski, Yuriev-Polski, Dmitrov, Tver, Kostroma, and Vologda. After his brother
Mstislav of Kiev died in 1132, Yuri began a war of conquest which was never
permanently resolved during his life. After his death in 1151, his second wife
moved to Constantinople (she was possibly the granddaughter of Alexios Komnenos
and Irene Doukaina). Yuri had at least fifteen children. Andrei Bogolyubsky was
born to Yuri's first wife, the Khan of the Cumans' daughter. As prince of Vladimir,
Rostov and Suzdal Bogolyubsky sought to unite Rus under his authority. From 1159
he struggled with Novgorod. In 1169 he sacked Kiev and reduced its importance.
He transferred the capital northward to Vladimir and built the Dormition Cathedral.
Andrei Bogolyubsky was assassinated in 1174.

In 1227 Rus fell under the Mongol-Tartar yoke. Today the Russians continue to mark
Batu Khan's lesson of disunity. The Mongols exhibited religious tolerance and some
converted to Orthodoxy. This preserved the Byzantine character of Christianity from
the havoc caused by the fourth crusaders who sacked Constantinople. The
Orthodox Church now looked inwardly and literature considered the tragedy of their
destruction. Iconographic and hymnographic innovation ceased. All of this now
ruptured the Russian Orthodox and Latin Churches.

Russia's resurrection began with Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod. Working from


cities independent of the Mongols, he fought the Western invaders at Lake Chud in
1242 and is credited with saving the Russian Church. In the late 14th century the
principality of Moscow emerged. A key figure during this time was St. Sergius of
Radonezh. He brokered a peace between the nobles of Rus and gave his blessing
for Moscow's Prince Dmitry Donskoi to fight the Mongol Khan Mamai at Kulikovo
Field in 1380. This battle shattered notions of Mongol invincibility in Russia.

St. Sergius' message was centered on prayer and contemplation as the bedrock for
service to Christians. He taught that God can be contemplated not in His essence
but in His energies and the human person can become united, or deified in Him, but
only through the way of the Cross and only by grace: man cannot become a god by
nature. After Sergius' death in 1392, the Orthodox Church in Russia experienced a
renaissance. During the early 15th century the onion dome style emerged, Rublev
created his iconographic masterworks, and Church’s mission extended to the Urals
and the evangelization of the Finno-Ugric peoples.

During the 16th century two streams of thought emerged. The Non-Possessors
preferred a life of prayer accompanied by material poverty. The Possessors
believed that monasteries should accumulate wealth to build schools, hospitals and
churches. Constantinople's fall compelled the Russian Church to seek a new

4
identity. The monk Philotheos prophesied that the first Rome fell because of heresy,
the second Rome fell because of infidelity to the true Church doctrine... Moscow will
be the third Rome and a fourth there shall not be. The Russian Church now viewed
herself as the primary guardian of the Orthodox faith. This stance was advanced
when the Russian Church achieved complete independence from Constantinople in
1589. The Kievan metropolitanate, however, remained under the domain of the
Greeks for a century more.

This achievement led to the replication of union between Emperor and Bishop.
Beginning with Ivan the Terrible, Tsar became an official designation for the ruler of
Muscovy with the blessing of the Church. The Church, however, could never be
reconciled to Ivan because of his cruelties. Metropolitan Philip was martyred for this
stance. By the 17th century, the tension between Tsar and Patriarch erupted into
overt hostility.

Patriarch Nikon introduced liturgical reforms on the basis of his Sovereignty. This
created a schism which persists to this day. Old Believers preferred martyrdom to
surrender of rites prescribed by their service books. After 1666, the Old Believers
believed that the reign of Antichrist had begun in the Russian Church. Today there
are about five million Old Believers in Russia. In the 17th century the Orthodox
Ukrainian hierarchs, influenced by Polish Jesuits, entered into a union with the
Roman Church. They worship according to the Byzantine rites, yet owe allegiance
to Rome.

Peter the Great replaced the Orthodox Patriarch with a Holy Synod headed by a
Procurator (a lay man) answerable to only himself. The Procurator could appoint
and transfer bishops. This transformed the Orthodox Church into an imperial
ministry of religion. Catherine the Great confiscated monastic lands and placed
severe restrictions on those called to monasticism. This strengthened the Old
Believer's ideology. Church academies (organized on Western models in the 17th
century) became so detached that by 1800 all teaching was conducted in Latin.
Protestant theology was learned to combat Catholicism and Latin theology was
learned to combat Protestantism. Iconography exhibited traits of portrait painting.
Hymnography was influenced by European baroque music and opera. Yet, behind
this facade of compliance, the spiritual life of the Church continued. This Synodal
period remained until 1917.

Focus on “Old Believers” text:

Civilizing the Slavs was Byzantium’s most enduring gift to the world. (Ihor
Sevcenko). Yet, the 1666 schism was less than civil for Rus’ Orthodox believers. In
1652 Nikon introduced a preliminary alignment of Russian and Greek Orthodoxy. In
1666, after a second synod, the old rite was anathematized with State backing and
objectors became raskolniki. The Russian Church now seemed to be a house of
5
serious liturgical errors. Later research vindicated the unrevised Muscovite
materials as being older and more venerable than the Greek ones. Some scholars
detect the political motivations of Tsar Alexis who wished to liberate all areas under
Ottoman and Polish-Lithuanian domain.

From 1666 onward, Old Believers lost civil rights and persecutions, torture, and
martyrdom followed. Their leader, the Archpriest Avvakum Petrov, was executed in
1682. Government sanctions ranged from a beard tax (Peter the Great) to exile
(Catherine) to death (Nicholas I). Even so, the Old Believers became the dominant
species in regions like Pomorye, Guslitsky, Kursk, the Urals, and Siberia. From 1905-
1917 a period of relief ensued. About 25 percent of the population claimed
membership in 1910. In 1971 the 17th century anathemas were revoked. In 1974
the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad asked forgiveness for past wrongs. The
schism, however, remains in place worldwide.

Folk Religious Philosophy Insert (Baba Vera subtitles) text:

Pavlopol. There aren’t many homes here. 52 or 53 families, and that’s it.

The people who used to live here… they really worked hard… they loved to work…
and they lived well.

That’s me. I’m really an old hag now. I never just sit around. I try to make use of
every minute.

Here’s Maria. She’s feeding her chickens, Maria is. She… her husband died on her
probably two or three years ago.

Fanya. She’s alone as well. Her husband dies. Her son doesn’t like to chop wood.
At least he saws it. He likes to drink and make merry. He’s quite old and still not
married. He’s about 40 I think.

Oh, here’s Katya. Her husband also died. I think about three years after mine, her
husband died. She’s also alone in th world. This place is full of old women on their
own… Fanya, Katya, Maria.

Men die and women stay on… That’s how God arranged it. God takes one with him
and leaves the other here. And the Scripture says, “Two shall be grinding grain
together, the one shall be taken and the other left.”

Faith means believing… in God, in myself, in life and all good things. That’s all
there is.

6
There is band and there is good. When you believe in God, you’re good. When you
reject that belief in anger, then evil owns you. And it prompts you to drink. And it
leads you to all things bad.

END OF BABA VERA FOLK RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY INSERT.

Focus on Old Believers continued:

There are ten million Old Believers worldwide. In Russia they face property
restoration challenges. Some sub-species do not recognize one another and require
re-baptizing. In 1846 the Popovitsy convinced the Greek bishop Amvrosii Popovich
to consecrate three Old-Believer priests as bishops. By 1859, there were ten
bishops and an episcopate was established. The Popovitsy continue to serve with
all of the sacraments and Eucharist.

Among those that rejected the Popovtsy solution the problem of perpetuating the
sacraments and the Eucharist emerged. These Beglopopovtsy rejected the
Antichrist's rule, preached apocalypse, asceticism, and adherence to the old faith
and rituals. They claimed that priests that had used the Nikonian rites had forfeited
their Apostolic succession. To them, the true church had ceased to exist on earth.
Priests and all sacraments except baptism were renounced. Although splintered,
the Bespopovtsy formed a hierarchy in the 1920s.

The Old Believers sought to preserve the purity of Orthodoxy as embodied in the old
rituals. They distrusted the State and Nikon's episcopate, and insisted upon
arranging their own spiritual lives. They hold that the preservation of a certain
condition that enables salvation requires living by the commandments of Christ and
tapping into the spiritual power and knowledge of the past as it is embodied in
traditional rituals. Some sub-species prohibit shaving beards and using coffee, tea,
and tobacco. The strictest Beglopopovsty refrain from outside contact.

Old Believers make the sign of the cross with two fingers and say the Jesus Prayer.
They use Church Slavonic translations, only recognize three full immersion
baptisms, and oppose ecumenism. Liturgically, Old Believers perform seven (not
five) prosphora, chant the alleluia verse after the psalmody twice (not three times),
use monadic unison singing, and practice seven species of Znamenny chant. They
use cast silver and bronze, wooden, or painted icons in the old style, reject
photographic replacements, and do not venerate portraits of Christ, Mary, or Saints.
Post 1666 saints are not venerated.

Moving Towards Modern Russia text:

7
In the 19th century the monks at Optina Pustyn sought to renew Russia's spiritual
life. Peasants and cultural figures-- Tolstoy, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Solovyov-- all sought
counsel there. Theological study was renewed and new Russian translations were
prepared. Educational standards and seminarian scholarship improved. These
influences contributed to Tsar Alexander II’s liberation of serfs in 1862.

The Orthodox Church founded Siberian and Far Eastern dioceses, and missions in
China, Japan, and Alaska. They sought to evangelize these areas by bringing the
gospel in the context of native languages and cultures. In Alaska, for instance, the
Bible and liturgical texts in the Eskimo languages were prepared.

The greatest saint of this time was Seraphim of Sarov. His spirituality focused on
prayer, compassion for the poor, spiritual insight and guidance. Seraphim stood at
the forefront of monastic eldership. Monks with charismatic gifts became spiritual
confessors to thousands of people and sometimes their healers. These elders had
great authority among educated and simple Orthodox believers.

By 1900, Russia had the largest single national Church in the world. From 1900-
1910 the Orthodox Church became conscious of infidelities to her apostolic mission.
Some individuals had converted only to advance imperial administrative careers
and the Eucharist was but a legal obligation. Proposed remedies included liturgical
language reforms and the reinstitution of a canonical patriarchate. The 1905 decree
on religious tolerance permitted this discussion.

Prelude to Modern Russia text:

Since the beginning, Russia has stood in opposition to the West. The Holy Roman
Empire's double headed eagle portrays principalities which fall under the pillaged
legacy of ancient Byzantium. The Russian Imperial Eagle, however, portrays
principalities to which the legacy of Byzantium was freely given. History teaches
that those that fail to build upon this ancient foundation will come to ruin in Russia.
Perhaps this is why Russia has persecuted its Church and produced more martyrs
than any other nation.

Orthodox Christians, Protestant Christians, and Pseudo-Christians text:

In October 1917 the Communists seized power. In November 1917 Tikhon (Belavin)
was elected Patriarch. Proposed Church reforms which were prohibited by the tsars
also were not allowed by the communists. The Church was assaulted from within
(i.e., Renovationism) and from without by plundering assets and executing objecting
priests and laity. Tikhon anathematized the communists. Later he was slandered,
placed under arrest and on trial. He died under mysterious circumstances in April
1925.

8
From 1917-1922, 28 Orthodox bishops and 1,200 priests were executed. From
1917-1940, 130,000 Orthodox priests were arrested. The Cheka executed over
3,000 clergymen in 1918. Many bishops and others faced the firing squad with
Christ-like courage and humility.

Eight metropolitans, 20 archbishops, 47 bishops, and tens of thousands of other


Christians died at Solovki. 95,000 persons met the firing squad there.

This was the basic idea behind Solovki. It was a place with no connection to the rest
of the world for half a year. A scream from here would never be heard. (A.
Solzhenitsyn).

... prisoners were forced to eat excrement. …on shoulders of officers they cut out
the skin. Those who called the name of God were crucified naked... (Prisoner E.
Solovyev).

A single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic. (Josef Stalin).

In 1927 the Metropolitan Sergei obligated clergy to proclaim loyalty to the Soviets.
Many refused, emigrated and set up the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile. By the
1930’s only a few bishops survived in the administrative structure. Church
properties, monasteries, and schools were closed or converted to other purposes or
destroyed. In 1920 there were 29,584 Orthodox Churches. By 1940, there were
less than 500.

In 1941 Stalin enlisted the Church's help in the war effort in return for which
Metropolitan Sergei was allowed to open a few monasteries and seminaries, recruit
new priests, and publish a church journal. The Church financed the Donskoi and
Nevsky tank columns. From 1945-1953, the Church was relatively unmolested. By
1959, there were 25,000 Orthodox churches.

According to the Mitrokhin Archive, Stalin established the Moscow Patriarchate as a


front organization of NKVD and later the KGB. Key positions were approved by the
CPSU and KGB and priests attempted to influence the World Council of Churches
and other organizations such as World Peace Council, Christian Peace Conference,
and the Rodina Society (founded by the KGB in 1975).

In 1945 Soviet authorities victimized the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church by


arresting, deporting, and sentencing Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj, nine bishops,
hundreds of clergy and leading lay people to Siberian labor camps. All of the
bishops and most clergy died in prisons, concentration camps, internal exile, or
soon after their release.

Under Khrushchev persecution was renewed. Over 12,000 monasteries, churches


and theological schools were closed, 50,000 clergy were executed, and the KGB
priesthood was strengthened. There were, however, no mass executions and

9
imprisonment of priests and believers. From 1960-1985, the Church was reduced to
something like a cultic institution. Religious education was replaced with the
compulsory study of scientific atheism. The Church had no media voice and priests
were not permitted to visit parishioners’ homes. Spiritual life and eldership
continued at the risk of KGB arrest and the price of decades in labor camps.

In response to a KGB priesthood that reported the names of its flock to authorities,
people ceased attending traditionally organized church services and created the
Underground Church phenomena. Sermons from the Russian Orthodox Church
Abroad were heard and links were established with Orthodox Christians in America,
Canada, and Australia. Traditional iconography and iconic theology was renewed in
the 1980s.

By 1987, only 6,893 functioning Orthodox churches and 18 monasteries remained.


Nevertheless, 40 to 50 percent of newborns were baptized and over 60 percent of
the deceased were buried according to Christian rites. Many Russians believe that
Baba had preserved Christianity during the hard times.

Government actions toward religious confessions were based upon State interests
and carried out for political purposes. Christianity was blackened in school
textbooks from historical and scientific perspectives. Believers were harassed,
imprisoned for their faith, and paid an economic price (e.g., career advancement
and eligibility for State-sponsored organizations). Actions included execution,
torture, prison and labor camp sentences, and mental hospital treatments. Some
were subjected to psychological punishment and mind control experimentation
aimed at eradicating personal beliefs. Over 20 million people died or were interred
in gulags. Most were not political prisoners. Some were sent for petty theft, jokes,
and work absences. Half went without trial. Stalin alone martyred 2,700,000
Christians.

After 1945, Protestants (Baptists, Pentecostals, Adventists, etc.) were compulsively


sent to mental hospitals, deprived of parental rights, and endured trials and prisons
(sometimes as conscientious objectors). Pentecostals were sentenced to 20 and 25
year prison terms en masse. Vladimir Shelkov, an Adventist, was imprisoned for
almost his entire life after 1931 and died at Yakutia.

Religious Pluralism text:

On April 16, 1905 St. Petersburg's Christian leaders were summoned to Princess
Lievan's palace. When all the guests arrived, one of the big folding doors opened
and our beloved princess came into the room, deeply moved, holding a copy of the
Manifesto in her hand. She could hardly read the glad news for inner excitement
and joy. When she had finished, those present joined in thanks and worship to the
Lord. Not an eye remained dry and not a mouth dumb. (Jakob Kroeker).
10
The 1905 Manifesto offered the hope of religious tolerance. Tsar Nicholas II,
however, took back many of the new concessions. Thus, the social net and uplift of
Christianity was insufficient to counterbalance the 1917 revolutionaries. The Soviet
Union was the first nation to adopt the ideological objective of religious
extermination. Although the official posture and State constitution was one of
religious freedom and tolerance, the Soviets enshrined atheism as the only scientific
truth. Criticism of this was forbidden and sometimes led to imprisonment.

Early non-Orthodox Christians included the Strigolnikis (14th century), the Molokan,
Dukhobor, Subbotniks (16th–18th centuries), and the Tolstoyan communities (19th
century). Quakers were involved with Tsars (e.g., Peter the Great, Catherine,
Alexander) in consultative roles from the 1700s. The Baptists appeared in
Transcaucasia, Ukraine, and St. Petersburg from 1860-1870.

The first translation of bible books into the Russian language of that time occurred
in 16th and 17th centuries. The Russian Bible Society was established in 1813 and
representatives of Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant churches attended the
opening ceremony. They joined together in the work of translation and distribution.
From 1813-1826 the Russian Bible Society distributed over 500,000 bible related
books in 41 languages of Russia. A complete version of the Russian Synodal Bible
was published in 1876. The government suspended the activities of the Society
several times in 19th and 20th centuries.

In 1944, the Baptists and Evangelical Pentecostals united to form the Church of
Evangelical Christians-Baptists. From 1945, Pentecostals were legally permitted to
hold services in buildings registered under this union. In 1990, at the first congress
of the Pentecostal Union of Russia a constitution and the name The Union of
Christians of Evangelical Faith of the Russian Federation (UCEPF) were adopted.
The second (1994) and third congresses (1998) amended the organization as per
government requirements in the new freedom of conscience and religious
organizations law. The UCEPF consists of over 1,350 churches, three theological
institutes, 36 Bible schools, 56 regional centers, and over 300,000 members.
Leaders were involved in the Constitution of the Russian Federation (1993) draft
process, signed the Treaty on Civil Concordance, and participated in the work of the
Presidential and Russian Council of Ministers' committee on communications with
religious organizations.

Modern Russia text:

During the Gorbachev – Yeltsin period new political and social freedoms were
manifested. By 1991, new laws spawned something like a Western understanding.
A time of hope ensued for all confessions. Several species of Orthodoxy (Free
Orthodox Church, True Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church Abroad,
Ukrainian Orthodox Church, etc.), Roman Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Krishnas,
11
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Bahai, the Unification Church, and others were able to develop
alongside the Russian Orthodox Church. Russians emerged from their spiritual
hibernation. Churches of the catacombs (underground churches) made themselves
public.

The 1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations created three
religious categories: religious groups, local organizations, centralized religious
organizations. There were operational differences for aspects like legal status and
privileges, conducting worship services and rituals, teaching religion, publishing
materials, opening new branches, and inviting foreigners to participate. Previous
demonstrable organizational longevity of 15 and 50 years was cardinal during a two
year re-registration window. Failure to comply within the time frame authorized
dissolution. Unregistered organizations without legal status could not own property,
have bank accounts, invite foreign guests, publish literature, enjoy tax benefits, and
conduct religious services in prisons, hospitals, and among the armed forces. This
was problematical for missions, emerging underground churches, and others that
depended upon proselytizing for growth.

Ultimately, compliance became a local concern. Since 1997 many regional


governments have enacted restrictions on the activities of religious organizations.
The National Security Concept (2000) states that, ensuring national security
includes countering the negative influence of foreign religious organizations and
missionaries. The 2006 Law on Public Associations has been used to obtain
documents, send representatives to attend events, and to conduct compliance
audits. The Federal Registration Service can close organizations that fail to comply
with timely paperwork submission. Even the Russian Orthodox Church found some
requirements to be problematic.

There are no reports of imprisonment for religious convictions. Local


implementation of current requirements, however, can impose subtle forms of
economic persecution and harassment. The Russian Office of Federal Human Rights
Ombudsman has determined that about 75 percent of the 200-250 religious
freedom complaints it receives annually (which represent thousands of alleged
individual violations) are genuine violations. The US State Department documents
these kinds of phenomena in its annual report on religious freedom in the world.
Clearly, at the root of this situation are individuals that have forgotten the
experience of all Christians sitting in the gulags together in league with those that
formerly persecuted them.

In December 2006 there were 12,830 registered Orthodox organizations (including


285 registrations of four Old Believers’ species).

Registered also were 68 Armenian Apostolic, 43 Russian Orthodox Autonomous, 42


Russian True Orthodox, 30 Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, 27 Molokan, 11

12
Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kiev Patriarchate, and 10 Russian Orthodox Free
churches.

The 4,453 Protestant registrations included: 1,486 Pentecostal, 965 Baptist, 740
Evangelical, 652 Seventh Day Adventist, 228 Lutheran (four types), 187
Presbyterian, 115 Methodist, 80 New and 70 other Apostolic, 32 Salvation Army, and
40 others.

The 1,487 registered Catholic organizations included: 1,234 Russian Catholic, 248
Roman Catholic, and 5 Greek Catholic churches. There was one registered Anglican
Church.

Others registered included: 386 Jehovah’s Witnesses, 50 Mormon, 27 Church of the


Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God, 24 non-denominational Christian, 11 Church of
the Last Testament, and 9 Unification Church.

There were 4,355 non Christian organizations registered: 3,537 Islam, 267 Jewish,
192 Buddhist, 80 Krishna, 20 Bahai, 14 Shamanism, 11 Pagan, 6 Taoist, 2 Assyrian,
2 Scientologist, 2 Tantra, 1 Hindu, 1 Sikh, 1 Zoroaster, 1 Tolstoy, 1 Rerikh, and 216
others.

Theological Response text:

Jesus said: Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Mt. 4.19).

In 2008, Russia had 142,008,838 people. More than 100 languages are spoken in
Russia by 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples.

Good fishermen know that not all fish can be caught with the same net or the same
bait.

Russia’s population is declining. Alcohol abuse, stress, drugs, disease, and other
afflictions contribute to a situation where men die at age 58 and women at 73.
There are thirty suicides per 100,000 people. There are 13,000 abortions per day.
There were only one million births in Russia in 2007. Human trafficking makes
Russia a major source of Internet pornography. Clearly, it is in the State's interest to
promote all entities that contribute to a social net aimed at alleviating these
conditions. The essence of true religion is to care for widows and orphans.

No matter if it is a white cat or a black cat; as long as it can catch mice, it is a good
cat. Deng Xiaoping, quoting a Sichuan proverb (1962).

Teacher, we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop,
because he was not one of us. Do not stop him, no one who does a miracle in my

13
name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not
against us is for us. (Mk. 9.38-40).

Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? (Lk. 6.46).

Russian Boy Preacher subtitles:

Brothers and Sisters… Christ has risen!

Indeed he has risen! (response) – this is repeated.

Brothers and Sisters, I want to read Timothy 18, verse 13. (He's pretending--the
reference is to John 14.1-4.)

Jesus said, "...I will go also to my Father because I will better glorify you because
you will be with me in heaven... I will prepare a place for you." (paraphrased)

Brothers and Sisters… Why is this written? (this is repeated)

You see-- that, that God can come and take… Bach! God came and took daddy and
me to heaven... but he did not take Liliu and Alosha. But why was this, Brothers
and Sisters? Because Alosha and Lillia are mocking Him now.

Brothers and sisters, one should say this…one should pray to Jesus and say this:
Father, forgive my sins... so that we would no longer sin.

Reading from the thirteenth verse, Jesus said, "I will also come again for you…
because I will prepare a place that will be, will be for us in heaven." (paraphrased)

Brothers and Sisters... tell us, please, if we, if we will behave correctly... We are
good! We are good! We are good! We are good! We are good! ...but in reality we
are not. In reality we…

Brothers and sisters, Our Jesus is going to heaven. Brothers and sisters, don’t we
want to get to heaven in one piece? For this we must listen to your mom, and not
abuse your brother… When God returns then you will get to heaven in one piece.

Do you remember Elijah? About Elijah? When, when, when, when the fiery chariot
came down for Elijah… How did he get in? In one piece or not? In one piece, right?

Yes, in one piece. (response)

That’s right, in one piece. But Elisha did not go to heaven because he was
entrusted to do even more good. Yes?

14
Brothers and sisters, we can also say that Jesus Christ is our teacher. Christ… Yes?
Didn’t I say it rightly? And we also can say that Jesus is the Son of God. He… loves
you and us. True? He loves… True, that’s the kind of son he is. Yes?

When we go, when a man dies, he goes before God in heaven, yes? He ends up in
heaven, yes? With God, yes? That’s where he goes, yes? Goes, yes? He can be
happy there. There he will have praise.

But when Jesus comes, Christ returns to earth then the bones that are hammered
into coffins with nails… the nails will rot and the coffins will open up! The earth will
open up! And the man will stand before God. And God will open a big book and ask
us: "Did you do good?" And we then will get to heaven, Brothers and Sisters. But if
God tells me “No, you did not do good” it will be too late. One has to pray, to ask
God for forgiveness before He returns, while He has not come back.

(THE END OF BOY PREACHER’S SERMON)

Theological Response text:

Make every effort to enter through the narrow door... Once the owner of the
house...closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading... he will
answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' There will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in
the kingdom of God but you yourselves are thrown out. (Lk 13.24-28).

THE END

Acknowledgments:

Meredith Clason and Jeremy Pinkham: University of Chicago, CEERES.

Ronald Pope, Ph.D.: American Home Serendipity Project.

Fulbright-Hays Program Hosts, Vladimir and Murom, Russia.

Lecturers: Vladimir State University.

Lecturers: Murom Institute of Vladimir University.

Tour Guides: Golden Ring, Moscow, and St. Petersburg.

Russian People and Officials: Golden Ring, Moscow, and St. Petersburg.

15
Music (in order of presentation):

Razboinika Blahorazymnaho (Overture): Myroma Music Video.

Byzantine Liturgical Chant: Leonidas Sphikas.

Blagovest (Bell Chimes): Alexey Utkin Kolo.

Psalm 33: Kiev Pechersk Lavra Monks and Choirs.

Our Father (Kedrov): Kiev Pechersk Lavra Monks and Choirs.

Lord, by Thy strength (Bortnyansky): Alexandre Govorov Choir.

Hymn for Jesus: St. Peters Nicholaevsky Palace Quartet.

The Body of Christ (A. Bessarabov): Kiev Pechersk Lavra Monks and Choirs.

Instrumental Folk Music: Muroma.

Having Seen the Resurrection of Christ: Alexandre Govorov Choir.

Sticheron to St. Nicholas (Uspensky): Alexandre Govorov Choir.

Final Bells: Alexey Utkin Kolo.

Adagio (Albinoni, arr. Giazotto): H. von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mother Ann's Song (Shaker): Boston Camerata.

Lord's Prayer (Kedrov the Son): Alexandre Govorov Choir.

Cherub's Hymn (Rachmaninov): St. Peters Nicholaevsky Palace Quartet.

On (He): Anonymous Artists.

Final Bells (reprise): Alexey Utkin Kolo.

Bless the Lord, O my soul (Ippolotov-Ivanov): Alexandre Govorov Choir.

We shall behold Him (D. Rambo): Sandi Patty.

Videos excerpted:

Great Blessing of the Waters: New Jerusalem Monastery.

Baba Vera (excerpts): Heinzel & Schlegel, Hochschule fur Film.

Nebo, Nebo (Heaven, Heaven): Choral video.

16
Josef Stalin Gulag Video: compiled by todlich.

Ivan-Wolf Kuritsyn: 1504: Lightyears888.

Russian Church Service Song: "I Surrender All".

Russian Boy Preacher: Molodezh.

Texts based on:

A History of the Russian Church: Very Rev. Fr. George Konyev.

Reports on International Religious Freedom: US State Department: 2001 through


2008.

Articles on Russian Religious Movements: Wikipedia.

Byzantium and Russia articles: National Geographic Magazine.

Richard Hellie, Ph.D. commentary: University of Chicago.

Robert Bird, Ph.D. commentary: University of Chicago.

Percy Gurvitch commentary: Vladimir State University.

Alexei Timoshchuk: Vladimir Juridical System Academy.

Major General Boris Gavrilov commentary: Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Fr. Innokenti commentary: Russian Orthodox Church in Vladimir.

Dimitri Petrosyan commentary: Russian Opinion Polling Bureau.

Production:

Produced, Edited, Directed: Raymond Buniak, Ed.D.

Baba Vera video subtitles: E. Mikhailik and M. Pipes.

Russian Boy Preacher subtitles: D. Skuodyte, Z. Shatinishvili, and R. Buniak.

Photography: R. Buniak and Internet friends.

17
Plan for Video Essay: Understanding Russia: Part 4A

Element Music Text Notes/Rationale


Overture Muroma Primary Chronicle Transport to video
world.
Byzantium & Early Byzantine 6th Text: Ray Every Russian
Rus picture collage century chant knows this
historical link
Church picture Chimes Text: Ray History of Russian
collage Orthodox Church
Church picture Psalm 33 Text: Ray History of Russian
collage continued Orthodox Church
Church iconostasis Our Father (Kedrov) Text: Ray Let’s look inside
and murals picture
collage
Iconostasis, murals Lord, by Thy Text: Ray Let’s look at
and icons picture strength legitimacy claims
collage transfer as per
Byzantine logic
Iconostasis, murals Hymn for Jesus Text: Ray Legitimacy claims
and icons picture
collage
Blessing of the Text: Ray Let’s watch a
Waters video church procession
and rite
Baba Vera video Folk philosophy
excerpt and religious
beliefs
Old Believers The Body of Christ Text: Ray Let’s think about
picture collage the schisms in this
belief system.
Old Believers Instrumental Folk Text: Ray Who’s right here
picture collage Horns according to
Byzantine logic?
Old Believers Having seen the Text: Ray Why was
picture collage resurrection of martyrdom the
Christ social answer?
Nebo choral video Evangelical music Text: Ray 19th century
Russian Orthodox
Chruch
developments.
Double headed Sticheron to St. Text: Ray Russia traditionally
eagles Nicholas in opposition to the
West
Transition Pictures Final Bells Text: Ray Moving into the
factory of martyrs
Gulag picture Adagio Text: Ray All species of
collage Christians and
18
others sat in the
gulags together
Gulag video Text: Ray Let’s reinforce with
movement
Gulag picture Mother Ann’s song Text: Ray Moving out of the
collage 2 nightmare
Memorial picture Lord’s Prayer Text: Ray Yes, it did happen
collage (Kedrov the son)
Kuritsyn video Text: Ray We constantly
repeat the same
mistake of making
martyrs.
Nicholas II & family Cherub’s Hymn Text: Ray He gave and took
picture collage away religious
pluralism and it
wasn’t there when
needed in 1917.
Modern Russia I surrender all: Text: Ray Gorbachev-Yeltsin
Russian evangelical to Putin-Medvedev
song service video
Non Orthodox On (He) Russian Text: Ray
church picture Christian
collage rock/ballad
Church registration Final Bells Text: Ray
titles
Picture collage, Bless the Lord, O Text: Ray Theological
Jesus icon, maps, my soul response
etc.
Russian Boy “Out of the mouth
Preacher video of babes”
Final title We shall behold Text: Ray Theological
Him conclusion
Credits We shall behold
Him

19

You might also like