I'm interested in knowing why the Patriarch thinks that a breakup--thereby relegating Putin to foisting himself on a small backwater--would have been undesirable.
The will to a tyrannical Church/State symphony dies hard. Maybe it doesn't die at all, at least not in the fallen world.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
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Kirill prefers promoting neo-Soviet politics to preaching the Gospel. It is as simple as that. His priorities are lop-sided. Remember he was a protege of the KGB.
To what extent is the MP reliant upon state support? I'm guessing a good deal. And Putin probably helps keep the Romans and Protestants at bay as well.
Also, further devolution of Russia means, for Russia, encirclement by mostly Muslim allies of the neo-bolshevik US does it not?
Your guess about the Church/State symbiosis is correct. I've come across instances in which individual priests have been disciplined by their Bishops for criticizing the Russian State. The State controls the activities of alternative religions through regulations and permits.
State support for the Church with the goal of obtaining an august cheerleading squad is not unprecedented over the course of Orthodox history. One notable exception was the Serbian Church hierarchy's refusal of Milosevic's cynical offer to pay clerical salaries.
Putin's desires that Russia be encircled by his allies, not Western-oriented independents. Interestingly, former Warsaw Pact countries have led the world in enacting flat taxes and other pro-market reforms.
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