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Letter #59, 2017: And again, Hilarion[2017-09-25][Engleză]Monday, September 25, 2017, #2Reflections on Europe and Christianity A few days ago, I sent out an interesting, eloquent talk by an influential Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks of Great Britain, who called for a renewal of those "covenants" between man and man, and man and God, which bring peace, security, dignity and prosperity to human life in this world (see Letter #50, September 20, 2017). It was a call to return to "covenantal" thinking, and action, lest we ruin our world and poison our future, leading to much conflict, misery and evil. Today, another important talk... from a brilliant, sometimes controversial Russian Orthodox scholar, composer and religious leader, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, head of the External Relations Departments of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow Patriarchate and so, in a certain sense, the "foreign minister" of the Russian Orthodox Church. (Hilarion Alfeyev as a young man) Hilarion has just turned 51, so he is still in the middle of his life, but already his writing and musical compositions have drawn worldwide attention. I have collaborated with him on a number of cultural projects since 1999, and have found him to be an honorable, gracious and profound man of faith. Yet he has entered into polemics with the Catholic Church on several occasions, especially due to his public criticisms of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, an Eastern-rite Church in union with Rome which was cruelly suppressed by Stalin in 1946, then re-emerged triumphantly after the fall of the Soviet Union, now headed by a young and vigorous archbishop, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk. But these polemics, I believe, are all the more reason to keep open lines of communication, as the Orthodox and Catholic Churches both face very grave challenges in the 21st century. Hilarion, who was born and raised in the Soviet time and therefore experienced the communist system first-hand, studied in the 1980s at the Moscow conservatory to become a pianist and composer. He then changed course, entering the Russian Orthodox Church as a seminarian, and eventually studied abroad at Oxford in the 1990s. He speaks excellent English. Hilarion spoke in London on September 22 at the Russian Embassy to Great Britain at a conference on the topic of "The Christian Future of Europe." (Hilarion meeting with Pope Francis, with two interpreters, some months ago) What is the essential point of Hilarion's talk? That Christians in Europe, in the West, and throughout the world, should work together as they confront the challenges of an increasingly "post-Christian" world. One might almost say that he is calling for -- to use the term used by Rabbi Sacks -- a type of "covenant" between Christians who have for too long been in competition and conflict. Among other things, Hilarion notes that religious faith and practice, especially the faith and practice of the Christian faith in all its denominations, continues to decline in all of the highly secularized Western countries, while, paradoxically, it is on a steady rise in formerly atheist Russia. And, leaving aside the tragic spiritual consequences for individual souls (in part because of the secular audience he was speaking to), Hilarion is worried about the profound negative cultural consequences of this "de-Christianizing" trend in the West. "I firmly believe that a Europe which has renounced Christ will not be able to preserve its cultural and spiritual identity," he says. His conclusion: that Christians of all denominatons should work together. "I believe it important that Christians of Europe should stand shoulder to shoulder to defend those values upon which the life of the continent has been built for centuries, and that they should view the afflictions and dismay of Christians throughout the world as their own," he says. At a time when the mood in the West is at best to "tune out" all things Russian, and even to oppose and denounce anything and everything that comes out of that vast country, Hilarion's talk is all the more important. At a time when the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution is just a few weeks away (October 1917)... at a time when the 100th anniversary of the final appearance of the Virgin Mary at Fatima (who told the three children that "Russia will be converted") is less than three weeks away (October 13, 1917)... his talk is all the more timely, and compelling. ======= PRESENTATION BY METROPOLITAN HILARION OF VOLOKOLAMSK AT THE CHRISTIAN FUTURE OF EUROPE CONFERENCE (link) London, September 22, 2017 On 22 September 2017, an international symposium on the Christian Future of Europe took place at the residence of Russias Ambassador to Great Britain. The keynote address was delivered by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk (photo), chairman of the Moscow Patriarchates Department for External Church Relations. By Metropolitan Hilarion Your Eminences and Your Excellencies, dear Mr. Ambassador, conference organizers and participants, I cordially greet all of those gathered today at the Russian Embassy in London to partake in this conference dedicated to the question of the future of Christianity in Europe. This topic is not only not losing any of its relevance, but is resounding ever anew. Experts believe that today Christianity remains not only the most persecuted religious community on the planet, but is also encountering fresh challenges which touch upon the moral foundations of peoples lives, their faith and their values. Recent decades have seen a transformation in the religious and ethnic landscape of Europe. Among the reasons for this is the greatest migration crisis on the continent since the end of the Second World War, caused by armed conflicts and economic problems in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. According to figures by the European Union agency Frontex, more than 1.8 million migrants entered the EU in 2015 alone.[1] Figures from the UN International Migration Report show that the number of migrants in Europe has increased from 49.3 million people in 2000 to 76.1 million people in 2015.[2] According to research by the UN International Organization for Migration, throughout the world about 1.3 percent of the adult population, which comprises some 66 million people, in the forthcoming year intend to leave for another country in order to live permanently there. Approximately a third of this group of people 23 million are already making plans to move. 16.5 percent of potential migrants who were questioned responded that the countries at the top of their list are Great Britain, Germany and France.[3] The other reason for the transformation of the religious map of Europe is the secularization of European society. Figures in a British opinion poll indicate that more than half of the countrys inhabitants for the first time in history do not affiliate themselves to any particular religion. 2,942 people took part in an opinion poll conducted in 2016 by Britains National Centre for Social Research: 53 percent of those who responded to the question on religious allegiance said that they do not belong to any religious confession. Among those aged from 18 to 25, the number of non-religious is higher 71 percent. When similar research was carried out in 1983, only 31 percent of those questioned stated that they did not belong to any confession.[4] We can see an opposite trend in the Eastern European countries, in particular in Russia. A July opinion poll conducted in Russia by the Levada-Center showed a sharp decline in the number of atheists and non-believers from 26 percent in December 2015 to 13 percent in July 2017.[5] This, of course, does not mean that all the remaining 83 percent are practicing believers. Many defined themselves as religious to some degree or not too religious, but nevertheless affiliated themselves with one of the traditional religions. However, the number of people who define themselves as being very religious is growing steadily. The contemporary state of religious life in Russian society is directly linked to the tragic events of 100 years ago. The historical catastrophe of 1917 embroiled Russia in a fratricidal civil war, terror, exile of the nations best representatives beyond the confines of their homeland, and the deliberate annihilation of whole layers of society the nobility, the Cossacks, the clergy and affluent peasants. They were declared to be enemies of the people, and their relatives were subjected to discrimination and became the disenfranchised, which forced them to the edge of survival. All of this terror took place under the banner of a communist ideology that fought ferociously against religion. Millions of believers were subjected to the cruelest of persecution, harassment, discrimination and repression from mockery and dismissal in the workplace to imprisonment and execution by firing squad. The Church in those years produced a great multitude of martyrs and confessors for the faith who, as St. Paul said, were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment (Heb 11.35-36). Discussion on the future of Christianity in Europe is impossible without understanding the prospects for the survival of religiosity among its inhabitants. Sursa: www.InsideTheVatican.com Contor Accesări: 750, Ultimul acces: 2024-04-06 01:19:03
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