The Vatican Is Fully Responsible for Freezing the Dialogue between the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches.The interview of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia to Asakhi Shimbun (Japan)

“THE VATICAN IS FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR FREEZING THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE ORTHODOX AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCHES”

The interview of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia to Asakhi Shimbun (Japan)

A: It seems to us that the Roman Catholic Church has recently been trying to intensify its influence on Russia’s geographic and spiritual expanses. The unilateral decision of the Vatican to reorganize its Church on the Russian territory is probably connected with it. What is the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church towards such policy of the Catholic leadership?

P: We consider the decision taken by the Holy See as a demonstration of unfriendly intentions to the Church called ‘sister’ by the Vatican during the last three decades. Our understanding of the sisterly relations excludes the possibility of taking unilateral steps without consulting each other, without respecting the views of the partner. What is even more surprising is that such steps are taken in a period when an improvement in relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church has just begun to show and when it seemed possible to renew the discussion on a whole rage of problems existing between the two Churches. In the present situation the Vatican is fully responsible for freezing the official dialogue, so it is the Vatican that has to take steps to lead our bilateral relations out of the deepest possible crisis.

A: As is known, the division of the Christian Church into the Western and Eastern Churches took place in 1054. Since then this problem has remained one of the most important ones in the world history. We know that the Russian Orthodox Church has always stood for dialogue with the Catholics. Your Holiness, do you consider a meeting with the head of the Roman Catholic Church possible so that you could discuss the problems accumulated for years? If such a meeting doesn’t seem possible now, then what in your opinion prevents the heads of the two Churches from meeting and what is to be done to establish confidential relations between the Orthodox and the Catholics?

P: A meeting of the primates of the two Churches cannot and must not of purely protocol nature, its aim is to lead the dialogue to a new, fundamentally higher level. That is why I always say that there is a possibility to meet in principle. Now the possibility of a meeting between the heads of the Churches is more illusory than before the decision of the Vatican to establish its dioceses in Russia was made, as it has created a lot of new obstacles for relations between our two Churches. To arrange my meeting with the Pope it is necessary to stop creating new difficulties, as as we have enough problems and difficulties to be resolved. We expect the Catholic side to show good will and responsibility for relations between the two Churches. At the same time, I would like to say that we maintain good relations with many dioceses, monasteries, parishes, educational institutions and humanitarian organizations of the Roman Catholic Church and these relations show that confidential dialogue and mutual respect are quite possible between the Orthodox and the Catholics. It gives us hope that the present difficulties are nevertheless temporary and may be overcome in the spirit of love, which was commanded to all the disciples of Christ.

A: Unfortunately, now we witness a sad tendency where Orthodoxy, which has always been the basis of the spiritual life of the Russian state, is subjected to unfriendly interference from various missionaries or sectarians such as notorious Japanese “Aum Shinrikyo”. As a result a part of the flock has fallen off the Church. What is the opinion of the ROC on this matter and what is to be done to strengthen the position of the Orthodox Church in society?

P: It is true that in this country where the Russian Orthodox Church has carried out its ministry for more than a thousand years, many Christian and non-Christian religious organizations and groups today are popularizing their teachings and creating their communities. Their activities, which they call mission and we call proselytism, are aimed at people baptized in Orthodoxy or connected with it by their historical roots, that is why the activity of such groups is destructive in all their manifestations. Proselytism destroys faith in people who adopted it in their early childhood. It destroys the national culture that has been always rooted in the Gospel in Russia. Such missionary work offends people’s national and religious feelings as it ignores spiritual and religious traditions of the nation. And what is important is that such mission often kills in people the desire to seek True God and True Faith.

Sects and cults spreading over the country are even more troublesome. The so-called ‘new religious movements’ are trying to review the whole system of Christian values, forming their ideology on the basis of reformed Oriental religions, occultism, satanism and witchcraft. But most of all we are concerned with the destiny of sectarians. Being deceived by vicious people seeking only to enrich themselves at their expense, sectarians usually lose their families, property and social relations and even an ability to live in society.

It is quite evident that our resistance to the spiritual aggression should be expressed through the means acceptable to the Church which cannot and should give a forceful response. On one hand, we try to conduct educational work. There are many Orthodox missionary, educational and other Orthodox centers that study the activities of sects and publish the results of their work in books, magazines and brochures. First of all, it is the Missionary Department of the Moscow Patriarchate. It has its own publishing organ, Missionary Review. There are informational, consultative and missionary centers in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Perm and other cities.

On the other hand, we develop active parish life, aiming our efforts at religious education of children and grown-ups. We spare no money and effort to charity work. In other words, we try to contribute to the solution of the spiritual and social problems our society is facing now. And we are convinced that a full Church life will leave no room for sectarian delusion.