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Conciliar Document of the 10th World Russian People’s Council

14.04.2006 · Архив 2005-2009, Документы  

We, the participants of the 10th World Russian People’s Council, which has brought together more than one and a half thousand representatives of the state, the Russian Orthodox Church and other traditional religious communities, the business world, science, culture, education, medicine, military personnel and public associations from seventy two regions of Russia and many countries of the far and near abroad, appeal to our compatriots.

We again and again testify that faith defines the moral tradition of the people, its spiritual life, its creative labours and the way of its cultural achievements. It is the spiritual strength without which it is impossible to solve the problems acutely felt by society. It is not fortuitous that our council has chosen the topic “ Faith. The Human Person. The Earth. Russia’s Mission in the 21st Century.”

Russia has been, is and will be a great power and has its own peculiar history and tradition. Our rich spiritual and cultural heritage ought to become an organic component of the future development of the country.

Russia is striving towards stabilization in her public life. The experience of world history testifies that the guarantee of stable development and general prosperity is progressive movement rooted in all that is best in the national historical heritage.

It is not fortuitous too that one of the main topics of discussion at the Council was the question of human rights. Contemporary Russia is the unwilling recipient of ideas and norms which in the second half of the twentieth century influenced the system of international law, yet were insufficiently adapted to the conditions of many societies. The Council adopts the Declaration of human rights and dignity in which freedom as a value is linked to the distinction between good and evil, moral choice and traditional morality.

We are convinced that today Orthodox Christians and all our compatriots ought to do all that depends upon them to defend the rights of those who suffer from being humiliated and injustice. This primarily concerns actual and the potential victims of terrorism, extremism and aggressive nationalism, and those people whose religious and national feelings are subject to denigration. We are called upon to pay special attention to the rights of young military personnel. Our concern should also extend to children, the elderly and invalids in social institutions, and those who are in places of confinement.

We heard with alarm testimony to the sufferings of Russians, Chechens, Ingushetians, Ossetians and people of other nationalities on the Northern Caucasus. We call upon the authorities and society to ensure that a peaceful and prosperous life in the Chechen Republic and the surrounding regions be restored in full measure. We express our deep anxiety at the actions of terrorists and extremists. We are convinced that it is necessary in the shortest possible time to restore the economy of Chechnia, the city of Grozny and return to a normal life those unjustly taken captive, refugees, re-settlers and those who have lost their homes.

With alarm we observe the inter-confessional confrontation in Ukraine. We hope that the President of Ukraine and its newly-elected parliament, the Supreme Rada, all its central and local authorities will, acting for the good of the people of Ukraine, be concerned to preserve in it a single canonical Church for the development of relations with other fraternal Slav nations, bound together by the baptismal font of Kiev and a common centuries-old history.

We cannot remain indifferent in relation to our brothers and sisters in Pridnestrovie, living in conditions of an economic blockade.

The state of agriculture has great importance for us. The cultivation and preservation of the land is a commandment of the Creator to the human person. To cultivate the land means not to abuse it but to render it beneficial and bring it into the fullness of being. In Holy Scripture the Lord tells us: ‘For the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me’ (Lev 25:23).

In Russian history agriculture has more than once become a testing ground for ambitious political and economic conceptions. The means received from the sale of raw materials are not to remain under a bushel, but ought to be rationally invested in the modernization of productivity, the development of infrastructure, education, science and culture and national projects. The best achievements of Russian science and technology, supported by the state and enterprise, ought to enable the production of high quality technological wares.

Today imperfect legislation, corruption, the low level of accountability among officials, business men and workers hinders the development of the Russian economy. We remind people that the problems of the national economy cannot be solved without calling to mind the moral and spiritual condition of society. This is how we understand the modernization of the country, which is today essential for the improvement of the material and cultural standard of living of the people. All of us – the people, the state, the Church, business associations, science, civil society, ordinary workers – ought to perceive the economy as an area for their concern.

Russia ought to be a part of world development as a strong and independent country. We believe that the spiritual and working potential of our people, its capacity for spiritual renewal, will again make our country one of the mighty nations. We welcome the development of inter-religious and inter-civilization dialogue as the cause vitally important for the peaceful future of humanity. We regard as essential to do all that is possible to avert international and inter-religious conflict, which destructive forces attempt to inflame on the territory of Russia. We believe it useful to view the question of setting up an inter-religious consultative organ at the United Nations.

In the 21st century, for Russia and the peoples of the Russian world of great importance will be questions not only of scientific and technological, economic and social development, but primarily the entire state of the spiritual realm. The successful resolution of problems will depend upon how they are written into the spiritual parameters of the original civilization which is Russia and the Russian world. The modernization of the country ought to be combined with an appeal to our eternal spiritual heritage, to the roots of that strength which made our Fatherland a great nation.

Russia has all opportunities for renewal. The pledge of this is, on the one hand, the preservation of independence and fidelity to spiritual and historical traditions, while, on the other, openness and a willingness to take what is best from world experience: not blindly and mechanically but creatively, in accordance with the peculiarities of Russian civilization. An important aspect of Russia’s mission in the 21st century is the active creation of a dialogue of religions, cultures and civilizations.

We believe that this will help our Fatherland to occupy a worthy place in the world community and build equal and mutually beneficial relations with other nations of the world so that together with them we may build up a harmonious and just world order.

6 April 2006