Metropolitan Kirill meets with rock musicians

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, met on April 14, 2006, with rock musicians Yuri Shevchuk, Constantine Kinchev, Roman Neumoev, Stanslav Bartenev and others, at the DECR.

They were joined in their talk by Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, DECR vice-chairman, Hegumen Sergiy Rybko, Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, Deacon Andrey Kurayev, representatives of the public, journalists, and DECR staff.

The musicians explained the difference between their creative work and the so-called popular music. According to them, the most important thing in a rock composition is its text and its meaning which are called to awaken thought and to stir conscience. At the same time, they admitted that rock music is very diverse. As Kinchev put it very vividly, it is like a sea in which there are whales, but also a lot of plankton. Shevchuk and Kinchev explained that their conversion did not alienate their fans from them.

Contradictory views were expressed concerning a possibility of conducting Orthodox preaching during rock concerts. Summing up the discussion, Metropolitan Kirill said that much depends on the context, the situation and the ability of a particular priest. It is impossible to address a rock audience with a traditional church sermon. ‘One has to enter this milieu and preach from within, to give the listeners a correct impulse. If there are people who can address this audience with proper words, they should not be prevented from doing it’.

Addressing the rock musicians, the DECR chairman underlined, ‘If God is present implicitly and invisibly in your creative work, if your listeners are aware of your faith, this will have a tremendous missionary importance’. At the same time, the metropolitan stressed the need to observe tact and measure in everything.

He reminded them of another missionary resource of rock music. Having underlined the self-value of Orthodox liturgical culture, he expressed the conviction that it does not need any modernization. He believes it unnecessary to use any musical instruments including electronic ones during the liturgy. At the same time, the DECR chairman drew their attention to the special thrust of the Orthodox missions in which the creative work of rock musicians can be very beneficial. In his opinion, it would be beneficial to hold youth meetings outside the liturgy, in which youth can not only discuss various theological themes, but also sing under guitar’s accompaniment, including rock compositions.