The theologian, philosopher and popular publisher Andrei Kuraev was deprived of his sacred dignity. This, decree Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ Kirill.
“More than two years have passed since the Moscow Episcopal Court’s decision to liquidate you and place a moratorium on issuing a decree to that effect; in a word, they showed no sign of remorse in their actions and, among other things, did not cease their destructive activities. <…> On the website of the Moscow diocese, the patriarch’s decree states that you are expelled from holy dignity ”.
Kuraev himself in LiveJournal commented The decree is a fragment from the poem “Habakkuk in Pustozersk” by Varlam Shalamov.
Our disagreement is not spiritual
About the age of the books.
Our disagreement is not the church
About the benefits of the chain.
Our disagreement is about freedom,
About the right to breathe
about the will of the Lord
Knit and decide.
He also added:
“The right to serve with the current Patriarch Kirill, that is, the patriarch he made himself, is a dubious honor. I haven’t thought about it and I don’t think it’s necessary to achieve it.
Kuraev noted that he could not yet say whether he would use his appeal against Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
Two years ago, Kirill forbade Kuraev to serve in the church, and the Moscow Episcopal Church Court recognized the protodeacon as subject to “decay”. The reason for the sanctions was Kuraev’s entry into the LiveJournal after Archbishop Alexander Ageikin, rector of the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow, died from coronavirus.
Kuraev wrote: “In my memory, this incompetent protopresbyter will remain a stupid careerist with a career in VIP service.”
Kirill considered Kuraev’s remarks “immoral” and “especially sarcastic”. The church court also saw signs of “blasphemy against the church” in Kuraev’s words. The protodeacon was not present at the meeting of the Episcopal Court – according to him, he was not allowed to learn the content of the accusation and was deprived of the opportunity to defend himself. To implement the court decision, Kirill had to issue a corresponding decree, but decided to give Kuraev time to correct it. The protodeacon said he wanted to “go with the Church of Christ,” but said he could not say “what relationship this Church has with a particular legal entity called the Moscow Patriarchate.” In 2021, the protodeacon tried to appeal the court’s decision, but to no avail.
In August 2022, Kuraev was fined for an article about discrediting the military. According to information from the case file on the website of the Nikulinsky Court, Kuraev published an article on his LiveJournal blog titled “This is a Civil War”, “where he carried out public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the RF Armed Forces”. During a special military operation in Ukraine.
Kuraev is a philosopher of religion, author of works on Orthodox theology, one of the most famous clergy in social networks and media. He spoke in defense of the Pussy Riot group after a performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 2012, and has often criticized the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church after he was expelled from the Moscow Theological Academy in 2013. In 2008, he became the laureate of the All-Russian “Person of the Year” award.
patriarch’s revenge
During a meeting with socialbites.ca, Kuraev said that he was calm about the patriarch’s decree and did not consider it a “terrible disaster.” He does not plan to appeal, as he is not trying to restore his protodeacon status.
“As a philosopher, I will say this: You cannot always carry the road behind you. You should always leave something behind and not turn the miles into a roll that you drag with you. Therefore, my mental state is stable, my demeanor is calm, I have no plans to take revenge on Patriarch Kirill or his patriarchy, and I have no relatives. I will not play the role of Cassandra. yes absolutely true [не планирую подавать апелляцию – Газета.Ru]. “A little wider context is important to me here, and we should not try to renew the old status,” he said.
According to Kuraev, a philosopher should “always be alone” and such an “exile” is probably even better for him: “I got into a huge multi-million dollar company, now I’m slowly moving away from it. Maybe it’s better for the philosopher again.”
He also mentioned a “mystical” event that happened to him after the Episcopal Court meeting in 2020: then he opened one door at the exit of the Ecclesiastical Council Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and another opened. in front of him. “Even then, I concluded to myself that another door, another life, was opening for me. We must try to find this way so that we do not distract ourselves from it.
In a conversation with RBC, Kuraev noted that his conflict with the patriarch was not of a personal nature, but rather “ethical, theological.”
“The question is whether the patriarch can push the Sermon on Mount Jesus aside with his own hand. I’ve been running a public policy on violence since 2011, namely: Is it permissible for a Christian to push back the Sermon on Mount Christ and call people to the church, to the faith, to share? refusing to criticize our faith and church life and views, ”- aforementioned HE.
In an interview with Attention Media, Kuraev declarationHe emphasized that arguing with the Patriarch was meaningless and that “they do not have a special discussion, they have a different understanding of Christianity”.
“On this subject, I remember his words, if I am not mistaken, Bukharin said that it is very difficult to argue with Comrade Stalin. But you can defend your beliefs. It’s still possible. In some common areas. Because I don’t have a private discussion with Kirill, it’s not personal. We have a completely different understanding of Christianity, Christian ethics. “On a very understandable question, whether the church should resort to violence to subdue it,” he said.