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Orthodoxy in Russia Today

Given the current explosion of interest in Orthodoxy in countries of the former Soviet Union, it seems that countries like Russia and Ukraine are struggling in their efforts to keep up with the pace of growth.

Orthodox church in winter

(Above: Most churches across the former Soviet Union are older. Now funds are being raised for new churches to try to meet rising demand.)

The Russian Orthodox Church is the main and semi-official religion of the Russian Federation. The religions of Islam, the Jewish faith and Buddhism also share a special status within the Russian Constitution and along with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Orthodox Christianity (Russian: Православие Pravoslavije), is Russia’s traditional and largest religion, deemed part of Russia‘s “historical heritage” constitutionally.

Government support is not the reason, however, why churches are full on Sundays and holy days. That is because Orthodoxy is rebounding as a very strong influence in Russian life today. Russia has celebrated the Christian faith as expressed in Eastern Orthodoxy for over a thousand years and it is deeply ingrained in Russian culture and in the hearts of many believers.

Choir-communion

In 2008 the government released findings that approximately 67% of the population call themselves as Orthodox believers. The under 30 population is swelling in what some call a “revival” of faith.

Youth

Countries like Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Moldova are reporting similar growth in interest in the Orthodox faith. Churches are packed and sometimes lines form with parishioners waiting patiently outside for someone to leave so they can enter. In Russia this has caused the government to work with the church to speed up the process of rehabilitating churches which were seized for other purposes by the Soviet government after the 1917 revolution.

Choir

(Photo: Young choir director. The under 30 age demographic is leading the so-called “revival” in Orthodox interest.)

At Easter the dining rooms at the Kremlin (presidential administration) and the Russian White House (parlimentary administration) change the diet served for both major Lenten fasts each year for 40 days prior to Easter and Christmas.

Public school cafeterias also observe the Easter Lenten and Christmas fasts in which no meat and no dairy products are consumed. Even major supermarkets and little street markets stock items reflected in the annual fasting and feasting cycles.

Very often when the church declares a holy day, the government responds in kind. In the whole of Russia generally Orthodoxy is the only religion which enjoys this status however in the Jewish, Muslim and Hindu republics local authorities are free to follow special holy days on the calendar but must also respect the rights of local Orthodox population.

Government services are offered the Russian Orthodox Church including security protection by the Russian FSB. The Russian government also provides funding to the church for rebuilding old churches which were destroyed during the Soviet period.

2073804044_5815e2f069

(Above: Sign says да благословит вас бог, or “Yes, God will bless you.”)

The demographic of Orthodox believers is growing rapidly in the under 40 age group.

Orthodox leaders are excited about the return to the faith of the young generation.

Orthodox service, Russia.

Often churches are filled each Sunday.

The younger generation is rediscovering the Orthodox faith.

More coming soon…

Except that they are not. Regular attendance at Liturgy runs even blow the abysmally low levels found in Greece.

Hmmm...well the writer lives in Russia, and by the way, since you mention Greece-- I spent some considerable time in Athens a few years ago, and I visited a different church each Sunday--every single church was completely filled.

And during Lent, one can walk into any church off the street (there is one in every neighborhood) on a Friday Salutation service at 6:30, and people from all walks of life, and every age, casually dressed(on their way home after work, shopping for groceries, shopping for other things since the hour marks the beginning of the evening retail hours, etc.) PACK the churches...because the love for these services dedicated to the Virgin Mary is so strong and ingrained in the soul of the Hellene.

So, does that mean that every person I know is a church goer there? NO, alot of them (Athenians) aren't generally church goers on a regular basis, but Orthodoxy, unlike Catholicism, does not require you to be...

On the other hand, those outside of Athens, who live in towns, villages, and islands do attend church more frequently.

You can argue all you want, Stuart, but unless you lived the ethos of Orthodoxy in these countries, you cannot really speak.

Unlike Western Europe, where I lamented that only tourists visit the great churches and Cathedrals as museums (I and another woman were the only people who actually crossed ourselves and prayed in a pew at the Church of St. Mark in Venice, and the hordes of tourists looked at us perplexed)churches in Greece always have people walking in off the street, lighting a candle, venerating icons, and perhaps sitting a few moments in silent prayer..they are not museums but living houses of worship.

Yeah, but objective studies say otherwise. See here: Religious Belief Not Church Attendance [saintsimons.org]


See also this article: Russia Emerges as Europe's Most God-Believing Nation [csmonitor.com] which reiterates the same observations: Russians are increasingly believers, but this has not translated into devout Orthodoxy.


In neighboring Ukraine, the situation is similar: Majority of Ukrainian Villagers Consider Themselves Orthodox but Go to Church Only on Holidays [02varvara.wordpress.com]


As for Greece: In 1994, it was estimated that no more than 24% of Greeks were attending church on a regular (i.e., monthly) basis; since then, all observers have seen a decline in Church attendance, though the Church of Greece refuses to allow an objective census to be taken. The most recent figures cited--by Orthodox commentators--is weekly Church attendance in Greece is on the order of 5-10% (at most). So, of 10 million Greeks, 93 million are reckoned to be Orthodox, and of them, no more than 930,000 can be found in church on any given Sunday.

It does not help the cause of Orthodoxy to turn a blind eye to manifest weaknesses in the Church. In fact, a failure to look at one's self objectively usually indicates a lack of self-confidence. The Orthodox need to stop drinking their own bathwater and address their own problems without recriminations or finger-pointing at outsiders (Catholics, Evangelicals, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, secularists).

And, in case some Catholics here are feeling smug--we need to do the same thing. Eastern Catholics in particular should be taking all of their Church membership figures with a big block of rock salt, and stop pretending that the situation is anything other than extremely grave.

Actually, it does. If you miss three consecutive Sundays without just cause, you must abstain from the Eucharist until you confess and receive absolution and are readmitted.

REALLY?...I will make sure we tell our spiritual fathers that! Ofcourse, the Eucharist is not taken lightly anyway in Orthodoxy..but there are many other sins and reasons for this which tend to be emphasized--

Sorry, please clarify. Large numbers of Orthodox don't come to church because nobody is making them and they can't be otherwise bothered to show up. Is this fact being held up to support the proposition that Holy Orthodoxy is probably alive and well in these individuals, or that it is probably not?

Look, whether you like it or not, your faith, Roman Catholicism is quite rigid and legalistic, while Orthodoxy is not. It is as simple as that and I don't expect you to understand that or to accept it.

..One can be a very practicing Orthodox and miss a few Sundays here and there. We aren't told that we are in grave sin or danger of hell for that. We *strive* for perfection, in attending Liturgy every Sunday, in frequent confession, in fasting and abstinence on Wednesday, Fridays, and all the fasting periods, etc, but many do not make the mark, but we are constantly encouraged to do so..

So, I am not going to argue with you, even though your tone tells me that you might like that.

Different cultures are different in so many ways and approaches to life, love, religion, food, work, relaxation, family, etc....

I won't judge you from my side of the cultural divide, so try not to judge the Orthodox from your side. Intolerance only pleases the evil one, and has caused more rifts and discord in families, in communities, in nations, in religions, than any other vice. Enough said.

Alice

The commandment to remember the sabbath day and keep in holy, supported by the interpretation of the Church Fathers and the teachings of the Church, should tell us that it is an obligation of the Christian to worship God on Sunday. From the Sunday worship all of our faith life should and must eminate.

Those who do not, at least, regularly worship on Sundays (if they are able to do so), can not reasonably call themselves practicing Christians. It is absurd to think otherwise. Those who fail in their duty to worship the Lord on Sunday have fallen away and can only be restored by Confession.

Christ told us to keep the commandments. His followers do so.

I have always believed it is gravely sinful to miss Divine Services on Sunday.

Ofcourse you are right, Rybak, but perhaps your intolerance and tone can be considered just as sinful as one who dishonors the sabbath.

After we go to Church on Sunday, how do we honour the Sabbath day in our activities? If many are true to themselves, they will realize that they may not be honoring it very well...

What of the Catholic Christian who goes to Mass during the week because he has something else to do on Sunday morning? I won't judge, if you don't judge.

Each Orthodox Christian is called to work out his or her personal salvation through his spiritual father. The Church is considered a hospital for sick souls in Orthodoxy. The 'doctor' knows how much medicine to give and how to give it to each of his patients.

After 70 years of atheistic communism, one cannot be judgemental of those who have not acquired a discipline of weekly church going, but can only rejoice in reading about their many visits to monasteries, their confessions, their new found love for the saints, etc.

Judge not lest ye be judged.

I'm not attempting to argue. I'm attempting to understand. Please correct me if I have misread you, but you're saying that eight out of ten Christians not attending liturgy on any given Sunday, or every given Sunday, should be rightly understood as a population of devout Christians who just really aren't inclined to being legalistic?

Great report, and wonderful news. When I was a young man I never dreamed that Christianity would be on the rise in Russia, because everything there seemed so hopeless.

With the increase in persecution of Christianity in the United States (e.g., the HHS mandate) I only hope that in a generation or two Christianity revives in America. The "free world" (i.e., North America and Western Europe) is becoming less free, while the former communist block countries are rediscovering their freedom.

The Quinisext Council (The Council of Trullo) Canon 80 - still upheld by Russian Old Rite parishes who make the penitent stand in the narthex until public re-admission. During the time of exclusion the peneitent must stand in the narthex and subsequently may not venereate the icons/Gospel/cross, receive blessings or antidoron as s/he has excluded themself from the liturgical fellowship.

The commandment to keep Sabbath, of course, has nothing to do with Sunday attendance, because Sunday is not the Sabbath. Sunday has superseded the Sabbath in some sense, but it's still a bit of a stretch to take that commandment and apply it to Sunday worship. That being said, most priests would probably agree with he gist of your post. After missing the liturgy for several consecutive weeks without reason, it is probably best that one is excommunicated temporarily while things are sorted out.

Inability to engage in samokritika is a sign of immaturity in individuals, institutions, and even nations.