Ukrainian Catholic Analysizes Russian Attitude

KIEV, Jun 25, 01 (FIDES/CWNews.com) - Why are the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church so implacable in their opposition to the Pope's visit to Ukraine? The FIDES news service asked Father Stefano Caprio to answer that question.

Father Caprio is a Catholic missionary in Moscow, and an expert on Russian culture. As he sees it, the Orthodox hostility-- which emanates from Moscow, and finds its local expression in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the leadership of Metropolitan Vladimir, who is recognized and backed by Moscow-- is a product of Russia's unique history and culture. Asked by FIDES why Metropolitan Vladimir would not meet with the Pope, he answered the inquiry at length:

"This refusal of the Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev, Vladimir, to meet the Pope of Rome is all in the spirit of modern Russia. For the rest of the world this attitude of closure is inexplicable. But for the Russian way of thinking it is perfectly comprehensible: standing alone, going against all logic and against the entire world and being proud of one's isolation, is a trophy for true Russian logic.

"A variety of reasons form this reversed position.

"First is national pride, which in Russia is expressed differently than in other countries. Being "Russian" does not mean proclaiming some particular identity, or racist superiority; it is feeling of being absolutely unique-- 'different,' called to a special mission to the point of paradox. ('If all the world goes one way, we must go the other, come what may.') From this point of views sustaining the power of the Russian nation is not the goal, but rather the means of fulfilling a mission.

"Second, there is a religious reason, which is the result of the long history of Christian separations. The Russian Church is the 'youngest' of the 'ancient' churches and it can impose its specific model only by declaring the elder sisters 'have deviated' into heresy. In this sense the meeting at the Philharmonic Hall was a golden opportunity for Moscow Orthodoxy to demonstrate its distance from the Christians of Rome, Constantinople, and Kiev and to stand out in the eyes of its faithful as the one incorrupt Church!

"Third there is a 'spiritual' reason. Moscow's unshakable position is expressed in a radically eschatological perception of the faith and of the latter's development in history. For many Russian Orthodox, the Third Millennium is the final drama, the revelation of the Antichrist, of which the Pope is a symbol. It should not be forgotten that in Greece too there were monks who accused the Pope of being the Antichrist. 'Authentic believers' must reject any compromise with 'false prophets,' unreliable and persuasive, especially when they hold out a hand to offer 'hypocritical peace.' Among these false prophets they list, first of all, the various modern sects; then the congregations of heretical Catholics and Protestants; and lastly the fringes hiding even within the Orthodox flock-- liberal theologians who are seen as in need of extreme purification, until only the 'remnant of Israel' remains. Only this 'remnant' can represent the whole of humanity and act as mediator in front of the divine court, whose doors are already beginning to open."

Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update
25. juni 2001