Religions in Russia. State religion and other religions of modern Russia
The Russian Federation is a multinational state, and this moment Representatives of more than 160 peoples and ethnic groups live in the country. According to the Constitution, all citizens of the Russian Federation, regardless of ethnicity, have equal rights and freedom of religion. Historically, different peoples living on the vast territory of Russia profess different religions and have different customs and traditions. The reason for such a difference in the culture and beliefs of different nationalities is that a few centuries ago, many peoples who live on the territory of the modern Russian Federation did not have any contacts with each other and lived and built their civilizations separately from each other.
If we analyze the population of the Russian Federation by belonging to one or another ethnic group, we can conclude that in different regions countries are dominated by representatives of certain peoples. For example, in the Central and North-Western regions of the country the Russian population predominates, in the Volga region - Russians, Kalmyks and Tatars, in the regions of Western and Central Siberia - Altaians, Kazakhs, Nenets, Khanty, etc., in Eastern Siberia - Buryats, Tuvans, Khakassians, etc., and in the Far Eastern regions - Yakuts, Chukchi, Chinese, Evens and representatives of many other small peoples. The religions of Russia are as numerous as the peoples inhabiting the state, because at the moment, representative offices of more than 100 religious organizations are officially registered on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Number of believers in Russia and their religions
IN modern Russia There are also adherents of Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, as well as people professing the traditional religions of the peoples of Russia, and members of religious organizations that are classified as totalitarian sects. According to studies by statistical agencies, more than 85% of Russian citizens believe in supernatural forces and belong to one or another religious denomination. In percentage terms, the religious affiliation of citizens of our country is as follows:
- Parishioners of the Russian Orthodox Christian Church - 41%
- Muslims - 7%
- Christians who consider themselves Orthodox, but are not parishioners of the Russian Orthodox Church - 4%
- Adherents of paganism, Old Believers and traditional religions peoples of Russia -1.5%
- Buddhists - 0.5%
- Protestant Christians - approx. 0.3%
- Catholic Christians - approx. 0.2%
- Adherents of Judaism - approx. 0.1%
- People who believe in the existence of God, but do not identify themselves with any religious denomination - approximately 25%
- Believers professing other religions - 5-6%
- Atheists - approx. 14%.
Since a huge number of representatives live in Russia different nations, and thanks to migration processes, thousands of immigrants from Central Asian countries and a number of other countries move to the country every year for permanent residence, you can determine what religions exist in Russia by simply opening a reference book on religious studies. The Russian Federation can be called a unique country of its kind in terms of religious composition population, since there are both adherents of ancient beliefs and followers of many. Thanks to the freedom of religion guaranteed by law in every big city The Russian Federation has Orthodox and Catholic churches, mosques, and representations of numerous Protestant and religious-philosophical movements.
If we consider the religions of Russia geographically, we can conclude that Christians live in the western, northwestern and central regions of the Russian Federation, in the central and eastern Siberia Along with Christians, adherents of the traditional religions of the peoples of Russia live, and the North Caucasus is inhabited predominantly by Muslims. However, in recent years the situation has changed significantly, and in such megacities as, for example, St. Petersburg and Moscow, which during the existence Russian Empire inhabited exclusively by Christians, more and more Muslim communities and Protestant religious organizations are appearing.
Traditional religions of the peoples of Russia
Despite the fact that many Russians are confident that Russia is a primordially Christian power, this is not the case. Christianity began to spread in the territories that are now part of the Russian Federation in the first half of the second millennium AD, and Christian missionaries came to the eastern regions of Russia and Siberia even later - in the 1580s-1700s. Before this, the peoples living on the territory of the modern Russian Federation believed in pagan gods, and their religions had many signs of the most ancient beliefs in the world -.
Slavic tribes, who inhabited the territories of western Russia in the pre-Christian era, were, like all Slavs, pagans, and worshiped a number of gods that identified the elements, natural and social phenomena. To this day, in different regions of Russia, monuments of pagan Slavic culture have been preserved - statues of ancient gods carved from wood, the remains of temples, etc., inhabiting Western Siberia, like the Slavs, were pagans, but their beliefs were dominated by animism and shamanism. But on far east, which in the pre-Christian era was sparsely populated, was inhabited by tribes whose culture and religion were significantly influenced by eastern religions - Buddhism and Hinduism.
Surely you have heard the words - church, mosque, Judaism, Buddha, Muslim, Orthodoxy? All these words are closely related to faith in God. In our diverse and multi-ethnic country, there are four main religions. They are different, but they all talk about the need to love people, live in peace, respect elders, do good deeds for the benefit of people, and defend your homeland.
1. RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY
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This is the most widespread religion in our country, which has a long history (more than a thousand years). For a long time, Orthodoxy was the only religion professed by the Russian people. And up to today Most of the Russian people profess the Orthodox Faith.
The basis of Orthodoxy is faith in God the Trinity, in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In 1988, the Orthodox peoples of Russia celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity. This date marked the anniversary of its approval as the official religion ancient Russian state — Kievan Rus which occurred, according to the chronicles, under the holy prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich.
The first Christian church erected in the capital of Kievan Rus was the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Every Orthodox Christian must follow the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses and the people of Israel. They were written on stone tablets (tablets). The first four talk about love for God, the last six talk about love for one’s neighbor, that is, for all people.
The Bible, as the holy book of Christianity, is a collection of books that in Christianity are considered Holy Scripture, for everything that is written in the biblical books is dictated to people by God himself. The Bible is divided into two parts: Old Testament and the New Testament.
COMMANDMENTS OF CHRISTIANS
1st commandment.
I am the Lord your God; Let you have no other gods besides Me. - With this commandment, God says that you need to know and honor Him alone, commands you to believe in Him, hope in Him, love Him.
2nd commandment.
You shall not make for yourself an idol (statue) or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth below, or that is in the waters under the earth; do not worship or serve them. – God forbids worshiping idols or any material images of an invented deity. It is not a sin to bow to icons or images, because when we pray in front of them, we bow not to wood or paints, but to God depicted on the icon or to His saints, imagining them in front of you in your mind.
3rd commandment.
Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. God forbids using the name of God when it should not, for example, in jokes, in empty conversations. The same commandment prohibits: cursing God, swearing by God if you are telling a lie. The name of God can be pronounced when we pray and have pious conversations.
4th commandment.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Work six days and do all your work in them, and the seventh day (the day of rest) is the Sabbath (shall be dedicated) to the Lord your God. He commands us to work six days of the week, and devote the seventh day to good deeds: pray to God in church, read spiritual books at home, give alms, etc.
5th commandment.
Honor your father and your mother, (so that it may go well with you and) that your days on earth may be long. - With this commandment, God commands us to honor our parents, obey them, and help them in their labors and needs.
6th commandment.
Dont kill. God forbids killing, that is, taking the life of a person.
7th commandment.
Don't commit adultery. This commandment prohibits adultery, excess in food, and drunkenness.
8th commandment.
Don't steal. You cannot take someone else's for yourself in any illegal way.
9th commandment.
Do not bear false witness against your neighbor. God forbids deception, lying, and sneaking.
10th commandment.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, you shall not covet your neighbor's house, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. This commandment prohibits not only doing something bad to your neighbor, but also wishing bad things on him.
Defense of the Fatherland, defense of the Motherland is one of the greatest services Orthodox Christian. The Orthodox Church teaches that any war is evil because it is associated with hatred, strife, violence and even murder, which is a terrible mortal sin. However, war in defense of one's Fatherland is blessed by the Church and military service is revered as the highest service.
2. ISLAM IN RUSSIA
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“Heart of Chechnya”, Photo: Timur Agirov
Islam is the youngest of the world's religions.
The term "Islam" means "submission" to the will of God, and one who submits is called a "Muslim" (therefore "Muslim"). Number of Muslim citizens Russian Federation estimated today at approximately 20 million people.
Allah is the name of the God of Muslims. In order to avoid the righteous wrath of Allah and to achieve eternal life, it is necessary to follow his will in everything and observe his commandments.
Islam is not only a religion, but also a way of life. Two angels are assigned to each person: one records his good deeds, the other records his bad ones. At the bottom of this hierarchy are the jinn. Muslims believe that a line of jinn were created from fire, and they are usually evil.
God has declared that the day will come when all will stand before His judgment. On that day, every person's deeds will be weighed in the balance. Those whose good deeds outweigh the bad will be rewarded with heaven; those whose evil deeds turn out to be more severe will be condemned to hell. But what deeds in our lives are greater, good or bad, is known only to God. Therefore, no Muslim knows for sure whether God will accept him into heaven.
Islam teaches us to love people. Help those in need. Respect elders. Honor your parents.
Pray (salat). A Muslim must say seventeen prayers every day - rakats. Prayers are performed five times a day - at sunrise, at noon, at 3-4 pm, at sunset and 2 hours after sunset.
Giving alms (zakat). Muslims are required to give one fortieth of their income to the poor and needy;
Make a pilgrimage (Hajj). Every Muslim is obliged to travel to Mecca at least once in his life, if only his health and means allow him.
Muslim temples are called Mosques; the roof of the mosque is crowned with a minaret. A minaret is a tower about 30 meters high from which the muezzin calls believers to prayer.
Muezzin, muezzin, azanchi - in Islam, a mosque minister who calls Muslims to prayer.
The main book of Muslims: the Koran - in Arabic this means “what is read, pronounced.”
The oldest copies of the Koran that have reached us date back to the 7th – 8th centuries. One of them is kept in Mecca, in the Kaaba, next to the black stone. Another one is located in Medina in special room, located in the courtyard of the Prophet's Mosque. Eat ancient list Qur'an in the National Library of Egypt in Cairo. One of the lists, called the “Othman Koran,” is kept in Uzbekistan. This text received its name because, according to tradition, it was covered in the blood of Caliph Osman, who was killed in 656. There are indeed traces of blood on the pages of this list.
The Koran consists of 114 chapters. They are called "suras". Each sura consists of verses (“ayat” - from the Arabic word meaning “miracle, sign”).
Later, hadiths appeared in the Koran - stories about the actions and sayings of Muhammad and his companions. They were combined into collections called “Sunnah”. Based on the Koran and Hadith, Muslim theologians developed “Sharia” - the “right path” - a set of principles and rules of behavior obligatory for every Muslim.
3. BUDDHISM IN RUSSIA
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Buddhism is a complex religious and philosophical movement, consisting of many branches. Disputes regarding the canon of sacred texts have been going on between various faiths for many hundreds of years. Therefore, today it is almost impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question of which texts make up the holy book of Buddhism. Such certainty as with holy scripture Christians have no trace of it here.
It should be understood that Buddhism is not a religion, and therefore does not imply reckless worship of some divine being. Buddha is not a god, but a man who has achieved absolute enlightenment. Almost any person who has properly changed his consciousness can become a Buddha. Consequently, almost any guide to action from someone who has achieved some success on the path of enlightenment, and not any specific book, can be considered sacred.
In Tibetan, the word “BUDDHA” means “one who got rid of all bad qualities and developed all the good qualities in myself.”
Buddhism began to spread in Russia about 400 years ago.
The first lama monks came from Mongolia and Tibet.
In 1741, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna officially recognized the Buddhist religion by decree.
In their lives, Buddhists are guided by the Buddha's sermons on the “four noble truths” and the “eightfold path”:
First truth says that existence is suffering that every living being experiences.
Second truth claims that the cause of suffering is “disturbing emotions” - our desires, hatred, envy and other human vices. Actions form a person’s karma and in the next life he receives what he deserved in the previous one. For example, if a person is real life did bad things, in his next life he may be born a worm. Even gods are subject to the law of karma.
The third "noble truth" says that suppressing disturbing emotions leads to the cessation of suffering, that is, if a person extinguishes hatred, anger, envy and other emotions within himself, then his suffering can stop.
The fourth truth indicates the middle path, according to which the meaning of life is to obtain pleasure.This “middle path” is called the “eightfold path” because it consists of eight stages or steps: understanding, thought, speech, action, lifestyle, intention, effort and concentration.Following this path leads to the achievement of inner peace, as a person pacifies his thoughts and feelings, develops friendliness and compassion for people.
Buddhism, like Christianity, has its own commandments, the fundamentals of teaching on which the entire structure of belief is based. The 10 commandments of Buddhism are very similar to Christian ones. Despite all the external similarities between the commandments in Buddhism and Christianity, their deep essence is different. Besides the fact that Buddhism is not actually a faith, it does not in any way call for belief in a god or deity of any kind; its goal is spiritual purification and self-improvement. In this regard, the commandments are just a guide to action, following which you can become better and purer, which means getting at least one step closer to the state of nirvana, absolute enlightenment, moral and spiritual purity.
4. JUDAISM IN RUSSIA
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Judaism is one of the ancient religions, which has survived to this day and has a significant number of adherents mainly among the Jewish population in different countries peace.
Judaism is actually the state religion of Israel.
This is the religion of a small but very talented people who have made a huge contribution to the development of humanity.
Judaism preaches that the human soul does not depend on the body, it can exist separately, because God created the soul and it is immortal, and during sleep God takes all souls to heaven. In the morning, God returns the souls of some people, but not others. Those to whom He does not return their souls die in their sleep, and the Jews who wake up in the morning thank God for returning their souls.
A believing Jew is required to have a beard, to grow long hair on the temples (sidelocks), wear a small round cap (kippah), undergo the rite of circumcision.
In ancient times, the center of Jewish cult was the Temple of Jerusalem, where daily sacrifices were performed. When the Temple was destroyed, prayer took the place of sacrifices, for which Jews began to gather around individual teachers - rabbis.
The Torah is the main book of all Jews. It is always and at all times written by hand, the Torah is kept in synagogues (the place where Jews pray). Jews believe that it was God who gave the Torah to people.
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Now many beautiful temples are being built so that people can come and communicate with God. And it doesn’t matter what religion you are if you live in Russia. Our countryWhat makes it so beautiful is that in it people of different faiths and nationalities live in peace and harmony. One is a Muslim, another is Orthodox, another is a Buddhist - we all must respect each other’s faith.
Because we are all RUSSIANS, citizens of one huge and great country in the world!
The main religious denominations on the territory of Russia and their role in the spiritual education of defenders of the Fatherland
QUESTIONS:
1. The main religious denominations on the territory of Russia.
2. The role of religion in the spiritual education of military personnel of the RF Armed Forces.
“If the Rosses always fight for the faith of their ancestors and the honor of the people, then Glory will be their eternal companion, and woe to the villain who encroaches on God-protected holy Rus'.”
Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov
Religion in modern world remains a constantly operating significant factor of social development, covering all spheres of life of society and, in particular, its armed part. Moreover, by the beginning of the third millennium, world and some national religious confessions increased their influence on the politics of both individual states and the world. political process generally.
In the world, according to data provided by Colonel General V.A. Azarov, there are 1 billion 890 million Christians (1 billion 132 million Catholics, 558 million Protestants, 200 million Orthodox); 1 billion 200 million Muslims; 359 million Buddhists. If we take into account the quantitative composition of the Chinese, Hindus and Jews, we get a huge number of adherents, respectively, of such national religions (philosophical systems) as Confucianism, Taoism (at least 500 million people), Hinduism (859 million) and Judaism (20 million). .
The ratio of believers in Russia by confessional adherence (based on the same data) is presented as follows. Orthodox Christians - 67 percent; Muslims - 19 percent; Orthodox Old Believers - 2 percent; Buddhists - 2 percent; Protestants - 2 percent; Jews - 2 percent; adherents of other traditional religious denominations- 1 percent; non-traditional - 5 percent.
Thus, the main - numerous, traditional Russian religious confessions that have persisted for a long time on the territory of our country are Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism.
If we talk about the most numerous religious faiths of our country - Orthodoxy and Islam (which is traditionally professed, for example, by the peoples of the Volga region and the North Caucasus), then the experience of centuries of peaceful coexistence allows us to continue to hope for the elimination of conflicts on religious grounds between Russian Orthodox Christians and Muslims, that in case of danger everyone will stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of Russia.
The “Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church,” adopted in 2000, states: “Recognizing war as evil, the Church still does not prohibit its children from participating in hostilities if it comes to protecting their neighbors and restoring trampled justice... Orthodoxy in At all times, we have treated with the deepest respect the soldiers who, at the cost of their own lives, preserved the life and safety of their neighbors. The Holy Church canonized many warriors as saints, taking into account their Christian virtues and referring to them the words of Christ: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
“The main provisions of the social program of Russian Muslims” read: “Defending the Fatherland, the interests of the state, caring for its security is one of the most important duties of a person before Allah, a noble cause and worthy of a real man... Muslim organizations are ready to assist government agencies in preparing young people for service in the ranks of the Armed Forces, considering it the duty and responsibility of a citizen of the Russian Federation.” The spiritual basis of these social positions for Russian Muslims are the words of the Prophet Muhammad: “Love for the Motherland is part of your faith.”
The Russian Orthodox Church had a strong influence on the formation and strengthening state power, especially in the first centuries of Christianity in Rus'. Thus, historian V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote that the church of that period “was a collaborator and often even the leader of secular state power in organizing society and maintaining state order.”
The Russian Orthodox Church turned into a state institution at the beginning of the 18th century by the will of Emperor Peter I. This form of state-church relations, with minor changes, existed until 1917. The church at that time also played the role of a state educational structure in the Russian Army and the Russian Imperial Navy. Peter I himself, admonishing Russian soldiers before the Battle of Poltava, said: “You should not think that you are fighting for Peter, but for the state entrusted to Peter, for your family, for our Orthodox faith and church.”
After October revolution 1917 relations between the Soviet state and the church began to form on the basis of the Decree on freedom of conscience, church and religious societies adopted on January 20, 1918 by the Council of People's Commissars, which is usually called “On the separation of the church from the state and the school from the church.” The decree of the Council of People's Commissars completely changed the essence of state-church relations, complicated the position of the church to the extreme, and deprived it of its rights legal entity and the right to own property.
At the end of the 30s of the last century, some changes began to occur in state-church relations. As follows from the minutes of the meeting of the Politburo of the central committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) dated November 11, 1939, the surviving priests began to be released from places of imprisonment even before the start of the Great Patriotic War. One of the paragraphs of this document reads: “Instructions of Comrade Ulyanov (Lenin) dated May 1, 1919 No. 13666-2 “On the fight against priests and religion,” addressed to Pred. Cheka to Comrade Dzerzhinsky, and all relevant instructions of the Cheka - OGPU - NKVD regarding the persecution of servants of the Russian Orthodox Church and Orthodox believers - cancel."
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the authorities represented by I.V. Stalin actually turned her face to the church. Temples, monasteries, and theological seminaries opened; the greatest Orthodox shrines, icons of the Mother of God, flew around the main Russian cities on airplanes; The Patriarchate, abolished by Emperor Peter I, was restored...
From the first days of the war I.V. Stalin and his inner circle took the path of spiritual unity of society. In the Statement of the Soviet Government dated June 22, 1941, it was said that the war that had begun was “a Patriotic War for the Motherland, for honor, for freedom...”, that it was necessary to mobilize all the forces of the people for the sake of victory. It was a call to forget the grievances of the past and bring together all citizens of the country, regardless of their views, including in relation to religion. Personally I.V. Stalin used religious terminology in his radio address to the citizens of the USSR on July 3, 1941. He turned to to the Soviet people with the words “brothers and sisters”, addressed the memory of the great Orthodox ancestors - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Minin and Pozharsky..., and concluded the speech with the statement “Our cause is just - victory will be ours!” Speaking these words, the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks was not afraid of being misunderstood by all progressive humanity and the multi-confessional, as they say now, population of our country. With this speech he showed that persecution was ending and the time of cooperation with believers had begun.
On June 22, 1941, anti-religious works ceased to be published (before the war, there were about a hundred periodical publications alone, and in total until 1940, about 2 thousand titles of anti-religious literature were published annually in the Soviet Union with a circulation of more than 2.5 million copies). The Union of Militant Atheists ceased its activities.
During the Great Patriotic War, religious leaders of various denominations of the USSR called on believers to unite and mobilize all forces for the sake of victory. Examples include the appeals to the flock of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius, in the message “To the Pastors and Flocks of Christ’s Orthodox Church”, the appeal to the Ummah - the Muslim community - by the Chairman of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims, Mufti Abdurakhman Hazrat ibn Sheikh Zainullah Rasuli (Rasulev), leaders of other faiths. These appeals are imbued with the spirit of patriotism, the desire to convey to believers the pain for the fate of the country and mobilize them to defend the Fatherland.
During the war, the Russian Orthodox Church could not provide comprehensive spiritual and religious support for major military operations. But its activities were multifaceted and carried out in the following main areas:
Justification for the defense of the Fatherland and Faith, the need to wage war against the aggressor, the righteousness of its goals;
Spiritual defense of the policy of one’s Fatherland and exposure of the state policy of the enemy, the godless misanthropic ideology of fascism;
Strengthening faith in God's mercy, which grants victory, and in God's will, which dooms the enemy, to whom, as an enemy of God, the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” does not apply, to defeat;
Appeal to the religious-spiritual and national-cultural sources of the traditions of patriotism, loyalty to Christian and military duty.
In May 1942, a Muslim congress met in Ufa, at which the “Appeal of representatives of the Muslim clergy to believers regarding the Nazi aggression” was adopted. In this document, Muslims were given tasks during the war: all possible assistance to soldiers and peaceful work in the name of victory were equated with participation in battle. It was explained to believers that victory over fascism would save the entire Muslim civilization, the whole world, from destruction and enslavement.
The Church prepared and carried out external actions to find ways to unite allies, sympathizers and consolidate with them in the fight against the enemy.
In September 1943, Metropolitans Sergius, Alexander and Nicholas were received by I.V. Stalin, and already on November 7 of the same year, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy served a solemn liturgy on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the October Revolution, said prayer of thanksgiving“About our God-protected country and its government, headed by a God-given leader.”
The patriotic position of the Russian Orthodox Church and other religious denominations was expressed in significant material assistance to the warring army. In December 1942, Metropolitan Sergius appealed to believers to raise funds for the construction of a tank column named after Dmitry Donskoy. IN short term More than 8 million rubles and many gold and silver items came from the parishes. Total for 1941 - 1945 parishes collected more than 200 million rubles for the needs of the front (the average monthly salary of a worker at that time was 700 rubles). In addition to money, believers also collected warm clothes for the soldiers.
“The patriotic activity of the Church,” noted the report at the Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, held in January 1945, “has been and is expressed not only in material sacrifices. This is, perhaps, the smallest share in the overall cause of assistance that the Church has provided and continues to provide during the time of military trial. Concern for our incomparable, valiant, great Red Army is manifested most importantly in constant prayer not only of individuals, but also of the Church as a whole, for the Lord to grant our defenders strength and victory over the enemy.”
On March 3, 1943, the Izvestia newspaper published a telegram from the head of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims, Mufti Abdurakhman Hazrat ibn Sheikh Zainulla Rasuli (Rasulev) I.V. Stalin. He reported that he personally contributed 50 thousand rubles for the construction of a tank column and called on Muslims to donate to it. In 1943, the TsDUM collected 10 million rubles for the construction of a tank column. Many Muslims contributed large sums for the construction of military equipment. In a short period of time, significant funds were collected in the regions where Islam traditionally spread: in Turkmenistan - 243 million rubles, in Uzbekistan - 365 million, in Kazakhstan - 470 million rubles. For example, Uzbek families of evacuated children left without parents received them as relatives. Their nationality and religion did not matter to the adoptive parents.
Great assistance was provided to wounded and sick soldiers. Thus, Archbishop Luka (Voino-Yasenetsky) of Krasnoyarsk, being a leading specialist in the field of purulent surgery, headed a military hospital in Krasnoyarsk.
From the first days of the war, the Church clearly defined its position towards traitors, both living on the territory of the USSR and those in exile. White Guard General Krasnov, who was hanged after the end of the Great Patriotic War, admitted before his death: “The prevailing opinion among us was, even with the devil, but against the Bolsheviks...” The hierarchs of the Orthodox Church believed that by subordinating themselves to the devil, the devil, Satan, they took the path of Judas and on June 22, 1941, they crossed that line that a believer must never cross under any circumstances.
After the death of I.V. Stalin's persecution of the church began again, although it was not as large-scale as in the 20s and early 30s of the 20th century.
Today we can state a revival of the spiritual and religious consciousness of people living in Russia. This was facilitated by certain steps on the part of the state. And in particular, the example of Russian President V.V. Putin, who, without hiding his commitment to Orthodoxy, can serve as a model of religious tolerance and mutual understanding with representatives of various religious faiths.
The word “religion” itself (from Latin - reli-gio) means “conscientiousness, piety, reverence, holiness, worship.” The Western Christian thinker Lactantius, who lived in the 4th century, considering the definition of “religion”, concluded that the word comes from the Latin religio, -are (to bind, to unite) and, accordingly, religion is the union of human piety with God. It is believed that this definition reveals the most essential thing in religion: the living union of the human spirit with the Creator, the desire of the human soul for God, the moral union with Him, the sense of existence of the Supreme Being.
The ideas of ecumenism, that is, the unification of religious confessions and the creation of a single world religion, as practice has shown, can hardly be realized on our planet. But, nevertheless, adherents of different religious faiths have to communicate closely. For example, in conditions military service in the Russian Armed Forces. And here mutual respect, mutual understanding and religious tolerance are simply necessary.
The results of studies conducted by military sociologists and psychologists have shown that it is currently impossible to ignore the religious factor in military education. According to their observations, in a combat situation, the religiosity of military personnel increases. As they say, there are no atheists in war.
Many modern military personnel are characterized by a low degree of expression of religious feelings, superficial knowledge of the foundations of a particular religious doctrine, and low cult activity. When organizing and conducting educational work in military teams it is necessary to treat such rudiments of spirituality with care, and if the officer-educator does not have enough religious knowledge and his own spiritual, religious experience, then there is no point in entering into theological discussions.
Among the spiritual foundations of military education, an important place belongs to the subject of faith of military personnel. We are not talking only about religious faith, although it plays a large role in the spiritual life of society, but about the conviction in the historical correctness of the existence and development of the Fatherland. “Woe to those countries,” wrote the French military theorist G. Jomini, “in which the luxury of a tax farmer and the wallet of a stock exchange businessman will be preferred to the uniform of a brave warrior who dedicated his life, his health or his property to the defense of the Motherland.” Faith is what is accepted as the main and essential thing in life, what is truly the most important for people, what they value and what they serve; what constitutes the object of their desires and the object of their actions.
Faith in Russia, in one’s people, in the truth of the spiritual values and ideas being defended is the basis of military education. By the way, these ideas are expressed in the words of the National Anthem of the Russian Federation: “Russia is our sacred power... God-protected native land!”
The religious factor interacts with other factors of social life, and it is especially closely connected with the national factor. Its influence is not always positive. The main manifestations of the negative impact of the religious factor on the military security of Russia are the emergence of contradictions on religious grounds in military groups; penetration of the ideas of mysticism and occultism into the structure of the military organization; dissemination of ideas of religious pacifism among military personnel. However, the problem of evading military service on the basis of religious pacifist beliefs has actually been resolved: current legislation allows members of various religious associations that literally follow the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” to undergo alternative civilian service. As expected by specialists not involved in speculation on this problem, there were few “alternatives”.
Religious differences, if they are not taken into account when organizing and conducting educational work with military personnel, can become a reason for confrontation between groups of believers of different confessional affiliations. For example, over 20 percent of believers say that the religious affiliation of their co-workers is important to them. A worrying factor is the contradiction between the demands that the religious situation in military groups places on the religious knowledge of educational officers and the lack of such knowledge among most of them. What is required, in particular, is knowledge of the foundations of a particular faith, its cult, the peculiarities of the psychology of supporters of a certain denomination, and the requirements that religion makes of religious servicemen in relation to military service. Incompetence in these matters can cause actual insult to the religious feelings of believing military personnel, cause conflicts on religious grounds, and evasion of believers from performing official duties. We also have to state the following fact: at present, the possibility of realizing the rights of religious military personnel still seriously depends on the spiritual views of a particular commander or superior.
The rapidly developing process of relations between the armed organization of society and religious confessions is in conflict with the lack of development of the corresponding regulatory framework. There is an urgent need to determine the responsibilities of commanders to implement the rights of religious military personnel and the procedure for their implementation.
In this regard, we can turn to the experience of appropriate regulation in the Russian Army and the Russian Imperial Navy. By the way, considering that they were equipped not only Orthodox people, but also representatives of other faiths in the headquarters of military districts and in the fleets, as a rule, there were a Muslim mullah, a Catholic priest, and a Jewish rabbi. Problems of interfaith were also resolved due to the fact that the activities of the military clergy were based on the principles of monotheism, respect for other faiths and the religious rights of their representatives, religious tolerance, and missionary work.
The recommendations to military priests, published in the “Bulletin of the Military Clergy” (1892), explained: “... All of us, Christians, Mohammedans, Jews, together at the same time pray to our God - therefore the Lord Almighty, who created heaven, earth and everything, that on earth there is one true God for all of us.”
The legal basis for treating foreign soldiers was military regulations. Thus, the charter of 1898 in the article “On worship on a ship” prescribed: “Infidels of Christian denominations perform public prayers according to the rules of their faith, with the permission of the commander, in a designated place, and, if possible, simultaneously with Orthodox worship. During long voyages, they retire, if possible, to their church for prayer and fasting.” The same charter allowed Muslims or Jews on board the ship to “read public prayers according to the rules of their faith: Muslims on Fridays, Jews on Saturdays.” On major holidays, non-Christians, as a rule, were released from service and went ashore.
The issue of interfaith relations was also regulated by circulars of the protopresbyter (chief military priest). One of them suggested: “Avoid, if possible, all religious disputes and denunciations of other confessions” and ensure that regimental and hospital libraries do not receive literature “with harsh expressions addressed to Catholicism, Protestantism and other faiths, since such literary works can offend the religious feelings of those belonging to these confessions and embitter them against the Orthodox Church and sow hostility in military units that is detrimental to the cause.” The greatness of Orthodoxy was recommended to military priests to support “not by words of denunciation of those who believe differently, but by the work of Christian selfless service to both the Orthodox and those of other faiths, remembering that the latter also shed blood for the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland.”
By the way, imperial permission to build the first mosque in Moscow was given after the victory over Napoleon in Patriotic War 1812. Precisely for the loyalty and blood shed by Russian Muslims for the Fatherland on the battlefield.
The development of the religious situation in the country and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation objectively requires the speedy and in-depth development by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation of a well-thought-out policy in relation to all religious organizations of the country. Continuing the development and deepening of productive cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church, it is necessary to cooperate in the spiritual education of military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces and with other religious faiths traditional for our country, which recognize the defense of the Motherland - Russia as a sacred duty and an honorable duty for their adherents.
When preparing for a lesson, you should, as far as possible, study spiritual sources, commentaries on them, and work with religious literature.
In the opening speech, it is necessary to dwell on the historical role of religion in the life of our country and its people, to emphasize the importance of traditional Russian spiritual and religious values in achieving military victories. During the lesson, it is worth giving examples of the views of great Russian commanders, naval commanders, and military leaders on the phenomenon of religious spirituality, and talking about manifestations of the heroism of soldiers who fought for the Faith and the Fatherland.
It is advisable to tell students about the fundamentals of faith of traditional Russian religious denominations, especially emphasizing the common, unifying principles and attitude towards the defense of the Fatherland. Speaking about the inherent tolerance of our people, it is important to pay attention to the problems of spiritual security of Russian society, to focus the attention of students on the danger of religious expansion from non-traditional religious and pseudo-religious associations for Russia, and the replacement of traditional spiritual and religious values with alien spirituality of our people.
Using methods of systematization, historical comparison, historical-philosophical and socio-philosophical analysis, it is necessary to show students using specific examples and conclusions that the revival of traditional spirituality can become the key to the invincibility of our people, the basis of the vitality of Russia.
1. ZolotarevABOUT.Army Spirit Strategy. The Army and the Church in Russian History, 988 - 2005. Anthology: 2nd ed., additional: in 2 books. - Chelyabinsk:Society, 2006.
2. Ivashko M., KurylevIN.,Chugunov A.The Lord is my Banner.- M.,2005.
3. Hegumen Savvaty (Perepelkin).Christmas in Grozny. Notes of an Orthodox Pastor. // Reference point. - 2004. - No. 9.
4. Ponchaev Zh.For the revival of Russia, faith and morality are needed. // Reference point. - 2005. - No. 10.£M
5. Chizhik P. Spiritual security of Russian society as a factor in the military security of the state. - M., VU., 2000.
Captain 2nd rank
Mikhail SEVASTYANOV
Christianity (Orthodoxy) had a noticeable influence on the formation of the language, culture and ethnic self-awareness of Russians. It is not for nothing that the word “peasant” comes from “Christian.” Mass Christianization of the ancient Russian population began in 988 and continued until the 12th, and in some areas until the 13th century. However, some pre-Christian beliefs still exist today.
Christianity created the ideological prerequisites for the unification of all Russian (East Slavic) lands, which was ultimately realized in the creation of the Moscow state, contributed to the transition of communal land ownership to the class of feudal landowners, strengthened cultural contacts between Russia and Europe, and contributed to the perception of many elements of both spiritual and material culture , on initial stages became the core of the formation of all-Russian culture and self-awareness.
Church Slavonic has long been the language of official documents and literature.
The church played decisive role in the unification of the lands of North-Eastern Rus' around Moscow. Many events of Russian history of the XI-XV centuries. were associated with continuous strife between secular and spiritual feudal lords over land ownership, as well as over political power. The Church had judicial power; precisely on church lands in the 15th century. was first introduced serfdom, 200 years earlier than its state legalization. The most important factor The economic well-being of the Church was the so-called “white settlements” - urban lands that belonged to the Church and were exempt from taxes.
The power and independence of the Russian Orthodox Church continuously increased. In 1589, the Moscow Patriarchate was established, after which the Russian Orthodox Church became the de facto leader of Orthodoxy. The period of greatest power of the Church was the first decades of the 17th century. The subsequent centuries of Russian history were a process of continuous decline in the economic and political independence of the church and its subordination to the state.
The Church Council of 1654 excommunicated all those who disagreed with the reforms from the church. The persecution of schismatics began, their mass migration to the outskirts of the state, in particular to the Cossacks that were being formed in these years. During the 18th century. The Church loses its independence and turns into government agency. Reforms of Peter I, Peter III and Catherine II deprived her of economic independence, political and judicial power.
Currently, the role of the Orthodox Church in the life of society is increasing every year. Thus, if, according to surveys of the 70-80s of the twentieth century, 10-12% of Russians considered themselves believers, then surveys recent years give the figure 40-50% of the adult population. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish faith from churching, that is, knowledge and observance of the basic religious canons. This figure is significantly lower.
