The Glory Of The Orthodox Church In Russia

[4588686]

http://www.rferl.org/content/russian_patriarch_watch_disappearing_act/24539007.html

 

Aluxurious Breguet watch has come back to haunt Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. 

Three years after the 30,000-euro ($39,000) watch was first spotted on Kirill's wrist, sparking an uproar, the Russian Orthodox Church is once again under fire for airbrushing the watch from a 2009 picture.

The church has apologized profusely for the "foolish mistake" of its website's photo editor, who erased the Swiss watch but overlooked its reflection on a polished table top.

The original photo was dated July 3, 2009. The doctored version appeared on the church's website this month and was quickly spotted by bloggers.

The Patriarchate claims Kirill's watch, whose case is reportedly made from white gold and the wristlet from crocodile leather, was a gift from a wealthy parishioner. Kirill himself insists that he never wears the timepiece and prefers to keep it in its box.

The explanation has failed to convince critics, who say Kirill would do well to follow his own admonitions against rampant consumerism.

The controversy comes just months after an undercover investigation on Russian television revealed that an Orthodox priest in Kazan owned a BMW, a Mercedes, three flats, and a country house. Father Grigoriyev was secretly filmed bragging about his own prohibitively expensive Swiss watch and his penchant for Italian designer clothes.

The Russian Orthodox Church was also criticized for a recent court ruling ordering former Health Minister Yury Shevchenko to pay a staggering 20 million rubles ($690,000) to the keeper of an elite apartment in central Moscow owned by Kirill. The court said dust from the renovation of Shevchenko's apartment had drifted upstairs and ruined the patriarch's precious furniture.

The lavish apartment was a gift, too, by the way. Probably just like the two Cadillacs that Kirill reportedly owns.

-- Claire Bigg

 

 

The Church's relations with the thuggish Vladamir Putin and Russia's burgeoning neo-fascists 

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/09/09/putin-s-god-squad-the-orthodox-church-and-russian-politics.html

 

 

Krill is also rumored to have had some unsavory connections with the KGB back in the Soviet days.  

 

 

All in all, Belinsky probably said it best when replying to Gogol's slavophilic non-sense in Selected Passages From Correspondence With Friends.

 

Does not the priest in Russia represent the embodiment of gluttony, avarice, servility, and shamelessness for all Russians? Do you mean to say that you do not know all this? Strange! According to you the Russian people is the most religious in the world. That is a lie! The basis of religiousness is pietism, reverence, fear of God. Whereas the Russian man utters the name of the Lord while scratching himself somewhere. He says of the icon: If it works, pray to it; if it doesn’t, it’s good for covering pots.

 

http://academic.shu.edu/russianhistory/index.php/Vissarion_Belinsky,_Letter_to_Gogol

[Nihil Obstat]

[Not The Philosopher]

Where's that gif from?

[Nihil Obstat]

Where's that gif from?

Not sure. I do not recognize the show. I just googled 

 

anime + popcorn + gif
 

 

.

[Not The Philosopher]

Well this marks the second time I've seen that girl in a gif with little to no explanation.

[Nihil Obstat]

Well this marks the second time I've seen that girl in a gif with little to no explanation.

I saw a couple others with her as well. I will figure out what show it was.

I am not able to find a source.

Ah! Got it. I believe it is from Nichijou.

[Not The Philosopher]

I saw a couple others with her as well. I will figure out what show it was.

I am not able to find a source.

Ah! Got it. I believe it is from Nichijou.

 

And thus another mystery is solved...

 

*Lights a cigar and strolls off into the sunset*

[Apotheoun]

Old news.  And by the way, most hierarchs of Kirill's age have had some connections with the KGB and the former Soviet government; after all, a bishop could not be elected without government approval in the Soviet era.  Let's not forget that the Soviet authorities, as good atheists, had thousands of priests, monks, and nuns tortured and killed during that dark time.  Nevertheless, in spite of all the persecution - including mass martyrdoms - faced by the Russian Orthodox Church over the seventy years of Bolshevism, the Church survived and has come back strong.  Yes, Stalin blew up the original Christ the Savior Cathedral, which was a great loss in iconic treasure and human effort in giving God glory, but that Church has been rebuilt and once again shines as a temple of light in the center of Moscow.

[4588686]

Old news. And by the way, most hierarchs of Kirill's age have had some connections with the KGB and the former Soviet government; after all, a bishop could not be elected without government approval in the Soviet era. Let's not forget that the Soviet authorities, as good atheists, had thousands of priests, monks, and nuns tortured and killed during that dark time. Nevertheless, in spite of all the persecution - including mass martyrdoms - faced by the Russian Orthodox Church over the seventy years of Bolshevism, the Church survived and has come back strong. Yes, Stalin blew up the original Christ the Savior Cathedral, which was a great loss in iconic treasure and human effort in giving God glory, but that Church has been rebuilt and once again shines as a temple of light in the center of Moscow.

Actually it's not old news since he's never come clean on just what his relationship with the KGB was. I actually respect the orthodox tradition and your wisdom but the Russian Orthodox Church, as an institution, is, for not the first time in its history, run by a sycophant. Krill has made a career of appeasing thugs and lending moral authority to the worst elements of Russian society and reaping considerable material gains for his efforts.

[Apotheoun]

Actually it's not old news since he's never come clean on just what his relationship with the KGB was. I actually respect the orthodox tradition and your wisdom but the Russian Orthodox Church, as an institution, is, for not the first time in its history, run by a sycophant. Krill has made a career of appeasing thugs and lending moral authority to the worst elements of Russian society and reaping considerable material gains for his efforts.

Evidently, hierarchs (from prior to the fall of the Soviet Union and since its fall) and laity in the Holy Council called to elect the new patriarch four years ago were satisfied that he was not guilty of any crimes.  You may not like that, but you are not Russian Orthodox and so you had no say in his election.  Touch cookies.

 

P.S. - I do not think that Kirill claims to be sinless, nor has he tried to have himself glorified as a living saint.  And I am sure that he, and the other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, is aware of the fact that he is fallible and has faults requiring daily repentance, as we all do.

Edited February 8, 2013 by Apotheoun

[4588686]

Evidently, hierarchs (from prior to the fall of the Soviet Union and since its fall) and laity in the Holy Council called to elect the new patriarch four years ago were satisfied that he was not guilty of any crimes. You may not like that, but you are not Russian Orthodox and so you had no say in his election. Touch cookies.

I did not. But when he writes a fawning letter to the authoritarian leader of Belarus in congratulations of his stolen election I can point out that this is not a man that anyone should hold in any esteem higher than what they'd give to any other scheister. Edited February 8, 2013 by Hasan

[Apotheoun]

Video excerpts from the Divine Liturgy commemorating the fourth anniversary of the election as Kirill as Patriarch of Moscow:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJRD0WC7DDE

[4588686]

I'm sure that Krill and his John were very proud.

[Apotheoun]

I did not. But when he writes a fawning letter to the authoritarian leader of Belarus in congratulations of his stolen election I can point out that this is not a man that anyone should hold in any esteem higher than what they'd give to any other scheister.

Ah, so you are upset that he recognizes a given political situation where someone unworthy has been established - rightly or wrongly - as an authority.  It happens.  Even the pope writes those types of letters.  But hey, sometimes you have to work with people you do not like or believe to be legitimate for a greater good (e.g., the freedom of the Church).  Such is life.

[4588686]

Ah, so you are upset that he recognizes a given political situation where someone unworthy has been established - rightly or wrongly - as an authority. It happens. Even the pope writes those types of letters. But hey, sometimes you have to work with people you do not like or believe to be legitimate for a greater good (e.g., the freedom of the Church). Such is life.

Maybe. Phillip II took another rout. I think that Russia would be a much better place if more Patriarchs/Metropolitans followed his lead rather than rushing to a cretin like Putins side whenever Russia's latest strongman wants to use Russian nationalism to consolidate his rule.