Faith in God for many people has become intertwined with the church. This privatization of religion, which happened voluntarily or involuntarily within Orthodoxy, led to the situation where, disillusioned with the church, a person would lose their way to God.
It was no secret to many that any priest in a major city of the USSR could remain in their position only if they signed a contract of cooperation with the KGB.
If they refused, severe measures were taken. The Soviet state fought against opposition harshly and swiftly. The church represented a political force, and the state could not allow the presence of a competitor. The situation seems tragic at first glance, but in fact, it is quite natural.
As soon as the Kingdom of God, which resides within a person, is externalized and becomes encrusted with organization and power, the state immediately attempts to subordinate this competitor, which is increasingly asserting itself in economic and political spheres.
The same thing happened in the early centuries of Christianity's formation. The same happened during the time of Jesus Christ. That is why He emphasized that clergymen are not shepherds leading a flock of sheep forward.
Priests are not shepherds, and people are not sheep blindly following them. Christ proposed a new worldview, a new perception of the world. A person discovers God and strives towards Him on their own, while a priest can only be a consultant on this journey. A priest is an ordinary official or a person who has simply received a spiritual education. They do not have a monopoly on the truth.
Jesus Christ said that all people are brothers. No matter what your knowledge of God is, you have no right to elevate yourself above others and claim to lead them forward. Christ strongly opposed his disciples' desire to worship him and depend on him. That is why he washed their feet during the Last Supper. Christ emphasized in every possible way that he was not sinless or all-good. Only God can be sinless. A priest cannot be above a parishioner.
As soon as a priest attempts to demonstrate spiritual authority, this authority immediately turns into political and economic power. And then the state quickly breaks the back of yet another competitor.
The words of the New Testament come to mind: «Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.»
S. N. Lazarev, «The Man of the Future. Parenting Education, part 4»
Log In to post comments