Putin and the Russian Orthodox church as the Pharaoh that must let God’s people in Russia Go: Why Russians Are Getting Sick of Church?

 

An Orthodox priest and cadets of the Nakhimov naval academy take part in the opening ceremony for the start of a new academic year known as the "Day of Knowledge" in Saint-Petersburg, on September 1, 2018. OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP/Getty Images

 

 

 MUST READ:

 Is God Using COVID 19 to smash Russia’s orthodox pagan Christianity? Russian Evangelicals Penalized Most Under Anti-Evangelism Law : Russia's Newest Law: No Evangelizing Outside of Church

https://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2020/05/is-god-using-covid-19-to-smash-russias.html

 

 

(Un)Holy Alliance: Vladimir Putin, The Russian Orthodox Church And Russian Exceptionalism

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulcoyer/2015/05/21/unholy-alliance-vladimir-putin-and-the-russian-orthodox-church/#7132600727d5

 

May 21, 2015,12:55pm EDT

Paul CoyerContributor

Amidst the geopolitical confrontation between Vladimir Putin's Russia and the US and its allies, little attention has been paid to the role played by religion either as a shaper of Russian domestic politics or as a means of understanding Putin's international actions. The role of religion has long tended to get short thrift in the study of statecraft (although it has been experiencing a bit of a renaissance of late), yet nowhere has it played a more prominent role – and perhaps nowhere has its importance been more unrecognized - than in its role in supporting the Russian state and Russia's current place in world affairs.

 

And while much attention has been paid to the growing authoritarianism of the Kremlin and on the support for Putin's regime on the part of the Russian oligarchs whom Putin has enriched through his crony capitalism, little has been paid to the equally critical role of the Russian Orthodox Church in helping to shape Russia's current system, and in supporting Putin's regime and publicly conflating the mission of the Russian state under Vladimir Putin's leadership with the mission of the Church. Putin's move in close coordination with the Russian Orthodox Church to sacralize the Russian national identity has been a key factor shaping the increasingly authoritarian bent of the Russian government under Putin, and strengthening his public support, and must be understood in order to understand Russia's international behavior.

 

The close relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Russian state based upon a shared, theologically-informed vision of Russian exceptionalism is not a new phenomenon. During the days of the Czar, the Russian ruler was seen as God's chosen ruler of a Russian nation tasked with representing a unique set of value embodied by Russian Orthodoxy, and was revered as “the Holy Orthodox Czar”. Today, a not dissimilar vision of Russian exceptionalism is once again shared by the ROC and the Kremlin, and many Russians are beginning to see Vladimir Putin in a similar vein – a perception encouraged both by Putin and by the Church, each of which sees the other as a valuable political ally and sees their respective missions as being interrelated.

The 70 plus years of Soviet rule wreaked havoc on the Church. The Church was severely oppressed, with many of its clergy imprisoned, tortured and/or executed. Parts of it were also co-opted by the Soviet state, with many clergy becoming KGB informants. (It has long been rumored that Kirill, the current Patriarch, or “Pope”, if you will, of the ROC, has KGB connections. And given that Putin served for a time during the 1980's in the KGB's Fifth Directorate, which was responsible for oversight of religious groups, it is possible that the two men have known each other for thirty years.) As soon as the Soviet Union fell in 1991, the ROC began working to rebuild its formerly dominant role in Russian society. At first, it had competition for religious adherents and for influence in the religious sphere in Russia. In the newly open environment of the 1990's, a flood of Western missionaries, including evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc., set up missions in the former Soviet Union, and in the spiritual vacuum that accompanied the fall of the atheistic Soviet system these missionaries found fertile and receptive ground, causing the ROC to fear that its opportunity to rebuild its social influence would be short-circuited and it would be merely one of many religious bodies in Russia - not the dominant religious institution and culture shaper. In response, the ROC successfully pushed the government to pass a law in 1997 that restricted the freedom of religious practice of faiths considered “foreign” in origin and put the ROC back in the driver's seat in terms of its ability to shape of the emerging national culture.

Today In: World Affairs

Russian nationalism began to rise along with the spread of ROC influence in society and the diminishing of the influence of alternative religious groups. This restriction of religious freedom on the part of non-ROC groups and privileging of the ROC also marked the beginning of a trend of increasing restrictions on citizenship rights and the beginning of the slow death of Russia's fledgling democracy, illustrating that religious freedom is many times the first freedom to be curtailed by the state. Its demise is usually the metaphorical canary in the coal mine – indicating that an unhealthy political atmosphere exists and that other freedoms will soon likewise be curtailed. In terms of church-state relations, this privileging of the ROC status in Russian society marked the beginning of a political alliance between the ROC and the Russian state that has grown increasingly close and formalized under Putin and which has been beneficial to both parties.

When Putin came to power he shrewdly noted the ROC's useful role in boosting nationalism and the fact that it shared his view of Russia's role in the world, and began to work toward strengthening the Church's role in Russian society. Early in his presidency the Russian Duma passed a law returning all church property seized during the Soviet era (which act alone made the ROC one of the largest landholders in Russia). Over the past decade and a half, Putin has ordered state-owned energy firms to contribute billions to the rebuilding of thousands of churches destroyed under the Soviets, and many of those rich oligarchs surrounding him are dedicated supporters of the ROC who have contributed to the growing influence of the church in myriad ways. Around 25,000 ROC churches have been built or rebuilt since the early 1990's, the vast majority of which have been built during Putin's rule and largely due to his backing and that of those in his close circle of supporters. Additionally, the ROC has been given rights that have vastly increased its role in public life, including the right to teach religion in Russia's public schools and the right to review any legislation before the Russian Duma.

‘Children Are The Hidden Victims Of This Pandemic’

The glue that holds together the alliance between Vladimir Putin and the ROC, and the one that more than any other explains their mutually-supporting actions, is their shared, sacralized vision of Russian national identity and exceptionalism. Russia, according to this vision, is neither Western nor Asian, but rather a unique society representing a unique set of values which are believed to be divinely inspired. The Kremlin's chief ideologue in this regard is Alexander Dugin (see a good summary of the historical roots of Dugin's philosophy and of his impact on the Russian government here.) According to this vision of the relationship between church, state, and society, the state dominates, the ROC partnering with the state, and individuals and private organizations supporting both church and state. This has provided the ideological justification for Putin's crackdown on dissent, and the rationale behind the Church's cooperation with the Kremlin in the repression of civil society groups or other religious groups which have dissenting political views. And the ROC's hostility toward the activities in Russia of other religious groups have dovetailed with that of Putin, who views independent religious activity as a potential threat to his regime.

Internationally, Russia's mission is to expand its influence and authority until it dominates the Eurasian landmass, by means of a strong central Russian state controlling this vast territory and aligned with the ROC as the arm of the Russian nation exercising its cultural influence. This vision of Russian exceptionalism has met with broad resonance within Russia, which goes a long way to explaining Putin's sky high polling numbers. Putin has successfully been able both to transfer to himself the social trust placed by most Russians in the ROC and has also to wrap himself in the trappings of almost a patron saint of Russia. The conflict between Russia and the West, therefore, is portrayed by both the ROC and by Vladimir Putin and his cohorts as nothing less than a spiritual/civilizational conflict. If anyone thought Europe's wars over religion were finished in 1648, the current standoff with Russia illustrates that that is not the case.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill (L) congratulates Russian President Vladimir Putin during a... [+]

The forceful articulation of a muscular Russian exceptionalism and of Putin's role as the defender of the Russian nation has become increasingly important to the Kremlin in the past three years or so – first as a response to the Moscow street protests that accompanied Putin's re-election to the presidency in March 2012, and particularly in the past 18 months as Russia's economic implosion has undermined the previous foundation for Putin's domestic political legitimacy. The legitimacy of the Putin regime rested, until relatively recently, on his ability to raise living standards for everyone and to enrich the oligarchs surrounding him on the backs of high energy prices that brought a flood of money into Russia. Putin's system of inefficient, crony capitalism that left the economy underdeveloped and overly dependent upon global energy prices worked as long as energy prices remained high and Russia still had fairly cooperative relations with the West. With the collapse of that model due to the combination of the sharp drop in energy prices, the impact of Western sanctions, and growing antagonism with the West, it has been useful for him to portray himself as the champion of a Russian nation beset by a hostile West determined to reshape Russia in its own image. The West's goal, says the Kremlin, is to spread liberal Western values within Russia and so dilute the Russian national character and keep Russia weak and divided. The Russian nation, therefore, must remain united behind Putin's leadership, and hold fast to its distinctive national identity. Putin has so successfully tied his fate to the fate of the Russian nation that a senior Russian government official stated last year that “If there's Putin - there's Russia, if there's no Putin - there's no Russia.” Putin's sky-high approval ratings are evidence that this message, repeated by the Kremlin controlled media and reinforced by an ROC whose reach into Russian society and cultural influence is so extensive, has been widely accepted by the Russian public.

Taking this a step further, the view of Putin as a quasi-sacral figure is becoming increasingly widespread throughout Russia. In St. Petersburg, Putin's hometown, he has been portrayed as an angel reaching out his hands and blessing the city's inhabitants. Just this past weekend St. Petersburg unveiled a bust of Putin in the attire of a Roman Emperor. Sects within the ROC revere Putin as the reincarnation of the Apostle Paul and even pray to him. Drawing an analogy between the Apostle Paul's conversion experience on the road to Damascus, this sect believes that, just as Paul persecuted Christians and then became their leader, Putin once was part of the KGB, which persecuted the Church, and he now works to strengthen it. (Although it is perhaps of more than passing interest to note that the leader of this sect began praising Putin so highly only after her superiors in the ROC asked the FSB (the successor to the KGB) to begin tailing her. After beginning her sect, the government surveillance stopped.)

A man bows during the inauguration of a sculpture of Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the... [+]

The Russian Orthodox concept of the spiritual father, which encourages almost complete deference to the Church's hierarchy and clergy, is one that most Russians understand, and a defining aspect of Russian culture. This widely understood theological concept has paved the way for Russians to accept and defend Putin's authoritarianism and to see him as the country's spiritual father.

Government officials, as well as religious leaders, have been known to speak of Putin in quasi-religious terms. Vladislav Surkov, who has held various senior positions surrounding Putin, including Deputy Prime Minister, has referred to Putin as “a man whom fate and the Lord sent to Russia.”
It would not be true to say that here has not been occasional conflict between the Kremlin and the Church, nor that support for the Kremlin has been unanimous within the Church, but any opposition has been nipped in the bud and the public support of the ROC hierarchy for Putin's regime has grown even stronger since Putin returned to the presidency. Once considered a liberal, Patriarch Kirill was supportive of the Kremlin and of then President Medvedev's government when Kirill became Patriarch in 2009, but the protests that marred Putin's return to the presidency in early 2012 marked a turning point. At first, Kirill did not immediately come to Putin's aid, and even made comments vaguely supportive of the protestors' demands. After stories began appearing in Kremlin-controlled media, however, pointedly criticizing Kirill for lavish material possessions, he fell into line, repeating the warnings he had made in previous years of an “apocalypse” if Western-style liberalism was allowed to become dominant in Russia. Since then, Kirill has given Putin his full spiritual and political backing, labelling him “a miracle of God” and belittled the “ear piercing shrieks” of Putin's political opponents.

Within the Church, those who have dared to say anything critical of Putin face being defrocked and publicly humiliated. When a priest who had responsibility for ministering to the Siberian prison camp within which the former billionaire turned Putin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky was imprisoned had the temerity to say that he believed Khodorkovsky to be a political prisoner, he was defrocked and forced to repent on his knees. Most clergy, however, appear to be strongly supportive of Putin's role as the leader of a Holy Orthodox Russia with some making no secret of the fact that they hope that Russia is on the road to theocracy.

Just how much influence the ROC has within Russian society is is illustrated by poll numbers that show that the vast majority of Russians self-identify as Russian Orthodox (estimates range from 68-90%), although the majority of these do not attend services or otherwise publicly practice their faith. In fact, a sizeable minority of Russians (polls have shown around 30%) who self-identify as Russian Orthodox simultaneously describe themselves as being atheist, illustrating that many value the Church primarily a symbol of Russian culture and national identity than as an actual spiritual presence in their day to day lives. For both those who practice their faith regularly and for those who view Russian Orthodoxy as primarily a cultural symbol, however, the Church has a deep well of social trust, and the vast majority of Russians share the Church's vision of Russian national exceptionalism and suspicion of the West. Putin has successfully tapped into that well of social trust, wrapping himself in the trappings of almost a patron saint of Russia. And because of the depth and breadth of ROC influence in Russia, the Church's support has helped to dampen any emerging unrest with his rule.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Russia's Patriarch Kirill (L) lay flowers on November 4,... [+]

The anti-Americanism that is an important part of the militant Putin/ROC vision of Russian exceptionalism has found fertile ground in broad swathes of the Russian public, and although the Russian media, controlled by the Kremlin, plays a role in shaping such opinions, this Russian mindset is not dependent upon media stoking – the messianic sense of national identity is deeply rooted.
A Levada poll that was just released indicates a worrying trajectory among Russians: nearly 60% believe that the United States poses a serious threat to their country (a 12% increase since 2007), 40% believe that the United States would possibly attempt to take control of the Russian economy, 31% believe that Washington could actually attempt to invade and occupy Russia, and, perhaps most importantly, 36% are convinced that the United States is attempting to impose its (alien and decadent) values system on Russian society.

Some analysts have argued that, unlike during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the current conflict between Russia and the United States is based upon national interests, and that ideology is not a major factor. President Obama himself has assured us that the ideology does not play a role in the current confrontation with Russia.

However, the influential and highly nationalist role of the ROC in Russian society, the way in which Putin has moved to sacralize the Russian national identity, and the receptiveness of many Russians to this messaging on the part of the Kremlin and the Church, all illustrate that the current conflict is no less an ideological conflict than was the Cold War. The Marxist historical dialectic may no longer be a point of debate, but it is an ideological conflict nonetheless 



 A small Russian sect believes God sent Vladimir Putin to prepare Russia for the coming of Jesus Christ. Here, members work in the fields in Bolshaya Yelnya.

Holy Vladimir, Pray for Us A Russian Sect Honors Putin as a Saint

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/holy-vladimir-pray-for-us-a-russian-sect-honors-putin-as-a-saint-a-789175.html 

Mother Fotina once led a "Center for Cosmo-Energetic Medicine," and now she prays to Vladimir Putin. Her sect, in a village east of Moscow, honors Russia's once and future president as a reincarnation of St. Paul. The group represents a rising trend in Russia, but its origins are surprisingly mundane. 

 

Von Benjamin Bidder

 

29.09.2011, 17.51 Uhr

 

 

Haggard women hike up a hill near the Volga, saying they're following "the Law of Love." The law brings them to a three-story building made of white brick, with golden turrets and a battered gate. They call it the "Chapel of Russia's Resurrection." At the gate they exchange dusty boots for green plastic sandals before spreading out prayer rugs made of foam and pray to their patron saint: Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister and soon-to-be president (again). They believe he's a reincarnation of St. Paul.

The followers of this Russian Orthodox sect live in the village of Bolshaya Elnya, near Nizhny Novgorod, a metropolis 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) east of Moscow. Their leader is called "Mother Fotina," a 62-year-old matron who considers herself the reincarnation of Joan of Arc. "I proclaim what God has revealed to me," she says. Just as Saul persecuted Christians before his conversion to St. Paul, she believes Putin once beset the faithful as a Soviet KGB officer.

The Soviets blew up churches, or replaced them with swimming pools, but "when he became president," she says, "the Holy Ghost came to him." Since then Putin leads his flock "wisely, just as the Apostle did."

'We've Prayed for Him to Return'
Across Russia -- not just in Bolshaya Elnya -- popular affection for Putin has started turning to religious worship. The country's top rabbi, Berel Lasar, swooned a few months ago that Russians had "every reason to ask God to bless you. Every day and every hour you do good for any number of people, you save hundreds and thousands of worlds." Vladislav Surkow, the influential deputy chief of the Kremlin administration, sees in Putin "a man whom fate and the Lord sent to Russia."

In Putin's hometown of St. Petersburg, a proliferation of posters once showed the prime minister as an angel, with one hand extended, blessing the city's inhabitants. Putin's face was mounted on a photo of the cherubim crowning the city's Peter and Paul Cathedral. Any departure of Vladimir Putin from the national stage seems about as desirable to bureaucrats, conservative elites and a majority of the Russian people as a speedy advent of the Last Judgement.

"He has the spirit of a czar in him," says Mother Fotina, clad in a black robe and a white cap. Golden butterflies and cherubs adorn her homemade altar. Fotina swings a smoking censer before an icon of St. Paul-Putin. "Every day we've prayed for him to return to the Kremlin."

Their pleas, apparently, were heard. In an act of staged self-sacrifice last weekend, President Dmitry Medvedev recommended to a party congress that Putin should replace him as a presidential candidate -- and ultimately as president -- in 2012. The 11,000 delegates and party members of "United Russia" cheered like true believers in Moscow's Ice Palace, at what amounted to a Coronation Mass.

"The people's connection to Putin is more emotional than it is to average politicians," the venerable Russian historian Roy Mevedev (no relation to Dmitry) once said. "He's seen as a sort of moral leader." Polls show 57 percent of Russians notice "signs of a Putin cult" in the country; 52 percent believe it's a positive trend.

For almost four years, bureaucrats and Russian citizens listened to President Medvedev's speeches as he campaigned for tough reforms and tried to modernize the country. Privately, though, they seemed to trust that Putin would solve any problems by virtue of his aura -- even though government corruption has flowered for years and the country's dependence on commodity exports has risen.
Mother Fotina believes the people have no choice anyway. "God has appointed Putin to Russia to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ," she says.
In Volgograd -- formerly Stalingrad -- Putin formed an electoral alliance with the menacing name of "Popular Front," hoping "to use people with fresh and interesting ideas." State enterprises like the Russian Post (400,000 employees) and railroads (one million) have declared their membership in the Popular Front. So has the "Russian agrarian movement," which supposedly unites Russia's 38 million rural residents, and an unknown number of participants in the "first all-Russian blondes meeting."
'The New Eve'
In Bolshaya Elyna, Mother Fotina spreads her arms. Born Svetlana Frolova, she sat for 21 months in jail during the 1990s, because she embezzled money from the state as a civil servant. After that she opened a "Center for Cosmo-Energetic Medicine," and later the "Temple of the Resurrection of Russia."
"Behold, the new Eve has come to earth," she declares, referring to herself. Her followers believe that Fontinja can heal by the laying-on of hands. They believe she can pray diseases like leukaemia away. For such services they sometimes hand her envelopes, labelled "For the Love."
The Orthodox Church accuses her of witchcraft. One reason is that she competes with the local church of "St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker" and alienates pious donors. "A few years ago the Orthodox Church put the state police (or FSB, a successor to the KGB) on her trail," a retired army officer in her neighborhood said. "After that, she started to praise Putin in public as a saint -- to protect herself from investigation."
As usual, in Putin's Russia, the story is mainly about money.

Russians Are Getting Sick of Church

Orthodox Christianity—and Vladimir Putin—are at the center of the country’s newest culture war.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/06/12/russians-are-getting-sick-of-church-orthodox-putin/   

By Alexander Baunov

 

| June 12, 2019, 11:06 AM

 An extraordinary protest unfolded in Russia’s fourth-largest city, Yekaterinburg, in recent weeks. Large crowds of locals gathered to demonstrate against plans to construct a big new church in a park in the center of the city. And despite facing intimidation, arrests, and the disapproval of both regional and federal politicians, not to mention the huge authority of the Russian Orthodox Church, the protesters prevailed.

 The local governor, Yevgeny Kuyvashev, agreed in late May for the construction site to be moved after an opinion poll showed that 74 percent of city residents were opposed to the plans. President Vladimir Putin had said he would approve the verdict of a referendum—though he evidently did not expect the resulting vote, which was heavily against the construction of the church.

 

It was just the latest sign that times have suddenly changed in Russia when it comes to matters of church and society. A recent opinion poll recorded that 79 percent of Russians think of themselves as Orthodox Christians. But the church does not command obedience. The Yekaterinburg protests were much angrier, the views of the protesters much more passionately held, than the other big recent social protest in Russia’s regions against a planned landfill site in the northern city of Arkhangelsk.
Thirty years ago, at the end of the Soviet era, it would have been unthinkable—an anathema—for the public to protest against the construction of a church. After all, in living memory thousands of places of worship had been bulldozed by the Soviet authorities, and priests has been thrown in jail or executed.

 

The mood of change of the perestroika epoch and the sense of a reckoning with the Communist Party were summed up in a line at the end of one of the defining movies of the time, Repentance, directed by the Georgian filmmaker Tengiz Abuladze and released in 1987, winning the Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival the same year. An old woman asks a stranger if she is taking the right road to the church. The stranger replies in the negative, and the old woman asks, “What good is a road if it doesn’t lead to a church?”

The line summed up the consensus that the road to a church was the same as the road to freedom and prosperity—that when Soviet citizens aspired for their country to have the consumer goods, books, films, and music enjoyed by Europe and the United States but forbidden, open churches were one more important category on that list. In those countries, churches were open and free to visit, unlike in the Soviet Union, where they were shuttered and ruined.

So the late Soviet intelligentsia, battling against Communist rule, found common cause with traditional religious believers in demanding freedom of religion alongside freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. It was perfectly normal to be both liberal and religious. To open a new church, if that was possible, was to hammer one more nail into the coffin of Soviet power.

The protest culture of the time was imbued with religious images. Cultural figures revered poets from Russia’s Silver Age such as Osip Mandelstam and Boris Pasternak who had been believers and wrote spiritual verse about the exaltation of going to church services. At the same time, the nature of churchgoing in Russia radically changed. Formerly almost exclusively the preserve of old people, most of them women, the churches now opened their doors in the 1990s to a new generation of young people, with a nonconformist outlook.

For many young people of that epoch, taking part in church services, fasting, and praying at home was an act of generational nonconformism, a protest against the official atheism of their parents.
Slowly, however, the new romance between church and protest went sour. Russia’s church authorities did not engage its new parishioners in serious conversation about the modern world. Instead, they talked to them with the same didactic tone as the old ladies, telling them about their formal requirements to light candles before the church icons in a certain way, how to dress, and how to observe all the Orthodox fasts properly. Sunday schools, icon workshops, and choirs were formed.
But there was no serious discussion, and the big topics remained unaddressed. There was no debate about the language and meaning of the liturgy, the relevance and mission of the church in the modern world, or greater participation of the laity in the services. The new Christians wanted the church to disavow the power and wealth of the state and remain the friend of the oppressed.

Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis Embrace at First Meeting in 1,000 Years

http://www.pravmir.com/patriarch-kirill-and-pope-francis-embrace-at-first-meeting-in-1-000-years/    

Source: Sputnik News

Natalya Mihailova | 13 February 2016

Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis met in Havana, Cuba for a historic meeting between the two churches, pledging to come together for the future of Christianity.

Photo: © Sputnik/ Sergey Pyatakov

• Russian patriarch prays at Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue
• On Idolatry – G.K. Chesterton

“We spent two hours in an open brotherly discussion, with full understanding of responsibility for our churches, for faithful people, for the future of Christianity and the future of the human civilization,” Patriarch Kirill said. “It was a very constructive conversation that helped us understand each other and get a sense of each other’s positions.”
Following the meeting, Pope Francis said Patriarch Kirill was open and in the spirit of unity.

Photo: © Sputnik/ Sergey Pyatakov

“We spoke as brothers, we have the same baptism, we are bishops, we spoke of our churches,” he said.
At the conclusion of their meeting, the two religious leaders signed a joint declaration which stated “We are not competitors but brothers, and this concept must guide our mutual actions as well as those directed to the outside world.”
The document also addressed the problems of capitalism.

Photo: © Sputnik/ Sergey Pyatakov

“The unrelenting consumerism of some more developed countries is gradually depleting the resources of our planet. The growing inequality in the distribution of material goods increases the feeling of the injustice of the international order that has emerged.”
Both leaders expressed their concern over the decreasing significance of the traditional family, and stated their positions on euthanasia and abortion.

“The emergence of so-called euthanasia leads elderly people and the disabled begin to feel that they are a burden on their families and on society in general,” the statement reads. “We call on all to respect the inalienable right to life. Millions are denied the very right to be born into the world.”

Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis agreed that Europe should remain true to its Christian roots.

Photo: © Sputnik/ Sergey Pyatakov

“While remaining open to the contribution of other religions to our civilization, it is our conviction that Europe must remain faithful to its Christian roots,” the document reads.
“In affirming the foremost value of religious freedom, we give thanks to God for the current unprecedented renewal of the Christian faith in Russia, as well as in many other countries of Eastern Europe, formerly dominated for decades by atheist regimes. Today, the chains of militant atheism have been broken and in many places Christians can now freely confess their faith.”
The document also addresses the crisis in Ukraine.

Photo: © Sputnik/ Sergey Pyatakov

“We deplore the hostility in Ukraine that has already caused many victims, inflicted innumerable wounds on peaceful inhabitants and thrown society into a deep economic and humanitarian crisis. We invite all the parts involved in the conflict to show prudence, to show social solidarity and show action aimed at constructing peace.”
With the Syrian conflict threatening to push the world to the brink of war, the document calls on all Christians to pray for peace.

“We exhort all Christians and all believers of God to pray fervently to the providential Creator of the world to protect His creation from destruction and not permit a new world war.”

Friday’s meeting marks the first time that leaders of the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches have met in nearly 1,000 years. The two broke apart over theological differences in 1054, officially separating in 1438.

Russian patriarch prays at Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue

http://www.pravmir.com/russian-patriarch-prays-at-rio-s-christ-the-redeemer-statue/    

Source: BBC

Natalya Mihailova | 22 February 2016

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has prayed in front of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Photo: Reuters

• Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia
• Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis Embrace at First Meeting in 1,000 Years

His tour of Latin America began last week, with a historic meeting with Pope Francis in Cuba.

He arrived in Brazil after visiting Paraguay and a Russian scientific base in the Antarctica.
From Rio, he travelled to Sao Paulo and held mass at a Russian Orthodox church, in the last stop of his visit.

“I felt an internal joy”: Pope Francis speaks about historic meeting with Patriarch Kirill

https://www.americamagazine.org/content/all-things/i-felt-internal-joy-pope-francis-speaks-about-historic-meeting-patriarch-kirill

Gerard O’Connell February 12, 2016

Pope Francis was full of joy and enthusiasm after his meeting with Patriarch Kirill. His face revealed this clearly as he spoke on the plane to journalists shortly after departing from Havana and heading for Mexico City. His face was glowing with happiness, as he confided, “I felt an internal joy.”

“We spoke together as brothers, we spoke freely and with frankness about the things that concern us. We didn’t mince words,” he stated.

“We spoke as pastors, about our concerns for our churches and for the world where wars are being fought piecemeal but risk turning into a world war,” he said.

He revealed that during their private conversation, at one point he told Kirill that “if we wait” to work out Christian unity in the study, the Lord would arrive before it happened. “We make unity by walking together,” he stated.  

He said they had talked together in the presence of the interpreters and of Metropolitan Kirill, the head of the Department of External Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow, and of Cardinal Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. They also spoke about the Pan-Orthodox meeting that will take place in Crete in June, he said. 

He and Kirill had discussed “how we can work together,” he said, and in this context he commented on the joint declaration they had just signed. That 30 point declaration covers many issues, some of which could give rise to questions and discussion. Well aware of this, and seeking to avoid sterile debate, Francis offered an interpretative key to its reading. “It is not a political or sociological document, it is a pastoral document written by two bishops in which they express concern for their churches and for the world’”

It is clear that for Francis the most important thing was his meeting with Kirill, not the document, though the latter too has its importance as it identifies ways in which Catholics and Orthodox can work together on the road to unity.  

The declaration covers a wide range of subjects, ranging from the unity they shared in the Christian millennium, to “the wounds” of division “caused by old and recent conflicts.” Significantly it adds that “mindful of the permanence of many obstacles” to recovering that unity, Francis and Kirill express “the hope that our meeting may contribute to the re-establishment of this unity.” On this road, they committed themselves “to combine our efforts” to give witness to the Gospel of Christ in the modern world.

In several paragraphs, the joint declaration expresses their deep concern at the suffering and persecution of Christians in the Middle East and in North Africa. Here, Francis and Kirill call on the international community “to act urgently in order to prevent the further expulsion of Christians from the Middle East,” to bring an end to the violence and terrorism and, through dialogue, to bring peace to Iraq and Syria. In this context, they denounce the use of religion “to justify criminal acts” and affirm that God “is not the God of disorder, but of peace.”

In the declaration, Francis and Kirill says “interreligious dialogue is indispensable in our disturbing times,” and they emphasize the need for religious leaders to “educate” their faithful to respect the convictions of those belonging to other religious traditions. Here too, they affirm the importance of religious freedom and thank God for the renewal of Christian faith in Russia and other countries of Eastern Europe that were once subject to atheist regimes. They express concern at the lack of religious freedom in some parts of the world, and note “the transformation of some countries into secularized societies.” Here, they invite vigilance against a European integration “that is devoid of respect for religious freedom.”

The two leaders, in the declaration, also speak about about the great poverty in the world and the plight of migrants in many countries, and emphasize the need for the Christian Churches “to defend the demands of justice, the respect for people’s traditions, and an authentic solidarity towards all who suffer.”

Their joint declaration affirms the family, and marriage between a man and a woman, and underlines the need to respect “the inalienable right to life.”     

The four-page text reminds Orthodox and Catholics of what they share in common and tells them “we are not competitors but brothers,” and says that this concept should guide their actions. They express the hope that their meeting may contribute “to reconciliation wherever tensions exist between Greek Catholics and Orthodox,” and they acknowledge that while “unitatism” is not the method to reach unity, these communities have a right to exist.

The two leaders in their declaration “deplore” the hostility in the Ukraine, invite the international community to work for peace there, and urge all churches in this country to work for “social harmony.” They also express the hope for the overcoming of the schism between the Orthodox faithful in the Ukraine, and urge the Catholic communities in the country to contribute to this.

Near the end of this long declaration, Francis and Kirill call on Orthodox and Catholics “to work together” in proclaiming the Good News to the world, and to give a compelling Christian witness ‘in all spheres of personal and social life.”    

An analysis of the declaration leads to the clear conclusion that while this is not a theological document, it is a document that confirms the theologically based relationship between the two sister churches.   

It deals with many of the questions that have already been addressed in the discussions and conversations between the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches in recent times.  

A rapid analysis of this declaration suggests that in actual fact there is nothing really new in this statement in terms of content. Its real significance is to be found in the fact that it is the first time ever that the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches are saying these things together in the same place, in a common witness on these important issues,

At the same time, it is clear that this joint declaration does not mean, nor does it suggest in any way, that all the questions or all the reasons for tensions between the two churches have been resolved; rather, it signifies that there is now the beginning of a new solidarity in facing them. 

It is important, in particular, to underline that this joint declaration should be understood as a compromise between the positions of the two churches on several issues, and therefore it can be judged from both sides as somewhat inadequate. This is indeed a compromise document coming from different world visions, from different theological understandings of the modern world. Significantly, each side has given and taken a little to reach this agreed joint declaration.

Many times since becoming pope, Francis has emphasized the importance of encounter, of talking together and then doing things together. He believes this is the high road to reach other goals, such as the resolution of theological issues. He believes that by talking, sharing and working together and building trust over time, it will be easier to untie the knots of the difficult theological questions.  

Eastern Orthodox Church

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/easternorthodox_1.shtml 

Last updated 2008-06-11

Essentially the Orthodox Church shares much with the other Christian Churches in the belief that God revealed himself in Jesus Christ, and a belief in the incarnation of Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection. The Orthodox Church differs substantially in the way of life and worship.

On this page

• Eastern Orthodox Church
• History and schism
• Life and worship
• Sacraments
• Icons
• Calendar and Christmas
• Find out more

Eastern Orthodox Church

Orthodox Churches

Orthodox prayer rope © The Orthodox Church is one of the three main Christian groups (the others being Roman Catholic and Protestant). Around 200 million people follow the Orthodox tradition.
It is made up of a number of self-governing Churches which are either 'autocephalous' (meaning having their own head) or 'autonomous' (meaning self-governing).
The Orthodox Churches are united in faith and by a common approach to theology, tradition, and worship. They draw on elements of Greek, Middle-Eastern, Russian and Slav culture.
Each Church has its own geographical (rather than a national) title that usually reflects the cultural traditions of its believers.
The word 'Orthodox' takes its meaning from the Greek words orthos ('right') and doxa ('belief'). Hence the word Orthodox means correct belief or right thinking.
The Orthodox tradition developed from the Christianity of the Eastern Roman Empire and was shaped by the pressures, politics and peoples of that geographical area. Since the Eastern capital of the Roman Empire was Byzantium, this style of Christianity is sometimes called 'Byzantine Christianity'.
The Orthodox Churches share with the other Christian Churches the belief that God revealed himself in Jesus Christ, and a belief in the incarnation of Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection. The Orthodox Church differs substantially from the other Churches in the way of life and worship, and in certain aspects of theology.
The Holy Spirit is seen as present in and as the guide to the Church working through the whole body of the Church, as well as through priests and bishops.

Are Orthodox Churches the same as Eastern Orthodox Churches?

Not all Orthodox Churches are 'Eastern Orthodox'. The 'Oriental Orthodox Churches' have theological differences with the Eastern Orthodox and form a separate group, while a few Orthodox Churches are not 'in communion' with the others.
Not all Churches in the Eastern tradition are Orthodox - Eastern Churches that are not included in the Orthodox group include the Eastern Catholic Churches.

The Eastern Orthodox Churches

The nominal head of the Eastern Orthodox Churches is the Patriarch of Constantinople. However, he is only first among equals and has no real authority over Churches other than his own.
There are 15 'autocephalous Churches', listed in order of precedence.
Churches 1-9 are led by Patriarchs, while the others are led by Archbishops or Metropolitans:

1. Church of Constantinople (ancient)
2. Church of Alexandria (ancient)
3. Church of Antioch (ancient)
4. Church of Jerusalem (ancient)
5. Church of Russia (established in 1589)
6. Church of Serbia (1219)
7. Church of Romania (1925)
8. Church of Bulgaria (927)
9. Church of Georgia (466)
10. Church of Cyprus (434)
11. Church of Greece (1850)
12. Church of Poland (1924)
13. Church of Albania (1937)
14. Church of Czech and Slovak lands (1951)
15. The Orthodox Church in America (1970)

The Orthodox communion also includes a number of 'autonomous Churches':

• Church of Sinai
• Church of Finland
• Church of Estonia*
• Church of Japan*
• Church of China*
• Church of Ukraine*
• Archdiocese of Ohrid*

* indicates a Church whose autonomy is recognised by only some of the other Churches

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions

Top

History and schism

The Great Schism

The doctrine of the Christian Church was established over the centuries at Councils dating from as early as 325CE where the leaders from all the Christian communities were represented. The Eastern Church recognizes the authority of the Councils of Nicea 325 CE, Constantinople I (381), Ephesus (431) Chalcedon (451) Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680) and Nicaea II (787).
Although initially the Eastern and Western Christians shared the same faith, the two traditions began to divide after the seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 CE and is commonly believed to have finally split over the conflict with Rome in the so called Great Schism in 1054.
In particular this happened over the papal claim to supreme authority and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The break became final with the failure of the Council of Florence in the fifteenth century.
However, in the minds of most Orthodox, a decisive moment was the sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the (Western Christian) Fourth Crusade. The sacking of Constantinople by the Crusaders eventually led to the loss of this Byzantine capital to the Muslim Ottomans in 1453. This has never been forgotten.
The divisions between the East and Western Churches happened gradually over the centuries as the Roman Empire fragmented.
Eventually, while the Eastern Churches maintained the principle that the Church should keep to the local language of the community, Latin became the language of the Western Church.
Until the schism the five great patriarchal sees were Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. After the break with Rome Orthodoxy became 'Eastern' and the dominant expression of Christianity in the eastern Mediterranean, much of Asia Minor, Russian and Balkans.

Top

Life and worship

Life and worship

Eastern Christianity stresses a way of life and belief that is expressed particularly through worship. By maintaining the correct form of worshipping God, passed on from the very beginnings of Christianity. Eastern Christians believe that they confess the true doctrine of God in the right (orthodox) way.
The Orthodox Bible is almost the same as that found in Western Churches © The Bible of the Orthodox Church is the same as that of most Western Churches, except that its Old Testament is based not on the Hebrew, but on the ancient Jewish translation into Greek called the Septuagint.
The wisdom of the Fathers of the Church is central to the Orthodox way of life as today's inheritors of the "true faith and Church" passed on in its purest form. By maintaining the purity of the inherited teachings of the Apostles, believers are made more aware of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit being present both in history and at the present day.

A life of prayer

At the centre of worship and belief is the Eucharist surrounded by the Divine Offices or the Cycle of Prayer. These prayers are sung particularly at Sunset and Dawn and at certain other times during the day and night.
Personal prayer plays an important part in the life of an Orthodox Christian. For many Orthodox Christians an important form of prayer is the Jesus Prayer. This is a sentence which is repeated many times; for example: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The aim of this repetition is to enable the person to concentrate solely on God.
The strict life of a monk or nun is seen as an important expression of faith.

Mount Athos and Monasticism

Monastery on Mount Athos © Monasticism is a central part of the Orthodox faith. Mount Athos in north-eastern Greece is described as the centre of Orthodox monasticism. It is the only place in Greece completely dedicated to prayer and worship of God. For this reason, it is called the Holy Mountain.
Most monasteries are coenobitic: living a communal life. The peninsula is divided into twenty self-governed territories. Each territory consists of a major monastery and some other monastic establishments that surround it (cloisters, cells, cottages, seats, hermitages).
For monk and nun alike, their spiritual life should follow the same way of living that all Christians try to achieve by following God's commandants. While not being against marriage, it is generally accepted that celibacy in the Church allows for a closer understanding of the Christian life away from worldly things.

Fasting and prayer

Fasting and prayer play an important part of the Orthodox Christian life. Orthodox believe that fasting can be the 'foundation of all good'. The discipline of training the body can enable a believer to concentrate the mind totally on preparation for prayer and things spiritual.
There are four main fasting periods:

• The Great Fast or the period of Lent
• The Fast of the Apostles: Eight days after Pentecost until 28th June. The ends with the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
• The Dormition Fast which begins on 1st August and ends on the 14th August
• The Christmas Fast from 15 November to 24th December.

Also all Wednesdays and Fridays are expected to be days of fasting.
Even though today the call to fast is not always strictly followed, nevertheless many devout Orthodox Christians do undergo a time of genuine hardship and it has been said that:

Orthodox Christians in the twentieth century - laity as well as monks - fast with a severity for which there is no parallel in western Christendom...
Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church

A discussion of self-denial

Contributors from Opus Dei and a Greek Orthodox church discuss self-denial and corporal mortification with a Muslim chaplain.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions

Top

Sacraments

Sacred Mysteries (sacraments)

The following seven principal Mysteries or sacraments are at the heart of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Baptism and Chrismation

The first two are Baptism and Chrismation. Baptism of adults and infants is by immersion in water three times in the name of the Trinity and is both the initiation into the Church and a sign of forgiveness of sins.
Chrismation follows immediately after baptism and is by anointing with holy oil called Chrism. Chrismation is followed by Holy Communion. This means that in the Orthodox Church babies and children are fully communicant members of the Church.
Chrism can only be consecrated by the Patriarch, or chief Bishop, of the local Church. Some of the old Chrism is mixed with the new, thus linking the newly baptised to their forbears in the faith.
The Chrism is used to anoint different parts of the body with a sign of the cross. The forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth and ears, the chest, the hands and the feet are all anointed. The priest says the words, "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit" as he makes the sign of the cross at each point.
The newly baptised Christian is now a layperson, a full member of the people of God (the 'Royal Priesthood'). All Christians are called to be witnesses to the Truth.
Chrismation is linked to Pentecost in that the same Holy Spirit which descended on the apostles descends on the newly baptised.

The Eucharist

The Eucharist, usually called the Divine Liturgy, fulfils the command of Jesus Christ at the Last Supper: "Do this in remembrance of me".
Singing hymns © As in many Western churches the Eucharist is a service consisting, in the first part, of hymns, prayers, and readings from the New Testament, and in the second the solemn offering and consecration of leavened bread and wine mixed with water, followed by the reception of Holy Communion.
The Orthodox believe that by the consecration the bread and wine are truly changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Communion is given in a spoon containing both the bread and the wine and is received standing. A sermon is usually preached either after the reading of the Gospel or at the end of the service. At the end of the Liturgy blessed, but not consecrated, bread is distributed to the congregation, and non-Orthodox are often invited to share in this as a gesture of fellowship.
Both parts of the Liturgy contain a procession. At the Little Entrance, the Book of the Gospels is solemnly carried into the sanctuary and at the Great Entrance the bread and wine are carried to the altar for the Prayer of Consecration and Holy Communion.
The prayer of consecration is always preceded by the proclamation of the Nicene Creed, frequently by the whole congregation.
The Orthodox Church lays particular emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharist, and in the Prayer of Consecration calls on the Father to send down his Holy Spirit to effect the change of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
There are four different liturgies used throughout the year:

• The Liturgy of St John Chrysostom (used on Sundays and weekdays)
• The Liturgy of St Basil the Great (used 10 times a year)
• The Liturgy of St James, the Brother of the Lord (sometimes used on St James' Day)
• The Liturgy of the Presanctified (used on Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent and on the first three days of Holy Week)

Greek Orthodox priests ©

Orders

Although the Church is a self-governing community the Church recognises the diaconate, the presbyterate or priesthood and the episcopate (bishops).
The Bishops in the Orthodox Church are considered to be the direct successors of the original Apostles and they are very much a unifying focus in the Church. Priests in the Orthodox Church are permitted to be married but may not marry after ordination. Bishops must always be celibate. Orthodox priests normally do not shave their beards, in accordance with the Bible.

You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.
Leviticus 19:27

Penance

All Orthodox Churches use the Mystery of Penance, or Confession, but in Greek speaking Churches only priests who have been blessed by the Bishop as 'Spiritual Fathers' are allowed to hear confession. Children may be admitted to the sacrament of Confession as soon as they are old enough to know the difference between right and wrong.
Through this sacrament sinners may receive forgiveness. They enter into confession with a priest often in an open area in the church (not in a confessional as in the Roman Catholic tradition nor separated by a grille).
Confession © Both priest and penitent stand and a cross and book of the Gospels or an icon is placed in front of the penitent with the priest standing slightly apart. This stresses that the priest is simply a witness and that forgiveness comes from God not the priest.
The priest will then hear the confession and perhaps give advice. After confession the penitent kneels before the priest, who places his stole on the penitent's head saying a prayer of absolution.

Anointing of the sick

In Greek-speaking Churches this is performed annually for the whole congregation during Holy Week on the eve of Holy Wednesday. Everyone is encouraged to come forward for anointing with the special oil whether they are physically ill or not. This is because it is generally held that all are in need of spiritual healing even if they are physically well.
Anointing of the sick can also be performed on individuals. People sometimes keep the blessed oil of the sick in their homes.
The Church anoints the sick with oil, following the teaching of St James in his Epistle (5:14-15), "Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the Church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins he will be forgiven."

This sacrament,', remarks Sergius Bulgakov, 'has two faces: one turns towards healing, the other towards the liberation from illness by death.
Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church

Marriage

Marriage is celebrated through the rite of crowning, showing the importance of eternal union of the couple. Although marriage is seen as a permanent commitment in life and in death, remarriage and divorce are permitted in certain circumstances.

Top

Icons

Icons

Icon of the Virgin and child © Icons are of great importance to Orthodox Christians. These beautiful and elaborate paintings are described as "windows into the kingdom of God". They are used in worship both in the decoration of the church and for private homes. The icon is seen as both a form of prayer and a means to prayer.
An icon is usually an elaborate, two dimensional painting. They often have a gold leaf background and are usually on wood. They depict Christ, his mother Mary, scenes from the Bible or the lives of the Saints.
The iconographer prepares for the painting of an icon with prayer and fasting. By worshipping at the Icon the Orthodox Christian enters into a sacred place with God.
The icon is venerated and often candles and oil lamps are burnt before them. The worshipper kisses the icon, making the sign of the Cross and may kneel or prostrate before it.
In most Orthodox churches the Altar, or sanctuary, is separated from the main body of the church by a solid screen (known as the iconostasis), pierced by three doors, the one in the centre being known as the Holy door. The screen is decorated with icons, of which the principal ones are those on either side of the Holy Door of Christ and the Mother of God.
Sir John Tavener © These are normally flanked by icons of St John the Baptist and of the Saint, or Feast, to which the church is dedicated. In Russian churches the iconostasis normally forms a solid wall decorated with four or five rows of icons according to an elaborate traditional arrangement.
The composer Sir John Tavener is one of Britain's most famous followers of Orthodox Christianity and calls icons "the most sacred, the most transcendent art that exists". In this clip he talks about his interpretation of these works of art.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions

Top

Calendar and Christmas

The Orthodox calendar

After World War I various Orthodox Churches, beginning with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, began to abandon the Julian calendar or Old Calendar, and adopt a form of the Gregorian calendar or New Calendar. The Julian calendar is, at the present time, thirteen days behind the Gregorian Calendar.
Today, many Orthodox Churches (with the exception of Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, and Mount Athos) use the New, Gregorian Calendar for fixed feasts and holy days but the Julian calendar for Easter and movable feasts. In this way all the Orthodox celebrate Easter together.
The Orthodox Church calendar begins on September 1st and ends on August 31st. Each day is sacred: each is a saint's day, so at least one saint is venerated daily.

Orthodox Christmas

Candles © Christmas is celebrated by Orthodox Christians in Central and Eastern Europe and throughout the world on the 7th of January in the Gregorian Calendar - 13 days after other Christians.
In the East, Christmas is preceded by a 40 day fast beginning on November 15th. This is a time of reflection, self-restraint and inner healing in the sacrament of confession.
Usually, on Christmas Eve, observant Orthodox Christians fast till late evening, until the first star appears. When the star is seen, people lay the table ready for the Christmas supper.
On Christmas Day people take part in divine liturgy, after which many walk in procession to seas, rivers and lakes. Everyone gathers around in the snow for outdoor ceremonies to bless the water. Sometimes rivers are frozen, so people make holes in the ice to bless the water. Some take water home to bless their houses. Then a great feast is held indoors where everyone joins in to eat, drink and enjoy themselves.
A Orthodox Russian custom is to serve Christmas cakes and to sing songs. The tradition is mixed with other pagan traditions of ancient Russia such that people may visit their neighbours in disguises, dance, sing and ask for presents, similar to trick-or-treating.
There are similarities, as well as differences, between the Eastern and Western celebration of Christmas. The Eastern Christmas has a very strong family and social appeal just as it does in the West. It brings people of all generations together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Unlike the West, where Christmas ranks supreme, in the East it is Easter, centred on the cross and the resurrection of Christ, which is the supreme festival of the year. Eastern Orthodox Christmas also lacks the commercial side that is typical of the West.

Top

Find out more

• The saints

Top