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Russian Orthodox Church should reform its practices, Lukashenka suggests

 

Alyaksandr Lukashenka revealed Friday that he would like the Russian Orthodox Church to reform its practices.

"The entire world is developing and changing and, moreover, it is changing not as we or the church would like it to change," the Belarusian leader told reporters while inspecting the construction of a water park in Minsk. "Systems, organizations and people themselves change. In my opinion, if the world changes, then the church should change too. It seems to me we are on the verge of some reform, some calm, evolutionary and gradual reform of the Orthodox Church and maybe not only the Orthodox Church."

"Thankfully, our church does not have the disease that has plagued the church in the West," he said. "Everybody has heard of pedophilia, gayness and lesbianism and so on. God only knows what is happening there. But we are getting ill too. And I think the Orthodox Church does not work hard enough in this regard. It does not cooperate closely enough with the government either. We can lose the entire generation of young people.”

According to Mr. Lukashenka, he advocates gradual reform of the Orthodox Church, from its language to the duration of services. "Church services are very long and the elderly, our old ladies, are simply unable to get through them," he said. "It is necessary to be shorter, more compact and more modern."

Mr. Lukashenka pointed out that churchgoers should not have to stand on their feet for two or three hours during religious services, and that he was opposed to the construction of huge churches. "They [churches] should be cozy and heartwarming," he said.

Any church should not lag behind the development of society, although it should combat social ills, Mr. Lukashenka said.

Patriarch Kirill could start reforming the Russian Orthodox Church, he noted. "He is an absolutely sensible and smart man, but, most importantly, he is the youngest-ever patriarch and so he commands respect among young people. If he loses time now and fails to persuade the people around him that the Church should be gradually reformed, then we will hardly return to this issue soon. That is why we pin our hopes on out patriarch and our clergy."

“Of course, I might not have ventured to express my point of view, but it seems to me there is something to think about. And we, in Belarus, will think it over,” Mr. Lukashenka concluded. // BelaPAN