“Repentance brings a person face to face before the truth of God.” Word after the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Transfiguration on Sands

"Church and World". About single women

Good afternoon, dear visitors to our Orthodox site “Family and Faith”!

The video below is intended more for our visitors than for visitors. But men can also gain a lot of educational information from this TV show.

The theme of the television program “Church and the World,” hosted by Metropolitan Hilarion, today is devoted to the problem of single women. This is a very big problem, since the majority of churches are women, they all want believing husbands, and therefore they are not looking for them on the side. As a result, the church stands on the shoulders of single women.

Let's see what Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev), who has been invested with the rank of bishop, will tell us and advise us. Grant you, our dear visitors, Lord, good Orthodox and loving husbands!

O observer Ivan Semenov. Vladyka, we received a letter (and we receive quite a few such letters) from Nadezhda from Moscow. She writes: “How can I find out God’s plan for me and my life? What does the Lord want from me? I am 34 years old and I have been praying for several years that the Lord would send me a life partner. But this doesn't happen. I believe God, but I don’t understand, maybe I’m going to have a monastic path instead of a married one? Is there an elder now who could explain to me God’s plan for me?” These are the questions we receive from the best, most beautiful and, I would say, probably more than half of our viewers. And let's try to answer these questions.

Metropolitan Hilarion. Firstly, there is no more than half. Half is always half. Secondly, there is no universal answer to this question, but there are some things that could be said here.

Firstly, no elder can decide a person’s fate for the person himself. No elder can tell you whether to marry or become a monk. Or marry this or that person. This is a matter of individual choice. Not every person gets to meet their other half. But you should never despair and you should never stop praying about it.

Next point. You shouldn’t think that if you couldn’t get married, that means you have to become a monk. There is no such alternative for humans. To be a monk or nun requires a special calling. And you cannot become a monk or nun just because your family life has failed. This requires much more serious reasons and much more serious internal motivation. First of all, a person must have an inner feeling that he is destined for a lonely life. But our TV viewer does not have this feeling.

And it must also be said that some of our parishioners live in their own closed world. And some, for example, think that the Church generally prohibits dating men. I don’t mean any sinful relationships, but simply meeting for communication. Or that the Church forbids dressing beautifully, or that the Church forbids smiling. These are false ideas. In fact, the Church does not forbid a person to be beautiful, joyful, to enjoy those blessings of life that are not sinful. And in this regard, I think that every person should look for his other half, if he wants it, and never despair.

O observer Ivan Semenov. Well, you say that a person should go into monasticism if he feels destined for a lonely life. But what is the situation with many Orthodox women: they do not feel destined, but in fact they live this lonely life. It turns out this is the separation of actual life and the inner feeling of one’s purpose.

Metropolitan Hilarion. Unfortunately, our actual life does not always correspond to our inner feelings. And if such a situation arises as a result of circumstances that we are unable to overcome, then we should perceive it as a cross. Like the everyday situation that God has entrusted to us, and which we must bear with patience and humility. But again, even without being a family man, you can still have many of the joys of family life. For example, a woman who does not have children, she can adopt a child, and thereby create, albeit not a complete, but a family, and be happy herself and give happiness to another person.

O observer Ivan Semenov. We have an example of such a woman who agreed to tell us about her fate. An Orthodox Christian who lives neither a monastic life nor a married one, who has come to terms with her loneliness in this world. But at the same time, she manages to live an extremely fulfilling and successful, I would say, Christian life. Let's show our viewers this story.

Tatiana Sveshnikova. I try to go to every service there is. And if they give me a watch to read, that’s also a great joy. And I clean up after every service and before every service. Well, at least a little. And besides this, I visit nursing homes. And I also go to the homeless at the station in the evenings. And if the homeless have any problems, I solve them during the day. And I also feed five women who have AIDS, hepatitis, and small children. Now there are eight of these children, soon there will be ten. Well, I also go to a psychiatric boarding school. It's actually a pleasure to be in a psychiatric boarding school. There are such wonderful women there. I go to them when I’m probably completely tired of everyone. If you take a baby for yourself, so that I feel good, so that I feel like a mother, then it seems to me that it may not turn out very well. But if you take it because a child needs help, every child needs a mother, then everything will work out fine. In total, I had 11 children, and many considered me a mother. The girls, my daughters, have all grown up.

I sometimes crave solitude. Sometimes I say: “That’s it, I can’t, I don’t want to, let me be alone. But it never succeeds, neither day nor night. I don't know what it's like to be alone. No, I don't refuse to get married. I just don't want to get married in the abstract. There are girls who say, “I just want to get married.” I just don't want to. If I met a person and fell in love with him, I would probably want to marry him. This happened once, but it didn’t work out. But in the abstract, I don’t want to get married. It’s just that my life is actually full of some continuous joys. Therefore, there is nothing to be particularly offended by. You need to thank God. Father John Krestyankin once wrote me a letter. He wrote: “Tanya, thank God, because His mercy towards you is obvious.” And in fact, I see this mercy all the time. I never forget. Well, everything is really good.

Metropolitan Hilarion. Here you see a clear example of how an unmarried woman was able to realize her feminine and maternal potential. And here there are a lot of opportunities for a person, there are a lot of opportunities for a woman. Including, of course, creative opportunities. They can also be realized, sometimes even more fully, by a person who does not have a family than by a person who has a family. That is, if a person wanted to start a family, but he did not succeed, then he must adapt to this situation, he must perceive it as the will of God, and he must do everything to ensure that your life is fulfilled and that you can bring joy to others to people.

On the video - section >>

When it is proposed to expel the monks from the monastery and blow up the cross, this has no justification

On December 18, 2022, in the program “Church and the World,” aired on the Rossiya 24 channel on Saturdays and Sundays, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, answered questions from presenter Ekaterina Gracheva and TV viewers.

E. Gracheva: Hello! This is the program “Church and the World” on the TV channel “Russia 24”. Every weekend we ask our questions on the main topics in Russia and in the world to the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. Hello, lord!

Metropolitan Hilarion: Hello, Catherine! Hello, dear brothers and sisters!

E. Gracheva: This week the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children will support a bill to tighten the requirements for showing films and TV series on the Internet that contain scenes with non-traditional sexual relationships and deviations. Now, as far as we know, this law prohibits propaganda among minors. This initiative is already a direct entry into the territory of adults who have made their choice: they have decided who they should live with, what erotic films they should watch. Do you think this is not an infringement of the rights of gay adults?

Metropolitan Hilarion: I think that the state has the right to regulate information policy not only on television channels, but also on the Internet - on those sites and platforms that are controlled by the state. There is a lot of uncontrolled content on the Internet, and those who want to find it will still find it, they will bypass the prohibitions that exist.

But the question is what product is offered to people, what will they watch. Restrictions already exist: for example, scenes of violence and obscene language are prohibited, however, there is a lot of both on the Internet. I think that this ban will also be circumvented. However, any measures aimed at preserving the integrity of the family and supporting the traditional family (that is, one that consists of two spouses - a man and a woman) should be supported, especially in the current difficult demographic situation.

E. Gracheva: The “Digital Ethics of Childhood” charter was signed in Moscow, and nine Internet companies joined it. This charter defines the basic principles, values ​​and rules of conduct in the online space. Foreign companies were also invited to join this charter; whether they would want to is another question. Until recently, I do not remember that foreign companies sought to sign any codes of ethics on the territory of the Russian Federation. Is this initiative important, do you think?

Metropolitan Hilarion: I think this is a very important and timely initiative, because we must protect our children from all sorts of harmful influences. Unfortunately, what we see now in the West is nothing more than the corruption of children, who begin to be taught various kinds of sexual perversions almost from infancy, even from preschool age. When they say to a boy: you still have to think whether you are a boy or want to become a girl, and if you want to become a girl, then they will help you with this; From infancy, we are taught that biological sex is not the same as the gender that a person can supposedly choose for himself. Not to mention the fact that children and teenagers undergo gender reassignment surgery. I think that any measures aimed at keeping children away from these types of influences should be welcomed, but I agree that foreign companies that do not support such policies are unlikely to join them.

E. Gracheva: Vladyka, an All-Russian conference on theology was held in Moscow (although there were also foreign participants). Both Patriarch Kirill and Russian President Vladimir Putin sent their greetings. The conference, which is noteworthy, opened at MEPhI, and continued at RANEPA - in secular educational institutions. In this regard, many may have a question: why do students at a secular university, who are already overloaded with a huge number of disciplines, also need theology, what is the connection here? What would you answer to such skeptics?

Metropolitan Hilarion: I have been answering such skeptics for many years, since I am the head of the department of theology at MEPhI. When we created this department nine years ago, there were a lot of questions: why do nuclear scientists need theology? Similar questions are asked about other educational institutions where departments of theology arise. But with the same success one can ask: why do nuclear scientists need to know the history of Russia or read Dostoevsky and study literature in general?

The very word “university” suggests that a person in this educational institution will receive not only a narrow specialization, but also knowledge in a wide range of subjects. Nobody imposes theology on either nuclear scientists or specialists in the field of national economy and public service. However, theological departments and theological programs exist so that students who wish to become acquainted with a religious tradition and learn about a particular religious tradition from the lips of its bearers have such an opportunity.

Our students have been deprived of this opportunity for seventy years. Religion was hushed up in every possible way, it was persecuted, and students were taught so-called “scientific atheism,” which was essentially a collection of various kinds of myths about religious traditions. Now we have managed to correct this situation, and theology is a scientific subject recognized by the state, it is a scientific field. We issue diplomas in theology that are recognized by the state, state-issued diplomas.

But this is not done in order to indoctrinate people: we do not turn theology departments into a kind of church pulpit. We only give the opportunity to those students who wish to get acquainted with religious traditions and receive information, as they say, first-hand.

In addition, as it was said in the greeting sent to our conference by President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, “the study of religious traditions is a very important factor of stability in society,” because, unfortunately, today many extremists and terrorists commit their acts and promote their ideology under religious slogans. It is very important that every Russian student knows where and what religion is, what it teaches: what, for example, is the teaching of Islam, and what is its distortion. This is why theological departments are being created, and this is an interreligious project. Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and Jews—representatives of traditional religions in Russia—participate in it.

E. Gracheva: Vladyka, you recently presented a new project “Reading the Bible together”: “New Testament” - Holy Scripture in audio format, which is read by actors in roles. There is musical accompaniment, and you, as a composer, participate in this project. Essentially, this is an audio play. When there were similar readings of the works of Leo Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, it attracted a large number of audiences. Do you think the Holy Scriptures today are capable of attracting the same mass audience?

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Holy Scriptures are already gathering a mass audience. Let's not forget that the Bible is the most read and most published book on earth since the invention of printing. Why is it important to also have the Bible in audio format? Today, many people do not read written texts, but at the same time they listen to something for hours when, for example, they are driving in the car to work. The entire New Testament is only 20 hours of audio, and the entire Bible, depending on the different versions, is between 120 and 150 hours of audio, so it's not some supernatural feat to listen to the entire Bible in a few weeks.

Why did we decide to make the Bible in this role-playing format? Because it greatly enlivens perception, and when superimposed on music, it makes a very strong impression, even a purely aesthetic one. I must say that I participated in this project not only as a composer. I listened to all the chapters several times, corrected the accents, worked with the actors, making sure that the actors read naturally, and not, as they sometimes tend to do, with artificial intonations.

I presented this project to His Holiness the Patriarch on his 75th birthday. I really hope that it will be in demand not only in the Russian Orthodox Church, but also in other Christian denominations. You can download it for free: just go to the AppStore or other services on your mobile phone, type “Read the Bible together” and you will immediately receive this product for free. True, we have only the first part ready so far - the New Testament, but I hope that during 2022 we will finish the entire Bible.

E. Gracheva: I congratulate you on your new role. In fact, you acted as the showrunner of this project, as they would say in the USA.

Vladyka, fierce discussions continue in Spain regarding the law on “historical memory”, which is currently being developed by the government. Parliament must consider it during the winter. This bill aims to perpetuate the memory of the victims of the Franco regime and, in particular, implies the secularization of one of the most important Catholic monuments in Europe. We are talking about the “Valley of the Fallen”. According to the bill, the Benedictine monks (Order of St. Benedict) will be expelled from the abbey and the 150-meter cross (one of the tallest in the world), which is located at the top of the complex, will be blown up. You probably followed the progress of the discussion of this bill. How would you comment on this?

Metropolitan Hilarion: I not only followed the progress of the bill, but also met with some people directly related to this topic, in particular, the Ambassador of Spain. We are very concerned about the discussions that are taking place around this monument. Restoring historical memory is an important part of social life in any country. This applies to both our country and Spain. But when, under the guise of restoring historical memory or shifting emphasis in one direction or another, it is proposed to expel the monks from the monastery, to blow up the cross, then, of course, we cannot support this in any way. From our point of view, this has no justification.

Let's remember our history. After all, our churches were blown up, crosses were destroyed, and icons were burned - all this was called the legacy of tsarism. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow was blown up because it was “a legacy of tsarism.” And now exactly the same figures who came to power in Spain say that it is necessary to blow up the 150-meter cross, because it is “a legacy of Francoism.” It doesn’t matter now whose heritage it is if there is a cross. The cross is a symbol of Christianity. It was erected for the glory of Christ, and not for the glory of Franco or any other dictator.

If we talk about the “Valley of the Fallen,” then indeed, this memorial complex was created during the time of Francisco Franco. But more than 30 thousand people are buried there - these are victims of the civil war who fought on different sides. The monks pray for the repose of these people. No one can explain why monks should be expelled from the monastery. We really hope that reason will prevail and decisions will be made that will preserve the memory of all the deceased, but at the same time the cross on the top of the hill will be preserved, and the monks will continue their service in the monastery in which they now live and work.

I hope that the Catholic Church will be able to defend these monuments, and that the Spanish leadership will make the right and balanced decisions.

E. Gracheva: Thank you very much, Vladyka, for commenting on this news.

Metropolitan Hilarion: Thank you, Catherine.

In the second part of the program, Metropolitan Hilarion answered questions from viewers submitted to the website of the “Church and the World” program.

Question: Hello, Vladyka Hilarion! It is usually customary to approach a priest for confession one at a time, but lately I have increasingly become a witness to general confession, where there is no individual communication, and the priest reads prayers of permission and gives everyone a general blessing. Is such a confession correct and are sins forgiven with this option?

Metropolitan Hilarion: General confession is a forced replacement for individual confession. It occurs in cases where there are too many confessors, when, for example, there is only one priest, but three hundred people came to confession, and he understands that he will not be able to listen to everyone separately, and at the same time perform the divine service. In such cases, a general confession is made. In Soviet times, this was a fairly common practice, because there were few priests and many parishioners. In post-Soviet times, this practice gradually fell out of use.

Recently, it has been revived due to the coronavirus pandemic - this is one of the sanitary measures that are used to reduce the risk of infection. As you understand, if a priest talks with each person separately, the risk of infection seriously increases. But this is a temporary measure, it is aimed precisely at helping us all get rid of this pandemic as quickly as possible.

General confession is not a 100% replacement for individual confession. At least sometimes, once a month or once every few months, you need to go to individual confession, because each person has his own sins, which he himself must name with his own lips, and the priest must hear them, pray for this person and read a prayer of permission .

Question: I heard that the idea of ​​one God arose long before the appearance of the Bible under the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. At that time, humanity was not yet ready to either accept or believe in this idea, so with the death of this pharaoh it came to naught. Vladyka, how do you evaluate this hypothesis? Could God already in those days give people some signs of His existence?

Metropolitan Hilarion: Of course, I think that God at different times gave people certain signs of His existence. Akhenaten tried to abandon the polytheism that dominated Egypt of his time and accustom his people to the worship of one God. At the same time, he believed that the one God is the sun, that is, he was not only a fan of the one God, but also a sun worshiper. He wrote poems in honor of this god, and bas-reliefs were created depicting the sun god. After he died (and the pharaohs did not live long in those days), this cult was destroyed, and the next pharaoh returned to the polytheism that existed in ancient Egypt.

At the same time, indeed, we see in different cultures and at different times (including in countries where polytheism and paganism prevailed) attempts by individual people to come closer to understanding the one God. Here we can recall ancient Greece, we can recall Plato, who in his dialogue “Timaeus” very colorfully describes the demiurge, that is, the creator of the entire universe. In essence, we are talking about one God. Although Plato did not abandon pagan religion, he perceived it philosophically. In his mind, the God who created this entire world occupied a very special place.

Question: My father agreed to my baptism on the condition that I take his sister as godmother. But since his aunt lives in another region, he planned to invite a friend to the temple as a godmother, whom he intends to introduce to the priest under the name of his sister. Vladyka, I am very embarrassed by the attempt of such a substitution, essentially deception, especially at such an important moment in my life. What should I do?

Metropolitan Hilarion: I think that no deception, of course, is acceptable when it comes to the sacrament of Baptism. Therefore, if it is not your sister, you need to say so. If it is meant that the sister will be, as it were, a godmother in absentia, then, probably, this can be agreed upon with the priest. But in this case it is not at all necessary to present some other woman as a sister.

Question: What requirements does the Church impose on godparents and what responsibilities does it place on them?

Metropolitan Hilarion: If we are talking about the baptism of an infant, then godparents are usually those who take responsibility for the Christian upbringing of this infant. If we are talking about the baptism of an adult, then godparents are people who can help an adult become a full-fledged Christian. Therefore, the most important requirement that is presented to godparents is that they themselves be fully churched Orthodox people, know the Orthodox faith deeply enough and be able to help the person for whom they become godparents.

Question: Is it possible to hold a funeral service in absentia for a person who died many years ago? Will the souls of people who were buried during burial meet with those souls of the deceased for whom no funeral service was held?

Metropolitan Hilarion: If a person died and no funeral service was held for him, then a funeral service can always be performed, including in absentia and many years later. We don’t know how and with whom the dead meet after their death, but if you listen to people who have experienced clinical death (and there are quite a lot of such people and such evidence), they often say that they met their deceased relatives.

The funeral service is performed for those people who were baptized and were members of the Church. Even if they were not very diligent members of the Church, did not receive communion or go to confession, we still perform funeral services for such people. We do not perform funeral services only for those people who were not baptized, belong to other religious traditions, or were opponents of the Church and did not believe in God. It is not customary to hold a funeral service for such people, and their posthumous fate is left to the will of God.

I would like to conclude this broadcast with the words of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Mark: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; and whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

I wish you all the best. Take care of yourself, take care of your loved ones and may God bless you all.

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Church never imposes its teachings on people

On October 9, 2022, in the program “Church and the World,” broadcast on the Russia 24 channel on Saturdays and Sundays, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, answered questions from presenter Ekaterina Gracheva.

E. Gracheva:

Hello! This is the time of the “Church and the World” program on the “Russia 24” TV channel, where we speak with the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. Hello, lord!

Metropolitan Hilarion:

Hello, Ekaterina! Hello, dear brothers and sisters!

E. Gracheva:

A bill has been submitted to the State Duma that removes the ban on governors from being elected for more than two consecutive terms, and a number of other initiatives are provided for in this bill. Firstly, are you familiar with the project, have you read about it in the media? In your opinion, what advantages and what pitfalls may this draft law hide?

Metropolitan Hilarion:

The main pitfall is that when a person is in power in a particular region for a very long time, he, if he wishes, can take into his hands a lot of mechanisms with the help of which corruption will flourish in his region and even in his surroundings. The main advantage is that if this is a talented leader, if with his participation, with his leadership, the region is successfully developing, then why should he definitely leave, if he works well, if his health allows it, his age, if he has many years of activities have proven that he is suitable for this position?

Therefore, I think that situations can always arise when one or another leader needs to be removed from office, but this does not necessarily have to depend on the length of his tenure in office. If the head of a particular region fails to cope, he is removed before he has exhausted his mandate. And if he works well, then why should he leave after a certain period of time?

E. Gracheva:

The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation refused to issue a distribution certificate for Paul Verhoeven’s new film “Temptation,” which tells the story of an Italian nun living in the Renaissance. How justified do you think this decision is? Especially considering that anyone can watch this film on the Internet at any time. I remember when a whole series of scandals accompanied the release of the film "Matilda", this only served as additional advertising for this film.

Metropolitan Hilarion:

I support the decision to refuse to issue a distribution certificate for this film. And if we talk about the fact that everyone who wants will watch what they want on the Internet, then this applies to both pornography and prohibited content. This does not mean that all this nastiness and abomination needs to be dumped on television. Let at least our Russian television be free from this.

If we talk about the content of this film, I have not seen it and do not intend to watch it. I don’t want to be like those people who in Soviet times said: I haven’t read Pasternak, but I still condemn him. I don't want to judge a film I haven't seen, but I know who this filmmaker is. I have become familiar with the plot of the film and can roughly imagine what it will be like - it will be another outrage against Christianity, monasticism, the Christian tradition in general and the Catholic Church in particular. I don’t know why our TV viewer needs all this.

Mr. Verhoeven is a convinced atheist. He wrote a little book about Jesus Christ, in which he argued that he was not a God-man, but an ordinary person. If he took on a religious theme, it was with the sole purpose of releasing another anti-religious film.

Of course, as a monk, I am also offended by the fact that very often in Western film distribution monasticism is presented in a distorted light, and this is especially true for female monasticism. You just need to type the word “nun” into any search engine, and you will see what comes up in response to your query. These will be, first of all, all sorts of mystical thrillers, where nuns will turn into vampires, where they will have sex, and so on. That is, in fact, the very concept of “nun” is subjected to constant humiliation, insult and desecration in Western cinema. Therefore, I think that the less of this disgrace there is on our Russian television, in our film distribution, the better for all of us.

We have very clear examples of real life and real people who testify to what monasticism is. Recently, our famous actress, People's Artist of the USSR Ekaterina Vasilyeva took monastic vows as nun Vasilisa. Ask her what monasticism is and what it means to be a nun. Ask her if she would be glad to see such a film in Russian cinemas?..

I think that neither she, nor the other nuns, nor the majority of our population would be happy. And those who want to watch, of course, will go to the Internet and watch. Just like those who are interested in pornography will find a loophole for themselves.

E. Gracheva:

In China, so-called feminine men were banned from appearing on television due to the fact that their effeminate images do not resemble the images of the builders of communism. How do you assess this decision of the Chinese authorities?

Metropolitan Hilarion:

I have never been a supporter of communist ideology: neither in Soviet nor in post-Soviet times, and I have never hidden my views on this ideology. On the other hand, when we remember our Soviet past, we see that many of the phenomena that poison our lives today simply did not exist then. For example, there was no monstrous immorality that is present in modern Western film distribution. We just talked about this in connection with Paul Verhoeven's film, which did not receive a distribution certificate from us.

I think that the authorities of each country should first of all take care of their population, including morality. If there are some “values” that the state does not want to promote, it has the right to take measures that will impede the promotion of these so-called “values”. This includes the promotion of same-sex love, gender reassignment, transgender people, etc. All this, I think, is as alien to the Chinese people as it is to the Russian people, therefore the country’s leadership has the right to take such measures and restrictions.

E. Gracheva:

In the UK, 33-year-old Stephanie Taylor was able to conceive a child on her own with the help of a donor found in a mobile application - a fertilization kit that she bought on an electronic platform, and video instructions on YouTube. The mother is happy, the father also declares that he is ready to participate in raising the child, and before this remote conception they met in person and drank coffee. In any case, it’s probably better than just going to a sperm bank, what do you think?

Metropolitan Hilarion:

I cannot answer your question, which is better in this case. I can only answer this question based on the teaching of the Church, and the Church teaches unequivocally: the process of giving birth to a child must be inextricably linked with the married life of two legal spouses, a man and a woman. This is the teaching on which the well-being of people, including their family happiness, has been built for centuries.

The modern ideology of freedom without restrictions suggests that one can conceive, give birth and raise a child completely outside the context of a traditional family. Therefore, so-called same-sex families are now appearing; they are given the right to adopt children. Therefore, all sorts of perverted methods of fertilization appear so that a child can be conceived outside the context of family life. The Church cannot agree with this.

But the Church never imposes anything on anyone. Therefore, if they tell us: why are you interfering in these issues, why are you interested in this at all, then we are interfering in this only insofar as these issues concern the members of our Church. We do not want to impose our opinion on those people who do not want to listen to it.

On the other hand, the Church cannot remain silent. If we are approached with a question, as you have now approached me with a question, I state what is the teaching of the Church. This teaching is not subject to change, even though fashions and standards change. There is that moral basis, a spiritual and moral code, which from our point of view cannot be changed at all. If attempts are made to change it, this will lead to tragic and irreversible consequences for entire nations in the short or long term. So far, many politicians are not aware of this. While in the frenzy of this pursuit of new values, in the frenzy of moral permissiveness, they only care about how to resolve more and more deviations from the universal moral standard. But someday, I hope, sobering will come, and then people will look back and think about what they have done.

E. Gracheva:

Vladyka, we all remember the story that happened in Kyrgyzstan, where a Russian boy was bullied by his peers for being Russian and Orthodox. A new incident of this kind occurred in Tashkent, where an 8-year-old Russian boy was beaten by three Uzbek peers because of his nationality. Local police refused to initiate a criminal case into this fact. How would you comment on these types of incidents?

Metropolitan Hilarion:

In each such situation, a thorough investigation into what actually happened is necessary. Children often quarrel with each other and often call each other names. In particular, if a child belongs to another ethnic or racial group, this constantly becomes a source of insults. This can happen anywhere.

Another question is whether the state cares about ensuring interethnic, interethnic and interreligious stability. As far as I know, the authorities of Uzbekistan pay great attention to this factor. I myself have visited Uzbekistan several times, accompanied His Holiness the Patriarch when he visited this country, and attended his conversations with the President of Uzbekistan. I am very familiar with how the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church lives in Uzbekistan. I see that the state is doing a lot to ensure that Orthodox, Russian people living in Uzbekistan can continue to live there in peace and harmony with the indigenous population.

I really hope that this incident will receive a proper assessment and will remain in memory as an isolated incident that does not overshadow the overall picture of interethnic, interethnic and interreligious relations in Uzbekistan.

E. Gracheva:

Thank you very much, Vladyka, for answering our questions.

Metropolitan Hilarion:

Thank you, Ekaterina.

In the second part of the program, Metropolitan Hilarion answered questions from viewers submitted to the website of the “Church and the World” program.

Question:

Vladyka Hilarion, please explain what is the meaning of prayer? I pray and ask the Lord God for something, but nothing happens. Whether I pray or not pray, nothing changes. Am I doing something wrong, praying incorrectly, or asking for something that is displeasing to God? And I ask for the healing of the sick man, but no matter how much I prayed, it did not make him feel better.

Metropolitan Hilarion:

There is a parable in the Gospel about a troublesome widow. The fact that one poor widow went to the judge so that he could protect her from her offender decided her case. This judge for a long time did not agree to meet with her and answer her request, but then he said to himself: she will not leave me until I satisfy her request, so I will do what she asks me to do. Why the judge did not want to respond to the widow’s requests is understandable: she obviously had nothing to pay with, or he was not interested in what she could pay him. Why did he finally respond? Because she was bothering him, and he said to himself: I’d rather get rid of her than for her to continue to haunt me.

From this parable, Jesus Christ draws a very interesting conclusion. He says: if even an unrighteous judge acts in this way, then how can you think that God will not respond to your petition? It is surprising that Christ seems to compare God with an unrighteous judge, but in fact He uses the method of proof by contradiction. He reminds us that if we want to achieve something from God, we must ask relentlessly and must not give up.

But at the same time, He repeatedly reminds us that our petitions may not correspond to the will of God. Therefore, in the prayer “Our Father,” which He Himself commanded us, we say: “Thy will be done.” This is the most important prayer with which we should end all our prayers. How the Lord Jesus Christ Himself prayed to His Father the night before His arrest: “My Father! if possible, let this cup pass from Me; however, not as I want, but as You want” (Matthew 26.39). On the one hand, He humanly asked to get rid of death, if possible. On the other hand, He entrusted His destiny to God the Father.

Question:

Dear Bishop, please tell me how our Church relates to horoscopes and zodiac signs? If this is a harmful hobby, then why? What is the danger for a person in communicating with fortune tellers and psychics?

Metropolitan Hilarion:

The fascination with horoscopes is harmful because it is based on lies. Horoscopes have nothing to do with real human life. What happens in your real life may depend on you, on the people around you, on various circumstances, even on the weather, but it certainly does not depend on your zodiac signs. If you try to structure your day or your work week based on what horoscopes recommend, then you are deceiving yourself and others. The Church has always had a very negative attitude towards this, because, I repeat, this is based on deception.

Why can’t you turn to fortune tellers and psychics? Firstly, because the vast majority are just scammers who extract money from you. Secondly, because these people operate with forces the nature of which neither they themselves nor you are aware of. You never know what you're getting yourself into if you go to a fortune teller. First of all, you begin to believe in all sorts of predictions. You become confused, you become dependent on these predictions, on these people. They start extracting more and more money from you. For example, they convince you that someone has jinxed you. Then they begin to convince you that they can remove this evil eye from you. They charge money for all this. You fall into financial and psychological bondage, you become a slave to these people. This is a very terrible slavery and a terrible dependence. God forbid a person to fall into such dependence.

Question:

Several years ago my husband died, he committed suicide - he was sick for a very long time and could not stand it. There was no funeral service for him in the church. Recently I was told that, despite the fact that, according to church canons, suicides are not buried, if a person did this precisely because of a serious illness, then this is possible. How accurate is this information and can I order a funeral service now?

Metropolitan Hilarion:

The funeral service for a suicide is possible only if he committed suicide in a state of insanity, insanity, that is, he was not aware of his actions. In this case, we are talking not just about a serious illness, but about a serious mental illness. If this is medically proven, then such a person can be buried in church.

I would like to conclude this program with the words of the Apostle Paul from the Epistle to the Hebrews: “But without faith it is impossible to please God; For he who comes to God must believe that He exists and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11.6).

I wish you all the best. Take care of yourself, take care of your loved ones and may God bless you all.

DECR Communications Service

When we help someone, we are helping God Himself

On January 7, 2022, in the program “Church and the World,” broadcast on the Russia-24 channel on Saturdays and Sundays, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, answered questions from the channel’s presenter Ekaterina Gracheva.

E. Gracheva: Hello! This is the “Church and the World” program on “Russia-24”. We ask our questions to the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. Hello, lord!

Metropolitan Hilarion: Hello, Catherine! I congratulate all our television viewers on the occasion of the Nativity of Christ. I wish this holiday to bring joy, peace and consolation to every family and every heart. May the Incarnate God, born in Bethlehem, our Lord Jesus Christ, help us in this difficult time to overcome all the difficulties, challenges, illnesses and trials that befall us. Happy Christmas!

E. Gracheva: From the latest news: it became known that Vladimir Putin is preparing to be vaccinated against coronavirus, developed by domestic doctors. I would like to ask: do you or Patriarch Kirill have any intention of injecting yourself with the vaccine? Do you know anything about this?

Metropolitan Hilarion: As for His Holiness the Patriarch, I have no information whether he was vaccinated or not. And I got this vaccination at the end of August, when the vaccine was not even fully certified and was only being tested. I considered it necessary to do this because, although by that time I had already recovered from coronavirus, the level of antibodies in my blood was quite low, but it turned out that it was enough for me to give only one injection: after it, the level of antibodies rose, and a second injection was no longer necessary . For most people who have not had coronavirus, two shots are needed.

I still believe that the coronavirus vaccine is today the most effective remedy against the terrible pandemic that has befallen us. I believe that the faster and the more people can be vaccinated, the faster we will defeat this terrible scourge. I think that at the moment there is no alternative to the vaccines that we have. Therefore, I recommend that everyone who can and who has no contraindications get vaccinated against coronavirus.

E. Gracheva: Your Eminence, the Pope called on countries to share coronavirus vaccines with each other. Do you think, given Russia’s existing interstate relations with other countries, is such an option possible with the Sputnik V vaccine?

Metropolitan Hilarion: I believe that the exchange of vaccines is the call of the time. The political situation now is such that the world is very polarized and everything is used to increase this polarization. The vaccine was no exception. There are countries that accept the Russian vaccine, and there are countries that will not accept it, not for medical reasons, but for political reasons - this is the reality in which we live today.

It seems to me that in the current situation, interaction between countries should be closer and more tangible, because we are talking about saving people’s lives. Every day in different countries people die: in singles, tens, hundreds, and sometimes in thousands. This is a very serious challenge for all humanity. There are countries that are able to produce a vaccine for the first shot, but have difficulty producing vaccines for the second shot on a mass scale. Here, of course, it is important that countries that have other opportunities come to the aid of these countries. That is, wherever such mutually beneficial cooperation is possible, it would be welcomed, because, I repeat once again, we are talking about saving people.

E. Gracheva: Priests have been vaccinated free of charge in Moscow for two weeks now. Do you have information on how actively clergy use this right? How many people got vaccinated in the first days?

Metropolitan Hilarion: We do not yet have statistics on how many of our clergy have been vaccinated and how many have not been vaccinated, but I know of priests who, as soon as this opportunity arose, went to vaccination points and got themselves vaccinated. I think that this testifies to the responsible attitude of our clergy not only towards themselves, but towards their parishioners, because, as I have repeatedly reminded, including in our program, and when addressing priests, each clergy bears responsibility not only for his own life, but also for the lives of his parishioners. If a priest becomes infected with coronavirus or only becomes a carrier of this virus, but does not observe hygiene measures - does not wear a mask, communicates with a large number of parishioners - he can become a carrier or carrier of this virus. This is why it is very important that priests get vaccinated against coronavirus.

It is no coincidence that the state, having started mass vaccination, first provided this opportunity to doctors and teachers, then to other groups of social workers, and then it was the turn of the clergy. They all work with a large number of people, and therefore, accordingly, the degree of threat that may arise when communicating with them increases. I say this with regret, because a priest is a person who brings goodness and light to people, and the last thing I would like is for someone to be afraid of a priest. But the current situation is completely special, and every person who has a wide circle of contacts due to his profession, his calling, unfortunately, is at risk and himself poses a certain risk to the people around him. That is why it is very important for us to take responsibility for our own health and the health of others.

E. Gracheva: Just before the New Year, the Federation Council approved the law on regulating social networks. Starting from February 1, the administration of social networks must block illegal content: posts posted should not contain insults based on gender, age, race, or attitude to religion. Is this initiative useful, in your opinion? If yes, then to whom first?

Metropolitan Hilarion: I think that this initiative is very useful and important, because, unfortunately, the Internet still largely exists outside the legal framework. There are laws that are executed by all people living in real space, and if people do not comply with them, then they bear criminal and administrative liability for this. But there are people who live in virtual space, hide behind nicknames or nicknames, who believe that laws are not binding on them, and commit crimes only in virtual space. They can even commit real crimes by recording them on video, posting the video on the Internet and receiving additional subscribers for this. Recently there was a case when a blogger, right in front of his computer screen, abused a girl, beat her, and drove her out into the cold. In the end, this girl died, and the blogger gained additional subscribers.

This kind of illegal content, as well as calls for extremist activity, incitement to hatred based on race, nationality, religion or any other affiliation - all this must be blocked by Internet providers. If this does not happen, then both the distributors of illegal content and the providers who allow this content to exist on their platforms must bear responsibility. Therefore, the law is timely and correct.

Another question is how this law will be used, because, unfortunately, it happens that the right law is adopted, and then it is used incorrectly or all sorts of abuses occur. I think we will see all this after the law is adopted and begins to be implemented.

E. Gracheva: One of the innovations for 2022 is an increase in taxes on the income of rich Russians who earn more than 5 million rubles a year: for them the income tax will now be not 13, but 15 percent. This additional money will be used specifically for the treatment of seriously ill children, for these purposes only. Do you approve of this law? Do you agree with the 15 percent rate or, in your opinion, could it be higher?

Metropolitan Hilarion: Any initiative of the state aimed at helping sick children should be welcomed. Of course, the Church warmly approves of the state's care for sick children. The only thing that needs to be carefully thought about, and probably experts should calculate this, is how the tax increase will affect Russian business and, in particular, the desire of Russian businessmen to invest in their country. The danger with this kind of increase in luxury or wealth taxes is that it could encourage an outflow of business from Russia to other countries. If this happens, it will hit the economy and turn out to be the other side of the coin. It is very important that experts carefully consider all the possible risks associated with the introduction of this type of tax.

E. Gracheva: Russia returned the ancient icon of St. Nicholas, which was presented to Sergei Lavrov by the Bosnian authorities. After our minister was presented with this gift, Ukraine suddenly declared that the icon was an object of its cultural heritage. In essence, Bosnia was accused of theft. Tell us what kind of icon this is, and in general, what is the background to this diplomatic scandal?

Metropolitan Hilarion: As far as I know, no evidence has yet been presented that this icon is the property of Ukraine. Experts need to work here. If this is indeed the case and the icon is stolen, which the donor of this icon may not have known about, then, of course, it must be returned. But if this is not the case, then, again, there must be an expert opinion that will confirm the origin of this icon.

E. Gracheva: Thank you very much, Vladyka, for answering our questions.

Metropolitan Hilarion: Thank you, Catherine.

In the second part of the program, Metropolitan Hilarion answered questions from viewers submitted to the website of the “Church and the World” program.

Question: How did it happen that the Catholic clergy followed the path of celibacy, while in Orthodoxy the clergy are predominantly married (with the exception of monks)? And why are bishops in the Russian Church elected only from the black clergy?

Metropolitan Hilarion: This is a very long and ancient story, which I can only tell here very briefly. Initially, the Church had one rank of pastors, it was called bishops or presbyters. In the letters of the Apostle Paul we see the use of these two terms as synonyms. The Apostle Paul says about both this and the other rank: “a bishop (or presbyter) must be blameless, the husband of one wife” (1 Tim. 3:2), and then various qualities are listed. Monasticism as an institution in the Church appeared only in the 4th century, although ascetics who took a vow of celibacy existed in the Church from the very beginning. Gradually, monasticism began to gain more and more strong positions in the Church. These positions became especially strong after the period of iconoclasm, that is, after the 8th and 9th centuries, when it was the monks who began to defend icon veneration.

If we talk about celibacy for the clergy, then in the Eastern Orthodox Church celibacy (celibacy) has never been mandatory for the clergy at the level of presbyters, that is, priests. From the very beginning, priests were married, and still most parish priests are married. As for the episcopal service, for some time now, namely since the 4th century, preference began to be given to celibate bishops, while they were not monks, but simply did not marry. Until now, in a number of Local Orthodox Churches, bishops are not monks, but simply people who have not married - celibate clergy.

The most interesting question: why did it happen that celibacy became actually mandatory at the episcopate level in the Orthodox Church, while the Apostle Paul himself said that a bishop should be married? I think there must be several reasons here. Firstly, the high authority of the monastic and celibate clergy, which was higher than that of the married clergy. Secondly, this is the authority of monasticism itself, that is, if they were elected to episcopal service, then they elected the most authoritative shepherds who were precisely in the monastic environment. Thirdly, there is also an interest related to protecting the Church from possible attacks on its property.

What I mean? Imagine, let's say that a bishop is a married man, he has a wife and five sons. He will probably want to place his five sons at key points in the diocese, in the richest parishes, to make them rectors of these churches, and perhaps his wife will play some special role in this entire structure. Imagine what the diocese could become. That is, if a person, in addition to the ministry itself, which should occupy all his thoughts and feelings, also has various kinds of family interests, then these interests can intertwine and lead to a big crisis in the diocese. That is why the Orthodox Church, at a fairly early stage, began to give preference to celibate clergy for election to bishops, and subsequently, no later than the 10th century, made celibacy a mandatory condition for accepting the episcopal rank.

Question: Your Eminence, how should we understand the doctrine of the end of the world? What is this and how will it happen?

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord Jesus Christ Himself spoke about this in sufficient detail. The Gospel of Matthew devotes an entire chapter to explaining what He said about the end of the world. He said that the end of human history will be preceded by various disasters. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in places” (Matthew 24:7); “The love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). But the Lord also predicted that He would appear Himself in order to judge all people, but He would not appear as the first time - in a humble human form, but He would appear in glory: He would be accompanied by the angels of God and He would place some people on the right side , and others to the left. On the right side will stand those who fulfilled His commandments and did good to people: they fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the one in prison. And those who did not do good, the Lord will place on the left hand, because, as He said, the good that we do or do not do in relation to a specific person, we do or do not do in relation to God Himself.

The Lord identified Himself with a person who needs our help, that is, whenever we help someone, we provide help to God Himself. Not because God needs this help, but because He sends us a person who needs our help, sympathy, and participation. This is, in fact, what the Lord is talking about in this teaching about the Last Judgment - that every person will face retribution for his life. Each person is responsible for his actions and the posthumous fate of people will depend on how they lived on this earth. Those who did good, fulfilled the commandments of God, will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, and those who deliberately resisted God and did not use the opportunity to do good will inherit eternal torment. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ reminds us of in the Gospel.

But the Lord warns us not to think about when the end of the world will happen, because for each of us the end of life can come at any moment. As for the end of human history, there are words about this with which I will conclude today’s broadcast, these are the words from the same 24th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew: “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but only My Father alone” (Matt. 24:36).

I wish you all the best and may God bless you all.