Posted on 11/22/2017 5:05:14 PM PST by marshmallow
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with newly-appointed American ambassador to Russia John Huntsman at the patriarchal residence yesterday to discuss matters of relations between the two countries and of the fate of suffering Christians around the world, reports patriarchia.ru.
Welcoming the guest, Pat. Kirill noted that the Russian Church has a special relationship to the United States, as great missionaries like St. Herman of Alaska and St. Innocent labored for years to bring the Orthodox faith to the American continent. “In addition to his missionary service, [St. Innocent] carried out a very important cultural work, creating an Aleut alphabet. The Russian Church spread to California from Alaska, and then to the eastern shore,” His Holiness told the ambassador.
The patriarch also spoke of St. Tikhon of Moscow’s missionary service in America, noting that this year marks the centenary of the restoration of the Russian patriarchate and St. Tikhon’s election to the position. “The works that he and his predecessors carried out on the American continent still live, and there exists today the Orthodox Church in America, which our Church granted autocephaly in 1970.”
The patriarch went on to note that the relationship between believers is one of the human heart, between diplomats—of the mind, and between businessmen—of the stomach. “I don’t think we should exclude the heart from international relations,” His Holiness emphasized.
In the patriarch’s view, as he told Ambassador Huntsman, today’s difficulties go beyond the mere relations between states, but involve the differences of values and the different understanding of values. He explained to the diplomat that during Soviet times, the persecuted Christians of Russia had more in common in terms of values with the sincere Christians in America than with the atheists among their fellow Russians. “Despite the atheistic propaganda in......
(Excerpt) Read more at orthochristian.com ...
An accurate statement.
“The West HAS Abandoned God,”
Fixed it for you.
Here, in this country, we have a very strong core of true believers. God loves us and He hears our prayers. If we follow him in truth and Spirit we will see a great and mighty revival. It is up to us. Will we put down all of our meaningless activities and get about the business of His Kingdom?
These proud, ancient churches never get involved in culture wars (at least not in the United States). They just bask in their pride and antiquity (btw, I know someone older) and the beauty of their ceremonial. But when "rednecks" are sued for not participating in homosexual weddings . . . well, they deserve it for being "bigots," "sheep stealers," and "Zionists."
Another point: one could spend a lifetime performing all the rituals of these ancient churches and actually be an atheist or agnostic and no one would know the difference. After all, it's a good living and an important part of ethnic identity. American Fundamentalists may be poor in history and beautiful ritual, but they are rich in belief--because that is all they have. One can never be sure if the adherents of the ancient churches actually have any belief at all.
Chrstianity doesn't deserve the loyalty our Fundamentalist people have always given it. But apparently they will remain loyal forever to a religion that has no use for them whatsoever.
He is right.
Please feel most welcome to explain that statement.
Bigoted much?
> They just bask in their pride and antiquity (btw, I know someone older).
HaShem revealed Himself at Mount Sinai before three million people in 1312 B.C.E. The Torah is about 1300 years older than christianity.
> Another point: one could spend a lifetime performing all the rituals of these ancient churches and actually be an atheist or agnostic and no one would know the difference. After all, it’s a good living and an important part of ethnic identity.
This is true in Croatia. Many Croats go to church because of their ethnic identity. They know very little about the “Old Testament” or even the new testament.
> Chrstianity doesn’t deserve the loyalty our Fundamentalist people have always given it.
christianity is a heretical innovation. It has a new name, a new holy book written in a new language and a new theology. I always thought that christ is the continuation of the pagan Greek god dionysus. I was a christian and a pagan, so I remember they have many similarities.
> But apparently they will remain loyal forever to a religion that has no use for them whatsoever.
Surely there is a special place in hell for false prophets who created new religions.
Both versions are acceptable.
Amen and second it.
Christians are part of the spiritual Israel.
Jesus is spoken in prophecy in the OT and is revealed in the NT.
And we "know" this because the "new testament" says so. That proves it, doesn't it???[/sarcasm]
Chrstianity is an ethnic identitarian religion masquerading as universal truth. Not only Croats, but practically all chrstians everywhere are chrstian as a statement of ethnic identity. To Armenians, Ethiopians, Assyrians, Greeks, Slavs, Poles, Irish, etc., "the church is the nation; the nation is the church."
This applies to Protestant America as well. In the traditional American Protestant worldview, the corruption of chrstianity into its liturgical form was predicted by J*sus. "True chrstianity" was fated to be "restored" by the Radical Reformation and America was discovered at the same time so it could be the "new Israel" where the "restored" true religion could flourish in its own "holy land."
This is also why chrstians hate each other. Theological differences are actually camouflage for ethnic tensions (theology is often ethnically determined). No example is more pertinent than American Black and white Protestants, who theoretically are co-religionists but who have always hated each other. Each thinks it is the new "chosen people" (in fact, some in each group claim to be the "true Israelites!"). There is not the slightest bit of brotherhood between the two. This is also why the two are at opposite sides of the political spectrum, and why the partisans of each ridicule the other for traits both have in common. And the most heartbreaking thing about all this is that they refuse to even consider the possibility that no new religion was necessary two thousand years ago. The very claims of chrstianity allegedly prove themselves!
christianity is a heretical innovation. It has a new name, a new holy book written in a new language and a new theology.
I could not possibly agree with you more. Yet chrstianity is treated as ancient and conservative and Jews are accused to being "secretly behind Communism." I was watching a documentary on YouTube about Charedim yesterday that explained how conservative they are, how they insulate themselves from the modern world, etc.; and some Nazi commented that this was the "Jewish revolutionary spirit!" Can you imagine that??? Chrstian monks who shut themselves off from the world are heroes but Torah Jews who do so are "revolutionaries!!!"
Surely there is a special place in hell for false prophets who created new religions.
And it's mighty crowded.
> This is also why chrstians hate each other. Theological differences are actually camouflage for ethnic tensions.
I think Rambam said that HaShem gave the Torah to bring peace. When the whole world serves HaShem, there will be true peace.
> Jews are accused to being “secretly behind Communism.
I had a discussion with Rav Michael Schulman. I asked about the ideal economic system in the eyes of Torah. He said: “Well, we can rule out communism and socialism.”
Torah forbids murder, theft and godlessness. Communism is murder, theft and godlessness.
> some Nazi commented that this was the “Jewish revolutionary spirit!” Can you imagine that??? Chrstian monks who shut themselves off from the world are heroes but Torah Jews who do so are “revolutionaries!!!”
I debated many nazis. They do not understand that theocratic Jews and Noahides are more far right than any of them. But unlike christians, some nazis actually listen to what you have to say.
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