Russia’s Orthodox Church has opened 30,000 places of worship in last 30 years

Aleteia ^ | 01-02-2018 | Zelda Caldwell

[NRx]

Russia’s Orthodox Church has opened 30,000 churches over the last 30 years, although it is expected to take until 2050 to return to what it was before the 1917 revolution, reported The Tablet.

“Houses of worship aren’t built as architectural or artistic monuments – they’re there for the people,” Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, the Moscow Patriarchate’s external relations director told Rossiya-24 TV.

“And we don’t build churches to obtain impressive statistics, but because people want them. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the construction or renovation of most churches is financed by the faithful – both small people and big entrepreneurs.”

Metropolitan Hilarion said that the Orthodox Church has dedicated three churches a day since 1988, and now has 40,000. He said that it would take until 2050 to attain the 80,000 churches held before the Bolshevik Revolution took place 100 years ago.

In addition, Hilarion said that the Russian Orthodox Church now has 940 monasteries, compared to the 1500 that existed before the Soviets came to power.

Following the Bolshevik’s seizure of power, hundreds of Orthodox priests were killed, and churches and monasteries were closed and desecrated.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Orthodox Church has undergone a dramatic resurgence, and enjoys the support of President Vladimir Putin, who is often seen on national television attending church services.

[NRx]

The numbers cited for murdered clergy are way off but otherwise this is a good piece. Under Stalin the number of open churches were less than 100 in the entire country with only 3 monasteries. Every single bishop in 1917 either died in prison or was murdered outright. The number of clergy and monastics "liquidated" by the NKVD is not known with any exactness but is certainly in the tens of thousands. The number of all those murdered for their faith, mostly Orthodox but also including others such as Ukrainian Greek Rite Catholics, is probably not less then 5 million. Some historians suggest twice that number.

[Ciexyz]

Heart-warming news for people of all faiths.

[Larry Lucido]

“Houses of worship aren’t built as architectural or artistic monuments – they’re there for the people,” Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, the Moscow Patriarchate’s external relations director told Rossiya-24 TV.

“And we don’t build churches to obtain impressive statistics, but because people want them. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the construction or renovation of most churches is financed by the faithful – both small people

Hmmm, a lot of focus on "people." I presume His Eminence also envisions a place for The Almighty in this endeavor. That said, he will be happy to know that a donation has been made in his name to The Human Fund - Money for People.

[Billyv]

God is not dead.

[SaveFerris]

I like the hats in the Greek Orthodox.

[Jacquerie]

Eighty-plus years of stomping on Christianity failed.

Marxist’ attempts to replace God with the state are doomed to fail. But, they will keep trying . . . here in the US.

[Biggirl]

Yet God responded back via a certain DJT being elected.