The Russian Orthodox
Church has come up with a “Code of Eternal Russian Values”.
At the same
time, Moscow Patriarch Kirill reiterates the principle of division
between political and spiritual powers. Human rights groups are weary of
such a code, seen as the expression of religion’s excessive
interference in social life.
Presented last month by Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin,
head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations, the
proposed code is still “under discussion”.
Political parties, youth
groups and journalists have already addressed the issues raised by the
document.
Currently, it is being discussed by the Council of Orthodox
Public Association.
The Synodal Department chose three core values out of a
list of 14 on which society should base itself in the 21st century.
They are faith, freedom and patriotism, which, according to Archpriest
Chaplin, have remained rooted in the country despite processes of
modernisation.
If the first two are uncontroversial, the third one
has raised eyebrows, and fed a chorus of critics who reproach the Moscow
Patriarchate for flirting with the Kremlin’s nationalist policies.
In the last month, the Russian Orthodox spiritual
leader has addressed the issue several times.
In a recent appearance on
Russia’s Channel One TV station, he said in response to questions from
TV viewers that it is “wrong” when the Church to exercise political
power and “use secular power to reach its goals”.
However, for experts
the Patriarchate-Kremlin connection is more than evident.
Following Kirill’s election as patriarch in 2009, the
Russian Orthodox Church has won more space in public life as the Kremlin
under President Dmitri Medvedev views it as an important ally in its
modernisation strategy, especially in view of next year’s presidential
election.
Medvedev, who has pursued policies of political and economic
modernisation, might run for re-election.
However, to ensure that the process is not simply a
sterile emulation of Western models, the president has tried to root
modernisation in strongly shared traditions.
At this level, the
Patriarchate can play a role since government plans and Kirill’s
cultural project are similar.
The latter, says Adriano Rocucci, professor of history
at Rome’s Università Tre and an expert in Orthodox Christianity, is
also important from a geopolitical point of view because the
Patriarchate is seeking to reassert its pre-eminence in the former
Soviet space in order to achieve religious and cultural unity in the
region in which it exercises ecclesiastic jurisdiction.