This year it is officially 1000 years ago that the Russian Orthodox Church was established and Russia became a "Christian" nation. Certainly not only in the Soviet Union itself but also all over the world will this millennium be celebrated. For example, the U.S. Na­tional Council of Churches is organiz­ing a special birthday card greeting brigade to congratulate the Russian Christians on this monumental event. The idea is to gather birthday cards drawn by children from all over the United States and to send them to the U.S.S.R. along with National Coun­cil delegates who will be visiting the Soviet Union this year. ¹ Other coun­tries will, no doubt, sponsor similar activities.

Christianity came to Russia when Prince Vladimir of Kiev was baptized in order to marry the Byzantine Prin­cess Anna. This occurrence allegedly took place in 988 or 989. ² Vladimir promptly forced the entire people to adopt the Christian faith.

The consen­sus, then, is that the ...Russians formally accepted Christianity in or around 988 and probably in or near Kiev...³

Christianity came to Russia from Byzantium (Constantinople) and not from Rome. From the beginning the Russian Church was clearly an Eastern Orthodox Church, and it has always remained so. Although it formally sep­arated from the Greek Orthodox Church in 1443, in opposition to a coalition between Byzantium and Rome against the Turks, the Russian Orthodox Church has always closely followed the Byzan­tine model and tenaciously clung to the Orthodox ritual itself.

The Russian Orthodox Church has from the beginning been very isolated. It always stood outside the developments which took place in the European world and has mostly been suspicious of the West. It functioned to unite the Russian people and to help build a national culture. Outside influences were shunned. Even the great Reformation had no effect on the church of "mother Russia." Protestantism never did take root east of the Urals.

The Russian Orthodox Church is not only the product of Russian history and culture but also its preserver and guardian. It vividly portrays the Rus­sian mind and mood. It also exhibits a deep pride: Moscow is considered to be "the third Rome." The first Rome fell to heresy; the second Rome fell to the Turks, but the "true religion," the real orthodoxy, is alive and well in Moscow. This pretense is not so strong today as it has been in the past, but it will certainly play a role in the present anniversary.

The Eastern Orthodox Ritual⤒🔗

At this point it is necessary to make some remarks about the doctrine and liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church, of which the Russian Church is a part. The official creed of this Church is the Nicene Creed, without the words indicating that the Holy Spirit also proceeds from the Son (the so-called filioque). This means that the way to the Father can go via the Holy Spirit independently of the Son. It is no surprise, then, that the Orthodox ritual stresses the mystical union be­tween the believer and God.

The worship service symbolizes this process. The emphasis is not on the preaching of the Word, but on the dramatic joining of the believer with God. The Eastern Orthodox Church is sacramentalist and follows the theory of transubstantiation. The union be­tween God and the believer is realized through the sacrament.

They typical Eastern Orthodox church building is divided into two sec­tions, the one representing the earthly temple (where the people are gathered) and the other representing heaven (where the clergy are concentrated). The two sections are separated by a wall or doors on which "icons" are displayed. Icons are paintings depicting Christ, Mary, and other saints, and these icons play a prominent role in Orthodox liturgy, perhaps even more than the images in Western Romanism. The "highlight" of the service is achieved when the doors between the two sec­tions are opened, the congregation is allowed to "see" heaven, and the sac­rament is received (first by the clergy and then by the laity).

The Orthodox service is very lengthy and can take up to 2 ½ hours. Praises and prayers are of great importance. It has been remarked that "orthodoxy" here does not mean so much "the true doctrine" but the "true praise." ⁴Expe­rience is more important than knowledge and meditation prevails over under­standing. It is a liturgy which fosters mysticism and idolatry.

The Russian Orthodox Church follows the above mentioned pattern slavishly. Through the ages there has been little change to the original By­zantine ritual. In the course of time the Russians added some of their own "saints" — and they may canonize a few more this year — but they have otherwise remained faithful to their orthodox roots.

The Church Under the Czars←⤒🔗

The period of the Russian czars began when Ivan IV ("Ivan the Terri­ble") was crowned as sovereign monarch in 1533. Ivan showed himself to be the first in a long line of classic Russian tyrants. Important is that the Russian Orthodox Church approved of the crowning of Ivan and began to play a supporting role to the czars.

Many of these czars were extreme­ly despotic, and they exercised a reign of terror among the people. Serfdom became the established way of life in Russia and exploitation of the peasants was quite common.

During this time there was a ma­jor schism in the Russian Orthodox Church, known as the raskol. Patriarch Nikon, appointed in 1652, tried to in­troduce some reform into the Church.

It was an effort to improve the per­formance of the clergy and to attach a higher spiritual tone and greater de­corum to various ecclesiastical func­tions.⁵

He also wanted to correct some religious texts and rituals. But the conservative spirit of the Russian Church revolted against this attempt and a fight ensued between the "old believers" and the "new order."

The result of this schism was that many important leaders left the Rus­sian Orthodox Church. This departure of high-level personnel left the Church drained. Thus Czar Peter the Great was able to get a firm grip on the Rus­sian Church.

When Peter the Great ascended to the throne, a new era in Russian his­tory began, known as "the imperial age." Peter the Great showed a keen and lively interest in the Western world and began to introduce certain "mod­ern" European ideas. The Church, of course, vigorously opposed Peter's "westernization." In retaliation Peter organized a "Holy Synod" to rule the Church instead of a Patriarch, and he controlled this Synod through a spe­cially appointed lay official. Thus the Church came under the direct influence of the czars. The civil government could now exercise effective control over church organization, property, and policies. This system remained in place until the revolution of 1917.

In the latter part of the eighteenth century, the Russian gentry began to prosper more and more, but the clergy suffered from a degree of poverty. In Russia after Peter the Great, the clergy had lost much prestige and wealth. Perhaps during this time the Church began to show some concrete sympathy for the suffering masses.

The Russian czars, now worried about revolutions elsewhere, began to introduce measures of reform to pre­vent insurrection. But the spirit of rev­olution had grown deep roots, also in Russia. The reforms were too little and too late. While the Church still official­ly supported the imperial regime, many rural priests accorded with change and many monasteries became hearths of revolution.

The Church Under Communism←⤒🔗

The Russian Revolution meant a complete upheaval of Russian society. The gentry and the middle-class disap­peared and the peasants seized the land. The upper class was eliminated while the Bolsheviks nationalized finance, in­dustry, and trade.

The leaders and associates of the Russian Orthodox Church were sub­jected to brutal persecution, short of annihilation. The communist doctrine, being of a fanatical atheist mold, saw religion as opium for the masses and a threat to the correct development of society. The communists rightly con­nected the old Church to the hated im­perialist regime of the czars. It seemed that the time of the Russian Orthodox Church had come to an end.

However, the Soviet leadership soon learned that the age-old institu­tion of Russian orthodoxy could not be removed. Compromises had to be made to allow restricted religion. The government at first did not allow the appointment of any patriarch, but only "provisional appointees."

The patriotic and courageous be­havior of the Church during the Sec­ond World War led to more acceptance of the Church by the Soviet govern­ment. In 1943 Metropolite Sergius was appointed as the first post-revolution Patriarch. The present Patriarch, Pimen, was appointed in 1971.

In 1977 the revised Soviet con­stitution granted the following: Cit­izens of the U.S.S.R. are guaranteed freedom of conscience, that is, the right to profess or not to profess any religion, and to conduct either religious worship or atheistic propaganda. In­citement of hatred or hostility on religious grounds is prohibited.⁶

The Russian Orthodox Church has apparently survived the communist revolution and has gained some posi­tion in Soviet society. Its status is, however, strictly religious and it has no social or educational functions. It is fully religion under state control.

Past, Present, and Future←⤒🔗

When one reviews the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, it is plain to see how this Church has sur­vived many bloody centuries of upheaval and tragedy. Through a process of political compromise and active sup­port of existing regimes, it has main­tained its place in Russian society. Such is also the case today.

Although official religion is still greatly restricted in the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church, espe­cially in the last decade, has retained some of its former glory. The state has apparently seen that it is better to con­trol religion than to forbid it altogether. The Church has learned to collaborate with the state, and some priests openly advocate the unity of Marxism and Christianity! Patriarch Pimen is often called upon to make supportive state­ments concerning Soviet foreign policy, endorsing the Kremlin's initiatives of "peace."

The Russian Orthodox Church has taken in a prominent position in the World Council of Churches. Seeing the past isolationism of the Russian Church, this active participation in the modern ecumenical movement may surprise us somewhat. But is has right­ly been pointed out that the Orthodoxy has always had deep ecumenical pre­tenses and considers itself to be the true apostolic church which must show the primacy of love to all others. ⁷

Today the Russian Orthodox Church seems to attract more young people, although it does not do anything spe­cial to gain their attention. There is no hint of change in the conservative trends of the past, except in the rela­tions with other churches abroad. ⁸ It would appear that the new interest in the Church is mostly modish.

The future looks relatively bright for the Russian Orthodox Church if it keeps up its traditional role of support­ing the regime. Most other churches or religious groups in the U.S.S.R. are be­ing vigorously persecuted and radically opposed. Religious dissidents claim that nothing has really changed, de­spite the rights granted in 1977. Active atheism is still the policy of the govern­ment.

There are those who consider the entire anniversary a hoax and a fraud, perpetrated by the Soviet government to mislead its own people and the free world.

Ukrainian Christians in Canada have declared that the Russian Ortho­dox view of the millennium is being disseminated with the financial aid of the atheistic Soviet government, even though the propaganda of the Russian Orthodox Church is not in accordance with historic truth and is spreading false information in the Western world.⁹

There is really not much to cele­brate after 1000 years of Russian Ortho­doxy. Ten centuries of misinforma­tion, counter-reformation, heresy, and idolatry, as well as support of social in­justice and oppression, do not make for hearty congratulations. If ever, to­day the Russian people need much more than the Russian Orthodox Church has been willing and able to give in the past.