Introduction

In 1968, a Syndesmos General Assembly took place at the very moment that the established order in Western Europe seemed about to be shaken. In his address to the Assembly, Syndesmos President Mr. Albert Laham from Lebanon stated

The world is not in peace. Neither is it in unity. The spirit of this world, which burns from the black ghettos of Chicago to the streets of Paris, from the Holy Land in the Middle East to the jungles of Africa, this spirit is not the Spirit of unity and peace. It is not a bond which can pacify and unite. It is a barrier which can only divide and destroy. But the firm belief of Syndesmos, and its only reason for existence, is that there is a Spirit, not as this world gives, which is a power, a unity and a peace. There is a Spirit which can burn in men and movements and can empower them to go beyond every spirit of this world. This is the Spirit which Christ gives, the fire which He has cast upon the earth. And Syndesmos desires, as its only consuming desire, to be alive and burning with this spiritual fire.

In 1973, the Syndesmos General Secretariat had to be evacuated from Beirut following the Lebanese civil war. Ten years later, political turmoil still prevented Syrian and Lebanese delegates from taking part in the XIth Syndesmos General Assembly in Crete. The XVIth General Assembly of 1999 took place under the sign of tensions in former Yugoslavia, the Russian Federation, the Holy Land, Georgia and other places where Orthodox live.

Many Orthodox young people today live near conflict areas or are directly touched by war. Every day, thousands of believers face some of the most difficult of questions: Am I allowed to kill in combat? May I fight injustice by violent methods? When the demands of my country seem at odds with the demands of the Kingdom of God, how do I respond to this conflict?

Rarely do we find simple answers to such questions. Thus we search for help in Holy Scripture, the Canons, the writing of the Fathers of the Church, and reflect on the lives of the Saints.

We hope this resource book can help, drawing as it does on the experience of our fathers and forefathers. They teach us examples to follow and attitudes to reject. The Tradition of the Orthodox Church has much to give to its faithful who are caught up in the vicissitudes of Twentieth-Century warfare.

Nonetheless, we cannot simply copy what other have done in the past. Different eras have found different attitudes, and many of today’s problems never existed before. Yet knowledge of Sacred Tradition may help us find ways out of the dead ends that many communities experience today.

His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, a former Syndesmos Vice-President, says: “All religious communities must turn to the very depth of their doctrine and to the best pages of their respective traditions in order to find the principles of a sacred anthropology which puts the emphasis on sincere respect of the whole human person.”

This is the aim of this book.

The present Resource Book attempts to provide original resource texts concerning Orthodoxy, War, Peace and Nationalism. In compiling the book, we have attempted to gather documents that express well the variety of points of view on the theme. These texts do not necessarily express the point of view of the editors or of Syndesmos.

The Syndesmos Resource Book on War, Peace and Nationalism was supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.

Syndesmos expresses its deep gratitude to all those who have made this book possible. In the first place, we thank His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos for providing his speech at the 1994 Conference on Peace and Tolerance. We also thank His Beatitude Metropolitan George of Mount Lebanon, His Eminence Bishop Irineaus of Backa, Fr. Stanley Harakas, Archimandrite Grigorios (Papathomas), Mr. Olivier Clément, Mr. Tarek Mitri, Mr. Yevgeniy Petrovskiy and the Service Orthodoxe de Presse for their kind permission to use their texts. Finally, this book would not have been possible without the support of many others: Deacon John Sewter, Mrs. Hélene Klépinine-Arjakovsky, Mrs. Cathérine Aslanoff, Mr. Michael Bakker, Mr. Alexander Belopopsky, Mrs. Tatiana Bos-Arjakovsky, The Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland, Syndesmos Secretary-General elect Ms. Rebecca Hookway, Mr. André Lossky, Syndesmos Secretary-General Mr. Vladimir Misijuk, Mr. Spiridon Tsimouris and Mrs. Svetlana Yerchova.

November 1999
Hildo Bos, Vice-President, Syndesmos
Jim Forest, Secretary, Orthodox Peace Fellowship

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For the Peace From Above — Table of Contents

The Orthodox Church and Society

The Basis of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church

Bishops’ Statement

This document, The Basis of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, is called to serve as a guide for Synodal institutions, dioceses, monasteries, parishes and other canonical church institutions in their relations with various secular bodies and organizations and the non-church mass media. This document is to be used by church authorities to make decisions on various broad issues relevant to their own particular time and place, as well as to make decisions on very specific concerns. The document is to be included in the curriculum of the theological schools of the Moscow Patriarchate. As changes take place in public and social life and new problems significant for the Church emerge in this area, “The Basis of the Church’s Social Concept” may be developed and improved. The results of this process shall be adopted by the Holy Synod, the Local or Bishops’ Councils.

Note

This version of the Bishops’ Document is a meticulously edited edition that has been prepared by St. Innocent/Firebird Videos, Audios & Books, producers of educational materials about the Orthodox faith. Hundreds of hours were spent in revising the Patriarchate’s original English translation so that it would have a normal English flow. The editor has also added a table of contents and, in the printed version, an exhaustive index. Because this authoritative document — issued in the year 2000 by the Council of Russian Bishops — is so magnificent, and of such enormous value in understanding contemporary social ethical issues as Orthodox Christians, St. Innocent/Firebird is pleased to make its version available to the Orthodox Peace Fellowship to be used on their In Communion web site. Printed copies of the English edition are available from St. Innocent/Firebird Videos, Audios & Books for $8 plus shipping and handling. A trade discount is available for resale in bookstores. Please go to the following URL to visit the Firebird web site for contact and ordering information.

Contents

Introduction

Adopted at the Sacred Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, this document sets forth the basic provisions of her teaching on church–state relations and a number of problems socially significant today. It also reflects the official position of Moscow Patriarchate on relations with the state and secular society. In addition, it gives a number of guidelines to be applied in these social-ethical issues by the episcopate, clergy and laity.

The nature of the document is determined by the needs experienced by the whole of the Russian Orthodox Church during a long historical period both within and beyond the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate. Therefore, it deals primarily with fundamental theological and ecclesio-social issues, as well as those aspects of the life of the state and society which were and are equally relevant for the whole Church at the end of the 20th century and in the near future.