Members of the Eurasian Youth Union protest in front of the Russian Academy of Sciences building on Leninsky Prospekt in Moscow, August 8, 2007.
Photo: Dmitry Lekay
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“New Persecution” of the Church
A meeting was held between scientists and Russian Orthodox priests yesterday in the continuing conflict that arose after the country's leading scientists sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing their concern over the “clericalization of the country.” The scientists have received the backing of human rights activists. Church representatives have begun to talk of persecution and nationalist groups have come to their defense. As expected, the conflict only deepened at yesterday's meeting, which was attended by Academician Andrey Vorobyev, one of the signers of the letter, Deacon Andrey Kuraev and Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin.
The institution of a required course in “Basics of Orthodox Culture” in public schools was the motivation for the so-called Letter of the Ten, which was signed by Nobel Prize winners Zhores Alferov and Vitaly Ginzberg, among others. Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, responded to the letter that “After decades of atheism, the church and state must establish a principally new relationship based on partnership and cooperation.”
The dispute is clearly gaining force. Lev Ponomarev, leader of the movement For Human Rights, warned that “a new national-religious ideology” is forming in Russia characterized by “denial of democracy, xenophobia and the cult of authority.” Sergey Kovalev, head of the Andrey Sakharov Fund, also expressed support for the scientists. Father Vladimir Vigilyansky, press secretary of the Moscow Patriarchy, countered that “Following the human rights activists' logic, a person's faith in God is unconstitutional.” Members of the Eurasian Youth Union protested in front of the Russian Academy of Sciences building on Leninsky Prospekt yesterday. They accused the scientists of Satanism.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 09, 2007
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