He's a major presence in Russian public life

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A prominent Russian Christian official and academic, Alexander Schipkov recently gave an interview to Russia's largest news agency, Novosti, making this case.

Schipkov is the Deputy Head of the World Russian People's Council, First Vice-Rector of the Russian Orthodox University, First Deputy of the Synod Department for Relations with Society and the Media, and has a weekly news analysis show on Russia's largest Christian TV channel, Spas.

We have written before about the head of the Russian church's influence on Russian politics and society:  The Head of the Russian Church Has Enormous Power - The West Has Nothing Similar.

What Schipkov had to say was revealing:

- What are the most important theses that the Church has managed to establish in public life during the presidency of Patriarch Kirill in society and the state?

- First, the thesis formulated by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in 2009 about traditional values. He, in fact, introduced this notion, which is very widespread today, into the public discourse and formulated it. As part of the work of the World Russian People's Council, he began a discussion about the values that unite all Russians, regardless of religion, nationality, age, health, intelligence, economic status, political views. He said that there are values that unite everyone and bind society together, and this is very important.

Further, his proposal to introduce the concept of the being of God into the Constitution is certainly a historic event. His thesis on the priority of the spiritual over the material. As you may recall, the teaching of Marxism, which prevailed for almost a hundred years, was exactly the opposite, and His Holiness did not agree with it. This idea was included in the national security strategy and in Decree 809 of the President (Decree "On Approval of the Basic State Policy for Preserving and Strengthening Russia's Traditional Spiritual and Moral Values" of November 9, 2022 - ed.).

A very important thesis, not yet so widely known, but one that is bound to gain momentum, is that society consists of families, not individuals who fight among themselves, elbow each other, and strive to be leaders. This is a very important value-based worldview and, in a sense, a philosophical concept; it is not for nothing that we call the family the little church.

Finally, the last and very important point is about church sovereignty. The Patriarch spoke for the first time many years ago about church and spiritual sovereignty, and from these theses emerged modern notions of cultural and value sovereignty. The concept of cultural sovereignty was also included in the text of the National Security Strategy. The notions of cultural and axiological sovereignty could not have appeared if the Patriarch had not spoken about church and spiritual sovereignty - they came out of them.

- What major institutions have emerged in the Russian Church over these 14 years?

- First, new governing bodies were introduced: new synodal departments and commissions, new metropolitanates and dioceses, several exarchates - of Africa, Western Europe, and Southeast Asia, as well as metropolitan districts. The Inter-Siberian Presence, a very important institution, was created.

- Are there any speeches or statements by Patriarch Kirill that you would distinguish as significant and programmatic, even historical, marking milestones for the development of the country and the Church?

- There have certainly been many individual speeches and landmark programs in recent years. But I would draw attention to one of the most recent: Patriarch Kyrill's address at the fall 2022 convention of the All-Russian People's Friendship Council. This is a theological report analyzing secularism as an anti-Christian globalist ideology. This is a very serious and profound report; such reports usually take intellectuals several years to "digest". It takes time. This report will undoubtedly influence the development of Russian thought.

- What tasks, in your opinion, are still to be accomplished in the coming years, what are the top priorities?

- Above I spoke of things theoretical and strategic that affect worldview and ideology. But His Holiness devotes a great deal of time to practical matters that determine the daily life of us all, and these, of course, also have a moral dimension.

I am referring to His Holiness the Patriarch's decades-long struggle to remove abortions from the compulsory medical insurance system. It is clear that there is a great deal of resistance to this, because it is understood that this is the first step toward completely stopping the monstrous murder of unborn children.

And, of course, the federal law on large families(speaking in the Federation Council of the Russian Federation in May 2022, the Patriarch urged that a law be passed as soon as possible, which would give the status of a large family and protect all families from illegal interference by the guardianship authorities - ed.) We have been talking about this for two or three years, and His Holiness speaks about it very often. These things also have to do with moral issues, but they also have a practical side, a practical dimension.

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