Your Holiness!
Due to the infamous events of the last months, and especially rendered in direct instigation of the Russian Orthodox Church and the people, by mistake calling themselves "Orthodox citizens" unjust sentencing of Pussy Riot, I'm unimportant cleric Tambov diocese Deacon Sergei Baranov, formally announce my full and unconditional severance of relations with the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and apply for an abdication of holy orders. I remain faithful Christian, but in the same Church with the liars and hypocrites moneymaker, I consider myself quite impossible for reasons of ethics. I value my faith, but after what happened to stay in the ROC would mean that I approve of their actions and, therefore, complicit in them. I believe that the Church as an institution needs to purification and renewal - only an honest and decent man can with a clear conscience again to cross its threshold. Call on all true believers offer prayers to our Lord Jesus Christ on the early healing of all lesions that hit our holy Church.
Without touching the spiritual and moral evaluation of the offense of the act, which is really unacceptable, but now thousands of people have become advocates Pussy Riot, because the court found that any person could be imprisoned for anything, saying the decision what you want and how you want. Set a precedent where minor offense and simple stupidity can break your life at the whim of the authorities. Criminal offenses are almost all thoughts and actions are not pleasing to the authorities.
Moscow Patriarchate, in fact, initiated the criminal case and the development of subsequent events. Case Pussy Riot has further strengthened Russia's isolation from the rest of the world that not only is our country considers the aggressive and non-free, so it still is a country and a forensic religious obscurantism. It became clear that this process does not last. But running this machine of repression, the Church and the power of self-destruction started the car.
At a time when the federal judge Marina Syrova acknowledged participating Pussy Riot guilty of a felony, she carried a sentence not only to the three girls. Marina Syrova made myself Russian court verdict and caused great damage to the Orthodox Church, because the condemned on criminal people have not committed a criminal offense, and transformed into holy Orthodoxy Orthodox fundamentalism, which is so persistently sought themselves church hierarchy, not knowing the harmful effects. We have seen how in the 21st century in a secular and supposedly legal and democratic country, in fact in a court of ecclesiastical inquisition, where motivational part of the sentence was justified Laodicean Local Council of the 4th century, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2011, writing, Senior Priest of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Fr. Mikhail Ryazantsev and reminder behavior in church, that is a purely internal church documents and letter of the priest, and, ironically, made the award in the name of the Russian Federation.
Girls Pussy Riot actually condemned on criminal charges, and on the moral and ethical concepts Ages. And, behold, according to these concepts of the Russian Orthodox Church is positioned as such, moral, ethical standard in our society with the filing of the state. This process was a heavy blow to the Church. For thousands of people it became clear that our Church is not separated from the state - our church has separated itself from God and true believers. Believers will not be less, but the desire to go to church many have disappeared.
This court decision to split the inner unity of the Church and the faithful breaks on two fronts. Those Orthodox who forgive and pray for girls female prisoners, these are the people who may be in the minority now, though, it is the most educated, the most active social group of believers, people who think it is.
To a large extent, this part of the future, because these people influence public opinion in a growing number of believers, but they do not want to identify themselves with the Russian Orthodox Church, which is more spliced with the government.
In conclusion, I want to say, I guess, how much dirt lies and dirty words pour on my hierarchy, and fellow Orthodox fundamentalists, on learning of my decision to intercede, to lift the dignity to protest the absurd and illegal sentence. I am not ashamed of my years of ministry in the churches of the city of Tambov. Fifteen years ago, as a clergyman of the Church Mother of God Monastery of the Ascension of Tambov, I taught in Sunday School, dogmatic theology, liturgical constitution and canon law. With God's help, the age of the beautiful students, three of whom became priests, one is a doctor in a submarine, one a surgeon at the hospital of my home town, and one became a teacher of the seminary - they will understand me, and I hope will not be condemned.
God forgive me, but I do not believe those Orthodox victims, much to themselves is referred to the Orthodox community. Why? Because, in my opinion, the true believers - they know the Scriptures, they know that the Lord has commanded us, they know what a mercy, they know what is forgiveness and love! They know, in the end, what is adequate.
In these girls, prisoner of conscience - Hope, Mary and Catherine, much more humanity and Christian charity, than in those who blame them for they love the truth and follow it, but the truth - makes man free
08/19/2012, the humble novice
Open Letter To Patriarch Kirill Primate Russian Orthodox Church From Deacon Sergei Baranov
