Deacon Antonio Santi mopp – Moscow

I am honoured to be able to contribute to today’s meditation and would like to open my statement with a testimony so as to place the accent on today’s subject and find a style suitable to the occasion.  

1. An encounter on the steps of the Church dedicated to the Mother of God in Moscow 

As I entered the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow early in the morning on Thursday May 22^nd, to take part in the monthly meeting for pastoral operators in the central region, I had a number of thoughts that were important to me. I had just finished a study on the situation of the faith in Russia, and after 27 in this country and at the age of almost 60 I was questioning my current role at the service of evangelisation; I was expecting a visit from the person responsible for my community, Peter and Paul’s missionary work, and together with Philippe we wanted to hold a number of meetings and take stock. On entering the church I could physically feel the atmosphere, as if a cloud had enveloped those present, and the bishop’s voice expressed preoccupation for the Catholic Church in this land. As I entered I thought that we foreign missionaries are now a mark of contradiction both for Orthodox Russians and for the Catholics returning to the faith of their fathers. They would all be happy to manage without us. Russia is now returning to her greatness and her honour, and our presence is no longer that of initial emergency aid and is not yet that of welcomed guests accompanying development. I entered and prayed to the Mother of God, Protectress of the church and this diocese.  

Father Igor was waiting at the door, I have no idea how long he had been waiting, he greeted me and immediately started to speak with determination about today’s conference and the need for me to replace him because he had to travel to Berlin shortly and participate in the Conference for the Secretaries of the European Episcopal Conferences. To my amazement I heard myself answer "yes" and so here I am today to discuss together with all of you a subject that is extremely important for the life of the Russian Church. Later I wondered how Father Igor could have so easily overcome the defences I had organised so as to dedicate this year to observing and studying the social and religious situation in Russia. Perhaps it was because we are involved in a common attempt, each in his own way, to re-establish holy music in Russia.  

I would like to add one more simple thought before starting. I was delighted when I saw the program for this video-conference indicating that I am to speak after Father Cottier, my professor when I was a young student at the Freiberg school of faith and above all a witness of the foundation almost fifty years ago in Marseille, of my missionary family created by Jacques Loew. 

If influence could be measured, but we know that it is hidden in God, one could say that, simply by observing and experiencing the Orthodox Church’s liturgical cycle, the presence in Russia of the Mother of God is great and her protection is always present. For those interested the best source is the website http://www.days.ru/ . The Orthodox calendar remembers the Mother Of God on special days dedicated to Her, 5 out of the 18 major festivities (Easter, the Lord’s 2 festivities, and 5 great festive days), but She is also certainly present in at least another 5. Other festive days are dedicated to Her icons that "reveal" her and bear "witness" to her kindness for us; these are the "generatrix of wonders" remembered during the liturgical year with 211 different "names" and, considering that some are "mega-generating", there are in all 255 festivities. The icons most "represented" are the Odighitria icon, that of the path, Kasanskaja, the icon of liberation, Vladimirskaja, which means of tenderness, respectively celebrated with 12,11, and 6 commemorations in the course of the year.

But even the more modest ones are "touched" by this presence that ennobles their origins. One day in June ten years ago, while visiting the Patriarch Alexius II with Cardinal Saldarini from Turin, when the Latin liturgy was published in the modern Russian language, the Patriarch said "I am pleased that you have come on this day blessed by the Mother of God, today is the day on which She is remembered in an icon of Italian origin called the "generatrix of wonders".  

If we also consider the testimony of saints, as a theological location for our knowledge of God, then one could say that the two most eloquent saints belonging to the Russian Church, St. Sergio of Radonej and St. Serafino of Sarov, without diminishing the importance of other canonised saints or those hidden in God, had their lives changed by direct intervention from the Mother of God and they too became witnesses of her benevolence. 

If instead we study the tradition preserved by the Church as regard to the earthly life and the honours later reserved to Mary, Mother of God "theotokos", we discover that the Russian people have preserved in their traditions memories of Mary’s life in Galilee, in Jerusalem, at Ephesus and of her travels with the apostle John and the other apostles, all the way to Cyprus and the Athos. Recently, on the occasion for the Jubilee for the year 2000, a book by Poselianin collecting these traditions was republished, www.serafimov.narod.ru/d_Mary. It is possible to deduce from these traditions, later confirmed by the 5^th Century Councils, that the fundamental understanding of the title "theotokos", which in Russian is translated using the words "Bogoroditza", "Bogomateri", "Bojie Materi", is profoundly in agreement with all passed down through Western traditions, and fully expressed in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and in the last Catholic catechism for some time now also translated into the Russian language.  

If we attempt to describe the mystery of Mary, Mother of God, as it is preserved in hearts of the Russian people, we could say that, according to the many testimonies I have heard during my life, Mary is perceived as present in the lives of many people, as being close to each individual in a personal and discreet manner, without being excessively intrusive, protecting and interceding in times of danger and sin and as a first appeal for reaching God through His Son.  

There is a word in Russian for indicating the purpose of Mary’s maternal intercession which is called "obojenie", a word close to the "theosis" used by the Greek with the connotation of being immersed in God. Mary is perceived by Her saints and Her faithful as She who, at the right of the Son in the iconostasis and at the gates of heaven that she represents, leads to the encounter with God in Jesus. Just as She generated the Son of God in faith and in love, she today generates her children to divine life in Her maternal love and leads us to this filiality that is increasingly immersion in God and in His mystery for the Spirit He has bestowed upon us.  

The cult of Mary Mother of God is very strong here and has kept the people faithful in times of persecution, when the liturgy was not permitted and priesthood reduced, exiled or imprisoned. The believers’ personal relationship with the Mother of God is based on the personal prayer that is the foundation for all Christians. Prayer is essentially "domestic", meaning that in the "domestic church", each home traditionally has a "beautiful" corner where the individual or the family meet in front of the icon to pray to the Mother of God, with hymns, psalms and acts of grace. 

The words of the prayers used by the faithful are often the liturgical texts for the numerous festivities and the akathist hymn dedicated to the Mother of God is widely used. Both the original dating back to the 6^th Century tradition of Constantinople and the other versions were composed maintaining the same poetic structure of the kondakion and the ikos of prayers in the form of poems written for contemplating a mystery of Mary’s life. They remain in the memory and then accompany daily life. 

The Russian Christian soul is therefore profoundly Marian not only in approaching God and Jesus but also in the idea that believers have of themselves and of the world that surrounds them. There exists a profound harmony with Mary’s "positive" attitude in considering herself the Lord’s handmaiden in the work, the memory and the worshiping of the Lord’s wonders. This Marian humanity also has excesses that are visible in passivity and credulousness at times exaggerated. Tradition however protects from excesses maintaining a sobriety in religious life that prevents the development of fantasies. The well-experienced canon preserves the imaginary of iconography within the limits of revelation and tradition.

If it were possible to summarise in a few words this very profound mystery concerning the participation of the people in the fullness of Christ’s life, one might mention the position reserved to Joseph in eastern tradition, in which Mary holds a privileged position and therefore also the Holy family as it is presented in the oriental tradition.

The fair eyes observing Mary are the eyes of the "fair" Joseph. The icons present Joseph tempted by the devil on the day of Jesus’ birth in a corner of the icon. But the icon itself, just like the icon that is the gospel of Luke or of John, is represented by the fair Joseph’s eyes on the Mother of God, after his victory over temptation. Joseph perceives the presence of the divine in the simple woman given to him by God and perceives his woman as a privileged instrument of divine mercy and himself as the servant and protector of God’s work, according to God’s will.  

 

3. The Mother of God in the evangelisation of Russia today 

In Russia we have just emerged from a historic period during which the Church was obliged to live in the catacombs or in hearts, and could not express herself; for the Church these were times of service and silence, but also of heroic faithfulness and martyrdom for the Glory of God. We have now entered an era during which the Church is called upon to speak in public and reaffirm the social function previously denied to her. Temples are quickly being reconstructed also more slowly than wished, and the public cult, the liturgies, are celebrated with dignity and splendour as had already happened at the end of the first great persecution, after Constantine’s edict. History does not repeat itself, but rather lights up the present, as we are reminded by Eusebius of Caesarea in the reading of the Roman breviary for December 31^st.  

Recently, in November 2002, the third Orthodox missionary congress was held in Moscow, gathering representatives from all the dioceses to discuss together a subject dear to many: how to bring closer to God the people that communism distanced from Him, how to evangelise Russia; now that we understand the ancient words of Leskov: Russia has only been baptised, not evangelised. It is a real new evangelisation if one considers the social rupture caused by communism. Archbishop John of Bielgorod , responsible for the website http://www.sedmitza.ru/ says: "the church is in search of new forms and methods for her service in continuity with the tradition passed on by Cyril and Methodius, by the great Russian missionaries and the Patriarch Tikhon and the new 20^th Century martyrs".

This is not a suitable moment for discussing the details of the apostolic strategy proposed to the Orthodox Church, however it is possible to observe a similarity in the analysis and proposals to those of western churches, albeit using a different lexicon and maintaining the reservations and the distance between them. The principles proposed for re-evangelisation are the apostolic principles passed on and experienced especially by St. Innocent. As far as our subject is concerned one can only observe, paraphrasing words spoken by H.U. Von Balthasar, that there is a risk of an obscuring of the Church’s Marian principle in favour of St. Peter’s principle or as others call it, hierarchy.

It should be noted that the same challenge was experienced by the Catholic Church during the second half of the last century, seeing Popes, the carriers of St. Peter’s principle, combining it initially with the principles of John and of Paul and finally with the Marian principle.  

What is the current social and religious situation in Russia and what influence is exercised by the Mother of God in bringing the people back to God after the long winter of atheism? There are nowadays many religious sociological institutes attempting to provide a rapid picture of the situation. They are broadcast by the media and in particular the Internet is greatly used for communication and for formation also in the field of religion. In preparing this speech which is to be broadcast during a video-conference and over the Internet, I have preferred to choose sources of this kind rather than use the synod and state library which is what usually happens.  

I chose the data presented by Russia’s principal daily paper called Izvestia, dated August 26^th 2002, which reported data that is confirmed and the indicative numbers produced by the most serious sociological research institutions. The questions concerned faith in God, the religious confession people belonged to, knowledge of doctrine, participation in cult, reading of the Holy Scriptures and personal prayer. Most people declared that they were believers, among these believers few are the faithful or as the Russians say "aggregated to the churches", only 5 %, those close but not members of a church 21 %, close only due to cultural tradition 22 %, close but hesitant 21%. Only 31% consider themselves to be non-believers.  

In this analysis the multi-religious and multi-confessional aspects of Russia are not considered. On this subject I consulted the official state website on religion, http://religare.ru/ , which supplies precise and non statistical data from the Ministry of justice and comments it.

According to the Russian Ministry of Justice, at the beginning of the century there were about 20 thousand religious organisations registered in Russia. 80% Christian (54% belonging to the Orthodox Church, 24% protestant, 1% catholic, 1 % Armenian and others). 15% are Moslems, 1% Buddhist, 1% Jewish, 1% Hindus, 1% Jehovah’s witnesses, and 22 other denominations make up the remaining 1%.

One should remember that according to the law Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism are considered traditional religions. Western confessions, in practice the protestants and Catholics, Orthodox minorities and other religions are non traditional but historically certified.

The data is commented on by Remir Lopatkin, professor of an "introduction to religious matters" at the "Russian academy for state services", the highest authority on this subject. He comments in detail the passage from state atheism to religious freedom and the social reaffirmation of Orthodox Christianity. He compares the most recent data to that related to the beginning of the perestroika during the Eighties (20^th Century) and observes how at the time 20% declared they were believers, in 1990 the believers were 40%, in 1998 they represented 52%, and at the end of the century the figure rose to 60%. He believes that the religious situation is now stable in the sense that each individual has had time to assume a position according to his conscience. The same data is also commented on by Anatolij Krasikov, President of MARS, "the international association for religious freedom" which includes all religious confessions. The emphasis differs, but the situation presented is the same. In summary one could state that the first stages of religious renaissance are over, most of the population has been able to choose a preferred confession, especially from an ethnic-confessional point of view. Now is the time for faith, time for studying in-depth, time for personal and communitarian life, now is the time for belonging to God.

 

 There is as far as I know, no information available concerning the attitude of believers as regard to the Virgin Mary. One must bear in mind that She holds an important position not only in Orthodoxy but in all Christian confessions and also in the form of Islam experienced for six centuries as a minority in a Christian country. For this presentation of mine I decided that it would be important to ask trustworthy people I know about their religious behaviour, knowing that they belong to diverse confessions and spiritualities.

Most of the people I interviewed, both Catholic and Orthodox, declared having a direct experience of a relationship with the Mother of God. In a number of moments of their lives they had felt Her close in an indescribable manner, perceiving a consoling presence and a protection; and even though they were unable to describe this, they were able to tell of where and when this event took place even after many years. I too have experienced this, shortly before being arrested and expelled from the Soviet Union 25 years ago.

These people understood that it was Mary, even though they did not experience a clear vision, and they continuously pray to Her. Most of them declared that they had problems with the church, apart from confession, and in particular with the clergy creating a filter in their searching for contact with God, many times causing them to abandon communitarian religious practice. They all declared that the first prayer to reach their lips is one to the Mother of God, and they speak to her as a Mother, even when their relationships with God are a little muddled especially if the guilt they experience is at times greater than the sin committed.

During these years of recovering the memory of martyrs and witnesses of the 20^th century, in addition to the aforementioned prayers other too were created under the influence of the Mother of God during the last century and are also becoming parts of the ecclesial conscience. These could become the starting point for a renewed cult of the Mother of God and an introduction for the new evangelisation.  

4. A conclusion that is also an introduction 

God attracts everyone and everyone is convinced that what has happened in this land over the past years is proof of His victory over those men who opposed Him. It was not a victory of the Church, nor one of the men of the church. It was a victory for the Mother of God, God’s ambassador to His children. It is up to her to allow us to perceive Her merciful kindness and Jesus who is often perceived as distant and not so well known, often represented as a Pantocrator, He is perceived by many more as a judge than as a saviour.

Once again we could say that the Mother of God can represent the gates of heaven for this generation of Russians. She can lead us to Jesus and allow us to contemplate His real merciful Face. She can glorify the Father with Jesus for all the wonders created for us. 

I would like to conclude this presentation quoting a special akathist, written when religious persecution was extremely intense, during the Thirties, last century, by Moscow’s metropolite, Trifon, formed at the Optine monastery, bishop and spiritual father for the persecuted generation, devoted to the Mother of God. It is a Magnificat that, I believe, comes as for Job at the end of a trial and is marked by Mary’s eyes observing the reality of the world and of God. It is an invitation to glorify the Father, because it is true and right to render thanks for everything.

Kondak 11 

Alleluia!  

Ikos 11  

Glory be to Thee, Oh Lord, for ever and ever 

Kondak 12 

What is my praise when compared to Thee? I did not hear the cherubs singing, this is reserved to elected souls, but I know that nature praises Thee. I have seen winter, when in moonlike silence the whole silent world prays to Thee, enveloped in its white cloak, sparkling in the shining snow. I have seen how the rising sun rejoices and the chorus of birds echoing its praise. I have heard how the wood whisper about Thee, the winds sing, the waters gurgle, how the stars with their tidy movements in never-ending space announce Thee. What is my praise when compared to Thee? Nature obeys you, and I do not, but as long as I live and observe your love, I wish to give thanks, pray Thee and invoke: 

Glory be to Thee Oh Lord for ever and ever  

Come Holy Spirit, come for Mary.