This article examines the missionary activities of the Russian Orthodox Church to combat the spread of religious sectarianism. The reasons for the emergence and spread of sectarian movements in Russia, their common features and danger to society are considered. The role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the fight against sectarianism is described, which consists in creating spiritual support centers for people under the influence of sects, conducting missionary work, disseminating information about Orthodoxy and dialogue with representatives of other religious denominations.
Keywords: missionary activity, Russian Orthodox Church, sectarianism, centers of spiritual support, missionary work, Orthodoxy, religious denominations, preservation of spiritual values.
Throughout the history of civilization, new sects have emerged, some of them disappearing, but never before have they had such an organized structure, financial power, economic, political and global ambitions as they do today.
In modern society, religious sectarianism is a topical and important problem. Sectarians of different faiths propagate their beliefs and attract new followers, which can have negative consequences for society. They often use methods of manipulation and influence on the psyche of people, which can lead to psychological dependence and detachment from reality. At present, Russia is undergoing significant and profound changes related to the spread of religion as a socio-cultural phenomenon. This process began in the late 1980s until the 1990s and continues to take root, permeating many people’s minds and becoming an integral part of their daily lives. In addition, many sects contradict the basic principles of the state policy and legal system of Russia [1, 159]. At the same time, often unfounded promises and threats have undermined the trust of their followers in family and society. In this connection, there is a need to study more thoroughly the problem of the spread of sectarianism and to take measures to counter this phenomenon.
In these conditions, by the mid-19th century. Orthodox missionary activities among the Old Believers enter a phase of stagnation. The success of the mission in most cases depended on the personal interest and capabilities of the diocesan bishop. The situation was compounded by the fact that there was no unified system for the training, organization and monitoring of Orthodox preachers in the Old Believer environment. Traditional ways of influencing schismatics: writing of a controversial and revealing character, example of personal piety of the local priesthood, conducting sermons in churches are outdated. This is evidenced by the analysis of statistical data on the joining of schismatics to the Russian Orthodox Church. So, in the period from 1862 to 1871. Only 23,391 people joined Orthodoxy, compared to the previous period (from 1852 to 1861), when 90,498 people [2] joined the ROC. Thus, the statistical data clearly confirm the low efficiency of the Orthodox mission among the Old Believers.
Turning to later periods of history, it is worth emphasizing that the ROC MP (Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate) played an important role in countering the spread of religious sectarianism in pre-revolutionary Russia. One of the main tasks of the Russian Orthodox Church was to preserve and spread the Orthodox faith among the Russian population. The Church has been active in advocacy and missionary work, including among the poor, and has opposed the spread of religious sects and cults.
Until 1917, the vocation for Orthodox missionaries was mainly related to work among the peasant population, which was to preserve the traditions of the peasant community and to church customs. Relatively fewer priests did missionary work among workers. At the time, this was justified, as the peasantry was the main category of the population. But in fact the most active and most exposed to various ideas — from sectarian to socialist — part of the population was non-Christian. Therefore, this part of the population required sermon more than others. However, before the 1917 revolution this gap was not corrected [3, 75].
The main place in Orthodox theology has always been occupied by the question of the personal salvation of a Christian — the teaching about the social life of a Christian was practically not considered. In connection with the ever-growing working class in the Russian Empire, the Orthodox Church was faced with the need to comprehend the social problems of modern times, which was reflected in the renewal of its work in the field of education, spiritual and moral education and social service in a rapidly developing working environment [4]. Thus, by the early 1870s, State participation in industrial development consisted in the regulation of labour relations. At that time, industry in Russia developed on the basis of the vertical structure, where the factory worker was an unlimited ruler and legislator. In the 70s of the XIX century, industry developed very quickly, and the enterprises employed a large number of factory workers. At that time, the general system of care for the Orthodox population of Russia included workers, and there was no special church policy for them. For the urban industrial outskirts, off-duty communication was becoming desirable in order to strengthen the general religious character of the population and to curb immorality.
The document «The concept of missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church», developed by the Synod Missionary Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, is considered to be an important modern event on March 27, 2007. This document indicates the purpose of missionary activity of the ROC: «Today the missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church includes an internal mission, that is, the work of returning to the church fence people who, as a result of the persecution of the Church in the XX century, were separated from the fatherly faith and especially those children of the Church, which came under the influence of destructive cults and totalitarian sects. Opposition to such cults is one of the missionary activities» [6].
It seems interesting that during the II All-Russian Missionary Congress in Moscow, the idea of an all-Russian missionary publication was presented. In 1896, the magazine «Missionary Review» Interesting seems that during the II All-Russian Missionary Congress in Moscow, the idea of an all-Russian missionary edition was presented. In 1896 the journal «Missionary Review» [7, 73] was published in the territory of Kiev. The magazine was published for twenty-one years, and raised topical issues of church and parish life and all kinds of relations between the church and the state and various segments of society. The magazine was published in 1896–1898 in Kiev and in 1889–1916 in Saint Petersburg. The magazine «Missionary Review» was created to combat sectarianism and division in Russia. It contained articles on the creed, the history of sects and schisms, and the condition of the Orthodox missionary. V. M. Skvortsov — was the editor of the magazine, claimed that the publication plays an important role in the fight against internal enemies of the church. The magazine openly condemned sectarianism and division, which were called «public evil». The «Mission Review» also published normative documents on missionary issues. «Missionary review» often published reports and journals of the parish trustees, articles and notes on issues of education, announcements about books.
Thus, the ROC played a key role in combating the spread of religious sectarianism. The Church took measures against illegal preaching, created special commissions to combat sects, educated Orthodox parishioners so that they would not succumb to the tricks of sect leaders who promised them easy ways to salvation, but they were in fact misled and deprived of the Father in heaven. However, not all the measures taken by the ROC MP were effective, as sectarianism continued to spread, especially in the territories where there was not enough peasant education and knowledge of Orthodoxy.
References:
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- Concepts of missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church.: The document was adopted by the Holy Synod on 27 March 2007, Magazine 12. — Text: Electronic // Faith code: [site]. — URL: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/dokumenty/kontseptsija-missionerskoj-jatelnosti-russkoj-pravoslavnoj-tserkvi/ (date of circulation: 03.05.2023).
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