Article
The Church must foster patriotism, promote harmony in the relationship between itself, society, and the State, and respond to social injustice
Kyiv — A round table that brought together hierarchs, clergy, and lay member sof Ukraine's churches, representatives of social organizations and State agencies, and members of Ukraine's parliament was held on February 13th at the Ukrainian Building in Kyiv. The theme of the meeting was the experience of Christian Churches in building civil society. It organized by the Council of Christian Churches in Ukraine and the Ukrainian branch of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
At the beginning of the meeting, representatives of the Churches presented a document, An Address to Christians and All People of Good Will.
“Every year since our young State begain its independent existence, we have seen growth in the number of members of our society who are not indifferent to Ukraine's future; who strive to take active part in civil and political life – even though, due to certain negative factors, this is not always possible. Another positive development is that, every year, the government turns more and more towards the citizen, and shows an ever greater willingness to support the growth of civil society in Ukraine,” the document reads.
The leaders of the various Churches put great emphasis on the development of Christian community in Ukraine, and its contribution to community building in general. The Address reads further: “Criteria by which good is distinguished from evil are at the foundation of personal and social morality. In our society, these criteria are based on the Christian tradition. That is precisely why the Christian tradition must have a decisive voice in determining the ethical norms by which our society must orient itself.”
In the course of reports and discussions at the round table, the chosen theme can be approached from several directions. Our correspondent, Svitlana Yaroshenko, noted down some of the aspects, discussed at the meeting, of the experience of Christian churches in the creation of civil society.
“The Church is obligated to fulfill its civil duty as part of a triangle: society-state-Church,” — commented Niko Lange, director of the Ukrainian branch of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
“I believe that the Churches, with their perspectives in Europe, can make an important contribution to the development of civil society, as educational communities that transcend national borders. The notion of 'civil society' both in Ukraine and in Europe is very popular” - Niko Lange said in his opening address. “I will not undertake to evaluate the Ukrainian situation. But based on the experience of Germany, I can say that for too long the Church was thought of only in terms of its relationship to the State. It was taken for granted that the Church's position should be something like this: 'We care about the common good; therefore we support that which brings us all together; therefore we support the government.' Only after a long and painful process did the Church realize that it has to fulfill its civil duty as part of a triangle that includes society, the government, and the Church itself, and not only in a bilateral relationship with the government. The Church is the voice of the community in civil society; therefore it can, and must, get involved. At the same time, the role of the Church in civil society is not static. It is the subject of many disputes, which are in part due to the Church's own uncertainty as to its stance, but primarily to non-receptivity on behalf of society itself, which believes that it can do without the services of the Church. I am referring to something that should already be clear to everone: the very concept of a Christian Church does not allow it to distance itself from social issues. In civil society, the Church must concern itself with such issues as social inequality, dissatisfaction, individualism, lack of compassion, breaches of human rights. It must treat them as a challenge, and to state clearly its position, which cannot be confused with that of any other body. I personally think that the very notion of the Church is the basis and the source of its contribution to the development of civil society.”
According to Oleksandr Sagan, director of the government Committee for National and Religious Affairs, inter-confessional ooperation must serve as the foundation of civil society.
In his address, Sagan called attention first of all to the reality of religious pluralism in Ukraine, and noted that this pluralism “itself is important as a foundation for civil society [...] Inter-confessional cooperation, in our opinion, must develop in the direction of including more participants and deepening the theological dialogue between representatives of the various Churches and religious organization, with the goal of better acquaintance with one another and removal of prejudices and historically established antipathies. Another area of cooperation is the social realm. The various confessions, working together, can develop a common position with regard to current challenges and questions connected to globalization, ecology, protection of human life, and the institution of the family. Another direction of the Churches' social service could be the defense and popularization of moral values, promoting healthy lifestyles, overcoming amorality. This kind of work could be conducted by means of various conferences, round tables, theological readings. At the same time, dialogue that takes place on a theoretical level must also bear practical fruit in joint communal actions – cultural, educational, charitable, etc.,” - Oleksandr Sagan points out.
According to Archimandrite Eustratius (Zorya), press-secretary of the Kyiv Patriarchate, “The key word for civil society is balance.”
In his address, Father Eustratius described three main paths to the creation of civil society in Ukraine. First, a deep understanding that 'the calling of a human being is not individualization, but rather union with others and with God.” Second, “the ideal civil society is a society in which 'balance' is a key word – balance between freedom and responsibility, between personal and communal interests. There cannot be freedom without responsibility.” And third, it is necessary to pay particular attention to “Ukrainian society's search for its own identity,” rather than being torn between two foreign ideals – the Western ideal and that of Ukraine's Northern neighbor.
“Christianity, on the basis of ancient teachings, has developed the concept of what today we call civil society,” said Father Mykola Danylevich, representative of the department of external contacts of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Father Danylevich took the audience on a historical excursion of Christian experience in building civil society: “One of the reasons for the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire was that Christianity expressed, and insisted on, the principle that religion is a matter of personal convictions and individual conscience. This principle went againt the ideology and traditions of the Roman establishment, in which religion was determined not by the individual but by the state. In other words, religion was the government's business, not that of the individual human being. There wasn't an organization in the Roman Empire comparable to the Christian Church. There was no pagan 'Church', since priests, prophets, and other religious figures were at the same time government officials. This is precisely why the challenge posed by the Christian Church to pagan beliefs was taken up by the Roman government, which led to its struggle against the Church.
So, from the government's point of view, Christianity in the first century of its existence was an act of civil disobedience. Having emerged victorious from that battle, the Church was able to set the terms for a new model of church-state relations. Today we all take for granted the fact that religion is a personal affair, and the government should not be involved in it. Thus Christianity has effectively put forth the notion which today we call 'civil society,' which by and large means that the community of citizens must have its own laws, and not depend on the arbitrary will of the government. Initiative must go from the grass roots upwards.”
In addition, Father Mykola presented several decisions of the most recent Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, during which special attention was paid to the question discussed at this round table. “First of all, we orient ourselves based not on the idea of Ukrainian statehood, which has effectively lived itself out by this point, but based on the idea of Christian community. We believe that not the government, which changes frequently, but the believing community guarantees the strength of the Church, and of the state as well.”
“The main sphere of influence of Evangelical Churches are the day-to-day circumstances of individual lives: families and small social groups.” This thought was expressed by Myhaylo Cherenkov, a graduate student at the Departnment of Religious Studies of Ukraine's National Institute of Philosophy.
“The Evangelical Churches see their civil and spiritual calling in uniting the social, spiritual, political, and cultural; in renewing the lost wholeness of human life, restoring the original view of the human being as an image of God,” Myhaylo Cherenkov said. He pointed out also that “in recent years, the Evangelical Churches have acquired experience in active social-political participation that would have been inconceivable in the past. Most of them consciously worked with the values of European culture and democracy. But, contrary to what is often said today, we should not expect further growth of Protestant influence in politics.
The main sphere of influence of the Evangelical Churches, which have almost always been a minority, are the day-to-day circumstances of individual lives: families and small social groups. The Evangelical Church, according to the principle of autonomy, keeps its distance from political processes. Even when it states its position, it does not claim authority or power. By doing so, the Church does not diminish, but rather increases, its influence. Because it does not take sides in the struggle of political powers, it is able to speak for some universal symbolic spiritual structures,” - Myhaylo Cherenkov said.
“We don't want a theocratic state, nor a state church. We want the Church to fulfill its mission: developing mature human beings,” said the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar).
“I would like to point out the fact that, in the course of its history, human society has had very different forms of government. Experience teaches us that democracy is the best form of government, the one that takes account the most of human dignity. But at the same time it is also the most difficult form of government, because it demands of every citizen knowledge, interest in his own situation and that of others, initiative, responsibility, and a deep understanding of the nature of freedom. Only a mature human person can live under democracy – one who is aware of his or her own dignity and responsibility. But the majority of people feel better in a system of government where they don't have to think or to take responsibility. They like to be led, and they come easily under the influence of demagogues, who take advantage of this. And to some extent they are right to do so – if someone wants to be a slave, he might as well be one.
It seems to me that, if we want to build a state, we must try to build a democratic state. This means that we have a difficult task before us: we have to start by making every man and every woman into a democrat, which is to say into an individuality, aware of its dignity, its calling, its responsibility for itself and for others. [...] Democracy is a worldwide system of government; but in Ukraine it must be Ukrainian. In Great Britain it is British, and in North America it is American. Here, too, it must reflect some of the specificities of our culture. But the basis is everywhere the same – in God's creation of the human being, and in His order. [...] The other thing is that this system requires a tremendous amount of work. Therefore the Churches, and all religious organizations, are faced with a very important task: to assist in the development of the kind of person who can be a democrat, a mature human being. That means not a slave, not lazy, but a human being aware of who he or she is, aware of his or her God-given talents and of responsibility before God and before others, and ready to care for the common good.
We don't want a theocratic state, where the Church and its officers hold political power; nor do we want a state Church, which serves the state. We want the Church to fulfill its mission of being a Church, and of developing the kind of people who can be themselves and function on all levels of society and politics. This does not mean developing slaves – obedient citizens, wished for by totalitarian regimes. The Church must develop free, mature citizens. I see in this the main role of the Church in the kind of society of which we are speaking. But we must remember that freedom is not arbitrariness. Human rights do not give people the right to do whatever they want. Human rights are given by God for the purpose of harmony among people, and the common good.”
“The greatest thing that the Church can do for society is to develop true patriots,” said the assistant bishop of Kyiv of the Roman Catholic Church, Stanislaw Shyrokoraduk.
“We are gathered here today thanks to the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Who was Konrad Adenauer? Who was General de Gaulle? Today there is a lot of talk about a united Europe. These people were the authors of that idea, whose constitution was supposed to be the Gospel. They were the result of the Church's work of developing people. And it is a powerful witness. There are many examples of people raised in the Church who made an important mark in history. The Church's experience in building civil society is first and foremost such people,” said Vladyka Stanislaw.
He also emphasized that the Church has no intention of being involved in politics, but sees it as a goal to raise honest and just politicians. Today, the best thing the Church can for society is to “develop true patriots.”
Other issues as well were raised at the round table, and the various Churches shared their experience in social servie.
According to the initiator and director of this event, Yuri Pidlisniy – who is head of the UGCC's Committee for lay affairs – the event was “almost 100% a success”, even though not all the expected members of Parliament attended. In conclusion of the event, it was decided “to conduct similar round tables in the various regions, in order to spread among believers information about the experience of the Churches in the realm of building civil society.” Father Oleksa Petriv (UGCC) suggested that ministers of the various confessions convey the content of the Adress to their congregations.
Y. Pidlisniy communicated also the impressions of representatives of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, who believed the round table to have been “something fresh and new” compared to similar religiously themed events conducted by the Foundation.
Transl. Lea Oksman
http://www.risu.org.ua/ukr/news/reportage/article;20718/
