The following comes from a June 8 story on Reuters.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has urged monks not to use cellphones to access the Internet in order to avoid temptation.
“Now the Internet appears to be a great temptation,” Patriarch Kirill said during a trip to the Zograf monastery in Greece, according to a transcript of his remarks posted on the church’s website.
“Many monks act, in my view, quite unreasonably. On the one hand, (monks) leave the world in order to create favorable conditions for salvation, and on the other hand, they take their mobile telephone and start to enter the Internet where, we know, there is a large number of sinful and tempting things.”
The monastic tradition is by definition strict and does not need to adapt to modern conditions, he said.
Kirill has in the past warned against “manipulation” on the Internet but an Orthodox Church official, speaking on condition of anonymity, has said the patriarch does use it himself to seek out information.
A Facebook page dedicated to Kirill was launched last year to feed growing interest in a religious leader who has openly supported President Vladimir Putin. Putin has portrayed the church as the guardian of Russia’s national values.
The Russian Orthodox Church has enjoyed a resurgence since the end of atheist Soviet Communist rule in 1991. About three quarters of Russians consider themselves Russian Orthodox.
To read the original story, click here.
Vladimir Putin is an interesting character. It would seem that even the Soviets, and their installing KGB agents as bishops and abbots, were unable to destroy the Russian Orthodox Church. Putin puts a lot of publicity into associating favorably with it. What is it that Putin does that would oppose Church doctrine, whether Roman Catholic or Russian Orthodox? Has Patriarch Kirrill ever taken Putin to task over a doctrinal dispute?
Also interesting is the monastic tradition in the Russian Orthodox Church … seems to be significant, and not to have frittered away as in the west, where hopefully monasticism is experiencing a springtime.
Skai, I think you should join up ;)
No thanks, YFC; I know where your invitations lead to. Repent, for the Kingdom is near.
No no no Skai you misunderstand…. please sign up for the Eastern monastic orders which forswwear the internet. Please.
Or else, make one up. I know you are good at that.
Twenty five years ago I read a book called AIRWAVES FROM HELL wrtitten by Father Frank Poncelet. At first I thought it was extreme, as there were not many immoral programs on television. Today, I only turn on the television set to watch old DVD’s, as practically everything is trash and morally offensive.(Since I do not have cable, I cannot watch EWTN). There are some wonderful things on the internet, but because of Bill Clinton’s veto, there is also much smut. Spam is full of it, and even trying to log on to Angelqueen (a traditional web site), is is first directed to male impotency drugs. In today’s world, books are slowing becoming more scarce, and libraries are closing. Until more filters can be fitted to keep the immoral garbage off the internet, it is difficult to disagree with what Patriarch Kirill has said. Our Lord said, IF YOUR EYE CAUSES YOU TO SIN, THEN PLUCK IT OUT, and the Catholic Church has always taught us to avoid near occasions of sin. Therefore, what the Russian Patriarch has said needs to be taken into consideration.
Father Karl; I understand you do not have cable TV. But I suppose you have a PC? EWTN can be wathced on the Internet, taking care of different time zones.
Fr Karl, Jesus couldn’t get away from it either … it crucified Him.
Father Karl excellent comments. I agree. It does take courage though to take all that out while growing a family in the suburbs. There are another point of view as well, which I found can be factual. If one has children, some kids do better by helping them learn to combat those temptations but if one shelters some, some actually become worst and rebel. They have homework and kids homework require computers and such. We hope that with the tools we have set before them to avoid temptations and the love for our Lord, that they choose wisely. There is a time when we can’t always choose for them, they will eventually have to learn to be owners of their own eye’s, body etc.
I think that we adults who have already learned to be owners of our own eye’s and flesh, we learned how to combat and resist those evils but our youth are still learning and some kids do better by not sheltering them or visa versa.
He’s right, it can be a source of a variety of temptations. It has a lot of good and a lot of bad out there, and unfortunately the bad is disguised until you’ve connected to the site. They are often masked with deceptive names.
Probably not a bad idea
The Orthodox are the current preeminent example of faithful Christianity. The Light comes from the East.
EO is schismatic and heretical…’traditional “Catholicism is the “TRUE LIGHT”
And if you travel east from Moscow…and keep going…you will eventually reach Rome!
Where the TRUE center of Christendom is located.
“Where Peter is, there is the church … he who is not with the Pope is not with God, and who desires to be with God must be with the Pope.” (Sister Lucia of Fatima)
FROM THE WEBSITE OF OPUS DEI ABOUT THE WORDS OF ITS FOUNDER:
Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia – he says, marking out the double root, theological and human, of his love for the Pope. We love to be with Peter, because with him is the whole Church, with him is God; and without him, God is not present. Thus I have wanted to “Romanize” the Work. Love the Holy father very much. Pray very much for the Pope. Love him a lot. Love him a whole lot! Because he needs all the affectionate love of his children. I understand this very well: I know it through experience, because I am not like a wall, I am a man of flesh and blood. For this reason I want the Pope to know that we love him, that we will love him always, and this for one reason only: because he is the sweet Christ on earth. [St. Catherine of Sienna, Il dolce Cristo in terra]
Never has evil been given easy access to the homes and hearts of families as in the 20th and 21st centuries. Television, now with the modern cable and satellite TV advancements, is the main culprit which corrupts the morals of our future generations on 24/7 basis.
Really? So how does the catholic channel appear on TV? Is this a miraculous appearance that bypasses cable and satellite?
The East has always had a severe case of envy for the West and that includes the Church. The Russian Orthodox state church is at odds with other Orthodox state churches largely because of the same envy and its reaction to that envy.
Clear as a bell, Rodda. No one can argue with that. No need whatsoever to validate that information. Everyone knows it, and it really is the core of Christianity. Had Jesus only known this when He was introducing the Gospel!! No doubt we’d have an additional Gospel just on your point itself.
The EO is schismatic and heretical!
The EO is the true Church. No change in its 1700 year old Liturgy! No modern innovations. Look to the Roman church for changing everything in the name of Modernims–that is heretical! Thank God for Orthodoxy! No lay ministers in Orthodoxy! No tacky liturgical music! No destroyed churches! See the Light!
Yeah, see the light…EO allows 3 marriage and divorces….THREE!, without an annulment!…you reject the primacy of Peter as first Pope, and the papacy. Your false church started 1000 years to late too be the TRUE CHURCH!… The seat of Christendom is Rome, not Constantinople!…one more thing, EO has done nothing to evangelize the world, as our Lord instructed in the gospel… another telling point in their false claims… EO is primarily a group of ethnic church(s), comprised of russians and greeks, bulgarians, rumanainas, etc…hardly Universal,…the Catholic Church spans the globe…all peoples…all nationalities, for all time…Praise be Jesus Christ!
As this is a Roman Catholic website, JudeThom, I hope you will find NO ONE who agrees with your bizarre statement.
The Roman Catholic Church is the one founded by Jesus Christ and has been going strong for two millennia.
The fact that the so-called “Orthodox” chose to engage in a schism way back when does not invalidate the authenticity of the Roman Catholic Church — it merely shows that the “Orthodox” embraced some heterodox dogmas, and also failed to acknowledge Peter as the leader placed in leadership by Christ Himself.
I am not sure it is envy or just plain dislike of what goes on in the West. When the Iron Curtain fell, one of the first things some Americans did was to take pornography into former Communist countries. Sad to say, the Communists were better at controlling porn than the supposedly Christian West was. Nevertheless, we got some of their drug lords and organizations over here too, which we certainly could do without.
Finally, a Christian cleric with some common sense!
A persecuted Church is a holy Church. USA bishops would not know about this though.
Oh, really?
Check out American history, especially regarding Nativism.
“This form of nationalism is often identified with xenophobia and anti-Catholic sentiment (anti-Papism). In Charlestown, Massachusetts, a nativist mob attacked and burned down a Catholic convent in 1834 (no one was injured). In the 1840s, small scale riots between Catholics and nativists took place in several American cities. In Philadelphia in 1844, for example, a series of nativist assaults on Catholic churches and community centers resulted in the loss of lives and the professionalization of the police force. In Louisville, Kentucky, election-day rioters killed at least 22 people in attacks on German and Irish Catholics on Aug. 6, 1855, in what became known as “Bloody Monday.” Nativist sentiment experienced a revival in the 1890s, led by Protestant Irish immigrants hostile to Catholic immigration.”
Sandy:
All of what you say here is true but don’t forget that for a long, long time our clergy have been tinged with the heresy of “Americanism”, the heresy which was named and condemned by Pope Leo XIII in Testem Benevolentiae. Essentially Americanism is the belief that in order to be good, patriotic Americans we must not be forceful in proclaiming the hard truths of the Catholic Faith to our fellow countrymen. In today’s Church people like Cardinals Dolan and Wuerl, among others, perfectly exemplify this false idea. Even many of our priests play down these hard truths and since they are guided by Americanist Bishops it is not too surprising.
There are a few shining lights among the Episcopacy here but still, far too many of our Bishops would willingly compromise with “the world” first before ever thinking about dying for the Faith. It’s horribly sad but horribly true.
Orthodox Church’s are sadly schismatic…and they are heretic
Then I guess that makes the Catholic Church heretical since it’s well known that the only obstacle to communion is on the EO side, namely, their collective recognition of Catholic dogma as valid and licit. Orthodox teaching is seen by the Catholic Church as orthodox, licit and valid. Guess that makes us all schismatic and heretical!
They are schismatic, Adamantine, but not heretic. There is a difference.
Wrong…they disbelieve in the Immaculate Conception, Purgatory, and do not believe that the Father and the Son proceed from the Holy Spirit, all dogma’s in the Church, that one must recognize!…they also allow up to 3 marriage and divorces…sorry, no cigar, they are heretical Anne…just like the Anglican…they do have a valid priesthood though…
Thank you Adamantine for informing us.
I find very little good in the EO…not much good in protetantism either…only “traditional” Catholicism…nuff said
Traditional Catholicism is only a tiny slither of the Novus Ordo Church.
Orthodoxy is traditional within and without–the entire Church is traditional!
Orthodoxy does not change! No corrupt modern Liturgy!
April 5, 2012 — The New York Times — MOSCOW — Facing a scandal over photographs of its leader wearing an enormously expensive watch, the Russian Orthodox Church worked a little miracle: It made the offending timepiece disappear.
Editors doctored a photograph on the church’s Web site of the leader, Patriarch Kirill I, extending a black sleeve where there once appeared to be a Breguet timepiece worth at least $30,000. The church might have gotten away with the ruse if it had not failed to also erase the watch’s reflection, which appeared in the photo on the highly glossed table where the patriarch was seated.
SO MUCH FOR A LACK OF CORRUPTION…
I have spoken with two EO priest’s who are well versed in theology ( erroneous theology of course)… they understand the catholic Church’s teaching on purgatory, and the Trinity and the Immaculate Conception ( and why we believe as we do), and are “STILL” recalcitrant…they are “formal” heretics by definition…this is a fact without equivocation…
Adamantine, the Orthodox believe in a type of purgatory and the sinlessness of Mary, but they just have never really defined them as a doctrine such as we have in The Immaculate Conception. They are wrong in saying that the Holy Spirit only proceeds from the Father as the Bible clearly states that Christ said he would send the Holy Spirit and did, but I do not believe the Magisterium of the Church considers that so wrong that they are considered heretical as we can receive their Communion in a dire emergency if their priests or bishop allow it. Most Orthodox do not allow it nevertheless.
EO does not believe in the dogma of purgatory…they believe in praying to saint’s…not for the soul’s of dead relatives…uh-uh…I have spoken to EO priest’s about this…they also do not believe that the Blessed Virgin was conceived without the stain of original sin, as we were, the Immaculate conception is a DOGMA as well…they also do not believe that the Father and the Son proceed from the Holy Spirit…they also allow 3 DIVORCES!…they are not only schismatic, they are heretic….period
The Orthodox Church does indeed pray for the faithful departed. They are commemorated at every Divine Liturgy as well as during public Panikhidas and private prayers.
“Catherine, is that your real name? What is your last name?”
My name is Catholic and by using the name Catherine you know who you were addressing when you used my name. You don’t want anyone to recognize that you are one the posters who came out of the silent woodwork to criticize Father Perozich which makes your name legion.
Thank you for confirming thoughts and for letting us know why you are hiding. You are a homosexual lobbyist cowering in the shadows of shame. You are quite possibly a clergy member who has even played these same kind of cowardly games against good priests. You write like the posters on the dark and hidden Sebastian’s Angels website. You are not a defender of the Catholic Church and this is why you hide.
Who CARES what the head of the Russian Orthodox Church says to his monks?
That church was infamous for collaborating with the Communist regime for decades.
That church also persecutes faithful Catholics and tries to stomp out Catholic communities in Russia that have existed for ages, so they can have a monopoly on faith.
If you want to see how “perfect” such Orthodox Christians are, just watch them yelling, fighting, pulling each other’s beards, and having to be pulled apart by Israeli police officers RIGHT INSIDE THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
No, thank you!
Peter regretfully sometimes our clerics do fight, even physically. I do not always condone that kind of behavior. But remember that St. Nicholas punched Arius during the debates at Nicaea. Our Priests and monks are manly and virile.
The Russian Orthodox Church is very cozy with Mr. Putin, while…
12 April, 2013 – Russia’s Catholic Church expressed surprise and concern after a wave of raids on its parishes and charities, part of a government clampdown on organizations with foreign links. “The Catholic Church is classified as an organization benefitting from foreign funds,” explained Catholic priest, Father Kirill Gulbunov, spokesman for Moscow’s Catholic Archdiocese, who added, “We can’t help feeling surprised that associations linked with our church are viewed as possible sources of extremism or terrorist activity.” Father Gulbunov spoke to Catholic News Service on Tuesday, when security agents raided the Moscow offices of Caritas, the Catholic charitable agency. On April 3, government agents “inspected” Caritas headquarters in St. Petersburg. Father Gulbunov had been told it was to be “checked” just before the raid took place. Russian newspapers said the Russian Orthodox Church had not been affected by the raids.
In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered checks on thousands of nongovernmental organizations and the seizing of computers and documents, under a July 2012 law requiring groups with outside funding to register as “foreign agents.” Russia’s million-strong Catholic Church has long complained of discrimination in Russia and protested when a Moscow charity house belonging to Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity was bulldozed in 2011 and a Catholic parish in was Pskov barred from building its church because of “legal technicalities.” (Source: CNS)
NATURALLY, THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH WAS NOT TOUCHED BY SUCH RAIDS…
Yes, perhaps the authorities in Russia are demolishing some Catholic conventicles but all “traditional” Catholics should be grateful for in those places the Novus Ordo is celebrated and Latin tradition mocked; our Orthodox brothers are doing you a favor in helping to crush the Novus Ordo. And the Russian Orthodox Church believes in “Symphonia”, the patristic doctrine of Church – State relations. We never had a VC2 or Dignitatis Humanae to pollute our doctrine.