Russia: Orthodox Church Defends Moral Principles

From The Voice of Russia and Alliance Defense Fund:

Russia's Orthodox Church defends moral principles


Tags: Orthodox Church , Commentary, World, Society

Milena Faustova Oct 25, 2010 19:52 Moscow Time



Orthodox Church. © Flickr.com/izarbeltza/cc-by-nc-sa 3.0

The Russian Orthodox clergy have voiced opposition to what they described as cynical remarks by lawmakers in a bill on health protection in Russia, due to be signed into law shortly. Our correspondent Milena Faustova reports.



Representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate are against the wording which defines childbirth as “the separation of the product of conception from the mother’s body”. The deputy head of the Orthodox Church’s department for relations between the church and society, Father Georgy Roshchin, shared his views in an interview with the Voice of Russia.



The bill’s wording regarding childbirth devalues the concept of personality, suggesting that an unborn child is nothing but a biological mass, whereas, according to religious teachings, a child is a person from the moment of conception. The church maintains that a human’s life starts not after birth but immediately after conception, which is enshrined in church holidays, such as Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Conception of the Savior. For this reason, the “product of conception” sounds cynical and may lead to dangerous trends in present-day society. People will thereby get a green light to have abortions because in this case they will know that they are getting rid of an unwanted piece of flesh, not a child.



The Russian Orthodox Church acknowledges the need for a health protection law but believes that it should meet the interests of all segments of society and should be devised jointly by government officials and representatives of different religions living in Russia. Father Georgy Roshchin comments.



Since the health protection law relates to the interests of believers, he says, it should be discussed with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church too.



Father Georgy underscores the importance of the moral dimension in present-day Russia. And even though lawmakers are not required to adhere to religious views only, they are crucial in law-making, for without them a law can receive a loose interpretation and will be used to encroach on human life instead of protecting it.