Render unto Caeser...

No, I don't particularly like the King James Bible either but it's the only translation that has the desired effect in a blog post title, so there it is.

My attention has recently been drawn to this article by a Konstantin Matsan.
 
My initial reaction was that de Nile is not just a river in Egypt, it seems. However, after further consideration, I think that Mr Matsan is right in that too often all manner of assertions are made about the supposedly deepening relationship between church and state in Russia without any effort being made to show the premise to be true, (I believe that "begging the question" is the expression that he is struggling to find), but he falls into the trap of another logical fallacy in that this itself does not render the premise untrue.

Are the Russian state and the Church in Russia getting closer? Finding an answer to this would require a detailed historical comparison, which I am not qualified to make, and indeed we are presented in the article with evidence that seems to suggest that there is no real deepening relationship here. Perhaps a more manageable question, then, would be whether they are already too close. This only requires an examination of present circumstances.

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What The Filioque?

Seriously, what is going on in Russia? Why are Orthodox Christians, fresh out of the Russian Federation, reluctant to ask for blessings for travel, memorial services for their departed loved ones, or any of a number of other prayers offered by the Church, simply because they do not have money? What sort of situation have they become accustomed to that leads them to think that they will be refused if they cannot afford it, or that they would be expected to pay a fee for such things in the first place, or that would cause them to greet with such surprise the glad tidings that there is no charge? I can understand some people making some sort of donation to the church as a token of gratitude but that should come from their heart, no? This seems a different matter.

Has anybody else encountered this? Does it make anybody else feel as unwell as it does me? Have I painted a bullseye on myself by daring to mention it? Something smells foul to me.