In my text on the 'Sacred Language,' I do not write only about the significance of this 'Sacred Language' in relation to the Orthodox faith (the text contains many invisible but very numerous layers).
The Challenge of Confessional Differences
Orthodoxy and Slavic unity. Opponents of Orthodox Slavs did everything they could to prevent the triumph of Slavic mutuality by playing on confessional differences. This has a negative impact on Slavic self-awareness and breeds disbelief in the reality of a common Slavic civilisation. Even many patriotic citizens of Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Bulgaria and Croatia do not believe in the possibility of Slavic unity due to religious differences and inter-confessional contradictions.
And employees of some Western and Eastern special services, receiving information about such sentiments, rub their hands together, not stopping to organise appropriate provocations, diligently throwing more and more bundles of firewood into the fires of inter-Slavic conflicts. The pressure comes from many directions, sometimes not directly related to religious issues and seemingly 'integrative' in nature.
Multi-Confessional Civilizations
There are many examples of this course of action. However, attempts to reject the very possibility of Slavic unity and the reality of Slavic civilization on the pretext of the existence of several confessions among the Slavic nations are untenable. Yes, indeed, among the Slavs there are Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Protestants and Muslims. But other great local civilisations are also multi-confessional.
Within Western civilization, there are millions of Protestants and Catholics. The influential Anglican Church is active. Characterising the heterogeneity of the Western cultural-historical type, the well-known Slavicist V.V. Lamansky astutely noted: 'These two elements, Romanic and Germanic, have not, however, mixed to such an extent that they have completely merged into a homogeneous whole... Throughout all periods of European history... the antagonism between the two main elements of Europe — Romanic and Germanic — and the two opposing principles they represent has been developing incessantly.'
Apologists for Atlanticism say otherwise. Characterising Western civilisation, American professor S. Huntington calls Western Christianity — first Catholicism, then Protestantism — 'the unique and most important historical characteristic of Western civilisation.' And this, in his words, 'distinguishes Western civilisation and history from the Eastern Christian and Latin American experience.' As we can see, the scope of Slavic civilisation, which is essentially as dualistic as Western civilisation from a confessional point of view, is artificially narrowed here. The difference is that Catholicism and Protestantism predominate in the West, while Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism predominate in the Slavic world.
The bias and narrow approach of American scholar S. Huntington to the analysis of the civilisational characteristics of Slavic peoples is also evident in the fact that he considers and classifies some other civilisations in a very broad manner. For example, Huntington includes in the sphere of Confucian civilization vast regions with a fairly heterogeneous population in terms of language, culture, religion and national psychology, namely China, Korea and the countries of Southeast Asia. Islamic civilization develops in three main variants: Turkic, Malay and Arabic.
In the Muslim countries of the Arab East, there are Shiites, Sunnis and Christians (the latter are numerous, for example, in Lebanon). In Egypt, there is a Coptic Church. All this does not lead to the rejection of regional organisations such as the League of Arab States and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
The Russian Orthodox Tradition
In the Russian Empire's policy on the Slavic question, the loyalty of the Russian people, the authorities, and such an influential social movement as the Slavophiles to Orthodoxy was always strongly manifested. This was reflected both in feelings of patriotism, filled with concern for the greatness of Russia and its Orthodox monarch, and in a purely Russian, sincere and honest desire to do good for other peoples.
This is how the well-known philosopher and theologian V. V. Zenkovsky assessed these aspects of the Slavophiles' work: "First of all, in Slavophilism, Russian thought returns with extraordinary force to a religious, and even more so, to a church-oriented mindset. Aware of the internal logic of secularism in the West, Slavophilism all the more insistently asserts that the inevitability of secularism in the West was not connected with the essence of Christianity itself, but with its distortions in the West. Hence the ardent and passionate desire to find in Orthodoxy such an understanding of Christianity that would not only eliminate the possibility of secularism, but, on the contrary, would fully satisfy and sanctify all the fundamental and irrepressible quests of the human spirit."
Hence the assertion that the entire 'eon' of Western culture is coming to an end, that culture must now be rebuilt in the light of Orthodoxy. All Slavophiles see Russia as the guiding creative force for this. (The Gnostics borrowed the doctrine of the 10 eons that make up the pleroma).
The Slavophiles of the past century, as is well known, played a major role in the national awakening of the Russian and other Slavic peoples, defending their unique path of development, free from the destructive, mechanical copying of Western models. However, even then, the thesis of the universal acceptance of Orthodoxy in the future Slavic world was too categorical and essentially dubious, despite the power of Russia at that time.
Orthodox Tolerance and Unity
Nowadays, it is even more relevant to talk only about an organisation that unites equal and independent Slavic states on a multi-confessional basis. The spiritual and methodological key to this conclusion is contained in the Orthodox teaching on religious tolerance. Thus, not only Orthodox Christians, but also representatives of other faiths — Protestants, Catholics, Muslims — turned to the righteous John of Kronstadt. Father John of Kronstadt usually asked people of other faiths about their needs and sufferings, without touching on questions of religion.
Both the dissemination and study of the truth about the consolidating mission of Orthodoxy are called upon to contribute to the strengthening of Slavic mutuality and the preservation of the One Indivisible Orthodox Church. The mutual enrichment of Slavic cultures is multifaceted. It seems that Orthodoxy is a powerful spiritual and unifying factor in the Slavic world. Historical experience convincingly testifies to this.
The leading ideologist of Slavophilism, N. Ya. Danilevsky, pointed to the special spiritual character of Russia's adoption of Orthodox Christianity in terms of interethnic relations, 'not through subjugation to a Christian people superior in culture, not through political domination over such a people, not through active religious propaganda, but through internal discontent, dissatisfaction with paganism, and a free search for truth.'
Foreigners who visited the USSR and now Russia have repeatedly written about the deep piety of the Russian people, the unique beauty of churches, iconography and church rituals. Archbishop Filaret (Gumilevsky) noted that compared to other European countries where Christianity was also introduced, in Russia this process was more peaceful, which was explained by the gentleness of the Russian people and the skilful organisation of missionary activity.
The spread of Orthodoxy among other peoples of Russia, to whom it brought literacy and enlightenment, was non-violent in nature. Let us recall Stefan of Perm, the creator of the Komi-Permian script and a selfless preacher.
Analysing these aspects of the Russian clergy's activities, Ivan Ilyin wrote: "The Orthodox Church never converted non-believers to its faith by the sword or by fear, openly condemning this and prohibiting it in the early centuries of its spread. It did not resemble the Catholics (especially under Charles and the Carolingians, and in France during the era of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and religious wars, under Alba, in the Netherlands and everywhere else, as far as their power allowed, for example, in the Baltic states), nor the Anglicans (for example, under Henry VIII, during the English Revolution and civil wars). In religion, as in all culture, the Russian organism created and gave, but did not eradicate, cut off or violate."
Historical Voices for Unity
Orthodox religious tolerance. From the height of the tragic events of the historical development of the Slavic peoples, it must be acknowledged that without a certain religious tolerance towards people of other faiths, without humility and patience, the unity of the Slavic states could not have been achieved. The kinship of the Slavic peoples is expressed with extraordinary imagery in the poems of F.I. Tyutchev, who resented the fact that hostile forces were striving in every way to separate and pit close relatives against each other.
Thus, in the poem 'From a Russian, after reading excerpts from the lectures of Mr. A. Mickiewicz' (1842), Tyutchev called on all Slavs to unite, and called Adam Mickiewicz a "prophet" and a 'man of reconciling love':
'Arise, scattered tribe,
Unite into one people -
Arise - not Poland, not Russia
Arise, Slavic Family!
And shaking off sleep, for the first time
Speak the word: It is I!'
Tyutchev was not bothered by the fact that the Polish poet Mickiewicz was a Catholic; he attached due importance to the ethnic factor that united all relatives into one family. The existence of a number of confessions should not hinder the cooperation of Slavic ethnic groups, the rejection of which would contradict the principles of our unity.
Several centuries ago, during the emergence and development of the feeling of Slavic mutuality, many of its ideologists were deeply troubled by the confessional schism between brother peoples, primarily between Slavia Ortodoxa and Slavia Latina, offering various recipes for the reconciliation of Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Such ideas were put forward in his historical work 'Notes on His Time' by the Dubrovnik patrician L.C. Tuberon (1459-1527). The renowned Croatian thinker Yuri Krizanich, who worked in Russia and believed that it should be the organiser and leader of the Slavic world, once dreamed of reconciling Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
Professor R. Marojevich of the University of Belgrade drew attention to the relevance of the wishes of the famous Russian Slavicist A.F. Gilferding (1831-1872) concerning the achievement of unity among the South Slavs on a multi-confessional basis. In his article, published in the Moscow magazine Russkaya Beseda, he wrote:
"We are Croats and you are Serbs — we are brothers by origin, by language, by the traditions of our history, by our struggle against Islam; we would be one people if we were not divided by faith. In ancient times, our Croatian region was larger than your Serbian one, but we do not demand from you the former Croatian and now Serbian lands, because you acquired them not by force, but by the free choice of the people who joined you. Let us form an alliance again, as at the beginning of our history, let this alliance embrace all Serbian and Croatian lands and the lands of the Alpine Slovenes, if they wish to join us; let there be no domination of one nation over another, or of one faith over another, in this union; but let each member of the union dispose of its own affairs as it wishes."
Contemporary Challenges
The revival of Slavic mutuality is a difficult and painful process in a situation where the Slavic nations are experiencing a severe crisis. In almost all states, parties and politicians are in a state of fierce confrontation, most often inspired from abroad. Self-serving internal and external forces seek to take advantage of the breakdown of economic and social structures to establish their control over industry, finance, agriculture, trade, culture, and the domestic and foreign policies of Slavic countries.
Before our very eyes, sometimes with approving cheers from the West, multinational states are falling apart. Kindred Slavic peoples are separated from each other by state and customs borders and visa barriers. This is evidenced by the processes of the destruction of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
The undisguised multilateral pressure exerted by the diplomacy and military of a number of major powers on Orthodox Serbia, a long-time friend of the Russian people, is cause for alarm. The West and its minions are pursuing a policy of genocide against the Slavs, especially the Orthodox. During the reforms in the Russian Federation, the number of Russians decreased by approximately 9 million people.
Speaking at the Slavic Congress in Prague, the head of the Polish delegation, B. Teikowski, stated: 'Western headquarters are planning to reduce the population of Poland to twenty million, as they say, indigenous inhabitants, and Ukraine to twenty-five million. Are they really preparing a place for another population?' The extinction of the Orthodox and Slavic peoples cannot fail to concern the Orthodox Church and the clergy, who are concerned about the fate of their flock, the Slavic peoples, even if they are not Orthodox.
The economic, cultural, and political ties between brother peoples that have developed over centuries are being torn apart. And competitors are not sleeping, driving Slavic goods out of the markets of many countries. In search of a way out of the crisis, the main thing is that domestic and foreign policy should be based on the customs, traditions, religious foundations, and national mentality of our own peoples, that is, on the characteristics of Slavic civilization.
Historical experience has shown that forgetting one's own foundations of society, ideology, and morality inevitably turns nations into objects of shameless manipulation and then exploitation by other civilisations. The status of a puppet, of thoughtless and harmful monkey-see-monkey-do imitation, cannot but hurt the national pride of a Slav. After all, A.S. Pushkin dreamed of a future 'proud grandson of the Slavs.' A. Khomyakov, M. Pogodin, Y. Krizhanich, J. Kollár, F. Skorina, M. Dragomanov, M. Milichevich, A. Mickiewicz, L. Sturd and many, many others thought the same.
Western Slavophobia
The techniques and methods of Western Slavophobia have been refined over a long period of time, becoming even more sophisticated and insidious. However, their anti-human nature and deceitfulness remain unchanged. Yet the Slavs have repeatedly saved Europe at the cost of enormous human sacrifice and suffering, whether during the Mongol-Tatar, French or Nazi invasions.
One way or another, in these political cataclysms, the West appears in its 'natural' role in relation to other cultural and historical types. The great English historian A. Toynbee said the following about this: "No matter how different the peoples of the world are in terms of skin colour, language, religion and degree of civilisation, when asked by a Western researcher about their attitude towards the West, everyone — Russians and Muslims, Hindus and Chinese, Japanese and everyone else — will answer the same. The West, they will say, is the arch-aggressor of the modern era, and everyone will have their own example of aggression."
It is largely thanks to the Slavs' great liberation mission that the West lost its direct colonial rule over vast regions of Asia and Africa in the 20th century. However, today the entire arsenal of Western colonial and neo-colonial policies is being used against the Slavs, and above all against the Orthodox. One of the foremost policies here is undoubtedly 'divide and rule'. Our enemies have long been driving a wedge between the Russians and other brotherly peoples.
Lessons from History
The idea of achieving Slavic unity on the basis of a single faith should be pursued with the participation of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia and Bulgaria. We must also take into account the lessons of the confrontation between two concepts that were prevalent in the last century. Some Russian Slavophiles advocated the hegemony of autocracy and Orthodoxy in the Slavic world. This doctrine was opposed by the Polish concept of Slavic unity under the auspices of Poland and Catholicism. The clash between these two approaches was used by opponents of Slavic mutuality in pursuing the traditional policy of 'Divide et impera' (Divide and rule).
The tragic history of the Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Polish, Czech, Bulgarian and other brotherly peoples also speaks in favour of promoting the idea of Slavic religious tolerance. What enormous sacrifices and losses did the Russian people suffer during the Mongol-Tatar yoke, during the turbulent times of the early 17th century, and during the enormous revolutionary upheavals of the 20th century?
During World War II, the Soviet Union lost 27 million people, most of whom (about 79%) were Russian. The Poles lost 6 million people at that time. One cannot help but recall the words of Adam Mickiewicz, who interpreted the history of his people from a Christian perspective: 'Let other Slavic peoples not envy the painful glory of the Polish people... they have earned it through terrible sacrifices.'
Let every Slav pray in his own way and act as the Slavic poet Jan Kollár advised, so as not to hinder the achievement of the cherished goal - the attainment of Slavic mutuality. The chief heretic-devil wants to divide Christians and separate the Slavs. The Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary call on the Slavs to unity. In Slavic civilization, in the unity of brothers in Christ, there is no ecumenism, since every Slav can pray in his own way.
The Slavic Heart
The phrase 'Slavic heart' perfectly characterises our peoples' capacity for compassion, openness to love and mercy. And no matter how much Western culture has weighed on us, we remain Slavs in our relics and vestiges. We are united by Orthodox Christianity, which we sincerely accepted as children from Byzantium. All Catholics and Orthodox Christians sitting here are close to each other in their search for harmony. It is disrupted by a senseless desire to join Western Europe, where other peoples and other civilisations live. To do so would mean renouncing our national roots.
The majority of Slovaks are known to have a positive attitude towards Russia and the Russian people. Slovaks have produced outstanding ideologues of Slavic unity: Jan Kollár, Pavel Šafařík, Ľudovít Štúr and others. But the majority of Slovaks are Catholics and Lutherans. According to the 2001 census, 89.2% of all believers were Catholics, 8.5% declared themselves Lutherans, 2.2% Calvinists, 4.7% Greek Catholics (Uniates), and 0.6% Orthodox Christians. Atheists accounted for 10% of the population. Slovaks are no strangers to the feeling of a united but multi-coloured Slavic family.
We, as Orthodox Christians, based on the breadth of our nature, our universal humanity, deeply revealed by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and finally, on the Orthodox teaching of religious tolerance, must undoubtedly strive for unity with our Slavic brothers, despite the existence of confessional differences.
Preserving National Identity
Of course, Orthodox Russian people must sacredly preserve their loyalty to national shrines. 'An Orthodox believer must fight for the Faith and for his homeland with all his mind and strength,' wrote K.N. Leontiev. Ivan Ilyin interpreted national self-awareness as love for the spiritual uniqueness of one's people.
P.A. Stolypin also analysed the relationship between Orthodoxy and religious tolerance in the context of the acute political struggle of the early 20th century. In his speech to the State Duma on 22 May 1909, the great reformer noted: "Our people are devoted to the Church and tolerant of other faiths, but tolerance is not the same as indifference... Remember that the law on religion will remain in force in the Russian state and that it will be upheld by the Russian Tsar, who for more than 100 million people was, is and will remain the Orthodox Tsar."
Since then, the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church have experienced many severe upheavals. Strengthening Slavic unity would contribute to the revival of their power, authority and influence. The Slavs came from a single root... they are children of one mother. As V. Belov wrote in his essays on folk aesthetics, "Harmony, quarrelsomeness, and incompatibility were considered in Russian families to be a punishment from fate, or in other words, God's punishment."
A Vision for the Future
Let reasonable religious tolerance prevail in the unity of brotherly peoples. One of the most beloved Russian saints, Seraphim of Sarov, predicted the inevitability of the coming Slavic unity. Therefore, let us look to the future with a sense of measured optimism, placing special hopes in Slavic unity. This one word, according to A.S. Khomyakov, 'contains within itself a whole confession of faith.'
Unity is the cohesion of free peoples and individuals, based on Christian love and attachment to Slavic brotherhood, their homeland, and spiritual values. Unity comes from the community and its Orthodox faith (remember the word 'sobor' - temple). 'With unity we will overcome the unclean,' says a Bulgarian proverb.