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Andrei Kuraev calls for making missionary activity an instrument in the struggle against Russian people's dying out
Moscow, November 30, Interfax - Professor of the Moscow theological academy deacon Andrei Kuraev is convinced that dying out of Russian people can soon become a reality without an active Orthodox missionary activity.
Kuraev reminded that the decrease of Russian population is one million people with two million abortions every year. However, there are 'points of increase' on the general deplorable background of dying out,' he added.
Moscow, November 30, Interfax - Professor of the Moscow theological academy deacon Andrei Kuraev is convinced that dying out of Russian people can soon become a reality without an active Orthodox missionary activity.
'Awareness of a possible and mathematically predictable death of the Russian people and Russia in the immediate future must become a political, educational and theological imperative to define economic, military, school, cultural and missionary policy', father Andrei wrote in an article published by Literaturnaya gazeta this week.
'Cold cruciform lines of demographical diagrams strictly speak: it is high time we give up our habit of making grannies a subject of traditional, principal and almost only care of the church', the author writes.
Kuraev reminded that the decrease of Russian population is one million people with two million abortions every year. However, there are 'points of increase' on the general deplorable background of dying out,' he added.
'Both homeless persons and religious fanatics have families with many children. Homeless persons have them because it makes no difference to them, and religious fanatics - because an idea that an embryo is a human being and it is a sin to kill it has been instilled in them', father Andrei noted.
He also explained that a fanatic is a person whose 'attitude to religion is a bit more serious than mine', as people who earnestly adhere to the commandments of the church are regarded as 'fanatics by their neighbors.'
Speaking on a demographical problem, Kuraev called upon people of the church to go talk with youth in their milieu 'after praying with grannies'. However, prior to changing youth childless fashion, missionaries have to change some features of church life, for instance, 'to overcome the lack of smiles and fearfulness along with our willingness to be reprehensive beget by it', father Andrei believes.
'Cold cruciform lines of demographical diagrams strictly speak: it is high time we give up our habit of making grannies a subject of traditional, principal and almost only care of the church', the author writes.
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