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PROTOIYERY OF DIONYSUS POZDNYAEV

ORTHODOX CONSCIOUSNESS And CHINESE MIR:
FROM THE CONFLICT To THE DIALOGUE

English Machine Translation

One of the temptations  of the perception of China external peace was always tendency toward the construction of the imaginary reality, in which they were reflected in the larger degree of the thought of Europeans about the Chinese peace, than realities are authentic. Speculations and grotesque constructions contributed to the creation of the diverse myths about China, which took away their authors and listeners from the authentic reality. Similar the virtual means of China are created today. Unfortunately, it is necessary to be encountered with them and in the contemporary orthodox consciousness. Are encountered both the means naive- romantic, which poetize China, and the means of hostile China, demoniziruyushchiye this great country. Perhaps, basic vector in the perception of Chinese peace is today directed toward  the search for its exotic features, which are folded into the romantic means of "mysterious China", The "zastennoy empire",  "forbidden city", "motionless China". Are encountered, true, and the means, blown by apocalyptical moods or by superfluous politizirovannost'yu. On the basis of these illusory means now and then are constructed surprising strategies of the relations with China, whose spectrum differs from the concept "Peking -  fourth Rome" to the idea of the baptism of Chinese for the purpose of the protection of Russia from the mythical "yellow threat". The neomifologicheskoye perception of China,  accentuated on the search for danger and threat, not only interfere withs missionary activity, but also is formed medium for the development of conflicting interrelations.

From other side, to widely all to us familiar enthusiasm by the spiritual practice of the east, the important factor of an increase in the interest in China, which forms in the society, which loses religious consciousness, another myth: myth about the society of Confucian accordion, which realizes tendency toward virtuous and wise blagobytiyu of man. Together with the deep scientific interest, directed toward the study of the history of the dialogue of China and West, we can observe the appearance of a tendency of the search for accords and agreements in the procedures of spiritual the practitioner of China and Christian peace.  The development of this tendency serves strengthening one additional mythology about China, in which the latter serves as the symbol of the way of the development of the tradition, contrasted postkhritianskomu secular western consciousness. The search for the analogies of the dissimilarity of Russia and China with the West by its reverse side has an increase in the tendency of isolationizm, feeling of its own superiority, usiliniye of nationalism. In the process of the development of this mythology orthodox consciousness encounters with questions about the determination of the boundaries of the permissible contact with the spiritual practice of China. The designated "positive" mythology of China frequently becomes the source of inspiration for the diverse fruitful discussions; however, at the same time includes the danger of the creation of the severe internal conflicts with the collision with the authentic realities of China, which lead to the incapacity to the missionary activity.

If we attempt ourselves briefly to describe the basic characteristic property of contemporary to us Chinese peace, most likely, should be used an expression "epoch of changes" or the "epoch of passage". The economic, social, cultural shifts, proceeding in China, to their scales, perhaps, do not know equal in the history. Basic problems today lie not at the region of sociology or economy, their roots  - in the destruction of the customary system of values, the crisis of faith (both in the individual plan and on scales of entire society). Today China, possibly, it is sharper even than remaining peace, it stands before the problem of spiritual hunger. The search for faith, the search for hope, the search for the sense of existence, both for many Chinese intellectuals and for the simple people it became one of the most important internal motives.

Soil for the wreck of value orientators was prepared by the tragic history of China into the latter of one-and-a-half century: opiumnye wars, semi-colonial dependence on the western powers, wreck of empire, swift vesternizatsiya,   Communist revolution, epoch of "great leap forward" and the so-called "great cultural revolution" destroyed the traditional consciousness of China. After the wreck of the cult of Mao some were averted from any kind of faith and search for its need; however, majority in China was not satisfied by the ideals of the search for the material prosperity, which, regarding, cannot be rod either for existence of the country, or for existence of personality. Was formed unique "dual vacuum": Chinese consciousness encountered the unhealthy problem of the impossibility of the formulation of accurate response to the calls of contemporary peace, on the basis of the bases of traditional Chinese thought or actually rejected ideals of communism. In the new situation Christianity proved to be capable of giving answer to fundamental questions of existence for many Chinese intellectuals to the larger degree than, let us say, Taoism or Buddhism.

 

At the same time, the most important feature of China of the last 20 years - partial disappointment into the "liberal values", an increase in the moods of traditionalism, the attempt to turn to its own roots (first of all, Confucian) for retaining the national identity. This process gathers force, inside the Chinese society today as is important never the theme of the opposition of conservatism and liberalism, in which the conservatism is connected, first of all, with the confucianism, the national tradition. Priority here returns not to the search for true course, but to the retention of national identity and steady stability of society. In this case society, which is characteristic for the heathen consciousness, unconditionally it prevails above lichnsot'yu. Confucianism appears attractive for the official authorities on the strength of the fact that it is based on the fundamental values of Chinese civilization, comes out as the tool of strengthening central authority, possesses the sufficiently good social technologies, with the aid of which the bureaucracy achieves control over the society, and it is also the flexible system, capable of the cardinal correction of its own principles. With entire aforesaid, the confucianism, however, does not solve the problem of spiritual hunger in China.

the 80's became the development period and increase in all religious flows in P.R.C. (including sectarian sense as, for example, sadly known sect FALUNGONG); however, an increase in Christianity was and remains swiftest. Today none of the religious trends of China is prevailing, the number of Christians in China is about 5-6 percent of entire population of the country, Buddhists - about 7 percent. However, the dynamics  of an increase in the number of Christians is surprising: yearly 13 percent greater it becomes both the catholics and the protestants. At the basis of this phenomenon, which already received  the name "Christian fever", besides other important reasons is worth especially noting its openness of Christianity all layers of Chinese society. Christianity today in China is not received as "foreign religion" with the negative content of this concept. Moreover, the "foreign" nature of Christianity answers the motion of China to the side of that increasing of openness to external peace under the effect of the processes of globalization, which gives additional value to Christianity in the eyes of many. Most important of all, perhaps, however, then that differs Christianity from the traditional religious Chinese systems: Bogochelovecheskaya personality of Christ, the faith in the united god, the study about the rescuing, the good news about the rescuing, which gives faith, hope and love to man - independently of his social position. Besides the values of moral order, intellectual picture of peace, dogmatic consciousness and ritual, in the completeness of those being present in the religions traditional for China, Christianity brings good news about the rescuing, speaking not only about the construction of sotsiuma, but also about the personal spiritual practice, achieved in the bosom of religious tradition.

By key element in the development of cultural-historical process as, however, and everywhere, in China will be the position of the not determined to today's period basic spiritual tradition and its relation with the traditions religious, cultural, social and people. The process of the search for this spiritual tradition at present continues. The orthodoxy, stored is the living and creative experience of spiritual practice, Iisusovoy prayer and svyashchennobezmolviya, selfless inocheskoy life, the formulated theological study about obozhenii of man and osvyashchenii of peace, giving participle of the paradise Of bozhiyey in the sacraments church, which studies about the way, to truth and the life today is little to familiarly Chinese peace, although the precisely orthodox spiritual tradition, which is been living way to the truth, could become answer to  the searches for Chinese spirit and consciousness today, if it would be opened to Chinese peace and it was reported to it in the intelligible language.

It is at the same time necessary to note that the ratio of the authorities of China to all religious motions is characterized by the fear of an increase in the influence of religion in the society. For the authorities, which realized entire significance of religious motivation for the personality (shocking was understanding the readiness of people to die for the faith afterward the event on 11 September in THE USA), and also the significance of the influence of religion on the life of sotsiuma (another shock was understanding the fact that the number of followers of the sect Of falun'gun in the schitannye years exceeded the number of members of the communist party of China), by basic strategy of the construction of relations with the religious trends and organizations became an attempt at the "adaptation of religion to the socialist society" and  the suppression of the unofficial or underground, uncontrollable religious activity. All this determines as a whole the stiffening of the course of the religious policy of the authorities OF P.R.C. in recent years. Against the background of an increase in any religious activity in the country this policy is also capable of forming soil for the development of the conflicting relations between the religion and the authority

Speaking about the Chinese peace and the orthodoxy, it is necessary to determine those basic lines in the Chinese consciousness, which determine complexity and, now and then, state of conflict in the perception of orthodoxy. One of the basic obstacles here - the internal motive, directed toward the formation of harmonious personality and sotsiuma (means of "noble husband" Konfutsiya) out of the connection of man with the god. Chinese consciousness with its picture of peace, that absolutizes nature and space, neither before, during paganism nor now, in the epoch of neoyazychestva knew never about the damage of nature of tvarnogo peace and need for change, transformation of this nature. Out of Christ is impossible the authentic realization of the internal tendency of man  toward blagobytiyu, as it is not possible to ontologically realize the destination of man in his attitude toward the peace: an attempt at the creation of accordion out of the hierarchical relation to the god at the level of personality, sotsiuma, people is without fail doomed to the wreck. Particular example of the catastrophes of this type - wreck of Communist ideologies, which before our eyes provoked the crisis of the faith both in China, and in Russia. In the tendency toward blagobytiyu and the accordion without the god - one of the basic complexities for the perception of orthodoxy by contemporary Chinese (and not only) consciousness.

Another complexity by this method can be the adherence of consciousness to traditions (although this adherence in modern China is far from unconditional). The apology of its significance in view of belonging with the system of values traditional for Russia can be one of the errors in the sermon of orthodoxy. The values, traditional for one country, can not be values in other country, their traditionalism, out of the relation to the truth, in this case little which changes.

 With respect to the personality, as to sotsiumu, faith is valuable not in view of its traditionalism, but in view of its truth, and precisely hierarchical relation to the truth as to the measure of all things (alien to relativistic creation) it determines its authentic value. The line of conflict passes not to the plane of contrast to tradition and its nonacceptance (modern China exactly it sees the insufficiency of its own tradition), but in the need  for the perception of the hierarchical system of the values, correlated with the truth and the opposition of this system to relativistic consciousness. Therefore word about Christ must be for its vozvestiteley and listeners not in a word about the traditionalism and value of orthodoxy for Russia, but in a word about the absolute value of service to personality, people or country to truth in Christ.

The absolutization of the value of patriotism (or nationalism), especially characteristic for the contemporary Chinese consciousness, can become one of the serious conflicting lines in the dialogue of orthodoxy and Chinese peace. This is - the typical feature of heathen consciousness. In modern China, in particular, in the perception of authorities, the orthodoxy is inseparably connected with Russia in view of historical reasons. On the basis of this connection is erected the concept about the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church, set to  the service to the interests of Russia, at the end 19 and beginning 20 it was age-long one of the tools of the colonization of Manchuria and colonial policy of Russia, realized in East Asia. This concept in many respects is obliged by its origin to steady view on the religion as to the instrument of policy; with its entire absurdity, it today acts in China, determining the alerted relation at the official level to the orthodoxy. Apparently, only correct strategy in the development of dialogue with official China here can be the clear differentiation of political and religious aspects, the underlining of the non-governmental nature of the Russian Orthodox Church and relativity of the value of patriotism, autocephaly of the positional churches reflecting in orthodox ekkleziologii (for China the prototype of this church it is the Chinese autonomous orthodox church, created in 1957 with the wise solution of svyashchennonachaliya of the Russian Orthodox Church). In China the discussion cannot deal with the presence of the Russian Orthodox Church. Even the orthodox Russian national minority of China can be the flock only of Chinese autonomous orthodox church.

 

 

It would be desirable to separately podcheknut' general problem in the methodological approach to the dialogue about the intellectual values between Russia and China. I speak about the relativity of the consciousness, provozgshashayushchego the relativity of truth. This methodology influenced molding of the idea of multipolar peace and pluralism of world civilization. The roots of this idea go back to the syncretic, heathen perception of peace - and if this approach is logical and regular for China with its ancient Confucian tradition, then for Russia it indicates refusal of the acknowledgement of Christianity as the highest value of our peace. The bogootkrovennaya truth cannot be acknowledged the equivalent even highest  philosophy of man. Real, authentic dialogue is possible with the acknowledgement of nonequivalence, disparity of spiritual traditions - and this relates to all forms of dialogue, be it dialogue Christian- Islamic or is Christian -buddistski1. The straightness of this dialogue and its honesty imply not the respect for strange error, but the respect for the right of personality to the freedom of faith and the selection of persuasion, even unreal faith or false persuasion. This relation contains the guarantee of averting conflicts and is created soil for the real, nemifologizirovannogo dialogue of civilizations, highest purpose of which is not diffuse "mutual enrichment", but knowledge of truth and its embodiment in our peace.

Modern China is very strongly differed from China 17 or 18 is age-long. It is not difficult to understand the reasons, for which the Christian missionaries of those times had to adapt their language to the existing Chinese philosophical and descriptive system: this was the tribute to the closed system of perception, which led to the search for the language of dialogue. It cannot be said that there is no problem of this today. However, contemporary Chinese, in comparison with its predecessors, the sufficiently strongly ozapadnennyy person. Comparatively small intellectual circles can adequately today estimate the treasures of ancient Chinese thought. Even among those, who study in China classical texts and mythology, is extended critical view on its own national heritage and property. In the conditions of modern secular China the apology of Christianity, which appeals to Chinese classics, will hardly find lively response in hearts and minds of our Chinese contemporaries. Possibly, for the contemporary intellectual elite of China more effectively will sound the sermon of Christianity, proiznosimaya in the language of the concepts of contemporary science and philosophy. However, the large part of the people of this great country (to 70 percent of which - peasants) awaits, it is faster, the words of sermon about Christ, said in simplicity and inverted to the heart to the nonbookish and simple, but expecting good of news and hope about the rescuing. Clear and accessible evidence about the orthodoxy, its spiritual practice and theology - best way of sermon in modern China.

 

Several words about the sides of dialogue. From the side of Russia these are - the Russian Orthodox Church, according to its regulations, presented by the division of external church connections and, in sorabotnichestve with the division, dioceses and the synodal establishments of the Russian Orthodox Church. In China three sides are seen by its partners in the dialogue: Chinese autonomous orthodox church, the authority OF P.R.C. within the framework of structures, officially critical for the dialogue with the religious organizations (  state administration in the affairs of religions, bureau for the matters of the religions of the levels of provinces and autonomous regions, United front), and the intellectual elite OF P.R.C., represented as by university  centers or  institutes of the study of Christianity, so also by scientists, who conduct particular studies out of the framework of any structures. It is important to determine principles and strategy of conducting this dialogue in each of the cases, being guided, first of all, by understanding the fact that the possibilities of the contribution of orthodox church to any spheres  of the society OF P.R.C. will be  sufficiently limited out of the framework of the universally recognized, official dialogue. The most important principles are here to us seemed inadmissibility the interferences of church in the political matters on the basis of the principle of its separation from state  both in P.R.C. and in Russia, and, from other side, the inadmissibility of the interference of authorities in the region of the religious life, not entering the spheres of their scope.  By one of such spheres is seen the region of canonical church right, in particular, in a question of khirotoniy of church klirikov.

 

Leaving after the framework of this report the theme of the collaboration of the Russian Orthodox Church with the official authorities OF P.R.C. and with the intellectual elite of China, make it possible to briefly stop your attention in the problem of the dialogue between the Russian and Chinese autonomous by the orthodox churches, where by areas of importance are seen the spheres of spiritual formation and preparation of klirikov, and also our collaboration in resolution of a question about the acknowledgements of Chinese autonomous orthodox church as oecumenical orthodoxy. The Chinese autonomous orthodox church, actually half a century deprived of arkhipastyrskogo and pastoral okormleniya, hardly will be able without the fraternal aid to restore medium for the valuable church life of its flock. The nearest aid by it is called to show the precisely Russian Orthodox Church, which has the wide experience of the restoration of church life in its most different regions.

 

Sufficient to instructive the experience of Catholic church in China appears. It is worthwhile to say that its dialogue with the authorities OF P.R.C. depends not only on the official positions of Rome and Vatican, but also is connected to the ratios of the multimillion flock of the unofficial Catholic church of China to the motion of this dialogue: in many instances of an attempt at the collaboration of the Vatican with the authorities and the communist party OF P.R.C. they lead to the creation of the soil, on which the distrust of catholics to the Vatican grows and the division between the official and underground Catholic churches OF P.R.C. deepens. Since the Russian Orthodox Church does not have in P.R.C. unofficial, underground structures, it is extremely important to avoid soil for the appearance of the situation, similar to that, in which proved to be Catholic church in P.R.C..

The history of Chinese orthodoxy is tragic. Orthodox church was developed in China not so much because of the works of missionaries, as because of the migration of orthodox Christians from Russia into different regions of China. In China so not it was appeared "ravnoapostol'nogo enlightener", similar of svt. to Nikolai yaponskiy. Today 12 - 13 thousand orthodox believing, constantly living in China, in the majority of the cases - people some by the part of the Russian blood, which frequently consider itself as Russians on the nationality, sometimes - preserved the Russian language in private life (elder generation). End 19 and beginning 20 were age-long with the time of the promising missionary working, inspirer of which was the chief of 18 Peking missions ruler Innocent (Figurovskiy). In those years of thousands of Chinese they were turned into the orthodoxy in the most different corners Of podnebesnoy empire by the selfless works of Russian missionaries in sorabotnichestve with Chinese orthodox katekhizatorami. This time appeared "red fruit of sowing" - 222 Chinese martyrs, that confessed its faith in Christ by death during uprising of "ikhetuaney". The promising beginning of successful blagovestnicheskikh it was working interrupted by the Russian revolution of 1917: under the conditions for the curtailment of financial support from Russia (this - the important part of any missionary work) and influx of Russian refugees Peking mission concentrated its efforts for spiritual care about compatriots, at the same time it was given to the rotation of Chinese into the orthodoxy a little attention in 20-30e years of the past century. The Chinese autonomous orthodox church, which was proved to be too brittle, in the 50's was already created after the departure of the larger part of the Russian emigrants from China, in order to keep balance in the years of the so-called "cultural revolution" - church was institutionally destroyed.

Out of any doubt, orthodox mission in the Chinese peace - not only important, but also the more than possible task of the Russian Orthodox Church today, on my deep belief - vocation and debt to the Russian Orthodox Church, however, in view of prohibition to the activity of foreign religious organizations in the limits OF P.R.C., until the time of the normalization of the position of Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church basic strategy of this mission must be realized among the Chinese diaspore in the territory of Europe, America, Australia, or in Hong Kong, macaw, in Taiwan and, first of all, Russia, where by the most important region for the orthodox Chinese mission appear Moscow, Petersburg and regions of Siberia and Far East.