Too bad that it is Orthodoxy or the schismatic and heretical Orthodox Church. However, the political meaning of the statement is important because Putin links the root of Russian identity to Christianity. They did it in Italy too…obviously not with the councilors…(n.d.r.)
Reporting of G.B.
The president of Russia indicates "Christianization" as the country's identity matrix, of its strength and its historical protagonism. Criticism and alarm from circles that in the past enthusiastically supported the "cultural battles" to reaffirm the roots of the West
Of Gianni Valente per The Press
Last Sunday, in the churches of Russia, of Ukraine and other countries once included in the Russian Empire, many Christians celebrated the feast for 1130 years since the baptism of Prince Vladimir the Great in the waters of the Dnieper River, also renewing their baptismal promises. Russian President Vladimir Putin also took advantage of the anniversary of that historic event - celebrated as the beginning of the conversion to Christianity of the Eastern Slavs - to forcefully repeat that l he "Christianization" of the Grand Prince of ancient Kievan Rus' and his subjects also represents the founding act of "Russian statehood", and the perennial root that nourishes the identity of the Russian people and its historical mission in the world.
Putin – who of the ancient monarch baptized in Kherson in 988 also bears the name - reaffirmed the connection in his visceral opinion between Christianity and Russian identity while speaking at the ceremony held on Sunday in Moscow, in the presence of Patriarch Kirill, at the monument dedicated to Prince Vladimir. The presidential speech, calibrated in every word, he proposed "Christianization" at the highest levels as Russia's identity matrix, of its strength and its historical protagonism.
Following in the footsteps of the “Warrior Prince”
Conversion to Christianity – Putin insisted in his speech – it was «the starting point for the establishment and development of the Russian state structure», the true "spiritual birth" that determined the identity and self-awareness of "our ancestors", and also irrigated “the prosperity of national culture and education”, favoring "multifaceted ties with other countries". Also the historical protagonism of the Russian people, according to Putin, it does not have its genesis in military victories or hegemonic drives, but in that event with "civil significance" and "transforming spiritual power" which «predetermined Russia's centuries-old path and had an effect on its entire global development». Praising the wisdom and foresight of the ancestors who "chose" Christianity of the Byzantine tradition, Putin also focused on the figure of Prince Vladimir, the "warrior" who "faced cruel clashes and trials", and under whose guidance «churches were built, monasteries, city, schools and libraries", animated by the intuition that Christianity would provide moral support and the basis for «consolidating the unity and identity of the peoples who inhabited ancient Russia».
The “Christianist” wave in the Russian version
The suggestions contained in Putin's speech dedicated to Prince Vladimir are not new. Similar words and concepts had been expressed by "Tsar" Putin five years ago, when he had been able to celebrate the 1025 years after the conversion of Kievan Rus' in the capital of Ukraine, then governed by the "friend" president Viktor Yanukovych. Since then, with the Ukrainian crisis and direct military intervention in Syria, What changed was Russia's geopolitical relevance and relations with many NATO countries. In the interventions of the Russian leadership and also of the most prominent exponents of the Moscow Patriarchate - Patriarch Kirill and Metropolitan Hilarion - the tones of patriotic mysticism are accentuated, those who exalt Russian Orthodoxy as the "soul" and treasure chest of national identity pride.
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