Patriarch Kirill sees globalisation as a threat to the family

Although globalisation seems to unify the world, it ruptures deep relationships under the surface, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church warned, as reported by Patriarcha.ru. Kirill is concerned that people alienate from each other, which leads to the collapse of communities, families and a "pandemic of loneliness."

That leads to friction between "globalist projects" and the institution of the family as a "strong structure that preserves and transmits tradition", Patriarch Kirill added.

However, his greatest worry is the secularising side-effect of globalisation. "It destroys centuries-old cultural foundations and seeks to neutralise the traditional moral principles in societal life", he says. In the process, religious institutions that attempt to adapt to the changing world may lose their identity, as there is "no place for God there."

This secularisation leads to societies that see sin as a virtue, the Patriarch said, according to Pravoslavie. "Asserting that there are many truths, secularism created its own artificial universalism, based on the requirement of "neutrality", he stated. The result of this view is that society loses the concept of sin. "There is only a concept of the variability of human behaviour", Kirill added, referring to examples of this, such as the legalisation of homosexual marriage, allowing euthanasia and experimentations with genetic materials.

Decline

To deal with the challenges of globalisation, there are two options, Kirill argued, according to Pravoslavie. The first, he says, is adapting and subordinating religion to the requirements of globalism. "This is the path followed by our colleagues in the West, including those who call themselves Christians", Kirill points out. He thinks that Christian churches go along with the trends of globalisation to avoid criticism. "However, this path does not save the spiritual life of society from decline, but accelerates this process."

The other option, Kirill says, is to keep traditions and religious values as they are. "It requires an open witness to the Truth, regardless of the pressure and negative reaction from external forces, including globalist ones", the Patriarch concluded his speech.

Dignity of human life

A day earlier, on Monday, the International Public Organisation "Union of Orthodox Women" held a conference on "Marriage and the family." The organisation did so in cooperation with the Patriarchal commission on family issues, Pravoslavie reports. One of the points made during the conference is that a "large family is a condition for the preservation of Russia."

The chairman of the Patriarchal commission, priest Theodor Lukyanov, stressed the need for state support for the family "in the spiritual and the moral sphere." That includes moral but also material support, he explained. "We include measures to support the value level, for example, the recognition of the dignity of human life and the removal of abortions from the compulsory medical insurance system", he stated. In addition, there has been introduced a "ban on LGBT propaganda and destructive content on the network."