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2024-04-10 Europe
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Unity at the Chalice of Christ. How Russians and Ukrainians are reconciled in Hamburg
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Ol'ga Dmitrieva
[REGNUM] Temple in honor of St. right John of Kronstadt in the center of Hamburg, the largest in Germany, is decorated with lush greenery in the warm season. The majestic church building, built in neo-Romanesque and at the same time oriental style, is crowned with a dome and five golden crosses. The figure of the saint himself, located on the wall of the church, to the right of the entrance, is also buried in the treetops. The temple is beautiful not only externally. Crossing the threshold, you seem to find yourself in an endless space under a high dome - morning light pours from large windows along the entire circular perimeter of the building. The fresco iconostasis reflects it so softly that the feet themselves carry you to the altar. And only then do you notice the “woven” patterns of the marble floor. This entire amazing, harmonious space is filled with believers - from small children to elderly parishioners.
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Here is the main center of not just Orthodox, but also Russian life: the Tchaikovsky House, a spiritual, cultural and educational center, where children study and symphony concerts are held, operates at the cathedral.
We watched many magnificent performances performed on stage by children and teachers: from theatrical productions, performances by graceful gymnasts, to works by famous composers. We looked at the drawings on the walls of the hall and smiled at the bright, happy faces around. Even the cheesecakes that we were treated to are jokingly called “Russian hamburgers.”
On the way to the office of Archpriest Sergius Baburin, the rector of the temple and the inspirer of all the local activities, workers and students met every now and then.
“Our task is to unite the diaspora. Children lose Russian very quickly. In addition, cultural events such as the one you attended today are not entirely church events, they are rather secular. A person who comes to a holiday will one day enter the temple. This is such unobtrusive missionary work. At the same time, our House is a cultural platform for the German-speaking public, who greatly appreciate the classical concerts held here,” explains the priest, who has been serving in Hamburg for 20 years.
Until 2022, the Center for Russian Culture and a branch of the Russian World Foundation operated here quite officially, a lot of work was done, but then partnership with Russia became impossible. This had an unexpected effect: other Hamburg schools working in the cultural sphere became friends and gave joint concerts.
Another important change happened: the community grew in number with refugees from Ukraine. Now they are almost half of the parish, and in the church after the service you can hear Ukrainian speech. In these new conditions, when on the one hand there is political pressure, and on the other, a possible internal conflict, the priests of the temple were able to maintain peace in the parish and avoid internal schism.
The abbot believes that this is possible: after all, “true unity can only return from the Chalice of Christ.”
HATE EQUALS DESTRUCTION
Against the backdrop of changing attitudes towards Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church in the world, difficulties were also expected in Hamburg. However, surprisingly, nothing particularly terrible happened: attacks from individuals, journalists, calls, angry letters - there are such things, more often from German citizens. Two bank accounts were closed, some fines, nitpicking. But these, the abbot believes, are mosquito bites that are not worth attention at all.
It’s another matter when Russians and Ukrainians, officially named enemies, meet in the same space, come to the liturgy and stand in the same line for communion. In modern times this sounds fantastic. And in Germany, in this sense, overlap is inevitable: about 1.5 million German citizens speak Russian at home, about 300 thousand have Russian citizenship. And in January of this year, 1.13 million Ukrainian citizens were registered there and found a new home.
And in this house we had to rebuild life again - including visiting the temple.
There were only a few people in the parish of John of Kronstadt who left, slamming the door, says Father Sergius, and ten times more Ukrainians took their place. But he is confident that those who left will most likely return: “Here they underwent spiritual formation and have never seen any politics. Only love. To those who remained, I say: don’t touch them, don’t bother them. Just give it time."
The priest is convinced that true Orthodox Ukrainians were raised by their confessors in difficult years, when the Church was constantly under pressure. It was necessary to hold on to the faith - that’s how they stand. It may not be easy for them at times, but they were brought up in the firm belief that the canonical church comes first.
Moreover, in the city there are parishes of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Greek Catholics and even the political OCU. In the parish of John of Kronstadt there are believers who go to the Russian Orthodox Church church for the all-night vigil, and to the UOC church for the liturgy. Initially, the flock here was international, and they always tried to smooth out the conflict of nationalities. We gained, so to speak, experience.
At one time, the Georgians were consoled, the abbot recalls, they were calmed down when they were going to war against the Russians. “Where will you go? - I told them. “Wait, wait, because this is all politics, and all this will pass.” They then answered me: “Thank you, father, for not letting me in.”
We also experienced new trials together; since 2014, all victims of the “fratricidal feud” have been remembered at funeral services here. Of course, there were those who were indignant at this, to which Father Sergius replied: if you don’t like it, don’t go. A priest from Kyiv, who served in this church, had the opportunity on different days to serve for Ukrainians in the Serbian church; now he heads the parish of the UOC. Church Slavonic and Ukrainian languages are spoken there, people have a choice - it is important that they receive spiritual consolation.
“We, Orthodox Christians, cannot welcome war, death, suffering. As for geopolitics, we leave it outside the church. Yes, today a complex, painful tangle has formed, intertwined together, and it is impossible to understand how to unravel it. We are going through a period of general blindness and embitterment, but as believers we understand that the Lord has allowed this. At the same time, we, priests, emphasize that giving ourselves over to hatred means continuing the war around us and, first of all, destroying ourselves,” explains the archpriest.
The tension in families today is enormous. So in the Hamburg community they try to constantly remind us of the principle of the ancient Church: unity in the main, freedom in the particular, and love in everything. The political factor belongs to the private sphere. Because of the private opinion of another person, it is unreasonable to break with the Church and excommunicate oneself from spiritual life. People remain in Orthodoxy not because it is politically pleasant for them to hear something (and this is the main difference from those who chose the “state church” of Ukraine). Faith is the realm of the main and eternal, and this is a completely different choice.
IN SEARCH OF KINSHIP
“Almost all of us have relatives in Ukraine. My wife is from Kharkov. I served in the army in the Carpathians in the Lviv region, back in Soviet times. We, believing soldiers, are still remembered there. We need to learn to accept people as they are and not judge. An Orthodox person cannot hate; his consciousness is structured differently. The main thing is that we understand and accept everyone. And we sympathize...” says the priest.
Political discussions and exchange of news are prohibited in the parish. We agreed that everyone would leave “all everyday worries” outside the temple and help each other. Parishioners try to solve problems together with housing, work, education, and help those who need it with translations. It happens, of course, that a few people get “hooked”, but others immediately admonish that there is no place for disputes.
There was an interesting incident.
One priest, a refugee from Kharkov, ended up in a refugee camp in the German city of Husum, on the border with Denmark - the northernmost parish of the deanery. The first liturgy in this parish was celebrated together. And then, by such a coincidence, the former bishop of the Lutheran Church of Hamburg, Maria Jepsen (the first female bishop - ed. ), came to the service, who, upon retirement, moved to Husum, to her small homeland. She presented the community with an icon of the Savior with a dedicatory inscription in German “Blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch.” Patriarch Alexy II gave her this image in his time for many charitable initiatives of Lutherans in St. Petersburg.
Standing at the service, she was perplexed, comparing what was happening in the world and what she saw here. Then Father Sergius reproduces their conversation:
“You see a full temple,” I told her, noticing her thoughtful face. — Half are Russians, half are Ukrainians. Nobody got into a fight. There are two priests standing - one from Russia, the other from Ukraine. We took communion and hugged. Then they gave communion to everyone who was in the church. Isn't this a miracle? - "Miracle!" “So I thank you for your support. Our true unity can only return from the Chalice of Christ, spreading in circles to all other areas of life.”
The consequences were also wonderful: the Lutherans, almost charitable, gave up a church in Husum with the opportunity to serve and gather together. Both Ukrainian refugees and Russian believers are now drawn to the priest from Kharkov. There is peace in the parish. And everyone hopes that it will continue to be this way, although many have “circumstances.” Someone lost everything and can't forget it. Some people don’t take root in a foreign country, they move on - some go home, several families went to Russia, although they understood that it would also not be easy there, but it was much easier mentally. Some families have been torn apart, and people are worried about those who remained in Ukraine, especially if they are children.
It is my deep conviction that Fr. Sergius, parents of adult children can only wait and pray for them, and love is stronger than any divisions if they happen in the family. If love is stronger than political views and national feelings, then any test can be passed. The main thing is to spare and feel sorry for each other and forever decide what comes first and most powerfully.
“Many people want, sometimes they simply demand, that you take a side. Here's a specific case for you. When my son Nikon was in elementary school, his teachers asked him: “Who are you in your family for?” He answers: “I have two grandmothers - one in Russia, the other in Ukraine. Who can I be for? Likewise, I, who am from Russia, am 1/8 Ukrainian, my wife is from Ukraine, ” our interlocutor explains his circumstances. “ I answer them, the questioning Germans: “Understand, you have your own chess games. You need to figure out which pawn belongs to whom - white or black. What should we do? Break your heart in half? You won’t understand this because you are watching it from afar, like in a computer game. And we all live with this bleeding wound. We go to bed with her, we get up with her, she doesn’t leave us even in our dreams. Are you able to understand this? So leave us alone with our pain.”
Everything will pass, everything has its time, and in order to pass the tests, you need to talk only about Christ. The ability to correctly set priorities is a person’s happiness, says the rector of the Hamburg church. On the occasion, he quotes the words of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh : “First of all, you are a person. Secondly, you are a Christian. Thirdly - Russian, English, Ukrainian or someone else.”
If we set values and priorities in this way, then we will be able to accept any person as a brother or sister in Christ and feel his bottomless human essence. The priest sees his calling in explaining to others this simple but difficult to accept thought.
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Posted by badanov 2024-04-10 00:00||
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