Russian Church: the cult of reason is losing its power in present Western world

19 May 2008, 11:21

Moscow, May 19, Interfax - The Moscow Patriarchate representative expressed the opinion that the Western world face sweeping changes.

"The cult of reason is losing its power," said Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, speaking to the panel Christian Values of European Civilization: a Look from the East to the West of the international forum Europe-Russia held in Rome.

According to Fr. Vsevolod, Russia and Europe need to remember "the two "lungs" of the European civilization: the Roman civilization which has brought to life the Catholic and Protestant traditions, and the Eastern, Orthodox, civilization, addressed by Pope John Paul II and the Head of Euro Commission Durao Jose Manuel Barroso.

"Today, the most efficient economy is the economy of brains which are inseparable from our souls. The Orthodox civilization still believes that there are eternal laws given to us by God, other than just general rules of community invented by people. The Islamic civilization holds the same opinion," said Fr. Vsevolod.

He also noted that the debate about the way such rules invented by people match up with the laws blessed by God, is "held in many places all over the world".

"Such debates are held in Israel, in the Islamic world, and in the Western countries. And this debate will continue. The idea that the society by all means should develop up to progress, that human freedom would always bring us all the best things in life, that the reason is able to built the right society, and that a child would definitely find his or her own place and he or she needs no instructions - such ideas are no longer doubtless," concluded Fr. Vsevolod his address.

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