"This is an occult delusion." A monument to Roerich was decided to be erected in Sortavala. The Russian Orthodox Church is against it.
In Sortavala, Karelia, people discussed the installation of a monument to the artist. To Nicholas Roerich, who had been visiting the city since 1916 and painted several canvases there. The Petrozavodsk and Karelian Diocese expressed bewilderment at this.
“The very raising of this question [about the monument] is puzzling, if we remember that 2027 will be the year of a special historical anniversary for Karelia – the 800th anniversary of the baptism of the Karelians.”- added one event after another, the author of the article on the diocese website.
In a discussion about the monument at a public event, the head of the district Sergey Krupin He pledged: as soon as the sketches of the monument appear, he will immediately present them for public discussion.
The diocese expressed concern about the “increase in the number of adherents of the religious and philosophical teaching ‘Living Ethics’, or ‘Agni Yoga’, created by the family of the artist Nicholas Roerich.”
Living Ethics Helena Roerich — a philosophical and ethical teaching that combines the spiritual knowledge of the East and Western science. It describes cosmic laws, the evolution of humanity, and the need for spiritual improvement through thought, culture, and morality. The main idea is that through self-improvement, a person can transform the world.
"For the Russian Orthodox Church, Agni Yoga is an occult, ideological delusion... The Church will never accept Roerich."- He explained in his blog, a political scientist Anatoly Tsygankov.
The townspeople themselves still did not understand why representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church intervened in this issue.
"Who linked the installation of the monument to Roerich with the celebration of his baptism?" "It's strange that the Russian Orthodox Church, separated from the state according to the country's Constitution, is trying to dictate its will to it."- turned on They are in discussions on VKontakte.
This is not the first time that the Russian Orthodox Church has interfered in the secular life of citizens: for example, advocates against abortions, criticizes Darwin's theory, as well as builds Temples on the site of public areas.
Photo: gallerix.ru (paintings of the Sortavala period)
