Russia And The Vatican

Russia and the Vatican Moscow, Sept. 28, 1997 In a move that is sure to cause consternation at the Vatican, President Boris N. Yeltsin today was forced to sign a law that makes the Russian Orthodox Church the official state religion. Angry voices were also heard from Washington D.C. as officials - prompted by the Papal Nuncio - threatened Russia with sanctions. The Washington Post reported Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - head of the Inquisition - as saying: the law complicates the situation of the Catholic Church in Russia. A military invasion of Russia is a very complicated operation indeed, as Hitler found out!!

A.P.Photo

Pope and President Yeltsin meet at Vatican. The Pope is desperately try to fulfill the Fatima "prophecy" and make Russia Roman Catholic even if it involves a war with the U.S. The longest war in history is the Vatican's war with the Scottish Nation. The second longest is the war with the Orthodox Church. The Vatican against the Orthodox by Avro Manhattan.

The trouble began when the Roman Emperor Constantine in 330 A.D. moved his headquarters from Rome and founded a new capital at Constantinople. From then on Constantinople was looked upon as a second Rome and the two cities became bitter rivals.

Picture courtesy of Chick Pub.

For centuries after the fall of Rome, the Greek or Byzantine Emperor actually ruled over portions of the western Empire as was the case of Justinian and Phocas. The trouble peaked in the year 1054 A.D. when the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Michael Cerulanius brought about the final breach between the Greek and Roman churches. Finally, the Bishop of Rome had the Byzantine Emperor completely expelled from Italy and he was free to set himself up as Caesar in the eternal City. The period between 1000 and the fall of Constantinple to the Turks in 1453, was one of wars and crusades to bring back the Greek church. Even the Vikings played a part in this war of aggression!!

Picture courtesy of Chick Pub.

In the year 1204, Pope Innocent III raised up the fourth crusade and attacked Constantinople. The crusaders completely destroyed the city and looted everything they could get their hands on. Instead of coming back under the Pope the Orthodox survivors cursed the Pope and pulled further away. In the year 1453 (just before the Reformation) the Orthodox church's political pillar - the Byzantine Empire - fell to the Turks, and their main church was converted into a mosque. This should have been the end, except the Orthodox church moved into Russia and struck deep roots there. As Rome had been the

first Rome, Constantinople the "second Rome" so now Moscow became the "third Rome." Now that Constantinolpe had fallen, the only Orthodox empire left in the world was the Russian. The Russian nation alone, therefore, became the true depository of the Orthodox faith. The idea of a Russian Orthodox empire became the Russian's paramount idea. Church and State were integrated, linked by a common messianic purpose called Holy Russia. All this came to an end in 1917 with the Communist Revolution. The Vatican hoped that the fall of the Czar would mean the fall of that church and one of her main rivals. The Vatican entered negotiations with the Communists to take over what was left of the fallen Orthodox empire. But what gave Vatican diplomacy a shock, and its understanding with the Soviets a matter of urgency, was that the Bolsheviks, giving a literal interpretation to their constitution, had applied religious freedom with equal impartiality to various Protestant bodies, which had meanwhile made soundings for the evangelization of the Russians. This was not all: Atheistic and antireligious organizations of all kinds were also flourishing everywhere, sponsored by the State itself. But, worse still, the moribund Orthodox church, instead of resignedly giving up the ghost, was still alive - indeed, was giving alarming signs of recovering. The Fatima/Hitler crusade was a war against the Russian Orthodox church on a vast scale involving the loss of millions of lives. Instead of Hitler marching into Moscow as "his holiness" had planned, the Russians marched into Berlin and the Cold War began. With the defeat of the Nazi empire the Vatican found a new lay partner to carry on this 1000 year old war, namely the United States of America. Russia is unique it that is the only nation that refuses to accept a Papal Nuncio or send an ambassador to the Vatican. After 70 years of Communism, the Orthodox church is showing remarkable signs of recovery.

Russia was one of the few countries to stand by the North during the American Civil War. The Russian navy sailed into New York and San Francisco in 1863, during the darkest days of the war, and their presence was a warning to Britain and France to stay out!! As a result of that friendship Czar Nicholas II was almost assassinated on April 16, 1866, but had a Providential escape.

Unfortunately the Greek and Russian churches never had a Reformation and they do not believe in Sola Scriptura. They are similar to Rome on many points except that their clergy are allowed to marry and they celebrate Easter at the correct date: after the Jewish Passover. They still retain one of the deadliest of Roman heresies namely baptismal regeneration or the idea that sprinkling water on a baby makes it a Christian. It is believing in Christ that saves the soul not water!! What priest ever sprinkled water on St. Patrick when he was converted on the mountains of County Antrim, Ireland? They need to be converted to Christ by the preaching of the true Gospel, not by force!!

Interesting Note One of the first things the Communists did in Russia was to change the TIME. They threw out the old Julian calendar and adopted the Pope's Gregorian calendar!!

References Avro Manhattan, The Vatican against the Orthodox Church, London, 1965. Albert A. Woldman, Lincoln and the Russians, New York, 1952 Jack Chick, The Godfathers, Los Angeles, 1982.

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