Eastern Orthodox Church and modern religious processes in the world

Abstract

The majority of the Christian world today is affected by weakening adherence to principles of religious practice. The reverse is the case in the countries of predominantly Orthodox tradition. After the collapse of communism, all types of human freedom were revived, including the religious one. The consequence is the revival of the Orthodox Christianity. It is reflected in the influence of the Orthodox Church on the society. Today, the most respected institutions in Russia and Serbia are the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Church, respectively. Considering the decline of the Western Christianity, the revival of the Orthodox Church has raised hopes that the Western Christianity can be revived, too. Important Christian denominations, therefore, show great interest in including the Orthodox Church in the general Christian project. It is particularly evident in the Roman Catholic Church foreign policy. The Roman Catholic Church is attempting to restore relations with Orthodox churches. In this sense, the most important churches are the Russian and the Serbian Church. But, establishing relations with these two is for Vatican both a great challenge and a project of great significance.

Najveći deo hrišćanskog sveta danas je zahvaćen slabljenjem poštovanja pravila religijske prakse. Potpuno je suprotna situacija u zemljama dominantno pravoslavne tradicije. Posle rušenja komunizma došlo je do oživljavanja svih sloboda, pa i verskih. Tako je došlo do obnove pravoslavlja. To se posebno odrazilo na uticaj pravoslavne crkve na društvo. Tako danas npr. ruska i srpska pravoslavna crkva predstavljaju najpoštovanije institucije u Rusiji i Srbiji. Imajući u vidu slabljenje zapadnog hrišćanstva, obnova pravoslavne crkve predstavlja nadu za hrišćane da se i zapadno hrišćanstvo može obnoviti. Stoga značajne hrišćanske denominacije pokazuju veliki interese za uključivanje pravoslavnih u opšti hrišćanski projekat. To se posebno vidi u spoljnoj politici rimokatoličke crkve. Rimokatolička crkva uporno pokušava da obnovi odnose sa pravoslavnim crkvama. U tom smislu najvažnije crkve predstavljaju ruska i srpska. Uspostavljanje odnosa sa ove dve crkve ima veliki značaj za Vatikan ali predstavlja i veliki izazov.