Where the Devil Fights with God: the Internet viewed by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original title«Где диавол с Богом борется», Интернет глазами РПЦ и Ватикана
3. Language term Russian
4. lemma author Asliturk, Miriam
5. lemma category Orthodox view on technology and engineering
6. Publication date 20-08-2018
7. lemma work Дмитриев, Денис [Author]. Где дьявол с Богом борется: Интернет глазами РПЦ и Ватикана
8. lemma manifestations Lenta.Ru
9. Keywords Internet - digital media - Russian Orthodox Church - Catholic Church - Media manipulation
10. Url Click Here
11. Citations
    1. <p>Дмитриев, Д., Степанов В. (2014). Где дьявол с Богом борется: Интернет глазами РПЦ и Ватикана. <em>Lenta.Ru.</em> Retrieved from: <a href="https://lenta.ru/articles/2014/01/24/sochurchmuchgod/">https://lenta.ru/articles/2014/01/24/sochurchmuchgod/</a> </p>
12. Lemma body

    1. The Catholic Church has seen the Internet as an important tool for religious propaganda since 2002. In 2012 Pope started using Twitter. The Russian Orthodox Church has a more complex attitude toward the Internet. Patriarch Aleksy II (1929-2008) said in 2004 that the Internet was a great opportunity for the Russian Orthodox Church. The patriarch’s first Internet project was “Internet for children”, an online resource launched in 2005. In general, Aleksy had a positive view of this new media. At the same time the patriarch admitted that Internet could be used for diffusing immoral ideas.

       Things changed when the new patriarch Kirill (b. 1949) became head of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2009. The same year Metropolitan Bishop of Kaluga Klement Borovsky called online socialization a “cultural degradation for Russians.” In 2011 the Head of the Church Synod’s department of public relations said that anonymity online was a major problem with the Internet, destroying the culture of social interaction. By 2012, Russian Orthodox Church leaders made a number of critical comments with regard to the Internet, all claiming the abundance of negative and aggressive behavior in online discussions. At a public meeting, patriarch Kirill told the minister of communication that the Internet was the place where the devil fought with God. Russian Orthodox Church leaders specifically emphasized the fact that the Internet was full of false information on the Church and religion in general. During his TV Christmas speech Kirill called the Internet the “kingdom of crooked mirrors,” an instrument of enslavement, adding that the Russian Orthodox Church’s mission was to save people from this danger.

       The author concludes by stating that it is the head of a Church who is responsible for Church’s attitude toward the Internet. The current Pope of Rome and the previous patriarch were not against the Internet and so were the Churches. In Russia nowadays, it is patriarch Kirill who is particularly hostile toward the Internet, which is why the Russian Orthodox Church as an institution follows his policies.