“ Russia does not win due to the fact that a Russian soldier swears,” stated Dimitri Wasilenkov, 1 of the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church at Christmas celebrations. As a staunch supporter of Cyril's patriarchy's thought of a "metaphysical war against the West," advanced Priest Vasilenkov believes that men who themselves are steeped in evil and sin cannot overcome planet evil.
— To what degree are we ourselves able to be warriors of truth? On the front there is profanity, people are accustomed to sin... The spiritual effort of the people is essential to overcome this calamity to win. However, the Russian curses are so profoundly rooted in the everyday culture not only of the majority of Russians, but besides of the nations of the erstwhile USSR, that 1 cannot number on specified a spiritual feat. I will say more — the curse is rooted in our culture much more than spiritual beliefs or customs,” he said.
Metropolitan Mitrofan reacted harder, Saying a conviction that Putin would surely not like. He said the most crucial war the Russians had already lost.
‘Devil language’
If you look at the past of Russian culture, the first written origin containing vulgarisms are fresh Garden letters from the XII-XIII century. Later this vocabulary penetrated into authoritative correspondence, chronicle, and even liturgical texts (but only the word meaning the harlot is utilized there, but it was gradually corrected in the 17th-XIXth century, and present only preserved in the usage of ancient rites). The danger of profanity spreading in Russia was mentioned on the Council of Stu Chapters in 1551 and in the 17th century an anonymous “Instruction on the parent Language” was widely circulated.
Aleksander Volkov, erstwhile spokesperson Cyril’s patriarchs, and now president of the Moscow Diocese Information Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church, speaks in a akin tone. Speaking at a press conference on 3 February, noted (although he did not supply accurate statistics) that the soldiers who curse “are more susceptible to death or injury”. Although no 1 asked him about it, he felt it essential to give “a priestly admonition.”
— You can't curse on the front line... If you have a weapon in your hand, forget the curse! If you are sitting in a shelter with combat companions, don’t curse,” he said. He gave his admonition in a cozy Moscow hall, not in a “special military operation zone” where he had never been.
A erstwhile spokesperson for the patriarch added that profanity is “the language of the devil”. “ Vulgarism is spiritual. People who effort to prevent specified language, even in these absolutely utmost conditions, are much more protected in the sphere of war. This is not a joke," he said.
“The Cult of the Prince of Darkness”
On the Russian "patriotic" website of Ridus for any time there was a comment by Alexey Filatov, Lieutenant Colonel of the FSB and Vice-President of the Veterans Association of the peculiar unit “Alfa”. He criticized the position of the clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church. "Do not curse in a household in front of children. I think there's no correlation between a soldier cursing and that he's better or worse in combat. He may curse, but his destiny is not dependent on it," he wrote. He added that vulgarisms play a "positive" function during warfare.
"The enemy may not realize them, they may be a cover for encrypted orders. Batiuszko was not in specified utmost situations erstwhile man gets under fire," he added.
Metropolitan Mitrofan (Badanin) of Murmansk, retired captain of the Russian Navy, and now a associate of the ultimate Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the past personally met the military (marine) vulgar language. He dedicated the full book “The fact on a Russian Fellow” (Sankt Petersburg-Murmansk: Bibliopolis, 2014). He wrote that the usage of vulgar language in the army “has served as a means of primitive suppression of the individual, leading to illness and demolition of the collective and yet to paralysis of its work. Reliance by the commander on specified a language is only proof of deficiency of professionalism.’
According to the metropolitan, an army utilizing profanity cannot be “an army of Christ” fighting for good and light against the forces of evil and darkness. ‘We lost the war of words and spiritual values... Curses mean the worship of the Prince of Darkness, and consequently man is alienated from God... He who curses is deprived of God’s help," he wrote.
"Campania Against Vulgarism"
Pitirim (Tvorogov), erstwhile rector of the Moscow Academy of Theology, and now Bishop of Skoplinski and Szacki, dedicated 1 of his sermons to the same problem. The origin of the war was the fact that Russian and Ukrainian societies began to hotel to profanity "And neither household nor school nor society can make it right, but only God" — through the terrible torment that was sent upon both nations. “The vulgar language leads to death, deprives them of their staff,” he said.
Gavril GRIGOV / Pool / AFP / AFPVladimir Putin and Patriarch Cyril in Moscow, 4 November 2023.
Last year, Patriarch Cyril himself joined the "campaign against profanity". His subordinates, however, repeatedly told fresh Gazeta's correspondent about the profanity that their superior uses erstwhile he gets angry, besides during services. There's a video on the net where Cyril curses even in the presence of Vladimir Putin. Immoderately linguistic patriarchs besides disbanded the languages of another bishops, so that profanity became much more common in their communication with subordinates.
Under these circumstances, Patriarch Cyril, speaking during this year's Christmas celebrations, abruptly called for “to deprive the vulgarities of their popularity”. possibly engulfed by a abrupt penance impulse, he called the curse “a spiritual illness that has affected many people.” He stated that films, theatre performances and the net were liable for their dissemination.
— If we had imposed a barrier on profanity, as we are now putting a barrier on alcoholism, this would be a very crucial civilizational phenomenon," said the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
— Although the public usage of vulgarism is legally identified with petty hooliganism, it is now actually legitimized in society," Cyril said, correctly capturing the trend in the speeches of Russian politicians and propagandists of the "special military operation" era. Given the increase in military sentiments and xenophobia in Russian media, it seems to be an unnatural fact that swearing is inactive nominally prohibited in public space. The usage of profanity in public places, in accordance with Article 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, threatens 15 days in prison.
Indeed, the Russian army is doomed to defeat — but surely not due to profanity, but due to deficiency of moral, legal, and human justification for their actions. full profanation, along with full drunkenness and another forms of moral decay of the army, is only 1 of the symptoms of Russian illness.
