Cultural destruction in Ukraine by Russian forces will reverberate for years, UN rights expert warns
The attempted destruction of Ukraine’s historic culture by invading Russian forces, will have a devastating impact on the pace of recovery in the post-war era, an independent UN human rights expert warned on Wednesday. “As in other conflicts, we currently witness the unfolding of suffering in Ukraine that does not seem to end and we cannot stop,” said Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur on cultural rights.
“The questioning and denial of the Ukrainian identity and history as a justification for war, is a violation of the Ukrainians’ right to self-determination and their cultural rights.
“Self-identification is the paramount expression of these rights and all discussions, by States and in social media, should respect this.”
She said that the considerable loss of cultural heritage already, and destruction of cultural artefacts, was worrying for the identity of both Ukrainians and minorities within the country, and would impact the return to a peaceful multicultural society after the end of the war.
Ms. Xanthaki expressed her concern at damage inflicted by Russian forces on city centres, cultural sites and monuments and museums, housing important collections.
“These are all part of the identity of people in Ukraine; their loss will have a lasting effect,” the expert said. She shared UN cultural agency UNESCO’s concern that there is an existential threat to Ukraine’s entire cultural life.
The expert said the cultural rights of all individuals – Ukrainians, Russians and other members of minorities living within Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and elsewhere – must be fully respected and protected.
“As the battles rage on, we are not completely powerless,” she said. “Beyond recalling that the rules of international humanitarian and human rights law should be scrupulously applied by all parties to the conflict, we must ensure that culture helps us maintain our dignity and is not used as a means to pursue and fuel the war.
“We often do not measure how devastating violations of cultural rights can be for peace”, she continued.
“Attempts against academic and artistic freedoms, linguistic rights, falsification and distortion of historical facts, denigration of identities and denial of the right to self-determination, result in further degeneration and fueling of open conflict.”
The expert paid tribute to the many cultural professionals in Ukraine devoted to protecting the country’s heritage, who are using powerful artistic expression, against the war, and in favour of peace.
‘Regret’ over retaliation
The Special Rapporteur also expressed her regret about the indiscriminate exclusion of Russian artists from cultural events.
“I am saddened by the numerous restrictions affecting Russian artists in retaliation for the actions of the Russian Government, as well as by the deprogramming of sometimes centuries-old works of art from Russian writers or composers”.
Ms. Xanthaki cited reports of Russian musicians prevented from performing or taking part in competitions, and of Russian artists being asked to publicly take sides.
“It is especially in this situation of continuous dehumanization, that culture and cultural rights must be visible and visibly push for humanity, empathy and peaceful co-existence,” she said.
UN Special Rapporteurs are independent experts, appointed by the Human Rights Council. They are not UN staff, nor are they paid by the UN, for their work.
Brussels has declared a violation of sanctions a crime
The European Commission has proposed that breach of EU sanctions be declared a European crime on 25 May. This means that such an action will be included in the list of crimes in each EU country and will be punished with similar severity if the proposal is approved, BTA reported.
A change in the rules for confiscation and recovery of confiscated property is also proposed. It is planned to confiscate the property of those citizens and companies that have violated the sanctions.
The Commission notes that the application of sanctions is even more important because of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It is added that in most EU countries, non-compliance with sanctions is prosecuted by law, and that such violations pose threats to security and international peace.
The EC proposes that participation in activities aimed at directly or indirectly circumventing sanctions be defined as a violation. According to the commission, it is necessary to speed up the work on imposing urgent seizure of property of violators, as well as those affected by EU sanctions. The Commission proposes that a structure be set up in each EU country to manage seized or confiscated property so that its value is not lost, sold and the cost of storing it limited.
The EU is reported to have approved more than 40 lists of sanctions, which include seizure of property, a ban on crossing borders, a ban on imports and exports of goods, and banking. EU countries have so far announced that they have seized assets worth nearly 10 billion euros and prevented actions worth 196 billion euros.
The Commission notes that the sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus have increased the need to search for oligarchs’ property. The EC insists that uniform measures to enforce sanctions will help the EU speak with one voice. In some European countries, violating sanctions only leads to administrative penalties.
Greed
Europeans have shown themselves to be “greedy” rather than “naive”, relying heavily on energy supplies from Russia. This was stated today in an interview with several European media by EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager in an interview with the French economic newspaper Les Eco.
“We were not naive, but greedy. Our industry is largely built around Russian energy, mostly due to the fact that it is not expensive,” said Vestager, who is also vice president of the European Commission.
Vestager added that the behavior of Europeans is the same with China for many products or with Taiwan for chips, as they are looking for lower production prices.
Photo: The yacht of the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov has been seized in Hamburg and according to the discussed new rules it can be confiscated one day / https://sale.ruyachts.com
King Herod’s baths: Israeli scientists from Bar-Ilan University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have refuted the well-known hypothesis that Israeli calcite alabaster artefacts were made from material extracted exclusively in Egypt.
This conclusion also applies to luxury and household items made of calcite alabaster, which includes the baths of Herod the Great. The study, published in Scientific Reports, confirms that the alabaster was mined in Israel. And the baths of King Herod were made of local material. The discovery was made thanks to a recent discovery by archaeologists. In the cave of Theomim, on the western slopes of the hills of Jerusalem, they discovered quarries of calcite alabaster. It was previously thought that in the southern Levant (modern-day Israel and Palestine) there were no ancient quarries for this mineral, and that all the calcite alabaster vessels in the Levant came from Egypt, and that vessels of lower quality than gypsum are local products. Since the Bronze Age, Egypt has played a crucial role in the emergence of calcite alabaster products in Israel and the development of the local gypsum-alabaster industry. The results of the scientific work for the first time allow distinguishing the calcite alabaster of Israeli origin from the Egyptian one.
“The fact that the material for the two baths was unequivocally obtained in Israel and not in Egypt, as might be expected, as the quality of the stone is high, was a special surprise. This means that Herod the Great used local products, and the production of calcite alabaster in Judea in the second half of the first century BC was quite developed and of sufficient quality to meet Herod’s luxury standards. one of the best builders among the kings of that period, “said Professor Aren Meir. Herod I the Great is from a king (37 BC – 4 BC) of Judea, Galilee, Samaria and other territories. He was appointed proconsul by Rome and became the ancestor of the Herodias dynasty.
The Romans placed him on the throne of Judea after the weakening of the Hasmonean dynasty and a brief period of Parthian control of the area. During the civil wars during the establishment of the Roman Empire, he managed to gain influence in Rome and establish himself for a long time as ruler of Judea. Herod is very unpopular with his Jewish subjects, who consider him a usurper and a foreigner – because of his Edomite origins and his dubious attachment to Judaism, forcibly imposed on Edom in the time of his father. Both the Christian New Testament and Jewish authors such as Josephus describe in detail his dynastic assassinations. At the same time, the mass murder of children at the birth of Jesus Christ described in the New Testament is not mentioned in other sources and is probably based on the Old Testament story of Moses’ childhood. Herod developed large-scale construction work in many places in Judea, his largest project being a major reconstruction and expansion of the Jerusalem Temple, which continued long after his death around 3 BC.
Photo: Ayala Amir, Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archeology, Bar-Ilan University
A group of archaeologists has discovered a giant face carved into a mountain slope in the Theban necropolis. The face resembles that of the Great Sphinx in Giza and in ancient times looked at the royal necropolis, and during the solstice it “lights up”. Many hidden secrets of the ancient world are preserved in the Theban necropolis. In 1881, archaeologists came across the tomb of TT 320, which contains more than 40 mummies of famous ancient Egyptian pharaohs such as Ramses II, Seti I and Thutmose III. Now archaeologists have made another amazing discovery: all these mummies were guarded by a massive statue carved into the mountain. Although badly damaged, researchers have identified part of the temple, the arch of the eyebrows and even the nasal cavity – all in exact proportions. The discovery was documented by a mission of Spanish archaeologists from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) in collaboration with the Center for Ancient Egyptian Documentation of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities (CEDAE). Called the Royal Cache Wadi Survey (or C2 Project), the mission found numerous stone inscriptions on the site, mummified animals, offerings, an unexplored tomb and this 20-meter statue, about which it was absolutely unknown. “It appears to depict a face with a wig, probably similar to the face of the goddess Hathor, the daughter of the sun god Ra. And although it is not exactly a sphinx, as it does not have the body of an animal, it could play the same role of guardian as the Sphinx in Giza, “said Egyptologist Jose Ramon Perez-Aquino, professor of ancient history at UCM and co-director of Project C2.
Archaeologists believe that the face carved on the mountain slope was not destroyed by erosion, but was deliberately disfigured, and Coptic excavations suggest that the vandalism took place “very late, almost in the Middle Ages.” In late antiquity (4th, 5th and 6th centuries) the area was heavily Christianized and old temples were converted into monasteries, in which context the carved face may have been perceived as too large and incompatible with the Christian religion, Egyptologists say. Those responsible for the destruction could be Muslims, as the Islamization of the area took place in 637 AD Another interesting detail is that the face of the guardian “lights up” during the solstice, which was a sweat. conducted by archaeologist Perez-Achino on December 21, when the archeological campaign was already over.
He believes that the West should force the country to negotiate
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told the Davos Forum that Ukraine must cede territory to Russia to help end the invasion, suggesting a position against which the vast majority of Ukrainians oppose, according to The Washington Post / Daily Telegraph.
Kissinger also called on the United States and the West not to seek a shameful defeat for Russia in Ukraine, warning that it could undermine Europe’s long-term stability.
Stressing that Western countries must not forget Russia’s importance for Europe and not be “swept away” by current sentiments, Kissinger also urged the West to force Ukraine to accept negotiations with the status quo ante or the previous state of relations. .
“Negotiations should begin in the next two months before creating turmoil and tensions that will not be easily overcome. Ideally, the dividing line should be a return to the previous status quo,” the former US secretary of state said.
According to him, the continuation of hostilities will not mean freedom for Ukraine, but a new war against Russia itself.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that some of his conditions for entering into peace talks with Russia would include restoring borders before the invasion.
Kissinger’s comments come as world leaders say Russia’s war in Ukraine has called into question “the entire international order.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told world leaders in Davos that the war was not only “a matter of Ukraine’s survival” or “a matter of European security”, but also “a task for the entire global community”.
She condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “destructive rage”, but said Russia could one day regain its place in Europe if it “found its way back to democracy, the rule of law and respect for a rules-based international order.” “Because Russia is our neighbor.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has firmly rejected the possibility of his country giving up part of its territory in the name of a peace agreement with Russia.
In his traditional evening video address, Zelensky criticized proposals by some Western politicians for Ukraine to make concessions to Moscow, including by renouncing its territory, the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported.
He mentioned former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who told a forum in Davos that Ukraine should accept talks with Russia, even if it is asked for concessions.
These “great geopoliticians” who propose such solutions ignore “the interests of ordinary Ukrainians, the millions who really live in the territories they offer to exchange for the illusion of peace,” Zelensky was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. We must always think about the interests of the people and remember that values are not just words, said the Ukrainian leader.
He expressed bewilderment that despite “Russian missiles … despite tens of thousands of Ukrainians killed … despite Bucha and Mariupol. Despite destroyed Ukrainian cities”, in Davos, for example, Mr. Kissinger jumped out of the deep past and said give Russia a piece of Ukraine “. In order not to alienate Russia from Europe. I have a feeling that for Mr. Kissinger, the year is not 2022, but 1938. And he thought he was not talking to the audience in Davos, but in what was then Munich, Zelenski said.
The interests of Ukrainians should not be overshadowed by the interests of those who “rush to another meeting with the dictator,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pope Francis has sent a message to participants at the 102nd edition of Catholic Days (Katholikentag) opening Wednesday evening in the German city of Stuttgart and continuing until Sunday.
The Pope offered his warm greetings in these festive days when they come together “to honour God and to bear witness together to the joy of the Gospel.”
Referring to the motto of the Katholikentag, the Pope noted how God has “breathed his breath of life into humanity,” and in Jesus this “sharing of life” of God reaches its “unsurpassable apex” as “he shares our earthly life to enable us to participate in his divine life.”
We are also called to follow Jesus’ example in caring for the poor and suffering, as we are today close to the people of Ukraine and all those who are threatened by violence, the Pope pointed out, calling on us all to implore God’s peace on all people.
Dedicating our lives to God and neighbour
The Pope said we can make a gift of our lives for God and neighbour in many different ways, whether as dedicated mothers and fathers raising their children or those donating their time in church services and charitable outreach activities. The Pope underscored that “no one is saved alone” and “we are all sitting in the same boat” which makes it imperative we develop an awareness of how we are all “children of the one Father, brothers and sisters” and must be in solidarity with one another.
“Only together do we move forward. If everyone gives what they have to offer, everyone’s life will become richer and more beautiful! What God gives us, he also and always gives us so that we will share it with others and make it fruitful for others.”
The shining example of St. Martin
The Pope pointed to Saint Martin, patron of the diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, as a “shining example” to follow, who shared his cloak with a poor person suffering in the cold and treated him with dignity and concern, not only offering help.
“All who bear the name of Jesus Christ are called to follow the saint’s example and to share our means and possibilities with those in need. Let us be watchful as we go through life, and we will very soon see where we are needed.”
Offering and receiving gifts
Finally, the Pope observed even the poorest have something they can offer to others, and even the richest may lack something and need other people’s gifts. He noted how sometimes we may find it difficult to accept a gift, since it requires admitting our own imperfection and needs, even if we might think we are self-sufficient. He said we should pray to God for “the humility of being able to accept something from others.”
In conclusion, the Pope pointed to the Blessed Virgin Mary is an example of “this humble attitude towards God,” that must characterise our own attitude. “She implored and awaited the Holy Spirit in the midst of the apostles, and still today, with us and by our side, she implores this gift among gifts.”
Council of Europe in Strasbourg (Credit: THIX Photo)
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in the end of April approved a Recommendation and a Resolution on the deinstitutionalisation of persons with disabilities. These are providing important guidelines in the process of implementing human rights in this field for the years to come. The senior decision-making body of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers, as part of the final process now asked three of its committees to review the Assembly Recommendation and provide possible comments by mid-June. The Committee of Ministers is then to finalize its and thereby the Council of Europe’s stand on the deinstitutionalisation of persons with disabilities.
The Assembly specifically requested support for member States “in their development, in co-operation with organisations of persons with disabilities, of adequately funded, human-rights compliant strategies for deinstitutionalisation”. The parliamentarians stressed this should be done with clear time frames and benchmarks with a view to a genuine transition to independent living for persons with disabilities. And that this should be in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 19 on living independently and being included in the community.
The Assembly secondly recommended the Committee of Ministers to “prioritise support to member States to immediately start transitioning to the abolition of coercive practices in mental health settings.” And the parliamentarians further stressed that in dealing with children, who has been placed in mental health settings, one has to ensure that the transmission is child-centred and human-rights compliant.
The Assembly as a final point recommended that in line with the unanimously adopted Assembly Recommendation 2158 (2019), Ending coercion in mental health: the need for a human rights-based approach that the Council of Europe and its member states “refrain from endorsing or adopting draft legal texts which would make successful and meaningful deinstitutionalisation, as well as the abolition of coercive practices in mental health settings more difficult, and which go against the spirit and the letter of the CRPD.”
With this final point the Assembly pointed to the controversial drafted possible new legal instrument regulating the protection of persons during the use of coercive measures in psychiatry. This is a text which the Council of Europe’s Committee on Bioethics has drafted in extension of the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. The convention’s article 7, which is the main relevant text in question as well as its reference text, the European Convention on Human Rights article 5 (1)(e), contain viewpoints based on outdated discriminatory policies from the first part of the 1900s.
Prevention versus ban
The drafted possible new legal instrument has been severely criticized as despite its stated seemingly important intend of protecting victims of coercive brutalities in psychiatry potentially amounting to torture it in effect perpetuate a Eugenics ghost in Europe. The viewpoint of regulating and preventing as much as possible such harmful practices is in stark opposition to the requirements of modern human rights, that simply ban them.
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers following the receipt of the Assembly Recommendation communicated it to its Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO), for information and possible comments by 17 June 2022. It is noted that this is the very committee, though with a new name, that had drafted the controversial possible new legal instrument regulating the protection of persons during the use of coercive measures in psychiatry.
The Committee of Ministers also sent the Recommendation to the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF) and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) for comments. The CPT had earlier expressed a support of the need to protect persons subjected to coercive measures in psychiatry, as clearly these measures may be degrading and inhumane. It is noted that the CPT, like other bodies within the Council of Europe has been bound by its own conventions including the outdated text of the European Convention on Human Rights article 5.
The Committee of Ministers based on the possible comments from the three committees will then prepare its stand and a reply “at an early date”. It is to be seen if the Committee of Ministers will go beyond the outdated texts of their own conventions to actually implement modern human rights in all of Europe. Only the Committee of Ministers has the full authority to set the direction for the Council of Europe.
Resolution
The Committee of Ministers in addition to reviewing the Assembly’s Recommendation also took note of the Assembly’s Resolution, that address Council of Europe member States.
The Assembly is recommending the European states – in line with their obligations under international law, and inspired by the work of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – to implement human-rights compliant strategies for deinstitutionalisation. The resolution also calls on national parliaments to take the necessary steps to progressively repeal legislation authorising institutionalisation of persons with disabilities, as well as mental health legislation allowing for treatment without consent and detention based on impairment, with a view to ending coercion in mental health.
UNODC and Southern Africa regional partners join forces to address terrorism and violent extremism
Lilongwe (Malawi), 25 May 2022 – Over the last several years, the threat of terrorism has been looming ever larger over Southern Africa. Terrorist groups, once local dangers, have become increasingly global and less centralized, using social media, foreign fighters, and illicit trafficking to support and carry out their acts of terror.
Terrorist groups, including the ISIS-aligned Islamic State in the Central African Province (ISCAP), have established themselves firmly in the region. Indeed, ISCAP membership has soared to 2,000 local recruits and fighters from Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Due to the new nature of the threat, states in the region have yet to develop comprehensive counter-terrorism legislation and policies. Nor are the knowledge and skills to effectively prevent and detect terrorist activity – and to bring terrorists to justice – widespread. Member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a Regional Economic Community focused on peace and security, are therefore growing increasingly concerned that terrorist groups active in other regions of Africa will exploit these and other vulnerabilities, such as the marginalisation of minority groups, weaknesses in governance, and security and intelligence structures.
As part of the efforts to combat terrorism in Southern Africa, in April UNODC partnered with SADC, its new regional counter-terrorism centre, and the African Union’s African Centre for the Study and Research of Terrorism (AU/ACSRT) to launch a second phase of assistance for the region, supported by the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF).
This new joint initiative builds on an earlier phase of assistance, also funded by China through the UNPDF. Under that project, UNODC and its regional partners provided critical counter-terrorism policy and legislative advice, as well as specialized training and equipment for counter-terrorism and criminal justice officials from the SADC countries most affected by terrorism. This second phase will build on and expand those efforts, sharing international good practices and standards and promoting South-South cooperation with other countries in Africa and elsewhere who have long faced similar terrorism threats.
The regional workshop, held from 26 to 29 April and hosted by the Government of Malawi, brought together 14 countries from across Southern Africa. The event provided an important opportunity to examine emerging national and regional threats and challenges, to take stock of the efforts already underway, share experiences, and identify areas for joint action and cooperation to further prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism in the region. The Minister of Homeland Security of Malawi, H.E. Jean Sendeza, opened the workshop, highlighting that “Southern African countries are increasingly facing a growing threat of terrorism through recruitment and terrorism financing, including through linkages with illicit trafficking of goods and other criminal activity in the region.”
Participants identified priority areas for capacity building assistance to SADC Member States and learned best practices in global efforts to address terrorism, bring terrorists to justice, and prevent violent extremism.
As noted by Colonel Christian Emmanuel Pouyi of the AU/ACSRT, “the result of continued consultations and cooperation among the partners indicates yet again the common determination to work tirelessly towards the elimination of the threat of terrorism and violent extremism.”
When closing the workshop, the SADC Regional Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, Mr. Mumbi Mulenga, highlighted the importance of partnerships and cooperation to fight terrorism and violent extremism in SADC member states.
Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc, the 17-year-old racing drivers were invited to speak at AfroCannes to promote diversityand inclusion in motorsport.
TALLINN, ESTONIA, May 25, 2022. It is a subject close to the twins’ heart since they were the target of sexist and insulting remarks by a competitor at the 2021 Dakar Rally. Ever since, they have been working to raise awareness for equality and respect in motorsport and beyond.
Aliyyah and Yasmeen come from a mixed cultural background. Their mother is from the Seychelles and Sudan, their father from the Czech Republique and Vanuatu. They were born in Dubai and have travelled the world from a very young age. They therefore gladly accepted to speak at the conference in Cannes organized by Yanibes, a boutique PR, communication and business consultancy agency, on the occasion of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. AfroCannes was organized to connect films, countries and people from Africa and elsewhere and to promote diversity and inclusion in films and other areas like motorsport.
Aliyyah Koloc spoke about her experience at the conference: “It was a great event with a lot of really nice people! We spoke about diversity in our sport and beyond. With our Equality & Diversity Program we are trying to inspire the young generation to follow their dreams in motorsport and elsewhere.” Aliyyah, who has been diagnosed with Asperger added: “I rarely speak in public about non-motorsport related subjects but it is very important to spread awareness and act on it, so those less fortunate than us can have the same opportunities.”
Her sister Yasmeen Koloc explained: “The event was truly great and a wonderful experience. I got to meet and talk to some very inspiring people. I strongly believe that everybody can make a difference, and with Aliyyah and myself coming from a mixed background, we are hopefully able to pass on our experience, though we are still quite young, to help others to fight for what they want to achieve in life.”
Since the incident at the Dakar Rally, Aliyyah and Yasmeen have been wearing caps with the words #equality, #respect #diversity at all the race meetings they participate in. But they wanted to do more. So together with their team, Buggyra ZM Racing and MFT, a motorsport start-up focused on enhancing diversity in the motorsports industry, they have launched the Equality & Diversity Program last month, a campaign to raise awareness about equality, respect, and diversity in motorsports and to help young racers from unusual backgrounds to become successful in motorsports through the Buggyra ZM Academy Program.
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As an example of how Orthodox anthropology differs from that of Western denominations, the different attitudes towards the native language in different denominations can serve us. Linguistic equality has been established in the Roman Catholic world, by virtue of which language has found itself outside the action of the Church. Such an attitude towards language, turning it into a mere natural phenomenon where there is no place for the sanctuary, separates the Church from the basic force with which the development of the human spirit is connected.
We find something else in Protestantism, where the native language is given full space, where there is no restriction to perform services in their own language, but, according to the general view of Protestantism, language is recognized simply as a “natural” phenomenon, in the absence of any to be an idea for the sanctification of language.
For us, the Orthodox, there is a belief that with the consecration of the language in the Church there is a deep penetration into the soul of the church. The fact that in our country the church services are conducted in the native language most closely connects the sphere of the religious with that of the national.
Here we have only one example of how different the relations between the Church and the natural forces of the soul are in the different denominations; the main theme is the question of how the holy fathers understood human nature. The dogma of the Council of Chalcedon should be considered as the basis for the construction of Orthodox anthropology. According to the teaching of this council, there are two natures in the Lord Jesus Christ – in the unity of His person – there are two natures (divine and human). The important thing in this teaching from the point of view of building anthropology is that here the difference between the nature of man and the person in him is given, because in the Lord the same person has both natures. And since, according to the teachings of the Council of Chalcedon, the Lord Jesus Christ was the true God and the true Man, we can say that the mystery of man is revealed only in Christ.
This means that the construction of anthropology must be based on this fundamental distinction between nature and personality, which is the basis of the dogma of Chalcedon, but, in addition, in the Church we have many other data for the construction of Orthodox anthropology, the most important of which is probably what we Orthodox feel when we celebrate Easter. In the Easter services we experience joy for man more than ever; Easter experiences give us faith in man. And this is a real revelation for man that captivates us. And it is important that this gives us not just joy for man, but faith in man, faith in this divine image, which is locked in man and which can not be undone under any circumstances.
It is safe to say that perhaps the most important feature of our anthropology is faith in man. No sins can remove this image from man, destroy our brother in it.
The doctrine of God’s image in man, the action of this image in him, is the basis of our anthropology – the main thing in man is related to those radiations of God’s light, which create the possibility of spiritual life in him, thanks to which in man goes inner life.
The “inner” man of whom St. Apostle speaks. Peter, [1] is the source of his maturation. It is this core in him from which God’s light pours out. Therefore, the teaching of Protestants that the image of God in man seems to have been erased, disappeared, is unacceptable to us. The Roman Catholic doctrine of the image of God in man is closer to us, but it also does not coincide with ours. The difference between us and the Roman Catholics is that in them the image of God is perceived as an “imperfect” principle in man. This is especially evident in the doctrine of “original righteousness” (justitia originalis) of the first people in paradise before the fall.
Roman Catholic theology teaches that the image of God was insufficient for man to develop normally, that “additional grace” – gratia superaddita – was also needed.
Without going into the critique of this doctrine, we must point out that we, the Orthodox, look at the primordial state of man in paradise differently and think differently about the salvation of man – as the restoration of the first created man. Recognizing the full power of the image of God in man, we recognize that there is a conduit of God’s light in us – that from this light of God, which shines in us through the image of God, nourishes the whole inner life of man.
However, it is also understandable that the image of God – as a conductor of God’s light in the human soul – also opens the possibility of bringing the soul closer to God, the possibility of spiritual enlightenment and the immediate perception of the higher world.
Hence the Orthodox doctrine of the relationship between the inner life in man and the ascetic life in him. The whole meaning of the Orthodox understanding of asceticism lies in the fact that oppresses everything that removes spiritual enlightenment to dominate the sensual material in the soul. Here is the meaning of what Rev. Seraphim said, that the task of our life is to acquire the Holy Spirit. [2] The action of the Holy Spirit takes place in the human soul precisely through the image of God. On the other hand, the teaching of the Holy Fathers about deification – as an ideal – is that God’s image should not be obscured by the “lower” movements of the soul, but God’s image and spiritual insights should lead man upwards. This is the significance of Jesus’ prayer for man’s spiritual maturity. But what is this evil in man? First of all, here we cannot agree with the Roman Catholic doctrine that the “animal country” (“animalische Seite”), by limiting man’s spiritual powers, is the source of sin and the conduit of evil. Neither the body (which St. Paul told us was the temple of the Holy Spirit) nor sex are the source of sin.
By its nature, evil is spiritual. One can even talk (although it is difficult to accept immediately) about the possibility of the existence of “dark” spirituality – because evil spirits are still spirits. The spiritual nature of evil means that in man, in addition to the image of God, there is a second center: original sin.
It is now possible to understand why in man original sin is connected with his nature and not with his personality. In his person man is free, but he is narrow in nature – he bears original sin and the whole process of spiritual development is that the dark that is in man – as a sin – to be rejected by him. [4 ] To fully understand this, we need to make one more clarification – that by their nature, in their entirety, people form a kind of unity, ie that we must speak of the unity of humanity (in Adam, “all sinned”). said St. Paul [5]). This is the doctrine of the catholicity of humanity, of the catholic nature of man. What the Savior has healed with His redemptive deed is human nature, but each person must learn for himself the saving power of Christ’s deed.
This is the conclusion of every person’s work – to connect his person with the person of Christ. Which does not remove our mutual love, but each person must personally (especially in his repentance and in his conversion to God) assimilate – through the Church – what God has given us.
Thus, in the distinction between nature and personality, established at the Council of Chalcedon, the key to understanding the mystery of man is given. The fact that we find salvation only in the Church may seem like a paradox. However, the person finds himself only in the Church and only in him can he assimilate what the Lord has given to our nature through the redemptive feat. That is why we can develop human nature – in the sense of its depth – only in the Church. Without it, human nature cannot be freed from the fall. That is why we distinguish the church mind from the individual one, because the individual mind can make a mistake and only in the gracious help of the Church does it receive the necessary strength for itself. This doctrine of ecclesiastical reason underlies the whole doctrine of Orthodoxy (its epistemology). Hence the doctrine of the councils, which are the source of Truth through the action of the Holy Spirit. Without the action of the Holy Spirit, councils, even if they are canonically perfect, are not the source of Truth. However, what has been said about reason also applies to freedom – as a function of the Church. Freedom is given to the Church, not to the individual – in the true sense of the word, we are free only in the Church. And this sheds light on our understanding of freedom as a gift of the Church, on the fact that we can exercise freedom only in the Church, and outside of it we cannot fully master the gift of freedom. The same principle applies to conscience. The individual’s conscience can be constantly in error. (This is well expressed in one of the secret prayers during the Liturgy, where the priest prays to the Lord to deliver him from a “sly conscience.” [6]) This means that the individual conscience is not always a conduit of righteousness, but its power is carried out only in the conscience of the Church.
In the Orthodox understanding, man is revealed only in the Church. This connection of man with the Church is the most essential in our understanding of man, and perhaps it is now becoming clearer why man’s nature is so vividly revealed in the Paschal experiences. In the Paschal experiences, the individual forgets about himself – there we belong more to the Church than to ourselves. Of course, there is a lot in the individual’s attitude toward the Church that is mysterious, and that is something that must not be forgotten. For example, mere outward intimacy with the Church does not yet mean our “churching.” The opposite is also possible: a person who is externally weakly connected with the Church is internally more connected with it than those who are externally closer to the Church. The Church itself is a God-man organism, there is a human side in it, there is also a divine side, which, without merging, remain inseparable. By living in the Church, man is enriched by its powers, by the Holy Sacraments and by all that the Church has as the Body of Christ.
This is precisely the rupture of the inner heart of man – according to the words of St. Apostle Paul.
[1] See: 1 Pet. 3: 4.
[2] The author refers to the following famous words of Rev. Seraphim of Sarov: “The purpose of our life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. The main means of acquiring the Holy Spirit is prayer.
[3] See: 1 Cor. 6:19.
[4] On the great subject and debate on the understanding of the sin of the ancestors in Orthodox theology, see the famous work of Prot. John Sava Romanidis.
[5] See: Rome. 5:12.
[6] From the third secret prayer of the priest from the sequence of the Liturgy of the Faithful.
Source: Zenkovsky, V. “Fundamentals of Orthodox Anthropology” – In: Vestnykh RSHD, 4, 1949, pp. 11-16; by recording a lecture by Prof. Prot. Vasily Zenkovsky.
