Vatican And Kremlin - An Exercise In Statecraft

Among the many sensational surprises which President Gorbachev has on the international scene was his December 1989 visit to the Vatican.

Nothing had seemed less likely, for as head of the Russian State Gorbachev represented an atheistic regime. Since the start 6f the Russian Bolshevik revolution, Roman Catholics had suffered oppression. By the end of Khrushchev's era some fifty thousand Catholic clergy are estimated to have been marred for their faith. Under Stalin the Catholic Church was suppressed in the Ukraine, some four thousand of its church buildings being handed over to the Eastern Orthodox Church.

What then motivated Gorbachev to make pilgrimage to Rome? Apparently not from any personal religious inclination. His aims were essentially political and temporal. By making this gesture of reconciliation he hoped to secure the support of millions of Russians for his policy of perestroika. He also needs support from the West, and rapport with the Papacy would improve his nation's image in the eyes of many.

From the Vatican's viewpoint, Pope John Paul II has keen ecumenical ambitions for union of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox communions. He likes to describe them as "two lungs of a single body". Considerable progress has been made towards agreeing the theological and ecclesiastical foundations for such a union. If the Russian government's antipathy to the Roman Catholic Church could be overcome, one obstacle to the union would be removed.

Gorbachev had already brought about significant change towards religious liberalization in the USSR. For the first time since 1918 the Orthodox Eucharist has been celebrated in the Assumption Cathedral inside the Kremlin. Three thousand new churches have been opened within the past year. Nevertheless a statute instituted by Stalin in 1929, subjecting all churches to Communist control, and forbidding parish education, has not been repealed. Nor can it be guaranteed that the greater religious freedom declared in speeches by such leaders as President Gorbachev will necessarily be granted by local bureaucrats. Provided the religious leaders remain compliant, greater freedoms will be

widely tolerated, but the machinery remains in reserve to ensure control if needs be.

Gorbachev's visit to Pope John Paul H can therefore be clearly seen as an exercise in statecraft: It was expedient to achieve some degree of political rapport, even though the chasm between the Kremlin regime's atheism and the Vatican's religious profession remained unchanged.

The ecumenical process is being steadily pursued by the Vatican, not only towards the Eastern Orthodox Church, but towards many other groups in Christendom and also towards those of other faiths. The union of all major religions in one world organization remains the ultimate objective. Many students of prophecy believe that this organization is depicted in Revelation 17 as "the great harlot that sitteth on many waters; with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication". The "many waters" are thought to represent those peoples of the world under the influence of the harlot; the "fornication" is understood to be spiritual unfaithfulness to divine principles, such as involvement in political power and church advancement on the basis of worldly principles (cf. John 17:14-16; 1 Cor.:6-8; James 4:4). The great

harlot was riding on "a scarlet coloured beast, having seven heads and ten horns", thought to represent the political power of Antichrist at the time of the end. If this view of Revelation 17 is correct it would suggest that the world-wide religious organization of that day will be closely integrated with the dominant secular power. Yet there will be no common basis of principle. Expediency in statecraft will bring about cooperation for a time. Then "the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot ... and shall burn her utterly with fire". Indicating that the vast religious organization will finally be destroyed by the Beast and his associates.

As the great ecumenical movements of our time seek to make progress in alliance with secular political power, the Holy Spirit teaches us through the Word to keep clear of such involvements. In principle the clarion call of Revelation 18:4 is already relevant: "Come forth, My people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins". Going forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach (Heb. 13:13), we are called to associate together for spiritual service on the basis of God's word (1 Cor. 1:1-2,9).

unknown | Jun 1990
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