Towards a Eurasian Union – and the Salvation of Greece.
Unlike the European Union, founded by the anti-democratic financial, business and political elite of Neo-Carolingian Western Europe, Greece has ancient democratic traditions. As the seat of democracy, it seems only right that Greece should hold a referendum on whether it wishes to become an economic colony of Germany or not. (And let us be frank, it is about Germany and its Euromark,- France counts for little in this, but is mentioned only because Germany is keen not to upset Gallic vanity).
The robber-barons of modern times, the paymasters of Europe, the bankers, have, through their politician squires, provoked popular discontent not only among the crowds in Athens, but also London, Madrid, Rome and Cannes. Three generations ago Greece was invaded by Italy. Italy was humiliated and a furious Germany had to take over the occupation of Greece. Today the first ‘victim’ of Greek democracy is Italy and Germany is again furious.
Since the fall of Imperial Constantinople in 1453, made inevitable by the sack of the City by Western ‘crusaders’ in 1204, Greece, a series of provinces of the old Roman Orthodox Empire, has drifted between Venetian merchants, Ottoman tyrants, German princelings, British freemasons and CIA military puppets. Some say that thirty years ago Greece had to enter into the economic slavery of the EU because it had no alternative. Now at last, an alternative is perhaps being formed.
In early October, an article by Prime Minister Putin stated that ‘the construction of a Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and a Common Economic Area provides the basis for the formation of a future Eurasian Economic Union’. At the same time, he proposed the gradual expansion of the membership of the Customs Union and the Economic Area by admitting Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Prime Minister Putin expressed confidence, saying, ‘The integration of our natural resources, capital and great human potential would allow a Eurasian Union to be competitive in the industrial and technological race, in the competition for investors, in the creation of new jobs and in building advanced production facilities, on a par with other key players and regional structures such as the EU, USA, China and APEC, in order to ensure the sustainability of global development’.
On 2 November 2011 Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin the head of the Department for Church and Society of the Russian Orthodox Church, speaking on the Orthodox TV channel ‘Union’ on the ‘Commentary on the Week’ programme, applauded this initiative of Prime Minister Putin to create a Eurasian Union. He said: ‘I hope that this Union will go down in history as one of the most powerful international organisations, which will positively influence everything that happens in the world, especially on the events in the environment created by its people’.
In his view, such a Union must ‘synthesise matters from the point of view of our own political culture; it must not blindly take ideas from this or that source, especially Western ones. It should base its affairs on our ancient political traditions, our principles of relationships between the governors and the governed, our models of popular participation, including all the different classes, in adopting legislation and the form of State authority’. In addition, in his opinion, a Eurasian Union should play an ‘active role in determining the fate of the world and some of its regions, whether it be in the Balkans, the Middle East, Latin America and so on’.
Fr Vsevolod thinks that today no nation can survive in isolation, without adequate influence on global processes, hence, for the sake of their futures ‘we will see the establishment of supranational institutions in Africa, the Islamic world and North and South America. We need to unite together to be stronger, to use the great potential that our ancestors gave us, in order to work together to defend their values, including the values of Orthodox civilisation, and most of the peoples who live in the so-called ‘former Soviet Union’ are Orthodox peoples’. Moreover, he continued, amongst the Islamic nations who live in certain parts of the former Soviet space, namely, the Caucasus and Central Asia, there are large numbers of Orthodox Christians.
Fr Vsevolod said he hoped that within the framework of the Eurasian Union mutual support ‘will exist not only formally, but in reality as well. There are situations where support is needed, because when one or another people face economic difficulties, there is a risk of external pressure or internal strife, provoked and fanned by outside forces… He stated that Russia and the other countries that are part of this new common economic space could offer international organisations their views on overcoming the economic crisis, sweeping away injustice, righting the imbalance between rich and poor, and other global social problems, including the difference between the ‘developed’ and the ‘underdeveloped’ countries.
In our article of May 1990 ‘Orthodoxy and the post-1989 World’ in ‘Orthodox Christianity and the English Tradition’, we wrote precisely of this:
‘…There is also, however, a potential third bloc, a bloc which does not exist as yet, because it is still in a state of Apostasy. If it repents, it will be born. This bloc would consist of one sixth of the Earth's surface - all the Orthodox parts of the old Russian Empire. It would include the Russian Republic, the Orthodox Ukraine and Belorussia, much of Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldavia, perhaps non-Orthodox Armenia. Other Orthodox nations could join it - Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro. This third bloc would be no other than an Orthodox Commonwealth of Sovereign States, a renewed Byzantine Empire. To it would be attached all Orthodox living all over the world, in parts of the other two blocs.
The first aim of such a bloc would be its own spiritual regeneration, which would lead to a more general rebirth in all domains. Thus the Greek-speaking Churches, especially, would be freed from petty nationalism through this restored Byzantine Empire. They would also be freed from the undermining influences of obscure forces to which their present episcopates have so much succumbed since the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917. As for the Slav and Romanian Churches, they too could be freed from State-appointed episcopates. Orthodox minorities could be protected in countries like the Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Croatia and wherever they come under persecution. Such a Commonwealth of Faith could aid Orthodox missions all over the in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas. The results of the existence of such a Commonwealth would be far-reaching indeed.
Its existence and strength would restrain the world from its headlong rush into catastrophe. It could lead to the regeneration of the spiritually and morally decaying Western world. This Commonwealth could the breadbasket of the Third World. Its huge natural resources could starvation and let it know of Orthodoxy which so far has been little preached in areas which have undergone only forced conversion deformations of Christianity.
Of course, many will object that this is only a dream. And, humanly speaking, this objection is correct. Humanly speaking, Russia and formerly Orthodox countries face either civil war or else the soulless vulgarity of the West, with its hard rock and Coca-Cola. But restoration of an Orthodox Commonwealth of kingdoms is possible if, collectively, we refuse to exclude the divine, if we agree to co-operate God. How is this possible?
Firstly, all Orthodox Christians everywhere must repent. It is useless to blame others for our own sinful choices. Orthodox must cleanse their souls from all manner of sin. This means the acceptance and active veneration of the saints, especially the New Martyrs and Confessors of all the Orthodox lands. Orthodox episcopates must be renewed; at present most of them are discredited through their unheard of erastianism, their subservience to the enemies of the Church, with disastrous results. Only free Orthodox episcopates, genuine monastic bishops, can serve the Church.
The hopes that we have expressed here are not new. The great Russian theologian and pastor, Church Father of the twentieth century. Metropolitan Antony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev expressed them before the Russian Revolution. His hopes then were dashed by internal treachery, by the apostasy of Orthodox, by those who mocked the sombre prophecies of St. John of Kronstadt who, like St. John the Baptist of old, called to repentance. If this time we ignore calls to repentance, then our future will be apocalyptic’.
