Former Soviet Leader Admits He is a Christian
The London Telegraph ^ | March 19, 2008 | Malcolm Moore
Posted on 03/19/2008 1:46:50 PM PDT by rrstar96
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Communist leader of the Soviet Union, has
acknowledged his Christian faith for the first time, paying a surprise
visit to pray at the tomb of St Francis of Assisi.
Accompanied by his daughter Irina, Mr Gorbachev spent half an hour on
his knees in silent prayer at the tomb.
His arrival in Assisi was described as "spiritual perestroika" by La
Stampa, the Italian newspaper.
"St Francis is, for me, the alter Christus, the other Christ," said Mr
Gorbachev. "His story fascinates me and has played a fundamental role
in my life," he added.
Mr Gorbachev's surprise visit confirmed decades of rumours that,
although he was forced to publicly pronounce himself an atheist, he
was in fact a Christian, and casts a meeting with Pope John Paul II in
1989 in a new light.
Mr Gorbachev, 77, was baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church and
his parents were Christians.
In addition, the parents of his wife Raisa were deeply religious and
were killed during the Second World War for having religious icons in
their home.
Ronald Reagan, the former United States president, allegedly told his
close aides on a number of occasions that he felt his opponent during
the Cold War was a "closet believer".
Mr Reagan held deep religious convictions himself. However, until now
Mr Gorbachev has allowed himself to express only pantheistic views,
saying in one interview "nature is my god".
After his prayers, Mr Gorbachev toured the Basilica of St Francis and
asked in particular to be shown an icon of St Francis portraying his
"dream at Spoleto".
St Francis, who lived in the 12th century, was a troubadour and a poet
before the spiritual vision caused him to return to Assisi and
contemplate a religious life.
Even in his early days, St Francis helped the poor, once giving all of
his money to a beggar. As well as spending time in the wilderness, he
also nursed lepers and eventually became a priest.
"It was through St Francis that I arrived at the Church, so it was
important that I came to visit his tomb," said Mr Gorbachev.
"I feel very emotional to be here at such an important place not only
for the Catholic faith, but for all humanity."
He also asked the monks for theological books to help him understand
St Francis's life.
Father Miroslavo Anuskevic, who accompanied the former Soviet leader,
said: "He was not recognised by any of the worshippers in the church,
and silently meditated at the tomb for a while. He seemed a man deeply
inspired by charity, and told me that he was involved in a project to
help children with cancer.
"He talked a lot about Russia and said that even though the transition
to democracy had been very important for the world, it was very
painful for Russia. He said it was a country which has a great
history, and also a great spirituality."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOPICS: Catholic; Orthodox Christian
KEYWORDS: catholic; mikhailgorbachev; orthodox; russia
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a wonderful conversion story, being reported during Holy Week
no less.
We should all wish the former Communist leader a grace-filled
spiritual journey he appears to be taking in earnest.
Admitted? Very good! Now it is time for exorcism!
Regards,
http://andriusblo.blogspot.com
Wow, Earth shaking news!
Funny how there is always a Christian at the helm when the ship sinks.
As Gibbon would have it, the beginning of the end for Rome was when
Constantine ate too much pizza before going to bed and had a vision of
the Onward Christian Soldiers legion.
> http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1988353/posts
>
> Former Soviet Leader Admits He is a Christian
<nonsense snipped>
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made clear this past weekend that
he is an atheist after European news agencies last week claimed that he
had confirmed his Christian faith during a visit to the tomb of St
Francis of Assisi in Italy.
Gorbachev, the last communist leader of the Soviet Union, confronted
speculations that he had been a closeted Christian during an interview
with the Russian news agency Interfax.
"Over the last few days some media have been disseminating fantasies – I
can't use any other word – about my secret Catholicism, citing my visit
to the Sacro Convento friary, where the remains of St. Francis of Assisi
lie," Gorbachev said, according to an Interfax article posted Friday.
"To sum up and avoid any misunderstandings, let me say that I have been
and remain an atheist,” he stated.
Rumours had circulated for decades that Gorbachev was a Christian after
he moved to loosen restrictions on religious worship and expressed to a
party congress a year before the communist state dissolved that
“spiritual rebirth is as essential to society as oxygen”, according to
the Chicago Tribune.
As a result, media agencies had jumped to conclusions when Gorbachev
visited St Francis’ tomb last Wednesday and was seen kneeling for half
an hour in silence at the tomb.
But Gorbachev, who was baptised Russian Orthodox as a child, explained
that his visit to the tomb was as a tourist and not a pilgrim. He
acknowledged the important role religion plays in society and said he
looks forward to visiting Orthodox churches in Russia, Catholic and
Protestant churches in the United States and Europe, synagogues in
Israel and mosques in the Arab world, according to Interfax.
"But all these years, it has never occurred to anyone to list me among
followers of any faith on that basis," Gorbachev noted.
Back in Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church seemed unimpressed with
Gorbachev’s visit to St Francis’ tomb.
"In Italy, he spoke in emotional terms, rather than in terms of faith,"
a spokesman for the Russian Orthodox patriarch Alexei II told the
Russian media.
"He is still on his way to Christianity. If he arrives, we will welcome
him."
Christians make up only about 17 to 22 per cent of Russia’s population,
according to the CIA World Factbook.
===============================================
Source:
or
I have read plenty written by Gorbachev - I don't think this is true.
Mark.
Thank you for the information!
Mark.
robert bowman
> Funny how there is always a Christian at the helm when
> the ship sinks.
Christianity is a pacific faith. The Soviet Union fell
because Gorbachev was reluctant to murder people in
large numbers. Quite likely Christianity contributed to
the fall of the Soviet Union. If so, that is to
Christianity's considerable credit.
Similarly, Malta fell because the knights of Malta were
reluctant to fight their fellow Christians, or at least
that is the excuse they gave for cowardice and
treachery. The fall of Malta was a disaster, a disaster
to Christianity's considerable discredit. Sometimes you
should fight, and sometimes you should not, and
Christianity does not encourage one to discriminate.
--
----------------------
We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because
of the kind of animals that we are. True law derives from this
right, not from the arbitrary power of the omnipotent state.
http://www.jim.com/ James A. Donald
More Christian lies.
http://www.gorby.ru/en/rubrs.asp?art_id=25944&rubr_id=305&page=1
-Panama Floyd, Atlanta.
aa#2015, Member Knights of BAAWA!
"..the prayer cloth of one aeon is the doormat of the next."
-Mark Twain
Religious societies are *less* moral than secular ones:
http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html
Whatever passes for Christianity in the self-proclaimed Christian
leaders of the US and other western nations appears to have have little
effect on their pacifism. 'Gott mit Uns' has been a very popular
rallying cry.
Islam claims to be a religion of peace, and I see little evidence of
that either. Judaism, the antecedent of both faith, hardly seems to have
tempered the Likudniks.
I got a Computer-Space Monster g-God that makes all these arguements
pointless, laughable, and a waste of my "time". Fortunately I have all
eternity so I don't care.
Carry on silly billies.
Now, now, you people tell us commies are atheists...
Hey, cut the guy some slack,
Gorbie is Jewish AFIK.
A fake Jew pretending to be a Christian...
...it's been done before.
Try the Catholic church or the Rabinical Order of Israel
now they look confused.... wearing Sumerian witch-doctor attributes.:)
No no, they always assume atheists are communists :-)
You're joking, right?
While the majority of the Bolsheviks were Jewish, from Stalin on, the
USSR reverted to the time-honored Russian tradition of
institutionalized anti-Semitism. Unless an individual Jew was really
good at science, math, or chess, their career path was rather, shall
we say, limited, and "Head of State" was not a career option.
i wonder why he waited so long...
If Christians were aggressive in the way Muslims were aggressive,
there would be no buildings higher than one story in Islamic majority
lands.
Does anyone here know a word to describe what this guy is suffering from...?
He's been spewing this sort of junk for at least 5 years, to my certain
knowledge...
W.
>Former Soviet Leader Admits He is a Christian
So? Stalin studied for the priesthood.
Newsflash, moron. The USSR was officially atheist in its practices.
After 1928, it allowed churches to open as long as they didn't get too
noisy.
--
Douglas Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
Jason Gastrich is praying for me on 8 January 2011
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the
source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a
stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as
good as dead: his eyes are closed." - Albert Einstein
>On Fri, 16 May 2008 08:06:22 -0600, robert bowman <bow...@montana.com>
>wrote:
>> Whatever passes for Christianity in the self-proclaimed Christian
>> leaders of the US and other western nations appears to have have little
>> effect on their pacifism. 'Gott mit Uns' has been a very popular
>> rallying cry.
>
>If Christians were aggressive in the way Muslims were aggressive,
>there would be no buildings higher than one story in Islamic majority
>lands.
Or Christian either, for that matter.
--
What do you call a Republican with a conscience?
An ex-Republican.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=8827 (From Yang, AthD (h.c)
"Prosperity and peace are in the balance," -- Putsch, not admitting that he's against both
Putsch: leading America to asymetric warfare since 2001
Not dead, in jail, or a slave? Thank a liberal!
Pay your taxes so the rich don't have to.
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No, Stalin did not study for the priesthood.
Stalin went to a religious school - as did every other
member of the Georgian elite. If Stalin "studied for
the priesthood", so did everyone else in Georgia who was
born to rule, or whose parents aspired for him to join
those born to rule.
This "priesthood" myth is a commie rationalization to
purify the communist party past of its elitist past.
Stalin no more studied for the priesthood that Trotsky
was a peasant.
The son of a drunk, failed cobbler and a former serf was one of the
Georgian elite?
Anyway, you're refering to his primary education at the Gori Church
School. I'm refering to his time at the Seminary of Tiflis.
> If Stalin "studied for
>the priesthood", so did everyone else in Georgia who was
>born to rule, or whose parents aspired for him to join
>those born to rule.
Stalin was the son of a failure, a peasant, and from a broken home.
Hardly "destined to rule."
>This "priesthood" myth is a commie rationalization to
>purify the communist party past of its elitist past.
>Stalin no more studied for the priesthood that Trotsky
>was a peasant.
I've never seen anyone claim that Trotsky was a peasant.
--
Douglas Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
James A. Donald:
> > No, Stalin did not study for the priesthood.
> >
> > Stalin went to a religious school - as did every other
> > member of the Georgian elite.
Douglas Berry
> The son of a drunk, failed cobbler and a former serf was one of the
> Georgian elite?
His mother's lover was one of the elite. Stalin was sent to an elite
school either on a scholarship, in which case the elite was recruiting
those sufficiently talented regardless of birth, or by his mother's
lover, in which case he was in the elite by blood or adoption. There
is no record of any scholarship, but the official history says he got
a scholarship.
He certainly seems to have some sort of psychiatric disorder, with
paranoia being a prominent symptom. And he's been at it for as long as
Usenet has been archived.
--
Dan Clore
My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
http://tinyurl.com/2gcoqt
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
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News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"
I notice you snipped the part where I pointed out that after attending
school in his hoime town, Stalin enrolled in a seminary.
The seminary was not in the business of training priests, but of
training rulers.
> On Sat, 17 May 2008 16:07:37 GMT, Douglas Berry
> > I notice you snipped the part where I pointed out that after attending
> > school in his hoime town, Stalin enrolled in a seminary.
>
> The seminary was not in the business of training priests, but of
> training rulers.
the whole idea that stalin was secret christian
just shows the hypocrisy of alt-atheism
and desperate need to prove atheists are superior to everyone else
arf meow arf - everything thing i know i learned
from the collective unconscience of odd bodkins
sacramento - political pigsty of the western world
call me desdenova seven seven seven seven seven
Does that mean that all of COck-sucking sadistic
americunts are a church-going, god-fearing folks?
--
_____________________________________________________
I intend to last long enough to put out of business all COck-suckers
and other beneficiaries of the institutionalized slavery and genocide.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The army that will defeat terrorism doesn't wear uniforms, or drive
Humvees, or calls in air-strikes. It doesn't have a high command, or
high security, or a high budget. The army that can defeat terrorism
does battle quietly, clearing minefields and vaccinating children. It
undermines military dictatorships and military lobbyists. It subverts
sweatshops and special interests.Where people feel powerless, it
helps them organize for change, and where people are powerful, it
reminds them of their responsibility." ~~~~ Author Unknown ~~~~
___________________________________________________
--
Never said he was a secret Christian, just that before he discovered
radical politics he was in training to be a Russian Orthodox priest.
I'm don't claim to be superior to everyone. Better in some ways to the
mean, deficient in others. I'm just another guy.
It's the religious who make claims about being special.
What is going to happen on 9 January 2011?
Are you preparing yourself to a 911 sacrifice?
>On Sat, 17 May 2008 16:07:37 GMT, Douglas Berry
>> I notice you snipped the part where I pointed out that after attending
>> school in his hoime town, Stalin enrolled in a seminary.
>
>The seminary was not in the business of training priests, but of
>training rulers.
So you have a religious seminary that is secretly training people to
be tyrants in an athiest state.
I see. Do go on...
>On Sat, 17 May 2008 16:07:37 GMT, Douglas Berry
>> I notice you snipped the part where I pointed out that after attending
>> school in his hoime town, Stalin enrolled in a seminary.
>
>The seminary was not in the business of training priests, but of
>training rulers.
Horseshit. Citation, please.
> On Sat, 17 May 2008 14:26:10 -0700 mariposas rand mair fheal
> <mair_...@yahoo.com> carved the following into the hard stone of
> alt.atheism
> >In article <bfiu24t137sj96pmd...@4ax.com>,
> > James A. Donald <jam...@echeque.com> wrote:
> >
> >> On Sat, 17 May 2008 16:07:37 GMT, Douglas Berry
> >> > I notice you snipped the part where I pointed out that after attending
> >> > school in his hoime town, Stalin enrolled in a seminary.
> >>
> >> The seminary was not in the business of training priests, but of
> >> training rulers.
> >
> >the whole idea that stalin was secret christian
> >just shows the hypocrisy of alt-atheism
> >and desperate need to prove atheists are superior to everyone else
>
> Never said he was a secret Christian, just that before he discovered
> radical politics he was in training to be a Russian Orthodox priest.
>
> I'm don't claim to be superior to everyone. Better in some ways to the
> mean, deficient in others. I'm just another guy.
your argument is incredibly deficient in logic
The lover's name please.
>> Never said he was a secret Christian, just that before he discovered
>> radical politics he was in training to be a Russian Orthodox priest.
>>
>> I'm don't claim to be superior to everyone. Better in some ways to the
>> mean, deficient in others. I'm just another guy.
>
>your argument is incredibly deficient in logic
Y'know, when one makes a statement like that it is normal for there to
be a following section where the errors are detailed and the claims
supported with citations.
> On Sat, 17 May 2008 18:51:16 -0700 mariposas rand mair fheal
> <mair_...@yahoo.com> carved the following into the hard stone of
> alt.atheism
> >In article <6npu24h1lm26d98eb...@4ax.com>,
> > Douglas Berry <pengu...@mindOBVIOUSspring.com> wrote:
>
> >> Never said he was a secret Christian, just that before he discovered
> >> radical politics he was in training to be a Russian Orthodox priest.
> >>
> >> I'm don't claim to be superior to everyone. Better in some ways to the
> >> mean, deficient in others. I'm just another guy.
> >
> >your argument is incredibly deficient in logic
>
> Y'know, when one makes a statement like that it is normal for there to
> be a following section where the errors are detailed and the claims
> supported with citations.
we have already established youre an idiot
lets leave it at that
Nice claim. Gives you an excuse to not explain anything. Stalin began
to study for the priesthood, got involved in radical politics, was
kicked out of the seminary, and began his rise to power.
Do you always judge people according to their last name?
He may be a devoted atheist, if not believe in Jesus Christ
for what I know. He educated enough, to know about cults...
Golly. And I always thought Gorbachev was gay, as well as being one of
the more incompetent leaders the world as ever seen.
The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.
JohnN
That is true. He was simply fucking career man, wannabe boy. And when
he got up his ambition get to cul de sac. Then Perestroinka started.
He decided to live "as they lives".
Regards,
http://andriusblo.blogspot.com
Personally I do not give a damn what he was. I am just translating his last
name for you!
Why?
Does this tell us something about Christians-turned-atheists?
BM
> --
>
> Douglas Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
> Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
> Jason Gastrich is praying for me on 8 January 2011
>
> "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the
> source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a
> stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as
> good as dead: his eyes are closed." - Albert Einstein- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
>> Nice claim. Gives you an excuse to not explain anything. Stalin began
>> to study for the priesthood, got involved in radical politics, was
>> kicked out of the seminary, and began his rise to power.
>
>Does this tell us something about Christians-turned-atheists?
Nope. It tells us something about Joseph Stalin.
The two are not mutually exclusive. But yes, in this particular case
it is only one example so generalization isn't appropriate.
Blaming Christianity for Stalin because he attended a seminary, as
some imply, is rather ridiculous, however.
regards,
BM
You can add Kurt Vonnegut to the list of Christians who became
atheists. Slightly different career paths, wouldn't you agree?
>Blaming Christianity for Stalin because he attended a seminary, as
>some imply, is rather ridiculous, however.
I blame Stalin for Stalin. The man was a bloodthirsty megalomaniac.
Part of that was the environment he grew up in, part of it was the
fevor of the Revolution, part of it was raging paranoia.
-I'm (well, not really) surprised he's still here, me being not a
daily lurker in this NG anymore.
Looks like the fierce anti-leftist has now turned his face to gOD, but
what else did I expect?
Something similar to this, I'm afraid.
But he never refrains from being good for a joke. Go ahead!
möwhäk