At
a recent gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia, some of Richard Spencer’s
white nationalist supporters were chanting ‘Russia is our friend’:
This
is a curious thing for them to say because Russia does not subscribe to white
nationalist ideology. Her identity is
based not so much on race as by faithfulness to the Orthodox Church and to the
Russian land.
There
are several different races living in the vast Russian territory: Slavs, Mongols, Turks, Eskimos, etc.
And
yet the common Orthodox faith the Russians share allows them to live together
without the acrimony found in the States today.
The
difference in the Orthodox Russian view of race and that of the white
nationalists may be seen historically in the life of St Stephen of Perm
(+1396), who enlightened the heathen Komi tribe (rather than advocating for
their removal in favor of ‘white’ Slavic people):
In
the life of St Peter (+1290), a prince of the Mongols (Asiatic ‘yellow’ people who
were oppressing the Russians during his days), who nevertheless is venerated as
a great benefactor of the Church in Russia:
And
in Russia’s relations with ‘black’ Ethiopia:
Between 1880 and 1910
the Western European Empires completed their bloody invasion and occupation of
Africa in a mad and immoral scramble for power, territory, resources and
prestige. Only two African countries remained relatively free of this
imperialism. One was Liberia – ‘the Free Country’ – effectively a US-founded
dumping ground for unwanted ex-slaves, the other was Ethiopia, for which Italy
and Great Britain vied in their envy.
The latter was unique
– the only Black African country with an ancient Christian tradition, close in
many ways to the Church. As such, it was therefore the only African country
which attracted the interest of the leader of the Orthodox world, the Russian
Empire. It understood that if Africa were to be converted to the authentic
Christ, it would be through an Orthodoxy with practices similar to those of the
Ethiopian Miaphysite (more exact than Monophysite) Church.
Russians had first
had contact with Ethiopians in Jerusalem, certainly at latest in the 15th
century. This distant interest remained constant until 1718 when Peter I tried
to establish direct contact with Ethiopia. Meanwhile, at this time a
part-Ethiopian courtier appeared in Russia – the ancestor of the greatest
Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
However, in 1874 and
1876 Emperor Yohannes IV called on Russia to help it against an Egyptian
invasion and asked to enter into communion with the Church. His letters went
unanswered until 1887 when they were at least acknowledged. Clearly, until
then, the Russian Emperor had no intention of getting involved in Africa.
Unlike the Emperor, the Church had other, spiritual, interests. Already in 1867
the messianic Russian missionary in the Middle East, Fr Porphyry (Uspensky),
had called for the Ethiopian Church to unite with the Orthodox Church. His
report was approved by the Holy Synod.
From this period on,
sympathy for the Ethiopians increased in Church circles in Russia. Devoid of
any type of anti-black racism, unlike Western Europeans, and devoid also of any
sense of colonialism, to which Russia was vehemently opposed, Russians felt
that Ethiopians were ‘Black Orthodox’. They had been isolated from the
mainstream of the Church and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, thus keeping
certain Judaising customs, but otherwise they were relatively closer to
Orthodoxy.
Notably in 1888 the
distinguished Russian Professor Bolotov (1854-1900) made a serious study of the
whole question. He noted that Ethiopians had already clearly rejected the
aggressive, colonising and militaristic missions of the Roman Catholics and
Protestants, but if Orthodox missionary work were to be successful, it would
take patience and understanding, i.e. love. The greatest problems, in his view,
were Ethiopian nationalism and politics, with their desire to obtain military
technology to fight off Western imperialism. Above all, there was the fact
that, officially anyway, apart from its Jewish characteristics, the Ethiopian
Church did not recognise the true humanity of Christ.
It was between 1889
and 1898 that Russia began to take a special interest in Ethiopia. Then the
Metropolitan of Kiev sent a delegation to Emperor Menelik. It was headed by a
Guards Officer, Lt Vasily Mashkov. The mission had a spiritual meaning and,
arriving in October 1889, Lt Mashkov spent most of his time with Ethiopian
clergy. In January 1890 Russia was swept by a wave of indignation against Italy
which was trying to colonise Sovereign Ethiopia. Such were the cultural and
spiritual ties then that it was felt that Russia should send an advisory
mission. Mashkov returned in February 1891 only to set out on another mission,
with a grant from the Russian Geographical Society and was accompanied by two
monks and an interpreter. This mission was to last for one year. This was
followed in January 1895 by another mission under a Captain Eliseiev.
These missions were
all successful and the latter mission was followed by a visit of an Ethiopian
mission to Russia. This consisted of the Ethiopian Bishop of Harrar and a group
of nobles. The Ethiopians were impressed by the warmth and sincere esteem of
the Russian welcome and their lack of colour prejudice. On 4 July the embassy
was received by Tsar Nicholas II, who was awarded the Order of Solomon by the
Ethiopians and given rich presents. Russia wished to see the ancient Christian
kingdom unmolested by colonialism, for Russian anti-colonialism was absolute,
as was later seen in the universal and popular Russian defence of the Boer
cause and the Russian volunteers who fought on the Boer side.
After this, Russian
expeditions and medical missions arrived in Ethiopia, preserving tens of
thousands of lives, right up until 1906. The first diplomatic mission opened in
October 1897. Its head, was told to promote economic and political relations
and to bring about co-operation between the two Churches. It had some thirty
members. Unfortunately, however, these Russian efforts in Ethiopia came too
early. Ethiopia was locked in its own ancient mindset and Russia was to be
distracted from missions in Ethiopia, as also from its missions in Tibet and
Siam (Thailand), by the Western-backed Japanese aggression in 1904 and, in
1914, by direct Western European aggression. It remains to be seen whether the
40 million and more Ethiopian Christians of today will ever be brought back to
Orthodoxy.
Source: Fr Andrew Phillips, http://www.events.orthodoxengland.org.uk/ethiopia-and-russia/,
opened 1 Nov. 2017
Furthermore,
the Russian Archimandrite Naum of blessed memory (+2017), who may well be
canonized because of his holy life and the miracles he worked during his
lifetime (http://orthochristian.com/107286.html),
said this about Africa and Europe:
It seems the end is already near. Many
miracles are occurring now in Africa. Many are receiving Baptism. They are
leaving Islam and confessing Christ and the Mother of God. There is a
well-known case where a man killed his Christian wife and young daughters,
buried them, and one of the daughters appeared to him and said, “Mama breastfed
us, the Lord resurrected us all.”
In their time, the Jews—the sons of the
Kingdom—erupted. The pagans, descendants of Japheth, the European peoples, who
are now deviating more and more towards ungodliness, were called. And now, just
as the Jews once did, the European peoples are erupting in unbelief, but the
descendants of Ham—mainly living in Africa—are coming to know and confess
Christ.
Source: http://orthochristian.com/107195.html,
opened 2 Nov. 2017
It
is good to love one’s kin group and to seek the integrity and well-being of
others along with it, especially in light of the goal of the social engineering
Elite to dissolve them all into one indistinct mass. God has brought each ethnic group into being,
and each plays accordingly a vital role in the Church and in human
history. But to uplift one’s race above
all others and to mock and belittle those others is not from God but from the
devil, the father of pride and strife.
***
But
the white nationalists are not alone in misunderstanding Russia. Southern historians of the ‘Civil’ War tend
to characterize Russia as a country unfriendly toward the South.
That
may have been true at the time, but two things need to be kept in mind.
First,
one of Russia’s main geopolitical rivals during the War was Great Britain, and
anything that would strengthen the British Empire (such as a weakened [u]nited
States, and an alliance with a wealthy, independent South) had to be opposed,
even though the South and Russia were natural allies (since both were countries
supportive of tradition and against the various revolutionary upheavals
sweeping the globe).
Second,
the world political situation has changed dramatically since the 1860s. Russia’s struggle is no longer with an expansionist,
militaristic British or French Empire, but with an expansionist, militaristic American
Empire. Southern secession, piece-meal
or all at once, would greatly weaken the reach of that latter Empire, so it is
reasonable to assume that Russia would now welcome such a move and give at
least moral support to any Southern State that decided to peacefully leave the
Union.
Russia
could be a great ally for the South, but for that alliance to take shape,
certain ways of thinking in Dixie will have to be overcome.
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
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