Religious education and volunteering viewed as an important means of combating extremism

    

27 Sep 2018 Archbishop Theophylact of Pyatigorsk and Cherkessk took part in a working meeting of the Plenipotentiary representative of the President of Russia in skfo Alexander Matovnikov and the chief of GU Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia on skfo Sergey Bachurin with representatives of Orthodox and Muslim clergy of the region, the press service of the Pyatigorsk Diocese. Communication was also attended by the Archbishop of Makhachkala and Grozny Varlaam, the Muftis of the region.

According to Alexander Matovnikov, quoted by the website of the Embassy, one of the tasks of the working meeting to learn “to understand the motives of people who decide to join those who do not share the laws, traditional beliefs, joins the ranks of illegal armed formations”.

Welcoming the participants on behalf of the Orthodox believers Archbishop Theophylact of Pyatigorsk and Cherkessk thanked Sergey Bachurin for their active cooperation in prevention of various types of extremism. The fact that the meeting is staged by the Embassy and with the personal participation of Alexander Matovnikov the Lord has called an important sign, expressing interest in developing inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue. A high level of discussion, in the opinion of Archbishop Theophylact will attract all the forces of the state and society to the solution of arising problems.

Open dialogue raised a number of issues which give rise to xtremists ideas in society. And, first and foremost, the issue of quality and equitable teaching the basics of religious cultures for representatives of all traditional religions in all regions of the Federal district.

“In the soul of the child cannot be vacuum. Knowing the world, he speaks to parents and teachers. Adolescence – the formation of not only philosophy, but also a critical attitude to the world, thinking. As the ability to objectively correlate what is happening with accepted society norms and traditions. And in the process ORKSE, as part of the Federal state educational standard, is the key tool in the education of the younger generation. Therefore, it is important to provide parents a choice for a child of teaching of the native religious culture. Regardless of whether family is in the region of the religious majority or not,” said the Archbishop Theophylact.

The source of the problems neophytes the Archbishop also called obstacles in teaching children their own culture for members of traditional religions who are not the majority in the region. The place of teachers in the minds of youth in terms of such restrictions is anyone.

It is extremely important, according to the Archbishop, to preserve the secularism of the state and educational institutions to avoid rupture of a single cultural and educational space of the country.

An important tool of social cohesion regardless of religion, ethnicity and cultures of Archbishop Theophylact called volunteering: “volunteering in the Caucasus is an integral part of the lifestyle and traditions of the peoples residing here. Youth participation in volunteerism is the most natural embodiment of the Caucasian traditions. I think that the consolidation of the volunteer movement in our region could be very strong inoculation against many forms of extremism.”

The Bishop cited many examples of successful regional volunteer of the shares. Is the cleaning of coast of the Caspian sea and purification of the mountains Beshtau and Mashuk of debris, assistance to large families and raise money for sick children. All these actions show that volunteerism brings together the youth of the region in the good movements of the soul.

    

“It is important to realize that we are not bystanders, but active participants in what is happening of important events. We make your future, educating young generation, mutual respect and equal rights of all who live in the North Caucasus” – concluded the Archbishop.

According to the results of the working meeting will be followed by concrete practical solutions.

Photo: press-service of the Plenipotentiary representative of the President of Russia in skfo

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