HILARION ALFEYEV

His betrayal of his teacher Metr. Anthony Blum in 2002.

April 25, 2001, 00.52 PM, Moscow

Leila Rejali in The Moscow Times, April 13, 2001, p. 11 review the book: Heyward Isham, Russia's Fate Through Russian Eyes: Voices of the New Generation. Isham served at the US embassy in Moscow in 1950s, now he is a vice president of the East West Institute and collected 28 interviews with Russian. I only want to cite one, where hieromonk Hilarion Alfeyev, a priest from the Department of External Church relations, Byzantinist, Oxford alumni, explains the increase in churchgoers (mind that this increase is over now):

"For Western people, it might be normal to live one's life without some kind of unifying state ideology. But for our people it was of character." He suggests that Russia has always differed historically from the "Western world" and that this difference explains why "Western-oriented democrats" will not be leading Russia in the 21st century.

Alfeyev received from democracy quite a lot: he studied in Oxford University, and I don't think he will manage to do so if England was still absolutist monarchy. He enjoys many privileges of democracy but he prefers to keep these privilege for himself. Certainly, it is improper to speak in the name of any "people." It is stealing other man right for expression. But it is the essence of totalitarian psychology. Certainly, it is not "our people" but precisely Alfeyev who is making obstacles for democracy, stealing freedom from "silly people." At the same time he pretend to look fine: he is not guilty, he is the democrat, but "people" are so totalitarian that he is obliged to support totalitarian regime...

Alfeyev from his youth became the right hand of Metr. Cyrill Gundyaev, he studied theology in Oxford, wrote dissertation on St. Symeone New Theologian (see about Russian neo-Byzantinists), now works in Moscow in the Department of External Church Relations and often is cited as a speaker of the Moscow Patriarchy. Several times he stated that Ukrainian Greek Catholics with their unjust actions against Moscow patriarchy superseded all evils which has been done by Russia towards Greek Catholics of Ukraine. But he is not anti-Semitic or nationalist.