Russian Church Leader Calls Krishna ‘Satan’

[krsna]

 

BY: STAFF CORRESPONDENT

 

 

 

Dec 08, NEW DELHI (HINDUSTAN TIMES) — India news coverage of Isa dasa's comments on Archbishop Nikon's diatribe against Lord Krishna

 

 

A section of our surfers will agree, Hindus have traditionally been seen as 'passive'. Not any more. Hindus, learning from people of other religious sects, are quick to react every time a defamatory statement or picture appears.

 

 

The comment of Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak from the Russian Orthodox Church statements against Lord Krishna has evoked sharp and informed reaction from one of our surfers.

 

 

It certainly merits attention.

 

 

In recent times, there have been a good number of cases when Hindu gods and goddesses have been misused. Take the British postage department's mistake in November this year. The stamp allegedly featured two Hindus with 'tilak' marks worshipping the infant Jesus Christ. The Hindu Forum of Britain immediately raised a furore demanding its withdrawal from circulation.

 

 

There has been any number of cases of fashion fraternity misusing Hindu icons and symbols as context for lingerie display.

 

 

It is in this context that the article and its response gain importance.

 

 

Let's first discuss the article appearing in HindustanTimes.com/UK Edition.

 

 

It said that the Archbishop sent a letter to the Mayor of Moscow, proposing against the building of a Hindu temple in the city. He called Lord Krishna "an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God", and "a livid lascivious youth".

 

 

It is amazing how a prominent member of such an important sect can have such intolerant and ignorant notions of another.

 

 

In a fitting reply, the article quotes Sanjay Jha, President of the Association of Indians in Russia as saying that besides displaying stunning ignorance of the world's oldest religion, it is also evident from the statement that the Russian Orthodox Church is still embedded in the dark ages of religious exclusivity, which has no place in today's increasingly pluralistic society.

 

 

Our surfer Mr William Glick (Isa dasa) from Gainesville, US wrote to put up an informed counter-argument.

 

 

He says, "The Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak from the Russian Orthodox Church has shown that he has no understanding of Hinduism."

 

 

Glick contends Hinduism is far more assimilative as against the intolerance of the Archbishop.

 

 

Glick says that the Bhagwat Gita believes that through the chequered history of mankind, "God or His representatives come to reclaim conditioned souls".

 

 

There may be differences due to differences in culture, climate and people, but the basic principle remains the same, he says.

 

 

Hinduism, therefore, agrees with the Biblical claim that Christ was the son of God and had come from the kingdom of God to reclaim conditioned souls, just as Lord Krishna.

 

 

This is in sharp contrast to the intolerant creed of the Archbishop.

 

 

The article on HindustanTimes.com also counters the Bishop's 'satanic' claims when it says, "To call Lord Krishna 'satanic' is not only sacrilegious in the eyes of Hindus, it is also patently ridiculous as any student of Hinduism knows, for Krishna is famous as the slayer of demons, Bhagavad-Gita (4.7-8)".

 

 

Glick further shows the similarity between Hinduism and Judaism. He says, "In fact, the Jewish and Hindu (Vedic) religions are saying the same thing and using almost the same language root. Their calendars are only about 300 years apart (after 5000 years). The most important name of God for every Jewish person is the name El KNA, who every Hindu knows as Kana, another name of Krishna."

 

 

A far cry from the exclusivity of Russian Archbishop's notions of his religion!

 

 

[Guest guest]

your not making sense about the teachings of ACB swami prabhupada.

 

Prabhupada has many times said he respects all religion's and processes which help one to attain love of godhead.

 

could you quote something he has said to back your claim, because to me it sounds like rubbish and you are not familiar with iskcon's true teachings.

 

what he was against was people who say they follow but don't like thou shall not kill, but instead kill the cows that he was against.

 

he said quote: jesus did not say murder which applies to humans only but the word kill was used, do you think he was stupid and did not know the difference between kill and murder.

 

and those mainly complaing are indian businessman.

 

how can you say he disrepects jesus when he glorified him?

 

your a dog camel ass if you think your the body according to the vedic culture not a whimisical remark based on prejudice to anybody in perticular but to humans in general.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

last post J.S das

[Guest guest]

christ in greek is christos and christos in sanskrit is krishna. so christ is the same word as krishna.

 

jesus "christ": means jesus son of christ

 

jesus "krishna":means jesus son of krishna

 

J.S das

[Guest guest]

This is a perfect example of what I was talking about.

[Kulapavana]

following your line of logic, Hindus should kick christian churches out of India, eh? and muslims too? do you see anybody in Gaudiya Vaishnavism saying that?

 

where do you think such narrowmindedness leads?

 

it's a free market for religious ideas. only tyrants oppose it.

[Kulapavana]

"You guys kind of missed my point. I wasn't trying to debate who was God or not, but I was just trying to let you in on a bit of Russian culture and understanding about why they oppose iskcon in Russia."

---------------------

 

I grew up in Poland and preached there for years. I know the realities in that part of the world better than you may think. I'm currently a moderator on a Polish devotee forum Vrinda. You have no idea of the problems devotees face there every day. There are physical and verbal attacks on devotees all the time from CHURCH SPONSORED hitlerjugend style groups in these countries. They also come to our web sites and try to disrupt things almost every day. So get off your high horse and dont preach to me about lack of tolerance and hypocrisy.

 

[Guest guest]

to Vaishnvas is like a lion teaching vegetarianism to cows.

[Guest guest]

i don't think you do know what your talking about.

[Guest guest]

i don't think you do know what your talking about.

 

J.S das

[som]

There is one more Kamsa here whom Krishna will surely kill and give the Sayujya mukti :-)

 

That's the greatness of our Lord Krishna that even the demons are given liberation!

 

Jai Shree Krishna! Hare Krishna!

 

 

[Kulapavana]

it's a waste of time... he is just another undercover christian preacher. we get scores of fakes like him on our Vrinda site.

[Guest guest]

>>>>"I grew up in Poland and preached there for years. I know the realities in that part of the world better than you may think. I'm currently a moderator on a Polish devotee forum Vrinda. You have no idea of the problems devotees face there every day. There are physical and verbal attacks on devotees all the time from CHURCH SPONSORED hitlerjugend style groups in these countries. They also come to our web sites and try to disrupt things almost every day. So get off your high horse and dont preach to me about lack of tolerance and hypocrisy."

 

Anyway! I wasn't advocateing or endorsing violence, nor do I approve of demolishing temples. I was just simply trying to point out that harekrishna-ism is not totally innocent in the way they deal with so called nondevotees. I don 't think violence is right. And violence is not an appropriate responce to iskcon.

 

But to say iskcon "respects" other religions is a farce. Iskcon and ACB Swami teach (and taught) their own presumtuous version of what they think Christianity (and Buddhism, and Islam, and Judaism for that matter) "really" mean. Iskcon teaches that only iskcon "really" understands what the other religions are about, and that the members of those religions are all deluded, or liars, or even demons. And when iskconites go out and preach to people in places like Russia (which they do), and the iskconites try to tell noniskocnites that their traditions and beliefs are lies, how can they expect respect? If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. What do they expect? I'm not saying anyone at all deserves violence. I personally believe in non-violence.... anyway...

[Guest guest]

were preaching the same message in a slightly different way

 

i already explained this:

 

christ in greek is christos and christos in sankrit is krishna

 

it is the SAME word and meaning and jesus was a preacher.

 

but those even though they are given the truth still stubbornly reject it because of emotional and sentimental attachment due to the false ego.

 

christ is the same word as krishna just in a different language, so 11 7 go study that and see if you find out wether or not it is true or not, or are you afraid it is the truth.

 

christ and krishna are the same word.

 

J.S das

[Guest guest]

Dear JS das,

 

Whether or not there is an etymological link between Krishna or Christ makes no difference to me. It is irrelvent to this particular topic and has nothing to do at all with any of the points I was trying to make on this particular thread.

[Guest guest]

 

 

christos in sankrit is krishna

 

 

No, it is not. Krishna in sasnkrt is Krishna. Signs of etymological links between Krishna & Christ simply do not exist. If you disagree, please specify the source of your information.

 

Do you see a need to find a similar link between Allah & Krishna? If not, why is it necessary in the case of Jesus? Don't lose sight of reality, my friend.

 

Cheers

[Guest guest]

 

Anyway! I wasn't advocateing or endorsing violence, nor do I approve of demolishing temples. I was just simply trying to point out that harekrishna-ism is not totally innocent in the way they deal with so called nondevotees. I don 't think violence is right. And violence is not an appropriate responce to iskcon.

 

But to say iskcon "respects" other religions is a farce. Iskcon and ACB Swami teach (and taught) their own presumtuous version of what they think Christianity (and Buddhism, and Islam, and Judaism for that matter) "really" mean. Iskcon teaches that only iskcon "really" understands what the other religions are about, and that the members of those religions are all deluded, or liars, or even demons. And when iskconites go out and preach to people in places like Russia (which they do), and the iskconites try to tell noniskocnites that their traditions and beliefs are lies, how can they expect respect? If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. What do they expect? I'm not saying anyone at all deserves violence. I personally believe in non-violence.... anyway...

 

 

If christian missionaries can preach in Asia and thoughout the rest of the world, so can Hare Krishnas. Chistian missionaries proselytize and call eveybody else's Theology false, so what if Hare Krishnas do the same. Every religious group can proselytize, not just Christianity. If you don't believe Hare Krishna's can proselytize, then that means all Christian missionaries need to get out of Asia and other non-Christian countries. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Guest guest]

well done guest, good reply

 

if christian's travel the world preaching and converting cultures to there belief then how can hare krishna's be ridiculed for also preaching around the world.

 

the english enslaved and converted so many indian's to christianity in india though there culture has been there for thousands of years.

 

is russia still a communist country?

 

J.S das

[Guest guest]

whats the language conversion from the word krista in greek? its christos.

 

in sanskrit the word krista means the same as krishna, the all attractive one.

 

guest you said krishna in sanskrit means krishna, duh!

 

i said krishna in greek is christos and christos in english is christ.

 

let me say that again for those who are a bit slow:

 

krishna in greek is "CHRISTOS"

 

J.S das

[Guest guest]

>>>>"If christian missionaries can preach in Asia and thoughout the rest of the world, so can Hare Krishnas. Chistian missionaries proselytize and call eveybody else's Theology false, so what if Hare Krishnas do the same. Every religious group can proselytize, not just Christianity. If you don't believe Hare Krishna's can proselytize, then that means all Christian missionaries need to get out of Asia and other non-Christian countries. "

 

Yes you are correct. They can preach and do what they like. So what if they prch etc? I don't care. And you don't care. My point is that just as the Indians and other Asians don't like it when Christians call their religion false, so similarly vice versa. I didn't day iskcon should get out of Russia. I only meant that the Russians don't have to respect iskcon philosophy just as Indians don't have to respect Christianity.

 

I'm done repeating myself on this thread.

 

Peace /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

JS das

 

Since you insist on going on and on about this Christos Krishna thing, even though it has nothing to do with this topic, I will just give you my "opinion".

 

You seem to be saying that some how or other, the Greeks somehow are calling Jesus, Krishna. Why do you say this? Christos and Krishna have the same three beginning letters, Chri and Kri. But what does that prove? The word for Christ in Hebrew is Messiah, which isn't similar to Krishna etymologically at all.

 

But there are plenty of other words with the same three letters... How about Crispy Critter? If I translate crispy critter into sanskrit, does it translate as Krishna because the first three letters are phonetically the same? Your logic is false.

 

Just because words have similar sounds doesn't mean the are etymologically connected or the same. Thats not how etymology works.

 

And even if there were an etymological connection, what does that prove? That Jesus was an Iskcon devotee? Or maybe it's the other way around? Maybe Krishna was a Christian?

[Guest guest]

Looks like another demon running his mouth, theres been so many of them in history and this particular one will get whats coming to him, the bishop will learn a first hand lesson in what Karma really means. I sympathize with the devotees in

-Amit

[Guest guest]

jesus was a hare krishna and understood the advanced version of love of godhead but because of dull people he was dealing with he preached the simple version, a progressive step in the evolution of conciousness.

 

stop killing one another.

stop stealing.

stop treating each like animals basically.

 

any advanced human would already knows these things are simple.

 

the 18 years jesus dissapeared for from age 12 to 30 he was in india which was completely different to the india we know today under the name isha learning the scriptures and mistic yoga, how do think he could peform great feats of the immagination like walk on water he was a mistic yogi.

 

i was talking about language translation you dope!!!!!!

 

back to the topic if you will.

 

J.S das

 

 

[Guest guest]

who said anything about respecting philosophy there outright trying to stop the temple from being built, it is ok that they don't believe or respect the belief of iskcon, but unless a communistic country or dictatorship then why oppose another religion because there is a conflict in philosophy, it has become a political agenda because the government and polticians are involved.

Like i said political menovouring wether religious or not.

 

J.S das

[krsna]

 

Hindu Council UK

 

 

LONDON, ENGLAND, December 9, 2005: The Hindu Council UK (office@hinducounciluk.org) sends the following press release. The first half explains the issue, and the second is the actual letter from the Archbishop to the Mayor of Moscow, a letter no doubt to become a classic exposition of religious bigotry in the 21st century.

 

Press release begins:

 

Hindus all over the world have expressed outrage and anger after a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Nikon called the Hindu God, Lord Krishna an "evil demon" around the time of Indian Prime Minister's state visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Putin. In a letter to the Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, wired by Interfax news agency on November 30, Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Nikon called Lord Krishna "an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God," and "a livid lascivious youth." The Archbishop further requested the Mayor to ban construc tion of a proposed Hindu temple in Moscow saying it would otherwise become "an idolatrous disgrace erected for the glory of wicked and malicious 'god' Krishna.Construction of the temple to Krishna offends our religious feelings and insults the thousand-year religious culture of Russia," Interfax quoted Archbishop Nikon as saying.

 

"We cannot believe that in this age of respect and multi-cultural coexistence, a leader of the Russian Church chooses to make statements that are intolerant and disrespectful to one billion Hindus in the world," said Kishore Ruparelia, speaking on behalf of the Defend Russian Hindus Campaign launched in London last week. "The motives for spreading such hatred are clear - it is an attempt to discriminate and harass the Hindu community in Russia and stop them from building a temple," explained Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain. "It is unbelievable that a leader of such a powerful Church can make such disgra ceful and dogmatic attempts to instigate tension between different religions. This is completely against all principles of multi-faith coexistence and cooperation that ancient and inclusive religious traditions like Hinduism stand for."

 

"The statement by Archbishop Nikon of the Russian Orthodox Church has hurt the sentiments of millions of Hindus worldwide," commented O. P. Sharma, President of the National Council of Hindu Temples UK. "It is an insult to the tradition of tolerance, peace and inclusivity that Hinduism stands for, and highlights the resentment that dogmatic and exclusive views on religion can generate."

 

The president of the Association of Indians in Russia, Sanjeet K. Jha, said, "For centuries faith in Lord Krishna has been the very foundation of the Indian tradition of tolerance and respect for all religions and for all life. Therefore the shower of offences that Archbishop Nikon decided to publicly pour on Lord Krishna caused us intolerable pain and evoked bitterness and indignation in our hearts."

 

According to several Moscow-based Indians, the discriminatory move by the Moscow government, the harassment of Indians by Russian ultra-nationalistic groups, inspired by open hostility of some Church leaders towards Hinduism, is making Russia a less than appealing place for Indians to live. "Hindus are one of the world's most peaceful communities," commented Dr. Girdhari Bhan, President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK. "In most countries of the world, the Hindu diaspora is law-abiding, integrated and productive. Archbishop Nikon should have considered the peaceful history of Hinduism before making such atrocious statements that wil l surely be rejected by people of common sense and dignity."

 

"It is difficult to understand why a Hindu temple poses a threat to the Russian Orthodox Church in this day of respect and tolerance," added Ramesh Kallidai. "The only Hindu temple in Moscow had been demolished last year, leaving some 15,000 Indians and 10,000 Russian followers of Hinduism without a place of worship. Now the Mayor of Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church are together trying to stop Hindus from having a place of their own."

 

According to Mr. Jha, In January 2004, the Mayor of Moscow Mr. Luzhkov signed a decree allocating land in northwest Moscow for construction of a new temple in place of the demolished one. This was followed by mass protests orchestrated by the Russian Orthodox Church against the building of the temple. In October, 2005, the Mayor repealed the decree and gave the order to remove a temporary Hindu shrine that devotees had erected from the allocated land.

 

"Now, the Russian Hindu community in Moscow have no place to house the consecrated Deities they had worshipped for the last decade," claimed Dr. Mihir Meghani, President of the Hindu American Foundation. "This is a pity because this was the only Hindu temple in Moscow serving the spiritual and cultural needs of thousands of Hindus in Russia, and now they are left without any place to worship."

 

According to Mr. Jha, the statement by Archbishop Nikon just adds to the exasperation felt by Indian community in Moscow in regard to the razed temple. "With the old temple demolished and the new temple project thwarted at the very root, thousands of Indians living in Moscow feel utterly disappointed," he added.

 

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had discussed this matter with President Putin during his recent visit to Moscow. Putin has agreed to meet the Mayor of Moscow next week to find out more about the issue.

 

On behalf of all the Hindu community in Australia, the Chair of the Hindu Council of Australia, Dr. Balasubramaniam said, "I strongly condemn the outrageous and shameful behavior of the Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in denigrating the oldest religion in the world and depriving the peace-loving Hindus of Russia their right to practice their religion. Hindus have always respected all religions. India, which has a majority Hindu population, has always been a friendly country to Russia. It is only proper that the sentiments of a trusted friend and ally are respected. We appeal to the Russian President Putin to intervene and stop this kind of outrageous behavior against the peace-loving Hindus of Russia. The international communities are monitoring the situation closely."

 

 

 

 

Complete Text of Letter by Archbishop Nikon to the Mayor of Moscow

 

Hindu Council UK

 

MOSCOW, RUSSIA, November 29, 2005: Following is the entire letter sent by the Archbishop Nikon to the Mayor of Moscow protesting the construction of a temple to Lord Krishna in Moscow:

 

FROM:

ORTHODOX CHURCH

Moscow Patriarchate

Ufa Eparchy

29 Sochinskaya street, Ufa, 450103, RUSSIA phone +7 (3472) 724990, fax (3472) 711226

November 29, 2005

 

TO:

Mayor of Moscow

Y. M. Luzhkov

 

Dear Mr. Luzhkov,

 

Situation with the construction of Krishna "temple" in Moscow does not fail to keep us thoroughly surprised for the last two years. One might fear that this satanic obscenity is destined to be built right in the heart of the Orthodox Christian country of Russia - and yet, all of a sudden, not only due to the mass outcry of the people, but -- miraculously! -- even due to imperfections in the Russian secular law the construction of this citadel of idolatry has become impossible.

 

Sec tarians and various so-called "human rights activists," whose activity for some reason is always anti-Russian and anti-Orthodox, are exerting unprecedented pressure on you as they did last year, and so does the USA - the pillar of "democracy" and the foremost international lobby of various cults. Under the circumstances, you may well be tempted to yield to the pressure and to fulfill the demand of Krishna followers to build their idolatrous temple for Krishna.

 

But we are requesting you to ponder deeply on who this "god" Krishna really is, who is worshipped by all these almost "angelic,benevolent" people who do not smoke, do not drink, do not eat meat, who "care" so nicely for the homeless by feeding them with idolatrous food and who may seem to work so laboriously and so voluntarily for the benefit of Moscow?

 

Krishna ("black" in Sanskrit) has many faces, and all of them are abominable. Here is just one of them: "I see in Your body many, many arms, b ellies, mouths and eyes, expanded everywhere, without limit. I see You with blazing fire coming forth from Your mouth, burning this entire universe by Your own radiance. All the planets with their demigods are disturbed at seeing Your great form, with its many faces, eyes, arms, thighs, legs, and bellies and Your many terrible teeth; and as they are disturbed, so am I. Our chief soldiers are rushing into Your fearful mouths. And some I see trapped with heads smashed between Your teeth."

 

And on top of it, this "nice god" reclines on a bed of snakes.

 

This disgusting appearance is fully concordant with his own self-description: "I am Yama, the lord of death. I am all-devouring death, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people."

 

However, even human-like appearance of Krishna reveals an equally repugnant scene - a livid, plumpish, effeminate and lascivious youth.

 

For Christians, Jews and Muslims, for whom it is commanded: "I [am] the LORD thy God. Thou shalt have none other gods before me" (De. 5:6-7) and "For all the gods of the nations [are] idols: but the LORD made the heavens." (Ps. 96:5) The satanic identity of Krishna is obvious from his own words: "Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me."

 

Respected Mr. Luzhkov - can you really allow the idolatrous disgrace to be erected for the glory of this wicked and malicious "god" Krishna? The construction of this Krishna "temple" is a blatant offense of our religious feelings, and an insult to the millennial religious culture of Russia, where the overwhelming majority of people, Orthodox Christians and Muslims, consider Krishna an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God. It is shown that even for Buddhists, Krishna is a negative figure, the head of black demons. Sikhs and Jains also consider him the most formidable demon.

 

Of course, modern Russia is a secular state, based on secular laws. But can these laws screen our peoples from the judgment of God? Can the Russian Constitution abolish our common responsibility for our acts before God? The Holy Scripture attests that there have been quite a few periods of "religious pluralism" and the equality of "rights" of the followers of various "religious denominations ." We have already mentioned to you in our first letter what had happened to the united Jewish state after Solomon allowed for the construction of various pagan temples in the city Jerusalem: "...and the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant." (1Ki.11:11)

 

Let us cite two more instructive passages from a whole many of kind, as described in the Old Testament: "Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. and he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab ma de a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him." (1Ki.16:29-33). "Manasseh ... reigned in Jerusalem, he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them... . And he set a carved image ... in the house of God." (2Chr.33:1-7)

 

But their worship was not a triumph of religious democracy, but the "EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD" (1Ki.16:30) and "ABOMINATIONS" (2Chr.33:2), for which not only the idolater kings, but all of their citizens paid a heavy price. In the first case, they suffered from a most severe drought which lasted for 3.5 years, and then Ahab was killed in a war with Syrians. In the second instance, "Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon." (2Chr. 33:11).

 

How much has Russia already suffered due to our sins in the former century? But have we got less crime and unlawfulness?! No, unfortunately. People has become as if blind and deprived of all intelligence, they engross in sins, they separate themselves from God's commands by their own earthly laws, they utterly d isregard history of the past and commit the same blunders over and over again. The bitter words of Isaiah the Prophet, which he spoke over 2.500 years ago, now seem to be spoken just for our sake: "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD. Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more." (Isa. 1:4-5).

 

Some are telling us that Russia is on the way to prosperity, but the country is actually dying away in childlessness, in wanton promiscuity, in alcohol and drug addiction, millions of babies are killed by abortions, selected individuals become affluent while millions of Russians border on poverty, terrorist attacks strike relentlessly, separatists, who want to tear Russia apart, do not slacken, and sectarians are multiplying, who consider Brooklyn, Salt Lake City and Indian ashrams their homeland. They hate their own culture and history and think service to their s tate and its defense are a grave sin.

 

So do we really have to add more to the load of our unlawfulness by building idolatrous temples for demons on the land where they are still hated, in the Russian land where the clouds of faithlessness and libertinism have not yet covered the light of Christian faith? Therefore, we once again request you on behalf of all Orthodox Christians of Bashkir Autonomous Republic to not allow the construction of the satanic Krishna temple in Moscow.

 

Respectfully yours, Nikon, Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak, Derector of the Ufa Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church