2 of 2

"For all its enmity towards western Christianity and contempt for its alleged lack of spirituality, the Russian Orthodox Church has often struck me as comfortably worldly itself," writes Marcus Warren for the Telegraph." And its true involvement in matters of this world, rather than the next, is only disguised by the code of silence observed by most clerics. Some of that secrecy has now been breached by a study by Moscow academics who specialise in corruption and the shadow economy. Its most alarming conclusion is that the Orthodox Church is tainted by all the vices of the 'secular' Russian economy, not least bribery, money-laundering and tax evasion." The accusations get worse from there.

It should have been the paper's headline, but it's probably too obscure for most readers. Instead, the pun is buried in the middle of the story on the 101st annual convention of the Gideons in Chicago. Though the paper duly notes the organization's Bible distribution, the focus seems to be on how quiet they are: few interviews, can't use the Gideon logo on business cards, and speak of their work in individual churches rather than through other public means.

See our past Weblogs: July 19 | 18 | 17 July 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 July 7 | 5 | 3 June 30 | 29 | 27 June 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 June 15 | 14 | 13 June 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

first page |  2 of 2

share this page

July (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44