10. The Family Book and A Family Chronicle

In 2002 Dilya Publishers1 issued the next book in the Ringing Cedars Series entitled Rodovaya kniga (The Book of Kin), in which it advised its readers:

Our publishing house has taken the idea of a ‘Book of Kin’ to heart. As we were getting this book ready for press, we decided to set at once about publishing a blank ‘Book of Kin’ for you to fill in and thereby keep a record of your own family chronicle.

Not long after Dilya published this Family Chronicle, in 2003 the Russky Dorn publishing house put out a book un-der the title Semeinaya letopis (A family chronicle). One of its compilers was Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov.

At the front of the book were featured guest forewords by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Alexei II, Patriarch of Moscow and of All the Russias.

A family chronicle is not just a simple story about a few human destinies, or even about a whole family. It tells the story of a whole nation. The destiny of Russia is the history of families over successive generations.

Such knowledge is indispensable for each citizen of Russia to become aware of his roots and his role in the history of our great Motherland.

— Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of Russia

The atmosphere of the family and home, relations with one’s relations, memories of ones forebears and the raising of one’s descendants — all this has tremendous implications for the moral strengthening of the individual and, consequently, of the nation. It is no coincidence that it is said among many different peoples that love for one’s Motherland begins at home.

— Alexei II, Patriarch of Moscow and of All the Russias

The first one to put forward this idea was Anastasia:4

Just a few days will go by, and millions of fathers and mothers in many a land will be writing their Book of Kin, filling in its pages with their own hand. There will be a vast multitude of them — these Books of Kin. And all of them will contain the truths which begin in the heart, for their children. There will be no room in these books for artifice or guise. Before them all the lies of history will fall.

— Anastasia

We shan’t go into details as to how Russky Dom followed the example of Dilya or who was responsible. The important

thing is the implementation of the idea itself. Now we can see that this idea has the support of the President, the Patriarch and the Chairman of the State Duma, who presented copies of A Family Chronicle to schoolchildren on Knowledge Day Now what are the poor slanderers to do? Include the President, the Patriarch and the Chairman of the State Duma in their list of sectarians? Along with the former President of Ukraine, who signed a decree regarding family farms, granting Ukrainians not one, but two hectares of land each?

And we must not forget Governor Ayatskov, who during an interview on NTV said of Anastasia’s followers: “The future of the country lies with them.” He has also encouraged his civil service staff to acquire land and set up their own family domains.

Nor Governor Tuleev of the Kemerovo Region, who has granted land for a settlement. Nor the Supreme Mufti of Russia, Talgat Tajuddin,11 who responded to a question by a

Sotvorenie Studios correspondent — as to what he thought of the Ringing Cedars Series — as follows:

I love these books. I read them and get a great deal out of them. I feel that reading these books helps strengthen Man’s faith in God. After all, we need to nourish our faith in God day by day But for that it is not only our eyes that must be open — more importantly, our heart must be open. Besides, our heart has been given to us for to love, and Vladimir Nikolaevich Megre’s books help us love God. He conveys this truth to people through the words of Anastasia.

Perhaps theologians may have some reservations. Perhaps someone will call it just a hypothesis, but faith in God — and especially love for God — is something that starts growing bit by bit, and afterward becomes immeasurable. And long before we get to the next world, right here in this world Man can become happy And the Ringing Cedars Series helps us do this.

On the eve of these events, evidently under pressure of the machinations and fear-mongering of these same ‘anti-sectar-ians’, one Orthodox archbishop (I shall not give his name, so as not to immortalise him) signed a letter threatening to ex-communicate from the Church anyone who reads or distributes the Ringing Cedars books.

This would mean that the archbishop would ‘excommu-nicate’ the Patriarch himself, who has supported the idea in creating A Family Chronicle, containing his and the President’s signed forewords. Even if the Patriarch has never even held any of my books in his hands, that’s not the point — it’s not the paper with the printed text of the books, after all, that’s important, but the ideas set forth in them. Now that one of the ideas has been approved, I am convinced that it won’t be long before others will be granted official State support. But in the meantime...

So perhaps it is time we drew the attention of our law-en-forcement agencies to just who these so-called ‘anti-sectarians’ really are. By what methods or machinations do they operate, hiding so conveniently beneath the vaulted ceilings of Russia’s Orthodox Church? Evidently, they’re not there for prayers! The fomenting of interreligious discord, the discrediting of government agencies — that’s what they’re really up to.

And it would be foolish to even suppose that some group of ‘anti-sectarians’ is that strongly concerned about my personal spiritual development. Their actions, rather, are testimony to their carrying out orders to stop any positive transformations from taking place in Russia. An illustration of their ideologi-cally based diversionary tactics may be seen in the following example as well.

<<< Back Next >>>

Pay attention!

Main