ROC Vsevolod Chaplin pushed out of a relationship with the community – RBC

Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin

Photo: Mikhail Metzel / TASS

Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) dismissed the Vsevolod Chaplin, and their decision to liquidate the structure, which he headed – the Synodal Department for Church and Society . This RBC said the representative of the Synodal Information Department.

Eliminate the Department for Church and Society, as reported by the Russian Orthodox Church, decided “in order to streamline operations and improve efficiency”, as well as exclusion of parallel processes in the work of the Synodal institutions.

Instead of two divisions of the Synod – for Church and Society Relations and Information Department – the Russian Orthodox Church in a new structure: Department for Church and society and the media. The head of the new structure appointed the former head of the information department of the Russian Orthodox Church Vladimir Legoyda.

As stated in the Russian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod at the same time expressed his gratitude for the “long-term participation in the dialogue with the authorities on the subject of legislation concerning religious organizations, as well as for participation in the work of the Interreligious Council of Russia ».

In recent years, Chaplin made some harsh statements about the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country. At the end of August 2015 Chaplin urged to change “corrupt and cynical” political elite. In place of the elite should come believers who should be more active in politics and economics, said Chaplin. “Today we need to come to replace the tired, corrupt, cynical elites to exercise their civil action at village, city, region, the whole country and the world” – said the archpriest, which quoted “Interfax».

In November Chaplin at a meeting with the diocesan Department for Church and Society, he said that the ROC intends to ensure that her voice was decisive in any decision-making in the country. “We do not need to act as aggressors, trying to preach to clericalism, that is a system in which the clergy would run the state. But we are together, clergy and lay people, have every right to ensure that our voice, the voice of the majority, was crucial for making any decisions relating to present and future “, – quotes Chaplin” Interfax ».

In the beginning December appeared on the Internet photos with the image of Charlie Chaplin in “McDonald’s.” In social networks, Chaplin was accused that the priest was having dinner at fast food chains in the strict Christmas Lent, which began November 28. In this interview with Chaplin in “Russian News Service,” he said he did not believe dinner in the “McDonald’s” sin, because “in this network [" McDonald's "] is a meatless foods.”