Published on the website of AS Slovakia:
Questions for the parish priest of the Community of Christians, Annuschka Geyer, Moscow
Ulrich Meier: What does the war mean for the attitude to life in the Moscow congregation and in the other congregations of the Community of Christians in Russia?
Annuschka Geyer: The war came as a blow to us. He couldn't have expected something like this. One heard a lot, but did not believe, because Russians and Ukrainians are more than brothers in our Russian feeling. We Russians never think politically, but very mentally. Politics always comes later, what is in our hearts is the most important thing for us. Even February 23 was a holiday in Russia, we would never have thought that there could be a war. On the morning of the 24th, as many people later told me, we awoke to pain and internal shock. In the first days of the war, we simply could not believe what was happening. It was quiet, one lived as if automatically. they told me too much that they were barely breathing. After a week, the feeling of life returned and one tried to understand what was happening.
And then the company went in different directions. Some could not stand it and it was easier for them to antagonize Ukraine. Or rather, not Ukraine, but the West. I have never heard a bad word about Ukrainians, from time to time it is said that there are some nationalists, but as before, the Russian people stand firmly with the brotherly people of Ukrainians, but the propaganda machine is running and many people could be convinced. But even these people who are "fully behind Putin" are sad when there is talk of war. Then they say that there really shouldn't be any war. Others don't want to talk about it, instead they cry quietly at home to themselves.
But there are also many people who talk about it and do not support the war. It is impossible for them that we attack Ukraine. It's really a lot of people, a lot more than I think is spoken in the West. It varies from community to community. On the border with Ukraine, in the municipalities of Voronezh and Rostov, there are many problems: people get sick, including mental illnesses. Children behave very aggressively, they are afraid. In eastern Russia, in front of the Urals, in the village of Samara, people are noisy, politically engaged, they want to kill Putin and the like.
All in all, however, we can say: Russia is crying. In the north, in the south, in the west, in the east, we cry.
UM: Do you have any examples of how the war affects family relationships between relatives living in Russia and Ukraine?
AG: Yes, I have several families. I must say that almost all Russians have someone in Ukraine and vice versa. I know a family that said: We can't talk to each other anymore. When they say this, they cry again. I myself also have relatives in Ukraine. The relationship remained. In general, the conversations look like this: Ukrainians call us: "Do something!" and we stand there helpless. It is very difficult to endure. Some fall away and say, "I'm going to take a month's break from relations with Ukrainians," hoping to meet again soon. We Russians would like to hear what we can do here. But no one, not even a Ukrainian, can give us concrete advice.
UM: What role does religious life play for people in times of war?
AG: Of course, as in any time of crisis, people seek comfort. That is why many people are coming to church now, more than usual. Questions arise: What have we done that there is now a war, why is this happening to us, who are we?
When all the people are asking these questions, you can feel it in the air. Everyone is insecure, everyone looks for hope in this uncertainty. And, of course, prayer is very important for Russians at such times. Various prayer groups were immediately formed, people gathered and, for example, read the Gospel - a month without a break. Or you pray together at a certain time in different cities. Or you pray alone at home, much more than usual, or you come to church - so there are different variations of what you can do. And that's what people do.
UM: What are your requirements for people in Germany who want to think about the situation in Russia and Ukraine?
AG: We feel that the iron curtain is being drawn again. You can already hear the screeching. Now we are coming to the LOGOS conference in Dortmund with a large group of Russians and the atmosphere is that we are coming to say goodbye. Of course, it would be nice if we were wrong. But that's the mood at the moment.
Hence the first request: Please do not forget us - we are a Christian community and we cultivate the same religious life - you in the West, we in the East. And even though there is much evil in between, eventually we will make holes in this by working badly and this iron curtain will be gone again. Let's keep working together! Think of us. And so we will manage to overcome this time.
The second request is a request for cooperation on the issue that now divides us - the war. This is our common pain—the pain of Christian people. What did we do wrong? We in Russia, where the war started, where we now have to live with it for decades and come to terms with it. You in the West: How did it happen that we got so far apart? Why is the conversation between us not going well for so long? We would like to see sincere cooperation on this event that now divides us!
Annuschka Geyer, born 1974, priestess, Moscow, Christian Community 11-2022
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