How do I properly dispose an icon of Russian Orthodoxy?
My grandmother had a Russian Orthodox [inscribed in Greek] of Saint George [Санкт Георгий] displayed on her upstairs prayer room. We were cleaning it out, since the sun that day allowed us to see all the dust accumulated in the shrine of the most holy Theotokos. After we have blown the candles so no fire would ignite, my grandmother brought in a broom & a duster. She gave me the duster & she started sweeping. She used slow but strong strokes, & she started coughing [I wonder why] & I told her that I can sweep but she insisted on doing so herself, until she accidentally hit the icon of Saint George [which is designed with 18 karat gold.] The icon fell to the floor & since the gold is very old & tarnished, the brittle icon broke in a couple of sharp pieces, the wood is irreplaceable & the beautiful design that once embodied the icon is unrecognisable. My question is, what is the proper way of disposing such sacred objects? & please do not ask me to bring this issue to our priest, because my grandmother is not up to the idea, since the icon is very old, the story is that my babushka's grandparents hid it from the iconoclastic Soviet Union, & my grandmother illicitly [against the orders of the KGB] brought it to the USA. My grandmother believes it can be traced back to the fourteenth century. Do we have to scrape & separate the gold from the woodcut or do we bury it, there are many articles that suggest burying it in some cloth. It would be nice to melt the gold & sell for the profits of the iconostasis, or simply buy a new icon [which I must say are very expensive these days?] Thank you for reading my fairly long question, please answer in a polite way. Post scriptum: I do not want to start an argument with a Protestant, so please keep your fixed theology to yourself, & I will keep my faith from our early fathers to myself.
Is Russia still a communist country?
Surely Russia is not Communist anymore, but it has way too many similarities to the USSR and China. Russian government has been increasing it’s stakes in state owned companies and main sectors of the economy by eating up the share and contribution to the GDP by the private sector.So, I guess, Russia looks more like a state capitalist totalitarian country at the moment.it is easier to list similarities between modern Russia and the USSR rather than differences.Similarities:autocratic totalitarian countrylack of basic freedomsstrong censorhipMoscow is the capital cityCremlin is the symbol of powerElites are Russianmilitary budget ad ambitions bigger than possibilitiesdisrespect of individualopposition banned from electionsmedia controlled by the stateforeign friends (Syria) supported militarily and politicallyDifferences:Communist ideology replaced by Russian nationalism with OrthodoxyPrivate property allowedstill very significant portion of economy owned by the state, but less than in the USSRforeign communist countries supported morally instead of financialystate funded propaganda not only internal as in the USSR but heavily external as welllove affair with the Orthodox Church in exchange of services for the state ideologysecret service guys stronger than the CommunistsPutin has more powers than any Soviet general secretary could have dreamtchildren of the ruling elites study economics in USA, UK and France instead of marxism in CheboksaryRussians can leave their country now, and they surely are doing so if they have moneyso as you see not that many differences as one might think.
Why do US citizens confuse Socialism, Marxism and Communism as being the same ideology?
Absent the semantics, the wishful thinking and not to mention the ignorance involved there is no difference in the mentioned “isms” except, perhaps, when it come to Marxism, which as that religious state of perfection is no more real than that Utopia of Sir Thomas Moore or the Promise land of Moses.As that religious belief Marxism is held up as the ultimate objective, heaven on earth, that state of human perfection, but in all fairness similar things are said of socialism and Communism and lets not leave out Christianity and IslamSetting aside Marxism, as that title has never been applied to any society historically speaking or in current events, socialism and communism are both authoritarian ideologies no less so that theocracy, monarchy or dictatorship.Frederick Engels had this to say of socialism."The goal of socialism is communism."Vladimir Lenin QuotesIf one might speculate here, socialism seems to be that preparatory stage that accustoms people to the servitude of communism, in that, one becomes totally dependent on the authoritarian state for all that is to be their lives from food, clothing to their identity, to the their worth as an individual which is to the purpose of the state defined by the state within the collective.
Liberalism? Conservative? What do these really mean?
Wow...good job! Pretty much sums it up and yeah...prepare to be attacked with namecalling. I'm sure they are on their way!
Why is Russia so conservative today?
During the Cold War in the US left-wingers were harassed by insults like "go to Russia you Commie." What happened to Russia? The Soviet Union used to be against religion, civil liberties, etc. Today Russia is a beacon of Christianity, xenophobia towards Muslims and gays. Russia today makes the US look like the Communist Soviet Union.