Belarusian "missionaries" organized a visit to the pseudo-monastic ecumenical community of Taizé in France. Teze Community - Communities - Heretical Organizations - All Heresies Attitude of Protestant Churches towards Taizé

Teze community

otherwise Taizé, Communauté de Taize, Taize Community- a pseudo-monastic ecumenical and pacifist community, a textbook phenomenon of mass religion (a kind of mass culture). The ideology of T. is unprincipled idealism and globalist “Euro-spirituality”.

Founded in 1940 by Calvinist pastor Roger Schütz (1915-2005) in the village of Thézet in Burgundy in the French department of Saone-et-Loire. Since 2005, the “prior” of the community has been the Catholic monk Alois (b. 1954). By 2010, the community included 100 “brothers”.

Beginning in 1949, T. members take vows reminiscent of monastic vows: celibacy, common property, submission to the authority of the “prior”. The “brothers” wear ordinary secular clothes, but during worship they dress in white robes.

At first, only Protestants and Anglicans were members of T. In 1969, the first Catholic became a member of the community. Since then, the gradual transition of T. to Catholicism begins.

There are small T. communities in India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Algeria, Brazil, Kenya, Senegal, and the United States. Of these, only the representation of T. in New York plays a prominent role.

Since the 1960s T. becomes a place of pilgrimage for young people. The first international youth meeting in T. took place in 1966. In 1974 the first “Youth Council” met.

In 1978, Mr.. T. initiates the pacifist "Pilgrimage of trust on earth." “Brother” Roger bequeathed to the community to expand the scope of its activities, so in 2006 in Calcutta, India, a meeting was held as part of the “Pilgrimage of Trust”.

Since 1978, Mr.. T. organizes "Christmas meetings", which are usually held in one of the major European cities from December 28 to January 1. Every year, tens of thousands of young people take part in these meetings, which are prepared by the efforts of local parishes and the families of the parishioners of the host city.

T. receives up to 100 thousand people annually. Catholic nuns, mainly from the Order of St. Andrew.

More than 5,000 young people gather in T. at the same time in the summer. They lead the wildest lifestyle. They are only invited three times a day to gather together with the “brothers” for prayer and “silence”.

In the afternoon, “discussion and prayer” groups are organized on approximately the following topics: “Is forgiveness possible?”, “The challenge of globalization”, “How to respond to God's call?”, “What kind of Europe do we want to see?” etc. Some topics are related to visual arts and music.

on the video - prayer-meditation in Teze

Typical daily routine during youth gatherings

morning prayer
Breakfast
Meetings
Midday Prayer
Dinner
Learning chants
Bible meetings
Tea
Seminars
Dinner
Evening prayer
Informal meetings

All T.'s activities are devoted to meditation and indoctrination in an adogmatic, unprincipled way. This makes T. a phenomenon mass culture with a characteristic combination of incongruous and profanity.

Orthodox chapel in Teza

Schutz was a supporter of Calvinist simplicity, which, combined with Orthodox icons and tasteless draperies, makes a “unique” impression. At first, the “brothers” prayed in an abandoned Catholic church, until in the 1960s. the so-called. "Church of Concord" in a parodic Orthodox style.

"Church of Concord"

On Fridays, prayers in Teza are held with the veneration of the Crucifixion, which is clumsily stylized as an Orthodox icon. At the same time, the cross is placed on the floor, and worshipers crawl up to it on their knees. This ritual is allegedly taken from the Orthodox service of the Great Heel, as quite seriously reported in the reference materials on T.

T. created her eclectic style of pop music. These are short musical phrases, rhythmically repeated up to 15 times and interspersed with short periods of silence. This is followed by a climax - a 10-minute silence. The music is stylized after medieval Western and Byzantine music in its popular meditative sense. Prayers are sung in a wide variety of languages, which is intended to emphasize the internationalist goal of the community.

Lena Meyer-Landrut, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, recognizes herself as a follower of Taizé. At the competition she performed with a cross T.

In general, the style of T. is completely determined by the vulgar aesthetic predilections and the narrowness of the worldview of the founder of the community, Roger Schutz. His teaching is reduced to a very peculiar idealism, which has no distinct principles.

"Brother" Roger's soft soothing speeches have made him a very popular modern "prophet". He himself became a pop icon, along with another representative of mass religion - "Mother" Teresa of Calcutta, with whom Schütz was friendly. Three books are co-authored by Teresa.

Schutz and "mother" Teresa

The statements of "brother" Roger, like the whole ideology of T., are extremely vague. Thus, for example, during a meeting with young people in 2004, Brother Roger said:

If we are now embarking on a pilgrimage of trust on earth with young people from all over the world, it is because we realize how necessary peace is now. We can serve the cause of peace as much as we can answer the question with our lives: Can I become a trust bearer where I live? Am I ready to understand other people better and better?

"Brother" Roger also liked to speak in absurd paradoxes that had an air of thoughtfulness. So his popular book is called “The Dynamism of the Ephemeral” (La Dynamique du Provisoire), which well conveys the content of T.

In 1980, in the presence of Pope John Paul II, Schutz declared:

I discovered my own Christian identity by reconciling the faith of my ancestors with the mystery of the universe(i.e. Catholic, - Ed.) faith, without losing connection with either one or the other.

The ambiguity of Schütz's position perfectly reflects the vagueness of the Wissert-Huft said:

The elementary truth of ecumenism is that ecumenical language cannot be completely unambiguous.

In this ecumenical ambiguity, Roger was also supported by the Catholic hierarchs. Thus, Pope John XXIII said to Schütz in response to a question about T.'s place in the Church:

The Catholic Church is made up of more and more expanding concentric circles..

According to the archbishop Lefebvre, Roger and his community wanted to convert to Catholicism even before (1962-1965), but they were told:

No, wait. After the cathedral, you will become a bridge connecting Catholics and Protestants.

A striking example of the ambiguity of T.'s ideology was the recently raised question of the confessional affiliation of its founder.

The mutual sympathy of the Catholics and the “brothers” of T. has been known for a long time. Beginning in 1949, the leaders of T. regularly attended receptions in the Vatican with the future Pope Paul VI. John XXIII, while still a nuncio in France, called T. "a small spring of ecumenism", and he subsequently invited Schutz and his colleague Max Turian to be observers at Second Vatican Council. Max Turian was also an observer at the Consilium, which prepared the reform of Catholic worship.

Pope John XXIII, Cardinal Bea and "brothers" Roger Schutz and Max Turian

All this time, T.'s activities were portrayed as ideally ecumenical and even trans-confessional. The myth of the non-confessional nature of “brother” Roger is very convenient for justifying ecumenism and non-confessional Christianity:

Brother Roger did not proclaim any special ecumenical doctrine, while none of the brothers changed their confession or denomination, although they never talk about which of the confessions someone belongs to.(quote O. Georgy Chistyakov).

This is contradicted by historical facts, which clearly show that "Brother" Roger since 1972 was a secret Catholic. True, at first they tried to hide this conversion to Catholicism, and then, after the death of Roger, in every possible way obscure the clear fact of his conversion.

Cardinal Ratzinger Communicating "Brother" Roger

Even during Schutz's lifetime, it was known that he was repeatedly communed John Paul II. During the funeral of John Paul II in 2005, "brother" Roger publicly received communion from the hands of the future Pope Benedict XVI. Every morning, Schütz took communion at Mass, which was served in T. Finally, he was buried according to the Catholic rite, where the chief ecumenist of the Vatican, Cardinal Walter Kasper, led the service.

A number of associates of “brother” Roger also converted to Catholicism, in particular, his closest friend Max Turian, who became a Catholic priest. Roger's successor, during his lifetime, was appointed the Catholic monk Alois.

All this sowed doubts about the ecumenical spirit of T. and gave rise to rumors about the secret Catholicism of Roger, which caused discontent among the Protestants, who considered T. to be a fundamentally Protestant community and "the world's only Protestant monastery." The community began to look like an instrument of Catholic proselytism under the guise of ecumenism.

The facts that surfaced were followed by denials, which, however, were distinguished by confusion and ambiguity.

Representatives of the Vatican claimed that Roger received communion from the hands of Cardinal Ratzinger through a misunderstanding, because he accidentally found himself in a group of communicants, and it was difficult for him to refuse. And all this despite the fact that Catholicism officially forbids intercommunion, and despite repeated assurances that intercommunion is not practiced in T..

At the request of Cardinal Barbarin of Lyon, Cardinal Kasper then said:

Brother Roger is formally a Catholic.

According to Walter Kasper, there was a secret agreement between "Brother" Roger and the Vatican that allowed him to cross the confessional line between Protestantism and Catholicism. This arrangement meant that Roger was increasingly aware that

the ministry of the pope is the service of the unity of the Church, and, accordingly, the best ecumenism is Catholicism.

September 6, 2005 the community officially denied the conversion of Schutz to Catholicism, calling it an insult to his memory. At the same time, the community recognized that "brother" Roger had accepted the Catholic faith, while remaining a Protestant.

In 2006 catholic ep. Raymond Seguy, in whose diocese the village of Teze was located, declared that Roger was a Catholic, which caused a real shock among the Protestants:

Brother Roger confessed to the Catholic faith in 1972, and Roger himself told me that he was a Catholic.

The controversy was brought to an end when research by renowned historian Yves Chiron appeared, which proved that in 1972 "Brother" Roger was formally converted to Catholicism through a profession of the Catholic faith. Simultaneously with Schütz, Max Turian also became a Catholic.

In 1971, Chiron reports, an agreement was reached on the appointment of a permanent representative of T. in the Vatican. His task included the elimination of differences between T. and the Vatican in accordance with the plans of the Holy Father, as well as the development of closer cooperation between T. and Catholicism and the establishment of organic relations between them..

In 1972 Schütz and Turian converted to Catholicism in the chapel of the Catholic Bishop of Autun. For Schütz and Turian, I read the confession of faith of Bishop. Le Bourgeois. Characteristically, no official certificate was issued to the converts.

In the face of these facts, Roger's words that he did not go anywhere and did not renounce anything look completely insincere. Here, too, he turned out to be a master of ambiguity, continuing to assert that he did not become a Catholic, but combined Protestantism and Catholicism in an ecumenical unity.

After Chiron's message, "brother" Alois stated:

No, Brother Roger never formally "converted" to Catholicism. If he had moved, he would have said so. He never hid anything that happened to him on the path he walked..

According to “Brother” Alois, in 1972 a Catholic bishop communed Roger for the first time, requiring no confession of faith other than the Creed. Moreover, the same bishop later gave communion to all members of the community, both Catholics and Protestants, indiscriminately.

In general, the position of T. comes down to the fact that Roger became part Catholic, part Protestant. On the Catholic side, in a 2008 interview, Cardinal Kasper also claimed that Roger was both a Calvinist and a Catholic. Kasper, in the spirit of true ecumenism, urged not to require complete clarity on the issue of Roger Schutz's confessional affiliation. Interestingly, at least two other contemporaries of Roger claimed a similar supra-confessional position: Met. Nicodemus (Rotov) And Natalia Trauberg.

In any case, it is clear that an intercommunion between Catholics and Protestants is practiced in T., despite the official denials of the Vatican. The same applies to Sunday services, which are Catholic masses, during which all those present are communed, regardless of their confessional affiliation. The justification for this is the permission allegedly given in 1986 by the pope to receive communion at Mass in T. to all pilgrims who believe in the True Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.

Despite this ambiguity of T.'s position, but rather because of it, T. is a place of pilgrimage for many religious leaders. It was visited by John Paul II, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, etc.

T.'s relations with “Orthodox” ecumenism were especially close.

Already in February 1962, "brother" Roger visited Patriarch Athenagoras in the Stambul, Bulgarian Patriarch Kirill in Sofia and Serbian Patriarch Herman in Belgrade.

Each year, the Patriarchs of Moscow and Constantinople send letters of greeting to the annual European meetings held by T. and bless their participants.

At the solemn opening of the “Church of Concord” on August 5 and 6, 1962, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church were present, including O. Vsevolod Shpiller And O. Vladimir Kotlyarov .

Preserved detailed description this event about. V. Spiller:

"Monastery" - some kind of chateau .. (?), And above the nearest village - a small, completely new type of "hotel" for visitors of the Catholic parish church. After vespers at Taise, in the new ultra-modern Catholic church, and after dinner under the wide and tall plane trees on the hill on which the chateau stands, and from where the incredible beautiful view I was taken to this "hotel". In the morning at 9 o'clock, with adventures, they were transported to Taise - some three Dutch women from the passing ... There was a matins in which I took part (served: a Greek, a metropolitan from Constantinople, and I - an Orthodox matins). Then in the chateau hall with wide doors wide open overlooking a platform with plane trees 1/2 o'clock - 1 o'clock they sat and drank tea. Bögner, Archbishop of Uppsala, Bishop of Bristol (Thomson), Metropolitan of Constantinople, and myself. Then we went to the “church”, which was built above the chateau… Everyone dressed there (I put on epitrachelion) and in a very solemn procession walked around the church through the western entrance. First - the Taise brotherhood - 50 monks in white vestments with their hoods thrown back, then about 50 pastor-professors (rectors of 3 universities - Hamburg, Harvard and some Canadian), the Anglican episcopate in their vestments, with tiaras on their heads. The Uppsala archbishop was paired with the Bristol archbishop, then the Greek bishop, then I, with the priest who accompanied me (the other fell ill), and the metropolitan from Constantinople. During Mass, the Gospel was read in 5 languages: first in French, then in German, then the Bishop of Bristol read in English, then I in Russian and the Greek Metropolitan in Greek. Then they sat around the altar (I took off the epitrachelion), the Protestants took communion together. During the Mass, an “initiation” into the brotherhood took place… These “brothers” come from all over the world, and periodically come to Taise. They live and work in their places. The main thing is young people, but almost all of them have some well-known names (theologians, philosophers). If they told me that the temple was designed by Sasha Rzhevussky, I would not be surprised. Very strong, very occult… By lunchtime, under the same plane trees near the hall, two Catholic bishops, six Catholic abbots, one monk from Yrenikon arrived. During Vespers they were in the temple around the altar, I stood beside them. In the audience, who came with them, about 20 sisters from different orders.

At lunch (as well as at dinner), at first they sat in silence and ate to magnificent music (from the chateau hall) - recordings of Bach, Mozart ... Then a few speeches: 1) a Catholic bishop ("master"); 2) government representative; 3) the rector of some German university (West Germany); 4) - I; 5) Greek Metropolitan; 6) Archbishop of Uppsala; 7) Bishop of Bristol; 8) American. Then Vespers - all the Catholic clergy were present, and I stood with them.

The whole hill was covered with wonderful machines, there were a lot of people - the temple gathers at least 1000 people. - everything was full. Very elegant. Very organised. There are many journalists, cinema, television, radio… No one interfered with us (like us!), but they did their job. Vespers continued more than an hour. There was no procession out of courtesy to us. Who closes it - Catholics or Orthodox? Therefore, they went out separately - first the Catholics; Then I; then - the representative of Constantinople, then - the Protestants.

At the end of December 1962, I visited Teza Met. Nicodemus (Rotov). At this time, he consecrated the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, which was located in the church of the community. "Brother" Roger believed Met. Nicodemus his friend and saw him a few minutes before his death Met. Nicodemus at the reception of Pope John Paul I.

Patriarch Athenagoras proposed to create an “Orthodox Teze”, where people of different origins, environments, with different life circumstances could come for joint prayer and spiritual search. According to the original plan, they wanted to do this on the island of Patmos, but at the suggestion of "brother" Roger, the Patriarchal "methochia" was opened in the same year in Teza itself.

In 1963 the foundation stone of the "Orthodox metochia" in Teza was laid. This was done in the presence of representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, archbishop Anthony of Surozh and ep. Vladimir (Kotlyarov). Later came Fr. Vsevolod Shpiller and Pavel Evdokimov. Two years later the Orthodox chapel was consecrated; attended its grand opening archbishop Anthony of Surozh And archbishop Vasily (Krivoshein) .

The community regularly Divine Liturgy on an antimension provided by the Moscow Patriarchate in 1998.

O. V. Lapshin officiating in Teza

Among those who lived in "methochia" were O. Damascus (Papandreou), who later became Metropolitan of the Swiss Patriarchate of Constantinople, and O. Dometian (Topuzliev), now Metropolitan of Vidin in Bulgaria. The latter wrote:

Patriarch Athenagoras sent me to Teze in 1965 and I lived there until 1969. At this time, I met with Brother Roger, whose personality greatly influenced Christians. He was like a brother to me, and the meeting with him was imprinted on my whole life. His openness and brotherly attitude, which I met in Teza, remained with me for life.

The Orthodox took part in the ecumenical celebration of the 25th anniversary of T. in 1965, when suras of the Koran were read during the celebration. Metropolitan Meletius(Patriarchate of Constantinople) and archbishop Anthony of Surozh together with the Catholic bishops served the Orthodox Vespers.

In 1987 and 1988 Schutz again visited Moscow, where he met O. Alexander Menem.

Since 1990, the work of T. has been intensified to attract young people from the states of the former socialist camp (Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia), as well as representatives of the most “liberal” Orthodox communities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, to ecumenical events.

From December 28, 1999 to January 1, 2000, the 22nd European Youth Meeting took place, organized by the Taizé community in Warsaw. Over 70 thousand young people from 24 countries came to Warsaw. Russia was represented by about four hundred people - from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Obninsk, Perm and Novosibirsk. Orthodox priests were also among the Russian participants in the meeting. Young Christians from all over the world and the organizers of the meeting were welcomed in their messages by the UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan, Pope John Paul II, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey and Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II. The main topic for discussion at the meeting was the letter of the founder of the community, brother Roger, entitled "A burst of joy", which was translated into 58 languages ​​of the peoples of the world. This letter calls everyone to open up to God's love, to know the beauty of the human soul, which is hidden in the simplicity of the heart and faith. Discussions on the provisions of the letter took place at regional country meetings and in small groups. They were given a huge sports complex called Torvar.

In August 2005, the founder and prior of the T. community for 60 years, brother Roger Schutz, died at the hands of a mentally unbalanced woman.

"Orthodox" ecumenists from Russia and Romania took part in the funeral of Roger Schutz, in particular, O. Mikhail Gundyaev .

Funeral service for Roger Schütz

August 18, 2005 o.V. Lapshin served a memorial service for "brother" Roger in the Moscow Church of the Assumption on Vrazhka.

O.V. Lapshin serves a memorial service for "brother" Roger

May 28 to June 2, 2006 brother Alois and two other brothers of the community were in Moscow. For brother Alois, this trip was extremely important, he wanted to assure Patriarch Alexy II in the desire of the Taizé community to continue its path in closeness and trust to the Russian Orthodox Church. He expressed it in the following words:

“Brother Roger paved the way for us, and we want to follow in his footsteps. Russian Orthodox Church held a special place in his heart. He had the deepest respect for her because of all the trials that she had to go through, and often talked about how well Orthodox Christians learned to love and forgive.”

Brother Alois presents Patriarch Alexy II with a shawl, which often kept Brother Roger warm during prayer

The brothers were deeply touched by the warm welcome that the Patriarch gave them, as well as the head of the department for external church relations of the Patriarchate, Metropolitan Kirill and the staff of the department. The Patriarch emphasized that good relations had developed between the Russian Orthodox Church and the community of Taizé, he also recalled how he himself was in Taizé and met with brother Roger several times.

This was Brother Alois' fourth trip in recent months, preceded by meetings with Pope Benedict XVI, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, as well as participation in a meeting held in Porto Allegre, Brazil.

“By these meetings, I wanted to show how much my brothers and I are striving for fellowship among all Christians. And along the way, we are discovering more and more what treasures various Christian traditions have preserved throughout history. We in Taizé would like to work so that the great Christian traditions can share their gifts with each other.”

“One of the mysteries of the Orthodox soul is the prayer of worship, in which God's goodness becomes tangible. In such a prayer, the Orthodox touch the great sacraments of the faith.”

“We can learn a lot from Christians who have passed on their love for Christ from generation to generation, especially from those who professed their faith at the risk of their lives. The memory of these witnesses of the faith is alive in Russia. We met people whose fates were greatly influenced by such confessors, some of whom even became martyrs.”

The brothers were present at the Liturgy on the day of the Ascension of the Lord, which was served by the Patriarch, as well as at several services in other parishes. They visited several places of mournful memory: at the Butovo training ground, where more than 20,000 people were shot in 1937-1938, and on the path where father Alexander Men. They also visited the Moscow Theological Academy and were able to pray in the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, at the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, in a place especially dear to every Russian believer.

The head of the community also met with Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk who gave the community a small icon of the blessing Savior. On Saturday, June 3, upon the return of Brother Alois, this image was displayed in the Church of Reconciliation in Taizé so that the young "Christians" who had gathered there could venerate it.

Metropolitan Kirill and brother Alois

June 2, 2006 rector Brother Alois Leser (born in 1954) and brothers Luke and Matthew arrived at the Moscow Church of the Dormition on Assumption Vrazhek (rector father V. Lapshin). The Church of the Assumption was attended by the Secretary of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate for Inter-Christian Relations Priest Igor Vyzhanov, as well as priests Alexander Borisov and Georgy Chistyakov. At the beginning of the meeting, which was attended by several hundred people, the prior of Taizé, brother Alois Leser, said that the love for Russia and its Church was instilled in the brothers by the founder of the community, brother Roger Schutz (1915-2005), who died in the past.

Brother Alois, who headed the community after the death of Brother Roger, came to Russia for the first time and shared his very vivid impressions of Moscow and the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, in whose churches, according to him, “an atmosphere of worship with the heart” reigns. Brother Alois dwelled in particular on the meeting with Alexy II that took place today, during which the patriarch called on the members of the community to continue and develop relations with the Russian Orthodox Church.

In a conversation with a Blagovest-info correspondent, Brother Alois said that Patriarch Alexy himself was in Taizé in the 1960s when he was Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia. His last meeting with his brother Roger took place in Moscow in 1988.

The gift of your church, he said, is kind-hearted worship and a sense of the dignity of every person. This is especially valuable for us, said Brother Alois, since in our ministry we do everything possible to establish respect for a person. We greatly appreciate your gift, because only if we are united can we bear witness to the gospel.

Brother Alois specifically thanked the Russian believers for the prayerful support they provided to the community after the death of Brother Roger. The last words of the founder, which he said on the eve of his death, was a call to think about how to expand the community. And a number of new initiatives have been taken in recent months. If until now the Taizé brothers either invited pilgrims to their community in the south-east of France, or once a year, in winter, arranged youth meetings in various European cities, then in October of this year a similar meeting will be held for the first time in Asia - in Calcutta. According to Brother Alois, the idea of ​​having a meeting in Calcutta is "a little crazy" , but it is very important for the community to bring its experience to other continents.

O.V. Lapshin a thanksgiving service is served on the occasion of the fact that the "brothers" T. have again arrived in Moscow.

After the speech of brother Alois, the rector of the Church of the Assumption, priest Vladimir Lapshin, served a thanksgiving service on the occasion of the fact that the Taze brothers came to Moscow again (the last time the brothers Luke and Matthew were here five years ago).

Taizé's songs were sung at the meeting, and the audience had the opportunity to talk with the brothers Alois, Luke and Matthew. At the end, all participants congratulated brother Alois on his upcoming birthday and proclaimed his many years of life.

On January 30, 2007, "Orthodox" ecumenists participated in a solemn youth service in the celebration organized by T. "Open the ways of trust for Europe." Divine service in the Catholic Cathedral of Brussels was performed by the Belgian Cardinal Gottfried Daniels and Bishop of Brussels Joseph de Keysel, ep. Achaian Athanasius(Greek Orthodox Church), O. Anthony Ilyin(Russian Orthodox Church)).

November 2007 in Bangkok with the participation O. Oleg Cherepanin ecumenical prayers were held by Catholics and Protestants with "brother" Alois.

Brother Alois was present in Moscow at the funeral of Patriarch Alexy II in December 2008 and on the enthronement of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill in January 2009, who gave Brother Alois a personal reception.

On February 3, 2009, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' met with a delegation from the Teze Community at the working Patriarchal Residence in Chisty Lane. The rector of the community brother Alois and brother Matthew and brother Luke accompanying him congratulated His Holiness on his election and enthronement, especially noting the importance of the words of His Holiness the Patriarch about the need to address the youth.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, in a speech after the elevation to the Patriarchal Throne, in particular, said:

“The subject of our special concern will be the youth, who today are in dire need of spiritual guidance. In the era of moral relativism, when the propaganda of violence and depravity steals the souls of young people, we cannot calmly wait for the youth to turn to Christ: we must go towards young people - no matter how difficult it may be for us, people of the middle and older generations - helping them to gain faith in God and the meaning of life, and at the same time the realization of what is true human happiness. A strong personality, a close-knit and large family, a solidary society - all this is a consequence of the way of thinking and the way of life that stem from sincere and deep faith.

Thanking for the congratulations, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church shared his memories of his meetings with the founder of the Teze community, brother Roger. The importance of the community's experience in missionary work with youth was also noted.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Bishop Mark of Yegorievsk and DECR Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations Priest Igor Vyzhanov.

2011 Pilgrims from Teze in Moscow with O. Alexander Borisov and about. V. Lapshin

In May 2011, 240 pilgrims visited Moscow along with "brother" Alois and several other disguised "brothers". They were present at divine services in the host parishes - the Church of St. Tatiana at Moscow State University (rector - O. Maxim Kozlov), the Church of All Who Sorrow Joy on Bolshaya Ordynka (rector - Met. Hilarion Volokolamsky) and several other Moscow parishes.

"Brothers" in the Moscow church of St. mts. Tatiana

In the photo: Pilgrims from Teze in the church of St. Tatiana after the Easter night service

Members of the parish of St. Cosmas and Damian (rector - O. Alexander Borisov) and parishioners of the Church of the Assumption on Vrazhka (rector - O. Vladimir Lapshin) visit T.

O.V. Lapshin feels extremely comfortable in Teza

Myself o.V. Lapshin visited T. for the first time in 1993 and has spent his annual vacation there ever since. He met with Prior Taizé more than once, he recalls how warmly Brother Roger received guests from Moscow - each time it was a "mutual holiday". He reports:

After the death of my father Alexander Men, who died in 1990, I considered my brother Roger my mentor and teacher. Not in the sense that he personally taught me something, but I tried to learn from his openness, his simplicity.

Archbishop Anastasius (Iannulatos) in Teze

Many modernists and ecumenists have visited T.

Ep. Seraphim (Sigrist) admires the post-ideological and post-confessional atmosphere of T. The book is also known Olivier Clement, unrestrainedly praising T.

But do not be afraid, zealots of Orthodoxy, - Clement says unintelligibly. - Teze does not appropriate anyone for himself, does not claim to be the Church. Teze is only a sign or threshold of the Church opening itself to reconciliation.

November 2011 Brother Alois visited Minsk for the international conference "Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue: Christian Ethical Values ​​as a Contribution to the Social Life of Europe".

September 22, 2012 His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine Volodymyr received in his residence in the Kiev St. Panteleimon Monastery in Feofaniya the rector of the Teze community (France) brother Alois and representatives of the community.

The meeting was also attended by the secretary of Metropolitan Volodymyr, Archbishop Alexander of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky and Vishnevsky, and Konstantin Sigov, director of the scientific publishing association Spirit and Litera.

During the meeting, His Beatitude Vladyka shared his memories of his visit to the Teze community at the time when he was acting Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe, and noted that good relations between Orthodox and Roman Catholics, traditionally maintained in the Teze community, contribute to a fruitful dialogue of confessions.

At the end of the meeting, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the guests exchanged memorable gifts.

April 24, 2014 in the Feodorovsky Cathedral in St. Petersburg, a meeting was held with "brother" Matthew (Matthew Thorpe) from the pseudo-monastic ecumenical and pacifist community of Teze. The community of the Feodorovsky Cathedral (rector - Father Alexander Sorokin) is united with Teze by the globalist “Euro-spirituality” and mass-cultural omnivorousness.

in the photo: the rector of the Cathedral, Fr. Alexander Sorokin, the clergy - Fr. Dimitry Sizonenko and Fr. Alexy Volchkov

Orthodox people came to the meeting, as well as people who love the Teze community. In the lower church of the Feodorovsky Cathedral, an ecumenical prayer was held using the chants of the Teze community.

Meditative Pop Teze helped us enter into a state of prayer, meditate on the gospel of the day, say out loud or in our hearts our prayers to God- reports the website of the Feodorovsky Cathedral.

Then, in the parish house, over tea, there was fellowship with "brother" Matthew. He shared the news of the community. Next year will be 100 years since the birth and 15 years since the death of brother Roger, the founder of the community, and the community itself will be 75 years old. In this regard, the community is planning a number of special events for young people next year. The “brother” spoke about his path to the community and answered questions.

January 23, 2015 in the parish house of the Feodorovsky Cathedral in St. Petersburg (rector Father Alexander Sorokin) an ecumenical prayer meeting was held with the chants of the Teze community.

The meeting in the Feodorovsky Cathedral was timed to coincide with the so-called "Week of Prayer for the Unity of Christians", which, according to ecumenical tradition, is practiced in the last ten days of January. Before the start of the meeting, the cleric of the Feodorovsky Cathedral, Priest Alexy Volchkov, greeted those gathered on behalf of the parish and shared his thoughts on why Christians should strive for unity, but did not explain why the path to unity must be achieved without fail by betraying Orthodoxy.

Over tea after the prayer, Varvara Sinitsyna, a parishioner of the cathedral, spoke about the pilgrimage trip to the 37th European Teze meeting in Prague (it took place in late 2014 - early 2015). Friends of the Feodorovsky Cathedral from the Lutheran parish of St. Mary also shared their impressions of the trip.

August 16, 2015 at the invitation of "brother" Alois and with the blessing of the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church Bishop Nestor of Korsun(pictured) took part in commemorative events. On this day, the Teze community celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding, the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founding father, Roger Schulz, and the 10th anniversary of his murders.

On the occasion of commemorative events, representatives of various Christian denominations arrived in Teze, among them the chairman of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, vicar of the "Russian" Exarchate in Western Europe Bishop John of Chariopolis (Patriarchate of Constantinople), ep. Andrei (Chilerdzic) (Serbian Orthodox Church), head of the World Council of Churches Fükse Tveit, Monophysites, Protestants, Buddhists

The events began with a prayer at the local abbey. Then the organizers, distinguished guests and participants of the forum shared a common meal.

Representatives Christian churches addressed the participants of the events with words of welcome. During his speech, Bishop Nestor announced the address of greetings from the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk.

At the end of the program of the ecumenical forum, a prayer was offered for the founder of the Teese community, Roger Schütze, who died ten years ago.

On the trip, Bishop Nestor was accompanied by the secretary of the diocese priest Maxim Politov.

According to the organizers, several thousand pilgrims arrived at the celebrations, mostly "Christian" youth.

October 14, 2015 parishioners of St. Petersburg's Feodorovsky Cathedral, many of whom had repeatedly visited the French monastery, came to communicate with "brother" Leo from Teze.

Cathedral Cleric Priest Alexy Volchkov On behalf of the Feodorovsky Cathedral, he greeted "brother" Leo.

Teze's representative spoke about the life of the community, its participation in the life of European society. The guest from France dwelled in detail on the celebrations held in August, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the community. For their part, some participants in the meeting, parishioners of the Feodorovsky Cathedral, shared their experience of being in Teza. "Brother" Leo spoke about the upcoming youth meeting in Valencia (Spain) and invited everyone to take part in this event.

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Religious Information Agency
Blagovest-Info
20.04.2011 13:40
Moscow, April 20, Blagovest-info. A large group of members of the Taizé community and their friends will visit Moscow for the first time on April 20-25. The pilgrimage, which will be attended by about 70 people, will take place on Holy Week, which Orthodox and Catholics simultaneously enter this year. The purpose of the trip is to get acquainted with the Orthodox liturgical and cultural tradition, to learn “first hand” about the life of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In Moscow, pilgrims from Taizé will be received by parishioners of four churches: the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" on Ordynka, Sts. indefinitely Cosmas and Damian in Shubin, Assumption Holy Mother of God on Uspensky Vrazhek and St. Martyr Tatiana at Moscow University. This was told to Blagovest-info by Alexander Karzan, who is responsible for working with youth in the first of the mentioned churches, coordinator of the parish meeting of pilgrims from Taizé.

The Taizé community was founded in 1940 in Burgundy and brings together representatives of various Christian denominations, mainly Catholics and Protestants. According to Patriarchia.Ru, Taizé is one of the largest centers of pilgrimage for Christian youth from more than 25 countries of the world, united by following the Christian tradition, adherence to common spiritual and moral values ​​and firmness in their religious choice in the face of the secular world. Every year, the Teze community holds meetings for thousands of young Christians in Europe, in which representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches traditionally take part.

“As a rule, everyone goes to them from all over the world, Taizé is the center of Christian pilgrimage. And now, for the first time, the brothers have decided to make a pilgrimage to Moscow in order to plunge into the world Orthodox tradition”, said A. Karzan.

According to him, representatives of France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland and other countries will arrive in Moscow. They would like to attend the Orthodox services of Holy Week and Easter. On the day of Christ's Resurrection in the evening, guests are invited to the Great Paschal Vespers in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where Patriarch Kirill will greet Brother Alois Loeser, the head of the Taizé community, who has already visited the Russian capital more than once.

“The main message of our meeting is purely friendly. After all, it is very good to celebrate Easter together. Of course, we will not participate in the sacraments together. Our task is to acquaint guests not only with our divine service, but also to show them the oldest churches and monasteries of Moscow, to give them the opportunity to communicate with active believers, for whom the Church of God is their home, and not just a tribute to tradition,” the agency’s interlocutor noted. According to him, guests are planned to travel from Taizé to the Butovo training ground, as well as meetings with the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, and the chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin.

In addition to these general events, each Moscow parish hosting guests prepares its own program. “All pilgrims from Teze have minimal household needs. Each of them travels with their own sleeping bag, they do not need much space. They will live with the families of parishioners. It is interesting that our parishioners, unlike the churches of the Assumption or Cosmas and Damian, have never been to Taizé, they know little about this community. But there were a lot of people willing to host European guests. On our own, on the first day of their stay in the capital, we will conduct a tour of Zamoskvorechye - we will find people who speak foreign languages”, A. Karzan noted. He added that he himself had not yet been to Taizé, but would very much like to visit this community.

A Pilgrimage of Trust meeting took place in Kolkata, India.

Since 1978, Teze has been organizing "Christmas Meetings", which are usually held in one of the major European cities from December 28 to January 1. Every year, tens of thousands of young people take part in these meetings, which are prepared by the efforts of local parishes and the families of the parishioners of the host city.

This is contradicted by historical facts, which unequivocally indicate that Roger Schutz, starting from a secret Catholic. True, at first they tried to hide this conversion to Catholicism, and then, after the death of Roger, in every possible way obscure the clear fact of his conversion.

Even during Schutz's lifetime, it was known that he was repeatedly communed by John Paul II. During the funeral of John Paul II in 2005, Roger Schutz publicly received communion from the hands of the future Pope Benedict XVI. Every morning, Schutz took communion at the mass that was served in Teze. Finally, he was buried according to the Catholic rite, where the chief ecumenist of the Vatican, Cardinal Walter Kasper, led the service.

A number of associates of Roger Schutz also converted to Catholicism, in particular, his closest friend Max Turian, who became a Catholic priest. Roger's successor, during his lifetime, was appointed the Catholic monk Alois.

All this sowed doubts about Teze's ecumenical spirit and gave rise to rumors about Roger's secret Catholicism, which caused discontent among the Protestants, who considered Teze a fundamentally Protestant community and "the only Protestant monastery in the world." The community began to look like an instrument of Catholic proselytism under the guise of ecumenism.

The facts that surfaced were followed by denials, which, however, were distinguished by confusion and ambiguity.

Representatives of the Vatican claimed that Roger received communion from the hands of Cardinal Ratzinger through a misunderstanding, because he accidentally found himself in a group of communicants, and it was difficult for him to refuse. And all this despite the fact that Catholicism officially forbids intercommunion, and despite repeated assurances that intercommunion is not practiced in Teza.

At the request of Cardinal Barbarin of Lyon, Cardinal Kasper then said: "Brother Roger is formally a Catholic."

According to Walter Kasper, there was a secret agreement between Roger Schütz and the Vatican that allowed him to cross the confessional line between Protestantism and Catholicism. This agreement provided that Roger was more and more fully aware that "the ministry of the pope is the service of the unity of the Church", and, accordingly, the best ecumenism is Catholicism.

On September 6, 2005, the community officially denied the conversion of Schutz to Catholicism, calling it an insult to his memory. At the same time, the community recognized that Roger Schutz had accepted the Catholic faith, while remaining a Protestant.

In any case, it is clear that intercommunion between Catholics and Protestants is practiced in Teza, despite the official denials of the Vatican. The same applies to Sunday services, which are Catholic masses, during which all those present are communed, regardless of their confessional affiliation. The justification for this is the permission allegedly given by the pope to receive communion at Mass in Teza for all pilgrims who believe in the True Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.

Despite this ambiguity of Teze's position, but rather because of it, Teze is a place of pilgrimage for many religious leaders. John Paul II, the Anglican “Archbishop of Canterbury”, etc., visited here.

Teze's relationship with Orthodox ecumenism

A detailed description of this event has been preserved by Fr. Vsevolod Shpiller:

"Monastery" - some kind of chateau .. (?), And above the nearest village - a small, completely new type of "hotel" for visitors of the Catholic parish church. After vespers at Taise, in the new ultra-modern Catholic church, and after dinner under the wide and tall plane trees on the hill where the chateau stands, with an incredibly beautiful view, I was taken to this "hotel". In the morning at 9 o'clock, with adventures, they were transported to Taise - some three Dutch women from the passing ... There was a matins in which I took part (served: a Greek, a metropolitan from Constantinople, and I - an Orthodox matins). Then in the hall of the chateau with wide open doors overlooking the platform with plane trees 1/2 hour - 1 hour, they sat and drank tea. Bögner, Archbishop of Uppsala, Bishop of Bristol (Thomson), Metropolitan of Constantinople, and myself. Then we went to the “church”, which was built above the chateau… Everyone dressed there (I put on epitrachelion) and in a very solemn procession walked around the church through the western entrance. First - the Taise brotherhood - 50 monks in white vestments with their hoods thrown back, then about 50 pastor-professors (rectors of 3 universities - Hamburg, Harvard and some Canadian), the Anglican episcopate in their vestments, with tiaras on their heads. The Uppsala archbishop was paired with the Bristol archbishop, then the Greek bishop, then I, with the priest who accompanied me (the other fell ill), and the metropolitan from Constantinople. During Mass, the Gospel was read in 5 languages: first in French, then in German, then the Bishop of Bristol read in English, then I in Russian and the Greek Metropolitan in Greek. Then they sat around the altar (I took off the epitrachelion), the Protestants took communion together. During the Mass, an “initiation” into the brotherhood took place… These “brothers” come from all over the world, and periodically come to Taise. They live and work in their places. The main thing is young people, but almost all of them have some well-known names (theologians, philosophers). If they told me that the temple was designed by Sasha Rzhevussky, I would not be surprised. Very strong, very occult... By lunchtime, under the same plane trees near the hall, two Catholic bishops, six Catholic abbots, one monk from Yrenikon arrived. During Vespers they were in the temple around the altar, I stood beside them. In the audience, who came with them, about 20 sisters from different orders.

At lunch (as well as at dinner), at first they sat in silence and ate to magnificent music (from the chateau hall) - recordings of Bach, Mozart ... Then a few speeches: 1) a Catholic bishop ("master"); 2) government representative; 3) the rector of some German university (West Germany); 4) - I; 5) Greek Metropolitan; 6) Archbishop of Uppsala; 7) Bishop of Bristol; 8) American. Then Vespers - all the Catholic clergy were present, and I stood with them.

The whole hill was covered with wonderful machines, there were a lot of people - the temple gathers at least 1000 people. - everything was full. Very elegant. Very organised. There are many journalists, cinema, television, radio… No one interfered with us (like us!), but they did their job. Vespers continued for more than an hour. There was no procession out of courtesy to us. Who closes it - Catholics or Orthodox? Therefore, they went out separately - first the Catholics; Then I; then - the representative of Constantinople, then - the Protestants.

The community regularly celebrates the Divine Liturgy on an antimension provided by the Moscow Patriarchate in .

Among those who lived in "Metochia" were Fr. Damaskinos (Papandreou), who later became Metropolitan of the Swiss Patriarchate of Constantinople, and Met. Dometian (Topuzliev). The latter wrote: “Patriarch Athenagoras sent me to Teze in 1965 and I lived there until 1969. At this time, I met with Brother Roger, whose personality greatly influenced Christians. He was like a brother to me, and the meeting with him was imprinted on my whole life. His openness and brotherly attitude, which I met in Taizé, have stayed with me for the rest of my life.”

The Orthodox took part in the ecumenical celebration of Teze's 25th anniversary, when surahs of the Koran were read during the celebration. Metropolitan Meletios (Karabinis) and Met. Anthony (Bloom), together with the Catholic bishops, served Orthodox Vespers.

Ecumenical memorial service for Roger Schutz with the participation of the Orthodox.

Orthodox ecumenists from Russia and Romania took part in the funeral of Roger Schutz in the city, in particular, Fr. Mikhail Gundyaev. August 18, Fr. Vladimir Lapshin served a memorial service for Roger Schutz at the Moscow Church of the Assumption on Uspensky Vrazhek.

The missionary department of the Minsk diocese introduces Orthodox youth to soul-destroying things. It is not the first time that parish youth brotherhoods, with the assistance of this diocesan body, have made "pilgrimage" trips to the countries of the corrupted West under the auspices of the European meeting from the community of Taizé.

The last such "enlightenment" trip took place in July 2012, it was attended by young parishioners of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior in the town of Rakov (Volozhinsky district, Minsk region), headed by rector Fr. Sergiy Lepin. Previously, the "hospitable" community received a delegation from the Minsk parish of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow", which was headed by Protodeacon Yaroslav Bliznyuk. For a couple of weeks, our compatriots have joined the culture and "spirituality" of such people as: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic.

Let's also add that the Ukrainian youth delegation is also a "traditional" guest at the European "Days of Trust" organized by Taizé. On the eve of the new year 2012, again, our compatriots in Germany, at the invitation of Catholics and Protestants, spent 5 days with them in common prayers(!) and discussions on spiritual, social, economic and cultural issues. The agenda of the “Days of Trust” also included meetings with representatives of the Berlin community and a visit to the Great Mosque…

From the dictionary of anti-modernism about Taizé.

Teze, otherwise Taize, Communaute de Taize, Taize Community is a pseudo-monastic ecumenical and pacifist community, a textbook phenomenon of mass religion (a kind of mass culture). The ideology of T. is unprincipled idealism and "Euro-spiritualism."

Founded in 1940 by Calvinist pastor Roger Schütz (1915-2005) in the village of Thézet in Burgundy in the French department of Saone-et-Loire. Since 2005, the "prior" of the community has been the Catholic monk Alois (b. 1954). By 2010, the community included 100 "brothers".

Beginning in 1949, T. members took vows reminiscent of monastic vows: celibacy, common property, submission to the authority of the “prior”. The “brothers” wear ordinary secular clothes, but during worship they dress in white robes.

At first, only Protestants and Anglicans were members of T. In 1969, the first Catholic became a member of the community. Since then, the gradual transition of T. to Catholicism begins.

There are small T. communities in India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Algeria, Brazil, Kenya, Senegal, and the United States. Of these, only the representation of T. in New York plays a prominent role.

Since the 1960s T. becomes a place of pilgrimage for young people. The first international youth meeting in T. took place in 1966. In 1974, the first "Youth Council" met.

In 1978, T. initiates the pacifist Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth. "Brother" Roger bequeathed to the community to expand the scope of its activities, so in 2006 in Calcutta, India, a meeting was held as part of the "Pilgrimage of Trust".

Since 1978, Mr.. T. organizes "Christmas meetings", which are usually held in one of the major European cities from December 28 to January 1. Every year, tens of thousands of young people take part in these meetings, which are prepared by the efforts of local parishes and the families of the parishioners of the host city.

T. receives up to 100 thousand people annually. Catholic nuns, mainly from the Order of St. Andrew.

More than 5,000 young people gather in T. at the same time in the summer. They lead the wildest lifestyle. They are only invited three times a day to gather together with the "brothers" for prayer and "silence".

In the afternoon, “discussion and prayer” groups are organized on approximately the following topics: “Is forgiveness possible?”, “The challenge of globalization”, “How to respond to God's call?”, “What kind of Europe do we want to see?” etc. Some topics are related to visual arts and music.

All T.'s activities are devoted to meditation and indoctrination in an adogmatic, unprincipled way. This makes T. a phenomenon of mass culture with a characteristic combination of the incongruous and profanity.