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The article is dedicated to the aspect of modern religious problem: what is and being changed in church, in the relationship to it, who and how interpret these changes, which were caused by the multiple factors of society. The role and place of a priest (clergyman) is dependent on many social, political, cultural, religious reasons. The technological and processing burst of social development, certainly, transform and alter the modern image of church.
priest, clergyman, the Roman Catholic Church, church, flock, society, social changes, social religious development
Imagine a modern priest. Of course, everybody presented “their own” priest, depending on whether the person attends church services, communicates with the priest or is just a regular viewer (reader) of mass media. But regardless of which priest you imagine, his face and "image" are undergoing changesunder the influence of the rapidly changing realities of our time.
Even if we take a time interval of 15-20 years, so over the past two decades, there have been tangible changes in the image of the priest of our time. What is the reason for this? You have clearly thought about the development and availability of computer technology, communications and the Internet. How many different opportunities exist to spread the news, to talk about upcoming changes, and all this in just a few seconds. What a variety of social networks and news feeds we have, and in addition, what an amount of various compact devices helps us in this. Start-up firms, large companies, and even large corporations use all these tools to spread information about themselves and what they want to show.
The modern church, as a social institution of the state and an integral part of society, does not stand aside, using the possibilities of the Internet, television, social networks, etc. But can we say that it changes the face of the modern clergyman? Rather, it changes its appearance, speed, and reach of information dissemination. Of course, this also has an impact on a person as a parishioner and on a person as a clergyman. It also affects the speed of world globalization, which connects cities, regions, countries and continents with each other, thereby enabling and forcing people to move more often and further. The frequent movement of people and the rapid penetration of information makes it possible for many other people to come to the faith, who live in completely different places, far from the historical and cultural center of the development of the Church.
Under the influence of these processes, the sphere of influence and spread of the Church is being increased and goes beyond state borders, ethnic territory and linguistic space. "The Church, as a God-human organism, has not only a mysterious essence that is not subject to the elements of the world, but also a historical component that comes into contact and interaction with the outside world, including the state. The state, which exists for the organization of secular life, also contacts and interacts with the Church"[1]. This interaction is especially intensified in the context of the development of modern economic, political, cultural, and social events in the world.
Future clergymen go to study in different countries, write research at universities (theological academies) in different cities and countries. But, unfortunately, the number of priests in some countries is declining, as is the number of parishioners, so the head of the church and supreme administration is forced to expel priests from other regions and even countries. For example, in Germany, in its southern part, historically Catholic Bavaria and Swabia, the number of local German priests has fallen sharply in recent years. This may be due to the modern atheistic,"agnostic" lifestyle. "In terms of the frequency of church attendance and involvement in the life of the church, Russia ranks in 15th place out of a number of observed countries. In Germany, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, 20% are not involved in the activities of the church, in the United States, Sweden – 30%, in France – 40%, in the United Kingdom and Poland-45%" [2, 22-23]. In addition, in particular, according to statistics in the district of Murnau (Upper Bavaria), only about 10% of local residents attend churches for religious service [3].
Many parishes in villages and small towns are still in useand functionate, there are not enough priests to hold mass, to feed the flock. Catholic bishops are forced to appoint new priests from other countries and continents. More and more often you can find priests from Africa (Nigeria) or Asia (Indonesia, India) in a remote Bavarian village. As practice shows, it happens that newly appointed clergymen do not speak German or in a language of country where they come. These circumstances create difficulties in understanding the pastor and his flock. They are forced to learn the local language in the process of their new place of residence. Otherwise, this circumstance causes some dissatisfaction with the local parishioners. Of course, there are more radical solutions to the absence of a large number of parishioners. One of the most striking examples is England. Photos of the author of the article of the church in the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England) clearly express a completely different purpose, which changed the church itself. If we interpret the situation, then we have a thought with the question: what does a modern person identify with in the West and how to adapt to the existing realities with the assistance of the church. After all, the natural attempt to think about the meaning of life has not gone away. And whether the new clergymen from a different ethnic culture will help to adapt to the new circumstances and do the best.
Observation shows that this is only at the beginning. The enthusiasm of the new priests, who came from another part of the world, does not leave the population indifferent, and most importantly, indifferent to the population. They become a kind of new catalyst for stagnant and empty parishes. Their different way of thinking makes people look at routine things in a new way, it is like second wind. Priests who come, for example, from Africa or India, begin to conduct the service as they conducted it in their own countries.
Identifying with something has become more difficult, but the need has persisted. In addition to the above-mentioned component, there is the simplest factor of the modern practice of exchanging international experience. We can agree with this assessment: "And it is important that this demonstrative belonging to the state whole-in contrast to everyday life and disillusionment with the help of the state - does not traumatize, does not infringe, does not stigmatize" [2,23].
Our world is so rich and diverse. In its individual parts, intra-church communication undergoes noticeable changes which can’tbe unnoticed. This is due to the traditions and culture of the ethnic group, the laws of the state, as well as the natural and climatic factor. In this context, the change in the face of the modern clergyman acts "not as a real institution, but as a kind of imaginary construction", which allows the new pastor and flock to rise above the traditional reality and switch their assessments to objective and qualitative changes in the world as a whole. How to make a person understanding the value of the world around her/him and lead her/him to a new rethinking of the values of life? Modern religion has not lost its great role in influencing the minds and consciousness of people, despite the dominance of various technologies and materialism in our time. The Church remains an important foundation for the cultural development of mankind, the educator of human individuality. After all, whatever a person is, she/he is a Person. The people of different origins, faiths, and races have one thing in common – the actions of each of them depend on their upbringing, the values of life embedded in them, and to which they should strive. Then she/he will be truly Human, and perhaps then we will be able to overcome many crises and gain an understanding of the innermost truths of life.
1. Clergyman K. Parchomenko. Church and politics: the relationships of church and state in modern documents of the Russian Orthodox Church. -https://azbyka.ru/forum/xfa-blog-entry/cerkov-i-politika-3.935/
2. Boris Dubin (Levada-centre). The relationship to a faith is analogously to the relationship to a state. - RBC magazine, the August of 2012. - P. 22-23.
3. „…für die Pfarreiengemeinschaft Murnau. 8030 Katholiken, von ihnen gehen ungefähr 800 zu den Messen. Das bedeutet, dass 7230 Christen nicht in die Kirche gehen. Oder nur an besonderen Feiertagen.“ Süddeutsche Zeitung Nr. 135, Mittwoch/Donnerstag, 14./15. Juni 2017.
