Others probably understood the problem that Guo Kang had in mind. Old Father Mikhail, who was still hesitant at first, also agreed with their judgment.
"Brother Andre and I will provide help within our ability." He promised: "We usually work in the slums of the city to help the church members who come from afar from our hometown."
"Many of them have lost contact with the church after they came here. Because of language, habits and other issues, they are also alienated from the church here, making their religious life unprotected. Sometimes, they are also harassed by some Greeks Deliberately crowding out. If necessary, the Patriarch can just ask Brother Ivan to find us at any time."
Lama Wang nodded and agreed.
"We, the universal church, need to protect every believer, otherwise this name will be in vain." He said: "I will tell the bishops."
Father Mikhail also made the sign of the cross to express his gratitude.
Guo Kang felt that it was not that these two Ross monks did not want to cooperate with the imperial court. The theory they talked about before was not so much an expression of opposing views, but more of a hope to use it to put forward more moral requirements.
Of course, it’s not their fault for bargaining like this.
He had also heard before that among the Ross monks, this idea of self-exile and isolation from society was quite popular, and it also corresponded to the ideas spread among lay believers.
Not only ascetic monks, many ordinary believers also pursue a simple autonomous life and reject all government management. In Guo Kang's view, the two are obviously related. To put it bluntly, theological concepts cannot be divorced from the actual local conditions.
As for Rose's situation, everyone knows it well. Whether they are Mongols, Lithuanians, Poles or local princes of Russia, they are all equal in level of cruelty. With so many people coming and going, it is ordinary people who suffer.
Most of the grassroots monks are active among the people and feel this deeply. It's not strange that they don't trust any political power - to put it bluntly, this is the result no matter which ruler is replaced or what method of governance is used in "Russian Land".
This is not necessarily the same thing as the "small country and few people" deduced by Laozi using his philosophical thinking. I’m afraid the locals didn’t think so much. The reason can indeed be attributed to the fact that this land is too difficult. Therefore, if there is a possibility of improvement, a considerable number of priests would still be willing to cooperate.
After coordinating opinions in this regard, Wang Dalai Lama began to get down to business.
"We need to conduct more consultations on how to reply to them." He made a decision: "About the missionary part, Father Marco will take the lead in making a report. Regarding the application for protecting believers, I will discuss it at the next meeting. Report to the Council of Thirteen.”
"I believe that to handle this matter properly, we need a more detailed investigation. Father Leo, please go to Bishop Maxim, the representative of the Kyiv Church, and ask him to collect relevant information and see if other dioceses can To help, first provide civilian shelter. Also, Father Andre, I would like to ask you to ask if any other monks have been there before and are familiar with the local conditions. We may also need to ask them for advice."
Several priests agreed. Lama Wang then turned to this side and asked Theodora: "Does the princess still have any advice?"
Theodora shook his head: "That's enough. Master Wang can arrange the internal affairs of the church himself."
"Okay, okay." Lama Wang smiled and nodded.
He looked around at everyone: "Next, we need to discuss the expansion of the new diocese. The biggest change here is the hierarchy, reorganization, and appointment of nuns in each religious order."
"You come from different areas and environments in Rome. I believe that this consultation will allow the church to obtain more information and provide reference for future affairs."
He looked at the two Father Ross and Mr. Pronsky, and the three of them nodded, saying that they would try their best to provide appropriate suggestions.
"We have no problem with the changes in the diocese," Father Mikhail said.
"Yes, as long as they don't rob our monastery like the boyars did." Father Andrei interjected with a self-deprecating expression.
Father Mikhail also smiled bitterly when he heard this.
"Our monk brothers over there sometimes appear to be stubborn, but we are not unreasonable. We have been deceived too many times before." Father Andre explained: "I believe that as long as we can achieve this Even with a few basic requirements, the vast majority of people will not resist.”
Lama Wang listened and nodded, saying that he was considerate of them and would pay attention to this. Pronsky tilted his head in embarrassment - I wonder if he had also blackmailed the monastery.
"What we have to do is mainly to subdivide the administrative divisions and make adjustments in some places." He told the priests: "Some of the current divisions were established more than 40 years ago when we and the Kyiv Church officially realized communism. Standards that were set during the time of integration. Some of them are even older and can be traced back to when the Golden Horde first ruled here and carried out the enfeoffment."
"Many of these divisions are seriously outdated. Over the years, the population distribution and the borders of various countries have undergone many changes. Some parishes were even occupied by heretics and could not function normally, while some were later recovered."
"In recent years, due to various wars, the local situation has changed particularly complicatedly. Fortunately, most places have stabilized now. That's why we plan to rezone."
"This is not a matter of power, but to provide better services to all local believers." He told everyone:
"Nowadays, some dioceses are of high standard, with monasteries and many excellent pastors, but local believers have already migrated in large numbers due to the war. Similarly, there are also dioceses that were not taken seriously at first, but now their population has grown and more people have The large number of believers has left the local church facing a shortage of staff."
"There are also some parishes that are divided into two by changing borders. When priests travel between two villages, they are sometimes harassed and blackmailed by the boyar lords. In some places, even the rivers have been changed. Although at the same time, A pastoral district, but it is quite inconvenient to travel. We need to consider these situations and then come up with a solution - such as whether to change the boundaries of the parish, how to change it, and whether the church needs to come forward, or even ask the Roman government to come forward, and negotiate with Communicate with local lords. These all need us to plan.”
"This is all a good thing." Father Mikhail said: "We will convince other brothers and let everyone come to help."
He seemed to be more prestigious among the priests and monks. Seeing what he said, Lama Wang also expressed his gratitude.
"Then." He flipped through the notebook in front of him: "We are now facing a serious shortage of manpower at the grassroots level..."
(End of chapter)
