Russian Orthodoxy and Lent

Recovering from the atrocity of the Communist experiment will take time. For those who were not under the grip of Soviet control it will also take time to turn back the tide of secularization in the West.

Moscow (Straits) - Though many Russians would claim they are Orthodox Christian, an overwhelming majority of a recent poll's respondents said they would not change their culinary habits to observe Lent, the Levada independent opinion centre wrote.

Some 70 per cent of the poll's 1,600 respondents said they intended to stick to their usual meals, with only three per cent saying they would obey the strict diet Orthodox Christians must keep for seven weeks, the centre reported Monday.

The poll was held in late February in 128 cities and towns in 46 of Russia's sprawling 79 regions.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Orthodox Church has steadily gained influence in social and political life, while the number of Russians describing themselves as Orthodox believers has risen sharply.

However, polls showed that many of those claiming to be believers were ignorant of crucial Christian teachings and church rules, some even uncertain of God's existence.