VOA慢速英语--俄罗斯担心神职人员会影响夏令营的儿童

Russians Worried About Clergy¹ Influencing Children at Camp

A few weeks ago, Russian Orthodox Church officials in Eastern Russia announced a project they called "Bells Over Kamchatka."

The announcement appeared on the website of the church’s local administrative² center in Kamchatka. It stated that Orthodox priests would "carry out meetings” at all the children's summer camps in the area before the beginning of the school year.

The website’s story described one priest's visit to the Voskhod (Sunrise) camp. It told how the clergyman spoke³ about the history of bells in the church. He reportedly gave the children a chance to play another musical instrument -- a miniature carillon.

The visit was set up under a joint⁴ program between the local church and the Kamchatka Krai Ministry⁵ of Youth and Education.

Concerns about clergymen visiting the camps

A week later, a man named Aleksei Nikolayev appealed to the local government for legal action. He was unhappy about what he saw as the church’s effort to influence his 10-year-old daughter at the same camp this summer.

"I didn't care about this until it affected⁶ me personally," he said. "At summer camp, some priests spoke with my child and this made me mad. I read about it first on [local news website] Kam24 and then, naturally, spoke to the child."

Kam24 reported on August 20 that children at another camp, Mettalist, had been baptized with the permission of the camp officials. In Christianity, the act of baptism shows that a person accepts Jesus Christ and has joined the church. As part of the ceremony, clergy usually place droplets⁸ of water on the person’s head or the body is briefly⁹ covered with water.

Nikolayev said, "I saw several publications on the Kam24 website about how priests carried out a mass baptism of children at the camp.There were reports that members of the National Guard were kissing some [religious] relics¹¹.” He said the relics were some sort of bones.

Reaction from church and camp officials

A spokesperson for the local church admitted in the Kam24 report that there had been baptisms.

The spokesperson said, "Fourteen children from children's correctional home No. 3 who were vacationing at the Metallist children's camp were baptized." The church also reported that religious workers were appointed as godmothers to the newly baptized children.

Olga Petukhova is the director of the Voskhod camp. She told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that she saw no problem with the church's presentation to the children.

She said, "I was personally present during the entire lecture. Father Boris Murzin came and told the children about bells in Russia and gave the children the chance to ring a church bell. I don't understand why some parents are reacting in this way. After all, this is our history, part of our life."

The church refused to comment on the RFE/RL story.

Inna Zagrebina is a lawyer who specializes in church-state relations. She is taking part in Nikolayev's appeal. Zagrebina told RFE/RL that Russian law bars children under the age of 14 from being "drawn¹² into the activity of religious organizations." Other laws protect children under the age of 18, she added, saying that the officials are required to react to concerns from parents of such children.

Zagrebina said that prosecutors¹⁴ would likely be looking into the legal standing¹⁵ of the event and whether there was "an agreement on cooperation” between the camp and the church.

Nikolayev noted¹⁶ that last year, parents at his daughter's school were asked to choose an elective class for religious and moral education. He also said a few years ago parents were unhappy to learn that priests were teaching in public schools.

"People got angry and wrote to the prosecutor¹³ and so on," he said. "The priests stopped going to the schools. Now they are going to the camps. They don't give up."

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

church – n. an organized group of Christian⁷ believers

mad – adj. angry

baptize – v. to officially make someone a member of a Christian religious group

relic¹⁰ – n. an object that is considered holy

godmother – n. a woman who supports someone who is being baptized

lecture – n. a speech or talk given to a group of people

1 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

2 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 droplets   

n.小滴( droplet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Droplets of sweat were welling up on his forehead. 他额头上冒出了滴滴汗珠。 来自辞典例句
• In constrast, exhaled smoke contains relatively large water droplets and appears white. 相反，从人嘴里呼出的烟则包含相当大的水滴，所以呈白色。 来自辞典例句

9 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

10 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

11 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

13 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

14 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

15 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。