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Father Oleg Molenko Answers Questions

		Vladimir, Donetsk, Ukraine
Father Oleg, greetings! I have a practical question. To what extent is it appropriate to fellowship with non-Christians (Muslims)? I’ll try explaining it by a specific example: my Mom has a friend who confesses Islam (he is an “ex-Soviet”, observes no rituals, indifferent to all faiths). My Mom is a “Russian Orthodox” in the same way (she calls us “fanatics”). Any fellowship with other faiths’ representatives is displeasing to us, but we don’t want to hurt that man’s and my Mom’s feelings. Can we receive such people at home, accept gifts, share fellowship, etc.? What should we do?
		Father Oleg's Answer
Greetings to you, Vladimir! Your question is very important for everyday life. It was already there at the time of the holy Apostles, immediately after the birth of the Church of Christ on the earth which took place on the day of the Holy Pentecost. The Church and the first Christians had to live and carry out their ministries in a hostile environment. Paul the Apostle addressed this issue for his spiritual children, too: 1 Corinthians 5: 9 In my letter I said to you that you were not to keep company with those who go after the desires of the flesh; 10 but I had not in mind the sinners who are outside the church, or those who have a desire for and take the property of others, or those who give worship to images; for it is not possible to keep away from such people without going out of the world completely. And so we, after Paul, can say, that we cannot associate ourselves with unbelievers, the heathen, Muslims and other non-Christians in the areas of faith, friendship, marriages, but not in everyday communication, or else we would have to go out of this world. Thus, the point is not to prohibit any fellowship with unbelievers, but to wisely and reasonably put it into a certain framework. It should be remembered that, according to their genesis, they, too, are the image of God, though defective, but not to forget that that demons have a much stronger and freer access to them than to the members of the Church of Christ who are protected by grace. That’s why they can subconsciously become vehicles of demonic influences. But it’s even worse when hypocritical Christians become such vehicles, when they only cover up their misdeeds by a form of godliness and right faith. Oftentimes human communication with people of other faiths is a lot easier, more comfortable and sure than with many modern “orthodox”. Suffice it to mention the case from the recent history of Russia, when orthodox officers, soldiers, priesthood and the rest of the people betrayed the holy father Tsar Nikolay Alexandrovich, but the Tartar regiment of His Majesty which wholly consisted of Muslims, kept their loyalty to the Tsar until the end.