What is happening? Russian planes over European skies?

RUSSIA AND THE WHOLE WORLD WILL BE CONVERTED AFTER THE MIRACLE AT AT GARABANDAL (HOLY SPIRIT) EXACTLY AS OUR LORD SAID TO CONCHITA.

 

I am not saying the consecration was done as asked, only saying I don't know whether it was accepted by God or not, and the effects the "attempts" have made. Interesting article up on zero-hedge tonight:

Putin To Western Elites: Play-Time Is Over


Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/30/2014 19:35 -0400

• 
  

Via Club Orlov blog,

Most people in the English-speaking parts of the world missed Putin's speech at the Valdai conference in Sochi a few days ago, and, chances are, those of you who have heard of the speech didn't get a chance to read it, and missed its importance. Western media did their best to ignore it or to twist its meaning. Regardless of what you think or don't think of Putin (like the sun and the moon, he does not exist for you to cultivate an opinion) this is probably the most important political speech since Churchill's “Iron Curtain” speech of March 5, 1946.

In this speech, Putin abruptly changed the rules of the game. Previously, the game of international politics was played as follows: politicians made public pronouncements, for the sake of maintaining a pleasant fiction of national sovereignty, but they were strictly for show and had nothing to do with the substance of international politics; in the meantime, they engaged in secret back-room negotiations, in which the actual deals were hammered out. Previously, Putin tried to play this game, expecting only that Russia be treated as an equal. But these hopes have been dashed, and at this conference he declared the game to be over, explicitly violating Western taboo by speaking directly to the people over the heads of elite clans and political leaders.

The Russian blogger chipstone summarized the most salient points from Putin speech as follows:



1. Russia will no longer play games and engage in back-room negotiations over trifles. But Russia is prepared for serious conversations and agreements, if these are conducive to collective security, are based on fairness and take into account the interests of each side.



2. All systems of global collective security now lie in ruins. There are no longer any international security guarantees at all. And the entity that destroyed them has a name: The United States of America.



3. The builders of the New World Order have failed, having built a sand castle. Whether or not a new world order of any sort is to be built is not just Russia's decision, but it is a decision that will not be made without Russia.



4. Russia favors a conservative approach to introducing innovations into the social order, but is not opposed to investigating and discussing such innovations, to see if introducing any of them might be justified.



5. Russia has no intention of going fishing in the murky waters created by America's ever-expanding “empire of chaos,” and has no interest in building a new empire of her own (this is unnecessary; Russia's challenges lie in developing her already vast territory). Neither is Russia willing to act as a savior of the world, as she had in the past.



6. Russia will not attempt to reformat the world in her own image, but neither will she allow anyone to reformat her in their image. Russia will not close herself off from the world, but anyone who tries to close her off from the world will be sure to reap a whirlwind.



7. Russia does not wish for the chaos to spread, does not want war, and has no intention of starting one. However, today Russia sees the outbreak of global war as almost inevitable, is prepared for it, and is continuing to prepare for it. Russia does not war—nor does she fear it.



8. Russia does not intend to take an active role in thwarting those who are still attempting to construct their New World Order - until their efforts start to impinge on Russia's key interests. Russia would prefer to stand by and watch them give themselves as many lumps as their poor heads can take. But those who manage to drag Russia into this process, through disregard for her interests, will be taught the true meaning of pain.



9. In her external, and, even more so, internal politics, Russia's power will rely not on the elites and their back-room dealing, but on the will of the people.

To these nine points I would like to add a tenth:



10. There is still a chance to construct a new world order that will avoid a world war. This new world order must of necessity include the United States—but can only do so on the same terms as everyone else: subject to international law and international agreements; refraining from all unilateral action; in full respect of the sovereignty of other nations.

To sum it all up:

play-time is over. Children, put away your toys. Now is the time for the adults to make decisions. Russia is ready for this; is the world?
​

 

Didn’t the Pope succeed in performing the consecration of Russia in 1984?

A: No. As Sister Lucy herself declared in a September 1985 interview, the attempted consecration of March 25, 1984, did not satisfy Our Lady’s requests because “there was no participation of the bishops and there was no mention of Russia.” In consecrating the world in general on that date without mentioning Russia, the Holy Father himself acknowledged in the presence of tens of thousands of witnesses, both during and after the ceremony, that the people of Russia were still “awaiting our consecration and confiding.” The next day these statements were reported in the Pope’s own newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, and the Italian Bishops’ publication, Avvenire.
8. Wasn’t the consecration of the world by the Pope in 1984 enough to fulfill Our Lady’s request?
A: No. For her entire life since the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, Sister Lucy has insisted that Russia must be specifically mentioned.
For example, in a 1978 interview with her confidant, Father Umberto Pasquale, and in a letter to Father Pasquale in 1980, Sister Lucy was asked the question: “Has Our Lady ever spoken to you about the consecration of the world?” During the interview, Sister Lucy answered:
“No, Father Umberto! Never! At the Cova da Iria in 1917 Our Lady promised: ‘I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia ...’ In 1929, at Tuy, as She had promised, Our Lady came to tell me that the moment had come to ask the Holy Father for the consecration of that country.”
And, in the 1980 letter (dated April 13 of that year), Sister Lucy confirmed what she had said in the interview, stating in her own handwriting that “Our Lady of Fatima, in Her request, referred only to the consecration of Russia.” Both the 1978 interview and the 1980 letter (photographically reproduced) were published in the May 12, 1982, Italian edition of L’Osservatore Romano.

http://www.fatima.org/apostolate/faqconse.asp

 

And what are we to think of the following off the EWTN website?

Fátima - 1984 Consecration

N.B. The following is taken from Documents on Fátima, from the Fátima Family Apostolate. In this book photographs of the original letters in Portuguese in Sr. Lucia's own hand can be found. [available from http://www.fatimafamily.org/]

Letters of Sr. Lucia Santos, OCD on the Consecration


Letter 1: To Sr. Mary of Bethlehem

J.+ M. Pax Christi

Dear Sister Mary of Bethlehem:

Received your letter and, although I have very little time at my disposal I will answer your question which is: Is the Consecration of the world, according to the request of Our Lady, made?

On Oct. 31, 1942, His Holiness Pius XII made the Consecration. I was asked if it was made as Our Lady requested. I answered "NO," because it was not made in union with all the bishops of the world.

Later, on May 13, 1967, His Holiness Paul VI made the Consecration. I was asked if it was made as Our Lady requested. I responded "NO," for the same reason, it was not made in union with all the bishops of the world.

On May 13, 1982, His Holiness John Paul II made the Consecration. I was asked if it was made. I responded "NO." It was not made in union with all the bishops of the world.

Then this same Supreme Pontiff, John Paul II wrote to all the bishops of the world asking them to unite with him. He sent for the statute of Our Lady of Fátima -- the one from the little Chapel to be taken to Rome and on March 25, 1984 - publicly - with the bishops who wanted to unite with His Holiness, made the Consecration as Our Lady requested. They then asked me if it was made as Our Lady requested, and I said, "YES." Now it was made.

Why this urgency of God that this Consecration should be made in union with all the bishops of the world? Because this Consecration is a call for unity of all Christians - The Mystical Body of Christ - whose head is the Pope, the one, true representative of Christ on earth to whom the Lord confided the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and on this union depends the faith in the world and the charity which is the bond that must unite all of us in Christ, as that which He wants, and as He asked the Father: "As You, O Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You have sent Me. . . I in them, and You in Me; that they be made perfect in one, and the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me" (John 17:21-23).

As we see of the union depends the faith and the charity that must be the bond of our union in Christ, whose true representative on earth is the Pope.

A hug to your mother and my greetings to the rest of the family in union with prayers.

Coimbra, August 29,1989

Sr. Lucia


[Commentary: Those who say Sr. Lucia mentions only the "world" above but not "Russia" and was therefore not writing of the Collegial Consecration requested by heaven are not being realistic. They should refer to all the articles in the special issue on the Collegial Consecration in the Fátima Family Apostolate's "Fátima Family Messenger" (Oct.-Nov.-Dec. 1989). Fr. Messias Coelho, theologian and editor of the Portuguese journal "Mesagem de Fátima," answered the objection effectively from the philosophical and theological aspect. Sister Lucia, out of respect for the Pope, spoke of it the way our Holy Father did, using the word "world, " which included Russia. In the letter the Pope sent to the world's bishops, the Holy Father clarified that it was to renew both the consecration of the world (1942) and Russia (1952). This time he did so in union with the bishops.]

Letter 2: To Fr. Robert Fox

J.+ M.

Pax Christi

Rev . do Sr. P. Robert J. Fox

Recebi a sua carta e venho responder á sua pergunta: "Se a Consagração feita por João Paulo II, em 25 de Março de 1984, em união com todos os Bispos do mundo, cumpriu as codições para a coversão da Russia, segundo o pedido de Nossa Senhora em Tuy a 13 de Junho de 1929."? Sim, cumpriu, e desde aí, eu tenho dito que está feita.

E digo que não é nenhuma outra pessoa que responde por mim, sou eu quem recebe a correspondência, abre as cartas e responde.

Em união de orações

Coimbra, 3-VII-l99O

Irmã Lúcia

(signature)



TRANSLATION:

J.+ M.

The Peace of Christ



Rev. Father Robert J. Fox

I come to answer your question, "If the consecration made by Pope John Paul II on March 25, 1984 in union with all the bishops of the world, accomplished the conditions for the consecration of Russia according to the request of Our Lady in Tuy on June 13 of 1929?" Yes, it was accomplished, and since then I have said that it was made.

And I say that no other person responds for me, it is I who receive and open all letters and respond to them.

Coimbra, 3 July 1990

Sister Lucia
​

 

The Fatima Family Apostolate and Father Fox's Blue Army magazine led me astray for 25 years with slander against Father Gruner and his Fatima Crusader magazine. I knew and visited with Father Fox on more than one occasion. I went to his shrine in Alexanderia, SD and new his great devotion to Fatima and the Mother of God. But, as I found out within the past year, he was falsely accusing Father Gruner and his apostolate of being a fraud. I believe Satan was at work in causing this confusion and I am less convinced that whatever he 'quoted' Sister Lucia as saying may well not be the fullness of truth. He too had an agenda and I felt dupped in following his anti-Father Gruner for 25 years. I think Father Gruner is a dry martyr in his stance on the Fatima consecration. Everything I have listened from his supporters at the 2013 Fatima: Path to Peace Conference (all can be seen on youtube) clearly changed my mind on his apostolate. EWTN bought whatever Father Fox said on the subject as well.

 

And this?

In largely unknown remarks, Sister Lucia said consecration of Russia has been done

by Michael H. Brown

During meetings with visiting cardinals in 1992 and 1993 Sister Lucia dos Santos, lone surviving visionary of the famous Fatima revelations, made several remarks that have not been widely reported but that should have caused huge headlines in Catholic movements.

They were not meant to be dramatic pronouncements but have deep implications for those who have followed the events of 1917, when the Virgin Mary appeared to Lucia and her two cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, about ninety miles north of Lisbon.

Now in her nineties and cloistered at a convent in Coimbra, Sister Lucia told an audience headed by Cardinal Antony Padiyara of Ernaculam, India, on October 11, 1992, and another exactly a year later, lead by Cardinal Ricardo Vidal of the Philippines on October 11, 1992, that a consecration conducted of the world and implicitly Russia by John Paul II had been accepted by heaven as fulfillment of a request by the Virgin that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart to prevent it from spreading its errors around the world.

 

Fatima, Father Gruner? Hasn't he been defrocked for many years now?

 

Well, that is the lie that I bought from Father Fox's Blue Army magazine for over 25 years. This is what the secret police at the Vatican were told too, last year, when they told him he could not come within a certain distance of the Holy Father (its all on youtube if you want to hear his whole story). He challenged the Vatican police to show him the document. They searched and searched and could not come up with anything. It all come down to Cardinal Bertone telling the police a lie, which they could not confirm so they were intimidating Father Gruner for a lie they were given as well. You can read the many attacks and defense of his priesthood here http://www.fatima.org/apostolate/default.asp#father, coming from Father Fox and EWTN'. He has always held that he was never defrocked and that there was a persecution of him and his apostolate from the highest level within the Church. Again, if you want to know the truth, spend the time, as I did, listening to Father Gruner and his associates bring the facts forward, which no one has ever been able to refute. He has many of his discussions on this at his web site www. fatimacrusader.com

Some of his argument as follows:
In support of his contention, Fr. Fox once again trots out what he claims is "a personal letter from Sister Lucia saying that the Collegial Consecration was accomplished" in 1984. This "personal letter," from 1990, was one of five "personal letters" generated by a word processor and purportedly signed by Sister Lucia, who does not type letters on word processors but rather has written her entire voluminous correspondence (not to mention hundreds of pages of memoirs) by hand. One of these "personal letters," to a Mr. Noelker, states that during his visit to Fatima in 1967 Pope Paul VI consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart — an event that never happened. Since Sister Lucy, who witnessed Pope Paul’s visit, could not have made such a mistake, it could only have been made by the uninformed person who created the "personal letters" on a word processor. Oddly enough, the plainly discredited Noelker letter is the one and only piece of evidence cited in Card. Ratzinger’s Commentary to support the claim that the Consecration has been done. No effort was made to obtain Sister Lucy’s personal testimony on the matter, even though she was readily available; she was not even asked to authenticate the Noelker letter — an omission that speaks volumes.16
he claimed to have checked out beforehand. bona fidesMaria do Fetal: Fr. Fox's star witness. When Fr. Fox began his campaign in 1989 claiming that the consecration of Russia is done and that Gorbachev and the changes in Russia are the beginning of the triumph of Our Lady, he relied upon his star witness, Maria do Fetal (above) whose
She lasted from August 1989 to early 1990 when she admitted to Father Pierre Caillon that she "invented" her stories regarding Sister Lucy and the Consecration of Russia.
Since then she has stayed out of the limelight and not given any interviews. Fox would be well advised to follow her example. Instead of doing this, he continues his campaign of disinformation against the consecration of Russia.

 

My only concern is, if it was done properly, why hasn't there been a dramatic difference in their appearance to the world ?

 

The collapse of the Soviet Union is a pretty dramatic difference in their appearance to the world, no?

The former atheist country whose communists oppressed Christians experienced the dramatic rise of Christianity and people flocking to baptisms. They openly practice their faith now. That's a dramatic change in appearance, no?

We have to remember that Gods ways are not our ways and his ways and timetable may not fit the picture we have drawn in our mind.

Fatima, I struggle with this as well and used to believe Fr Gruner. However, I came to realize that it's a better decision for my soul to believe and trust in Saint John Paul II who performed the consecration and who also denied Fr Gruners appeal of his suspension, to believe and trust in Pope Benedict who wrote and released the third secret when he was a Cardinal Ratzinger, and now to believe and trust Pope Francis who consecrated his papacy to Our Lady of Fatima over believing one man whose priestly duties were suspended and who is openly defying and questioning the successors of Peter and Gods Vicars on earth.

We are called to obedience as faithful Catholics and its called Faith for a reason

 

So what is the difference between Cardinal Burke "openly" questioning the "direction" the pope was taking and Fr Gruner's outright disobedience?

 

That's a straw man. Apple/orange. Cardinal Burke has not been suspended and is helping to direct the discussion and direction of our Church as a member of the body. Fr Gruner is suspended from his priestly duties, said suspension upheld after his appeal was denied by a Pope who is now a Saint, and is claiming the Vatican hierarchy is sinning by lying to us.

 

Wow, I've only just looked at this thread and we are in full flow already....

I must say I get very sad when I read all the negative stuff about Russia. It would be less depressing if opinions showed a little less certainty than they apparently portray. I see the events in Russia since the late 1980s as truly miraculous but the transformation of Russia is certainly not yet complete.

Anyway, for those interested, the two main threads on this forum that have dealt with the Consecration are at:

http://motheofgod.com/threads/sister-lucia-the-consecration-of-russia.6491/

http://motheofgod.com/threads/russia-consecrated.6659/

Two strong supporters of the 'Consecration having been done' position are Bishop Hnlica, close friend of John Paul II, and Fr Andrew Apostoli, a founding member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Here again is a video of him speaking on the matter:

 

I know quite well Father Gruner myself, would be kind to provide any official document (from Rome) confirming his suspension, it looks that Father Gruner himself did not received it yet, if you can provide any official document, I would be pleased to forward it to him directly, thank you.

Aviso

 

If you know Father Gruner quite well, then you of course know that he is indeed suspended from his priestly duties and admits such, he doesn't deny that his bishop suspended him (and that the Vatican refused his appeal) he is simply denying the validity of it. Are you sure you want to side with a priest who is in direct opposition to the Vicar of Christ and refuses their authority? Here's the legal dance he tries to post on his own web site:
http://www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/pr038.asp

If you do also know him, quite well, then you would already know that there is NO official document from Rome as Rome does not publicize these matters. So why ask me to provide this non existent document other than to play antics with semantics? His bishop suspended him Pope John Paul II's Vatican denied his appeal:

There is a press release from the Vatican that stated:

"The Congregation for the Clergy, upon the mandate from a higher authority, wishes to state that Rev. Nicholas Gruner is under an 'a divinis' suspension, which has been confirmed by a definitive sentence of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature."

In short, Fr. Nicholas Gruner is suspended a divinis. According to canon 1333 §1, "Suspension, which can affect only clerics, prohibits: 1° all or some of the acts of the power of order; 2° all or some of the acts of the power of governance; [and] 3° the exercise of all or some of the rights or functions attaching to an office." Regardless of who initially imposed or declared the suspension against Fr. Gruner, the Apostolic Signatura upheld this penal sanction.

This power is well within the competency of the Apostolic Signatura's jurisdiction, as we read in article 121 of Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus which states: "The Apostolic Signatura functions as the supreme tribunal and also ensures that justice in the Church is correctly administered." Within the context of the current controversy, article 123 §1 of Pastor Bonus clearly sustains the Apostolic Signatura's jurisdiction in this matter, stating: "The Signatura adjudicates recourses lodged within the peremptory limit of thirty useful days against singular administrative acts whether issued by the dicasteries of the Roman Curia or approved by them, whenever it is contended that the impugned act violated some law either in the decision-making process or in the procedure used."
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4086

"Dear John, Yes, to my knowledge Fr. Gruner is suspended from his priestly duties by the Vatican. This occurred some years ago when he insisted that the Holy Father had not consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Rome contradicted him but he refused to be silent and accept this Roman decision. Rome does not publicize such penalties so I have no document to refer to. God bless. Fr. Bob Levis"
http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage.asp?number=415912&Pg=&pgnu=&recnu

Evil has done very well as sowing confusion and Father Gruner has been tilting at windmills for many years now. Please ask yourself, do you choose to be faithful to your Church and trust in Christ's Vicar on earth Saint Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict, and now Pope Francis, or do you choose to allow Father Gruner to separate you from Truth? Or as it was stated in the article above:

In conclusion, one can either choose the canonical conclusions of a committee of unknown canonical recognition or the authoritative judicial sentence of the Holy See. More importantly, however, in following the Fatima message one must choose between Fr. Gruner's example of disobedience to legitimate ecclesiastical authority, or Sister Lucy's constant example of obedience to the Church. Personally, Sister Lucy's example seems much more convincing and in keeping with the authentic Fatima message, as she was one of the three children chosen by the Blessed Mother of Christ to receive this important private revelation.

I have no interest in arguing about this, but Our Lady of Fatima's message is very important to me and to my family and I would want to be helpful to you or anyone else who is being led to question our Church and be led to believe there are diabolical lies coming out of the Vatican during the reign of our last 3 Popes.

We must trust our Church and our Vicar. Ask yourself this, is it more likely that Saint John Paul II and Pope Benedict and now Pope Francis have sinned gravely by lying to us willfully and leading us astray, or is it more likely that Father Gruner is well off the rails?

 

More Russian planes intercepted today off Portugal (Peniche).
Enjoying the good weather?

 

I have a bridge to sell anyone who wishes to believe that Mr. Putin is somehow one of the "adults" with only good will and cooperation with others for some ideal, for everyone, new world. Rather, he rose to the position of a full colonel within the KGB. You don't get to that trusted position without having done some very, shall we be kind, disreputable, things yourself and have been then a committed Russian Communist wishing THAT kind of controlled world for everyone. He, in the above points of the speech, is actually trying to convince people that he's just been sitting at the sidelines watching everything take place around him without any intention of his own to be building his own form of a "new world". No, he's been planning his comeback in order to get revenge against those who embarrassed the great Soviet Union by bringing it down. He is driven by hatred just as Hitler was driven by hatred after Germany was brought down as well and completely humiliated. He now wants to destroy NATO....the enemy now so disjointed and pretty much feckless without monetary backing. Putin has deliberately linked himself to terror nations for greater influence wherever he can find it. He will use them as his surrogate nuclear powers if permitted. He is willing to starve Europe if they don't acquiesce more and more to his power over them through energy. He wants to rebuild his former power of regional control and we witness that belligerence every day. That desire built on real hatred for the West; to humiliate them as he feels he was humiliated by them can only be satisfied through raw power as he is showing first with the testing grounds of the Ukraine and regionally onward while NATO is showing that they will not come to the aid of the challenged territories even with weapons.

 

As I read the available information Fr. Gruner went to Canada and found a Bishop under whom he could be recognized since within his country of ordination, Italy, there was a language barrier and he looked for a diocese where he could exercise a more complete priestly apostolate. Still his Italian Bishop authority ordered him back even though he did fulfill the requirement of finding a Bishop under whom his faculties would be accepted...apparently finding two. So the Italian Bishop suspended him anyway and the Vatican simply went along with that Bishop's authority. The Vatican normally leaves that decision up to the local authority. So it would appear that Gruner is appealing that action since he had followed the previous directive for exercising his priesthood elsewhere. Like history has shown in so many like cases, perhaps future actions taken by our present Pope will prove the obvious point that a further consecration, according to what was specified by heaven for the promised fruits, is still necessary and will finally take place.

There have been several attempts by different Popes for a type of consecration, wishing to honor our Lady's desires, while each have had their own recognized fruits for these good will attempts, but never the full fruits of what was promised. But Popes are men (as was Pius XII during the War where he felt he had to take into account the immediate repercussions of his public words for the lives in danger), effected by human limitations in reasoning through the great responsibility place upon them. At the time of JPII's attempt at consecration he too was held to human limitations in considered reasoning due to an ongoing official agreement between the Vatican and the Soviets re: Catholics held in Poland et al who would not be further persecuted only if the Commies were not publicly named for criticism in any real form to the world. Thus he did his best and was rewarded by heaven up to a certain point. We still though, obviously, have the world threat of Russian Communism with new and belligerent attempts for such takeovers of sovereign countries by Mr. Putin as of today....definitely not world peace. So, if one really desires that particular promise to be fulfilled, pray each day for Pope Francis to finally fulfill the actual request by heaven through the Mother.

 

Russia is the one mentioned by name at Fatima and it is Russia who continues through Putin et al the ongoing attempt to rebuild and force nations under Atheistic, Materialistic, Communist control to this day. The Soviet Union did not exist at the time of Fatima. Russia gobbled up countries and continues to rebuild such today.

 

As a promoter of LTTW you are "locked" in to a specific ideology about Putin/Russia/consecration. I believe there is something wrong with the LTTW locutions. I believe this snippet from Charlie Johnston's blog , Abraham's Journey, on his latest piece about Putin/Russia is much closer to the truth:

charliej373 says:
October 31, 2014 at 11:06 am
Thank you, Tarja. I know that most America-centric thinkers assume that Greece is the foundational Orthodox State. As important as it is, it is not that. Russia is the foundational Orthodox State. In part, I think the communist aberration was to obscure that – and to obscure how deeply religious Russia has historically been. Communism also infected Russian leaders with a paranoia about the west, even though the greatest leader of Russia, the one who made Russia into a great nation, a great power in the world, was Peter the Great, who was a relentlessly westernizing Tsar. I don’t know whether Putin’s religious devotion is real, but I rather believe it is – though he could be unwittingly serving the satan even as he believes he is serving God. His ruthless expansionism does not disqualify that possibility…as far as brutality, he looks like a pussycat compared to Peter the Great.

But events, necessity, will force Russia and America together. Russia knows better than Americans that any alliance it makes with China is a transient alliance of convenience. In the long term, China is determined to be the hegemon – and that means that she must ultimately bring Russia to heel. the only way to stop that is for Russia ultimately to ally itself to the west, and the only way to make such an alliance permanent, Russia must take up the mantle of being the full, eastern lung of a Christianity that breathes in harmony.