tenced to death. Or perhaps you shouldrngo to Israel, a Western-style democracyrnthat puts strict limits on the freedom ofrnChristian proselytizers. Try preachingrnJesus in Nazareth and you will be deportedrn—if you are lucky. Persist, andrnyou may get a chance to make somernPalestinian friends behind bars.rnRussia’s legislation is of course flawed,rnif only because religion should not bernregulated by legislators. Politicians arerninherently corrupt and therefore unfit tornlegislate on matters of faith and conscience.rnBut last June in Russia, I sawrnsparkling-eyed sectarians from Americarnattempting to buttonhole Orthodox believersrnas they were leaving church services.rnThe proselytizers weren’t outsidernon the street but on the very steps of thernchurch, even inside the yard. Thisrnwould not be allowed in America: therernis hardly one parish of any denominationrnthat wouldn’t call the police, or at leastrnask the interlopers to leave, if its parishionersrnwere being accosted in a similarrnvein.rnThe outcry over Russia’s new law is inrnfact directed against all Christian upholdersrnof tradition who feel abandoned,rnbetrayed and despised by the prevalentrn”Christomar.xist” elite which controlsrnvarious church establishments throughoutrnthe Western world. Dr. Cohen et al.,rnseek to promote the “otherness” of Russiarnand Orthodoxy, and to perpetuate thernintra-Christian schism, for the benefit ofrnthose who care not a hoot for the truth orrnthe good life.rnOf course the family quarrel of overrnnine centuries is real. It involves manyrndoctrinal and liturgical differences thatrncannot be eliminated by any “half-way”rncompromise, let alone by accepting thernpossibility of “multiple truths.” But dialoguernand mutual help among Catholic,rnOrthodox, and Protestant traditionalistsrnis both possible and desirable. Takenrnseparately, they are utterly powerless tornfight the modernizing, relativizing cancerrnwhich is destroying their communitiesrnfrom within —from Smolensk tornSonoma, from Belgrade to Bristol.rnWe are at war. It is a “culture war”rnrather than the shooting variety, but tornmany Christian traditionalists it is becomingrnclear that its outcome will determinernthe future of our civilization. Itsrnvictims are millions of immortal humanrnsouls and further millions of slaughteredrnunborn babies, rather than soldiers inrnuniform; but those complacent Christiansrnwho remain unaware of the devastatingrnand escalating ferocit}’ of this warrnmay already be counted among the casualties.rnAll around us —in the academy, onrnWall Street, in flollywood-there is arnmountain of evidence that the dominantrnelites are ordering our societ’ after theirrnown image. They are turning it into arnvirtual-reality theme park in which nothingrnis real and nothing sacred. New recruitsrnare allowed into the ranks of thosernelites only if they have proved unable orrnunwilling to comply with the Christianrnconcept of the good life. For proof, sufficernit to say that Bill Clinton is still in thernWhite House.rnIn the ongoing culture wars we needrnallies, and none are better poised to grasprnthe calamity facing us all than thernOrthodox Christians of Eastern Europe.rnAfter their appalling experiences overrnthe past 80 years, they realize that each ofrnus needs to retain an awareness of hisrnown fallibility when using human fallibilit}’rnas an argument against the errors ofrnthe modern world.rnAll is not lost, at least not yet: anti-rnChristian beliefs and the assumptions ofrnthe dominant elites are at odds with thernmajority of the people in every traditionallyrnChristian country in Europe andrnAmerica. But this majorit}’ is embattled.rnIt is being steadily and deliberately whittledrnaway by the continuing onslaughtrnon “conventional moralit}'” in schoolsrnand the media, and by the attack on therndemographic structure of our societiesrnby open immigration. The problem isrncompounded by an ongoing betrayalrnfrom within the Christian camp, and thernconquest of many churches by anorakwearingrnguitarists, cryptocommunists,rnsexual perverts, and radical feminists.rnThese people have their secular agendas,rntheir political and social objectives; thatrnthey have no serious faith of any kindrngoes almost without saying.rnThe true Christian tradition has savedrnand sheltered many Orthodox, Catholic,rnand Protestant traditionalists from the arrogantrnbelief of today’s dominant elitesrnthat people can solve all the mysteries ofrnthe universe through their unaided intellects.rnBut we are increasingly drawn intorn”the system” without realizing that wernare being required to compromise ourrnbeliefs —to become practicing atheists,rnor worse —in order to participate in today’srnsociety.rnInstead of joining the chorus of selfrighteousrncondemnation of Russia’s “undemocratic”rnpractices, we should realizernthat true Christian traditionalists are goingrnto be “culture warriors” on the side ofrncommon decency, traditional values,rnand Truth. We should be prepared tornendure sacrifices. Instead of beingrnthrown to the lions, we mav be subjectedrn—by some judicial mechanism dictatedrnby bureaucrats—to mandatory “sexualrndiversity orientation sessions,” orrnfeminist-led proabortionist “right-tochooserneducation workshops,” afterrnwhich the refusal to recant could lead torn”therapy” and forced medication. Thisrnscenario is not farfetched, alas, on eitherrnside of the Atlantic. Americans shouldrnprepare for martyrdom.rnTo prevent such a nightmare, we needrnto develop a political theorv of Christianrnresistance. We should explain to ourrnchildren that today’s “liberal democracy”rnpromises freedom “from” things, whereasrnChristians should uphold freedomrn”for” things. But can Christian traditionalismrnoffer a modern, practical politicalrntheon,? Can it develop a contemporan.’rnmodel of a harmonious polity that includesrnfree, willing obedience? If it can,rnthis model should be broad enough tornprovide the consensual platform for arncoalition of traditionalists from differentrnChristian traditions. To regain the warravagedrnremnants of “Christendom,” wernshould help its embattled majority of manipulatedrncitizens become conscious ofrnthe power which it still possesses.rnBut an alliance among Christian traditionalistsrndemands a change in some ofrnour attitudes, too. Revelation and Traditionrnare not a System, and no System isrnthe Truth. In seeking a post-ecumenicalrndialogue between traditionalists, wernshould take this adage seriously. For thernsake of a traditionalists’ alliance, let usrnheed this voice, and admit that others —rnpeople outside our particular tradition —rnmay share Christian virtues and leadrngood lives. Tell this to any true RussianrnOrthodox believer, and he will understand,rnand respond.rnSrdja Trifkovic is the executive director ofrnThe Lord Byron Foundation for BalkanrnStudies.rnTO SUBSCRIBE.rn1-800-877-5459rn48/CHRONICLESrnrnrn