The Right to Truth

You are listening to an audiobook by rural priest Georgy Edelshtein, recorded based on his book “The Right to the Truth,” published in 2017. “In church, the worst thing is lying once. The moment you lie, the moment you take a little step beyond the church fence—you’re gone from church,” the author believes. “The Right to the Truth” includes articles that Georgy Edelshtein published in his “LiveJournal,” his memories of life, literature, and history. The uniqueness of this edition is that the author does not disguise the problems that exist in society and in the church, but honestly and clearly tells about them. “I ask anyone to understand that I never criticized—and I will not criticize—my Church, but I criticize my fellow priests and the patriarch if I see any mistakes,” the author explains his position.

To the best of my ability and faith… Don’t lie! Try not to lie every day, every hour, every moment of your life…. Just don’t lie. Because there is God! Because it’s shameful and humiliating. Because lying is bad. And it makes your soul feel awful. This is one path… one of many paths to God. The path of Father Georgy Edelshtein.

Georgy Edelshtein is an archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church, a participant in the dissident movement in the USSR, and a member of the human rights organization “Moscow Helsinki Group.” He was ordained as a priest in 1979; since 1992 he has been the rector of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the village of Karabanovo.