Ivan Provorov’s Faithful Stand Exposes Anti-Religious Intolerance In The Name Of Tolerance

“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” reads Christ’s eighth beatitude in the Gospel of Matthew. It is the most commonly viewed beatitude as a remnant the ancient world by modern Americans. This is because persecution of the faithful in America has been remarkable absent. Every now and then, though, a news story reminds us Christ’s proclamation is just as important as ever.

In the world of virtue-touting sports, there was this episode. The National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers franchise trotted out time-tested corporate symbolism for its “LGBTQ+ Pride Night.” Rainbow-accented warmup gear and sticks were part of the festivities, which were to be sold for unspecified DEI charities. It’s all so predictable that it would have passed without notice, except for one thing: Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov committed the ultimate heresy by choosing not to participate.

His Russian Orthodox faith and his choice “to stay true to myself and my religion,” Provorov made a bold stand. It was, at its core, an act submissionThis is the definition of a. “obedience to God in the innermost depths of man in his mind and in his will.” Provorov is a Russian national. He has lived in the United States for a long time and knows that he will be harshly criticized for his decision. His employer might consider him an expendable player, unlike his Russian counterpart Alex Ovechkin. The league He will undoubtedly be subject to reeducation. He will be booed at all games.

This is the religion and worship of self-worship that fuels these reactions. Think about the vain responses that people give to the topic.

Pierre LeBrun, Canadian hockey commentator is arrogant chastised, “Don’t hide behind religion.” Of course, hiding is precisely what Provorov chose not to do, and his religion won’t earn him any societal popularity, even if he somehow were using it for the ulterior motive LeBrun implies.

Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist Marcus Hayes invented The narrative that “if you wear your homophobia like a Pride flag, you earn [Flyers coach John] Tortorella’s respect.” He added that he believed, “Provorov refused to warm up … because he does not support the right of LGBTQ+ people to even exist.”

Let’s not forget the absence of evidence-based argumentation and the fact a simple internet search would have provided clarity to the Orthodox teaching on these issues. Public voices like this are so confident their understanding of truth is correct that they militantly dehumanize anyone who doesn’t share it. It’s religious zeal for anti-religion, and intolerance for tolerance.

Even more instructive is the next-day press releases curated for publication by major outlets. The follow-up story Kurt Weaver, the COO of ESPN, was asked to post one of the headlines on ESPN’s homepage. “social activism partner” You Can Play. The article quoted him six separate times while follow-up quotes from Provorov’s camp or Orthodox authorities were nowhere to