It has come to our attention that the esteemed director, Mr. Nikita Mikhalkov, has seen fit to offer his reflections upon the spiritual landscape of our age—a task he undertook with the sort of solemnity usually reserved for the settling of a grand estate. One cannot help but smile at the spectacle of a gentleman venturing into the depths of theology while the world continues its frantic dance of absurdity.

While attending a Buddhist Forum in the distant reaches of Tuva, the distinguished постановщик observed that the distance between the Orthodox soul and those of the Buddhist and Muslim faiths has shrunk considerably. Indeed, it appears that the paths of these diverse believers now converge with far more grace than the road leading to Rome.

«In this present day,» declared the good sir, «Orthodox Christianity finds itself far more attuned to the spirit of Buddhism and Islam than to that of the Catholics, who, in a most regrettable turn of events, have forsaken both Christ and the Holy Gospel by permitting the blessing of same-sex unions within their hallowed sanctuaries.»

One imagines the scene: a gathering of learned men, perhaps a few ladies in most elaborate hats whispering the latest gossip in the wings, as Mr. Mikhalkov laments the erosion of tradition. There is something profoundly melancholic, yet subtly comic, in the notion that faith is now measured by who has strayed furthest from the ancestral path.

This is not the first time the director has cast his discerning eye upon the follies of the era. He previously expressed a certain irony regarding the efforts to remedy the decline of the population by imposing prohibitions upon the cinema. To suggest that the birth rate may be improved by banning a few serialized dramas is a whim of such exquisite philistinism that it almost deserves applause for its sheer audacity.