Fascinating. It's like the Western Church under the Nazis, a church which likewise made some concessions. I think the Russian Church is more egregious, though, in its current political compromises with Putin.

Frankly, I don't see how the mystical perspective is sustained when you see institutional failures of this magnitude. Sure, Christianity expects people to sin because of our fallen condition. But then why endorse any organized religion? What's so special about some set of sacraments when their mystique is likely illusory? Just imagine the shenanigans that would have gone on in the ancient world, when these symbols and rituals were concocted.

What gives symbols their power, I think, is the mystery of deep time. We need to forget the mundanity of the symbols' origin, so the weight of tradition settles in. But in worshipping deep time, we're effectively worshiping nature. I suspect, then, that religious conservatism entails pantheism. (Just thinking out loud here.)