Pussy Riot and the Kingdom of God

London Protests in Solidarity: courtesy of Indymedia

When Leo Tolstoi was finally excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church he was applauded in the streets by masses of disaffected Christians who recognised the prophetic voice in his dissent.

Today the band Pussy Riot have been found guilty of "hooliganism" by a Moscow Court for their Prayer of Protest in the Cathedral denouncing the cosy relationship between Church and State.

Perhaps they could tour the UK, their message would certainly ring as true here as it does in Russia.

Tolstoi, renounced the Church long before it renounced him so his excommunication was an odd and impotent gesture on the part of the Church. He believed, wrote, and lived as though the Kingdom of God was not above, ahead of us, or inside us, but rather "among" us.

The established church will always crucify dissenters eventually, it's almost an inescapable fate for those who have chosen the way of compromise. I say that as a Priest in the Church of England who sits uncomfortably with a vocation that calls - for now at least - for creative compromise. I suspect that, one day, the decision as to whether or not I am licensed will be taken out of my hands. But enough about me!

Pussy Riot are likely to face a prison sentence and there is a global sense of injustice at this, and not just from activists. Like Toltstoi before them, and Jesus the Nazarene Agitator, and the prophets before him, Pussy Riot have discovered the deliciously liberating force of a well aimed heresy.