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At a session of the school council of Petrozavodsk that included representatives of the senior classes of secondary educational institutions of the city, the kids described with alarm how various sectarian groups are appearing more frequently within the walls of educational institutions. They all are registered as public organizations and thus there is no great difficult presented for their getting into the schools.
The council decided to compose a list of organizations which have the right to conduct conferences and other propaganda events within the schools of the city in order thereby to block the way for sectarians. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 November 2000)
In Cheliabinsk a synagogue has been opened. This is the third synagogue in Russia to be opened officially since 1917. Present at the opening were the chief rabbi of Russia, Adolf Shaevich, and the chief rabbi of the Federation of Jewish Congregations in Russia, Berl Lazar.
The original birth of the Jewish prayer building was in 1908, when it was built with money from the local Jewish community. The revolutionary events turned the synagogue first into a club for workers of the Cheliansk tractor factory and then into a storehouse of a prosthesis factory. Just eight years ago local authorities decided to return the building to its owners. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 November 2000)
SYNAGOGUE OPENED
by Dmitry Zobkov, German Galkin
Kommersant-Daily, 27 October 2000
Both chief rabbis present at the opening.
Yesterday in Cheliabinsk the first synagogue in the city was ceremoniously opened. More than 400 persons attended the ceremony and the governor and rabbis exchanged gifts.
The synagogue in Cheliabinsk was first constructed in 1908 with money from the local Jewish congregation. The place allotted for it was at the time in the trade center of the city. In 1929 the synagogue was closed since at that time "numerous requests from workers" were received, and within its walls was located a club for workers of the Cheliabinsk Tractor Factory. In the 1990s the Jewish community of Cheliabinsk requested of authorities the restoration of the synagogue. Approval was received and the Cheliabinsk department of the International Jewish Congress undertook to finance the work.
Construction was completed this autumn. Rabbi Meier Kirsh has been appointed to serve in the synagogue. The opening ceremony was attended by the attache for cultural affairs of the Israeli embassy in Russia, Dan Orian, and the chief rabbis of Russia, Adolf Shaevich, elected by the Congress of Jewish Religious Congregations, and Berl Lazar, elected by the Federation of Jewish Congregations. Messers Shaevich and Lazar conducted themselves in a cordial manner toward each other and they gave to the governor of Cheliabinsk province, Petr Sumin, and city mayor Viacheslav Tarasov Jewish yarmulkes and ceremonial mennorahs. In return Governor Sumin presented to the Russian rabbis clocks made in the locan "Molniia" factory with the inscription "Gift from the governor." Incidentally, after 7 November the Molniia factory will become the first in the world to begin producing clocks for Orthodox Jews, with the hands moving from right to left. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 November 2000)
CONGREGATION WILL HAVE ITS OWN SCHOOL
by Natalia Loshevskaia
Rossiskaia gazeta, 03 November 2000
The chief rabbi of Russia, Berl Lazar, visited the Far East, which helped to settle right away several urgent problems of the local Jewish congregation. This trip was conducted as part of a whole series of his visits throughout the regions of the country. Recently Berl Lazar visited Saratov, Kazan, Smolensk, and Cheliabinsk. Now in turn Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, and Birobidzhan.
In the capital of Maritime province the chief rabbi of Russia was received by Governor Evgeny Nazdratenko. At the meeting they talked about the prospects for the development of the Jewish community in Maritime province. In particular, they made a decision about opening in the next school year in Vladivostok a Jewish school for general education. Evgeny Nazdatenko promised to review the matter of turning over a building to the Jewish community and Berl Lazar, in his turn, promised to secure the financing of the project.
The governor of Maritime province and the chief rabbi of Russia agreed also about the restoration of the synagogue building in Vladivostok which was turned over the the congregation several years ago.
On the same day the chief rabbi of Russia visited a number of Jewish organizations in Vladivostok and met with representatives of Jewish congregations of the territory. Berl Lazar also expressed approval of the growth of national and religious selfconsciousness of the Jews of the Far East. As he stated at a press conference, "interest in the sources of Jewish culture, which have been taboo for many years, is now being manifested everywhere in Russia."
Berl Lazar also noted that he has observed that Russian authorities at all levels have come to the conclusion that the better national idea for Russia is the development of the cultures of all of its peoples. Thus, in Berl Lazar's opinion, Jews in the Far East and in the Maritime province "feel good." "At any moment they can leave for Israel, but they are taking advantage of this possibility ever more rarely," the rabbi said.
At the press conference in Vladivostok he spoke about the transfer to the congregation of Jewish manuscript scrolls of the Torah which now are located in the Vladimir Arsenev State Museum. This is a very contentious question, but Berl Lazar thinks that the scrolls should be returned to the congregation to which they originally belonged. In his words, for the Jewish congregation these scrolls are not only historical objects but also sacred ones. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 November 2000)
RABBI AND GOVERNOR AGREE ABOUT LIFE
by Denis Demkin
Kommersant-Daily, 1 November 2000
Evgeny Nazdratenko and Berl Lazar were left satisfied.
Berl Lazar, chief rabbi of Russia, elected by the Federation of Jewish Congregations, yesterday met with Maritime governor Evgeny Nazdratenko. The clergyman has completed his trip throughout the country in the Far East.
Mr. Nazdratenko has his own firm convictions about the role of religion in the life of society and about the relations between the clergy and secular authorities. The governor is convinced that Orthodoxy should dominate in Russia. Several years ago, speaking on local television, Mr. Nazdratenko even threatened foreign missionaries who represent "nontraditional" religions with police intervention.
But the conversation of Mr. Nazdratenko and Rabbi Berl Lazar was almost friendly. The chief rabbi of Russia expressed satisfaction that the Maritime authorities had turned over to the Jewish religious and cultural center and the Jewish religious community of Vladivostok the synagogue building where previously one of the state institutions had been located. Evgeny Nazdratenko promised to review the question of providing a building to the Jewish congregation for a school and Berl Lazar, in his turn, said that he was prepared to secure funding for the project.
The Jewish religious community of Vladivostok comprises no fewer than 2,000 persons. The total number of Jews in the Maritime territorial center, according to data from the leadership of the community, is about 6,000. In Berl Lazar's opinion, Jews in the Far East and in Maritime province "feel good." "At any moment they can leave here for Israel, but they are taking advantage of this possibility ever more rarely," the rabbi said at a press conference. He also provided average Russian statistics on Jewish emigration: while in the country there now live on the order of 1.5 million Jews, every year no more than 40,000 leave Russia. "This is much less than it was quite recently, in postsoviet years. Today Russian Jews have stability and a future," Berl Lazar thinks.
Vladivostok was the fifth city that Berl Lazar visited in the course of his trip throughout the country (before this he was in Smolensk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, and Cheliabinsk). From Vladivostok the chief rabbi of Russia will go to Khabarovsk and then to the capital of the Jewish Autonomous province, Birobidzhan. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 November 2000)
JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER TO BE BUILT IN SARATOV
Agreement between Saratov province governor Dmitry Aiatskov and Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar
by Boris Markin
Trud, 27 October 2000
The chief rabbi of Russia visited Saratov on 23 October. This visit was a part of a whole series of trips throughout the regions of Russia which Berl Lazar is now making. After his election in June as chief rabbi of Russia, Lazar thought it necessary to visit practically every region of Russia and in his new capacity to become acquainted with the life of Jewish congregations. As he stated in an interview with our newspaper, the press secretary of the chief rabbi of Russia, Boruch Gorin, said Berl Lazar is very well aware of the life of Jewish congregations in Russia, but until now this acquaintance had a somewhat different character. Before Saratov Berl Lazar has already managed to visit several regions of Russia, including Tatarstan and Smolensk province. Lazar came to Saratov province at the invitation of the governor.
During the meeting of the chief rabbi of Russia and the governor of Saratov province they reached an agreement on the construction of a Jewish community center. The main problem up to now has been that the land for the construction has not been able to be found. Dmitry Artskov promised to allot a parcel in the center of Saratov. The chief rabbi of Saratov province, Yakov Kubichek, and the chairman of the council of trustees of the Jewish community of Saratov, Boris Katz, also took part in the negotiations.
Besides a community center, in the near future in Saratov will be opened a Jewish national school for general education. Around 300 children will attend it. This question also was dealt with during the negotiations of the chief rabbi of Russia and the governor of Saratov province.
At the same time there was conducted here a business forum "Meeting on the Volga," as part of the series "The State of Israel and the Regions of Russia." Particpants included official representatives of Israel and leaders of a number of Israeli firms and companies. It is no secret that business' confidence in Russia will grow only when there is the assurance that the democratic transformations are permanent. And one sign of this will be a respectful attitude on the part of the authorities toward all religious confessions. Israeli businessmen conducted conversations with leaders of Saratov companies and enterprises as well as representatives of five Russian regions that constitute the "Bolshaia Volga" association.
The population of the Jewish community of Saratov province is about 10,000 persons. As Boruch Gorin noted, by Russian measures this is a rather large community. Today it is developing dynamically. Ever more people are expressing the wish to learn more about their culture and traditions. And this unquestionably is a positive sign. Besides lately, in Gorin's opinion, the relations of the authorities with religious congregations have changed for the better. Both federal and regional authorities have shown an interest in creating conditions for the normal development and harmonious and respectful coexistence of all religious confessions. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 November 2000)
Aram I, the leader of one branch, visits Southland to call on congregants to remember their culture and their centuries-old commitment to Christianity.
LOS ANGELES -- After the curtain closed and the music faded at the cavernous Hall of the Crucifixion and Resurrection at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, His Holiness Aram I approached the lectern.
Dressed in traditional black robes and hood, the bearded Armenian catholicos had just listened to a recorded narration of the Crucifixion and Resurrection depicted in a sweeping panoramic painting inside the hall.
The narrator had noted that the Roman Emperor Constantine I had officially recognized the Christian faith and given it preferential treatment--an event that took place in AD 321. "This is only one side of the coin," Aram said, smiling as he addressed his audience of 650 Armenian young people gathered to hear from the worldwide head of their Armenian Apostolic Church, who is based in Beirut.
"We are the first nation who accepted Christianity as a state religion," he said, referring to Armenia's conversion to Christianity two decades before Rome's. "We are proud of it. We are proud to be the first nation to open our heart to the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ," he said.
Aram's principal purpose on his trip to North America, which has taken him to New York, Boston, Washington, Toronto and now California--is to urge Armenians to keep and remember both their faith and their culture. The Forest Lawn narration provided an unintended but cogent example of how difficult that can be for an immigrant church.
Like other religious leaders based overseas, Aram has a geographically spread flock in the United States that can be a source of great spiritual and financial support. But the American church can also be a concern as its congregants assimilate into the American mainstream.
"You are part of American society. You are integrated. But you are Armenian. One cannot live without identity," he told the students. "We have to remain firmly attached to all that makes up our Armenian identities."
In addition to assimilation, however, that religious identity is strained by divisions within the Armenian church.
The church became divided administratively more than 50 years ago as the former Soviet Union, of which Armenia was part, curbed religious freedom. Soviet officials were accused of controlling internal church affairs in Armenia.
As a result, some Armenian Apostolic churches abroad broke with the mother church and switched allegiance to the Lebanon-based See of Cilicia. Others remained loyal to church headquarters in Armenia.
With the breakup of the Soviet Union, Armenia once again became an independent nation. But the split between the two churches remains--one, headed by Aram, based in Beirut, the other, headed by His Holiness Karekin II, based in the Armenian city of Echmiadzin. Bishop Moushegh Mardirossian heads the diocese here for the Beirut-based church while Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, gives his allegiance to Karekin.
While the two branches offer the same liturgy and preach the same creed, far more U.S. Armenians are believed to be affiliated with Karekin's Armenia-based church.
The tension between the two was clear during Aram's visit. Hovsepian refused to appear with Aram at any but one of the catholicos' four events here. Even at that event, the welcoming ceremony Wednesday night at St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale, his appearance was little more than a courtesy, Hovsepian said.
The Beruit-based church can no longer use Communist domination as a reason for a separate administration, Hovsepian said in an interview. Having two different hierarchies "is absolutely against the canon law," Hovsepian said. "This is illegal. There should be one primate and one bishop to a diocese."
Aram, in an interview with The Times, said he agrees that Orthodox governance presupposes only one catholicos, and one bishop in each diocese. "You cannot have two bishops in one place. This is an abnormal situation," Aram said. But the reality of the Armenian diaspora justifies the current situation, he said.
"We don't have a question of 'reunification,' but we have a real concern to strengthen our collaboration," he said. "We do believe that two catholicos within one Armenian church--which is due to historical circumstances--at this point is a must."
His leadership, he said, is dedicated to serving the Armenian diaspora. By contrast, Karekin must, of necessity, be concerned with serving the church in Armenia, he said.
"We are called to serve one people in different contexts, in different ways," he said.
Aram said relations with Karekin are good. But Hovsepian offered a less upbeat interpretation.
"Unfortunately, our goodwill and good intentions and expectations they took for granted. They are aiming for coexistence, which we are not interested in. They are solidifying their position. Period. It's very unfortunate," Hovsepian said.
But those tensions within the church seemed a secondary concern to many of those who greeted Aram on his visit.
During a service Wednesday night at St. Mary's, haunting melodic strains of ancient hymns harked to a distant past, even as they washed over new generations of Armenians. Old men with etched faces and mothers cradling infants in their arms sang songs of the old country.
The next day at Forest Lawn, students welcomed Aram with poetry readings and a spoken choral presentation of the origins of the Armenian alphabet--all in Armenian. They sang the U.S. and Armenian national anthems, and seemed deeply touched by his appearance.
"An experience like this sparks that Armenian experience in us," said Razmig Haroun, 17, a native of Lebanon and a senior at the Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian High School in Hollywood. "It gives us a remembrance of who we are, and that's very important, living outside our homeland."
Maral Karagozian, 17, of Holy Martyr School in Encino agreed. She said that most of her Armenian classmates are determined to preserve the faith and culture. But, she said, "I am afraid for some."
Her classmate, Arda Andonian, also 17, noted that Aram had told them that other cultures had disappeared. "They were lost in the diaspora. We're still here. We're still living," she said. That the Armenian faith and culture have survived earthquakes, invasions, genocide and immigration is largely attributed by Armenians to their church. It has been a story, Aram said, not unlike the story of Jesus--a story of crucifixion and resurrection.
"This, indeed, has been the history of our people," he said, "Its entire
life has been sustained by the power of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.
The cross and the crucifixion have become a center of our life throughout
the history of our nation." (posted 3 November 2000)
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