RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


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Metropolitan Kirill on current matters

METROPOLITAN OF SMOLENSK AND KALININGRAD KIRILL ANSWERS QUESTIONS FROM "AiF" NEWSPAPER
"AiF Dolgozhitel," 17 June 2004

Spiritual Unity

--Your excellency. Tell us please what the relations between the Moscow patriarchate and the Ukrainian Orthodox church are like?

--The Ukrainian Orthodox church, which possesses the rights of independence and autonomy in administration, is in spiritual and canonical unity with the Moscow patriarchate. We have a common history and common sacred places. For the Russian Orthodox church the waters of the Dnepr were the first baptismal font. For our church there is great significance to the Kiev caves lavra whose founders and residents laid the foundations for the Russian monastic tradition and produced a multitude of heroes of piety. Today one can observe how numerous pilgrims from Russia go every day to the Kiev caves lavra and other sacred places in Ukraine. In their turn, many believers from Ukraine visit Russian monasteries and churches. This interactive process serves as a clear expression of our spiritual unity, which we should carefully preserve and strengthen.

--Master, what is now the condition of relations between the Russian Orthodox church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia?

--The particular nature of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was the consequence of the tragic events in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. During the civil war some of our episcopate were forced to leave the motherland. New agencies of church administration appeared outside Russia. Over the course of decades the opposition of political systems intensified the ecclesiastical administrative division, whose consequences we must overcome.

Today the reasons for the ancient strife are in the past. The church in Russia is free. There are no impediments to our reunification. After the recent visit to Moscow of a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia both we and they have created commissions which are supposed to find mutually acceptable resolutions of the questions of church unity. The principal goal of our dialogue is the restoration of prayer fellowship.

--Is there in the Russian Orthodox church a possibility of helping the Orthodox believers who have remained in the former republics of the Soviet Union, especially in those where the Muslim population predominates?

--After the fall of the Soviet Union our fellow countrymen in the republics found themselves in a complex and sometimes even catastrophic, difficult situation. They found themselves in a completely unfamiliar cultural and political situation and were often denied contacts with Russia. The only spiritual haven for such people, and not only Orthodox believers, is the Russian church building.

In all regions of the former Soviet Union we have managed to preserve dioceses and our clergy are continuing to serve in the churches. After the fall of USSR and the formation of new independent states the Russian Orthodox church remains the only firm basis for maintaining the national and cultural ideals of our fellow countrymen in the enormous postsoviet space. We seek new forms of cooperation with the authorities of one or another region or country and we are trying to achieve mutual understanding and support.

Maintenance of a high level of interreligious dialogue remains important. The Russian Orthodox church is its active participant. I want to recall that in Moscow on 2-4 March of this year the Second Interreligious Peacemaking Forum was held, which assembled representatives of Orthodox believers, Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews from Russia and CIS states.

The main task of the Interreligious Council of CIS Countries that was established by the forum is coordination of the activity of religious organizations for preventing interethnic and interreligious conflicts, provision of a more complete and fruitful cooperation among religious leaders, and the maintenance of the traditional cultural and spiritual heritage.

I sincerely hope that the activity of the newly formed Interreligious Council will facilitate improvement of the situation of Orthodox believers in CIS countries and prevent the manifestation of xenophobia and religious intolerance.

Social service reborn

--Could you describe the practical aid by the Russian church for the elderly and invalids, particularly in homes for the aged and shelters for the homeless.

--At the present time the social ministry, that constitutes a most important element of the mission of the Russian Orthodox church in the modern world, is gradually being reborn. During the domination of the atheist ideology, all charitable activity of our church was forbidden by law. Today we must resurrect social ministry and charitable activity practically in a vacuum. Church structures have been rebuilt, which are called to coordinate efforts in the area of charity. In our church there exists the Synodal Department of Charity and Social Ministry. At the diocesan level there exist similar institutions.

Of course, the level of intensity of social work differs in various regions. It depends on many factors. For example, in Moscow there is an extremely active diocesan commission on social ministry. It determines the strategy of the development of charitable ministry, seeks for resources and sponsors for carrying out specific projects, and gives parish clergy recommendations helping their work among the "newly poor." The activity of the commission comprises very diverse groups: invalids, prisoners, homeless, refugees and displaced persons, elderly and needy, and orphaned children.

All dioceses of the Moscow patriarchate conduct charitable work. They create brotherhoods, sisterhoods, nursing schools, and church charitable organizations and religious training centers. They have opened shelters for the homeless, almshouses, free soup kitchens for the needy, and overnight lodging. They have worked out a special program for victims of AIDS and successfully operate centers for rehabilitation of those suffering drug and alcohol addiction, and they give aid to people suffering from the activity of totalitarian sects and cults.

Here are some concrete examples. The "Life-giving Spring" in the Tsaritsyno Moscow district is a center successfully giving aid to crippled children. In the St. Nicholas church in the Moscow suburb of Zdekhovo construction is under way of a village for elderly people. In the patriarchal annex in Novoe Simonovo there is a Sunday school and services are conducted for the deaf.

In the Smolensk diocese entrusted to me social activity is conducted in close cooperation with the administration of Smolensk province. We have signed an agreement on cooperation with the governor and representatives of the diocese participate in working session of departments of the administration. Last year in Smolensk diocese there was a broad antidrug event called "Journey into the future," in which representatives of other traditional confessions took part along with Orthodox. An event of charity for orphaned children, "Hope for happiness," was held last year, too.

I am happy to note that our initiatives are viewed favorably and with understanding on the part of the government. In 2002, as a result of conversations with the government of the Russian federation, we reached an agreement for a favorable tariff for religious organizations on public services, orphanages, and charitable soup kitchens. This will help support and develop our social projects. I hope that such mutual understanding and readiness for dialogue on the part of governing authorities and representatives of traditional confessions will be maintained in the future as well.

--Please explain how pensions for priests and monastics will be calculated, in connection with the new law on pensions, and how this relates to the premise that the church is separated from the state?

--Clergy and monastics, like all citizens of Russia, are subject to obligatory taxes in accordance with legislation. It was that way also in the Soviet Union, where taxes on priests were more than half of their income, and it remains that way after its fall. Today from the salaries paid by parishes and monasteries a certain percentage is designated for the Pension Fund. Later the fund will pay the pensions of retired clerics of the Russian Orthodox church. I do not see in this any violation of the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state.

About suicide,  publicity, and ecumenism

--Is it true that funerals for suicides are performed in Smolensk churches?

--People who commit suicide have refused to bear their cross in life and doubt the saving providence of God for each person. According to Orthodox canons, suicides may not have church funerals or commemoration in churches. Exception can be made only after an investigation by a church court, in the case of insanity or those who were unable to control their behavior or take responsibility for it. Back in the nineteenth century in Smolensk diocese the Thursday before Trinity Forebears Saturday was set aside for commemoration of these unfortunate souls, the so-called "Semik."

--Television broadcasts on a practically equal basis sermons by Orthodox priests and non-Orthodox western preachers. Who regulates the number of such broadcasts, and how? Does the Russian church pay for television?

--The Russian Orthodox church does not have the means for buying air time. Television companies do not give us favorable rates. Orthodox clergy sometimes are invited on television programs as experts in order to provide the church's opinion on one or another question. The initiative in such an event comes from the producers of the television programs.

It is not surprising that western preachers appear on air more regularly than Orthodox clergy, especially in the provinces of the Russian federation, It is obvious that they have a way to pay for television. One can draw such a conclusion from the fact of their frequent appearance on the screen and the disproportionate weight given the religious organizations they represent.

--Your excellency, can you explain what ecumenism is and how the Russian Orthodox church views it?

--Ecumenism (from the Greek word "oikumena"--inhabited space) in the broadest sense designates the movement of various Christian confessions to reach unity in faith. This movement arose in the second half of the nineteenth century and it was organizationally formed on the basis of the past. The result was the creation of inter-Christian organizations like the World Council of Churches, of which the Russian Orthodox church is a member as are all other local Orthodox churches except for the Bulgarian and Georgian.

Our church prefers to speak about participation not in the ecumenical movement but in multilateral inter-Christian dialogue.  This is connected with the fact that ecumenism is understood differently in the protestant world and much of what is accepted there does not conform with Orthodox doctrine. We firmly believe in the One Holy Orthodox Church, created for the sake of the salvation of the world by the Lord Jesus Christ himself and founded upon the apostles.

Participation by Orthodox representatives in inter-Christian contacts is conditioned first of all on the hope for a return by the Christian world to the immutable source of the church's faith. Specifically, it is our attempt to achieve this in the continuing theological dialogues. In addition, we cooperate with Christians of other confessions in the social sphere in various programs of a humanitarian character.

Don't give your address and telephone number to strangers

--Nowadays very many sects have developed. Please tell us how a person who is not very deeply acquainted with the Law of God (after all, soviet education!) can detect in time whether he is being seduced into sectarian activity by someone who seems to care and makes all kinds of flattering suggestions. What is the first thing that should tell a person that he should be cautious?

--There really are many sects and each of them tries to acquire new members. In hunting souls they use an approach of "heightened  kindness" as you mentioned. At the first stage, the contrast of the "loving" community of sectarians and the outside world is stupefying and creates a dependency in the neophyte similar to drug addiction and a desire to spend more time within the sect. To detect the insincerity of the sectarian and to distinguish his professional love from real love is difficult. It becomes a torrent. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses come themselves into a building and telephone every apartment, following detailed plans. Jehovists methodically canvass the residents, recording the results in account books, and they leave behind their "Watchtower" magazine and offer help in studying sacred scripture. Incidentally, I want to warn that the text of the Bible that the Jehovists have is different from the canonical text. They have introduced changes in order to remove the contradictions between their doctrine and the Word of God. It is wrong to use such a text.

Followers of the Moon sect, who call their organization "Unification Church," have somewhat different methods. They approach people on the street and give them colorful leaflets and booklets with invitations to attend their meetings and seminars. One can always ask the street preachers who is the founder of their faith. Moonites admit in the end that their "divine teacher" is "Saint" Moon.

It is often possible to meet members of the so-called "Church of Christ." To the question of who they are they usually answer: "We are simply Christians and it makes no difference to us what denomination you belong to. We accept everybody, including Orthodox. The "Church of Christ" often invites people to various seminars and courses in the English language and sometimes to management and business courses.

It is not to hard to identify a sectarian in a preacher, while if he belongs to a so-called "eastern cult," then it is quite simple. Their names, "Society of Krishna Consciousness," and "Ananda Marga," speak for themselves. If any doubt remains, go to a nearby Orthodox church and show the priest the leaflets and books that they give you, or describe the contents of the conversation. You will be helped to figure it out. And one more advice: never give your address or telephone number. It often becomes very difficult to cut off subsequent phone calls and visits. (tr. by PDS, posted 24 June 2004)

Posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 21 June 2004

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Antireligious art on trial

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OR FREEDOM OF RELIGION
What is the Sakharov Center trial all about?
by Anatoly Medetsky
Moscow Times, 18 June 2004

Just two decades ago in the Soviet Union, few would have been surprised to hear talk of a work of art being brought to trial for offending the ideological beliefs of the majority of the population. Such things happened not once, but many times, most famously in 1966, when writers Yuly Daniel and Andrei Sinyavsky were declared guilty of publishing anti-Soviet works. At the time, Western observers were unanimous in their condemnation.

 And yet, in a trial that puts freedom of expression to the test today, prosecutors and the State Duma have come out on the side of the Orthodox Church to charge three organizers of a controversial art exhibition at the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center with intent to insult Orthodox believers. Yury Samodurov, the executive director of the Sakharov Center, Lyudmila Vasilovskaya, the center's exhibitions organizer, and Anna Mikhalchuk, a member of the Literary Union of Russia, took the stand last Tuesday at the Tagansky District Court for their role in the January 2003 exhibition, titled "Caution, Religion," which set sacred symbols in unusual contexts.

A victory over the organizers, who face up to five years in prison, will mean that Russia's dominant religion has emerged as a force capable of limiting artistic expression, as communists did for most of the last century, Samodurov said Monday.

But Alexander Chuyev, a Duma deputy from the nationalist Rodina bloc, said in an interview last week that limits are placed on freedom of expression not by the Orthodox Church, but by a law that prohibits insulting religious feelings. Last year, Chuyev convinced the Duma to pass a resolution calling on the prosecutors to investigate the exhibition.

Common targets among the 42 contentious photographs and installations at the exhibition included the mass commercialization of religious beliefs, and the increasingly powerful role that the church has been playing in state affairs. The exhibits included a mock Coca-Cola advertisement, with Christ's face juxtaposed against the words "This is My Blood"; an oversized Orthodox-style icon into which viewers could insert their own heads; and a triptych showing three men crucified on a cross, a red star and a swastika.

Four days after the exhibition opened, six Orthodox followers of Father Alexander Shargunov, a priest who has been leading a nationwide drive for a revival of morality, paid a visit to the museum, smearing paint on the artworks and walls, and scrawling the words "Vermin," "Sacrilege" and "You Hate Orthodoxy." The Sakharov Center attempted to sue the vandals for damages, but charges were dropped in the wake of the Duma resolution and a massive showing of support from the church. In December and January, prosecutors accused Samodurov and the other organizers of conspiring to incite national and religious hatred, and the vandals are now witnesses in their trial.

Answering the charges at Tuesday's opening session, Samodurov and the other two defendants said that it was unclear whom the exhibition had hurt other than the artists and the center's employees, and their lawyers argued the charges were improperly filed and nebulous. In a small victory for the defense, Judge Natalia Larina ruled Wednesday that prosecutors have five days to specify the charges.

The inability of the prosecution and defense to agree on the substance of the case reflected an ongoing disagreement as to the context in which the trial should be viewed. According to Samodurov and the Sakharov Center, the case is a test of Russia's fledgling right to free expression, artistic and otherwise. But in the opinion of Chuyev, the Duma legislator, what's at stake is an equally newborn privilege -- the freedom to practice one's religion unhindered.

When the trial resumes, Samodurov plans to defend the exhibition as an effort to provoke thought, not hatred, through artistic expression. "There was no anti-religious intention," he commented. "The purpose was to give the artists the chance to express their attitudes toward religious institutions and manifestations of religiousness, both positive and negative."

 According to Samodurov, the triptych with the crucifix, red star and swastika was intended as a warning against religious fundamentalism. The image of Christ on the Coca-Cola logo was meant as a protest against the commercialization of religion. "What else is it when people in cassocks -- I beg your pardon for calling them 'priests' -- bless restaurants?" he asked.

 Religion has experienced a revival in the post-Soviet period, with many destroyed churches rebuilt and top officials, including President Vladimir Putin and his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, shown on television attending church services. During a visit to the Duma last week, Patriarch Alexy II told lawmakers of a prayer that had been developed especially for them.

 Yet Chuyev dismissed criticism of the Church's rising influence, saying that school curricula do not require lessons on religious subjects, and that the media "propagate the cult of wealth." What angered the museum's attackers, he said, was the "improper" use of religious symbols. According to the indictment, the juxtaposition of images such as the cross and swastika caused an involuntary and natural reaction on the part of believers like Nikolai Smakhtin, who took part in the attack and is now a witness in the trial.

 "The methods used to insult the sacred objects of the Christian faith were intolerable for the psyche of a faithful Christian, and, as [Smakhtin] believes, of any normal nonbeliever," the indictment reads.

Prosecutors backed up this line of argument with an expert opinion from a psychologist, Vera Abramenkova, who testified in the indictment that "the sacrilegious comparison of a sanctity and a mass product, of the high and the low, contains a provocation, and causes reciprocal hostile actions on the part of the recipient, the development of affective reactions, and aggressive and intolerant relations between individuals and social groups on the grounds of their religious beliefs."

Chuyev approved of the attack, saying that the men had done what they could to stop a crime. "The freedom of expression ends where the rights of other people begin," he said. "If you draw sexual acts or pornography, then you will also be condemned because there are norms of morality. Any freedom of expression should be regulated by law."

Samodurov denied that the artists' use of religious symbols was an insult. "Contemporary art has long been using Christian symbols that are meaningful for believers," he said, adding that the images of God, the Virgin and the saints belong to believers and nonbelievers to equal extents. "Religious censorship is absolutely impossible and unacceptable for works of art that aren't intended for temples," he argued.

Samodurov, who said that he had once made a contribution to a restoration fund for a Moscow church destroyed by the Bolsheviks, admitted that some of the works had, indeed, shocked him, "but I took pains to understand their point. You shouldn't say that artists create their works to insult someone."

He also suggested that the exhibition's critical take on growing Orthodox clout had angered the church more than it would care to admit. Most of the artworks at the exhibition faulted the church for attempting to establish itself in "a leading ideological and political role in the country" -- a position that had formerly been occupied by the Communist Party. And it is precisely that growing influence that has made it possible to prosecute the artists in a trial that "wouldn't have been possible several years ago," Samodurov said. (posted 20 June 2004)

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Religion study in provinces

REQUIRED COURSE FOR ORTHODOXY
by Nika Parfenova
Drug dlia druga (Kursk), 15 June 2004

In the new academic year the elective subject of "Fundamentals of Orthodox culture" will be introduced in all schools of Kursk and the province. Somewhat later it is planned to make this subject a required course. Judging from the results of a survey conducted by the department of religious studies of Kursk State University, 90 percent of school children wish for this. The remaining ten percent will suffer seriously since usually in our schools what is "elective" acquires the unofficial status of required.

Professors of the Kursk university have already developed the textbook of Orthodox culture for the lower grades. Purchasing of textual resources will be facilitated by the Snegireva Fund for Support of Teachers and by the Kursk diocese. By the beginning of the new school year the fund will deliver around 5,000 books. The problem that school directors may face is a shortage of personnel. But the same Kursk university has set up courses where teachers of "Orthodox culture" will be trained. The clergy maintains that biblical parables, which children in lower grades view as fables, elevate morality. One cannot disagree with this statement. But on the other hand, in our school classes in Russian language we did not study nouns only, and in math, we did not study multiplication only. So why not introduce the subject of "Religious Studies" into the schools in order to give to the children a complete picture of world religions? Faith in God and moral principles that are inseparable from it are spiritual categories. So why introduce a required course in Orthodoxy? (tr. by PDS, posted 20 June 2004)

Posted on the Portal-credo.ru site, 20 June 2004

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Medieval practices used for Georgian reunification

GEORGIAN REPUBLICANS ORGANIZE MASS BAPTISM OF AJARIS
Portal-credo.ru, 19 June 2004

Around 200 Ajaris were baptized in the Ajari autonomous republic in an event of mass baptism organized by the Republican Party of Georgia in the course of its electoral campaign for the upcoming elections to the supreme soviet of the autonomous republic on 20 June, according to a report from Kavkazskii uzel.

The incident occurred in the village of Zeda Chkutuneti, of the Khelvachauri district of Ajaria, located several kilometers from the Turkish border.

Meanwhile, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili continues his stay in the Ajarian autonomous republic, leading the election campaign of his "National Movement" party, which is contesting the elections for the supreme soviet under the slogan "Saakashvili for victorious Ajaria." Yesterday the president was in the Khuloi district of Ajaria where he held a meeting with the local population and attended the local mosque, where he gave assurances that the government will support representatives of all confessions equally.

It should be noted that a portion of the Ajari population embrace Islam, which is the result of the three-century occupation of the region by the Ottoman empire, and the employment during this time by the Turkish authorities of a policy of forced conversion of Ajari Georgians to Islam. After the return of Ajaria to Georgia there began a process of the return of the local population to Christianity, which has become especially pronounced in the recent past. At the present time, according to approsimate estimates, the number of Muslims and Christians in the autonomous republic is about equal, with Christians predominating in the cities and coastal villages, and Muslims in the mountainous regions. Against the background of the movement for a return of Ajaris to Christianity, mass baptisms of families, villages, and clans have taken place. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 June 2004)

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Despite ban, Jehovah's Witnesses hold congresses

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES CONGRESS HELD IN MOSCOW LUZHNIKI ARENA
Sedmitza.ru, 18 June 2004

The annual provincial congress of Jehovah's Witnesses was held 11-13 June in Moscow in the main arena of the Luzhniki sports complex. According to the organizing committee of the congress, 21,290 persons participated in the congress, representing Jehovah's Witnesses meetings (congregations) from Moscow, Riazan, Smolensk, Tula, Kaluga, and Briansk. The slogan for the congress was "Walk with God."

The program of speeches was worked out by the Brooklyn world center of Jehovist organizations (USA). Those speaking at the congress included the president of the Administrative Committee of the Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, Vasily Kalin (St. Petersburg). The events of the congress included a theatrical presentation about the life of the first Christians and the missionary activity of the apostle Paul. Congress participants listened to "evangelists'" speeches about the experience of the work of propagating Jehovism. The speeches were interspersed with prayers and singing with musical accompaniment. The sports arena also was the site of the baptism of new members of the Jehovist organization. In a converted swimming pool, 496 persons were baptized, including 396 women and 100 men. The youngest of the new members of the organization undergoing baptism was a ten-year-old girl and the oldest was a woman of 90 years, 7 months.

Congress participants were offered a pamphlet "Good News for people of all nations," containing identical texts in 93 languages of peoples of the world with a brief statement about the idea of "the happy life." The pamphlet is a device in case one meets someone whose language the "evangelist" does not know.

During these same days, 11-13 June, in the "Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses" in Moscow a similar congress was held for deaf adherents of this religious organization. Over 900 persons participated in it.

The Moscow forum of Jehovah's Witnesses is the first of 43 three-day congresses which will be held in regions of Russia during the summer. Similar summer gatherings of Jehovah's Witnesses with the identical program worked out by the Brooklyn administrative center are conducted annually in all corners of the earth, "Blagovest-info" reports. It is obvious that the judicial prohibition on the activity of Jehovists in Moscow is being completely ignored by their adherents. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 June 2004)

Russia Religion News Current News Items

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES CONGRESS IN VORONEZH DRAWS OVER 5,000
Portal-credo.ru, 18 June 2004

The annual summer congress of Jehovah's Witnesses of the Central Black Earth district of Russia opened on 18 June in the "Chaika" municipal stadium in Voronezh. More than 5,500 adherents of this religious denomination from Voronezh, Kursk, Belgorod, Lipetsk, and Tambov provinces gathered for the three-day forum being held under the slogan "Walk with God," a Portal-credo.ru correspondent reported.

There were no impediments to the organization of the congress on the part of the authorities, despite the appearance a month ago of a call to "all patriots" not to allow the congress to be conducted in Voronezh in a newspaper run by the city administration. At the time the newspaper cited the decision of the Moscow court for the liquidation of the Moscow district organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, which in no way affects their Voronezh fellow believers.

Since 2000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Voronezh have rented the "Chaika" stadium every year, paying a rental fee to the administration of the stadium for conducting the event. This year, according to information from the "Bereg" newspaper, the fee was 25,000 rubles. The renters conducted repairs in the facilities of the stadium by their own efforts.

Over the past ten years, Jehovah's Witnesses have been the most vigorously expanding denomination in the provinces of the Russian Black Earth region. In Voronezh alone, 16 meetings (congregations) are active, each numbering in the range of 100 to 200 persons. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 June 2004)

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If material is quoted, please give credit to the publication from which it came.
It is not necessary to credit this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please include reference to the URL, http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.