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RELIGION NEWS
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Russia
Religion News Current News Items
Russian Pentecostals work for society
ROAD TO THE CHURCH
INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP SERGEI RIAKHOVSKY
by Tatiana Sekridova
Litsa, June 2004
Each of us has our own path to the church. Some choose it by virtue of
traditions, and others at the call of the soul. Sergei Riakhovsky chose
his path, one of the thorniest, following his grandfather and father.
"God is great," he says. "It is impossible to confine him within the
limits of any one confession and religion." This is why he, the bishop
and president of the Russian Associated Union of Christians of
Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals) became a member of the Council of
Cooperation with Religious Associations of the Russian presidential
administration and actively works on creating a tolerant and
pluralistic society.
--We representatives of the evangelical protestant church have great
respect for Orthodoxy as a religion, which has existed in Russia more
than 1,000 years, although we have a whole series of theological and
cultural differences," Sergei Vasilievich Riakhovsky says. "But this
does not prevent our considering all Christians our brothers and
sisters. After all, only with the commonwealth of Christian religions
is the regeneration of Russia possible. It is in this diversity that
Russia has great wealth. But we do not live in the past. We are
concerned for the present and future. We are a dynamically developing
church marching in step with the times. And if in the 21st century the
church should preach with the help of the Internet, that means we will
master this way too in order to be accessible and close to our flock,
which has grown and developed along with civilization. Because we live
for people and for the solution to problems of contemporary persons. It
is possible that this is what draws to our services a great number of
youth from various strata of society. But they are all united by their
being active, enterprising, and honest, and they love life and try to
be strong and healthy. Incidentally, this can also be called its own
kind of protest.
--So its turns out that you summon into your ranks "the cream of
society"?
--Well, if one considers as "cream" those alcoholics and drug addicts
whom we collect from basements, the garbage cans, and the dumps, in
order that they can be restored to health and meaningful life in our
rehabilitation centers. Just in the past fifteen years we have opened
113 rehabilitation centers for drug addicts and alcoholics, in which
almost 9,000 persons have undergone a course of restoration. Then many
of them became students in colleges, schools, and higher educational
institutions. More than 65 percent of those undergoing rehabilitation
have total remission and develop a taste for life and settle down with
families and children. For example, in the city of Tiumen alone at the
"Light for the world" church, whose pastor is Sergei lavrenov, there
are three charitable organizations working. Thanks to their efforts in
just the past three years more than seventy former drug addicts have
undergone rehabilitation and returned to a useful life, while medicine
is practically powerless in such circumstances. Very successful work in
this direction has been done by religious organizations of the cities
of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tula, Yaroslavl, Noiabrsk, Nizhnevartovsk,
Norilsk, Krasnoiarsk, Saianogorsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk,
Orel, Krasnodar, Stavropol, and many, many others. You simply cannot
count them all. When traveling around the cities and all of our great
country I see how people are being changed through faith in God and
turn their lives around for the better. We conduct preventive work and
we give material aid to people who are located in places of
incarceration; we take there goods and clothing, bedding and books for
the interior libraries, and we help with medical equipment and
medicines. Our church conducts ministries in hospices and it helps
throughout Russia about 600 children's homes and hospitals, it conducts
educational programs "The truth about AIDS," "Healthy family," "Choose
life" (against drugs), and "Life" (about the harm of abortions) for
youth and groups at risk, and it organizes amateur athletic teams,
sections, and clubs. In addition, we regularly conduct charitable
events and help refugees from CIS countries. We occupy ourselves in
betterment of the conditions of the social life of our flock.
Compassion for suffering people is one of the main tasks of our church.
This is why our influence with youth and people of an active civil
position has been growing. Because people see real results of our work.
We have a "Bases for a social doctrine of ROSKhVE," in many points of
which, incidentally, we cite the doctrine of the Russian Orthodox
church.
I do not know about the problems of our society only by hearsay, since
I myself am a parish priest and a pastor of a local church. In our
church alone dozens of marriages of former drug addicts and homeless
persons, for whom it seems that life was lost, have been conducted.
Nevertheless we helped them to return.
--I have heard that you received several higher educations in secular
institutions. Is that true?
--I have an engineering, technical, and medical education. Before 1995,
besides ministry in the church, I worked in secular work, in a factory,
in an institute, and in a hospital. And in evenings and on weekends I
ministered in the church, now for more than a quarter century. Of
these, 13 years were in the soviet period. This period was very
difficult. We conducted services in the summer in forests, near the
village of Peredelkino in the suburbs of Moscow. And in the winter we
broke into groups of 30 to 50 people each and met for divine services
in apartments throughout Moscow. My father was sentenced three times
for his convictions, under Stalin, under Khrushchev, and under
Brezhnev. I devoted my life to God and became a clergyman and master of
theology, also receiving a religious education. My wife also ministers
in the church and the older of my six children help us in this.
--Sergei Vasilevich, if the evangelical church does so much for the
good of society, why was your church persecuted, and still is even now?
--Alas, not everybody understands us, and not always. This engenders
caution and questions, a prejudiced attitude and unfounded fears, that
create attempts to pressure us or indirectly control us. We have always
been and we remain patriots of our country. We have an absolutely clear
position with regard to the state. For the whole world Russia has its
own kind of barometer, since it is feared and respected at the same
time. And it is always very important who stands at its head. We
support the president and those efforts that he has made for building a
tolerant society in Russia. For us, any ruler is established or
permitted by God. Incidentally, the family name of Putin in English
means "established." And at each of our services we pray both for the
president and for Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus. We believe
that the present situation in the country is the beginning of the
restoration of a new Russia in which we believe. We propose our own
vision of relations of state and church. Socially oriented. That the
church not interfere in politics and economics, but enrich them.
We are patriots for Russia, which thanks to its inner resources should
become a leading world state. After all, the greatest wealth of our
country is not minerals but people. It is those people who are the
chief value, for whom it is necessary to fight. And we work in order to
educate people to be honest and desire to help their neighbors. We have
a saying: "We are saved in order to serve." And our believers have
risen to the defense of the fatherland in every difficult time. My
grandfather had eleven brothers and they all fought at the front in the
Great Patriotic War. Only he and his younger brother survived. Thus for
all of my family Victory Day is a sacred holiday. Incidentally, I also
served in the army, in the paratroopers. The pastor of the Yaroslavl
"Church of God," Andrei Dirienko, served in the Yaroslavl antiaircraft
garrison and an advisor of the bishop, Petr Gontarenko, was an officer
in the navy, captain of the first rank. This is why we have an
extremely negative attitude that the Russian army has had mud poured on
it at various levels. Such unfounded destruction of ideology and mixing
of morals has become a real tragedy for the entire Russian people. As a
result of the departure of our forces from eastern Europe, southeast
Asia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia we have gotten a boiling kettle of
conflicts and problems. We try with all our might to correct this
unjust attitude toward the army in the ranks of our followers. And our
youth do their patriotic duty to the motherland with joy and pride. And
from the command of the troops where our youth serve, we receive only
thanks. Our youth know that love for the fatherland begins not with
insistent demands but with an understanding that it is necessary to do
something important for one's country. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 August
2004)
Posted on Religiia i
SMI, 10 August 2004
Russia
Religion News Current News Items
Search for solution to church seizure
SHVYDKOY INTERVENES IN RELIGIOUS CONFLICT
Interfax, 10 August 2004
The Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography has demanded the
vacating of the building of the church of the Resurrection of Christ in
Kadashi, located at No. 2 Kadashevsky Lane, which was seized by members
of the parish.
As already reported, the church, in which at present is located the
I.E. Grabar All-Russian Artistic Scientific Restoration Center
(VKhNRTs), was seized by members of the church parish led by the priest
Alexander Saltykov on 2 August.
"We consider that it is necessary immediately to take measures for
vacating the VKhNRTs building, for restoring normal activity of the
restorers, and for preserving the cultural treasures located in the
center," noted the official declaration of the Federal Agency for
Culture and Cinematography (FAKK) of Russia, which was delivered
yesterday to the "Interfax" news agency.
"At the present time FAKK and the Federal Agency for Administration of
Federal Property have found a resolution of the question regarding the
removal of the services and subdivisions of VKhNRTs from houses of
worship, although the actual transfer of the center into the designated
premises will require a certain amount of time," the document says.
"At the same time, the adoption of responsible decisions under such
blatant pressure as the seizure of the building of a federal state
institution of culture is absolutely impossible," the FAKK statement
for the press emphasized.
"Crude violation of the law, to which the believers resorted, cannot be
justified by any noble ideas and notions. It is obvious that the
consequences of such actions are unpredictable and catastrophic," FAKK
thinks.
According to information of the authors of the document, "at the
present time there are located in the center equipment and cultural
treasures that belong to the state and private persons worth a total of
about ten million dollars." "VKhNRTs associates do not have access to
the building," the statement stresses.
In the period since 2 August church services have been conducted from
nine in the morning to seven in the evening, and during the rest of the
time the premises are guarded by armed personnel.
"As a result of the actions of a group of people with extremist
attitudes not only was the activity of the restorers stopped but also
the security of unique artistic works, in the process of restoration
and thus requiring special temperature and climate conditions of
maintenance, was placed at risk," the authors of the document note.
In the whole time of the conflict over the church of the Resurrection
of Christ in Kadashi, FAKK has been conducting continuous negotiations
with hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox church, the statement says. The
director of FAKK, Mikhail Shvydkoy, sent letters to the deputy prime
minister of the Russian government, Alexander Zhukov, the head of the
Ministry of Internal Affvairs, Rashid Nurgaliev, and Russian Minister
of Culture and Mass Communications Alexander Sokolov. The government of
Moscow also has been informed about the situation.
Meanwhile, as Interfax reports, associates of VKhNRTs sent a request
for help in resolving the situation over the church to Patriarch Alexis
II of Moscow and all-Rus. The authors of the letter call the
parishioners' action "an impudent seizure of property unprecedented in
the past seventy years, which can qualify as a terrorist act."
The letter recalls that the Resurrection church was allotted to the
center by the state in 1964, and after a resolution by the Russian
government in 1992 to transfer the buildings to the church the
leadership of the center began an active search for a new building both
at the city and the federal level, which, however, was not crowned with
success: "the buildings suggested to us were either completely
unworkable for locating the center or, in the case of relatively
appropriate ones, were bought by wealthier organizations."
"In spite of this, since 1992 Fr Alexander Saltykov and the parish he
heads, instead of showing help in this difficult matter, took a course
of complete expulsion of the restorers from the church," the authors of
the letter write further. It notes that on the part of members of the
parish, "a full range of impermissible actions were undertaken--threats
and pickets by very dubious people using selected quotes from texts of
sacred scripture with curses directed against the workers of the
center."
For a week now, since the parish took control of the church, the
restorers have not been admitted into it. Meanwhile there remain in the
church "priceless exhibits that are in process of restoration, and
without timely intervention of the restorers in this process they could
be irretrievably lost to Russia and the whole world."
The letter points out also that the unique archive of the center is
located in the building, in which are preserved historical and cultural
primary sources and documentation, along with a library containing very
valuable editions of art studies and valuable technical equipment,
x-rays, computers, and cameras.
Speaking of the impermissibility of violent seizure of the premises of
the Grabar VKhNRTs, its workers recall that in its time the center
preserved and brought back to life such sacred objects as the image of
the Vladimir Mother of God, Andrei Rublev's "Trinity," and remarkable
icons of the pre-Mongol period and many works of Russian iconography of
the 16th and 17th centuries. Associates of the center have participated
in the restoration of the church of St. Basil and a whole number of
other monuments of culture that have world significance.
"Again we ask Your Holiness to help us in this complex and difficult
situation," the center's workers write in conclusion. (tr. by
PDS, posted 10 August 2004)
Posted on Portal-credo.ru
site, 10 August 2004
APPEAL TO REPRESENTATIVES OF NEWS MEDIA
from the Parish of the church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi
St. Mark 11.15-17
"Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those selling and
buying in the temple; and he overturned the tables of the money
changers and stalls of the dove sellers. And he did not permit anyone
to carry something through the temple. And he taught them, saying: is
it not written, my house shall be called a house of prayer for all
peoples? But you have made it a house of thieves (Is. 56.7)"
Respected journalists!
The Orthodox parish of the church of the Resurrection of Christ in
Kadashi of the city of Moscow of the Moscow Russian Orthodox church
calls you to take a balanced and objective position in reporting the
complex situation that has arisen over the church.
The Orthodox parish of the church of the Resurrection of Christ in
Kadashi acted in defense of the Orthodox church building. Parishioners
have insisted on the termination of the functioning of a secular
commercial institution and of the conduct of work not connected with
church services on the territory of the church.
According to the 1997 law "On freedom of conscience and religious
associations" of RF and also a resolution of the government of Moscow
of 7 December 2000, nationalized property is supposed to be returned to
the Russian Orthodox church.
On 2 February 1918 the Council of People's Commissars of RSFSR
published over the signature of V.I. Lenin the "Decree on separation of
church from state and schools from the church." The property of many
parishes was nationalized. The church of the Resurrection of Christ in
Kadashi was no exception. On 25 October 1990 this decree was rescinded
by the law of RSFSR "On freedom of religious confession." In the 1997
law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" and the
constitution of RF the restoration of the rights of the church also was
confirmed.
We frequently appealed to the leadership of the art studios of the I.E.
Grabar All-Russian Artistic Scientific Restoration Center, which has
until now been occupying the premises of the church, requesting that
they clear out of them. The term of the agreement of the restoration
center with the Department of State and Municipal Property of the city
of Moscow ran out in 2001 and a new one could not be concluded in
accordance with the above named resolution of the government of Moscow.
Thus, the church has already long been transferred to the parish, and
the territory on which the church building is located has been under
the control of only the parish of the church of the Resurrection of
Christ in Kadashi, to which it has the right in accordance with the
certificate on state registration.
The I.E. Grabar VKhNRTs has been frequently offered the possibility of
moving into other premises, located on Radio and Durov streets and in
the Siberian passage, but the directorship of the artistic studios was
not prepared to part with the building in the center of Moscow.
Frequent statement in the news media by the leadership of VKhNRTs about
the restoration of the church have not corresponded to reality; the
last restoration work was done in 1964, although state money for it was
apportioned in all subsequent years.
Our parish was restored in 1992. Parishioners have been forced until
now to conduct divine services in a renovated carriage house equipped
for conducting services. And in the course of twelve years they have
patiently waited for a decision by the leadership of the restoration
center, despite that the church had already long since been transferred
to the parish and the territory on which the building of the church is
located was under the control only of the parish of the church of the
Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi (to which it has the right in
accordance with the certificate on state registration). Now the parish
has begun to live its life within the walls of the church and services
have been revived here.
The parish placed the question squarely before the leadership of
the I.E. Grabar VKhNRTs concerning its move and it exercised its legal
right not to admit workers of the restoration center to the
territory of the church. The premises of the art studios were sealed by
both sides and any worker of the studios or owner of property located
in the storehouse in the studios of the I.E. Grabar VKhNRTs may recover
the property belonging to him, with the permission of the leadership of
the restoration center and in the company of the curator of the I.E.
Grabar VKhNRTs.
We are open to dialogue and are prepared to help in the transfer of the
I.E. Grabar VKhNRTs to new premises within a reasonable period of time.
More detailed information can be found on the site
http://www.kadashi.ru, which will begin its work in the near future.
For additional information and materials please address the following
contact persons: Alexander Rakov, representative of the parish,
253-20-97, ext 7178, aar@vfp.ru, or Anastasiia Aidinova, Mikhailov and
Partners Agency. Department of strategic communications, 956-39-72, est
120, 956-39-73, Aidinova@mikh-partn.ru. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 August
2004)
Posted on Portal-credo.ru
site, 10 August 2004
Jehovah's Witnesses building in Novgorod
NOVGORODIANS OPPOSE CONSTRUCTION OF JEHOVIST HOUSE OF WORSHIP
Blagovest-info, 10 August 2004
Residents of a microdistrict in which the construction of a
Jehovah's
Witnesses house of worship is being planned have prepared an appeal to
the mayor of Great Novgorod and the city prosecutor. The appeal
contains
the demand not to permit construction of a "Kingdom Hall."
Resident of the microdistrict worry about the inconveniences
associated
"with propaganda conducted by this sect." "We do not understand why our
city government permits these sects in our city, and then they are
surprised
that our children end their lives by suicide."
Social tension among residents of the microdistrict arose also
because
the Jehovah's Witnesses did not inform the residents of the intended
construction.
But practically none of them read an announcement on the pages of the
"Novgorodskie
vedomosti" newspaper inviting them to a public hearing on the matter of
the future construction. In addition, residents of the microdistrict
worry
about retribution on the part of members of the sect, and for this
reason
they ask reporters not to mention their names in their articles. (tr.
by
PDS, posted 10 August 2004)
Posted on Sedmitsa.ru
site, 10 August 2004
NOVGOROD BAPTISTS AND JEHOVISTS EXPLAIN WHICH OF THEM ARE HERETICS
Sedmitsa.ru,
2 August 2004
As already reported, in Great Novgorod the construction of a
"Kingdom
Hall" of the "Jehovah's Witnesses" religious organization is being
planned.
A representative of one of the religious confessions active on the
territory
of Novgorod province, an aide to the bishop of Evangelical and Baptist
churches of Novgorod province, Lev Shults, shared his opinion on this
matter.
"Our church views 'Witnesses' as a sect, and we consider the doctrines
they preach heretical," Shults said. "I note also that from our point
of
view they cannot in any way be called a Christian sect, since they deny
the diety of Jesus Christ. I stress here that we are not against those
people who attend meetings of the 'Witnesses.' At the same
time, we think that they, as followers of Russell, preach a doctrine
that
leads to destruction."
"We are against the appearance of a religious building of
'Witnesses'
in Novgorod," Shults continued. "I think that here were are in
solidarity
with representatives of all branches of Christianity. As a Christian I
personally opposed this construction."
"As a Christian I cannot reconcile myself with the distortion of the
texts of sacred scripture that the 'Witnesses' commit. 'Jehovah's
Witness'
do not recognize the Holy Trinity and they deny the divine nature of
Christ.
After all, it is on these canons that all three branches of
Christianity,
Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and protestantism, base their teaching. In
addition,
if one speaks about the practice of daily life, 'Jehovah's Witnesses'
oppose,
for example, receiving donor's blood. From the press I know that there
have been cases when 'Witnesses' kidnapped from hospitals their own
relatives,
'saving' them from blood transfusion. As a result, the 'rescued
persons'
died. I read that such has more than once occurred in USA, Estonia,
Bulgaria,
and other countries," the representative of the Baptists of Novgorod
province
noted, according to a report from IA REGNUM. (tr. by PDS, posted 10
August)
Russia
Religion News Current News Items
Saratov Mormons face continued opposition
MORMONS LEFT WITHOUT ROOF
Orthodox and Muslims against construction of American church in Saratov
by Andrei Kozenko
Kommersant (Volgograd) , 10 August 2004
Yesterday the Ecclesiastical Board of Muslims of the Volga Valley
[Povolzhe]
issued a declaration in which it condemned the construction in Saratov
of a church building complex of the "Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day
Saints," better known as Mormons. The Saratov Orthodox diocese has
already
been fighting a month against this construction, with the silent
support
of the authorities. The Mormons themselves have silently borne the
offense
from the start, but they then turned to Governor Dmitry Aiatskov for
defense.
The "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" has 47 local
organizations
in Russia, uniting more than 16,000 adherents. The Volga regional
center
of Mormons is located in Samara. The Saratov congregation of Mormons
numbers,
according to differing accounts, from 500 to 1,600 persons.
Permission for construction of a church building complex was
received
by the Mormons back in 2001. They were allotted a parcel of land of
1398
square meters on Gogol Street, not far from the historic center of
Saratov.
But geographically, the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
ran
into bad luck. The future church building complex turned out to be
located
simultaneously near both the Orthodox church of the Protection of the
Mother
of God and a Muslim mosque.
The Orthodox began an uproar as soon as they learned about the start
of construction. At the end of July Bishop of Saratov and Volsk Longin
called the attention of Governor Dmitry Aiatskov and Mayor Yury
Aksenenko
to the fact that the "sectarians" intended to begin construction of the
church close to the Orthodox church. Without waiting for a response, on
23 July the Orthodox church organized an anti-Mormon demonstration on
Theatre
Square. About 500 persons came to it. Among the slogans thrown around
were
"Mormons slander Christ and the Theotokos," "In Moscow are Krishnaites,
in Saratov, Mormons. Let's not break up Russia bit by bit," and
"Mormons,
how much does CIA pay you?"
At approximately the same time, according to information obtained by
Kommersant, the chairman of the Committee for Public Relations of the
government
of the province, Boris Shinchuk, called the leaders of the Saratov
organization
of Mormons and asked them to transfer the construction of the complex
to
the outskirts of the city and to give up the lot on Gogol Street. How
this
conversation ended up is unknown. Both sides were not even willing to
confirm
that it ever happened.
Last Saturday Saratov cossacks came out against the construction of
the Mormon church. Around 100 people in cossack uniforms chose as their
place of protest the monument to Nikolai Chernyshevsky; the
demonstration
was conducted at its base. The hetman of the Saratov division of the
Volga
cossack host, Vladimir Morozov, stated that Saratov was being turned
into
an "international sectarian center." "We will not now lift a finger
against
them. But they should take the advice to get away from here as quickly
as possible. They still do not know with whom they are dealing!" the
Saratov
hetman rendered his verdict.
Yesterday the idea of the struggle with Mormons was supported also
by
the Ecclesiastical Board of Muslims of the Volga Valley (DUMP). The
imam
of DUMP, Mukaddas Bibarsov, also condemned the construction of the
Mormon
church, but he was more restrained. "This organization (Mormons) has
undertaken
construction when they knew beforehand what kind of attitude there is
here
to its followers. It is clear that they will be conducting work with
people
in the building being constructed. We know that the center of this
organization
is located in America. We know that today the majority of Muslims have
an exceptionally negative attitude toward American policy," he
declared.
According to Mr. Bibarsov, he also wrote letters to Mayer Yury
Aksenenko
and Governor Dmitry Aiatskov requesting that the construction of the
Mormon
complex of buildings not be permitted in the center of Saratov.
The Mormons themselves consider that the campaign being begun
against
them was senseless from the start. "We are not building a church
building;
this will be a building for meetings," a representative of the "Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," Andrei Filimonov, told
Kommersant
yesterday. He confirmed that permission for construction had been
received
back in 2001, but he did not rule out that after such a stormy campaign
it would be cancelled. The Saratov congregation of Mormons also turned
to the governor for defense. But officials still have not reacted to
this
conflict in any way. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 August 2004)
Posted on Portal-credo.ru
site, 10 August 2004
COSSACKS AT ANTIMORMON DEMONSTRATION
"They do not know with whom they are dealing"
SaratovBiznesKonsalting,
9 August 2004
On 7 August a demonstration of the Kuban-wide cossack host against
the
construction of a building of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints" was held near Lipka Park. After having demonstrated and holding
talks on the square for half an hour the cossacks dispersed. In that
time
five speakers (four soldiers and one priest) managed to express their
attitude
toward the "diabolical sect" of Mormons.
The hetman of the Saratov division of the Volga cossack host,
Vladimir
Morozov, stated that cossacks demand the prohibition of locating a
Mormon
church next to an Orthodox church. The hetman is worried that Saratov
is
being turned into an "international sectarian center." Another speaker
threatened: "We will not now lift a finger against them. But they
should
take the advice to get away from here as quickly as possible. They
still
do not know with whom they are dealing!" At the same time cossacks
spoke
about the own loyal attitude toward Islam and Buddhism.
Around 100 persons gathered in cossack uniforms at the monument to
Chernyshevsky.
They called the Mormons "a diabolical and socially dangerous sect and
spies
for CIA." The Mormons themselves we not seen at the event. This is now
the second demonstration of protest on this matter. The first was held
on Theatre Square by RPTs. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 August)
Related article: Mormons
face opposition in Saratov
Russia
Religion News Current News Items
Only one-third of concientious objectors gain
alternative
service
URALS ALTERNATIVE SERVICEMEN WORK IN DEFENSE ENTERPRISES
Portal-credo.ru,
7 August 2004
The law on alternative military service is in effect; the first
nonmilitary
conscripts have begun work in defense enterprises, Cheliabinsk State
TV-Radio
Company reports.
Two young men now are performing alternative civilian service in the
Urals Optical Mechanical Factory. Another four are applying for
openings.
The Optical Mechanical Factory is one of the first experimental
areas
for carrying out military reform. The enterprises of Russian defense
industry
have opened doors to those who cannot defend the fatherland because of
their religious convictions. Aleksei Tilibaev is forbidden by his
religion
to bear arms; he is a Seventh-day Adventist. Thus instead of a machine
gun, Tilibaev, who managed to get alternative civilian service, has a
milling
machine. Aleksei's working clothes include a soccer shirt with the
slogan
"Dangerous Soldier" [in English]. In it he makes bolts and
screws.
To get the opportunity of performing alternative service, the conscript
Tilibaev had to go through the court. He says that at first they did
not
want to satisfy his suit, claiming that he simply wished to "dodge."
"But
I knew that there was going to be alternative service soon and I
intended to get into it," Aleksei Talibaev says.
Alternative service is a serious benefit for defense factories. They
are catastrophically short of workers because the pay is too low. And
conscripts
can fill the vacancies for as much as three and a half years. There are
now two alternative servicemen in the optical mechanical factory, a
machinist
and metalworker. Soon the contingent should be increased by another
four.
According to the assistant director of the personnel department of the
factory, Vladimir Arkhipov, labor legislation fully extends to
alternative
personnel and over the course of three and a half years they will enjoy
the full compliment of social benefits, supplemented with social
privileges.
The only difference from regular workers is they cannot quit on their
own
will.
The law on alternative service became effective in January 2004. But
the number of those wishing to serve without bearing arms has remained
small. For the autumn draft, in Sverdlovsk province twelve men declared
their pacifist convictions. Only four receive permission. (tr. by PDS,
posted 9 August 2004)
Russia
Religion News Current News Items
Reversal in church seizure case
KALININGRAD COURT RESCINDS DECISION EXPELLING RESTORERS FROM CHURCH IN
KADASHI
Mir religii, 9 August
2004
The Baltic district court of Kaliningrad rescinded its decision
about
evicting restorers from the Moscow church in Kadashi. This question was
reviewed in Kaliningrad at the place of residence of one of the
plaintiffs
representing the Orthodox parish which last week seized the church of
the
Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi.
As
already reported, on 6 August the Kaliningrad court forbade the
restoration
center to lay claim to the church before a review of the question in
Arbitration
Court. However now that decision has been revoked and the judge
declared
that she originally had been deceived, "Echo of Moscow" reports.
Yesterday the attorney for the parishioners, Mikhail Voronin,
stated,
in commenting on the Kaliningrad court's decision, that "as of now the
Resurrection church officially is transferred to the use of the
Orthodox
parish." The fact that the suit was filed not in Moscow but in
another
city he explained as a matter of timing. "We were not sure that the
case
would be reviewed in the capital sufficiently quickly," the attorney
explained.
. . . (tr. by PDS, posted 9 August 2004)
REALISTIC CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CHURCH IN KADASHI BEGAN ONLY RECENTLY
Mir religii, 9
August 2004
"Realistic" conversations about providing the Grabar All-Russian
Artistic
Scientific Restoration Center (VKhNRTs) premises for a transfer
began
only on 6 August. This was said by the director of VKhNRTs, Aleksei
Vladimirov,
in an interview with "Blagovest-info." On that day he was called to the
territorial division of the federal agency for property.
In a conversation with the director of the division, Aleksei
Vladimirov
confirmed an agreement for premises for the restorers on Radio Street,
for which he received the answer: "Then we shall think about how to
make
this work." According to the agency's source, "we shall think" may
last,
in the best case, about two months. Thus he refuted the report of radio
"Echo of Moscow," which in the evening of 6 August reported that the
restorers
"already had received premises on Radio Street."
At the same time the "juridical obstructions around the church of
the
Resurrection in Kadashi have grown," in the expression of "Echo of
Moscow's"
commentator. In an interview with the radio station the attorney of the
parish, Mikhail Voronin, said that a special governmental commission
for
resolving this dispute had already been created. "We know nothing about
this," the director of VKhNRTs replied to a request from
"Blagovest-info"
to comment upon this news.
He also described the two decisions of the Baltic district court of
the city of Kaliningrad, which came to VKhNRTs by fax on 6 August two
hours
apart and greatly amazed the workers. The first decision declared the
Resurrection
church to be officially transferred to the use of the church parish;
according
to Vladimirov, there "one can read very strict words: require,
liberate,
writ of execution, and the like." The second decision was "directly
contradictory":
it not only rescinded the first but also contained an apology to the
restorers.
"This question should be decided by the Arbitration Court of the city
of
Moscow, and not Kaliningrad," the director of the restorers affirms. .
. .
The director of VKhNRTs expressed anxiety that the parishioners had
begun to send letters to Russian museums with whom VKhNRTs cooperates
with
information that church services have already begun in the church of
the
Resurrection and with demands for the removal of museum things from the
premises. We recall that a legal consultant for the parish, Anton
Zeldovich,
had talked about the intent to do this in an interview with
"Blagovest-info"
yesterday. Aleksei Vladimirov suggests that this "postal action"
will lead to a "squall of phone calls from colleagues in the
provinces."
"Today the Radishchev Museum of Saratov managed to reach us by phone.
They
do not understand anything there and they ask for an explanation,
although
it is not their things that are in the sealed up premises," Vladimirov
said.
Aleksei Vladimirov also noted that until now VKhNRTs has not
received
an official response from the Moscow patriarchate, to which the
restorers
had send a inquiry on the first day of the "seizure," 2 August. (tr. by
PDS, posted 9 August 2004)
Russia
Religion News Current News Items
Patriarch recovers from heart problem
PATRIARCH ALEXIS TO RETURN TO USUAL WORK SCHEDULE
Portal-credo.ru,
6 August 2004
After brief treatment and rest, Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and
all-Rus
will return to his usual work schedule and primatial ministry. This was
reported to RIA Novosti at the Department for External Church Relations
(OVTsS)of the Moscow patriarchate.
"On 9 August the patriarch will receive a large delegation of the
"Children
of the new era" fund at his working residence on Chisty Lane," OVTsS
noted.
Then the patriarch will meet with workers of a Serbian publisher
that
is preparing a unique photo album for publication, in which for the
first
time will be presented photographs of Moscow churches and monasteries
taken
from a helicopter.
On Monday the patriarch has scheduled a number of other working
meetings.
On the day of the feast of the Smolensk icon of the Mother of God,
10
August, Alexis II will lead the divine liturgy in the Smolensk
cathedral
of the Novodevichy monastery of Mocow. (tr. by PDS, posted 7 August
2004)
Russia
Religion News Current News Items
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