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Orthodox Patriarch Alexiy hailed the return of a Russian icon thought "lost forever" on Saturday, kissing a Catholic envoy dispatched to improve centuries of strained ties and possibly paving the way for a papal visit.
Hundreds of women in headscarves and men in sombre suits watched inside the Kremlin as the patriarch received the icon of the "Mother of God of Kazan" from Cardinal Walter Kasper to a male chorus of Russian hymns.
The two embraced, kissing three times in the Russian Orthodox tradition, and then Alexiy announced the icon dear to Russians was home.
"For decades many sacred objects have been returned to our church, many which it seemed were lost forever during tragically hard times and religious persecution," Alexiy said. "By God's will, years later this venerable image has come home."
After kissing the icon, covered with gold and speckled with precious stones of blue and green, the patriarch passed the icon to priests to be held up for the congregation at the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Kremlin.
Saturday was the Orthodox celebration of the Feast of the Assumption, marking when the Virgin Mary went to heaven.
The traditional Byzantine gold and wood icon, which depicts the Madonna and Child, is a venerated 17th or 18th century copy of the original 16th century image, which has gone missing.
It was believed to have been smuggled out of Russia in the early 20th century and Pope John Paul said he believed divine providence had brought it to the Vatican. Its return to Russia was aimed at helping reconciliation and possibly secure a trip to Russia for the ageing Pope.
"The Kazan icon, despite reprehensible misunderstandings and differences, has rewarded our efforts to restore the unity of all Christians," the patriarch said.
The Eastern and Western branches of Christianity split in the Great Schism of 1054 and the Pope, the first Slav pontiff in history, has made great strides in improving relations.
He has visited many ex-Soviet republics but has yet to receive approval from the Orthodox church to come to Russia. Alexiy has said no visit is possible until the Catholic church stops what he calls the "poaching" of believers in areas of the former Soviet Union and renounces claims to Orthodox property. (posted 29 August 2004)
HISTORIC KAZAN ICON STANDS AT CENTER OF RELIGIOUS ISSUES
by Don Hill
RFE/RL, 27 August 2004
A little Christian icon stands this week at the center of a long-running debate between the Catholic pope in Rome and the Russian Orthodox patriarch in Moscow. It is an 18th-century copy of a legendary 16th-century icon known as Mother of God of Kazan (Lady of Kazan), a depiction of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus Christ. Pope John Paul II has sought for years to deliver the icon personally to Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Aleksii II, as part of a long-sought visit to Russia. But the Patriarchate has repeatedly refused to sanction the visit. RFE/RL reports that the 30-centimeter-high icon, which is due to return to Russia tomorrow, is a small symbol of a large controversy between these two branches of Christianity.
The pope evidently has given up his campaign to use the Kazan icon as a ticket to Moscow.
Pope John Paul II conducted a special service earlier this week at the Vatican to honor the return of the icon to the Russian Orthodox Church. He said that he has appointed Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican's Council for Promoting Christian Unity, to present the artifact to the Patriarchate tomorrow.
The pope said he seeks reconciliation with the Russian church.
"May [the icon] speak to [Russian Patriarch Aleksii] of the firm desire of the pope of Rome to move ahead together with them on the path of mutual understanding and reconciliation, to hasten the day of full unity among believers for which the Lord Jesus ardently prayed," John Paul said.
Vatican relations with the Patriarchate developed new strains three years ago when the pope established four new Roman Catholic dioceses in Russia. The Patriarchate has said that any meeting between Aleksii and John Paul depends first upon easing those strains. It said that the new dioceses aggravated existing problems.
In a statement in May 2003, the Patriarchate said it was astonished by the fact that the pope imbued his icon with such importance. A month earlier, a joint Russian-Vatican commission had determined that the icon possessed by the pope was an 18th-century copy made by a provincial icon-painter.
The statement also said, "In its size and character, this icon cannot be identified with either the historical miracle-working icon that appeared in 1579 in Kazan or other known and venerated icons." The copy at the Vatican is authentic, the statement said, only in the sense that it is openly a copy and not a forgery.
Vatican experts say that, upon delivery, the Vatican version will be the oldest known copy in Russia.
The Mother of God of Kazan icon has been shrouded in mystery and intrigue for five centuries.
The original is believed to have been created in the 16th century in Kazan, now the capital of the autonomous Russian republic of Tatarstan. It soon disappeared -- most likely hidden by its custodians from invaders. Russian colonization of Tatarstan began in the 16th century after the forces of Ivan the Terrible conquered Kazan.
One legend says that in 1579, a young girl named Matryona Onuchina, after a vision, led people to the missing icon, buried in ashes near the Kazan fortress.
Believers housed what they considered Matryona's find in a Kazan church until 1904, when vandals stole it. Soon afterwards, police said they found fragments of the treasure, indicating that the icon had been destroyed.
An archconservative U.S. Catholic organization called the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima presented a version of the Kazan icon to the pope in 1993. The group had purchased it in 1970 from a British woman. John Paul has given it an honored place in his personal chambers since.
Until the scientific findings of last year's joint commission, some people continued to believe that the Vatican's version -- beautifully made, ornamented with precious stones, and bordered with silver -- was the 16th-century original.
One theory was that the icon stolen in 1904 and destroyed was, in fact, the copy -- and that the original had miraculously resurfaced.
The Vatican says that the copy that Cardinal Kasper will deliver to Moscow deserves special honor in any case because of its age and subject, its value and the veneration it has long been given.
Controversy could continue to follow the pope's icon even into its new home in Russia. Officials in Kazan say it belongs not in Moscow but in Kazan.
Tatar historian Dmitry Khafizov, an authority on the Kazan icon, described in a 2001 interview with RFE/RL one reason for the holy artifact's special place in Tatar hearts.
"This icon is not only a Christian cultural monument but also an historic one. It has made the name of Kazan known all over the world. It is called the Mother of God of Kazan. Not many people even know that Tatarstan's capital exists. But the majority of Christians know about the Mother of God of Kazan icon. And it was found in Kazan," Khafizov said.
A Tatar patriots' group, the Tatar Public Center, complicated the issue still further yesterday. It published an open letter to Pope John Paul. The letter says that the legend of the miraculous resurrection of the Kazan icon from ashes was a myth invented by Russian authorities.
The letter also says that -- far from being a cause for Tatar pride -- the Christian icon symbolizes Russia's colonization of traditionally Muslim Tatarstan.
The Tatar Public Center says that the pope has become enmeshed in, as the letter puts it, "indecent political games."
"That's why we consider the so-called Kazan icon a symbol of colonial oppression, enslavement and humiliation. It's immoral to talk about the emergence of the icon without taking into account the historic context of the colonial conquest of the Tatar lands and the tragic fate of the Tatar nation. The Almighty would not bless conquerors for such atrocities," said Rashid Yagfarov, chairman of the Tatar Public Center.
Tatarstan's population is divided almost equally between ethnic Russians and mainly Muslim Tatars. Islam is undergoing a resurgence in Tatarstan since the collapse of communism in Russia.
Kazan Mayor Kamil Iskhakov journeyed to Rome in 2000 to ask for the icon to be repatriated to Kazan. The pope referred the request to Patriarch Aleksii. But the patriarch took offense, labeling Iskhakov's initiative, as he put it, "amateur" and denouncing John Paul's meeting with the mayor as "provocation."
Mayor Iskhakov traveled to Rome this week, possibly to accompany the icon on its trip to Moscow, and to renew his appeal for it to be housed once more in the city from which it takes its name. (Rim Guilfanov of RFE/RL's Tatar Service assisted with this report.) (posted 29 August 2004)
ALEXANDER SHCHIPKOV: DELIVERY OF COPY OF KAZAN ICON WILL NOT IMPROVE
RELATIONS WITH VATICAN
Portal-credo.ru,
28 August 2004
The delivery of the Kazan icon of the Mother of God as a gift to Patriarch Alexis II from Roman Pope John Paul II will not lead to an improvement in relations between RPTsMP and the Vatican. That opinion was expressed in an interview with RIA Novosti by the acting chairman of the Methodology Council for Interpretation of Religious Themes in News Media [SMI] of the Federal Agency for the Press and Mass Communications, Alexander Shchipkov.
"The very fact of the transfer of the icon cannot improve relations between RPTs and the Vatican. This event testifies not so much to a real improvement of relations between the two churches as to a demonstration of that improvement." the portal "Religiia i SMI" quoted Shchipkov.
The delivery of the "sacred object" is a gesture by which the Vatican says that it wants to improve relations with RPTsMP. On its part, RPTsMP has not refused to accept the icon. This also is a gesture of demonstration, but not a real warming of relations, the expert thinks. He says that it is not the symbolic act of transferring the icon but only a series of joint actions--trips, conferences, meetings-- that will be able to give evidence of genuine improvement of interchurch relations.
Shchipkov doubts that a visit by the pope of Rome to Russia will follow the delivery of the Kazan icon of the Mother of God to Patriarch Alexis II. "If this transfer becomes the stepping stone to a visit by the pope of Rome, then it would be very remote. But I think that John Paul II will not come to Russia," he said. In his opinion, such a transfer is not such a significant event that can become a "tectonic shift" in Orthodox-Catholic relations. (tr. by PDS, posted 29 August 2004)
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The head of Russian Catholics, Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, considers the return of a copy of the Kazan icon of the Mother of God from the Vatican to Russia a very important step for the development of Orthodox-Catholic relations.
"There is no doubt that the event that will occur on 28 August is one of the most significant events in the history of relations between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches," the Catholic metropolitan stated on Tuesday in an interview with RIA "Novosti." This is how he commented on the upcoming ceremony of transfer to Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus of an eighteenth century copy of the miracle working Kazan icon. This copy was at some time stolen from Russia and then bought by American Catholics and presented to Roman Pope John Paul II, in whose private quarters it has been kept for the past eleven years.
"I hope that the return of this icon will tell positively on the further development of relations between the two churches," Kondrusiewicz emphasized. He said that the pope "has exerted titanic efforts for the development of intra-Christian unity" and "for a long time now he has wanted to return the Kazan icon to its owner, that is, the Russian Orthodox church."
A delegation from the Vatican, which will bring the sacred item to Moscow,
will be headed by the
chairman of the Papal Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity,
Cardinal Walter Casper. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 August 2004)
Posted on Religiia i SMI site, 25 August 2004
POPE RETURNS ICON TO RUSSIA, EYES RECONCILIATION
by Philip Pullella
Reuters, 25 August 2004
Pope John Paul, aiming to improve ties with Russia's Orthodox Church and possibly pave the way for a papal trip, sent an icon dear to Russians on its way back to Moscow on Wednesday after nearly a century in the West.
At an elaborate ceremony in the Vatican tinged with Byzantine chants used in the Russian Church, the Pope gave the icon of the "Mother of God of Kazan" to a delegation that will take it to Russia on Friday after public veneration in Rome.
The traditional Byzantine gold and wood icon, which depicts the Madonna and Child, is a venerated 17th or 18th century copy of the original 16th century image, which has gone missing.
The Polish Pope has kept the ornate icon, which measures 31 by 26 cm (12 by 10 inches) and is decorated with precious stones, above his desk since 1993 and has said that it has guided his daily work.
The icon was believed to have been smuggled out of Russia in the early 20th century and the 84-year-old Pope, who appeared in relatively good condition at the ceremony, said he believed divine providence had brought it to the Vatican.
The "Blue Army," a conservative Catholic group established after the 1917 Russian Revolution with the aim of keeping religion alive under communism, donated it to him.
The Pope said he hoped the return of the icon, which the delegation will give to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexiy II, would help reconciliation between the two churches.
AN ICON AND A PRAYER
"Tell him (Alexiy) of the firm desire of the Pope of Rome to move ahead together with them on the reciprocal path of understanding and reconciliation, to hasten the day of full unity among Christians....," he said.
A priest read a prayer the Pope had written in Russian. The Pope blessed and kissed the icon before giving it to Cardinal Walter Kasper, the German head of the Vatican's department for Christian unity who is leading the delegation.
The Eastern and Western branches of Christianity split in the Great Schism of 1054 and the Pope, the first Slav pontiff in history, has made great strides in improving relations with several national Orthodox Churches.
The Pope has a standing invitation from a succession of Russian presidents, including Vladimir Putin, to visit Russia.
But his desire to travel to the home of the largest and most influential Church of world Orthodoxy has been stymied.
Last year the Vatican had started the initial planning for a papal trip to Mongolia, with a stopover in Kazan, some 800 km (500 miles) east of Moscow, so the Pope could return the icon personally. But Alexiy vetoed the idea.
Alexiy has accused the Catholic Church in areas of the former Soviet Union of using its new-found freedoms after the fall of communism to poach believers from the Orthodox.
Relations between the Vatican and the Orthodox in former Soviet states have also been strained by the return to Catholics of church property that had been confiscated during the rule of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and given the Orthodox.
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The Russian Department of Justice released figures compiled on 1 May 2004 showing that there are in Russia 21,287 registered religious organizations. An English translation of the data, in RTF format, may be accessed by following this link: Religious Organizations and Representations of foreign religious organizations
Data posted on Religiia i SMI site, 23 August 2004.
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A regular round-up of Jehovah's Witnesses has been conducted in Samarkand. Representatives of the forces of internal affairs broke into a private apartment and interrogated participants of a meeting, putting strong psychological pressure on them. The persons at the meeting were told that they will be fined in accordance with article 241 of the administrative code, which punishes "violations of procedure for teaching religious beliefs,": Forum 18 reports.
Forum 18 learned that on 15 August around ten police officers and representatives of the provincial administration, without displaying any documents, broke into a private apartment in western Uzbekistan that belongs to a resident of Samarkand, Lora Chen, where a Jehovah's Witnesses meeting was going on at the time. The police immediately videotaped all of those present and began individual interrogations. In the course of seven hours people were questioned about why they had gathered here and who of them belonged to the Jehovah's Witnesses organization. Those who refused to sign a statement were subjected to strong psychological pressure. Many women were crying.
The police told those who were assembled that they all soon will be fined in accordance with article 241 of the administrative code of Uzbekistan for "violation of the procedure for teachings religious beliefs." Then they took three people to the Directorate of Internal Affairs of Samarkand province, Zeidullo Chakanov, Akmali Ermatov, and Irfon Khamidov, where they were interrogated again over the course of three hours.
A representative of the Directorate of Internal Affairs of Samarkand province, Lt. Sherzod Shamsiev, who took part in the round-up, told Forum 18 on 19 August that the authorities "acted within the limits of the law," and that the Jehovah's Witnesses were not registered in Samarkand province and thus "do not have the right to conduct religious meetings."
According to the Uzbek law on religion, religious organizations may function only if they have been registered in judicial offices. Meanwhile, as a Forum 18 correspondent reports, this condition of the law clearly contradicts the International Agreement on Civil and Political Rights, which Uzbekistan signed voluntarily.
Also, according to Uzbekistan's law on religion, if an international agreement, signed by Uzbekistan, contains a rule that is not contained in the law, then the rule of the international agreement is operative. (tr. by PDS, posted 24 August 2004)
See Forum 18, "Police break state and international law"
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Pope John Paul II publicly declared yesterday for the first time his intention to transfer the Kazan icon of the Mother of God to the Russian Orthodox church (RPTs), which hitherto has been kept in the personal residence of the pontiff. Addressing believers at his summer residence Castle Gandolfo outside Rome, he noted that this icon "has become the witness to all of his daily labors" and that it "is very dear to him," ITAR-TASS reports.
John Paul II's statement about the decision to transfer the icon to Russia evoked a storm of applause among pilgrims assembles in the small square in front of the papal summer residence.
Meanwhich, as the Italian La Stampa writes today (translation of the article was posted by InoPressa.ru), "The pope intends to make an 'inconvenient' gife to the Moscow patriarchate." It is called :"inconvenient" in connection with the fact that "Alexis II, the Russian Orthodox church, and the former soviet bureaucracy, despite the earnest activity of the representative of the Vatican in Russia, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, has not experienced feelings of sympathy and does not make friendly gestures with regard to Catholic," the newspaper notes.
The article gives more details about the official statement of the pope. "I call you to pay attention with me to the Virgin Mary, to the revered icon that has received the name Kazan Mother of God," he said. "This icon, which left Russia in the twenties of the past century, after prolonged stays in various places turned up eleven years ago in the residence of the pope, and from that moment it has observed his daily work. But now I am happy to announce the a special delegation will deliver this icon that is extremely dear to me to His Holiness Alexis II, Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus," La Stampa quotes John Paul II.
The transfer will take place on Wednesday, 25 August, during a general audience, when "we and believers will gather in order to pray at this icon." The Holy See intends to give special significance to this event. The act of transfer of the image will occur in the Vatican, in the hall of Pope Paul VI, where general audiences of the pontiff usually occur. John Paul II will hand the Kazan icon to a representative of the Papal Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Cardinal Walter Casper. Then during the whole day of 26 August the icon will be exhibited for general observation in St. Peter's cathedral, the chief Catholic church in the world.
The next day after a solemn ceremony in St. Peter's a solemn divine service will be performed. And finally on 28 August Cardinal Walter Casper will return it to its "historic" owner, the patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus, Alexis II. Besides Walter Casper, the Vatican delegation will include representatives of the council and prominent figures who enjoy respect in Moscow, including the chairman of the Comunit_ di Sant'Egidio, historian Andrei Riccardi, the founder of the Fokolarini brotherhoood, Chiara Lubich, and the prior of the ecumenical monastic community in Bose, Enzo Bianchi. (tr. by PDS, posted 23 August 2004)
PATRIARCH ALEXIS II AGAIN PUTS OFF HIS MEETING WITH ROMAN POPE
Portal-credo.ru,
14 August 2004
The chief intrigue around the possibility of a visit to Russia by the head of the Roman Catholic church, John Paul II, has expanded, NTV television has reported.
The pontiff could have come to the country in order to deliver to the Russian Orthodox church of the Moscow patriarchate the Kazan icon of the Mother of God. On 12 August Patriarch Alexis let it be known that the personal visit with the head of the Roman Catholic church is still a long way off.
Today Vladimir Putin visited for the first time the new residence of the patriarch in Peredelkino, so after giving Alexis II a bouquet and kissing him three times the president immediately suggested "Let's take a look." From the balcony of the second floor the patriarch showed his guest his property: a pond, swans, fountains, and plaster statues. The interiors also were impressive, with walls solidly decorated with icons, pictures, and photographs of the patriarch himself. In the room for the conversation hung sketches by Alexander Ivanov for his painting "Appearance of Christ to the People."
When Alexis began talking, his voice shook and his breathing was interrupted. He recently was treated for a heart arrhythmia. "I would like to inform you that from 3 to 8 October we will have a bishops' council, which we have every four years," the patriarch of Mosow said.
But the patriarch's voice grew strong when he began talking about the Kazan icon of the Mother of God which the Vatican will return to Russia. Expert analysis established, the patriarch stressed, that this is not the original from the 16th century. "It is one of many copies, but not that miracle working image that disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Therefore there is now no need for the pope himself to bring it, but as we agreed as a compromise, two cardinals will bring it and I will receive this icon in Dormition cathedral of the the Kremlin on the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God," Patriarch Alexis II said.
That this was a copy was more or less clear; the original was stolen in 1904 and the thieves admitted that they destroyed the icon. But even the return of a copy could have been a pretext for the first visit of a Roman pope to Russia. The intrigue--whether this would succeed or not--has been drawn out for four years and was finally settled today. Instead of the pope, Alexis II will receive two cardinals in Moscow. Vladimir Putin spoke to the effect that there is a kind of agreement with the patriarch over the issue of a visit by the pope with him, the president.
"Well here is that problem that you touched upon in conclusion and it is extremely important. I think that we, of course, will discuss all of our preliminary agreements. And it is pleasant for me to note that we have continued such a constructive dialogue with the Russian Orthodox church, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
After the conversation Alexis II presented Putin a book about himself, published in Italy. Apparently with the knowledge of the Vatican. (tr. by PDS, posted 23 August 2004)
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The ancient Transfiguration of the Savior monastery yesterday became the center of ceremonies devoted to the Day of Mercy and Charity, which was observed for the first time in Russia, ITAR-TASS reports.
A solemn divine liturgy in honor of the 400th anniversary of the death of Iuliania of Murom was performed here. She was an ascetic who was made famous for her sacrificial service to neighbors. The liturgy was celebrated by the chancellor of the Moscow patriarchate, Metropolitan Kliment, archbishop of Vladimir and Suzdal Evlogy, and other bishops. Those present in the church included the chairman of the Accounting Chamber of the Russian federation, Sergei Stepashin, representatives of the Russian Ministry of Culture, and the governor of Vladimir province, Nikolai Vinogradov. More than 2,000 persons assembled in the monastery. Hundreds of pilgrims came from other cities of Russia, for whom tents had been set up on the bank of the Oka river. In all, around 5,000 persons gathered at the monastery and thus the concluding prayer service was conducted in the square under the open sky.
Addressing believers, Metropolitan Kliment called them to remember more often her life in order to be strengthened for the work of help to neighbors. In the name of Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus he awarded church medals to the head of the administration of Murom, Valentin Kochevan and an auditor of the Accounting Chamber, Sergei Riabukhin. It was the Accounting Chamber that facilitated the rebirth of the Transfiguration of the Savior monastery by arranging all of the construction work. Recently the first stage of restoration was completed. Sergei Stepashin presented to the monastery the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God. The divine liturgy was attended by residents of church orphanages of Vladimir province. The largest of these are the "Hope" orphanage in the Murom Trinity convent and the shelter for boys and girls in the St. Stephen of Makhra monastery. The Annunciation monastery in Viazniki is also prepared to receive orphans.
In the city of Murom itself a charity event was conducted for aid to invalids, orphans, families with many children, and gifted children from poor families.
The Transfiguration of the Savior monastery is the oldest monastic cloister of Russia, founded in the eleventh century. From 1918 to 1995 barracks were located in it. The monastery, which itself is still not completely ready for occupancy, tries to help the needy. It provides services to support homeless people, former prisoners, and others who have fallen into hard times. In the cathedral donations are collected for restoring the Serbian monastery on Mount Athos, which recently was damaged by fire. The cloister has a bakery which produces 5,000 tons of bread and buns daily, including kalatch, the traditional product of Murom, whose image reflects the town's coat of arms. (tr. by PDS, posted 23 August 2004)
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On 21 August 2004, the celebration of the Day of Mercy and Charity will be conducted for the first time in Russia. The center of the celebrations will be Murom. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of the righteous Iuliania of Murom. St. Iuliania spent all of her substance in providing aid to the helpless and orphans. During a fierce famine she shared her last with starving people and she herself baked bread and distributed it to the needy.
In Russia the righteous Iuliania is honored as the patroness of those who give charity. People have directed prayers to her so that she would point out those who are in need of aid and mercy.
By the time of the celebration of the memory of the righteous Iuliania of Murom, the basic part of the restoration work will be completed on the Murom Transfiguration of the Savior monastery, in particular, gas service will be provided for the monastery, heating equipment will be turned on, and the destroyed walls will be restored. The church in the village of Lazarevsk has been restored, which is the place of righteous Iuliania's birth.
During the celebration at the Transfiguration monastery, the divine liturgy will be celebrated and the consecration of the St. Nicholas altar of the church in Lazarevsk will be performed. Participants in the celebrations also will visit a number of medical institutions in the city, OVTsS reports. (tr. by PDS, posted 22 August 2004)
CHURCH HIERARCHS AND GOVERNMENT FIGURES TO PARTICIPATE IN CHARITY HOLIDAY
Mir religii, 20
August 2004
This weekend the holiday of Mercy and Charity will be observed on the all-Russian level for the first time. The city of Murom in Vladimir province was chosen as its center this year. Ceremonies will be conducted there devoted to the 400th anniversary of the day of the death of St. Juliania of Murom, who was famous for her great love for children and the helpless, ITAR-TASS reports.
Widowed early, she herself raised eight children and gave generously to all needy people, especially orphans, and selflessly cared for the sick. Her righteous prayer performed miracles: she never suffered any diseases and the bread made from bitter herbs during famines was always tasty. "She showed by her life how one must love neighbors, and the holiday recalls how important it is for us to take notice of and see those who need our help," said Metropolitan Kliment, the chancellor of the Moscow patriarchate, in a pre-holiday press conference in the House of Journalists. He also recalled the significant charitable activity of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fedorovna, the founder of the Martha and Mary convent of mercy.
State figures and church hierarchs will participate in the holiday. A charity event for the purpose of collecting contributions for aid to orphans, invalids, and gifted children from poor families will be conducted in Murom.
The main celebrations will be concentrated at the Transfiguration of the Savior monastery, the oldest monastic cloister in Russia, founded at the beginning of the tenth century. It was restored from ruins in eighteen months with the help of specialists of the Accounting Chamber, who contracted the construction work with resources from sponsors. As a representative of the Accounting Chamber, Alexander Usanov, reported, "the first stage of the work is now completed, the monks' and pilgrims' buildings have been restored, the church has been restored, and the bakery has been furnished." Now the monastery itself feeds the city, baking daily five tons of bread and buns. The cloister also helps people who have been released from prisons and have no place to live. (tr. by POD, posted 22 August 2004)
APPEAL OF HIS HOLINESS PATRIARCH ALEXIS TO PARTICIPANTS IN CEREMONIES
IN MUROM AND VLADIMIR
Sedmitza.ru,
21 August 2004
His Holiness Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus sent a congratulatory address to participants in the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the blessed death of the holy righteous Iuliania Lazarevskaia, an ascetic of Murom, and the consecration of the church of the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos in the Nativity of the Theotokos convent of Vladimir, the 790th anniversary of the independent existence of the Vladimir diocese, and the 260th anniversary of its restoration as a full-fledged church administrative structure.
Most reverend archpastors, reverend fathers, monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters!
Prayerfully sharing with you the joy of the present celebrations and raising thanks to the Lord, the Author and Finisher of our salvation for his liberal mercies, I heartily greet all of you on these significant events in the life of our church.
Throughout its historic existence the Vladimir diocese and its people have survived all the difficulties and trials which have fallen to the fate of this territory. Many archpastors and pastors have labored earnestly here for the benefit and strengthening of Orthodoxy. The Vladimir land is glorified by the names of many champions of the faith and piety. Among them is also the holy righteous Iuliania Lazarevskaia, the ascetic of Murom, the 400th anniversary of the day of whose death we prayerfully celebrate now.
With every year the significance of the diocese in the ecclesiastical and public life of Russia has been growing. But after the revolutionary events of 1917 there began the ubiquitous destruction of the life of the ecclesiastical heritage that had been created over centuries. The Vladimir Suzdal diocese did not escape this fate. Many of its churches, monasteries, and sacred places were destroyed and desecrated.
However, despite the persecutions, repressions, and restrictions, the Orthodox people maintained a living faith. The ranks of the saints were expanded by new martyrs and confessors. Many of them ended their earthly journey here. Now with love and effort the sacred places that were destroyed in the past have been restored, church life in all of its diversity has been regenerated, and people have returned to their spiritual roots. It causes joy that in recent years the number of parishes in Vladimir diocese has grown substantially, monastic life has been reborn in the monasteries, and dozens of Sunday schools have been opened. Periodical and other literature of spiritual and ethical contents are being published in the diocese, social service is being conducted in hospitals, homes for the elderly, and prisons, and spiritual ministry is being conducted with military service personnel.
We recall the contribution of clergy and believers in the great work of defending the holy Orthodox faith. The courage, patience, and loyalty to the holy mother church in many way facilitated the preservation of the unity of the church in the years of persecution and trials. It is a joy that even now you continue to maintain your faithfulness to God and the church.
I recall my visit to Vladimir in 1992 when on the site of the church of the Nativity of the Theotokos that was destroyed in the 1930s, which once had been the place of the repose of the sacred relics of Saint Great Prince Alexander Nevsky, we together consecrated the cornerstone of the future church. And now it has not only been reconstructed, but also consecrated. I believe that, as in past centuries, a common church prayer will be raised here and everyone coming to the House of God will receive by faith everything needed for a worthy and righteous life.
I would like to address words of special support to families, because in Murom, in the Vladimir diocese, their sacred ministry was performed by the holy faithful Prince Peter (as a monk, David) and Fevronia (as a nun, Evfrosinia), the miracle workers of Murom. Their sacred relics are now revered in the Trinity convent of this ancient city.
Today, when for many the traditional family structures have crumbled, when the family, a small domestic church, has become for many only a short-term partnership, the church cannot fail to speak about this nationwide problem. How can the present and future Russia survive if the institution of marriage crumbles before our eyes? Can society be spiritually strong and morally healthy if its basic component, the family, does not pass the durability test? Where can we draw strength, if all around us is the propaganda of sin, moral deprivation, and permissiveness? The church responds to all these questions with the words of sacred scripture, the examples of the lives of the saints, and with traditional spiritual and moral training. Only by living according to the law of God, fulfilling the evangelical commandments, maintaining loyalty to the Orthodox traditions entrusted to us by the centuries, training our children in faith and piety, and giving them a personal example of Christian life can we, with God's help, maintain the integrity of the family, and that means also the future of our country.
I express the hope that the Vladimir diocese in the future as well will with honor and dignity carry out the high mission ordained by God and that fruitful cooperation between church and secular leadership in the city of Vladimir and the province, who are called to show common concern for the moral health of society, will develop successfully, and that all of you will be guided in your life by eternal spiritual truths, recalling the high calling and responsibility of Orthodox Christians.
Relying on the intercession of saints who were resplendent in Vladimir land by their achievement of faith and piety, martyrdom and confession, and the venerated miracle working icons and other sacred shrines, churches, and monasteries, with faith, hope, and love, continue to testify worthily to the unsurpassable beauty and truth of Orthodoxy.
May the Lord bless the labors of each of you in your place of service and may he bestow on our motherland harmony, prosperity, and well-being.
Alexis, Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus
(tr. by PDS, posted 22 August 2004)
WE ARE NOT GREEDY, WE ARE MISTRUSTFUL
About the Day of Mercy and Charity
by Natalia Konygina
Izvestiia, 21 August 2004
On Saturday, 21 August, for the first time in Russia the Day of Mercy and Charity will be observed. The basic celebrations will be conducted in Murom, in the home territory of St. Iuliania Lazarevskaia of Murom, a benefactress who lived 400 years ago. The organizers of the holiday complain that Russians have lost the tradition of charity. We beg to differ with them.
Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Kliment placed responsibility for the loss of the traditions of charity on the soviet regime. Supposedly, the state took the care of the poor and needy upon itself, disabusing people of the thought that somebody needs their help. And now, without the church supervising help, the people do not know how to properly distribute their good intentions and finances.
"Although in soviet times people were taught to do good, for example, the Pioneers were told to visit the elderly, bring them water and chop wood, there was no spiritual basis for this," the metropolitan said. "This was an obligation. But the attempt to do good should be formed within a person and he should consider this the purpose of his life. Our fellow countrymen are by nature not greedy people. They still do not realize the necessity to perform charitable acts. They have been trained this way."
However experience shows that our fellow countrymen are not so callous and inattentive. For example, on the Internet several sites exist where money is collected for the needy, as well as clothing and even donated blood. These sites are supported by noncommercial organizations or just groups of private philanthropists. For example, the web page at www.dobrodel-site.ru is a coordination point for the efforts of several teams of volunteers.
"Originally our site was conceived as a site for one team," Ekaterina Voronova explains. "Then people began coming to us who also wanted to get involved in charity but did not know how to begin. At first they went to children's homes with us and then they started in their own direction."
Ekaterina is 38 years old and the single mother of two children. By profession she is a technology editor. Along with her colleagues, she took things to children's homes beginning four years ago. Their group comprises ten regular participants. These are people from 22 to 40 years of age. Ekaterina defines their social status as: "not secure, just working folk." Very many people participate in single events. Now, for example, the "Dobrodelites" are preparing housewares for youths who are released from children's homes; after leaving a children's home they are supposed to live independently, but they do not have anything for this.
"You cannot imagine how many people have responded," Ekaterina exclaims. "It was simply a miracle. For example, there was a man who brought ten place settings and an enormous number of boxes of glasses. Another sent money from Tiumen specifically for dishes for children. Many simply donated their old plates and sauce pans. I myself went to five homes, but I am not at all the only one doing this.
Ekaterina's associates say not to ask people for help. It seems that now such calls are heard less often than earlier. Whoever has a need will find us himself. But Voronova is convinced otherwise. Many want to help but they simply do not know how to start. The "Dobrodelites" take care of two children's homes, in Tver and Rybinsk. According to Katy, children in the homes need absolutely everything. For example, girls often cannot wear skirts because they simply do not have any underwear.
The twenty-five-year-old manager of a telecommunications company, Sveta Vysotova, organized her own team of five persons. They range in age from 22 to 26 and consider themselves middle class. Sveta's team took under their care a children's home in Bykov. Their way of working is just like the "Dobrodelites": collect things, take them to the children's home, and buy some things themselves. They all have specialties by virtue of which they can buy at discount. Sveta's resume shows her as an office worker. She receives up to 100 dollars per academic term.
The web site http://deti.msk.ru helps collect money for treatment of seriously ill children in the Republic Children's Clinical Hospital. According to the president of the charity fund at the hospital, Lina Saltikova, thanks to these contributions they have already managed to save 100 children. Among the contributors, both organizations and private individuals (the majority do not even give their names, the size of contributions is from 100 rubles to several thousands of dollars.
"Our problem is not with people who wish to contribute but with those who can dispose of these contributions," Saltikova thinks. "Russians have not forgotten about contributing; people simply want to donate their money into honest hands, but there are few funds that we trust. Thus many are trying to help the needy without intermediaries. There are in fact very many people who want to contribute. They are ready to give to the last. An 83-year-old grandmother came to my place and brought 1,000 rubles. I wasn't about to take this money from her. But she said, 'Take it. I do not need very much.'"
An Izvestiia correspondent has often had occasion to become persuaded of the sympathy of fellow citizens. The newpaper's readers often call the editorial office and ask how they can help the needy people who figure in Izvestiia's articles. We dare to hope that this is not under coercion.
Information: Russians place their greatest hopes for charity work on business. According to an investigation conducted by the ROMIR Monitoring company, 81 percent think that it is necessary to contribute. However 58 percent of those asked have not heard about charitable enterprises in their region, 22 percent think that they exist, while 13 percent are convinced they do not. As to the spheres in which business' voluntary material aid is most needed, those surveyed named health care (58%), housing construction (333%), school education and development of the communal living sector (27 and 26%), and environmental protection (18%). Regarding preschool institutions and the development of culture, eleven percent of Russians mentions them, while ten percent mentioned transportation and sports and entertainment institutions. (tr. by PDS, posted 22 August 2004
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