RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS
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Moldovan parliament to revise religion law
PRESIDENT OF MOLDOVA REFUSES TO SIGN RELIGION LAWInterfax, 28 June 2007
Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin refused to sign the "Law on religious cults and their constituent structures" and returned it to parliament for improvement, Interfax was told on Thursday in the legislature of the republic.
"The basic statement of the head of state comes down to this, that nothing is said in the law about Orthodox as the traditional religion of the people of the country," the news agency's source declared.
In addition, Voronin considers it necessary to remove from the draft law the concept of "dissemination of faith," which, in the opinion of the president, "opens a loophole for proselytism" on the part of sects and nontraditional religious organizations, the source specified.
The draft of the "Law on cults" was adopted by parliament of Moldova on 11 May. Previously the draft law had been subjected to stern criticism on the part of the Kishinov and Moldova metropolia of the Russian Orthdox church for a number of provisions that represented, in the opinion of the clergy, a threat to the traditional confessional balance in the country.
The draft of the law provides, in particular, for replacing permissive registration of a religious cult with notification registration, which would permit any resident of the republic, including foreigners, to declare himself a following of any cult, whether it actually exists or is imaginary, and it would be automatically registered, upon submission of the signatures of 100 persons.
Also the law grants to any resident of Moldova the right to belong simultaneously to two or more cults, which will make it more difficult, in particular, for the Orthodox church to resist heresies and schisms, which would acquire the possibility, protected by law, of acting without hindrance in the name of church structures.
In addition, the draft law does not make a distinction between a traditional religion and other confessions, which have appeared in a great number in recent years in Moldova, and it also does not distinguish between totalitarian, destructive, commercial, satanic, and pseudoreligious cults from generally accepted ones.
In the opinion of a number of local sources, one of the developers of the draft law is the leader of the parliamentary fraction of the Christian Democratic National party, the secretary of the Bessarabian metropolia of the Romanian patriarchate, Vlad Kubriakov.
Voronin, on his part, while returning the draft law for improvement in parliament, noted the necessity of spelling out precisely a number of provisions of the law, in particular, the very concept of "cult," and of giving a definition of various kinds of cults and the distinctions among them, and spelling out criteria for distinguishing a religious organization from the cult to which it belongs, and determining the right of theological academic institutions to accreditation.
Also the Moldovan president insists on the exclusion of provisions of the draft law regulating the work of ministers of cults by the standards of labor legislation. (tr. by PDS, posted 28 June 2007)
Council of St. Sergius monastery reprimands Bishop Diomid
LETTER TO BISHOP OF ANADYR AND CHUKOTKA DIOMIDYour Eminence, Dear Master!
We ask you in the spirit of brotherly love and genuine monastic meekness to receive from your native cloister of St. Sergius fraternal respect from His Eminence the abbot and members of the Spiritual Council of St. Sergius Holy Trinity lavra.
The occasion for our appeal to you, dear Master, is the so-called "Open letter" from the clergy of Anadyr-Chukotka diocese, which has been widely reported in the secular news media. The most complex questions raised in this letter cannot but upset everyone who considers himself an Orthodox Christian, not in name only but in his very essence. These questions have also disturbed the whole Russian Orthodox church and they disturb the brotherhood of St. Sergius Holy Trinity lavra.
But, esteemed Master, we cannot agree with this approach to the resolution of these questions that you have proposed. We consider that questions of this kind must be discussed. But they should be discussed in accordance with the operative charter of the Russian Orthodox church in the spirit of brotherly Christian love and in a spirit of concern for the purity of the faith and at the same time the unity of the church. Really, Master, do you actually consider that you have already exhausted all possibilities for calm and constructive and, most important, ecclesiastical discussion of these questions, in a manner filled with genuine Christian care for the church? Do you really not see yourself that using the format of an open letter for an appeal to His Holiness and the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox church you have turned to one of the most controversial instruments of democracy, with which you consider that the church must fight as one of its chief tasks?
Do you really not understand that by your appeals you have set yourself against the entire plenitude of the Russian Orthodox church and you have violated the principle of conciliarity [sobornost]? Esteemed Master! You, of course, know what a glorious multitude of bishops of God has issued from the cloister of St. Sergius, and each of them has devoted all his energies to the service of the church, to the care of flock entrusted to him, and to the nurture of the purity of the Orthodox faith. But they all bore they most heavy episcopal cross, caring for the unity of the church as the greatest treasure. Dear Master, the brothers of St. Sergius Holy Trinity lavra are praying for you and hoping that you, with God's help, will draw correct conclusions and assume an appropriate place within this glorious multitude.
The Spiritual Council, under the presidency of the abbot of the lavra, His Eminence Feognost, bishop of Sergiev Posad, beseech His Holiness for high priestly prayers and blessing upon your further labors.
[signed, Abbot Feognost and nine archimandrites and hegumens]
[From the protocol of the 20 June 2007 session of the Spiritual Council of St. Sergius Holy Trinity lavra (tr. by PDS, posted 28 June 2007)]
Russian original posted on site of Portal-credo.ru, 28 June 2007
Related articles: Ongoing criticism of patriarchate within Orthodox church (continued) , June 19, 2007 Ongoing criticism of patriarchate within Orthodox church , June 18, 2007
Scholar comments on Chukotka Orthodox protest , June 22, 2007
Russia Religion News Current News ItemsAgitation for independent Ukrainian church
CREATION OF ORTHODOX CHURCH IN UKRAINE INDEPENDENT OF MOSCOW DISCUSSED
WITH CONSTANTINOPLE PATRIARCHPortal-credo.ru, 27 June 2007
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko met with Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew during his visit to Turkey, the press service of the head of state reported to "Novyi Region." In the course of their conversations they discussed, in particular, the idea of the creation of a "united local church," an Orthodox church independent of the Moscow patriarchate, for which President Yushchenko has expressed support.
The press service did not report details of the conversations. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian Orthodox church of the Moscow patriarchate (UPTsMP) has already expressed concern over the meetings in Istanbul and called the actions of President Yushchenko "interference in church affairs."
"Can you imagine if the metropolitan of Kiev went to the president of Turkey and discussed with him Ukraine's entry into or exit from NATO? That would be absurd," the head of the press service of UPTsMP, Vasily Anisimov, declared to "Novyi Region."
We recall that recently the possibility of the creation of a church in Ukraine, independent from the Moscow patriarchate and ruled by the patriarch of Constantinople, has been frequently discussed in Ukrainian news media. It is also known that this idea is supported by several politicians from the "orange" camp, who have conducted conversations with Patriarch Bartholomew.
"Delegations of government officials have already often traveled to Patriarch Bartholomew with a request either for personal intervention for resolution of this situation or for some other way of affecting the situation in Ukraine," Archbishop Mitrofan, the chancellor of UPTsKP told "Novyi Region." (tr. by PDS, posted 27 June 2007)
BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF KIEVAN PATRIARCHATE
The autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox church has been declared . . . and does not violate canons. As of today, the episcopate of UPTsKP numbers around 40 bishops; more than 4,000 parishes are active in Ukraine, united in 29 dioceses in all provinces of our state. The Kiev and Lviv Orthodox Theological Academies are functioning fruitfully, as are seminaries in Lutsk and Rovno, a theological institute in Ivano-Frankovsk, and a theological division of the philosophy and theology department of Chernovits National University. According to sociological surveys, the Kievan patriarchate enjoys the support of more than 10 million persons of the adult population of Ukraine (by comparison, the Moscow patriarchate in Ukraine is supported by around 5 million persons). In December 2006, 52 percent of those questioned in the capital of Ukraine, Kiev, indicated their affiliation with the Kievan patriarchate and only 8 percent with the Moscow patriarchate.
Thus, there exist all factors for proclaiming the autocephaly of the Orthodox church in Ukraine as provided by the canons and historical experience of the church. (tr. by PDS, posted 27 June 2007)
[tr. note: this information is an excerpt from a much longer document issued by the bishops' council of the Ukrainian Orthodox church of the Kievan patriarchate and posted on the Portal-credo.ru site, 27 June 2007]
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSED CREATION OF UNITED LOCAL CHURCH
Interfax, 27 June 2007
The question of the creation in Ukraine of a united local church was discussed Tuesday in Istanbul by the president of the country, Viktor Yushchenko, and Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, the press service of the head of the Ukrainian state reported.
According to information from the press service, the patriarch also expressed the hope that after the special parliamentary elections, the situation in Ukraine will be stabilized and he noted that he is praying for the unity of Ukraine.
Bartholomew sent his blessing to all the Ukrainian nation through Yushchenko.
The parties also touched on the topic of the religious education of youth on the basis of Christian ethics.
At the end of the meeting Yushchenko and Patriarch Bartholomew exchanged gifts and mementos. (tr. by PDS, posted 27 June 2007)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Putin solicited for religion in schools
BATTLE OF BORODINAAuthor of Foundations of Orthodox Culture textbook calls Russian president to come to her aid in struggle with "haters of Russia."
By Mikhail Pozdniaev
Novye izvestiia, 26 June 2007
On the Internet an open letter to Vladimir Putin was published by Alla Borodina, author of the "Foundations of Orthodox Culture" textbook. The extensive letter contains a call "urgently to include in the federal curriculum the historical and culturological course by A.V. Borodina." Simultaneously, a similar letter was issued by the "Headquarters of public movements in defense of OPK." Meanwhile, beginning 1 September the study of this course will be introduced in Voronezh province, adding to the four regions where OPK last year became an obligatory regional curriculum component.
Discussion about the teaching of religious disciplines in Russian schools has again entered a heated phase. As of the fall, in a number of schools of the capital will begin the study of a long-awaited course, "History of world religions," that was worked out under the leadership of Russian Academy of Sciences Academician Alexander Chubarian. Thus, there finally has appeared an alternative to "Foundations of Orthodox culture," and pedagogues have received the possibility of comparing which textbook is better.
This is no laughing matter that has disturbed proponents of the study of OPK. A number of patriotic organizations created the "Headquarters for the defense of Foundations. . . ." According to the "founding fathers," their headquarters "will undertake intensive defense of the spiritual foundations of our civilization against the campaign being waged by anti-Russian forces." No sooner said than done. The leadership of the headquarters sent a letter to Vladimir Putin which says, in particular: "You as president are the guarantor of our constitutional rights. . . . Therefore we send to you this call to stop the 'terrorists from education. . . .' They need to dissolve Russian culture in an ocean of debauchery; we need to raise it to shine as a beacon to the whole world."
While the tracks of the "headquarters" were still warm, Alla Borodina, the creator of the textbook, also addressed the president (by coincidence she happens to be the founder of the OPK charitable foundation and the chief editor of the publishing house with the same name). As one can gather from the expansive text, the letter expressed the request urgently (at least by 1 September) "to include in the federal curriculum the historical and culturological course by A.V. Borodina." A second request to the presidentÑ"to take under his personal control the issuance of a public order for the study of the 'Foundations of Orthodox culture' course within the framework of the program of A.V. Borodina." That will signal the "cessation of the profound social conflict and the beginning of a way out of crisis for Russian education."
Neither more nor less.
For those who are acquainted with the stormy activity of Mrs. Borodina, there is nothing new in her manner of speaking about herself as a hero of national education. "OPK is being strongly demanded in the provinces and nobody will be able to prohibit it," "this is my personal labor; not one organization planned it or financed the work," "I presented to my people and to the state such a beautiful course"Ñthese are just a few quotations from her interview. But the point here is not megalomania but a sober understanding by the author of the textbook: her publishing colleagues do not even dare to dream about such a state order for school literature.
God is with her, with Mrs. Borodina. The problem is that for her textbook, which from the very beginning evoked condemnation from scholars and expressions of rights defenders, there are also claims from representatives of the Russian Orthodox church, in particular, from a professor of the Moscow Ecclesiastical Academy, Deacon Andrei Kuraev. But the haste with which OPK has been disseminated in the schools (from 1 September it will be required to be imposed in a fifth region, Voronezh province) is yet another evidence of the pertinence of Nikolai Leskov's observation: "Rus was baptized, but it was not enlightened." When criticism arises over the quality of the textbook, the counterargument always is that we live in an Orthodox country.
A.V. Borodina concludes her letter to the president on a pathetic note: "Even if at the head of the administration there appear all the haters of Russia, the people will execute their universal mission. That is how it has been in history." Alas, what once in history was drama always has the tendency to be repeated as farce.
But is this just a matter of the children?
OPK: HISTORY OF THE QUESTION
The idea for teaching a "Foundations of Orthodox culture" course in the schools began to be raised in 1996-1997 when the first edition of Alla Borodina's textbook was published. The ex-minister of education, Vladimir Filippov, appeared as an ardent proponent of the introduction of OPK into the school curricula. However on 18 June 2002, the Russian national movement "For human rights" turned to the Prosecutor General of the Russian federation with a suit which noted, in particular, that according to the expertise of the Center for the Study of Religions of the Russian State Humanities University, Borodina's textbook is "a confessional apology for Orthodoxy and it contains elements of xenophobia and religious antisemitism." Although the suit was rejected, a similar point of view was expressed by the Plenipotentiary for Human Rights, Vladimir Lukin, and by members of the Public council of the Ministry of Education and Science. They consider that the teaching of such a course violates the principle of secularity of education, which is established by the constitution, by the law "On education," and by the law "On freedom of conscience." At the end of 2006, the Public Chamber presented propositions on this matter. They essentially had three theses: study of the history and culture of specific religions should be voluntary only; the procedure for such teaching on a worldview basis should be established legislatively; basic worldview conceptions in required school curricula should be taught on an elective basis.
Now a law draft has been introduced into the Duma providing for replacing the sharing of educational standards by federal and regional curricula adminisrations. If the law is adopted, the teaching of OPK as a subject of regional curricula will be abolished. (tr. by PDS, posted 26 June 2007)
Russian original posted on Portal.credo.ru, 26 June 2007
MINISTER OF EDUCATION: WILL BE NO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN RUSSIAN SCHOOLS
Portal-credo.ru, 26 June 2007
Religious education will not be introduced into general education schools of Russia, Russian Minister of Education and Science Andrei Fursenko reported on 25 June. He said that religious education cannot be in secular schools according to the constitution, RIA Novosti reports, citing "Russian News Service."
"It can be in Sunday schools, it can be in church schools and seminaries," the minister said live on "Russian News Service."
At the same time, there will be present to one degree or another in the educational process courses connected with the history and the culture of one or another religion, Fursenko noted. In his opinion, the difficulty consists in what form these courses should be offered and what they should be called.
"As previously, this is a topic for discussion," Fursenko noted.
"If we are talking about a 'History of world religions' course, then it is absolutely clear that it must be divided up; well the history and culture of Orthodoxy will be rather substantially covered, and then the culture and history of Islam," the minister said.
He also noted that the history and culture of religions should be taught to everybody. (tr. by PDS, posted 26 June 2007)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Church-police cooperation
BELGOROD ORTHODOX DIOCESE AND REGIONAL INTERNAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
AGREE ON JOINT STRUGGLE AGAINST "TOTALITARIAN SECTS"Portal-credo.ru, 22 June 2007
Archbishop of Belgorod and Starooskol Ioann Popov and the director of the regional administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vladimir Aleshin signed on 21 June an agreement regarding cooperation of the Belgorod diocese of RPTsMP and the provincial police authority, a Portal-Credo.ru corresondent reports.
Among the common obligations of the diocese and the Department of Internal Affairs is the creation of a special "working group," whose tasks will include "joint opposition to the spread on the territory of Belgorod province of totalitarian sects and other religious extremist associations."
The ceremony of signing of the document was preceded by a prayer service conducted in Transformation cathedral church, in which the leadership of the Department of Internal Affairs participated. Upon its completion Archbishop Ioann presented a gift of an icon of St. Nicholas of Myra Lycia to the police command.
According to information on the Belgorod site "Bel.ru," "it is obligatory for the diocese to perform Orthodox sacraments and rituals on holidays and memorial days for fallen officers of the agencies of internal affairs." Also the diocese is required to exercise spiritual care for the families of police officers who die in the line of duty and spiritual and moral education for officers of agencies of internal affairs.
On its part, the police command of Belgorod province assumes the obligation for maintaining order during Orthodox holidays and public church ceremonies.
The legal basis for the agreement was the text of the preamble to the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" of 1997, which in the text of the agreement acquired the following formulation: "On the basis of the principles of recognition of the special creative role of Orthodoxy in the history of Russia, and in the establishment and development of its spirituality and culture. . . ."
Among the motives prompting the signing of the agreement, the signing parties mention also "the modern understanding of the status of the individual, his rights and freedoms; strengthening of spiritual and moral education; strengthening of awareness of rights of the staff of the agencies of internal affairs; and preservation of the historical succession of generations, bestowing on their heirs love and respect for the fatherland and loyalty to the good and to justice." (tr. by PDS, posted 26 June 2007)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Scholar comments on Chukotka Orthodox protest
IF SOMEONE CRIES "FIRE, RUN!" IN A CROWDED THEATRE THERE WILL BE A
STORMY REACTIONby Vasilina Orlova
Moskovskie novosti, 22 June 2007
Radical "ultra-Orthodox" sites have published the decision of the diocesan meeting of Anadyr and Chukotka diocese supporting the appeal of Bishop Diomid. We recall that the appeal appeared not long before 17 May, the day of the reunification of the Russian Orthodox church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. The document evoked an echo in society, not only within the church but also far beyond its walls. Meanwhile the contents of the calls to the church are generally standard fare: calls for struggle with the Individual Identification Number and vaccination, discussion about "neosergianism," and demands to condemn democracy. Vadim Vladimirovich Balytnikov, a specialist in the area of church canons, deputy director of the Department of Social and Political Analysis of VTsIOM [public opinion organization], kandidat of juridical science, explains some misunderstandings for Moscow News.
MN: Bishop of Anadyr and Chukotka Diomid and his associates demand the public excommunication of persons who are guilty of corrupting the nation through news media, an intensification of the struggle with vice, and a condemnation of "neosergianism" and democracy. In your view, how well founded are these demands?
Balytnikov: Well, let's begin with the demand for public excommunication. It sounds good, but actually it is pure demagogy. If the authors of the documents under discussion use the expression "in accordance with church canons," then they should know what these canons say about excommunication. They say that for excommunication of specific Orthodox Christians (and non-Orthodox are not even subject to the church) the accusers must present concrete proofs of their guilt for specific sins. Naturally it is much easier to throw around slogans "about the necessity of public excommunication" of some abstract, unknown persons. The reader immediately feels "the concern for the moral health of society."
MN: But after all the church really must be concerned about morality. Doesn't the demand for "more decisive condemnation of the defects and shortcomings of modern state, political, and public life" seem really logical?
Balytnikov: The demand is fully logical and correct. What is illogical and incorrect is the list of the defects. To set side by side gay parades and vaccination is at least stupid. I think that not so long ago everybody watching the news clips saw how representatives of the church protested against attempts to conduct a gay parade in Moscow. But it is completely unclear why they should struggle against the protection of their own health. Neither in the Bible nor in sacred tradition of the Orthodox church is there any prohibition on vaccination. In our church there is a prominent saint, one of the greatest physicians of the twentieth century, Medical Doctor Saint Archbishop Luke Voino-Yasenetsky. He found nothing un-Orthodox in vaccination and he did not include it among "defects and shortcomings," in contrast with the "zealots." It is another matter that it is necessary to carefully control the quality of vaccine and to precisely clarify the indicators and counterindicators for its use. Why not call for this instead of making vaccination equivalent to sodomy and drug addiction?
As regards the Individual Identification Number, our church has already defined its position. There are real problems regarding the permissible forms and limits of state regulation of the life of citizens. And there has come to us from the West modern fears of the number 666, nurtured in the West by protestants. And the authors of the documents under discussion really do not deign to quote the Bible, but use bold face letters for this number, although the Bible itself says that its use as the number for the name of Antichrist will occur only at the time when he already rules the whole earth. Perhaps now we can declare the 666th page of the Bible the "seal of Antichrist," and its discovery as the means for receiving one?
MN: Among the accusations frequently made against the Orthodox church is such a phenomenon of church life as "neosergianism," which raises the question of relations between the church and authorities.
Balytnikov: The question regarding relations between the church and authorities is clearly and unambiguously answered in the Bible. The well known words are axiomatic: "there is no authority that is not from God and the powers that be are established by God." At the same time, as the saints taught, all authority is from God and not from manÑthe use of authority and even more the misuse of it. And such misuse has always been condemned by the church. We recall how St. Nicholas the Wonderworker fearlessly upbraided the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (who even became a saint). We recall how St. Metropolitan Filipp criticized Ivan the Terrible, for which he was killed upon his orders. We recall, finally, the position of Patriarch Alexis II and the Holy Synod at the time of the tragic events of September-October 1993. At the same time we will not forget that even at the time of the pagan Roman empire Christian martyrs prayed for the ruler by whose will they were sent to martyrdom.
What kind of "neosergianism" are these "zealots" speaking about? Where in Russia are the closed churches, massive suppression of clergy, and demands for the signing of a regular declaration regarding recognition by Orthodox persons of the atheist authorities as "our authority", as it was in 1927? There is nothing of the kind; it is now 2007, and the average rate of the return of church buildings to the church in the past sixteen years has been about two or three a day, the number of priests is growing no less intensively, and an Orthodox president stands at the head of the country.
Of course, Bishop Diomid, who actually declared in his appeal that at the G-8 meetings the head of the Russian state, along with leaders of foreign countries, is preparing the advent of Antichrist, isn't even able to notice the difference. Whoever doesn't want to see, will not see.
MN: And what can one say about the demands, for example, to condemn democracy as a system in contradiction with church teaching and about calls to restore monarchy?
Balytnikov: As the church testifies through the lips of its saints (Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, Tikhon, patriarch of all-Russia, Nikolai of Serbia, and others), the type of state structure is not foreordained by God; it is established by people in accordance with their own experience. The church does not tie itself with any specific form of government because that has only relative, historical significance. Monarchy is not the only divinely established and God-pleasing form of administration, as the Bible clearly testifies. Incidentally, the alternative between monarchy and democracy is incorrect in principle. There exist completely democratic monarchies, such as Great Britain. Actually monarchy is the alternative to a republic (incidentally, regarding one of them, Rome, the Bible speaks in extremely positive ways). At the same time, as St. Patriarch Tikhon said, the establishment of one or another form of administration is not the affair of the church but the affair of the nation itself.
MN: But if the basic approaches of Bishop Diomid are so absurd, why do they evoke such a stormy reaction in society? Apparently they still express the expectations of a certain part of the church public. After all, we have no basis for considering this "grassroots Orthodoxy" to be less authentic than "elite Orthodoxy"?
Balytnikov: Yes, we do. Christ said: "You are from below. I am from above." Here is the answer to the question which kind of Orthodox is more authentic, "lower" or "higher."
And the reasons that such approaches evoke such a stormy reaction are very simple. Try crying loudly in a crowded theatre, and with other voices joining: "Fire, Run!" There will be such a stormy reaction as is seldom seen. True, one must note that there is an established punishment for false alarms of this kind. And there also is for false statements in the name of the church. (tr. by PDS, posted 22 June 2007)
Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 22 June 2007
Critic of patriarchate goes on-line
BISHOP DIOMID: MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE MUST REPENT OF SERGIANISMPortal-credo.ru, 21 June 2007
Bishop of Andyr and Chukotka Diomid Dziuban emphasized in his interview the necessity of repentance by the Moscow patriarchate for sergianism.
An interview with Bishop Diomid, who has gained notoriety for his appeals with calls to the leadership of the Moscow patriarchate to repent of the "heresy of ecumenism," and to renounce sergian servility and support for democracy and globalization, has appeared on the Internet.
As a correspondent for Portal-credo.ru reports, in his interview Bishop Diomid emphasized the necessity of repentance by RPTsMP for sergianism. He claimed that the former Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia has broken up into ROCORMP and zealots for Orthodoxy, whom he does not call "schismatics." Also Bishop Diomid rebutted the criticism of Metropolitan Kirill, who maintained that the Anadyr diocese was supposedly backed by antichurch political forces and he expressed how own sharply negative attitude toward the introduction of electronic passports.
According to the bishop's claim, his position has received wide support in ROCORMP, and texts of his appeals have been posted on the site of a resident of the Holy Trinity monastery Jordanville, the monk Vsevolod, who is well known in his capacity of a reviewer and as an advisor to Metropolitan Laurus, as well as being the virtual editor of the "Pravoslavnaia Rus" magazine of ROCOR.
Fragments of the interview may be viewed [on "rutube"] at these locations: Part One and Part Two. (tr. by PDS, posted 21 June 2007)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Georgian ministry limits religion in schools
GEORGIAN ORTHODOX PROTEST GOVERNMENT EDUCATION POLICYBlagovest-info, 21 June 2007
In the afternoon of 20 June, an action of protest involving many people was conducted on one of the central bridges of the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, organized by the Union of Orthodox Parents. The participants included many representatives of the clergy, disabled persons, and even children. The demonstrators carried placards proclaiming their protest against reforms carried out by the Ministry of Education and against cultivation among the rising generation of a cult of violence and moral permissiveness.
An appeal which protesters distributed to passersby said that the state ideology can be clearly interpreted as creating immorality and violence. The planned reform in the sphere of education infringes the rights of the majority and forbids not only the study of Orthodoxy in the schools but even its symbols. At the same time, the doors are opened wide for propaganda of immorality. On the initiative of the Ministry of Education, the "Alphabet of love" is being distributed in the schools, which teaching children of five to eight years of age the basic of sex and promotes the idea that it is not necessary to create a family because it is possible to have children even without a family. And for children a bit older, books have been prepared which promote homosexuality. Booklets are also being distributed in schools which contain calls for youth to get a sexual partner. It is actually legal to show scenes of immorality and violence on television.
The authors of the appeal affirm that against the background of the initiative of the Ministry of Education and other institutions, it seems cynical for them to introduce police supervision of school children or to create corrective colonies or to shift the burden of responsibility onto parents, which can be a kind of blackmail.
The demonstrators' appeal said that the logic of such an ideology is clear: Georgia is supposed to cease existing as an Orthodox, self-sufficient state, oriented to morality and enlightenment. (tr. by PDS, posted 21 June 2007)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Few conscientious objectors in Russia
90% OF RUSSIANS PERFORMING ALTERNATIVE SERVICE OPT ON RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONInterfax, 21 June 2007
Approximately 90 percent of young Russians who have been assigned to alternative service choose it on the basis of religious convictions.
The majority of these are adherents of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect, "Rossiiskaia gazeta" reported on Thursday.
At the same time, the application of the law on alternative service that is in effect on Russian territory is extremely rare. Thus, in all the five years since its adoption, in Tver province, for example, there has not been a single case of someone wishing to replace the traditional variant of performing service with an alternative form, the publication notes.
In Yaroslav, Ivanovo, and Kostroma province the number of persons serving in an alternative way is somewhat higher, but it extremely rarely exceeds five person in a year. (tr. by PDS, posted 21 June 2007)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
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