RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS

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Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June/12 July)

FIRST-EVER PATRIARCHAL LITURGY CONDUCTED IN FORTRESS OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
by Olga Lipich
RIA Novosti, 12 July 2009

Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill will conduct on Sunday, the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, the first patriarchal divine liturgy in history in the cathedral of the Fortress of Saints Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, the director of the press service of the Moscow patriarchate, Priest Vladimir Vigiliansky, told RIA Novosti.

Before the revolution, in the 200-year synodal period of the Russian church, metropolitans served in the church of St. Peter and Paul because the patriarchate had been abolished by the founder of St. Petersburg. After its restoration the patriarchs (neither the holy prelate Tikhon nor subsequent primates of RPTs) did not serve there.

"His Holiness Patriarch Alexis II participated in the interment of the remains of Maria Fedorovna in the Fortress of Saints Peter and Paul, when they were returned from Denmark, but he did not serve a liturgy," the agency's interlocutor noted.

At the present time divine services are held in the cathedral of Peter and Paul from October to May every Sunday, but in the summer only on major feasts because of the growing influx of tourists.

In the cathedral are buried the remains recognized by the state as royal and belonging to Nicholas II and members of his family. However the church still has not recognized them as such.

Responding to a question why the first patriarchal service in the cathedral of the Fortress of Peter and Paul is being held now, Vigiliansky noted that the day of Saints Peter and Paul is the "patronal feast" of St. Petersburg, and the goal of Patriarch Kirill's current visit to the northern capital, as well as to Tikhvin and Valaam, is "prayerful unity with the flock," especially on feast days.

Thus, the liturgy in Tikhvin marked the fifth anniversary of the return to the motherland from USA of the miracle-working Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God on the day of its honor (9 July), and the patriarchal services on Valaam were held on the days of the celebrations in honor of saints Sergius and German of Valaam (10-11 July) and the primate will perform a liturgy in the church of the Twelve Apostles of the St. John's convent of St. Petersburg on the Feast of the Synaxis of the Apostles (13 July).

The divine service in the Fortress of Peter and Paul on 12 July will be attended by the governor of the northern capital, Valentina Matvienko, and other representatives of the city government, creative intelligentsia, and public figures. In all, around 1,000 persons are expected. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 July 2009)

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Putin makes pilgrimage with patriarch

PUTIN ATTENDS PATRIARCHAL SERVICE ON VALAAM
Interfax-religiia, 9 July 2009

The head of the government of RF Vladimir Putin was present at a patriarchal prayer service in one of the churches of the Valaam monastery on Thursday.

As a correspondent of Interfax reported, Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill met the premier on the steps of the church where later he conducted the worship service.

After the service V. Putin placed a candle in front of the icon of the Savior-not-made-by-hands and along with Patriarch Kirill went into the "Alexis II" monastery museum. A substantial part of the exhibits of the museum is devoted to the life of the late primate, who loved the Valaam monastery very much and regularly visited it from early childhood and was a source for the regeneration of this cloister. The monastery's museum houses several personal items of Patriarch Alexis.

The prime minister was shown historical documents and photographs that depict both the construction of the churches of the cloister (Putin's attention was drawn to a photograph in which monks are each carrying several multi-kilogram bricks at a time) and also the period of its devastation during the soviet years.

Patriarch Kirill told the head of the government how during the soviet-Finish war monks tried to save the wealth of the monastery by transporting it over the ice from Valaam. He recalled his own meeting in Finland with a former abbot of Valaam monastery, Archbishop Pavel, who during the years of the war was able to persuade "soviet Captain Gusev not to shell Valaam and to give the monks three to four hours to evacuate the monastery property." Patriarch Kirill noted that thanks to the decision of this captain many sacred items of the cloister were able to be saved from desecration.

Putin and the patriarch spent some time in the icon painting studio of the monastery and they drank tea in the dining room, while the premier requested that they not dilute the brew with water and to pour for him "serious tea-ala-monastics." Patriarch Kirill shared with the head of government reminiscences about how many years back he visited the Valaam monastery and participated in the divine liturgy in the abbots' graveyard beside the church of the Holy Fathers Resplendent in Fasting. That memorial service was conducted by the now deceased spiritual advisor of the current patriarch, Metropolitan Nikodim Rotov. (tr. by PDS, posted 9 July 2009)

PATRIARCH KIRILL NOTES ENORMOUS WORK DONE FOR RESTORATION OF VALAAM
Interfax-religiia, 9 July 2009

Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill visited the church of the Transfiguration of the Savior of Valaam monastery on Thursday during the course of a trip to Valaam.

As an "Interfax" correspondent reports, he performed a prayer service at the relics of saints Sergius and German of Valaam and he also venerated the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God and the relics of Antip of Valaam, which is one of the chief sacred items of the monastery.

The patriarch described how the Valaam cloister for him "is associated with a multitude of memories of [his] youth, first years in seminary, and clerical service."

"I knew the cloister back in those years when filth and desolation were all about. Now in visiting it I see what enormous work has been conducted. In the most difficult years we believed that in the end the glory of Valaam and of other cloisters of Rus would shine forth," the patriarch said.

The primate of the Russian church is making his pilgrimage in connection with the twentieth anniversary of the regeneration of monastic life on Valaam and the 200th anniversary of the passing of St. Nazarii of Valaam. (tr. by PDS, posted 9 July 2009)

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Russian Baptists unhappy over Obama's Moscow trip

OUR EXPECTATIONS WERE NOT FULFILLED
Baptist Response to the Moscow visit of Barack Obama
Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, 9 July 2009

“Our expectations were not fulfilled.” That was the response of Rev. Vitaly Vlasenko, Director of External Church Relations for the “Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists” (RUECB) following the first official visit of Barack Obama as US-President to Russia on 6 and 7 July. Despite conversations in the days prior to the visit, the US-President did not meet with any representative of Russia’s roughly one million Protestants. Obama did meet with Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate. His spouse, Michelle Obama, was hosted by an Orthodox nursing order, the “Saint Dimitry Sisters of Compassion”. Yet in the area of substance abuse for ex., Protestants play a significant role in Russia.

“It’s strange that President Obama would meet with the political opposition, but not with us,” added Vlasenko. “We certainly are not a political opposition, but we are a vital segment of Russian reality. Any view of Russia is lopsided if it ignores our country’s many non-Orthodox faiths.”

Richard Nixon broadcast important signals by participating in a worship service at Moscow’s historic Central Baptist Church on 28 May 1972 during his sole visit to Russia as US-President. A case could be made for the claim that "important signals" would now also have been in order. In a statement from Istanbul on 7 July, the President’s final day in Russia, Patriarch Kirill admonished foreign religious organizations active in Russia to respect and obey Russian law. He thereby addressed not only his local Muslim listeners: “In 1990, literally entire regiments of missionaries from America, Western Europe, and South Korea appeared in Russia intending to teach our people how to pray. But we responded that we already know how to pray to God. For a thousand years, Orthodox Christians and Muslims have been practicing that.”

“But the day is not over,” Rev. Vlasenko added. “We have hopes that the US-President will visit us Protestants next time. We remain deeply convinced of the need for greater understanding between East and West and are glad that Dr. Obama was here. We sincerely pray for good relations between our two countries.” (posted 9 July 2009)

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Michelle Obama visits Orthodox orphanage and nursing school

MICHELLE OBAMA PROMISES TO PRAY FOR ORTHODOX SISTERS OF MERCY OF RUSSIA AND REQUESTS PRAYERS FOR HER COUNTRY IN RETURN
Portal-credo.ru, 7 July 2009

American First Lady Michelle Obama visited the St. Dimitry's Sisterhood of Mercy in Moscow, where she discussed the topic of voluntarism and received a matryoshka as a gift, "Interfax-religiia" reports.

The spouse of the president of the United States met children who are residents of two orphanages operated by the sisterhood. They sang for her, read poems in Russian and English, and presented gifts made by their own hands.

Michelle Obama thanked the children and was photographed with them as a memento.

After this the spouse of the American president met with the Sisters of Mercy and with teachers of St. Dimitry's Nursing School.

This school was created in 1992 and is the only Orthodox medical educational institution in Russia. In particular, there is conducted here a program for treatment of persons infected with HIV and AIDS patients. The development of this program was financed in part by the Agency for International Development of USA and the Development Program of the UN, with the support of Rospotrebnadzor.

The sisters described for the American First Lady the work of the school and she noted that she herself has worked in a hospital in the past, where she was in charge of communication with the public and recruitment of volunteers. In her opinion, the work of the sisters is extremely important and it is necessary to expand possibilities for the volunteer movement.

The sisters presented the American First Lady a matryoshka doll and Michelle Obama left her autograph on a scarf with an image of the school and she thanked the sisters for their work and care for the children.

"These children have remarkable souls. We will pray for you and for them, and we hope that you will pray for us. I say this in the name of my whole country," the First Lady noted.

In parting the spouse of the American president shook the hand of each sister and went to the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko theatre, where along with the spouse of the Russian president, Svetlana Medvedeva, she observed a concert by famous Russian collectives. (tr. by PDS, posted 8 July 2009)

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Obama engages in church diplomacy

PATRIARCH KIRILL MEETS BARACK OBAMA, DECLARES IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE BETWEEN RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN CHRISTIANS
Portal-credo.ru, 7 July 2009

Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill thinks inter-Christian dialogue is an important factor for the development of relations between Russia and USA.

"It is very important that both the American and the Russian people maintain a single Christian system of values. We are the most religious countries and it is very important that a dialogue between Christians of our countries be maintained since the two nations should be friendly," the patriarch said at a meeting with American President Barack Obama on 7 July in Moscow.

"In order that there not be anti-American moods in Russia or anti-Russian ones in America it is necessary to activate the heart. There is potential for this," the primate of RPTsMP is convinced, the press service of the Moscow patriarchate informed a correspondent of "Interfax-Religiia."

Patriarch Kirill recalled that it was Russian missionaries who brought the Orthodox faith to the American continent.

"We have the experience of good fellowship with our American Orthodox brethren. Even in the most difficult years of the 'cold war' we tried to maintain good relations," he emphasized.

In his turn B. Obama stated that religious institutions, "especially the Russian Orthodox church," occupy a special place in the life of Russian society. He noted the services of Patriarch Kirill in the work of strengthening Christian unity and expressed readiness to cooperation with the Russian church.

As a memento of the meeting the patriarch presented an icon of the Mother of God to the president of the United States. (tr. by PDS, posted 8 July 2009)

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Patriarch seeks to influence national legislation

LEADERSHIP OF "UNITED RUSSIA" AGREE WITH KIRILL ON FORMS OF PARTICIPATION OF RPTsMP IN LAWMAKING IN STATE DUMA
Portal-credo.ru, 8 July 2009

A meeting of Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill with the secretary of the presidium of the General Councl of the "United Russia" party, Viacheslav Volodin, and his deputy Andrei Isaev was held on 8 July in the working residence of the head of RPTsMP on Chisty lane, "Sedmitsa.ru" reports.

At the meeting were discussed questions of the relations among RPTsMP, the State Duma, and the "United Russia" party, which calls itself the "party of Vladimir Putin," which unsuccessfully tried to proclaim him "National Leader" for life.

Participants in the dialogue noted the necessity of developing the "moral dimension" in the activity of news media.

Patriarch Kirill reported to the State Duma deputies about the "concern of many believers," who fear the possibility of the introduction into Russia of a program of sex education in the schools and a system of juvenile justice.

Representatives of the "United Russia" party assured Kirill that they will defend Russian traditions in the area of education of children and protection of their rights. V.V. Volodin and A.K. Isaev promised to work against the understanding of such an interpretation of the Social Charter of the Council of Europe which would prod Russia toward the introduction of sex education and juvenile justice. The deputies said that the text of the charter does not contain provisions which would point toward the necessity of such steps.

Also participating in the meeting was the chairman of the synodal department of RPTsMP for Relations of the Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin. (tr. by PDS, posted 8 July 2009)

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Obama to meet Patriarch Kirill

IN PREPARATION FOR HIS VISIT WITH BARACK OBAMA PATRIARCH KIRILL RECEIVES USA AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA JOHN BAYRLE
Portal-credo.ru, 3 July 2009

On the eve of Independence Day in USA, 3 July, Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill received in his residence on Chisty Lane in Moscow Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States in Russia John Beyrle. Greeting the distinguished guest, the press service of the patriarchate reports, the primate of RPTsMP expressed the hope that the upcoming visit of President Barack Obama to Moscow will facilitate improvement of relations between Russia and USA.

According to preliminary information, Barack Obama's visit with Patriarch Kirill will be held 7 July, after the return of the patriarch from Turkey.

Speaking of historic ties of RPTsMP with the United States, the patriarch recalled that Orthodoxy in America was brought by Russian missionaries. "The presence of the Russian Orthodox church on the American continent facilitated the development of relations of the Orthodox church with other confessions and religions of USA and even in the most difficult times of the cold war Christians of the United States and the Soviet Union maintained good relations," the primate of RPTsMP stressed.

In his response John Bayrle thanked the patriarch for the possibility of acquainting himself with his point of view on prospects for Russian-American relations. "There is much in common between Americans and Russians," the American diplomat noted. "Our countries are multiconfessional and, I would say, profoundly believing. 91% of Americans believe in God or a higher power. 74% of American are profoundly convinced that God exists, and more than half of Americans pray to God daily."

The USA ambassador expressed confidence that the traditions of faith in Russia and USA could become a starting point for reconciliation of the peoples of the two countries. "Of course, political relations between our leaders and governments are very important, although they are insufficient," the diplomat stated. "Contacts that you and the Russian Orthodox church create will help all of us to build a better base for our relations, which have great significance not only for our peoples but also for all humanity."

Also participating in the meeting was the second secretary of the political department of the USA embassy in RF, Kyle Hatcher; His Grace, Bishop of Egorevsk Mark, director of the secretariat of the Moscow patriarchate for institutions abroad; Archimandrite Zacchaeus, representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the patriarchate of Moscow and all-Rus; Archpriest Nicholas Balashov, the vice-chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate [OVTsSMP]; and Priest Sergei Zvonarev, acting secretary of OVTsSMP for affairs concerning the far abroad. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 July 2009)

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Russia objects to European condemnation of stalinism

OSCE EQUATES STALINISM TO NAZISM; SUGGEST DAY OF MEMORY OF VICTIMS OF BOTH TOTALITARIAN IDEOLOGIES
Portal-credo.ru, 3 July 2009

The parliamentary assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) adopted on 3 July a resolution "Unification of divided Europe: Protection of human rights and civil liberties in 21st century in region of OSCE." In it stalinism and nazism are condemned as regimes whose characteristics were genocide and crimes against humanity. OSCE proposed making 23 August a "Day of Memory of Victims of Stalinism and Nazism." The Russian delegation called the resolution an "outrage upon history," Kommersant reports.

The initiators of the resolution were a Slovene, Robert Batelli, and a member of the Lithuanian parliament, Viliia Aliaknaite-Abramikene. In adopting the document OSCE supported the intention of the European parliament to mark the date of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, 23 August 1939, as a Day of Memory of Victims of Stalinism and Nazism. This decision was timed to correspond with the upcoming 70th anniversary of the beginning of World War II.

The resolution emphasizes that both nazism and stalinism were characterized by genocide, violations of human rights and freedoms, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The goal of introducing a Day of Memory of Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, the resolution notes, is to forestall exaltation of the nazi and stalinist past and prevent the appearance of neonazi regimes. The OSCE document is of the nature of a recommendation.

The resolution received a sharply negative assessment on the part of the Russian delegation. In the opinion of the head of the Russian delegation at the OSCE session, Alexander Kozlovsky, equating the nazi regime and the political regime of USSR, which provided a "decisive contribution to the overthrow of fascism" is an "outrage upon history." The head of the Russian delegation declared that by adopting the resolution OSCE, instead of uniting people, is splitting society apart. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 July 2009)

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Survey studies religiosity of Russians

THE UNCHURCHED
Only three percent of Orthodox persons in Russia attend church weekly.
by Igor Pavlovich Konovalov
NG-Religii, 1 July 2009

Although it has been nearly 20 years since the time of the legalization of religion in USSR , the process of the churching of residents of Russia has been proceeding at a snail's pace. A great percentage of those surveyed do not even believe in God or believe in some higher power while at the same time they call themselves Orthodox. People have not absorbed religiosity and in the majority they do not even know the basics of doctrine. Such is the general conclusion of the results of a survey "Religion and Religiosity in Russia," conducted by the Levada Center in February of the current year and presented to the broad public on 25 June at a conference of sociologists of religion in Berlin. In all, 1,600 persons were surveyed, representing a precise sample of the population of Russia in miniature. Support for the survey came from the Catholic organization "Renovabis."

On the whole, the results of the survey can dispel the years-old concern of the leadership of the Russian Orthodox church; 72.6% of those questioned called themselves Orthodox and only 7.3% considered themselves atheists. Adherence to other branches of Christianity, including Catholicism, is claimed by only 1.2% and to Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism, 6.3% of the participants in the investigation.

However, not everything is pleasing for RPTs if one looks at the answers to the underlying questions. It turns out that only 42% of the Orthodox unconditionally believe in God. The remainder either doubt his existence or acknowledge some higher power. Twelve percent of Orthodox children have not been baptized. Only 3% attend church every week or more often, while 55% attend several times a year, primarily on special holidays, and 12% never attend. The average length of time in prayer is 8 minutes, while the church prescribes that prayer may not last less than 20 minutes. "It is remarkable that, despite awareness of and approval of religious norms, such as fasting, prayer, and confession, people do not intend to observe them, while still considering themselves Orthodox," says Natalia Zorkaia of the Levada Center. Thus, 73% of Orthodox never fast and 77% of those questioned eat meat even on Good Friday, knowing its impermissibility.

There are also other interesting points. The local bishop enjoys, as a rule, great authority even among those questioned who turned to him but did not receive, not merely help, but even a simply answer.

"Orthodoxy in contemporary Russia is an ethnic identity, not a religious one," sociologist Zorkaia maintains. "I am Russian and that means I am Orthodox—that's the basic idea."

The investigation as conducted essentially shows the results of the patriarchal ministry of Alexis II, and it offers an understanding of where the new patriarch should direct his efforts. This opinion was expressed by the occupant of the chair of church history in the history faculty of MGU, Hegumen Filipp, who participated in preparing the questions for the study and analyzed its results. In his opinion, the basic thrust is that it is necessary to work on qualitative education of church personnel. However, one should not forget about the education of parishioners. "People come to church with their own superstitions and they try to make them a part of church life," the cleric stated in disgust.

The fact that the investigation was conducted at the behest of Catholics gave no particular joy to Hegumen Filipp as a representative of RPTs. "However it is primarily useful for the Russian Orthodox church, which should draw conclusions from its results," the hegumen, who works actively in the world, says.

A representative of the "Renovabis" organization, Christopher Dam, knows about the complaints about the excessive activity of Catholics on the canonical territory of RPTs, and he rejects all suspicions about the use of the results of the survey for the purpose of conversion to Catholicism. "What we are interested in is the observation of the process of the restoration of religiosity to eastern Europe and nothing more," Dam maintains.

One can become acquainted with the complete results of the investigation in the July issue of the journal Osteuropa of the German Society for the Study of Eastern Europe.
(tr. by PDS, posted 1 July 2009)

Russian original posted on the Portal-credo.ru site, 1 July 2009

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