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NÖK - Nachrichtendienst Östliche Kirchen |
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Ausgabe 10/05, 10.03.05 |
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| Hinweis: Die eingehenden Nachrichten sind in dieser Mail nach Regionen und innerhalb dieser Regionen nach Eingangsdatum sortiert! |
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In dieser Ausgabe: |
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Russland/ GUS/Baltikum |
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Russland/ GUS/Baltikum |
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1. |
Turkmenistan President closes down nation's hospitals |
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| Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan,
02.03.2005 (UPI) -- The controversial president of Turkmenistan,
Saparmurat Niyazov, reportedly has ordered the closure of all hospitals
except those in the capital, Ashkhabad. The order, announced by a government spokesman, is part of the president's radical changes to healthcare, the BBC reported Tuesday. Thousands of medical workers already have been fired under the plan. Niyazov made the decision at a meeting with local officials Monday. "Why do we need such hospitals?" he reportedly said. "If people are ill, they can come to Ashkhabad." At the same time, he ordered the closure of rural libraries, saying they are pointless because village Turkmens do not read. Niyazov became president of the Central Asian republic in 1991 with the end of the Soviet Union. He retains absolute control and opposition is not tolerated. The government has full control of all media, and freedom of religion is enjoyed only by the officially recognized Sunni Muslim and Russian Orthodox faiths. Civil rights activists abroad say Niyazov has destroyed social services while spending millions of dollars of public money on grand projects, such as gold statues of himself and a vast marble and gold mosque, one of the biggest in Asia. © Copyright 2005 by United Press International. All rights reserved. |
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Adventistischer Pressedienst - www.stanet.ch/APD/ - 02.03.05 |
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2. |
Russland und Albanien sind zu den größten Drogen-Sorgenkindern Europas aufgestiegen. |
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| Das sagt der Präsident der in Wien beheimateten UNO-Drogenbehörde, Hamid Ghodse. Zwar sei der Heroinmissbrauch in den meisten Ländern Westeuropas stabil geblieben oder leicht gesunken. In den osteuropäischen Ländern nehme er aber zu. Nach offiziellen Schätzungen gibt es in der Russischen Förderation mehr als eine Million Heroin-Konsumenten. Die Region ist damit zum größten Heroinmarkt Europas geworden. Des Problems nimmt sich auch die russisch-orthodoxe Kirche an. Im Gebiet Kaliningrad (Königsberg) wird dieser Tage das zweite Rehabilitationszentrum für drogenabhängige Frauen eröffnet. Der Pressesprecher der Eparchie Smolensk-Kaliningrad betonte bei der Vorstelleung des Projekts, dass im Gebiet Kaliningrad mit 950.000 Einwohnern 10.000 Drogenabhängige registriert seien; die Sicherheitsbehörden gäben jedoch zu, dass die tatsächliche Zahl mindestens doppelt so hoch sei. (kap) | |||||
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Newsletter von Radio Vatikan - www.radiovaticana.de/ - 02.03.05 |
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3. |
ARMENIAN MONASTERIAL COMPLEX NORAVANK TO BE INCLUDED IN UNESCO WORLD LEGACY LIST |
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| Yerevan, Armenia,
28.02.2005 (Arminfo) In the next few days the Armenian monasterial
complex Noravank will be included in the UNESCO world legacy list, says
the secretary general of the UNESCO national commission of Armenia's
foreign ministry Karine Danielyan. This is the 4th Armenian monument on the list after Hakhpat (II-IV), Echmiadzin Cathedral and Zvartnots ruins (II-III) and Gegard Monastery. Noravank is one of the best known monuments of medieval Armenia. It is located on a gorge of Arpa 122 km of Yerevan. The complex was built in XII-XIV and was the residence of Sunik bishops. Its most ancient part St Karapet Monastery dates back to IX-X. |
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Adventistischer Pressedienst - www.stanet.ch/APD/ - 02.03.05 |
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4. |
Eye on Eurasia: Russian converts to jihad |
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| By PAUL GOBLE Tartu, Estonia, 01.03.2005 (UPI) Reports that two of the three terrorists killed in Nalchik 10 days ago were ethnic Russian soldiers who had converted to the Wahhabist strain of Islam have sparked a new wave of concern in the Russian Federation about the extent of this phenomenon and its possible impact on the future of the country. In an interview conducted by the YUFO.RU Web site last week, Georgiy Engel'gardt, an expert at the Moscow Institute of Religion and Politics, provided perhaps the fullest discussion yet about what is known and not known about the conversion of ethnic Russians to Islam (www.portal-credo.ru/site/print.php?act=monitor&id=5857 ). Engel'gardt noted that the failure of the census to include questions about religion means that it is virtually impossible to specify the ethnic breakdown of various faiths. And he pointed out that academic specialists like himself working on this question now estimate the total number of such converts at anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000. The National Organization of Russian Muslims, which claims a membership of more than 2,000, unites at least some of these converts. Some other Muslim leaders in Russia have given higher figures, but Engel'gardt suggests that these numbers should be treated with caution. But he warned against dismissing the conversion of ethnic Russians as a marginal phenomenon, as many writers do. Instead, he said, this trend reflects some extremely critical societal problems that should be addressed. And it promises to introduce new complications in Moscow's counter-terrorism effort. Engel'gardt then called attention to the fact many of the Muslim leaders in the Russian Federation are very much against the conversion of ethnic Russians to Islam and may even under-report the number of such converts. They have their reasons. On the one hand, these Muslim leaders are loath to offend the Russian Orthodox Church, which invariably sees such converts as the result of Muslim poaching on what the Patriarchate insists is its home ground. And on the other, these Muslim leaders are disturbed by the tendency of ethnic Russian converts to join the most radical forms of Islam, a reflection of their lack of ties to and understanding of the cultures of the historically Muslim communities there and something that threatens the power of the leaders and the standing of Islam with Russians as a whole. Other analysts of this phenomenon have sought to explain it by pointing to the exoticism of Islam and the discipline it requires from its adherents. But Engel'gardt argued that it is "a fruit of our post-communist crisis," a product of the closing off of certain opportunities for upward social mobility and for earning the incomes they expect. Many "capable and ambitious people cannot now satisfy their ambitions," he suggests, "and for them participation in extremist forms of activity is a means of self-realization." As evidence of this, he pointed to the case of Pavel Kosolapov, whose military aspirations had not been satisfied and who turned to terrorist activities as a result. In the early 1990s, Engel'gardt said, at least some of the ethnic Russians who found themselves in this situation might have turned to organized crime. But he suggests that the opportunities in this direction for such people now are much more limited. That more than anything else, he suggested, makes extremist ideologies like Wahhabism attractive to them. Asked by his interviewer as to whether at least some ethnic Russian Muslims had converted to Islam for entirely defensible reasons and were thus "completely respectable," Engel'gardt allowed that might be so in individual cases -- he mentioned journalist Vyacheslav Polosin as a possible example -- but he insisted that it was not true for most. Unfortunately, Engel'gardt concluded, we must now deal to a much greater degree with people who are "more loyal" to Wahhabi leaders and other extremists than they are to their own country or families, and who thus are likely to play an increasing role in terrorist activities in the Russian Federation. In sum, he said, ethnic Russian Muslims represent the new "jannissaries," a reference to some of the most fanatical forces of the Ottoman Empire who were forced converts from Christian communities. The term is likely to frighten many citizens and officials of the Russian Federation and infuriate at least some of that country's Muslim population who will see this as yet another attack on their faith. (Paul Goble teaches at the EuroCollege of the University of Tartu in Estonia.) © Copyright 2005 by United Press International. All rights reserved. |
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Adventistischer Pressedienst - www.stanet.ch/APD/ - 02.03.05 |
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5. |
Evangelical mission combats HIV/AIDS |
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| RUSSIAN EVANGELICALS
PREACH SEXUAL PURITY AMID RISING AIDS EPIDEMIC by Eunice K. Y. Or Christiantoday.com, 2 March 2005 "Our goal is to help teach young people God's plan for sexual purity, ways to resist the allure of illegal drugs." The leading evangelical mission organisation in Russia - Russian Ministries - has recently started a new initiative to spread "Biblical values" and an "anti-drug (and) sexual purity" message among Russian children and youth, according to its statement to the Budapest-based BosNewsLife Christian News Centre. The project has been proposed in the wake of the rising AIDS/HIV epidemic in Russia over recent years. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), "Russia has experienced one of the most explosive rates of HIV spread in the world. There are already nearly 300,000 people living with HIV registered by the health authorities." It estimated last year that close to 1.8 million people are infected in Russia. "Experts believe the total number to be much greater, and it is growing all the time," the UNDP added. The worrying trend is even being observed in the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Estonia. Russian Ministries "Time to Live! Fund" plan to help at least 40,000 Russian children in the next 12 months, many of whom are infected with the HIV virus which causes AIDS. The AIDS epidemic not only ruins the life of those who are infected, but it also threatens the quality of life of the next generation. This is what the Russian Ministries are most concerned about. "Every day more HIV-infected children are in Russian orphanages. Even more children end up in orphanages just because their parents contract the disease or abuse drugs," Russian Ministries said. Russian Ministries revealed that the HIV positive orphans are often marginalised. They are isolated from the other children or even kept in locked cells. It therefore stressed that it wants to support Russian Christians to reach out with "mercy ministries" to "hurting, dying children already infected with HIV" and youth who are at risk of contracting this deadly disease. In order to eradicate the root of the AIDS epidemic, the evangelical Russian Ministries tries to make people understand that only the word of God can guide people towards the true way of life and thus protect them from the physical lures of this world. Instead of promoting the use of condoms as a strategy to tackle the spread of AIDS, the ministries will adopt a more fundamental evangelistic plan. "Our goal is to help teach young people Godєs plan for sexual purity, ways to resist the allure of illegal drugs, and strategies for how to cope with the many difficulties they are facing in the new Russia since the collapse of Communism," said Sergey Rakhuba, vice president of Russian Ministries. "We are incorporating biblical values and the anti-drug message into our training programs," President Anita Deyneka added. "We are also working with partner ministries- teaching a МNo Apologiesє sexual abstinence curriculum as well as translating and distributing Focus on the Family youth-oriented materials." In addition, the ministry also plans to reach youth by more attractive ways with music, presentations and counselling, such as a "Time to Live!" Festival. (posted 8 March 2005) |
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Russia Religion News - www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/ - 02.03.05 |
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6. |
Kaunas, March 2: Annual Presentation of Pastoral and Financial Situation of Kaunas Archdiocese |
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| Archbishop Sigitas
Tamkevičius presented pastoral and financial situation of Kaunas
Archdiocese of the year 2004 during the special annual press conference
in Archdiocesan Curia. Archbishop Tamkevičius has been publicly
presenting the statistical data of Kaunas Archdiocese for
representatives of the media since 1998. According to Archbishop Tamkevičius, the main pastoral concern of Kaunas Archdiocese is the ongoing preparation for Archdiocesan Synod scheduled for 2006 or 2007. He also emphasized the need to establish and animate pastoral centers in the deanery centers and city parishes. Archbishop deplored the continuing negative demographic trend in Kaunas Archdiocese with 521 200 faithful: 4810 baptisms compared to 5820 funerals in 2004. He noticed the growing number of the baptisms of adults. According to Archbishop Tamkevičius, 9–10 percent of the faithful of the Archdiocese attend the Sunday Mass. Archbishop expressed satisfaction with collect for the victims of Asian tsunami – 40 000 Lt. According to Msgr. Tamkevičius, the amount exceeded the average Easter Sunday collect. He also pointed to the growing income according to the Law of Personal Income Tax, which entered into force in 2003 (citizens may transfer 2 percent of their taxable income to NGO and Church organizations). The parishes of Kaunas Archdiocese received ca. 168 000 Lt from the transfer of taxable income. In 2004 Archdiocesan Curia had 57 employees with average monthly salary of c. 650 Lt. Little less than 50 percent (46 176 out of total number 96 624) of schoolchildren within Kaunas Archdiocese had been attending religion lessons. In 2004 the Church Tribunal of Kaunas Archdiocese received 53 requests for marriage annulment, 25 annulment cases were processed positively. |
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Catholic Internet Service (Litauen) - www.lcn.lt/en - 02.03.05 |
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7. |
UOC-KP and UOC-MP Orthodox of Khmelnytskyi Seek State Support |
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| (RISU.org.ua)
Khmelnytskyi – The eparchial administrations of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church–Moscow Patriarchate (UOC–MP) and the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church–Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC–KP) in the central
Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi have written Mayor Mykola Prystupa,
asking for his support in the completion of religious buildings,
construction of which has already begun. The bishops of these churches
are prepared to speak before the deputies at the next session of the
Khmelnytskyi City Council to facilitate a detailed discussion of a
number of church-related issues. RISU’s Ukrainian-language site posted
the news on 1 March 2005. Considering the situation of the Orthodox churches of Khmelnytskyi, the hierarchs also asked the mayor to grant land for church construction to religious organizations only after the question of the necessity of such construction has been carefully studied and agreed upon by the leaders of the denominations. The eparchial administrations of the UOC–MP and UOC–KP suggested the mayor build funeral chapels in all the cemeteries of the city, using funds from the city budget, so that representatives of different denominations could celebrate funeral services there. The address to the mayor was signed by Archbishop Antonii (Makhota) of Khmelnytskyi and Kamianets-Podilskyi, administrator of the Khmelnytskyi eparchy of the UOC–KP, and Archbishop Antonii (Fialko) of Khmelnytskyi and Shepetivka, administrator of the Khmelnytskyi eparchy of the UOC–MP. The address also proposes inviting church representatives to city council sessions to discuss the issues of celebrating religious holidays and offering help to the religious organizations of the city. |
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Religious Information Service of Ukraine - www.risu.org.ua/ - 03.03.05 |
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8. |
Greek Catholics Prepare European Day of University Youth in Ukraine |
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| (RISU.org.ua)
Lviv –The Patriarchal Commission on Youth Affairs of the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) will participate in the
preparation of the third annual European Day of University Youth. The
event will take place on 5 March 2005 under the auspices of the Council
of European Episcopal Conferences and the European Committee of
University Chaplains. Father Yosyf Milian, head of the UGCC commission,
spoke about the upcoming event at a press conference on 28 February
2005. According to Fr. Milian, one of the good traditions of the European Day of University Youth is the common prayer of European students with Pope John Paul II through TV connections. This year the TV connections will link nine European cities: Lisbon, Madrid, London, Berlin, Kyiv, Zagreb, Tirana, Bucharest and Bari. This event is taking place in Kyiv for the first time and will be broadcast on Ukraine’s TV Channel One. According to the press service of the head of the UGCC, the common prayer, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. Ukrainian time, will take place in the Church of St. Basil the Great on Kyiv’s Lviv Square. This year the European Day of University Youth is being conducted as part of the preparation for the 20th annual World Youth Day, to take place in Koln (Cologne), Germany in August 2005. It is also held to promote the organization of meetings and discussions on the relationship between faith and reason, which was the subject of the papal encyclical “Fides et Ratio.” Source: www.ugcc.org.ua/ukr/press-releases/article;1319/ |
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Religious Information Service of Ukraine - www.risu.org.ua/ - 03.03.05 |
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9. |
UKRAINE: Problematische Beziehung zwischen Kirche und Staat |
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| KÖNIGSTEIN, 4. März 2005 (ZENIT.org).-
"Es gibt zahlreiche Probleme" in der Beziehung zwischen Kirche
und Staat in der Ukraine, erklärte Msgr. Kopychyn am 3. März anlässlich
seines Besuches beim internationalen katholischen Hilfswerk "Kirche
in Not" in Deutschland. Erfreut zeigte sich der Priester dafür über
die neue Regierung in seinem Land. Die Ukrainer hätten es schließlich
doch geschafft, zu "Herren im eigenen Haus" zu werden. Msgr. Kopychyn gehört zur griechisch-katholischen Eparchie (Bistum oder Diözese, Anm. d. Red.) von Sambir-Drohobych im Westen der Ukraine. "Aufgrund der vielen sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Probleme und der tief verwurzelten Bürokratie" in der Ukraine werde es noch geraume Zeit dauern, bis die Regierung Fortschritte erzielen könne, sagte der Priester. Zu den vielen Problemen in der Beziehung zwischen Kirche und Staat meinte er: "Die griechisch-katholische Kirche wird rechtlich noch nicht als juridische Person anerkannt, noch gab es eine Restitution der kirchlichen Besitztümer. All das ist in anderen ehemals kommunistischen Ländern längst passiert. Aber man hofft darauf, dass mit der Zeit Lösungen gefunden werden. Die neue Regierung hat zum Beispiel den Ausschuss für religiöse Angelegenheiten abgeschafft. Damit versuchte die alte Regierung, die Aktivitäten der Kirchen zu kontrollieren." In der ukrainischen Eparchie Sambir-Drohobych sind nach Angaben von Msgr. Kopychyn rund 70% der 620.000 Einwohner griechisch-katholisch. Sie werden in 400 Pfarren von 250 Priestern und 68 Seminaristen betreut. ZG05030403 |
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Zenit - Die Welt von Rom aus gesehen - www.zenit.org - 04.03.05 |
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10. |
Pentecostal crusade banned in provincial city |
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| PENZA PROSECUTOR
PROHIBITS HEALING SESSION OF BRITISH EVANGELIST Interfax, 4 March 2005 The prosecutor of the Lenin district of Penza (400 miles southeast of Moscow) issued an order prohibiting the appearances of the evangelist preacher David Hathaway (Great Britain) in the Penza State Circus, Interfax-Volga news agency was told on Friday by district prosecutor Nikolai Smykov. "The prohibition was issued in connection with the fact that the announced event violates legislation concerning the conduct of mass meetings for healing," the prosecutor said. He said that the management of the Penza circus was advised to dissolve the contract for use of the facilities for holding a "Christian holiday," during which its organizers promised to demonstrate "miraculous healings from all diseases for all who want it in the circus arena." The missionary's appearances were scheduled in Penza for 4-6 March. (tr. by PDS, posted 7 March 2005) |
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Russia Religion News - www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/ - 04.03.05 |
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11. |
Fourth Working Meeting between the Commissions of Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Church Outside of Russia |
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| The Fourth Working
Meeting between the Moscow Patriarchate Commission on Dialogue with the
Russian Church Outside of Russia and the ROCOR Commission on Discussions
with the Moscow Patriarchate took place in the environs of Paris on 2-4
March 2005. The sessions, which were accompanied by common prayers, were
held in the atmosphere of brotherly love. The discussions were frank and
open, and the participants were sincere in their aspiration to overcome
divisions. Taking part in the meeting on behalf of the Moscow Patriarchate were Chairman of the Commission Archbishop Innokenty of Korsun, Archbishop Yevgeny of Vereya, Archpriest Vladislav Tsypin, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) and secretary of the Commission Archpriest Nikolai Balashov. Taking part in the meeting on behalf of the Russian Church Outside of Russia were Chairman of the Commission Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany, Bishop Ambrose of Vevey, Archimandrite Luke (Murjanka), Archpriest Nicholas Artemov and secretary of the Commission Archpriest Alexander Lebedev. The participants continued their work on the documents, which show common vision of the tragic destiny of the Russian Church in the 20th century, Church-State relations, canonical status of the Russian Church Outside of Russia as a self-governing part of the Local Russian Orthodox Church and canonical conditions for the restoration of full communion. In the beginning of their common work the members of the Commissions decided that the documents, which they compile and which are approved by the authorities of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Church Outside of Russia would be published when the process of talks is completed. However, proceeding from pastoral expediency, it was considered useful to publish the agreed materials earlier. The members of the Commissions believe that the documents elaborated at the present session could be published after the approval by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Outside of Russia. Also published could be the earlier prepared documents of the Commissions, which have already been approved by the authorities of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Church Outside of Russia. Discussed at the meeting were also other questions of the process of the restoration of the unity. The next meeting of the Commissions is scheduled for the summer of 2005. |
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DECR Communication Service - www.mospat.ru/e_startpage - 04.03.05 |
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12. |
Moldova Re-elects Communists Amid Concern Over Human Rights Violations |
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BosNewsLife - www.bosnewslife.com - 06.03.05 |
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13. |
Russian Church Branches Keep In Reunion Talks |
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| By Olga Lipich Moscow, Russia, 05.03.2005 (RIA Novosti's) Ad hoc commissions of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Church Outside Russia, or RCOR, will hold their nearest joint session to reinstate Church unity next summer, the Moscow Patriarchate Department of External Church Relations reported to sum up the latest, fourth session. It was working in Paris' environs, March 2 through 4. "Accompanied by common prayer, the session proceeded in an atmosphere of fraternal love. The debaters were outspoken, and the entire gathering appeared sincerely eager to overcome the differences," said our informants. The negotiators keep debate content secret, as was the case for the three previous conferences. The latest session went on drafting papers that reflected common stances on many issues. That was the only fact Novosti was offered. The matters under debate pertained to the 20th century tragedy of the Russian Church, to Church-State relations, and the RCOR canonical status as an autocephaly of the Russian Local Orthodox Church. The Russian Church split in the 1920s as a part of it put up with the Soviet regime after the Bolshevik revolution and the Civil War. © 2005 News Agency RIA Novosti's, Moscow/Russia |
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Adventistischer Pressedienst - www.stanet.ch/APD/ - 06.03.05 |
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14. |
Self-proclaimed Christ leads absurd sect |
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| SECTARIAN CHARLATAN WANTS
TO BECOME RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Russkaia linia, 7 March 2005 Presenting himself as Jesus Christ, the impostor "academician" Grigory Grabovoy, the head of the sect who promised residents of Beslan who lost children during the terrorist act to "resurrect" their children for 39,000 rubles each, has decided to become president of Russia in 2008. In a special February issue of the "Prognosis" newspaper that he publishes, Grabovoy wrote specifically that one of the points of his "presidential platform" will be "adoption of a law that will be fulfilled in any case. This is a law prohibiting death," IA Regnum reports. According to assurances of leaders of the sect, the "Prognosis" newspaper has been distributed in the State Duma, the Federation Council, and the presidential administration of Russia, and members of its editorial board include Federation Council members V.A. Gustov and V.P. Orlov, and State Duma deputies V.I. Alksnis, N.M. Bezborodov, V.P. Voitenko, V.I. Grishin, N.P. Zalepukhin, V.S. Katrenko, A.E. Likhachov, V.V. Luntsevich, V.Ya. Pekarev, G.I. Raikov, and V.P. Cheremushkin, IA Regnum reports. Much has been written already about the activity of Grabovoy's seect. In particular, back in December of last year the "Izvestiia" newspaper, which decided to investigate the sectarians' activity, exposed the sectarian charlatan activity of Grabovoy in a full article. We will quote several statements by the "great disciple" of Grabovoy, Yu.N. Kirillov, at one of his seminars: "Grabovoy has saved all of us, but not everybody knows about this;" "Grabovoy teaches us like Christ, as one having authority"; "Fifty methods of resurrection of the dead exist; the most effective is the 47th and the 19th is worst"; "From the first to the tenth of September we ruled the future of Beslan and sent light rays of love to the terrorists, but the local residents were themselves guilty and provoked what happened by their sympathies and experiences." These are quotations of the words of the sectarian by Izvestiia. As the saying goes, comment is superfluous. In his time, Izvestia said, Grabovoy literally declared the following: "This is my prediction. In 2008 I will become president of Russia. My predictions always come true, especially those regarding myself. Already now many church hierarchs are ready to declare that I am Jesus Christ, but I myself do not want that. Because then I would not have any competitors and I want to win the election in an honest struggle. And I will win. You will see. I have already created a political party, the "Voluntary disseminators of the teachings of Grigory Grabovoy" (DRUGG). There it is -- no more, no less. The sectarian impostor and blasphemer Grabovoy, who declared himself Christ, aspires to the presidency. And what is most frightening is that according to the sectarian's own statement, a number of State Duma deputies support him. To be sure, as the Nizhny Novgorod telegraph agency reported today, duma deputy Aleksei Likhachov has already denied the report about his participation in the activity of Grigory Grabovoy's sect. "Such a report cannot evoke anything other than displeasure," the deputy declared. "Mention of my name as a member of the editorial board is a deliberate provocation and talk about such horrible things as the resurrection of dead children is criminal!" deputy Likhachov told NTA. However the other deputies mentioned by Grabovoy are still silent. (tr. by PDS, posted 8 March 2005) |
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Russia Religion News - www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/ - 07.03.05 |
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15. |
American evangelistic television opposed in Ukraine |
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| ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS IN
KHARKOV DEMAND CANCELLATION OF SECTARIAN TV BROADCAST Pravoslavie.ru, 7 March 2005 In front of the provincial administration building in Kharkov a picket line has been set up, whose participants demanded that the broadcast of a sectarian program on television cease, Pravoslavie.ru correspondent Sergey Stepanov reports, citing the "Obektiv" media group. Kharkov Orthodox believers have come out against showing a program with the participation of American Mark Finley, a representative of the sect of "Seventh-day Adventists. His "sermons" are to be broadcast from 4 to 26 March by satellite television to all of Ukraine. Parishioners of the Orthodox church call the production "sectarian expansion." We recall that Adventists have conducted vigorous activity in Ukraine, drawing people into the sect by deception. Visiting missionaries conceal their affiliation with the sect and called themselves "simply Christians." In addition, often Adventists enter into open confrontation with the Ukrainian church. Some months ago in Vinnitsa diocese sectarians tried to break up a processions of the cross devoted to the 80th anniversary of the Kalinovka miracle. (tr. by PDS, posted 8 March 2005) (The "Kalinovka miracle" was reported to have occurred on 7 July 1923 when a drunken soldier, returning from the civil war, shot a bullet into a grave marker and adjoining icon of the "Crucifixion," and blood began flowing out of the Savior's shoulder where the bullet penetrated the icon. The site then began attracting thousands of pilgrims, provoking harsh countermeasures by the local communist rulers. PDS) |
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Russia Religion News - www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/ - 07.03.05 |
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16. |
Russian artists on trial |
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| PROBLEM OF VANDALISM
UNRESOLVED by Valery Nikolsky Credo.ru, 7 March 2005 On 4 March participants in the trial of the case concerning the "Beware, Religion" exhibit held a press conference in the Andrei Sakharov "Peace Progress and Human Rights" Museum and Community Center. The press conference was titled "Freedom of conscience and art in the scales of Russian justice," and was devoted to the conclusion of the hearings on this case in Tagan district court. Statements about the significance of the trial, unprecedented in Russian history, were made by the accused, attorneys, defense lawyers, art scholars, academics, and representatives of rights defense organizations, including the president of the Russian "Pen Center," Alexander Tkachenko, the leader of the "For human rights" movement, Lev Ponomarev, attorney Yury Shmidt, who also took part in the defense of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the artist Alexandra Mitlianskaia, and others. In the main, the conclusions were gloomy. "A new hero has appeared in Russia, the Orthodox believer with a baseball bat in his hands," noted the director of the Union of Journalists, Igor Yakovenko. "As an historian I know that about a century ago there was a regime that allied with pogromists. The life of that regime came to an end in the house of the merchant Ipatiev. Now the present regime should ponder that." "The artist has the right to artistic expression. . . . Why is a prohibition being raised against everything?" the artistic director of the State Center for Contermporary Art, Leonid Bazhanov, said bitterly. "How will I be able to work in such an atmosphere? In Britain there was an exhibit, '100 artists see God,' which were works by 100 of the leading artists of the world. I would like to invite this exhibit to our country, but now this has become problematic." "I was the organizer of 'leftist" exhibitions in Leningrad, and for organizing these unsanctioned exhibitions I spent six years in prison," rights defender Yuly Rybakov stated. "A brown haze has been hung over the country," he warned. "We are preparing an exhibit, 'Beware, Nazism,' and there also could be attacks upon it." Commenting on her own experience from the hearings that were conducted, the head of the group for organizing exhibitions in the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Community Center, Liudmila Vasilovskaia, who is now accused of inciting religious strife, said "my view on artistic works has changed. I look at a catalog and I think about whether there is something 'blasphemous' here. That's very dangerous." "I feel as if I am a participant in Kafka's novel 'The Trial,'" defendant Anna Mikhalchuk noted. "Something absurd has been happening; Nobody is interested in the exhibit, or what the artists wanted to say, or what I initially saw at the opening. In the courts they simply considered us guilty. . . ." Museum director Yury Samodurov compared this trial to the time when they condemned "degenerate art" that threatened the "unity of the German people." He also noted that among the almost 400 articles that have appeared during the trial, many were written in a clearly accusatory tone. For example, an article in "Nezavisimaia gazeta" was titled "Artists offend Orthodox believers." And "Moscow News" published "The last word of the canary," which were fragments from the concluding speech by defendant Samodurov in the 2 March court session, and it omitted some words from the text without ellipses. The original said that "a guilty verdict will signify that the Russian government and the Moscow patriarchate have announced the beginning of the construction of a 'religious fence' between Russia and the rest of Europe in the sphere of freedom of conscience and of the right to free distribution, reception, and exchange of information and ideas, which will negatively affect the reputation of our country." The next sentence spoke about "religious toleration," Yury Samodurov noted. However some press conference participants did not share the general gloomy mood. "I would like to say that this campaign in court is an enormous diversionary move from the trial that did not happen," declared the head of the department of contemporary movements of the Tretiakov State Gallery, Andrei Erofeev. "The point is that these people committed an act of vandalism," he said, recalling those who attacked the exhibit. "Imagine somebody with nationalistic views who breaks into our halls and begins tearing up the works of Marc Chagall simply because of his ancestry," he said, noting that an exhibit of this artist has opened in the Tretiakov. "These people must be punished, not because they are Orthodox but because they are vandals. We should devote all our efforts to seeing that this problem of vandalism is resolved." "It seemed to me that the judge in the Tagan court agreed with me humanly speaking," he noted. "Nowadays, when the question of prohibiting Sorokin's opera ("Rosenthal's Children") or taking Marat Gelman to court (for the "Russia 2" exhibit) is being decided, this is a threat to all of Russian culture and is part of a frontal attack on contemporary culture." Speaking about the actions of the defense in the event of the issuance of a guilty verdict, attorney Anna Stavitskaia reported that the verdict will be appealed in Moscow city court and if this higher court leaves the verdict in force then in accordance with article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, an appeal will ensue to the European Court on Human Rights. The attorneys intend to show that there is an "egregious violation of article 6 of the convention" by virtue of the lack of specificity in the indictment, attorney Sergei Nasonov noted. "In the case file there are 5,000 statements from persons calling themselves Orthodox in the form 'I did not see it, but I know,'" Yury Samodurov said in response to a question about confessional statements to the court. "In court, a representative of the Pentecostals, Riakhovsky, made a statement, and Rabbi Kogan and some Muslim presented written declarations. I think that was in accordance with the principle, 'I was asked so I wrote.'" Recalling that religion was suppressed by the authorities for a long time, the head of the "For human rights" movement, Lev Ponomarev noted that the "most aggressive, the most radical" representatives of believers have now come to the surface. A correspondent of the TV program "Russian View," Alexander Egortsev, tried to provoke discussion of the question of the attitude of rights defenders to the works of Avdei Ter-Oganian from the "New Russian Art" series, but he received a rebuff on the part of the secretary of the federal policy board of the Union of Right Forces, Leonid Gozman, who stated that "it is impossible to discuss the works in this situation where the Russian federation prosecutor's office has undertaken an attempt to convict the organizers of the exhibit and has made it impossible to discuss these works as objects of art." "I would wish that our jurisprudence did not depend upon public passions," one of the oldest of Russian rights defenders, Vladimir Albrekht, stated in commenting on the trial. He is the author of the book, "How to conduct yourself properly in an interrogation." "But this trial also has another meaning for Russia; if these works appeared, let's say, in New York, people will come and see how much freedom there is here." "This trial revealed Orthodox terrorism," rights defender Viktor Sokirko summed up the discussion of the trial. "I appeal to our intelligentsia, which should find ways of opposing this." The conclusion of the event in the Andrei Sakarov "Peace, Progress, Human Rights" Museum and Community Center was critical in the best sense of the word: the artist German Viinogradov, who recorded all of the hearings, was presented the honor of the museum in the form of a butterfly, "the symbol of freedom," and also the book "100 artists see God" from the exhibit that was held in the London Tate Gallery in January of this year. (tr. by PDS, posted 7 March 2005) |
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Russia Religion News - www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/ - 07.03.05 |
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17. |
ABGEORDNETE UND KIRCHE FORDERN VERBOT DES OKKULTISMUS |
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| RIA Nowosti, Moskau, 28.02.2005 von Wladimir Simonow, politischer Kommentator der RIA Nowosti Die Abgeordneten der Moskauer Stadtduma haben im Parlament und in der Regierung den Vorschlag eingebracht, das föderale Gesetz "Über den Gesundheitsschutz der Bürger" zu ändern. Das Wesen der Änderungsanträge läuft darauf hinaus, ein völliges Verbot der okkulten "Dienstleistungen" auf dem Gebiet Russlands zu erlassen. Russland stand Jahrhunderte lang wohlwollend zu Zauberern, Magiern und Medien verschiedener Art und gab ihnen die Möglichkeit, ein Vermögen zu erwerben und sich der Elite anzunähern. So war ganz St. Petersburg im Jahre 1779 von dem "Obersten der spanischen Armee, dem wahren Magier und Großen Magister" Alessandro Graf von Cagliostro bezaubert. Er handelte geschickt mit einem Liebestrank, ließ tote Geister mit lebenden kommunizieren und "heilte" sogar einmal brillant den Säugling eines vornehmen Höflings, indem er an seiner statt einen anderen, gesunden Säugling unterschob. Die Zweifel der Eltern zwangen aber den falschen Grafen dazu, nach Warschau zu fliehen. Später war Zar Nikolaus II. bemüht, keine wichtigen Entscheidungen zu treffen, ohne die Ratschläge des "heiligen Altmönchs" Grigori Rasputin eingeholt zu haben. Es galt nämlich, dass er eine übernatürliche Gabe als Hellseher und Heilkundiger besaß. Leonid Breschnew schickte seinerzeit Boten zur bulgarischen Hellseherin Vanga um Konsultationen über seine untergrabene Gesundheit. Der Boom des Okkultismus, der in Russland Ende der 80er Jahre einsetzte, ließ sich schwer durch irgendwelche historischen Traditionen erklären. Den Pseudohexen und Magiern muss man das Ihre lassen: Sie hatten die geistige Verwirrung im Lande, das damals in Stücke zerfallen war, die fehlende Zuversicht der Menschen - angefangen vom Bauern bis hin zum Unternehmer - in die Zukunft genau erkannt und zur rechten Zeit ihre Dienste angeboten. Der Sowjetstaat hatte es den Menschenmassen abgewöhnt, selbstständig zu existieren, sozusagen mit dem eigenen Verstand auszukommen. Zur Zeit der UdSSR hatten die Behörden vieles für den Menschen entschieden: Wo er leben, was er lernen, wie er sich kleiden, welche Bücher er lesen, wohin er fahren oder nicht fahren sollte. Als dieser totalitäre Staat verschwunden war, fühlten sich viele wie Kinder, die sich im Dickicht der unheilvollen, für sie unfassbaren marktwirtschaftlichen Beziehungen verirrt hatten. Da wurde die Stimme der Okkultisten laut: "Kommt zu uns, wir werden alle Probleme für euch lösen!" Die Bevölkerung hatte aber keine Wahl: In Russland existiert auch heute noch kein Institut für Psychotherapie in einer einigermaßen entwickelten Form. Im Ergebnis übernahmen "schwarze" und "weiße" Magier ungefähr die gleichen Funktionen, die in den Industrieländern Psychoanalytiker erfüllen. Laut einigen Angaben kommt heute auf je 1500 Einwohner Russlands zumindest ein Zauberer der einen oder anderen Abart. Schwer zu glauben, aber in unserem Zeitalter des Internets und der Gentechnik ist der Umsatz des Marktes der okkultistischen Dienstleistungen im Lande mit dem Umsatz des Drogenmarktes vergleichbar. Allein in Moskau funktionieren rund 30 Magierzentren und -schulen mit Jahreseinnahmen von 60 000 bis 120 000 US-Dollar. Den übrigen Raum der gewinnbringenden magischen Branche nehmen Geistesheiler, Schwarzkünstler und Hexen ein, die selbstständig praktizieren. Nach verschiedenen Berechnungen beträgt ihre Zahl in der Hauptstadt 3 500 bis 6 000. Bemerkenswert ist, dass die okkultistische Industrie, wie soziologische Studien ergeben, zu 70 Prozent von Geschäftsleuten kontrolliert wird, die selbst nicht an die übernatürliche Materie glauben, die Dienste der Vermittler der jenseitigen Kräfte nicht in Anspruch nehmen, sondern lediglich einen günstigen Bereich für ihre Investitionen suchen. Die überwiegende Mehrheit der Magier, die sich häufig als Parapsychologen bezeichnen, hat weder eine medizinische noch eine andere Bildung. Das sind simple Gauner, die die Vertrauensseligkeit und die Neurosen der Kunden für sich ausnutzen. Das Sortiment der okkultistischen Dienstleistungen wird in Russland in Übereinstimmung mit dem Geist der Zeit stetig erneuert. Während die Magier früher Hilfe bei solchen im Allgemeinen harmlosen Dingen wie "Rückerstattung" des Geliebten "mit 500-prozentiger Garantie", Beseitigung eines "Lochs im biologischen Feld", "Befreiung von Verhexung" oder von der "Krone der Ehelosigkeit" versprachen, so sind heute in höherem Maße marktwirtschaftliche okkultistische Dienstleistungen in Mode. Ein Moskauer Magier fordert zum Beispiel für das "Programmieren auf Reichtum" 50 bis 1000 US-Dollar, für die Anregung eines böswilligen Schuldners zur sofortigen Tilgung der Schuld - zehn bis fünfzehn Prozent dieser Summe und schließlich für die „Beseitigung" eines Konkurrenten im Business 200 bis 2000 US-Dollar. Die städtischen Behörden sind überzeugt, dass das okkultistische Business zu einer immer größeren sozialen Bedrohung wird. In vielen Fällen können sogar die Milizangehörigen schwerlich feststellen, ob der Konkurrent infolge der Manipulationen des Schwarzkünstlers aus dem Business oder überhaupt aus dem Leben geschieden ist. Der Okkultismus verdirbt die Moral der Gesellschaft, lässt die Menschen, besonders die Jugend, in einer illusorischen, irrationalen Welt versinken. Gegen das Wüten der weißen und schwarzen Magie protestiert zornerfüllt die Kirche, die in Moskau das "Rechtgläubige Rehabilitationszentrum für Opfer des Okkultismus" geschaffen hat. All das veranlasste die Abgeordneten der Stadtduma von Moskau dazu, die Vervollkommnung des Gesetzes "Über den Gesundheitsschutz der Bürger" von 1993 zu fordern. In seiner bisherigen Variante verbot es lediglich die massenhafte "Heilung", vor allem unter Benutzung der Massenmedien. Die Gesetzgeber hatten dabei die Anfang der 90er Jahre populären Geisterheiler Kaschpirowski und Tschumak im Auge, die Fernsehsendungen moderierten, bei denen sie "Wasser mit positiver Energie aufluden" und versuchten, die Leidenden "fernzuheilen". Seitdem haben aber die okkultistischen Dienstleistungen stark an Raum gewonnen. Über die Perspektive ihres völligen Verbots sind die Verteidiger der sogenannten Volksmedizin, das heißt der Diagnosemethoden und der Gesundheitsstärkung, die in den Volkstraditionen begründet sind und ihre Wirksamkeit unter Beweis gestellt haben, besorgt. "Die Abgeordneten werden nicht in der Lage sein, die Trennlinie zwischen der Heilkunde und dem Okkultismus zu ziehen", äußert Jakow Galperin, Leiter des Gesamtrussischen Forschungszentrums für Volksmedizin, seine Befürchtungen. "Betrüger gibt es überall, und ihr Anteil an der Heilkunde ist dem der akademischen Medizin gleich und beträgt rund 13 Prozent", sagt er. Aber Ludmila Stebenkowa, Leiterin der Abgeordnetenkommission, die sich unmittelbar mit der Vorbereitung der Änderungsanträge befasst hatte, ist überzeugt, dass der Volksmedizin dabei nichts droht. In Russland sind offiziell rund 2000 Heilkundige aus dem Volk registriert, erinnert sie, während die Zahl der Magier, Schwarzkünstler, Hexen und Wahrsagerinnen laut inoffizieller Statistik 100 000 übersteigt. Gerade gegen diese Lieferanten von "Dienstleistungen" von okkultistisch-mystischem und pseudoreligiösem Charakter soll das neue juristische Verbot gerichtet sein. |
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Nachrichten aus Russland und um Russland herum - 07.03.05 |
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18. |
ORTHODOXE KIRCHE AB JETZT PER INTERNET ERREICHBAR |
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| RIA Nowosti, Moskau, 04.03.2005 Die Hochtechnologien haben auch die russisch-orthodoxe Kirche erreicht. Viele Kirchen und Klöster haben bereits seit langem ihre eigenen Websites. Und das Swjatooserskij Kloster der Gottesmutter Iwerskaja im Waldaj ging noch weiter: Die Spenden der Gläubigen als Entgelt für eine Erwähnung im Gebet werden per Internet eingesammelt, so die Irkutsker Zeitung "Pjatniza" ("Freitag"). Auch die Alexander-Newski-Kirche in Irkutsk unterhält per Internet Kontakte mit der Außenwelt. Das ist der Kassenverwalterin der Gemeinde, Jelena Luzenko, zu verdanken. Laut Luzenko ist es viel einfacher, Geschäftsverhandlungen per World Wide Web zu führen. Der Computer ist nicht nur bei der Lösung von Finanzfragen eine große Hilfe, er erleichtert auch die Arbeit der Sonntagsschule zusehends. Was die Bestellungen von Predigten per Internet betrifft, sieht es laut Jelena Luzenko nicht ganz christlich aus. Wozu wären dann Kirchen nötig? Eine Ausnahme ließe sich vielleicht nur für diejenigen machen, die jetzt nicht mehr in Irkutsk leben, aber die Kirche, zu deren Gemeinde sie einst gehörten, nicht vergessen können. Doch wenn man sich für einen wahren Christen hält, sollte man zum Gottesdienst persönlich erscheinen. |
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Nachrichten aus Russland und um Russland herum - 07.03.05 |
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19. |
"NOWYJE ISWESTIJA": EIGENTUMSSTREIT ERSCHWERT DIE WIEDERVEREINIGUNG DER RUSSISCHORTHODOXEN KIRCHE |
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| RIA Nowosti, Moskau, 04.03.2005 Am vergangenen Montag kehrten die Gebeine der Großfürstin Elisaweta und der Nonne Barbara nach einer halbjährlichen Reise durch Russland nach Jerusalem zurück, und zwar ins Kloster Maria Magdalena, das der Russisch-orthodoxen Kirche im Ausland (ROKA) gehört, schreibt die "Nowyje iswestija". Am Tag darauf flog eine Delegation des Moskauer Patriarchats nach Paris, um an der vierten Sitzung der für den Dialog mit der ROKA zuständigen Kommission teilzunehmen. Im Mittelpunkt der Diskussion steht die "Frage der Strukturen der ROKA, die sich auf dem kanonischen Territorium der Russisch-orthodoxen Kirche befinden", sowie die Definition des "kanonischen Territoriums". Fünf Tage nach der Gründung von Israel hatte bekanntlich das Volkskommissariat des Innern (Vorläuferorganisation des KGB) einen Beauftragten für russisches Vermögen in Israel ernannt. Kurz danach entsandte die sowjetische Regierung eine "Geistliche Mission des Moskauer Patriarchats" nach Jerusalem und erhob Eigentumsansprüche auf alle Klöster, Kirchen und Heiligen Stätten. Die Mönche der ROKA wurden einfach aus dem Land vertrieben. 1997 vertrieben Behörden der palästinensischen Autonomie Mönche und Nonnen aus dem Kloster der Heiligen Dreieinigkeit in Hebron und übergaben das Kloster der Russisch-orthodoxen Kirche. Im Januar 2000 wurden die Mönche in der Herberge der Russischen Ausländischen Kirche in Jericho vom palästinensischen Militär festgenommen. Die Herberge wurde unverzüglich dem Moskauer Patriarchat übergeben. Vor einigen Tagen dankte Patriarch Alexis II. bei seinem Treffen mit dem neuen Palästinenserpräsidenten Mahmud Abbas der PNA-Führung für die übergabe des Eigentums in Hebron und Jericho an die russische Geistliche Mission der Russischorthodoxen Kirche. "Die äußerungen des Patriarchen haben mich zutiefst enttäuscht", erklärte der Erzbischof von Berlin und Deutschland Mark (Arndt). "Denn am Anfang wurden wir aufgerufen, Schritteund äußerungen zu vermeiden, welche die andere Seite betrüben könnten". Erzbischof Mark ist jedoch nicht ganz aufrichtig. Viele Jahre in Folge hatte er die Russisch-orthodoxe Kirche verleumdet und sogar für "segenlos" erklärt. |
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