NÖK - Nachrichtendienst Östliche Kirchen

   

Ausgabe 05/06, 02.02.06
Teil B
         
    Hinweis:
Die eingehenden Nachrichten sind in dieser Mail nach Regionen und innerhalb dieser Regionen nach Eingangsdatum sortiert!		    
   

In dieser Ausgabe:

   
   

Russland/ GUS/Baltikum

    
   

  1. >Agreement on protection of church values is signed

  2. >Official of the Ministry of Culture promises to help restore churches and monasteries of Pskov

  3. >Ukrainian Orthodox group to back Communists at elections

  4. >Religious Intolerance Escalates in Uzbekistan, Commission Reports

  5. >St. Sabas is commemorated at the Representation of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Moscow

  6. >"Kommersant": Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche kann einer der größten Eigentümer des Landes werden

  7. >Kazakhstan’s civilian calendar space for Christmas and the Islamic festival of Sacrifice

  8. >Armenien: Vertreter der katholischen und der altorientalischen Kirchen halten derzeit in Etschmiadzin einen theologischen Dialog zwischen beiden Konfessionen ab.

  9. >Not All Ukrainian Greek Catholics Joined in Unity Prayers

  10. >Relics from Jerusalem Returned to Simferopol Monastery

  11. >Ecumenical Meetings Held in Transcarpathia

  12. >Orthodox Brotherhoods Suggest Ukrainian Greek Catholics Give Turin Shroud Copy

  13. >Roman Catholic Cardinal in Ukraine Calls for Prayer for Polish Victims

  14. >Georgian Patriarchate Won’t Comment on UOC-MP Orthodox Statements

  15. >According to commonly accepted world criteria, Russia is a mono-confessional country - Bishop Longin

  16. >Religious education should be recognized by state - Patriarch Alexy

  17. >Russian Bishop believes attempts to ban communist ideology senseless

  18. >UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH GROUP TO BACK COMMUNISTS IN ELECTIONS.

  19. >Results of iconpainting competition among the prisoners in Altai are summed up

  20. >Metropolitan Kirill receives the delegation from the Italian town of Bari

  21. >XVI International Christmas Readings are open in the State Kremlin Palace

  22. >In Russland ist die Papst-Enzyklika "Deus caritas est" sehr positiv kommentiert worden.

  23. >Religious organizations officially registered in Uzbekistan amount to only one third of what was registered in Kazakhstan

 

    
         
   

Nachrichten

    
         
   

Russland/ GUS/Baltikum

    
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1.

Agreement on protection of church values is signed

    
    On 26 January 2006, the Synodal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate on cooperation with military forces and law enforcement agencies and the ‘Mashinoimport’ Federal State Enterprise signed an agreement on maintenance and protection of the values of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Chairman of the Department Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov and the ‘Mashinoimport’ General Director O. Vdovichenko decide to unite their efforts in the noble affair of preserving cultural heritage of Russia. They agreed to establish the Coordination Council. Among its members are representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, and experts in art, restorers, and staff-members of the museums.
Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov blessed to conduct works on marking and cataloging of church values in Moscow Church of St. Mitrofan of Voronezh and the Church of the Annunciation.		    
   

DECR Communication Service - www.mospat.ru - 27.01.06

    
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2.

Official of the Ministry of Culture promises to help restore churches and monasteries of Pskov

    
    Commission of the RF Ministry of Culture is not satisfied with the finances assigned from the federal center to the restoration of churches and monasteries of Pskov Region. ‘The main problem in restoration of monasteries in Pskov is the lack of finances. Paltry funds are assigned to restoration. 200 thousand rubles were given to the Mirozhsky monastery, the Sviatogorsk monastery and the Church in Meletovo. It is nothing’, Lev Livshiz, head of the methodical commission at the Ministry of monumental art, said.
He assured that he will act as a lobbyist so that ‘Pskov Region receives finances on these objects. We shall not succeed in it in 2006, but we shall try to influence financing process in 2007. It is our principle goal’, the official underscored.		    
   

DECR Communication Service - www.mospat.ru - 27.01.06

    
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3.

Ukrainian Orthodox group to back Communists at elections

    
    Kiev, January 28, Interfax - Orthodox Choice, an organization formed by the Society of Orthodox Brotherhoods, will support the Communist Party in the Ukrainian parliamentary elections in March 2006, Society head Valentin Lukiyanyk said on Friday.
Orthodox Choice was set up in 2005, with taking part in the elections one of the reasons for its existence, Lukiyanyk told a news conference in Kiev.
"To date we are becoming actively involved in campaigning for the Ukrainian Communist Party," Lukiyanyk said.
The party's principles are close to Orthodoxy in spirit, he said.
He called the Our Ukraine party, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, the Socialists, and the Popular Rukh party "anti-Orthodox forces" because, he said, their programs contradicted the principles of the Orthodox Church.
The chairman of the Orthodox Choice coordinating committee, Yury Yegorov, told the conference that the Communist Party was consistently defending Orthodox values and was "closer to the people."
The Communist Party "proposed that we join their election ticket," he said.
Yegorov said Orthodox Choice's cooperation with the Communists was based on the two groups' "similar" social principles - combating illegal enrichment, seeking a unification of Slavic peoples, supporting the use of the Russian language in Ukraine and a negative attitude towards NATO.
One of the Communist leaders, Kateryna Samoilyk, told the conference that "the present-day Communists have nothing to do with the doings of the former Communists" and that "we have asked believers for forgiveness."		    
   

Interfax Religion - www.interfax-religion.com - 28.01.06

    
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4.

Religious Intolerance Escalates in Uzbekistan, Commission Reports

    
    Box Hill, Victoria/Australia, 25.01.2006 (WEA RLC) After the events in Andijan, authorities have tightened control and taken measures against Christians including closing the only registered church in Nukus, Karapalkastan, because some of its activities were considered “missionary work,” according to the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC). Other reasons given for the church closure included “religious agitation and distribution of religious literature among the young people” and “disobedience to the authorities’ order” to stop using the church building because it was too old.
In addition, charities with Christian workers are also under pressure, with a significant number being closed without reason, reported the WEA Commission in its recent Liberty Prayer Bulletin.
Other persecution of Protestant Christians after the Andijan uprising include arrests, interrogations threats, beatings, tortures, crackdown on Christian meetings and confiscation of Christian literature.
In one village, the Christians’ homes were even cut off from tap water to make them reconvert to Islam, the RLC reported.
Officially, there is freedom of religious belief and foreigners who live in Uzbekistan –such as Russians, Koreans, and other groups who practice Christianity – can worship God freely.
However, the Uzbek Christian minority is under constant threat from the authorities as well as Muslim nationalists. According to the WEA, Uzbeks who accept and practice Christianity are immediately attacked by society, authorities, and even their own families. Many Uzbek Christians live under constant pressure of daily persecution.
In Andijan, an Uzbek pastor named Bakhtier Tuichiev, his family, and church – the Full Gospel Church “Resurrection” – has been continually persecuted by the local authorities for several years. He was a Muslim who converted to Christianity and received theological education in a Korean seminary in Novosibirsk.
“We are still facing persecution, only it has become much worse,” said Tuichiev in a letter to WEA RLC.
In November 2005 the church pastor was interrogated by police for nine hours a day for four days, fined, and during Christmas he was severely beaten and spent the holiday in intensive care.
“They ask their Christian brothers and sisters everywhere to pray for the re-registration of the church in Nukus and for the restoration of justice in Uzbekistan,” the RLC concluded.
Despite the difficulties, the Commission noted in its religious liberty bulletin that Christians in Uzbekistan continue to grow in numbers and that former criminals and drug addicts are changing their lives for Jesus and starting to live righteous lives.
Source: The Christian Post		    
   

Adventistischer Pressedienst - www.stanet.ch/APD/ - 28.01.06

    
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5.

St. Sabas is commemorated at the Representation of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Moscow

    
    On 27 January 2006, when the Serbian Orthodox Church commemorates St. Sabas of Serbia, a festive divine service took place at the representation church of the Ss Peter and Paul of the Serbian Orthodox Church at the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Archbishop Christopher of Prague and the Czech Lands who came to Moscow to participate in 14th International Christmas Educational Readings, and Bishop Afanasy, Vicar of the Serbian Patriarch. Among their concelebrants were Archimandrite Antony (Pantelich), rector of the representation church, Archpriest Nicholas Balashov, secretary for Inter-Orthodox Relations of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, clerics of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches, and the Orthodox Church in Czech Lands and Slovakia. Most part of ten concelebrating priests and five deacons are graduates of the Moscow Theological Seminary and Academy who came to study from the Serbian Orthodox Church. Hymns and prayers were sung in the Church Slavonic and Serbian languages.
His Excellence Afanasy on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Pavle of Serbia and the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church greeted Archbishop Christopher, rector of the representation church and parishioners. There were many representatives of the Serbian community in Moscow including the director of the representation center of the Serbian Republic in Russia Gordan Milinic.
His Holiness Patriarch Pavle honored with the order of St. Sabas the parishioner of the representation and engineer Jorge Popovic. Bishop Afanasy decorated J. Popovic with the order. Schoolgirls of the representation Sunday school read poems about St. Sabas in the Serbian language. Folk songs were sung in honor of the great saint who laid a foundation of the independence of the Serbian Orthodox Church.		    
   

DECR Communication Service - www.mospat.ru - 28.01.06

    
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6.

"Kommersant": Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche kann einer der größten Eigentümer des Landes werden

    
    RIA Novosti, Moskau, 25.01.2006
Russlands Ministerium für Wirtschaftsentwicklung und Handel hat ein Gesetz konzipiert, mit dem die Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche zu einem der größten Eigentümer des Landes gemacht werden könnte, schreibt "Kommersant" am Mittwoch.
Die religiösen Vereinigungen sollen das heute vorhandene Eigentum "religiöser Bestimmung", das von der Kirche zwar unentgeltlich benutzt wird, aber dem Staat gehört, besitzen dürfen. Die Kirche kann keinen Anspruch auf Objekte des globalen Kulturerbes erheben wie beispielsweise UNESCO-Objekte (u. a. die Kreml-Kathedralen und die Basilius-Kathedrale am Roten Platz).
Die Vertreter der Konfessionen bewerten die Arbeit an diesem Entwurf als eine "Wiederherstellung der historischen Gerechtigkeit". "Das ist eine sehr gute Idee, wenn das konfiszierte Eigentum rückerstattet wird", erklärte der Rabbiner Sinowij Kogan, Vorsitzender des Kongresses des religiösen jüdischen Organisationen und Vereinigungen Russlands.
Der Vorsitzende der Russischen vereinigten Union der evangelischen Christen, Sergej Rjachowski meint: "Das Gesetz bietet neue Möglichkeiten für die Entwicklung des geistigen Lebens in Russland." Viele religiöse Organisationen seien heute arm: "Wahrscheinlich werden die Protestanten ihren Haushalt durch die Vermietung einiger Objekte auffüllen können." "Bei Bedarf werden wir Grundstücke verpachten, beispielsweise für Lebensmittelgeschäfte, um den Kirchenetat aufzufüllen", so Kogan.
Die Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche versichert, sie werde das erworbene Eigentum nicht zu kommerziellen Zwecken verwenden. "Sie wird es ausschließlich für soziale Programme nutzen", versichert der Geistliche Wladimir Wigiljanski, der Pressesekretär des Moskauer Patriarchats.
Nach Ansicht von Immobilienexperten wird der Gesetzentwurf die Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche zum größten nichtstaatlichen Eigentümer machen. "Die Kirche könnte der zweite größte Grundeigentümer nach dem Staat werden", sagt Roman Tschepzow, Direktor für Entwicklung der Consultinggesellschaft Prime City Properties. "Nur solche Giganten wie Gasprom oder RAO UES würden mit ihr konkurrieren können. Denn allein in Moskau kostet ein Hektar Land sechs bis sieben Millionen Dollar."		    
   

Nachrichten aus Russland und um Russland herum - 29.01.06

    
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7.

Kazakhstan’s civilian calendar space for Christmas and the Islamic festival of Sacrifice

    
    Astana/Kazakhstan, 30.01.2006 (AsiaNews) In the ex soviet republic of Kazakhstan for the first time in the country’s history, two religious festivals have been legislated for. They are Christmas as according to the Orthodox calendar and Kurbanaid, the Muslim festival of Sacrifice (Eid). It is a very important step forward given that up until now for the sake of absolute laicism, Kazakhstan forbid the public celebration of religious feasts, instead following the soviet style of marking important “political” dates such as : World War Two Victory Day, May 1st etc.
After years of petitioning from both Christians and Muslims, the state launched a commission. Among the experts Fr. Edoardo Canetta, member of Fidei Donum from the diocese of Milan and professor at the University of Astana. After long discussions the decision to integrate the two religious festivals in the civil calendar came about because of one fundamental idea: because the state is lay, it does not purport its own values but must recognise the values present in its population. Without the strongest values among the Kazakh population ( which includes the Kazakh ethnic majority, but also immigrants from Poland Germany, Russia and Ukraine who have become state citizens) are Christianity and Islam.
The Christian community (about 30% of the population) will finally be able to celebrate January 7th and 8th which will undoubtedly now overshadow the only other holiday during the period, New Year. In the former USSR New Years was used as a substitute to Christmas, promoted as a time for joy and the family.
Muslims who make up over 60% of the population, have been asking for the recognition of Eid for many years. But the state was staunch in its refusal, out of a fear of breeding fundamentalism.
Many Christians describe the decision as “an unexpected gift”. Eastern rite Catholics celebrate Christmas together with the Orthodox Church on January 7th following the Julian calendar.
In Kazakhstan religious freedom is guaranteed by the state, but with an obligation to register and a certain state control. Islam in Kazakhstan is of a mystic nature and is not fundamentalist. Between Christians and Muslims there is a relationship of dialogue , even if the entire area of central Asia suffers in the aftermath of fundamentalism exported from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
 Source: News Agency AsiaNews, Rome/Italy		    
   

Adventistischer Pressedienst - www.stanet.ch/APD/ - 30.01.06

    
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8.

Armenien: Vertreter der katholischen und der altorientalischen Kirchen halten derzeit in Etschmiadzin einen theologischen Dialog zwischen beiden Konfessionen ab.

    
    Die altorientalischen Kirchen hatten sich nach dem Konzil von Chalkedon im Jahr 451 von der katholischen Kirche gespalten. Die katholische Delegation in Etschmiadzin wird von Kardinal Walter Kasper, dem Präsidenten des Päpstlichen Rates für die Einheit der Christen, geleitet, die altorientalische vom koptisch-orthodoxen Metropoliten Amba Bishoy. Bei den Gesprächen geht es vor allem um die "apostolische Sukzession" der Bischöfe, um das Verhältnis von Primat und Kollegialität in der Kirche sowie um Ort und Funktion sowohl der lokalen als auch der weltkirchlichen Synoden. (kap)    
   

Newsletter von Radio Vatikan - www.radiovaticana.de/ - 30.01.06

    
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9.

Not All Ukrainian Greek Catholics Joined in Unity Prayers

    
    Lviv – On 17-25 January 2006, the Roman Catholic Church observed the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity under the Gospel verse “where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them." Christians all over Ukraine participated in various ways. Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), however, has admitted this has not become a tradition for the UGCC throughout Ukraine. zik.com.ua posted the news on 27 January 2006.
During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, clergy and laity of various denominations gathered for joint prayers at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in western Ukrainian Lviv.
“Unfortunately, we have not established this tradition,” noted Patriarch Lubomyr. “Some hierarchs and some parishes have such programs, but, for some reason, it is hard to achieve it in the (wider) church. Honestly, this must be one of the reasons why we did not take very formal measures. In the Western church, especially in the USA, both the Latins and our church do it very formally. I felt it in Italy, too. We don’t have it on the high official level yet. But this does not mean that nothing is happening here.”
The head of the UGCC mentioned the joint participation of Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants in a recent international conference in Kyiv dedicated to the upbringing of children. As a result of the close cooperation of the Christian churches, 2006 was declared in Ukraine as the Year of the Protection of the Child's Spiritual World. “That is practical ecumenism,” underlined Patriarch Lubomyr.
The head of the UGCC called upon Ukrainian Greek Catholics to participate in joint prayers in the form practiced in the West.
Source: http://www.zik.com.ua/index.php?news_id=34049		    
   

Religious Information Service of Ukraine - www.risu.org.ua/ - 30.01.06

    
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10.

Relics from Jerusalem Returned to Simferopol Monastery

    
    Simferopol-- A relic reputed to be a piece of the true cross of Jesus Christ, and other relics which were taken from southern Ukrainian Crimea in 1943, were returned to Ukraine on 24 January 2006.
A delegation headed by Metropolitan Lazar (Shvets) of Simferopol and Crimea of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) welcomed at the Simferopol airport an ark containing a piece of the true cross of Christ and relics of St. Paraskeva and the martyr St. Panteleimon.
Because the relics had been in danger for decades because of religious repression under the Soviet regime, they were taken out of Crimea in 1943. First they went to France, then, since 1971, they had been kept at a monastery in Jerusalem.
When it became known that the Crimean relics were being kept in Jerusalem, Metropolitan Lazar contacted Archbishop Mark of Berlin-Germany and Great Britain, overseer of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, with the request to return the ark with the relics to the St. Paraskeva Women’s Monastery of the UOC-MP Simferopol-Crimea Eparchy.
Source: http://pravoslavie.ru/news/060127105330		    
   

Religious Information Service of Ukraine - www.risu.org.ua/ - 30.01.06

    
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11.

Ecumenical Meetings Held in Transcarpathia

    
    Mukachevo– Ecumenical meetings as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed by the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) from 17-25 January 2006, took place in southwestern Ukraine’s Transcarpathian region. As in previous years, present at the joint prayers were Bishop Antal Majnek of the Mukachevo Diocese of the RCC, Bishop Milan Sasik, apostolic administrator of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, and Bishop-Emeritus Layosh Hulachi of the Reformed Church. But this time, representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) did not participate in the meeting.
Bishop Sasik said that his priests invited Roman Catholics and Protestants to their parishes, and then the Greek Catholics visited the other churches, listened to sermons, prayed together, and exchanged church choirs. In some villages Catholics of both rites have established good relations with the Baptists and it has become traditional to finish the ecumenical week at the Reformed chapel situated in a Gypsy camp near Mukachevo.
One UOC-MP priest took part in previous meetings and even invited Catholics and Protestants to his church, located in a military city near Mukachevo. The local Orthodox are friends with Catholics from the neighboring village of Shenborn, where Father Burchard Noha from Germany serves and nuns from India provide medical aid. The faithful of different denominations and nationalities gather for joint prayers at the Shenborn chapel.
Source: http://www.blagovest-media.ru/index.php?ss=2&s=3&id=4182		    
   

Religious Information Service of Ukraine - www.risu.org.ua/ - 30.01.06

    
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12.

Orthodox Brotherhoods Suggest Ukrainian Greek Catholics Give Turin Shroud Copy

    
    Kyiv – The Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods of Ukraine (UOBU) has addressed representatives of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with the request to make the Ukrainian copy of the Shroud of Turin a gift for the Orthodox. Only in this case, reads the UOBU’s address, will the Orthodox of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate allow the relic inside St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv. sedmica.orthodoxy.ru posted the news on 26 January 2006.
RISU note: Three national deputies in Ukraine’s Parliament, members of the Ukrainian Society of the Shroud of Turin, came up with the idea of placing the copy of the shroud in St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv for veneration on 22 January. As St. Sophia’s is now a museum, not belonging to any denomination, it was considered that this would be a good place for joint Christian prayer. However, in the face of potential protests from the Union of Orthodox Citizens of Ukraine, the plan was cancelled.
Source and previous related RISU news: http://www.sedmica.orthodoxy.ru
http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;8795/		    
   

Religious Information Service of Ukraine - www.risu.org.ua/ - 30.01.06

    
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13.

Roman Catholic Cardinal in Ukraine Calls for Prayer for Polish Victims

    
    Lviv – On 29 January 2006, during the Sunday Mass at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in western Ukrainian Lviv, Cardinal Marian Jaworski, head of the Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops of Ukraine, called upon the faithful to pray for the victims of a tragedy in the Polish town of Katowice, where, as a result of the collapse of an exhibition complex, over 60 people died, and for the health of those injured.
Also, on 30 January, nuns of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, who came to Lviv to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of their foundress, Sr. Ludwika Morawska (1842-1906), will pray for the Polish victims.
Three day’s mourning was announced in Poland on 30 January. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko sent his condolences to Polish President Lech Kaczynski for the tragedy.
Sources: http://www.zik.com.ua/index.php?news_id=34211
http://www.president.gov.ua/news/data/1_5778.html		    
   

Religious Information Service of Ukraine - www.risu.org.ua/ - 30.01.06

    
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14.

Georgian Patriarchate Won’t Comment on UOC-MP Orthodox Statements

    
    Kyiv – Archpriest David Sharashenidze, head of the press service of the Georgian Patriarchate, refused to comment on a statement distributed in the name of the Chancellery of the Georgian Patriarchate by the press service of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). The statement in question regards the canonical status of clergy associated with a new parish for Georgian Orthodox faithful which opened in Kyiv on 22 January. RISU’s Ukrainian-language site posted the news on 30 January 2006.
A statement had been spread saying that Bishop Christopher (Samalaidze) and Archpriest Vasyl (Kobakhidze) of the Orthodox Church of Georgia (GOC), who, together with Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), celebrated a Liturgy on 22 January at a new parish in Kyiv for Georgian Orthodox faithful, “are forbidden to serve.”
According to the press service of the UOC-KP, a copy of the statement in question which it received by fax lacked input data and the signature of a person who could possibly confirm the accuracy of the text.
Representatives of the Georgian delegation reported that all official statements of the GOC are released by the press service of the GOC and not by the chancellery.
Representatives of the UOC-KP also doubt information about a phone conversation of Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), head of the UOC-MP, with Catholicos Illia II, head of the GOC, as “its fact and contents cannot be confirmed.”
Source and previous related RISU story: http://www.uaorthodox.org/news.php?pid=689
http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;8831/		    
   

Religious Information Service of Ukraine - www.risu.org.ua/ - 30.01.06

    
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15.

According to commonly accepted world criteria, Russia is a mono-confessional country - Bishop Longin

    
    Moscow, January 30, Interfax - Bishop Longin, administrator of the Saratov diocese and Public Chamber member, believes that since 80% of the population in Russia confess Orthodox Christianity, she can be reckoned a mono-confessional country according to commonly accepted world criteria.
‘In general, Russia can be reckoned an Orthodox mono-confessional country and I am sure she is, with other religions traditionally and historically existing here for a long time’, the bishop said in an interview to Interfax.
Speaking about the Saratov diocese, he noted that his diocese shows a model typical for the whole Russia: there is a majority Orthodox population with a considerable presence of Islam.
Reflecting on the activity of the faithful, bishop Longin noted that those who claim to be Orthodox are far from being all inchurched fully, but the same problems, he said, are also characteristic of other religious communities.
‘There are those who are conscious permanent parishioners who come to church on a regular basis to participate in the sacraments, and there are those who do it once or twice a year, and there are those who come to church a few times in their lifetime’, the bishop said.
‘But a similar picture can be seen in other religious communities. One cannot insist that all the 100% of the traditionally Muslim population come to mosque constantly and observe all the rites prescribed by Islam! Therefore, with a certain degree of conditionality, we still can speak of mono-confessional Russia’, he noted.		    
   

Interfax Religion - www.interfax-religion.com - 30.01.06

    
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16.

Religious education should be recognized by state - Patriarch Alexy

    
    Moscow, January 30, Interfax - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia advocates the state recognition of religious education.
‘If the state recognizes Orthodox churches and icons as national heritage, then the question arises: why the state and public recognition of the value of religious education is absent from our country’, the patriarch said during the opening of the International Christmas Educational Readings at the State Kremlin Palace on Monday.
He also noted that today, just as in the years of state atheism, the Church meets with opposition to the teaching of Basic Orthodox Culture in schools, while the graduation certificates granted by theological educational institutions and the theological academic degrees ‘are still not recognized by the state’.
Patriarch Alexy expressed regret that the Russian laws in force are still lacking the regulation of the non-state sector of education including religious education.
He said the form in which religious educational institutions and the teaching of knowledge about religion could be supported has not been developed in Russia, in contrast to most of European countries.
The primate of the Russian Church underlined that as citizens of the Russian Federation the clergy and professors ‘should have the right to be recognized by both state and society’.		    
   

Interfax Religion - www.interfax-religion.com - 30.01.06

    
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17.

Russian Bishop believes attempts to ban communist ideology senseless

    
    Moscow, January 30, Interfax - Bishop Longin, administrator of the Saratov diocese, believes the attempts of PACE deputies to ban the ideology of communism to be senseless.
‘The Church does not support the communist ideology, nor can she sympathize with it by definition. But one of the temptations of our time is that we struggle with what is senseless to struggle with and reconcile ourselves with what should be struggled with’, the bishop stated in an interview to Interfax.
‘I believe that if it were done before 1990, it would have a certain sense. But today it can provoke no feeling except that of perplexity’, he added.		    
   

Interfax Religion - www.interfax-religion.com - 30.01.06

    
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18.

UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH GROUP TO BACK COMMUNISTS IN ELECTIONS.

    
    Orthodox Choice, an organization formed by the Society of Orthodox Brotherhoods of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), will support the Communist Party in the parliamentary elections on 26 March 2006, Interfax-Ukraine reported on 27 January, quoting Society of Orthodox Brotherhoods head Valentyn Lukiyanyk. Lukiyanyk reportedly said the Communist Party's principles are close to Orthodoxy in spirit. Lukiyanyk noted that such political organizations as Our Ukraine, the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc, the Socialist Party, and the People's Rukh are "anti-Orthodox." Orthodox Choice head Yuriy Yehorov claimed the Communist Party consistently defends Orthodox values and is "closer to the people." According to Yehorov, Orthodox Choice's cooperation with the Communists is based on their similar sociopolitical agendas: combating illegal enrichment, seeking the unification of Slavic peoples, supporting the use of the Russian language in Ukraine, and opposing Ukraine's potential NATO membership. JM    
   

RFE/RL NEWSLINE - www.rferl.org/newsline/ - 30.01.06

    
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19.

Results of iconpainting competition among the prisoners in Altai are summed up

    
    The results of the traditional iconpainting competition among the prisoners were summed up in the Directorate of the Federal punitive service. All penitentiary institutions of the Altai Territory presented over 100 items. Orthodox icons painted by the prisoners will be sent to the reformatory for women in the Shipunovo district centre.
The Altai diocese assessed 20 icons as the best. The prisoners have put their hearts into their work, but the criteria are very strict. An icon should be not only beautiful, but should be painted in keeping with the Orthodox canons of iconpainting.
Archpriest Mikhail Pogiblov, chairman of the Altai diocesan department for relations with the armed forces and law enforcement agencies said: ‘The level of iconpainting has greatly increased in the reformatories. The most part of icons was painted in keeping with the canons of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is quite clear that the icons were painted with prayers and deep feeling of the soul’.
Rev. Mikhail said that four icons would be placed in St.Anastasia’s chapel in the reformatory for women. These icons amazed even the priests.
Three crosses were also considered among the best, but only one will be placed in a church. All the items that keep to the Orthodox canons will be blessed in the immediate future and sent to the reformatory for women in Shipunovo.		    
   

DECR Communication Service - www.mospat.ru - 30.01.06

    
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20.

Metropolitan Kirill receives the delegation from the Italian town of Bari

    
    On 30 January 2006, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, received a delegation from the Italian town of Bari that consisted of the Rector of the Basilica of St. Nicholas Fr. Damiano Bova and mayor Mikele Emiliano.
Metropolitan Kirill greeted the guests and underscored the great importance of Bari for Russian Orthodoxy as relics of St. Nicholas rest there and thousands of Russian Orthodox believers visit it to venerate the shrine.
DECR Chairman congratulated Fr. Damiano Bovu on his election a rector of the Basilica of St. Nicholas. He is a representative of the Dominican Order that is in charge of the Basilica. He said that Orthodox pilgrimage to the relics of St. Nicholas is one of the most important factors in relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
Metropolitan Kirill thanked Bari mayor M. Emiliano for the help extended to the representation church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Bari in reception of numerous pilgrims and expressed hope for the development of this fruitful cooperation.
Italian guests said they were ready to support and develop traditionally good relations with the Russian Orthodox Church which contribute to strengthening the dialogue between two Churches and peoples of two countries.
Fr. Gerardo Choffari accompanied the rector of the Basilica to the meeting with Metropolitan Kirill and mayor administrator Ciara Lonero Baldassarra accompanied Bari mayor. Also participating were Archpriest Vladimir Kuchumov, Rector of the Representation Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and Rev. Igor Vyzhanov, DECR Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations.		    
   

DECR Communication Service - www.mospat.ru - 30.01.06

    
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21.

XVI International Christmas Readings are open in the State Kremlin Palace

    
    On 30 January 2006, the XVI International Educational Christmas Readings were solemnly opened. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia chair the Readings.
On January 29, the participants prayed at the Patriarchal divine service in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church welcomed the participants.
This year Christmas readings are dedicated to the theme ‘The School and the Church: Traditions and Reforms of Education System’. The first session in the State Kremlin Palace was attended by the permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna; Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations; Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk, Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate; Metropolitan Sergiy of Voronezh and Borisoglebsk; other Orthodox hierarchs, clergymen and Orthodox teachers from different regions of Russia and from abroad. The opening session was also attended by the RF minister of culture and mass communications A.S.Sokolov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Ms. L.K.Slizka, deputy chairman of the State Duma S.N.Baburin, procurator-general of the Russian Federation V.V.Ustinov, chairman of the State Duma Committee for pubic associations and religious organizations S.A.Popov and his deputy A.V.Chuev, president of the International Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Nations V.A.Alexeyev, president of the Slavonic Foundation of Russia G.V.Bogolyubova, chairman of the Union of Writers of Russia V.N.Ganichev, other representatives of the authorities and outstanding public figures.
His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, honourary chairman of the forum, addressed the participants in the Readings with his primatial words.
The head of Presidential Administration S.S.Sobyanin, chairman of the Federation Council S.S.Mironov and the State Duma chairman B.V.Gryzlov sent greetings to the organizers and participants in the Christmas Readings. Ms. Slizka and colonel-general N.I. Reznik from the RF Defense Ministry delivered welcoming speeches.
Reports were presented by the minister of education and science A.A.Fursenko, Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk, procurator-general of Russia V.V.Ustinov, governor of the Kaluga region A.D.Artamonov and minister of culture and mass communications A.A.Sokolov.
The Readings will complete its work on February 4. Plenary sessions, which will be held in the State Kremlin Palace and in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral. The participants will also work in eight sections: ‘Orthodox Education’, ‘The Family and the School’, ‘History and God’s Providence’, ‘Church and Society’, ‘Protection of Life’, ‘Church and Culture’, ‘Christianity and Science’ and ‘Glinskie Readings’.
Christmas Readings are organized by the Department for religious education and catechization of the Moscow Patriarchate with the participation of other Synodal institutions and Theological schools, Russian Ministry of Education, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow State University, Russian National Library, ‘Russian School’ National Foundation and some other organizations.		    
   

DECR Communication Service - www.mospat.ru - 30.01.06

    
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22.

In Russland ist die Papst-Enzyklika "Deus caritas est" sehr positiv kommentiert worden.

    
    Das hat der katholische Moskauer Erzbischof Kondrusiewicz gegenüber der Presse erklärt. Das Schreiben mache auch klar, dass das karitative Wirken der Kirche nie zur Anwerbung von Gläubigen durchgeführt werden dürfe. Davor hat die orthodoxe Kirche in Russland besondere Angst. Die Katholiken in Russland arbeiteten seit 15 Jahren im sozialen Bereich, ohne sich darum zu kümmern, ob einer katholisch ist oder nicht. Man spüre in Russland bis heute die Folgen des gescheiterten Marxismus. (asia-news)    
   

Newsletter von Radio Vatikan - www.radiovaticana.de/ - 31.01.06

    
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23.

Religious organizations officially registered in Uzbekistan amount to only one third of what was registered in Kazakhstan

    
    Tashkent/Uzbekistan, 31.01.2006  "Increase in the number of legal religious communities reported in Uzbekistan," web site of INTERFAX news agency stated on January 17. The report refers to the data provided by some Uzbek state official only but does not include the opinion of the other side - say, representatives of non-traditional confession or independent experts.
Ferghana.Ru approached Igor Rotar, a specialist in freedom of conscience in Central Asia and activist of Forum-18 (a prominent Norwegian human rights organization), for comments. His opinion follows the unabridged text of the INTERFAX report.
Increase in the number of legally registered religious organizations in Uzbekistan indicates absence of restrictions and limitations.
"The number of religious organizations increases, indicating the absence of any restrictions or limitations whose existence is reported by some Western experts," Bekhzod Kadyrov, an expert with the Cabinet's Committee for Religious Affairs, told INTERFAX.
Kadyrov says that 2,186 religious organizations representing practically all confessions ("most of them Islamic and Christian") officially operate in Uzbekistan nowadays.
"Other confessions - Judaism, Buddhism, Krishnaism - are also represented in the republic," Kadyrov said.
According to the official, Islam is mostly represented by the Sunni school, while Christianity is represented by the Russian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, Christian Church of Absolute Unity (a kind of Protestantism), and others.
"We also have an organization of Witnesses of Jehovah in Uzbekistan. They are outlawed in many countries of the world, particularly in Moslem countries, but not in Uzbekistan which is a vivid example of the level of freedom of conscience," Kadyrov added.
"Functioning of a non-registered religious organization is branded as an unlawful deed and not "independence" or "freedom of confessions" as Western organization insist on calling it," the specialist said.
Kadyrov: The Constitution guarantees equality of all confessions; and all religious organizations and societies are equal in the eyes of the law. All of them are equally detached from the state.
According to Kadyrov, the acting legislation puts forth equal demands and requirements to all confessions so as to ensure their equality and absence of challenges to confessional tolerance. Article 3 of the law "On freedom of conscience and religious organizations" states that restrictions on freedom of conscience are possible when they made necessary by considerations of national security and public order, health, lives, morale, and rights and freedoms of other citizens.
Article 5 of the same law bans missionary activities and proselytism, Kadyrov said.
"Demands to religious organizations concerning procedures of registration and their activities, financial transparency, and so on put forth by Uzbek state structures are based on the acting legislation," Kadyrov said. "Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry and Committee for Religious Affairs logged gross violations on the part of missionary and other religious organizations and sects on more than one occasion."
"Whenever the law is broken, the offender must be brought to answer whether someone likes it or not. Whenever these problems are elevated to the political plane and are distorted into bargain, it leaves the impression that certain political or strategic interests must be involved," Kadyrov emphasized."
(end of report)
Comment by Igor Rotar
The Uzbek state official's statement is a typical example of unabashed propaganda meant for the audience that does not know the first thing about life in Uzbekistan. Religious organizations officially registered in Uzbekistan amount to only one third of what was registered in Kazakhstan nearby. Hundreds apply for official registration every year but only one or two get registered. All the rest are denied registration under all sorts of invented excuses and pretexts. Where mosques are concerned, the authorities set an unofficial quota for mosques that depends on the population of the mahallja (community) in question. Visit Uzbekistan and in absolutely every region you will encounter mosques closed when the law "On freedom of conscience and religious organizations" came into effect in 1998.
Activities of all non-registered religious communities in Uzbekistan are considered unlawful. Police officers regularly break into private apartments where believers meet "unofficially". Charges, administrative and criminal alike, are pressed against members of non-registered religious communities. The acting legislation states that a religious organization may only apply for registration when it has at least 100 members. That is why there are religious communities in small townships all over Uzbekistan that cannot even apply for official registration.
As for Witnesses of Jehovah, their organizations were registered only in Chirchik (Tashkent outskirts) and Ferghana. The Tashkent organization applied for registration six times already - with nothing to show for it. By the law, believers are only permitted to meet and worship in officially registered temples. Because of that, administrative and criminal charges are regularly pressed against Witnesses of Jehovah compelled to meet privately. At least two of them spent more than a month behind the bars.
Kadyrov refers to Article 5 of the law "On freedom of conscience and religious organizations" as banning missionary activities and proselytism. The authorities use the provision as a club. A person may be accused of being a missionary and find himself on trial for merely giving somebody else a religious magazine in the street. Administration of the teacher-training college in Khoresm accused local Krishnaits for being missionaries only because they carried beads. Tutors forced these students to eat meat and drink vodka which is not permitted by their faith.
 Source: www.ferghana.ru - January 31, 2006		    
   

Adventistischer Pressedienst - www.stanet.ch/APD/ - 31.01.06

    
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