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That is the postal code that the workers of the ministry of communications gave to the settlement.
The city of Shelekhov on Lake Baikal is perhaps the most distinctive in the country. Maybe even in the whole world. At the time of its birth it was marked with the seal of the evil power. The role of satanic agents was played by ordinary soviet bureaucrats when they gave to Shelekhov the occultic postal code, 666. And it should be said that this has played a fateful role. Informed sources maintain that every other resident of Shelekhov is a witch. For sure, none of them has any intention of flying on brooms.
Will Satan hold a ball there?
All day long the Shelekhov market place is abuzz with activity. The salespeople and trinket merchants maintain a puzzling silence in response to my inquiries about local witchcraft customs. Finally one woman admitted: "I have a charm for successful business. It seems to help. And the fact that the postal code for Shelekhov is satanic is even a good thing. Perhaps the devil himself helps the city. After all, in the main prosperous people live here. Go down the streets and you will not meet a single beggar. Nearby Irkutsk is filled with them. Shelekhov really is just about the richest city in Irkutsk province. Almost all local residents have good jobs in the local aluminum factory. They receive good money for their work."
"Is it true that all local residents are witches," I persist with my informer.
"Sure! "
Impudent ghosts and single women
There even is a ghost hunter in Shelekhov. The foreman of the foundry in the aluminum factory, Eduard Gorelchanik, has delivered many citizens from evil forces in their houses. In his testimonial book there is confirmation of this. I noticed especially one note: a certain woman humbly begged Eduard Vladimirovich to save her from a ghost that was haunting her. The clever spirit had the gall to pester this single woman with persistent suggestions to get into bed at night with the poor woman. The woman clearly sensed that somebody's invisible hands were fondling her breasts and thighs.
Gorelchanik himself maintains that he is a materialist. In his opinion, all supernatural events can be explained. Shelekhov supposedly is located in a particular geological zone.
Residents of Shelekhov say that the city police are particularly grateful to Gorelchanik for help in searches for persons who disappear without a trace. To be sure, Eduard Vladimirovich does not do this now; it takes too much time and energy.
And people are being healed. There is a mass of stories in the city about scars removed and ulcers and paralysis healed. At first I tried to maintain a healthy skepticism about the capacities of the folk healer. But Shelekhovites proudly came to the defense of their local healer. "After all if he were a charlatan would people really go to him?" Natasha, one of Gorelchanik's clients, indignantly countered my distrust.
To get a full picture I decided to drop in at the local church. However there was a padlock on its doors. It is a bit difficult to call this building a house of God. The two-story wooden building has "two masters." One half is occupied by an art school. The other has been allotted to the parishioners. As I stood in contemplation on the church porch, some elderly woman stopped beside me. She tugged on the lock and shook her head in disappointment: "Apparently the father is at lunch."
"Has the church been operating in the city for a long time?"
"I do not remember exactly. Earlier there was a House of Culture here. In the evenings they held discotheques for young people. The mayor has promised to build a new church for us soon. They say that the five-domed church will be the largest on Lake Baikal."
Perhaps that's the way the local authorities will try to disable the "666" power of the devil? (tr. by PDS)
(posted 23 May 2000)
Is the creation of a governmental Christian party possible in our country?
by Maksim Shevchenko
Nezavisimaia gazeta--religii, 17 May 2000
Is it possible in contemporary Russia to conduct the organizing congress of a Christian party in the Kremlin palace, and what is needed for this? Answers to these and several other questions are partially provided by documents in the possession of the editorial staff, which pertain to the creation of the All-civilian Christian Union (VKhS) whose organizing congress will be held on 5-6 July in the Kremlin State Palace. Information about this was made public at the first session of the congress' organizing committee that was held 25 April in the library of the "President" hotel.
The Blagovest-info agency reported that the chairman of the organizing committee, a member of the Public Council on Charitable Activity and Social Service of the Moscow patriarchate, Igor Podzingun, declared that VKhS will be a "profoundly secular organization uniting people who share Christian values for the maintenance of our common home."
Membership of the organizing committee for the congress, besides Igor Podzingun, includes the vice president of the Russian Academy of Ecological Sciences, chairman of the administration of the Russian stock holding society "Rosneftegazstroi," Igor Mazur, chairman of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Moscow patriarch, Hegumen Ioann Ekonomtsev, as well as "representatives of the executive and legislative branches, businessmen, clergy, and leaders of regional structures," according to the press release from the organizing committee. The executive director of the organizing committee, elected at the first session, is president of the Union of Workers of Innovative Enterprises, Yury Pimoshenko.
Igor Pidzingun reported that conducting the founding congress of VKhS will cost its initiators 617 thousand dollars (incidentally, how much was the local church council supposed to cost its founders, which was cancelled in violation of the bylaws of RPTs because, according to the patriarch, there was not enough money available?). The organizing committee figures that some of the needed funds will be provided by the "government or sponsors."
In the course of discussion of the program of the upcoming congress and the composition of its participants it was noted that on 5 July the congress will conduct a number of plenary sessions and on 6 July its delegates will be divided into eight sections whose topics will be devoted to the development of the activity of VKhS in the regions of Russia, problems of ecology, relations between the church and society, Christianity and culture, science, education, and law enforcement, and the development of business activity on the basis of the values of Christianity.
It is proposed that about 2,000 delegates will participate in the congress, a fourth of whom will be foreign citizens. A number of statements by participants in the session stressed that VKhS intends to be oriented toward the Russian Orthodox church in its activity and vigorously cooperate "with bishops and especially with Patriarch Alexis II, so as not to give rise to free thinking or canonical violations."
The organizing committee refused to give the press drafts of the fundamental documents of the movement, promising to do this later. Even we cannot present the drafts. But we will try to publish some curious details of the creation of VKhS.
For example, the number of delegates is 2000. How is that made up? It's very curious. We read "Decision #2" of the Organizing Committee for Planning and Conducting the Congress. More precisely, it is an appendix to it describing the principle of the convocation of the congress.
Delegates will assemble in Moscow in accordance with quotas from regions, for which there exists even a special document titled "Standard of representation of the component parts of the Russian federation at the founding congress of the Civilian Christian Union." According to the standard itself, enumerating all 89 component parts of RF, delegates are supposed to come to the Kremlin palace in numbers directly proportional to the number of voters in each component part of RF. This apparently is without regard to whether or not they are Christians. Thus, Moscow (which the table says has 6,871,000 persons) will be represented at the congress by 137 delegates, the Komi republic (768,400 persons), by 15 delegates, Vladimir province (1,198,945), by 24, Aginsky-Buriat autonomous district (42,979) by one delegate, Nenets district (29,239), by one delegate, and the Muslim areas of Dagestan (1,077,229), Ingushetiia (115,741), and Chechnia (662,895) by 21, 2, and 3, respectively. And so on throughout all Russia in accordance with the dry statistical conclusions.
No less interesting are the quotas of guests whom it is planned to invite to the congress. They will number significantly more than the number of delegates, 3155 persons. Honored guests (one can only guess who makes this list) will number 20.
The administration of the president is supposed to designate 100 persons, the leadership of the Federative Council, 5, the leadership of the Duma, 10 (nobody worried about the poor deputies who will be overwhelmingly outnumbered by bureaucrats of the administration), the government, 100, the Constitutional Court, 5 (i.e., almost the full panel), the Appeals Court, 5, the General Procuracy of RF, 5, the leadership of regional administrations, 250, public political movements and parties of RF, 500, associations of enterprises of RF, 250, leading politicians of Russia, 100, "leaders of culture, science, art, cinema, theatre, literature, etc.," 100 (we see that there are substantially fewer of them than of government bureaucrats, all told), leading enterprises of Moscow and Moscow province, 150, leading financial structures, 100, representatives of foreign government in Moscow, 250, representative of international organizations in Moscow, 50, administration of Moscow, 100, administration of Moscow province, 100, and representatives of the power structures, 100.
But surpassing the competition is the Moscow patriarchate. The number of its representatives will be 800. That's practically the number of a local church council.
It is curious that of the 615,000 dollars allotted for conducting the congress, 150,000, according to the "plan of expenditures," is supposed to be used for "an advertising and informational campaign of the movement and the congress in the mass media." The goal of this campaign is "facilitating the establishment in the consciousness of representatives of target groups" a view of the upcoming congress as "a public event assembling participants in the movement which will have a mighty lobbying potential so that we can enter into creative dialogue for the purpose of preserving and actively instilling Christian values in the social, economic, governmental, and political development of Russia."
And also, what is especially important, "facilitating broad public awareness of the ideology and technology of the All-civilian Christian Union and of the participants of the movement as a social base for centrist political forces and the support of the existing state system in Russia."
What also is interesting is that "from the point of view of the tasks of the congress, the most beneficial and most critical informational sponsors" are the "Kommersant publishing house (Kommersant newspaper, Vlast and Dengi magazines, etc. ) or 'Seven Days' publishing group (Segodnia newspaper, Itogi magazine), as well as one of the national television stations (preferably ORT or RTR)."
Let's quote a bit more. "In June-July 2000 the main tasks of the informational advertising campaign will be: (1) Creation of a maximally favorable image of the congress as a real instrument for influencing the government and public opinion; . . . 3. Instilling in public consciousness of maximally favorable, persistent images of the exalted status and the exceptional political and social significance of the congress, as well as the real success of the outcomes of the event. 4. Establishment in public consciousness of the special role of the leaders of the All-civilian Christian Union."
The "real success" of the event, apparently, is inescapable. In the planning document there even are points about "placement in the hall of claques" and "conducting the congress in accordance with a scenario."
Hegumen Ioann Ekonomtsev argued to those at the press conference that the movement being created will be exclusively an "ecological" one. What does this mean for believers and the rest of the citizens? The word "ecological" (which, of course, can evoke only a loud laugh after reading the documents cited above) is necessary for the Moscow patriarchate in order to be able to avoid the accusation of violating the resolutions of the bishops' council of 1994 forbidding clergy to engage in politics. On the basis of the resolution Gleb Yakunin was banned and the creation of Orthodox political parties was blocked.
But in the documents it is distinctly said that the All-citizens Christian Union is not "ecological" but a "general Russian public political movement." Thus we once again witness the truth of the ancient claim: "What is permitted to Jupiter is not permitted to the bull." It could hardly be that 800 participants of the congress from the patriarchate will be excommunicated, banned, and the like.
What does this congress mean for society?
Apparently the difficult process of crystalizing out of the postsoviet worldview chaos a "national ideology" has entered its decisive phase: the appearance of complex party structures supported and financed by the state. What is the significant difference of such organizations from "Our Home Russia" and "Unity," which are already well known to the nation and also were created at various times by ruling groups in Russia? First of all, these parties were created before parliamentary elections and obviously played the role of the "one-day butterfly," which were intended to last little more than a regular parliamentary cycle.
After the final and unconditional triumph of what is called the "Putin block," the victors needed more serious and longer-lasting public and political projects and the creation of party structures which would be able to neutralize both the left and any other movement of opposition to the government. In such a task clericalism always has been the most loyal ally of bureaucracy.
Such structures, on one hand, at the lower level are supposed to fulfill the role of organizations that consolidate society (like American clubs or French masonic lodges), giving their members the sense of participating in an "elite," a far-reaching and multilayered bureaucracy that declares the convergence of their interests with the interests of the nation and state.
On the other hand, they permit the state and ruling groups in the country to create the illusion of public support. Such structures will arise in the most varied spheres of public life, in politics, in economic, and in the army. Even religion, constituting public consciousness not beholden to the state, will play here an essential role. After all, in every era the priesthood (brahmans) has by its blessing assured the existence of various castes or estates. And there is not much difference in the public functions of Babylonian priests, rabbis, Christian bishops, or Muslim mullahs. (tr. by PDS)
(posted 18 May 2000)
Immediately after his inauguration Vladimir Putin went to the Annunciation cathedral where the patriarch was.
At the official ceremony of the inauguration of Vladimir Putin president of Russia, among the 1500 guests in Saint Andrew's Hall of the Kremlin there were representatives of the religions that are traditional for our country. The commentary regarding the inauguration noted that the absence from the ceremony itself of any preference toward one of the religious leaders emphasizes the even-handed attitude of the new government to all of the traditional Russian religious confessions. We recall that in 1996 Patriarch Alexis II delivered a short homily and blessed President Boris Yeltsin directly at the time of the ceremony.
This time the new president and his wife went to the Annunciation cathedral of the Kremlin immediately after the conclusion of the inaugural ceremony. Here Patriarch Alexis conducted a prayer service of thanksgiving upon the occasion of Vladimir Putin's assumption of the duty of president of RF. At the conclusion of the prayer the primate of RPTs blessed the president with an icon of the holy faithful Prince Alexander Nevsky and addressed a homily to him. His Holiness also presented to the head of state two mosaic icons, images of the Savior and Saint Nicholas, which will again be hung on the Savior and Nicholas towers of the Kremlin in the place where the ones that were destroyed by the bolsheviks immediately after the revolution had been.
In his exhortation to Vladimir Putin, Patriarch Alexis expressed the request "in the name of the pastors and flock of the Russian church" and of those persons "to whom the spiritual heritage of the country is dear" that he remember "the great responsibility of the ruler before the nation, history, and God, in whose hands are the fates of humanity."
Further the primate of RPTs expressed the traditional church attitude toward governing authority, citing the apostle Paul: "The governor is God's servant for your good. If you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is God's servant to punish the evildoer." "These words of holy scripture," His Holiness commented, "remind us: every deed which the ruler does must conform to supreme truth and justice and to the divinely given moral law. Government service requires great sacrifice."
Patriarch Alexis II called the new president "to be fully and steadfastly concerned about the welfare of the nation, not only material welfare but also spiritual welfare." "This nation hopes in you and trusts you. Justify this hope. I assure you that the Russian Orthodox church without fail will assist the secular power in actions directed to the regeneration of the fatherland. I permit myself to express the conviction that this is the intention of believers of all traditional religions and confessions. . . Help us, Vladimir Vladimirovich, to open up the soul of the nation which, I believe, until now has been striving for truth, peace, love, and beauty." With these words the patriarch concluded his homily to the president.
After this he bestowed his patriarchal blessing on the labors of the new head of state, saying: "May the Lord strengthen your associates and coworkers. May he bestow upon our motherland, Great Russia, harmony, prosperity, and welfare."
Foreseeing the numerous complaints that could arise among representatives of various Russian confessions and "democratic society" against the head of state and the patriarch, we will try to give an answer to the "cursed" question: "Does the president have the right to receive the blessing of the representative specifically of RPTs?"
Our answer is, of course he does. This does not violate the principle of the equality of all believers before the state and does not imply that the Orthodox church is not separated from it. The president, like any other citizen of RF, has the full right to freedom of conscience. If he were Muslim, then logically on such a significant day he could go to a mosque. If he were a Jew, then to synagogue.
Our new president has declared himself Orthodox. Of course it could be suggested that he is hypocritical. But that could be suggested of any other person. Let's remember that the presidents of the most democratic countries of the west have not hesitated to demonstrate their religious orientation, or absence thereof, publicly. So we see that in this regard the president of Russia is no exception. (tr. by PDS)
(posted 18 May 2000)
On 18 May His Holiness Alexis II, patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus, sent a congratulatory telegram to the chairman of the government of the Russian federation M.M. Kasianov with the following message.
"Your excellency, esteemed Mikhail Mikhailovich!
I congratulate you upon taking the position of chairman of the government of the Russian federation.
May the Lord aid you in your responsible service to the fatherland. I hope that your governmental activity will be crowned with good fruits and will facilitate the consolidation of society, successful economic development, and the prosperity of Great Russia.
It is not merely by hearsay that I know how difficult today is the situation of common folk and how much there is to do in the sphere of national economy and social politics. However I am profoundly convinced that for the rebirth of the fatherland what is most needed is to liberate the spiritual energies of the nation and assist its ethical formation. In this our church is steadfastly prepared to develop the already existing good relations of mutual action and cooperation with the government of Russia."
The chairman of the government of the Russian federation also was congratulated on his assumption of office by the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad:
"Your excellency, esteemed Mikhail Mikhailovich!
Receive my heart-felt congratulations upon your entry into the position of chairman of the government of the Russian federation.
I hope that your hard work in the supreme governmental post will be extremely successful and will serve to strengthen peace and harmony in society, improve the effectiveness of administration of the country, and increase the economic welfare of Russia.
I assure you that the Russian Orthodox church is ready to develop its traditional cooperation with the Russian government in the areas of peacemaking, strengthening of the moral bases of the life or society, resolution of international problems, and promotion of interreligious dialogue in the fatherland.
May the Lord give to you and your coworkers good health and his almighty aid in your labors for the benefit of the motherland." (tr. by PDS)
(posted 18 May 2000)
On 14 May, in the Moscow church of St. Theodore the Studite at the Sunday liturgy on the day of the holy chrism-bearing women, the rector of the church, monastic priest Ermogen Golin, barred from communion in the holy mysteries of Christ the greater part of the assembled parishioners (more than fifty persons), including children, without giving an explanation to anyone of them regarding the reasons for his decision. All those who were excommunicated had become parishioners of this church long before the assignment of Fr Ermogen as its rector. Several of them had participated in the opening and restoration of the church after its captivity during the years of soviet rule. Gradually there grew in the parish traditions of Christian piety, love, and respect for one another among brothers and sisters, and a serious and responsible attitude toward the liturgy (how to prepare for it). All these had been supported by the rector of the church, Fr Pavel Vishnevsky, who had been appointed there on the request of the parishioners and by the parish council.
However with the arrival of a new rector, Fr Ermogen, more often the perplexed questions of parishioners began to be left without answers. At the Eucharist which had been preceded by non-fasting weeks the chalice was brought out onto the soleia and then withdrawn under the pretext that there had been no possibility for a three-day fast. On his own authority the rector cancelled communion on Forgiveness Sunday. Having refused to confess anyone except for about fifteen of his own spiritual children who had come with him from the church where Fr Ermogen had served previously, the new rector nevertheless began demanding that nobody come to communion except those who had made confession in this church, thus dividing the parish into the "ins" and the "outs." The next step was the declaration that the only ones who could commune were those who had attended the vigil and hours specifically at the church of St. Theodore the Studite and not any other. Attempts to explain that the traditional parish system for the Russian Orthodox church allows the possibility for any member of the church to attend any church changed nothing. It did not help to cite church canons according to which all bishops and presbyters are prohibited from barring anyone from Holy Communion prior to the demonstration of guilt as provided by church rules. Fr Ermogen did not even know the sermon delivered by the most holy patriarch Alexis II at the diocesan meeting of Moscow on 23 December 1998 in which His Holiness said: "Sometimes believers are barred from communion without sufficient bases. Only mortal sin or lack of preparation bars from communion."
Over the course of the past several months the rector, standing with the chalice, asked two or three persons where they had made confession and whether they had been at vespers; when he heard the names of other churches he simply refused to give communion to everybody, dozens of people, who had come to the liturgy on that day. The confused parishioners tried to find help and advice from their dean, Archpriest Vladimir Divakov. The church where he serves as rector is located on the same square. Several times they went to the church of the Ascension of the Lord at Nikitsky gate during the liturgy. When he heard them, Fr Vladimir gave communion to all of them, but nevertheless things were not straightened out in his deanery, judging from the on-going misbehavior of Fr Ermogen. So now on 14 May forty persons went to Fr Vladimir from the church of St. Theodore the Studite with the request to give them communion and to answer the question why in their church the canons and traditions of the Russian Orthodox church were being so shamelessly violated. Fr Vladimir again gave communion to everybody but this time he asked each of them at the chalice where and with whom they had made confession. One young person who said that he had made confession privately to his spiritual father was advised to take communion privately. Such distrust reminded several of us of the years of the communist regime when police agents were standing in the church and took a great interest in such questions, and we understood that in answering them we risked not only our job or studies but even our freedom. Earlier one of the parishioners of the church of St. Theodore the Studite, after she had been barred from communion, tried to ask the rector to give her the holy mysteries of Christ and she heard from Fr Ermogen: "I'll give you the spoon on the forehead." Such blasphemy forced her to turn for protection to Bishop Arseny of Istrinsk, vicar for the city of Moscow. He summoned the monastic priest Ermogen for an interview and determined the circumstances of the affair and then, in the presence of this parishioner, he affirmed in full conformity with tradition and the practices of the Orthodox church the necessity of giving communion to parishioners irrespective of what church they had made their confession in and attended vespers.
But apparently Fr Ermogen Golin maintains his own tradition and customs in which even the bishop has no say. It remains only to imagine that the unexpected transfer to another church of Fr Pavel Vishnevsky, who had served under Fr Ermogen as a second priest, has finally untied the latter's hands. Although such arbitrariness should not be surprising. After all in the city of Tver similar situations have been going on in the majority of churches for several years now. And to the perplexed words of one parishioner who had been denied communion, "But the most holy patriarch gives communion to everybody," the answer was given there: "Well then go to your patriarch." (tr. by PDS)
(received by e-mail, 17 May 2000; posted 17 May 2000)
Sunday of the Apostle Thomas
Tomorrow completes the Bright Week of Pascha. On this Sunday the Russian Orethodox church celebrates the Sunday of the Apostle Thomas, or Thomas Sunday. This day is devoted to the commemoration of the appearance of the risen Savior to eleven disciples and the touching of his crucifixion wounds by the apostle Thomas.
The resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of our faith for "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain," according to the word of the apostle Thomas [sic]. But Christ has been raised and the grave that he left in the rock ledge near Golgotha became the cradle of the world's Christianity and our guarantee of eternal life.
The details of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, his teaching and suffering and death are known to us far better than the circumstances of the life of any other person of those times. Our knowledge about his appearances after his resurrection and his ascension on the fortieth day is well authenticated. "And the one who saw this has testified and his testimony is true," "you are witnesses to this," "the people who were with him earlier bore witness. . ."--these are the appeals to the presence of eyewitnesses that are common in holy scripture. Of course the greatest of evangelical wonders of the time happened in the sight of thousands of people. Only the resurrestion of the Lord happened secretly, that is, it was wisely hidden from the outside eyes.
All of the apostles except Thomas soon came to believe the truth of the resurrection. Thomas, according to the word of St. Dimitry of Rostov "was distinguished by a particularly inquisitive mind and was little inclined to trust the words of others until he saw proof in his own experience." And so by the special providence of God the apostle Thomas was chosen for the demonstration and overcoming of human doubt. He was not present at the appearance of the risen Lord to the disciples on Easter evening and he did not believe the testimony of the other apostles. Eight days later, that is on the Sunday following Easter, the Lord was pleased again to appear miraculously before the disciples and he said to Thomas: "Put your finger here and see my hands; put your hand into my side; and do not be unbelieving but believing."
The church has understood Thomas' doubt as "good doubt," because wholehearted devotion to the Teacher was united in the apostle with a need for unquestioned proof and the hope to be an eyewitness of the glory of God. In distinction from "an evil and adulterous generation," greedy for signs without faith so that a sign was not given to it, in the case of the apostle Thomas "doubt gave birth to a certain faith."
His audacious desire to feel "with his curious finger" the crucifixion wounds of the Savior corresponds to a high degree with the rationalistic orientation of human reason, common sense, and illusory self-sufficiency. However, as was said by M.V. Lomonosov, who combined encyclopedic knowledge with profound piety, "science and faith are two sisters, daughters of the one Almighty Parent." Isn't this where we find an explanation of the fact that great scientific researchers have, as a rule, been believing people?
So just as St. John the Divine is called the apostle of love, and St. Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles (that is, the nations), Saint Thomas could be called the apostle of inquisitive faith. "My Lord and my God," he reverently testified at the finish of his investigation, literally freed from the heavy burden of doubt. And he heard the Lord's word: "You have believed because you have seen me; blessed are those who have not seen and believed."
This is the answer to all who profess to be adherents of the critical, or scientific, or analytical approach to phenomena of faith and grace and this answer exhausts the "problem of the apostle Thomas." Because "the more obvious the sign, the less worthy the faith" (St. John Chrysostom). So in our days far removed from the apostolic times, God no longer needs to show himself physically because all the necessary and sufficient proofs have long ago been established and now the chief miracle of Christian faith must happen within the human spirit.
As regards the apostle Thomas, he subsequently witnessed to his faith and his knowledge of the truth of Christ with a martyr's death in India, where he preached the Lord crucified and risen. (tr. by PDS)
Kommersant, 13 May 2000
Sunday of the Chrism-bearing women
The third Sunday of Pascha is the day on which the church gives honor to the Orthodox worthiness of the women who were ministers and followers of Jesus Christ.
In the sorrowful days of the crucifixion and death of the Savior, when the closest disciples and apostles of Christ were scattered in confusion "for fear of the Jews," these women steadfastly stayed with their Lord. They stood beneath the Lord's cross, they accompanied the transport of his most holy body to the grave, and they were present at the burial. And they, these women, at the first rays of light of Sunday morning hurried to the grave of the crucified in order to anoint the body of their beloved teacher with consecrated chrism in accordance with the law.
Here, at the empty grave, the chrism-bearing women were counted worthy to be the first to see the risen Savior and then they joyfully bore witness about this before his sorrowing disciple, becoming in the words of St. Dimitry of Rostov "like apostles for the apostles."
In this were rewarded the great loyalty and compassionate love for Jesus Christ of these pious women. In explaining the holiday of the chrism-bearing women, Gregory the Theologian reveals to us another aspect of the unfathomable depths of the wisdom of God in the salvation of humankind: "A woman from the mouth of the serpent received the first lie and a women from the mouth of the risen Lord himself heard the joyous news: the one whose hands gave the fatal fruit is the same who gave the cup of life."
Meanwhile the apostles, with the exception of the beloved disciple of the Lord, John, wavered between doubt and faith, not being yet ready to receive into their hearts the news about the resurrection of Christ. "Their words seemed to them empty and they did not believe them," according to the testimony of the evangelist Luke.
So the closest disciples and associates of the Son of God, who had told them himself in advance of his coming resurrection, were merely amazed and confused by the unexplained disappearance of Jesus' body from the sealed and guarded grave. But the chrism-bearing women, who considered Christ to be a mortal man and thus had come to do their final duty for him by annointing him with spices, did not waver but confessed the truth of the resurrection "with fear and great joy." For "whoever does not love has not known God, because God is love," as says the apostle and evangelist John.
The great preeminence of selfless love for Christ which arose in the chrism-bearing women has not been removed from the world since the day of the Lord's Pascha. We know little about these first and faithful witnesses of the resurrection, including the equal of the apostles Mary of Magdelene, a Galilean women healed by Christ from the demons that tormented her; Mary of Cleopas, sister of the Lord's mother and mother of the apostle James the younger; Salome, mother of the apostles John the Divine and James the elder; Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazareth who was raised on the fourth day by the Savior; Susanna and Joanna, who ministered to Jesus and his disciples "out of their own wealth." Besides these seven, the "many others" are not known to us by name. But we know the main thing about their lives: their deed of love, denying death. It is known that a countless multitude of Christian women over the course of the two-thousand-year history of the church repeated and even now repeat this deed. Has not this deed in the ancient past preserved the faith among our nation who received the knowledge of God from their mothers and grandmothers?
On this truly Orthodox Women's Day we declare the sweet-smelling words of the apostle Paul [sic]: "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothers. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight" [1 Pet 3.3,4] (tr by PDS)
(posted 16 May 2000)
As already reported, on 9 May a delegation of Chinese missionaries arrived in Khabarovsk to arrange for broadcasting Christian radio programs from Khabarovsk in the Chinese language. Among the members of the delegation were Calvin Lung, a PhD in psychology, and his wife, Katie. The Lungs described their ministry in a live broadcast on the Khabarovsk department of Radiotserkov. Dr. Lung noted that the plans for the current visit included visits to several local churches, establishment of contacts with people of Chinese nationality who live in Khabarovsk, as well as an examination of the possibilities for establishing Christian broadcasts in the Chinese language in Khabarovsk, in order to reach with the gospel not only Russian Chinese but also those who live beyond the right bank of the Amur [i.e., in China]. At the time of the live broadcast, the Lungs told people of Khabarovsk that in China at the present time there is not full freedom of religious profession and thus it is very important to tell Chinese about the Lord by means of radio. In their appeal on radio the Lungs calls those who do not believe to invite the Lord into their hearts.
On 11 May, Calvin and Katie Lung, along with a third members of their delegation, a representative of the Chinese department of Far East Broadcasting Company, left for Ussurisk. After visiting the Maritime province and South Korea, on 17 May the Chinese missionaries plan to return to America where they are currently working. The missionaries have been accompanied throughout their trip by Radiotserkov director Viktor Akhterov. (tr. by PDS)
GROUP OF THREE CHINESE MISSIONARIES ARRIVE IN KHABAROVSK
by Mikhail Kozlov
Radiotserkov, 10 May 2000
The main goal of the working visit by Chinese Christians is to collect information dealing with radio broadcasts and the arrangement of broadcasts of Christian programs for Chinese persons living in Russia and in the regions of China bordering Russia. The head of the group is an employee of the Chinese department of Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC), Dr. Nelson Tsau. On the first day of their stay in Russia the Chinese guests participated in a live broadcase of the Khabarovsk department of Radiotserkov.
Dr. Nelson Tsau described the work of the Chinese department of FEBC. At the present time the broadcast in Mandarin is conducted simultaneously from six radio stations, located in the Philippines, South Korea, and the island of Saipan. Actually, all of China is reached by Christian broadcasting, but it is very difficult to determine the exact number of listeners in this country. Last year the Chinese department of FEBC received 14,000 letters from China. On average that comes to more than 1,000 letters per month. Most of the letters come from the Chinese province of Heilongjiang which borders Khabarovsk territory. In 1995 a sociological study by BBC revealed that there are more than eight million listeners to Christian programs on Chinese territory.
Today in China there exists official freedom for churches, but they must be registered. Because of earlier persecution, many churches decline registration and thus in China there exist two kinds of churches, official and house churches, although from the perspective of the Chinese believer there is no clear distinction between them. Dr. Tsau stressed that today in China there are very many true believers and the churches are growing at an amazing pace. A new church is born in China every two to three days.
In concluding the live interview, Dr. Tsau briefly described the tasks of the visit of the Chinese delegation to Khabarovsk: "Several Russian stations can reach cities in China. One of the reasons for our trip is to see whether it is possible to increase the time of broadcasts in Chinese for those people who ave come to Russia and for those who live near the border between Russia and China. We are very happy that Russian brothers and sisters are helping us in this. They really have open hearts and love the Chinese and are helping to tell Chinese in Russia where they can hear the Good News by radio. Perhaps we will be able to broadcast in Chinese from Khabarovsk. If you meet Chinese, tell them about the Lord." With these words Dr. Tsau summed up his statement on the live broadcast of the Khabarovsk department of Radiotserkov. (tr. by PDS)
(posted 16 May 2000)
Washington, DC- Antifascist activists in Krasnodar, a Russian region governed by Nikolai Kondratenko, one of Russia's most notorious antisemites, have again been targeted by the local police and FSB (the KGB's successor agency).
According to information received from Vadim Karastelev, director of the local NGO "School of Peace," on the morning of May 7th, police dragged antifascist activist Volodya Plugatyrya out of his home and took him to the headquarters of the Novorossiysk FSB. There he was subjected to a ten-hour-long interrogation by FSB agents, who threatened to torture him with a set of pliers, get him thrown out of his university and see to it that his parents lost their jobs. The FSB accused Plugatyrya of possessing a canister of inflammable liquid with the intent of burning down a municipal building.
The latest persecution of antifascist activists started a few days before May Day. In Krasnodar Kray, the turnout for May Day was unusually large (60,000) compared to other regions, and comprised mostly of pro-Communist and nationalist demonstrators. Among those who were not allowed to attend were a few dozen local antifascist activists, who had obtained official permission to gather in the city of Novorossiysk to call attention to "the unusual rise in nationalism" in the Kray. Shortly before May Day, the activists, organized by the "School of Peace," were summoned by the local police and FSB, fingerprinted, and expelled from the city. The head of the Novorossiysk Department of the Interior justified the expulsions by characterizing them as part of the anti-terrorist police operation "Whirlwind," launched last year after the apartment bombings in Moscow and Volgodonsk.
"The persecution of antifascists in Krasnodar Kray is not at all surprising, given the openly antisemitic and extremist views of Governor Kondratenko, which have become the official ideology of the Kray's authorities," declared Leonid Stonov, Director of International Bureaus and Activities for the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ). "Governor Kondratenko has publicly blamed Jews for destroying the USSR and 'inventing' homosexuality. Local human rights activists have been beaten or jailed on bogus charges and just this month, the Krasnodar Kray Public Association for the Defense of Human Rights was stripped of its registration and threatened with liquidation. Now it looks like it is the turn of the local antifascist movement, whose only 'crime' has been to criticize the governor's illegal hate speech." Inciting ethnic hatred is illegal under Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code.
"In cooperation with the 'School of Peace' and the Russian human rights organization 'Movement without Frontiers,' UCSJ will launch a letter writing campaign today to urge President Putin to act on his promises to put an end to the illegal actions of provincial despots like Governor Kondratenko," Mr. Stonov added. "Unfortunately, President Putin recently presented Governor Kondratenko with an award for outstanding service to Russia. Maybe now he will see the type of person Kondratenko really is." Mr. Stonov recently returned from a fact finding mission to Krasnodar where, in cooperation with local human rights and antifascist activists, UCSJ is laying the groundwork for a conference on antisemitism and human rights abuses in the Kray.
(posted 16 May 2000)
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