The year 2000 was a record year for Ukraine in growth of the quantity of new religious organizations, "Blagovest-info" agency reports. According to the statistical report published last week by the State Committee on Religious Affairs of Ukraine, during 2000 1776 new religious organizations appeared in the country.
The number of religious organizations reached 25,000 and now there is on average one for fewer than every 2000 persons.
Since the end of the 1990s the number of religious organizations has increased at the expense of the center and east of Ukraine. Last year most new religious societies appeared in the Donetsk district and the fewest in Ivano-Frankovsk. Thus among the Ukrainian Greek Catholic church, whose congregations are almost completely concentrated in western Ukraine, last year only 80 new parishes appeared, while half of the overall growth (almost 900 parishes) constituted Orthodox churches. More than a third of the whole growth comprised protestant congregations. During 200, 27 new monasteries, 5 ecclesiastical educational institutions, and 500 church Sunday schools appeared. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 February 2001)
POPE'S VISIT TO UKRAINE WILL COMPLICATE RUSSIAN RELATIONS WITH VATICAN
AND KIEV
NTV, 13
February 2001
"If the Roman pope comes to Ukraine without an invitation, this will complicate relations between Russia and the Vatican, on the one hand, and between the Vatican and Ukraine, on the other," declared Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad on Monday in Paris. The metropoitan stressed that "we are profoundly convinced that it is impossible to call ourselves brothers in Christ and work at cross purposes with each other." Russia cannot reconcile itself with the destruction of Orthodox churches in western Ukraine and the expulsion of Orthodox Christians from them, and even physical violence against them, he noted.
Metropolitan Kirill reported that the Russian Orthodox church has sent the Vatican a request "not to cancel but to hold up John Paul's visit to Ukraine," so as not to complicate bilateral relations between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. At the same time he noted that Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev (the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox church of Moscow patriarchate) "still has not expressed the desire to meet with the head of the Roman Catholic church." (tr. by PDS, posted 14 February 2001)
PRIEST ELECTED DEPUTY DESPITE DECISION OF SYNOD AND BISHOPS' COUNCILS
Sobornost, 13 February
2001
The priest of the church of the Protection of the district center Tselinnoe (Altai territory), Alexander Yurkovsky, ran in the recent election for the district council and was elected deputy. The response of the Barnaul diocese followed soon afterward; according to the decision of Bishop Antony, A. Yurkovsky is forbidden to perform the divine liturgy until he makes ecclesiastical repentance and receives forgiveness on the part of the diocese.
The ban was imposed on the basis of the decisions of the synod and bishops' councils of the Russian Orthodox church of 1997 and 2000 that forbid priests to advance their candidacies for election to any organs of representative authority at all levels. "At the same time," the social doctrine of RPTs says, "nothing should prevent the participation of priests in expression of the popular will by means of voting." (tr. by PDS, posted 14 February 2001)
IF YOU WANT TO BE A DEPUTY, REMOVE YOUR CASSOCK
NTV, 12 February
2001
The priest of the Protection church of the district center Tselinnoe (Altai territory) Alexander Yurkovsky ran in the recent election for district council and was elected deputy. The response of the Barnaul diocese followed immediately; according to the decision of Bishop Antony, until he performs ecclesiastical repentance and receives forgiveness from the diocese, A. Yurkovsky is forbidden to celebrate the divine liturgy. The ban was imposed on the basis of the decision of the synod and bishops' council of the Russian Orthodox church of 1997 and 2000 that do not permit priests to put forward their candidacies in election for any representative bodies of government at all levels.
In 1990 the present bishop of Barnaul and Altai, Antony, who had been suspended by RPTs, transferred to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox church, and in 1993 he transferred to the Ukrainian Orthodox church of the Kievan patriarchate. In 1994 Antony repented before Patriarch Alexis II and the Holy Synod of RPTs and was appointed administrator of the diocese. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 February 2001)
RUSSIAN CHURCH DOES NOT OPPOSE INN
NTV, 12
February 2001
The Russian Orthodox church does not oppose the assigning to Russian citizens of Individual Taxpayer Numbers (INN), an official representative of the Moscow patriarchate, Viktor Malukhin, told Interfax, according to "Echo of Moscow," citing Interfax. In March of last year the Holy Synod expressed caution regarding the proposed plan for regulating taxation of Russians. In particular, the bishops were alarmed by the bar code which was proposed for use in a number of tax documents which supposedly contained the "number of the devil, 666." At the time the tax offices acceded to the desires of the church and backed away from use of the bar codes in their documents, and in order that believers not be required to file an application requesting a number "instead of their name given at baptism" the tax service permitted them simply to file a form.
Thereby "any occasion for concern automatically disappeared, as Patriarch Alexis stated," Viktor Malukhin remarked, calling believers "not to see a threat to their salvation where there is none." "Incidentally," he added, "on further acquaintance on the part of the synod with the international bar code system it became clear that the infamous 'sixes' are not contained therein."
The Russian church has spoken out against "establishment of total control over the individual which is quite possible given current technological means." However, in the words of representatives of the patriarchate, "at the present this danger seems very remote and there is no basis for any such alarm." (tr. by PDS, posted 14 February 2001)
DUMA DEPUTY PROPOSES CHANGING NAME OF INN
NTV, 8 February
2001
State Duma deputy and deputy chairman of the Committee on Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations, Alexander Chuev, has proposed changing the name of INN to NNU (Tax Account Number). To this end Chuev introduced for review of the State Duma a draft of the federal law "On amending article 84 of the Tax Code of the Russian federation."
Alexander Chuev thinks that NNU should designate the creation of an account and not a specific person and thus should ameliorate the harsh distaste of believers for the new system of tax accounting. The adoption of the law would facilitate a substantial increase in the number of voluntary taxpayers, the deputy suggests. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 February 2001)
Thousands of religious organizations that failed to meet a government registration deadline are risking closure in Russia, under a 1997 law that critics say is overly burdensome.
The law, which ostensibly targets cults, requires religious groups to prove that they have existed in Russia for at least 15 years. It is widely viewed as favoring the dominant Russian Orthodox Church.
A spokesman for Russian Human Rights Commissioner Oleg Mironov said earlier this month that the law was discriminatory and violated Russia's international human rights obligations. Mironov has proposed amending to bill to give the groups another three years to register.
Russian authorities had ordered the organizations to reapply by last Dec. 31. The failure to meet the deadline is likely to force nearly a quarter of Russia's religious organizations to shut down, said Anatoly Pchelintsev, an attorney who heads the Moscow-based Institute of Religion and Law.
Some 15,000 religious groups, including 400 major denominations, existed in Russia before the new regulations, according to the country's justice ministry. However, only three- quarters managed to re-register before the Dec. 31 deadline, according to the ministry.
Virtually all parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church, the dominant religion, were re-registered.
Officially, the Russian constitution has put an end to Soviet- era religious persecution. The fall of Communism in 1991 brought not only a revival in the Orthodox Church, but also the growth of other religions, as well as cults and sects.
Many Russians became fearful of the inflow of foreign cults. To address public concerns, the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Association" was approved in 1997. It was backed by the Russian Orthodox Church, and sharply criticized by other religious groups, the Vatican, human rights advocates and Western governments, who described it as discriminatory.
The law describes the Russian Orthodox Church as the country's dominant religion, mentions Islam, Judaism and Buddhism as other "traditional" faiths, and gives other denominations a secondary role, subjecting them to tough registration requirements.
The law's most controversial clause says a religious group must exist in Russia for 15 years before distributing literature or inviting foreigners to preach. Groups failing to meet this requirement are also barred from establishing educational centers or media outlets, and their clergy are not exempt from military service. However, the clause allows for religious groups to conduct services in private homes without being formally registered.
The bill has been praised by the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Alexy II as a strong barrier against foreign "pseudo-missionaries" who have "inundated" Russia.
"The state must view the denominations in hierarchical order," argued Father Antoniy Ilyin, of the Russian Orthodox Church. Some "destructive" religious groups must not be allowed on Russian soil, he said.
Orthodox Church officials and lawmakers argue that the provisions are aimed at curbing the activities of "pseudo-religious" groups, or sects, like the Aum Shinri Kyo cult of Japan.
But critics say the 1997 law violates Russia's constitutional guarantees of freedom of worship. In a compromise decision, the Constitutional Court in November 1999 relaxed the interpretation of the much-disputed law. Under the verdict, local branches of "centralized" religious organizations -- which are represented in at least three of Russia's 89 regions and registered as such in Moscow -- also do not have to prove their 15-year status, and should be registered automatically.
The rulings eased tensions and helped many denominations to re-register, said Pchelintsev, one of the principal lawyers who argued the case in court. He said he has received many complaints from Russia's provinces, where local authorities have demanded proof of 15-year status from religious groups that are now covered under the ruling.
The ruling did have a positive impact as, according to the Society for Krishna Consciousness in Moscow, 70 local Hare Krishna communities have been re-registered in Russia.
The Moscow Society of Jesus also managed to gain re-registration.
However, some religious organizations, including the Salvation Army, have been refused re-registration on the grounds that their pastor is a foreign citizen.
The post-Soviet religious freedom is also felt by others in the region. For instance, Muslims in the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia now worship openly, something unimaginable more than a decade ago.
In an apparent imitation of the Russian experience, Kazakstan has attempted to increase government control of religious associations. A draft bill amending the 1992 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations was modeled on the 1997 Russian law, including a provision requiring religious groups to have existed for more than 10 years.
Religious liberty has also been challenged in Uzbekistan. Since 1997, there have been crackdowns on Muslims and harassment of Evangelical Christian denominations.
There is a consensus in the region that Turkmenistan is the most repressive former Soviet republic. Under Turkmenistan law, religious groups need at least 500 members to apply for registration, while unregistered groups are harassed for holding religious gatherings.
As a result, many non-orthodox religious groups in the former Soviet states have become increasingly vulnerable to closure. Rights activists argue that it constitutes a challenge for emerging -- as well as established -- religious denominations. (posted 12 February 2001)
The "Church of the Last Covenant," better known as the Vissarion society, took an active part in the elections for local administrative bodies in Kuragin district of the Krasnoyarsk territory (which is where most of the followers of the "Siberian Christ" live). Now of six elected deputies of the village council of Cheremshanka, four are sectarians. They are the deputies from Vissarion.
The current movement from collectivism to the values of individual life is being reversed by Vissarion's flock, which is building occultic neo-socialism. Thus there is no surprise in the unanimous vote of the adult sectarians. They all voted ahead of time; on election day Vissarion's followers left for the City of the Sun, located in the region of Lake Tiberkul. The pilgrimage to New Jerusalem, which is what the sectarians call their main city, "the capital of the world," was made in conjunction with the birthday of their teacher, the former policeman Sergei Torop, who got the idea ten years ago that he was a second Christ. Vissarion is forty years old.
The ascent to power for the sectarians was predictable. Among the god-seekers who have settled in the taiga are many people who previously held high social status--bureaucrats and businessmen, producers and artists, scholars and officers. So that in contrast with neighboring Old Believers, who always operate exclusively on their own efforts since they consider any authority to be of antichrist and who even refuse pensions, the "new believers" know who to resolve their problems with the help of the powers that be. And there are problems.
For example, with long-time residents. The number of Vissarion's followers has multiplied, the community has grown, and new lands are needed. Not all of the natives are pleased with this. "The True Orthodox" have threatened the superintendent of schools and houses of culture who have indulged the communalists with "eternal torments in the flames of Gehenna." There have been incidents of burglary and murder of Vissarionites.
As Stanislav Kazakov and Sergei Chevalkov, the treasurer and chairman of the commune, have described, relations with the surrounding world heated up after a visit to the Vissarionites in October 1995 by the head of the subcommittee of the State Duma on religious education, Vitaly Savitsky. He was accompanied to the commune by reporters, after which there appeared in the mass media a whole series of negative statements about the "totalitarian" character of the sect.
"They showed the local residents the enemy," Kazakov said, "and a wave of violence was raised."
Two months after his visit to the commune, Savitsky died in Petersburg under strange circumstances. The investigation did not establish the involvement of followers of the "new Christ" in this tragedy. And last fall a special committee of the administration of the territory decided not to recommend the "Church of the Last Covenant" for reregistration.
In a word, everything has come down to a transformation from what had been essentially a passive social protest into an active one. And the Vissarionites voted. Vissarion himself and his "apostles" arrived in a white jeep at the territorial center and visited for the first time the administration and regional department of FSB. Apparently local authorities recognized that it was not very smart to organize persecution of adherents of nontraditional religions and they worked out a whole plan of interaction with them. The security police also decided to cooperate with the sectarians. After all, army draft dodgers, desserters, and fugitive criminals can hide in the commune. Vissarion attracts followers not only from throughout Russia but also from abroad, including countries of western Europe and USA. In fact in connection with the finances of the commune talk of the "hand" of foreign intelligence services has surfaced.
The crisis of world view has driven people who are tormented by spiritual hunger to flee civilization. But they have not managed to free themselves from society. The new "god" demands both what is God's and what is Caesar's. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 February 2001)
by Yuliya Ignatyeva: "The Age of Freedom of Conscience is Nowhere to
be Seen"
Obshchaya Gazeta January 25, 2001
[translation for personal use only]
The state is driving tens of thousands of believers underground.
The period for re-registering religious organizations active on the territory of Russia expired on 31 December last year. In practice this measure is leading to a division of all believers into "sheep" and "goats", depending upon the state of relations between their confessions and the authorities.
Communists in Support of the True Faith
Re-registration is conducted in accordance with the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations that was passed in 1997. Co-chairman of the Slavonic Legal Center Anatoliy Pchelintsev has called this document "the worst kind of legal rubbish". He told Obshchaya Gazeta: "The draft law that we had prepared could have emerged as a most democratic and legally correct document. But the Communist chairman of the State Duma profile committee Zorkaltsev suddenly disbanded the working group and presented the deputies with another text. It is no secret that this version had been prepared by the Moscow Patriarchate with the active participation of Metropolitan Kirill".
The draft was passed but the President returned it to the State Duma with amendments. The removal of obvious legal flaws from the draft law had failed to improve its substance. The followers of various churches began to hold meetings in the towns and the leaders of 60 Orthodox communities not subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate [ROC MP] announced that the draft was discriminatory. However nobody had tried to make any secret of this. Communist deputy Yuriy Belov spoke frankly when attempting to persuade his colleagues to vote "in favor", saying that "the invasion of diverse sects is an invasion directed against the ROC. And as Communists we wish to protect the Orthodox Church".
The authors of the law quite simply deceived the leaders of a number of large confessions, having obtained their signatures in support of the draft law in return for a promise that their amendments would be taken into consideration. The deputies obtained the signatures but there is no trace of the amendments. Zhirinovskiy was the most energetic and dutiful campaigner and received written thanks from Aleksey II himself. Yet the Patriarch ordered that Father Superior Veniamin, a teacher at the St. Petersburg Ecclesiastical Academy, should be removed from his post after he send a note to the presidential administration criticizing the draft law.
Since it came into force the Law has been studied by the Constitutional Court on two occasions (a unique case!). The Court was extremely cautious in its assessments, unlike the conclusions of those independent legal experts who described our law "On Freedom of Conscience" as antidemocratic. On the basis of their expert examination the United States introduced the Schmidt Amendment on restricting investments in the Russian economy.
The New Martyrs
No sooner had the law entered into force in 1997 than the Militia - as though following orders - began to exert pressure on the followers of so-called "non-traditional" religions. The directors of cinemas and houses of culture were forced to tear up rental agreements with Protestant organizations. Churches in Orthodox parishes that did not fall under the jurisdiction of the ROC were transferred en masse to the ownership of the Moscow Patriarchate or the state. Legal proceedings were frequently preceded by outrageous scenes reminiscent of "demolition in the Chinese quarter".
The situation had become so bad for the Magadan division of the "Word of Life" church that 600 believers - driven by the taunts and mockery of the authorities - decided to emigrate to the United States. During a trial initiated by the oblast procuracy it emerged that secret video cameras had been used to film divine services and gold from the mines had been planted on parishioners, and the main witnesses for the plaintiff proved to be a mental case and an alcoholic.
One further tale typical of the period occurred in Belgorod Oblast and involved the Holy Trinity congregation of the ROC Abroad. A militia detachment inspired by the presence of Myagkov, a priest from the Belgorod eparchy of the ROC MP, drove the believers out of the church, stole church valuables and arrested the senior priest Katunin and his wife. The beating that Katunin received at the militia station caused him to have a heart attack. It would be interesting to know how the victorious co-religionists feel in the church today?
Practice has shown that the practice of refusing registration is far more effective than militia raids when it comes to protecting the interests of those religions that are in favor with the authorities. These are the preliminary figures: 6,000 local organizations of various confessions - that is 30 percent of the total - have been refused the status of juridical persons and are thus subject to abolition under current law. Dissenters may take the matter to court.
A License to Pray
At the present time this very issue is a particular concern of the Moscow division of the Salvation Army - the largest Protestant confession. The Salvation Army has been helping 800 Moscow social institutions and looking after homeless people living at railway stations. Nevertheless the Moscow Justice Department, followed by the Presnenskiy Rayon Court and the Moscow City Court, has deemed the Salvation Army to be a militarized organization. The disciples of this church carry no weapons and do not indulge in military training. Their guilt is founded entirely on the fact that they wear a uniform similar to that of civilian pilots and that they have military titles.
Although the Moscow City Court session took place as far back as 28 November the judges have still not presented the parties with the official text of the decision, thereby depriving the Salvation Army of the opportunity to appeal. It is difficult to say what is more in evidence here - politics or petty tyranny - but the unpleasant consequences for the authorities are already plain to see. The devotees of our Femida have provoked uproar around the whole world: the Western media and the World Council of Churches are unstinting in their vociferous pronouncements on the "conquerors" of the Salvation Army. Incidentally, we are no strangers to scandals. In 1999 the Moscow authorities refused to register the Anglican Church. The English Queen was shocked and the British Foreign Office dispatched an angry diplomatic note to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, whereupon the community was granted registration.
Our officials and court officers frequently demonstrate complete and utter ignorance of legal matters. The situation is so bad that it verges on the ridiculous: in Cheboksary they tried to close a community of Pentacostalists because the believers "offered up prayers for healing, although they did not hold a medical license". And what of the three-day pilgrimage made six months ago by Orthodox believers to the curative relics of Saint Panteleymon?
It is true that recently legal practice has begun to change. Last year the lawyers from the Slavonic Legal Center managed to achieve a number of victories. This is the story of one such triumph. The Orthodox priest Korotayev presented the justice administration with a cassette showing a Pentacostalist liturgy in the Kirov Christian Center. Although their investigations went no further than simply watching this amateur video, psychiatric experts stated that the liturgy "might be detrimental to health". The justice administration imposed a ban on the center's activities and the matter duly went to court, but Department of Health chief psychiatrist Bagayev merely confirmed "a mild trance-like effect ".
He stated that, far from being detrimental to health, this was characteristic of all divine services and was also typical of rock concerts. It transpired that the video recording had been made illegally. A hidden camera had been used to tape not only the divine service but also the confessions of the parishioners, and the film had been shown on local television. Ultimately even Procurator Kolotova refused to support the justice department and in making his ruling Judge Kakhalin defended the rights of the believers. Two similar stories occurred in Kostroma in November 2000. The activities of Orthodox fathers who also happened to be amateur filmmakers led to legal investigations that culminated in rulings in favor of the Kostroma Christian Center and the "Church of Grace".
The local structures of the Ministry of Justice are duty-bound to guard citizens' legal rights and react instantaneously to any "signs" of activity - however questionable - on the part of "sectarians". The public employs this confusing term to describe all those who are not adherents of the ROC, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation has accumulated a large number of documents that are headed straight for the procurator's office. But since the actors filling the minor roles here hail from the "traditional" religions, officials are continuing to exhibit pseudo-political correctness and pseudo-patriotism. (from Johnson's Russia List, posted 11 February 2001)
His Holiness Patriarch Alexis of Moscow and all-Rus intends to take part in a Paschal international church scholarly symposium "In the footsteps of holy apostle Andrew the First Called: Crimea, Ukraine, and Russia in the history and fate of Orthodoxy," which will be held in Simferopol and Sevastopol.
By preliminary agreement with the Crimean diocese, the head of the Russian Orthodox church will arrive in Crimea in April. On 6 April Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea informed the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the republic, Leonid Grach, of this.
According to the speaker's press secretary, Galina Mamyko, at the time of their meeting they also discussed the question of the return of the Simferopol cathedral of St. Alexander of the Neva, which was confiscated in the twenties. Leonid Grach declared that the agreement with the government of Moscow for planning a religious and patriotic complex, whose main feature will be this church, is being carried out. (tr. by PDS, posted 11 Febraury 2001)
POPE IN KIEV, PATRIARCH IN CRIMEA
Will RPTs keep its parishes in Ukraine?
by Ekaterina Ignatova, Viktor Yadukha
Segodnia, 10 February 2001
The activity of the Vatican in Ukraine has forced RPTs to act. Patriarch Alexis II is planning to travel to Crimea. This was reported to the pro-Russian speaker of the Supreme Soviet of the autonomous region, Leonid Grach, by Archbishop Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea, which is within the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox church of the Moscow patriarchate (UPTsMP). According to Master Lazar's information, Alexis II will visit Crimea in April and plans to take part in an international Orthodox church scholarly symposium. Even the uninformed can see clearly that this is Moscow's response to the visit of Pope John Paul II to Lvov and Kiev which is planned for June of this year.
The Vatican's activity in Ukraine is closely connected with attempts by the Ukrainian government and the UPTs of the Kievan patriarchate to weaken the position of the Moscow patriarchate in the country. UPTsMP is still the largest of the Ukrainian churches, although the Ukrainian authorities, with the support of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, have tried to bring about the unification of all Christian confessions in Ukraine in a united local church. Its name will not even include the word "Orthodox" since it is proposed that Greek Catholics also will join it. According to representatives of MP, the issue is the implementation of age-old plans of the Vatican to separate Ukrainian parishes from Moscow and to subject the new ecumenical structure to the pope (although even if this were to happen it would be in the distant future). In January of this year the pope made a "symbolic" step in naming the Catholic bishop of Lvov, Liubomir Guzar, one of his cardinals.
Officially UPTsMP explains its unhappiness over the pope's visit differently; it says that the pontiff's visit to Ukraine was planned and developed without official notification of that church or any kind of invitation on its part. Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and all-Ukraine sent a letter to the pope in which he stated the position of 42 bishops of UPTsMP. Moscow shares this position. UPTsMP has asked the pope to postpone the visit to Ukraine "so that it can occur at a time that is more propitious for mutual relations between our churches." At the present this is hindered, first, by "disorder in the relations among Greek Catholics and Orthodox in western Ukraine," and, second, by "confusion in relations of the Roman Catholic church with the schisms that exist among Orthodox believers" of Ukraine.
However, in private conversations clerics of RPTs say that a way out of the Ukrainian church battles depends on whether the western-oriented opposition succeeds in forcing President Leonid Kuchma into retirement. (tr. by PDS, posted 11 February 2001)
IMPLEMENTATION OF "ETERNAL TRUTHS" PROJECT BEGUN
NTV, 9 February 2001
Representatives of religious organizations active on the territory of the Central Federal District of RF have joined in a working group for implementing the "Eternal Truths" project, the "Blagovest-info" agency reports.
The goal of the project, in its authors' conception, is employing the spiritual and moral potential of religious organizations for forming in Russian citizens a culture of peace and interethnic harmony, overcoming xenophobic attitudes, fundamentalism, and extremism.
The implementation of the "Eternal Truths" project will occur within the purview of the Permanent Commission on Nationalities Affairs, created on the basis of the order from the satrap of the president of RF in the Central Federal District, Georgy Poltavshenko.
The commission, which is headed by State Duma deputy Abdul Vakhed Niyazov, has recruited into its work representatives of Orthodoxy, Old Belief, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and protestantism. The "Eternal Truths" project will use the publication of a series of brochures on the project's subject and conduct seminars and conferences, lecture series, organized consultations, and courses to enlist representatives of Christian confessions and other traditional religions. The organizers hope for close cooperation with the department of religion studies of the Russian Academy of State Service of the presidency of RF, the Russian Department of the International Association of Religious Freedom, the Slavic Legal Center, and the "Religion and Law" journal. (tr. by PDS, posted 11 February 2001)
DETAILS SURFACE IN ROW IN ALMA-ATA DIOCESE
NTV,
9 February, 2001
Details of the recent intrachurch ado regarding three Orthodox priests, accused of departure from the canons of Orthodoxy, have become available. The priests Vasily Teleutov of the Kazan cathedral of Alma-Ata, Seraphim Kenesarin of the settlement of Fabrichny, and Evgeny Melnik of the settlement of Chapaevo have been banned from serving and removed from the staff of the diocese. They have been subjected to this punishment for "renegade behavior" and participation in protestant events.
As NTV has reported already the case deals with Orthodox priests who have particpated in the creation of the ecumenical society "Liobov," along with protestants, which unites Christians of various confessions who are striving for unity.
According to information from the "Kazakhstan-press" agency, the repressed priests have acknowledged that they are disciples of the famous Moscow priest Georgy Kochetkov, the former rector of the church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in Pechatniki, who was accused by fundamentalists of "renovationism."
It was reported at the Alma-Ata diocese of the Russian Orthodox church that on 20 February there will be a session of the liturgical commission in Moscow, at which the activity of the "Kochetkovites" will be reviewed. (tr. by PDS, posted 11 February 2001)
ASSIGNING INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYER NUMBERS TO RUSSIAN CITIZENS NOT WELCOME
TO ORTHODOX CHURCH
Interfax, 10 February
VALAAM (Karelia). The Orthodox Church does not welcome the assigning of individual taxpayer numbers to the citizens of Russia. The abbot of the Salvation-Transfiguration Valaam Monastery in Karelia, the Archimandrite Pankraty, has told Interfax that the church "regards this as sinful, rather than gracious and god-pleasing."
"Adam received the first name from God, and since then through all time man has always had a name rather than number or name and number," he said. "For this reason, to confer a number on a person like on a soulless beast or a prisoner is not proper, to put it mildly, even from the point of view of a human being and respect for his rights, not to mention the religious point of view," the archimandrite said. "It's clear that the purpose of this all is to control human activity on a global scale as much as possible." (posted 11 February 2001)
THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION TO DISCUSS INN PROBLEM
NTV, 8 February, 2001
A session of the Theological Commission of RPTs will be devoted to examination of the problems of the Taxpayer Identification Number (INN), "Blagovest-info" agency reports. In addition to the permanent members of the commission, the session will include numerous invited consultants and experts from the faculties of Moscow and St. Petersburg ecclesiastical schools as well as from the St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Institute. Special attention to the upcoming session of the Theological Commission is drawn by the participation in it of the authoritative spiritual leaders, monks of the St. Sergius Holy Trinity lavra Archimandrite Kirill and Archimandrite Naum. Representatives of the Russian Ministry for Taxes and Duties also will participate.
In the opinion of the majority of experts, the decision of the Theological Commission on the INN question will be positive, inasmuch as Patriarch Alexis II earlier had formulated a general church position on this question and at the time of his last meeting the the minister for taxes and duties, Gennady Bukaev, he agreed that INN will not be applied to the physical face but to the "personal account" of the taxpayer.
According to the superior of the Moscow Presentation monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon, a positive assessment of INN also has been given by such well known spiritual leaders as Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov, Archimandrite Ioann Krestiankin, and Archpriest Nikolay Gurianov. (tr. by PDS, posted 11 February 2001)
RUSSIAN COURTS ATTEMPT TO BAN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
CNN SATURDAY MORNING, 10 February 2001
BYLINE: Kyra Phillips, Elena Firmin
HIGHLIGHT: Religious freedom is on trial in Russia. The courts are taking on an effort to ban the Jehovah's Witnesses from the former Soviet Union.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Religious freedom is on trial in Russia. The courts are taking on an effort to ban the Jehovah's Witnesses from the former Soviet Union.
This is our CNN report.
ELENA FIRMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If the Jehovah's Witnesses lose the case, the city of Moscow says it will impose a ban on all their activities and throw them out of the city. Russian authorities accuse the religious group of breaking up families, promoting suicide, restricting individual rights and freedoms, and promoting religious discord.
The Jehovah's Witnesses deny all the charges and say they're just being persecuted.
VASILY KALIN, JEHOVAH'S WITNESS (through translator): I'm from the generation that in 1951 was forced by a decree from Stalin and Beria to be deported. There were over 9,500 Jehovah Witnesses exiled from Ukraine, Moldovia, Beloruss, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia to Siberia.
FIRMIN: Russian authorities say Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult brought into their country from abroad after the collapse of communism. The prosecutors argue the ban on the Jehovah's Witnesses group will protect Russian minors from, they say, Jehovah's Witnesses trying to influence and convert without their parents' permission.
This case is being brought under the authority of a 1997 law which declared a limited number of approved faiths and recognized the special role of the Russian Orthodox Church.
JOHN BURNS, DEFENSE COUNCIL: It is not for the state or courts to decide what's a good religion. And if she adopted that, this case would have been tossed out two years ago. It would have been tossed out today. So there must be some other reasons behind law that are motivating this case in the hands of the prosecution.
FIRMIN: Some Jehovah's Witnesses claim the case is orchestrated by Russia's powerful Orthodox Church in an attempt to stifle competition.
PAUL GILLIES, JEHOVAH'S WITNESS, BRITAIN: It's taken them two years to produce a 14-page report to try and substantiate the charges against us. But basically what that boils down to is that we have a different interpretation of the Bible.
FIRMIN: The trial is expected to last for two or three weeks. Religious groups around the world say they will watch the verdicts closely.
Elena Firmin (ph), CNN.
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