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A ten-day course of study for continuing education of the leadership staff of the Russian Orthodox church (RPTs) opened in the Russian Academy of State Service of the presidential administration of the Russian federation. Deputies and government workers will explain to the clergy how they should conduct relations between the state and church. The classes were arranged in accordance with an agreement that was signed in September by the Moscow patriarchate and the Russian Academy of State Service (RAGS) for a curriculum of continuing education for the leadership staff of RPTs.
The basic goal of the classes, according to RAGS Rector Vladimir Egorov, is to give leaders of RPTs understanding in the area of contemporary law, economics, and financial credit, which will permit the leading confession of Russia to participate actively in the life of the state. It is planned that the clergy will hear lectures on the relationship between civil and religious structures that will take account of the interests of all citizens of Russia. In these ten days the clergymen will be told about Russian state protocols as well as about the procedure for creating noncommercial structures within church structures.
Only six persons arrived for continuing education in RAGS: Bishop Alexander of Dmitrov, vicar of His Holiness the patriarch of Moscow and all Rus, Bishop Daniil of South Sakhalin and the Kuriles, Bishop Maxim of Barnaul and the Altai, Archimandrite Feoktist of the Savvino-Storozhevsk monastery, Hegumen Ioann, abbot of the monastery of Boris and Gleb, and the monastic priest Dionisy from the Moscow Ecclesiastical Academy.
On the first day of classes a lecture was presented by the chairman of the State Duma's Committee on Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations, Viktor Zorkaltxev. A KD reporter managed to attend the lecture by Deputry Zorkaltsev from which it could be understood that toleration and social pluralism with respect to religious belief have been established in society. "Indeed, the church is separated from the state, but it is not separated from society. In this regard it may be said with certainty that the church is separated, but not severed, from the state," the member of the Russian communist party fraction stated. The deputy also described the necessity of creating a doctrine of the spiritual security of Russia.
In addition to Mr. Zorkaltsev, the audience was addressed by the deputy minister of education of Russia, Leonid Grebnev, and the chairman of the educational committee of RPTs, Archbishop Evgeny of Vereisk. On the first day the clergy also visited the Moscow Kremlin where a "round table" on the "Principles of united museum and liturgical activity within church monuments" was conducted, in which the director of the museums of the Moscow Kremlin, Elena Gagarina, participated.
Yesterday the clergy also had a meeting with the minister for nationalities affairs of Russia, Vladimir Zorin, who described for the clergy ethno-confessional relations and state nationality policy in contemporary Russia. He reported that now in Russia there are registered 21,000 religious organizations, of which 53% are organizations of RPTs, 17.8% are protestant, 14.9% are Muslim, 1.3% are Catholic, 1.2% are Old Believers, 0.9% are Buddhist, 0.9% are Jewish, and 10% are other religious organizations. Besides this, Mr. Zorin complained that there still is no normal doctrine of state-church relations and that the process of creation such a doctrine must be continued. In the evening the clergymen continued their study on personal computers. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 November 2002)
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It seems that the topic of church landholdings soon will again be at the center of public attention. Last summer heated debates raged around this topic after the head of the Council of the Federation's Committee on Agricultural Policy, Ivan Starikov, proposed turning over to the Russian Orthodox church 3,000,000 hectares of land from the land reserve fund of the country which, by some accounting, was what it had before the revolution of 1917. The leadership of RPTs formally rejected the senator's initiative on the basis that the church does not need such a quantity of land. According to Patriarch Alexis II, RPTs is ready to review the question on transfer of only those lands that are already in use by Orthodox parishes and monasteries.
However, as a result of the uproar raised by the senators' initiative, RPTs got something important: it managed to attract public attention to the problem of church ownership of land. In reality the church now is concerned not so much about obtaining new lands as about retaining what it already is using. Until now parishes and monasteries of the Russian Orthodox church are using land tracts without charge. But with the adoption of the Russian Federation Land Code they were deprived of this possibility. The right to parcels of lands is subject to obligatory transformation by 1 January 2004 either into private property or into leased land. In other words, according to the new legislation, the church must either buy the land from the state or lease it at market prices, which threatens it with real financial ruin.
Last week, an attorney of the Moscow patriarchate, Viktor Kalinin, stated that Patriarch Alexis II plans in the near future to appeal for help in resolving this problem to deputies of the State Duma. Evidently RPTs intends to get the introduction of amendments into the law which would permit it to acquire ownership of the land without cost or to continue to use it gratis.
It should be noted that despite the great lobbying potential, RPTs finds itself again in a situation where it has been before. For example, after the Tax Code took effect that introduced a single tax on income and rescinded all previously existing privileges, the church found itself in effect equated with commercial organizations which, naturally, would deliver a damaging blow to its budget. In order to solve this problem, Alexis II twice met with Vladimir Putin. At these meetings an agreement in principle was reached to introduce into the Tax Code amendments that would permit lowering the tax pressure on religious organizations. Work on the amendments was conducted for several months and at the end of May they were adopted by the duma. As a result, the church managed to restore those privileges that it had enjoyed before the introduction of a single tax on income.
In effect the same kind of situation has developed also in connection with the adoption of the Land Code. RPTs did not participate in working out this law and it became alarmed only after its adoption. It cannot be ruled out that, just like in the case of the Tax Code, the patriarch will manage to deal with this question directly with the president.
All of this shows that RPTs still has not developed a normal mechanism for lobbying for its own legislative interests. The majority of deputies in parliament who position themselves as defenders of the interests of the Russian Orthodox church simply are engaged in self-promotion, producing flashy but ill-informed drafts of laws (such as adopting the suggestion about giving special rights to RPTs and other traditional religious of Russia). The Moscow patriarchate itself still is not in a position to keep track of all drafts of laws that affect its interests in one way or another. At the same time, the leadership of RPTs has sharply criticized the idea of creating a special governmental office for religious affairs which would be able to take such work upon itself. Nevertheless, on the part of RPTs there continually arise complaints against the government for not taking account of the church's interests in working out new laws. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 November 2002)
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In all the world there are two such museums, one in Great Britain and the other in Taiwan. But ours is the oldest and largest.
It is celebrating its anniversary on Pochtamt [Post Office] street, in building 14, which is still undergoing reconstruction. From the building's roof one can see a vista of all the cathedrals of our city including the Kazan cathedral with which the greater part of the history of the museum is associated. Exactly one month from now their ways will finally part. The Kazan cathedral will be returned to the church.
Correspondent Liudmila Leusskaia talked with its director, Stanislav Kuchinsky, about the problems that the Museum of the History of Religion has had to deal with, about events that have gone into the distant past, and about the plans for the future.
--Stanislav Alexeevich, for starters lets recall how the museum acquired its new home.
--Since 1932 the museum was located in the Kazan cathedral and for a long time society viewed this as normal. After the revolution many church that had not been destroyed got new masters--museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions. Then much more horrible things happened; cathedrals were turned into storehouses, swimming pools. . .
At the end of the 1980s came the time to restore historic justice and to return the Kazan cathedral to its original intention. It is a masterpiece of Russian classical architecture of the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was created by Architect Voronikhin and built by Russian craftsmen. The consecration of the cathedral coincided with the war of 1812 and Kutuzov was buried in it. The Kazan cathedral is a symbol of the victory of Russian troops over Napoleon. Clearly it should be an active Orthodox church.
In the final analysis everything worked out well. In May 1991the decision was made to transfer the museum building to Pochtamt street, where soon reconstruction began. This was the first plan for building a museum complex in our city since the revolution.
Construction has been going on for ten years and it is now in the final stages. The first section was occupied a year ago and we opened in our new home the first permanent exhibits, equipped with modern security and protection. By May of next year the plans will be completed. We understand that in the current economic situation we have had good fortune. Several tasks will have to be solved simultaneously, finishing construction, completing the transfer of collections, and creating museum exhibits.
--It is always interesting to know what the museum collections contain. Especially since in the past ten years there have been no exhibits in the cathedral and they are just beginning in the new building. What kind of collections does the museum have?
--Our collections are interesting and rich. They have come to the museum as the result of acquisitions, purchases, gifts, and archaeological discoveries. First there are things from churches which were closed in the 1930s. At that time liturgical items were placed in various museums of the country and so these monuments were preserved. We know that a lot was lost irretrievably.
Today our collections present the history of the birth of religion, materials about the beliefs of various peoples, the history of religion of the ancient world, the origins of Christianity and Russian Orthodoxy. . . . The museum has rooms of the old beliefs and rituals of the religions of ancient Egypt, Greece, Israel, and the emergence of Christianity. For the anniversary we have opened a department of Catholicism. Eastern religions will be presented after the completion of construction. As is usual in museum practice, we display in our permanent exhibits only four percent of what our collections contain.
--This museum has a complex history. It originally was intended as an ideological museum. In the minds of the average citizen it remains the Museum of Atheism.
--No doubt, the main propagandistic task of the museum originally was criticism of religion. The same thing was done by many cultural institutions, practically all of them, but from the point of view of the attitude toward religion, our museum is at the forefront. It has had a lot of negative experience, the experience of a high degree of vulgarity, rigidity, and in the final analysis a nonobjective attitude toward religion. The dark pages of the history of the church were selected out as well as the weak spots from the point of view of logic and reason. There was one purpose--to discredit and to demonstrate error. Now that the change has occurred it has become possible to conduct the museum's work on the principles of objectivity. We do not give preference to any one religion, we present historic facts that are not subject to doubt, and we let our visitors draw their own conclusions. Outside of the Museum of the History of Religion they may "dispute," but here they live in peace
--Now the name of the museum does not contain the world "atheism," but this also is a page of our history. It deserves a separate department in the exhibits.
--I think that there will be one. The museum got its name in 1932, when its first director was the famous ethnography scholar V.G. Bogoraz. He dealt with the study of primitive cultures. At the beginning of 1950 the museum was headed by one of Lenin's coworkers, V.D. Bonch-Bruevich. Few know that he was a major scholar, scholar of sectarianism, and he left a great heritage. It was he who thought it necessary to add the word "atheism" to the museum's name. In the history of humanity there always have been free thinking, atheism, skepticism, and criticism of religion. This is historic truth. Today, no doubt, there exists a bias toward the defense of religion. In it people see healing from all the spiritual diseases of a single country and of all of humanity. Whether such hopes are justified is another matter.
I think that if one speaks of the history of religion one must not forget that the religious aspirations of humanity have been accompanied by doubt in the correctness of its way and by a search for alternative resolutions. Our museum is not an art museum or a regional studies museum, or anything else. It is a museum of the human spirit and of searches for the answers to the eternal questions: the end of life, happiness, sinfulness, retribution, justice. . . . Religion is a global system with many varieties which presents simple and complex ideas in many popular images and provides answers to many questions. At various levels it has satisfied the simple, uneducated person and the theologian and thinker.
--But still, how has the museum survived the transformation from total atheism to a historic view on religion?
--If we had rebuilt everything at the old spot, probably this would have been more painful. Actually everything has happened like closing an old book and opening a new one, with blank pages. The process has gone naturally and we have enjoyed doing it.
--The museum gave up a cathedral located in the center of the city on Nevsky prospect. What do you plan to do so that your new address will become popular?
--It's a serious problem. But the paradox is that we now are at the very center of the city; the numbering system begins at the main post office. I would not want to offend the Hermitage or the Russian Museum, but, by comparison with us, they are on the fringe. Seriously, we are 300 meters from St. Isaac's cathedral that throngs of tourists visit. So they should continue their trek to our place. There simply has been too little time since we moved the museum to Pochtamt street.
--I know that in addition to the permanent exhibits you are making new, interesting plans. One of them is associated with the roof of your new building.
--In fact we have the possibility of using the roof for tours, for example tours devoted to the churches of our city. They are easily seen from there. Besides, we have roofed over our two courtyards and thereby gotten around 1,000 meters of additional space. The small courtyard has been covered at all four stories and it has been surmounted by a glass lantern. This work also should be completed by May of next year. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 November 2002)
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Last Wednesday the head of the Roman Catholic church, Pope John Paul II, appointed a new representative of the Holy See to Russia, apostolic nuncio Antonio Mennini, the titular archbishop of Ferento. The former nuncio, Georg Zur, was transferred to the corresponding post in Austria, which is considered a promotion.
The first diplomatic contacts between the Vatican and Russia began back in the middle of the fifteenth century, but the first nunciature on Russian territory was founded in June 1783. After the October revolution in 1917 diplomatic relations between Russia and the Vatican were disrupted all the way up to 1990. Only on 15 March 1990 did the Soviet Union and the Holy See restore them. Diplomatic representatives of states have the status of diplomats ad personam and the rank of apostolic nuncio also is an extraordinary ambassador. The new Vatican ambassador in Russia, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, was born 2 November 1947 in Rome. On 14 December 1974 he was ordained a priest. In April 1981 Fr Antonio entered diplomatic service for the Holy See. Mr. Mennini served in the apostolic nunciatures in Uganda and Turkey, after which he worked until July 2000 in the state secretariat of the Vatican. On 1 July 2000 the pope appointed Antonio Mennini apostolic nuncio in Bulgaria and on 12 September 2000 Antonio Mennini was consecrated a bishop by the state secretary of the Vatican, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. After this Monsignor Antonio was promoted to the rank of titular archbishop of Ferento. On 6 November of this year, by decision of John Paul II, Monsignor Antonio was appointed representative of the Holy See in Russia. The new ambassador of the Roman pope to Russia replaced Archbishop Georg Zur in the post of apostolic nuncio, who had occupied the post for two and a half years. It was during the time of the diplomatic mission of Monsignor Georg Zur that the Roman Catholic church (in February 2002) decided to transform its apostolic adminstrations into dioceses, which evoked a worsening in the mutual relations between the Vatican and the Moscow patriarchate. After the transformation of the Catholic structures, the Russian Orthodox church accused the Vatican of expansion, although Catholics themselves give assurances that this is a canonical transformation which changed nothing essentially; only the title was changed. Also during the period of the ambassadorship of Archbishop Georg Zur there was the expulsion from Russia of five Catholic priests. The first not to be admitted to Russia was the rector of the Catholic parish of the cities of Vladimir and Ivanovo, Stefano Kaprio, from whom border patrol officers confiscated his entry visa on 11 April at the Sheremetevo-2 airport before his trip home to Italy. The second victim of the Russian MID was Bishop Jerzy Mazur, who was declared persona non grata upon his arrival from Warsaw in Moscow on 19 April. The border patrol service of the Sheremetevo-2 airport told the Vatican's representative that Mr. Mazur, bishop of the Catholic diocese centered in Irkutsk, was on a list of persons for whom entry to the territory of Russia was forbidden. Similar measures were taken with regard to other Catholic priests, the rector of the parish in Rostov-on-Don, Fr Eduard Mackevich, Fr Jaroslav Vishnevsky of the diocese of St. Joseph, and the head of the Yaroslavl Catholic parish, Fr Stanislav Krajniak.
By the pontiff's decision the former Vatican ambassador to Russia, Archbishop Georg Zur, was sent to a more peaceful diplomatic area, Austria, to a similar post that is considered a promotion. As regards the new apostolic nuncio, it is planned that he will arrive in Russia at the beginning of January. The general secretary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Russia, chancellor of the curia in Moscow, Fr Igor Kovalevsky, noted in a conversation with a KD reporter that with the arrival of a new apostolic nuncio Catholics, while "hoping for the better, are prepared for the worst." (tr. by PDS, posted 11 November 2002)
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The land question could again become a stumbling block in relations between the Russian Orthodox church and civil authorities. As reported recently by an attorney for the Moscow patriarchate, Viktor Kalinin, Patriarch Alexis II intends to request from Russian parliamentary deputies a final dot over the "i" in the question of church lands. At present RPTs has the right to the use without charge of lands on which churches and monasteries stand, as well as adjoining agricultural fields. But the land code adopted by the State Duma deputies requires all persons using land to arrange for a lease or to acquire ownership of it by the end of 2003.
"Never, even in the worst years of state atheism, did the church have to lease land," Viktor Kalinin complained to the "Vremia novostei" reporter. "Leasing involves payment. And this simply is contrary to justice, since it equates a spiritual organization with a commercial structure."
Church people think that the legislative action of the deputies on the land question is nothing other than irrational: after all, the new code contradicts the law on religious associations, which nobody has rescinded. "The law that is the most important for us says that the right to the use or ownership without charge applies to land adjoining a church or monastery," the patriarchate's attorney explains, "and the new law requires leasing it." A variety of readings also is produced by the phrase "acquire ownership." On one hand, it could be possible to acquire ownership without charge. But on the other hand, it is necessary to pay a tax for the transaction of "presentation," in the event that a building that is a monument of history or culture stands on the land presented to a church organization. And that is the case for a majority of buildings being used by the Russian Orthodox church. There are contradictions in the Land Code itself. One article confirms the right of the use of land if it was established before the code takes effect, and another says "to arrange a lease."
According to the representative of the patriarchate, even the authors of the draft law have been forced to agree that there are juridical problems. "One should not assume hastily that everybody will lease land," Viktor Kalinin hopes. "There are still two months left in the year. And there is a law that states that the government must consult with a religious organization when decisions are being made that affect that organization." This time the deputies forgot to consult with religious figures. However representatives of the church have almost no doubt that they will manage to resolve the property dispute and restore the practice of use of lands without charge. There has been frequent evidence in fact of the favor of the authorities toward the most traditional of the traditional Russian confessions, which suggests that in this case there has been some misunderstanding with the deputies. It is thought at the patriarchate that if the provision regarding land was adopted without a preliminary agreement with RPTs, it will not be impossible to correct this in the near future. (tr. by PDS, posted 11 November 2002)
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The uproar continues over the chapel of the church of St. Tatiana that is being built in Naberezhnye Chelny. Recently the Tatar police arrested two local retirees, Alfia Zinnurova, 61, and Marziia Shakirova, 65. The city prosecutor accused them, along with another retiree, Nionelle Fazlyevoy, of damaging the property of others, vandalism, and inciting national and religious strife (articles 167, 214, and 282 of the criminal code of RF, respectively). They are still at liberty. In order to demonstrate the old women's guilt the prosecutor will have to explain how people who are rather well on in years could destroy the chapel wall made of 375 cement blocks constituting ten cubic meters in about a half hour. This is the damaged building that police saw when they arrived around noon on 1 October at the ill-fated Orthodox structure in the Muslim republic.
The retirees themselves do not conceal their hostile attitude toward the structure since they consider that an Orthodox church in the center of Naberezhnye Chelny will make the nearby "Victory Park entirely Orthodox and there will be no spot for Muslims." They maintain that they are not personally against Orthodoxy and Russians, but they want a theatre built there instead of a church, as was provided for in the general plan for city construction. The women frequently have participated in protest demonstrations along with activists of the Tatar Public Center. But they could hardly have the strength to destroy the wall of the partially built chapel. And besides, the witness who reported to the rector of the church of St. Tatiana about the vandals mentioned young people, not retirees.
It is possible, however, that the law enforcement officers who arrested the women are hoping thereby to force the real criminals, as a generous gesture, will pity the old women and admit their guilt. But such actions seem more like an attempt to solve the crime as quickly as possible because the federal center and Patriarch Alexis II have reacted extremely sensitively to what has happened. (tr. by PDS, posted 11 November 2002)
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On 31 October Dmitry Lavrov, who perished as a result of the terrorist attack in the theatre center on Dubrovka, was buried in the city of Zhukovsky outside Moscow. The funeral ritual was conducted in the church of St. Panteleimon.
Various internet publications have reported that Dmitry's relatives first went to the church of the Vladimir Mother of God, but a priest in the church, Fr Vitaly, refused to perform the ritual of parting for the relatives. Supposedly Vladimir Lavrov died while attending a demonic event.
"I do not visit the internet nor do I watch television so I am hearing this news for the first time from you," Fr Vitaly told us over the telephone. "It is untrue. I did not refuse the relatives. They actually were at my church, but for some reason they decided to have the service in a different one. There are church canons that cover when a funeral must not be performed. This would include suicide or a case where the deceased had not been baptized. But it would definitely not be because of 'attending a demonic event,' as you say."
The young Father Vitaly was ordained a year ago and he now is studying in the first year of ecclesiastical seminary. He did not refuse the family of the dead man. But instead of giving sympathy to the relatives he decided to deliver to them the exhortation that it is bad for Orthodox people to attend musicals. Is it necessary to explain why the relatives did not go back to this church? (tr. by PDS, posted 8 November 2002)
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Evangelistic congress of the Russian Orthodox church has ended.
On Saturday, in the "Poliany" guesthouse of the chief of staff of the president of Russia outside Moscow, the work of the Third Congress of Diocesan Evangelists of the Russian Orthodox church came to an end. The delegates learned that their mission field is the Russian people who have been separated from Christ. Also touched upon was the topic of proselytism in which, in the opinion of RPTs, Catholics have been engaged in Russia. Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad declared that they have been acting as if they literally do not recognize the Orthodox church, de facto.
The work of the congress lasted three days. On the last working day of the congress, the evangelists from 101 dioceses of RPTs were addressed by the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. His speech took up the entire time of the plenary session. Speaking of evangelism, Master Kirill touched on one of the urgent topics for RPTs, the issue of proselytism (converting believers from one Christian confession to another) in Russia. According to the metropolitan, the Catholics who transformed their apostolic administrations into dioceses created a local church, according to Orthodox vocabulary. "If a local church headed by a bishop is created, then the task of this church is to minister to the people who live there. This means that its doctrinal task consists of engaging in evangelism," Metropolitan Kirill said with regard to the Catholic dioceses in Russia. At the same time the metropolitan noted that if Catholics create their own local church in a place where there already is an Orthodox local church, this signifies, in the metropolitan's opinion, that de facto they do not recognize our Orthodox church. And the whole situation that has arisen around the Catholic dioceses, according to Metropolitan Kirill, reminds him of a crusade. "After all, the real division between the East and West did not happen in 1054 but during the crusades, when a western hierarchy was created in the East. Thereby Catholics bore witness that the eastern church is not a church. And the Catholics are doing the same thing today. We say that this is not just a historical mistake but a crime," the metropolitan said.
In order that the evangelism of RPTs not be turned into conflicts, Orthodox evangelists should conduct their evangelism in the same spirit that they have been taught, the Word of God, and in any event they must not act as if they are wearing the armor of crusaders who rely on force in converting people to their faith, in the opinion of the metropolitan.
At the request of delegates, the metropolitan assessed the foreign dioceses of RPTs and the Vatican, noting that there is an enormous difference between them. "We create dioceses for Russian Orthodox people. We do not have a deliberate missionary strategy in Europe because we are convinced that Catholics have a responsibility before God for their own people," the metropolitan acknowledged. Then Metropolitan Kirill tried to explain to the evangelists the difference between proselytism and evangelism, saying that "the result of evangelism can be proselytism." But the main goal of evangelism is "bringing to Christ." And this is why, he said, the mission field of the Russian Orthodox church is the Russian people who have been separated from Christ. "Obviously the result of evangelism can be proselytism. But we must not make that our goal," the metropolitan concluded.
The general secretary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Russia and chancellor of the curia in Moscow, Igor Kovalevsky, does not agree with Metropolitan Kirill's claim that the Catholic church is engaged in proselytism on Russian territory. In commenting for KD on the Orthodox metropolitan's statement, he said that "proselytism, just like evangelism, has two aspects. The first is a narrow one that means converting believers from one confession to another by deceptive methods. We are not engaged in such proselytism in Russia." However, in a broad sense, proselytism is a biblical term, according to Igor Kovalevsky, and it is inseparably linked with the preaching of the gospel to peoples who have never heard it, and that does not apply to Russia. To be sure, Fr Igor said, "if there had been no proselytizing of our ancestors, then we would still be praying to pagan gods in Russia." Characterizing evangelism, Mr. Kovalevsky said that it is like proselytism in the broad sense of preaching the gospel. But in the narrow sense, evangelism can be viewed as testimony about Jesus Christ by one's way of life. "In Russia we are doing evangelism in the narrow sense of the word. For us Russia is not a mission field," Mr. Kovalevsky noted. As regards the transformation of the apostolic administration into dioceses, according to Chancellor Igor Kovalevsky, this was a canonical change that changed nothing in essence other than the name. (tr. by PDS, posted 8 November 2002)
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We are not being destroyed by terrorists; we are being destroyed by cynicism and indifference. After the tragedy of the seizure of hostages in the center of Moscow, which demonstrated to the world the achievements of physicians and special forces, relatives of the hostages have had to deal with human meanness. Dozens of people are still not listed among the living or among the dead. People who have turned to the police requesting that they find their relatives and neighbors are turned away outright. Izvestiia has managed to learn of a yet more horrible and bitter story, about how a priest insulted people who wanted to have an Orthodox funeral for a hostage who died. A neophyte priest considered the man's presence at the musical to be the "devil's business."
Meanwhile it is not just certain priests who turn out to be meatheads but even representatives of the government, who are burying the high tragedy that should be uniting the nation in a whirlpool of lies.
Last Saturday the government displayed heroism and responsibility. A week after the outcome of the tragedy it is displaying the usual unconcern for the fates of people. We do not know the exact number of hostages who perished. It is clear that there will not be a parliamentary investigation of all the circumstances of the terrorist attack. This is the real devil's business.
One of the victims of the terrorist attack in the House of Culture on Dubrovka was Dmitry Lavrov, a resident of the Moscow suburb of Zhukovsky. His relatives, smitten by grief, decided to bury the deceased in accordance with Orthodox ritual. In order to arrange for the funeral, several of Dmitry's loved ones went to the church of the Vladimir Mother of God located in the town of Bykovo, near Zhukovsky. This is the church in which the deceased had been married. Approaching the priest, the relatives told of their grief. But instead of a sympathetic and good word, they heard from the pastor a threatening and accusatory sermon.
"At the time there were several parishioners in the church," the treasurer of the church, Ekaterina Strunina, who witnessed the conversation, reports. "Fr Vitaly Kustov, a young priest, has been ordained only one year. When he learned that the deceased had been at the concert that the terrorists broke up he said that attending such activities as a musical is displeasing to God. He said that it was for this reason that Dmitry's death cannot be considered an Orthodox death. Fr Vitaly told the relatives: 'How can I, an Orthodox priest, give a funeral for such a person?' He said this very sternly. The relatives were dumbfounded. Then they silently turned around and left."
When it was learned the next day that there really had not been a funeral and Dmitry Lavrov had been buried without a church funeral, Ekaterina Strunina called up the rector of the church, Fr Valentin, an experienced and mature priest, and told him about the incident.
"The rector had a serious talk with Fr Vitaly," Ekaterina described. "I did not hear their conversation. But I saw that after this the young priest walked around a long time in deep contemplation."
Yesterday Fr Vitaly's contemplation had passed. "The whole thing got out of hand," he told Izvestiia. "I cannot give a funeral for a non-Orthodox person; that would be unimaginable. I asked the relatives whether the deceased believed in God. They thought it over for a while. That was a simple question and it does not require thinking. So then I drew the conclusion that the dead person was not a believer. As regards the way someone talks with people, the scriptures say that to attract people to church it is necessary to use love with some and fear with others."
The "attracted" relatives of the late Dmitry Lavror flatly refused to talk about what happened. They said that talking about such a situation is simply inappropriate.
"The rector of our church, Fr Valentin, is extremely upset about what happened," his secretary, Galina Golovacheva, told Izvestiia. "He said that it is wrong to condemn people who are grieving. At the time the rector was in the refectory of the church and it was only by chance that he did not talk with Dmitry's relatives. And Fr Vitaly did not at all have the right to talk with them in such a tone. What's more, the rector makes all decisions in the church and Fr Vitaly is only a junior priest. In the end, in order somehow to resolve this unpleasant situation the rector decided to gather together all of the church's workers and parishioners after the Sunday service. And in the presence of them all he condemned the actions of Fr Vitaly."
Yesterday Fr Vitaly served an all-night vigil in the church of the Vladimir Mother of God. Several dozen parishioners attended the service. The first song of vespers was the Psalm that begins with the words: "Blessed is the man who does not go to the gathering of the ungodly." It would seem that Fr Vitaly invested these words with his own meaning and addressed them to the victim of the terrorist act, Dmitry Lavrov. (tr. by PDS, posted 4 November 2002)
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To make the Orthodox way of life the standard for the life of society is the main task of Orthodox evangelists, according to Patriarch Alexis II. The head of RPTs, who is now in treatment in the central hospital, sent this message to participants in the Third All-church Congress of Diocesan Evangelists that opened yesterday in Moscow. The congress is attended by 267 delegates from 101 dioceses of RPTs, not only from Russia but also from ten other countries, including even Japan. It will be for them to tell rank and file clergy what tasks the leadership of the church lays upon them.
The basic goal of the congress is working out and adopting a declaration on evangelism. This document should establish the Orthodox understanding of mission, define the audience to whom the preaching of the gospel should be addressed, and define the necessary qualities of a modern evangelist and means for conducting evangelistic activity. The patriarch is convinced that Orthodox evangelists should not shy away from the fruits of progress but, on the contrary, are obliged "to make modern means of communication an instrument of Orthodox evangelism." "We do not have the right not to use the enormous potential of mass media and modern means of communication," Alexis says in his letter.
In the opinion of Archbishop Ioann of Belgorod and Starooskolsk, chairman of the evangelism department, one of the main problems now is the language of proclamation. "When a priest with a meek face uses words like 'forsooth' and 'betimes' these words do not reach a person's heart," Master Ioann thinks. "But there is another extreme, too. When, for example, a priest suggests to prisoners in a colony he serves that they conduct a 'general roundup of souls.'"
As regards the audience, there are no questions for evangelists. In first place they intend to address that portion of the population that calls itself Orthodox but knows little more than the Trinity. At the same time, preachers should address all Russians without exception. Responding to a question from a "Vremia novostei" reporter, Archbishop Ioann stated that despite widespread opinion the church does not shy away from preaching among Muslims. "This of course is a sensitive question," the head of the evangelism department thinks. "But we are building new churches in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan and recently our evangelists traveled along the Volga in a special train, including places where there are concentrations of Muslims living." Archbishop Ioann thinks that there cannot be an agreement about a division of spheres of influence among various religions. But Archbishop Ioann considers the activity of the Catholic church in Russia as proselytism and he equates the newly created Catholic dioceses with Zbigniew Brzezinski's plan for the dismemberment of Russia. "The most effective work for countering proselytism is the activity of priests of our church and their preaching among our people," the Archbishop of Belgorod and Starooskolsk thinks. (tr. by PDS, posted 1 November 2002)
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For the first time in the country, a clergyman has become a member of a draft commission. Despite the law according to which a clergyman cannot be a member of draft commission, the initiative of one of the district military committees of the city of Orel was approved by the authorities. The main goal of the priest's work is "to expose scoundrels who hide behind faith to refuse to join the army." Thus a precedent has been created: the church has become one more instrument in the struggle with the massive "slide" from the army.
"Many conscripts declare that they cannot serve in the army because of their religious convictions. As a result, our military has itself turned to us for help. The task of the priest is to understand whether the draftee really is an adherent of the religious organization he claims to be a member of," the secretary of the Orel-Liven diocese, Fr Ioann Troitsky, told Izvestiia. "We asked Fr Mikhail, a priest of the Akhtyrka cathedral church, to deal with this. He joined the draft commission. His experience and knowledge of comparative theology permit him to determine which of the words of the draftee are true and which are not. Many young people refuse to serve in the army without citing any such idea. In such a case Fr Mikhail tries to persuade the draftee to fulfill his obligation."
"There are scoundrels who hide behind faith and refuse to join the army," the military commissar of the Soviet district of Orel, Vladimir Margarid, confirmed for Izvestiia. "They say: my convictions do not permit me to bear arms and according to law I must be given the right to alternative service. At the last conscription, there were three such persons. So far we have initiated criminal proceedings for one of them. In order to preclude such problems we decided to include a clergyman in the commission. Just like any other member of the commission, Fr Mikhail poses questions: do you believe in God, what parish do you attend, who is your spiritual counselor? He talks with him for five minutes and then says that everything is in order. Or he says: sonny, you are wrong; there is no such sect in our country. And just as soon as a person in a cassock with a cross appeared in the commission there has been no case of refusal to join the army."
Vladimir Petrovich acknowledges that by law a priest should not be on the draft commission. "There is a strict prescription of who may be on the commission. But it is necessary to make progress. The law on alternative service will take effect in 2004. We can report to all that this first experiment in Russia is going successfully. We have gotten support. It is accepted in the provincial military committee. Now there will be an analysis and conclusions will be drawn and then a decision will be made."
Margarid hopes that the Orel experiment will be accepted on a national scale. However his colleague, the deputy chairman of the Tula provincial committee, Vladimir Pershin, is not convinced of this. Pershin thinks that an Orthodox priest cannot be a member of a draft commission either by law or by common sense: Orthodoxy does not forbid military service.
"The law on alternative service has been adopted but the way to apply it has not been," Pershin thinks. "It should be adopted by the legislators by 2003. For now, all citizens eighteen years of age are subject to the draft. It is this legal uncertainty that has given birth to the independence of military committees. This will hardly help the situation regarding alternative service, because the law that forces a draftee not merely to declare but also to prove his convictions will evoke inevitable disagreements between military committees and draftees. And as a result military committees will be inclined to invite experts in cassocks to join draft commissions." (tr. by PDS, posted 1 November 2002)
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