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Moscow patriarchate versus unofficial Orthodoxy

BATTLE FOR SUZDAL
If nobody now rises to the defense of the trampled rights of Russian citizens, believers and nonbelievers, democratic Russia will be finished
by Hegumen Feofan Areskin
Suzdalskie eparkhialnye vedomosty, June 2008

For the comparatively small Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church, difficult times are continuing. Government officials in union with the official church of the Moscow patriarchate have been oppressing groups of Orthodox Christians over the course of almost twenty years. These are "catacomb" Christians and those who, for doctrinal reasons, have left RPTsMP. For catacomb Christians, such pressure is not surprising, since in USSR they existed secretly, assembling for worship in private homes and cemeteries. That taste of freedom that Gorbachev's perestroika brought to them permitted them to some degree to be legalized, originally under the omophorion of ROCOR and subsequently under their own hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Free ChurchÑfree from communist agents in cassocks, from informants, traitors, lies, and betrayal of dogmas of the faith at ecumenical conferences. By divine miracle and the efforts of Bishop of Suzdal Valentin, catacomb Christians managed to obtain several historic church buildings in Suzdal and Suzdal region, half-ruined and desecrated churches of the pre-Revolutionary Greek Russian church, whose faith and tradition the catacomb Christians continued to preserve. Now these church buildings are being taken away from the believers.

How much faith, effort, love for God, for Russia, for the Truth, for the sacred was expended by the catacomb Christians in purifying and restoring these churches! As a traveler dying from thirst, finding a spring in the desert cannot have too much to drink, so these believers who for long years were deprived of open church worship could not be too overjoyed at the return to them by their persecutors of these churches. Life began to stir and worship and evangelical preaching to people who had been crippled by atheist was begun. The Suzdal catacomb Christians began to restore lost Suzdalian traditions, the memory of which had been passed down from fathers to children, from nuns of the closed Suzdal convents and from simple parishioners.

Believers, priests, and bishops of ROCOR arrived in Suzdal in order to breathe the invigorating air of the motherland, of non-Soviet ecclesiastical Russia, and to fellowship with those who passed through the soviet Hell and survived, maintaining their faith in pure form. It was these people, bishops of "the tsarist" church, the church of Patriarch Tikhon and the new martyrs of Russia that weary Rus awaited.

Then believing Russia heard a great deal of truth, both about the crimes of the communists and about the hierarchs of the Moscow patriarchate who collaborated with them. The catacomb Christians and the Christians of the church abroad brought to the people faith without politics, faith without corruption, faith washed by the blood of new martyrs, calling for repentance and giving new hope. It was from this source, from catacomb and foreign Russia, that arose the voice about the necessity of canonizing the slain tsarist family and the new martyrs and the call for condemnation of communism and evil in society and the church. The change in society began with the change in ideas and a recognition of untruths and condemnation of lies.

However the healthy growths of new, free Russia soon were noticed by those for whom their own interests are more important that God's truth.

Starting at the beginning of the 90s, officials of the Moscow patriarchate closely followed the Free Church in Russia, relying on ROCOR. They soon managed to subdue ROCOR, but the small Free Church, which was reregistered in 1998 under the name Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (RPATs), despite all the slimy campaign of slanders against it, was not about to surrender and has not surrendered. More than that. In 2008 there occurred an event significant for the church: the Bishops' Council of RPATs clearly recognized the official church of MP as an uncanonical schism and a heretical pseudochurch organization that had apostasized from the truth of God and placed earthly, worldly interests at the head of the corner. This was the last drop overflowing the cup of patience.

To deprive RPATs of its churches and to drive believers back into the catacombs and expunge them from society so that nobody, neither suffering clergy nor people seeking true faith, could hear of or learn of the existence in Russia of any other Orthodox church with a different lifeÑthis was the goal that leaders of MP and their highly placed friends in authority set for themselves. All Orthodox Christians who do not want to submit to MP are enemies of the state. It is necessary to take away from them the right to freedom of faith, the right to public confession  and preaching, and to declare them sectarians. In truth, soviet times have returned: one ruling party, one ideological department, only now it is not under the leadership of comrade Suslov but under the leadership of Alexis Ridiger, one soviet church, and there are no sects and no ideological diversions against the "only true" state church.

All of this is completely maintained within the parameters of the campaign beginning in Russia for "restitution," that is, for the return to RPTsMP of prerevolutionary church property, usually immovable property, MP has been trying for so long and hard. For this attorneys for MP have worked out, and the government of RF has confirmed at the end of 2007 a plan for a law "On transfer to religious organizations of property of religious significance now owned by the state or municipalities." The designers of the plan do not conceal the chief goal of such a draft law: MP alone must own all historic Orthodox houses of worship and no other religious Orthodox organization (with the exception of Old Believers) has a right to this. For this there is included in the plan a special point, the ninth, which declares that state organs will be forbidden to transfer ownership of churches "to nontraditional religious organizations and sects illegally possessing them (for example, the Russian Autonomous Orthodox Church)," as was specified by the chief attorney of MP, Kseniia Chernega. In other words, Chernega confirmed the idea that in modern Russia Orthodox believers can be in the Moscow patriarchate only and all the rest are "sectarians." It is not that the state simply may but it must transfer to MP all property of the prerevolutionary Russian church.

On 9 April at a meeting with the head of "Rosimushestvo," Valery Nazarov, Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Alexis II declared that the church understands that "restitution is a complex process" and thus he does not intend to raise a question about it. "At the same time, we greet those steps by 'Rosimushestvo' that facilitate the return of church and worship buildings in those cases where it is possible and necessary," the patriarch specified.

But to whom does the hierarch propose "to return" the valuable immoveable propertyÑto believers or to someone else? It is known that according to the bylaws of MP no single parish is the owner of a church building or immoveable or moveable property. It belongs to the council of founders of the religious organization of the Moscow patriarchate, a narrow group of influential hierarchs who are members of the synod. Actually it is to it, to this group, that all property transferred by the state to parishes of believers belongs. It is through this religious corporation that MP maintains its power. If at some time a parish wants to depart from MP, then it does not have the right to take any of the church property with it; it all remains with MP. Thus MP suggests that the state transfer immoveable property not to believing citizens, to whom it belongs by rights, but to the synodal founders of MP, who are actually religious oligarchs.

Everybody remembers how MP kicked out of their local museum buildings the "Ipatiev Monastery" and "Riazan Kremlin." On Valaam the humble monks expelled local residents from their homes. In Moscow the Presentation monastery expelled a French children's school and began to seize a building from the All-Russian Musical Society for children. But how will the monks, who have taken a vow of poverty, feel within these walls drenched by tears? Indeed this is spirituality stood on its head, spirituality in reverse. From the Martha and Mary convent the patriarchate expelled a children's orphanage and actually suppressed the monastic life that was beginning to revive thee; it threw into the street a drugstore and hospital with the goal of turning the convent into a five-star hotel under the guise of a patriarchate extension. At the center of Moscow the patriarchate tried to deprive the local Russian State Humanities University of its premises, again for creating a patriarchate extension.

Soon it became Suzdal's turn. From 2006 a commission sent from Moscow to investigate the condition of church buildings transferred to RPATs and their documentation. The results of the first commission on 17 May did not satisfy their "masters," and on 18 November a new commission was sent with the goal of "confirming" and finding some loophole.

As a result, at the end of 2007 Rosimushestvo, acting for the state, filed suit in court with the goal of removing from the Suzdal diocese of RPATs the churches that had been transferred to it, supposedly "because of illegal possession.

Attorneys representing "the interests of the state" absolutely had no interest in churchs in Suzdal transferred by the state to the Vladimir diocese of RPTsMP, such as the Nativity of Christ, St. Nicholas, Entry into Jerusalem, St. Paraskeva-Piatnitsa, and Peter-Paul churches, which are standing empty, with no windows and damaged walls and roofs. They had absolutely no interest in where believers, from whom the churches restored by them would be taken, will worship and where the clergy will serve.

The question arises:  in whose interests are the workers of Rosimushestvo acting? It is clearly not in the interests of the Russian state. The RPATs churches are in good shape and they are being used for the purpose specified in the agreements with the Suzdal diocese. So, whose interests? The answer is obviousÑonly the Moscow patriarchate's. It alone needs to dispel the hated competition and liquidate the "schism" and acquire the vacated and restored churches of RPATs.

One can say definitely: these robberies will be of no use to the state. On the contrary, in strengthening the Moscow patriarchate, the bureaucrats will facilitate, not the increase, but the gradual decline of the authority of the church within Russian society and will undermine confidence in the church and its hierarchs, for whom, as is evident to the Russian citizen, the main role is being played not by faith but by money and power. Ancient Christians gave the latter to nonbelievers and were ready to serve as their slaves in order for the mighty power of faith to turn the hearts of people to Christ and help them to realize  the Kingdom of Christ, which is not of this world. Today's hierarchs of "official Orthodoxy" obliterate the latter under the guise of helping the needy church but in reality are concerned with extracting as much a possible of great income from the property received by them from the state. In the future one can completely expect that MP will formally become a "state church" and a tax on citizens for church needs will be installed as has been the case in several European countries.

If now nobody rises to the defense of the rights of Russian citizens being trampled, believers and nonbelievers, if nobody halts the violence and transfer of property according to the law of the jungle, when right belongs to the strongest, then democratic Russia will be finished.  (tr. by PDS, posted 20 June 2008)

Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 20 June 2008


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Case of beaten schoolboy drags on

FAMILY OF PASTOR WHO SON WAS BEATEN BY CLASSMATES FILE COMPLAINT AGAINST COURT THAT DID NOT DEFEND THE BOY
Portal-credo.ru, 20 June 2008

A review of the private appeal of the family of protestant Pastor Aleksei Perov against the action of the court of first instance, which "suspended" the case regarding compensation for moral damages, has been scheduled by the Voronezh provincial court for 19 August 2008. The family is asking for compensation for damages it suffered in connection with a prayer service conducted by a priest of RPTsMP at the beginning of the school year, 1 September of last year, in a class of the Gribanovsky general education school, No. 3, of Voronezh province, in which the son of the pastor, David, became an involuntary participant, a "Portal-credo.ru" correspondent reports. As was reported earlier, after the prayer service, during which classmates noticed that David was not Orthodox, they beat up the boy for his adherence to another confession.

The respondent in this trial is the director of Gribanovsky middle school, Tatiana Zhukova. In May, on the very day for which the hearings were scheduled, she was being treated in a hospital.  In connection with the absence of the respondent, Judge Alexander Astashov, who was reviewing the case in federal court of the Gribanovsky region of Voronezh province, issued the decision for suspending the hearings.

According to Olga Gnezdilovaia, a judicial consultant of the interregional rights protection group "Voronezh/Chernozemie," who is representing the interests of the Perov family in the case, the rules for conducting judicial sessions provide two possibilities for a procedural delay of hearings. One is called "postponement," and the second is "suspension." As the attorney noted, "in the event that a review of a case is 'postponed,' then precise standards for scheduling subsequent sessions apply. When the standard of 'suspension' is applied, it is not at all clear who is supposed to initiate the resumption of the trial. In addition, the time that elapses during the suspension is not included in the two-month period during which a review must be held."

In Olga Gnezdilovaia's opinion, although the court did have the formal right to apply the standard of suspension, it should not have taken recourse to it, since, beginning from December 2007, there have already been two hearings of the case, in essence.

Nevertheless, as the representative of the interests of the Perov family noted, before the beginning of the trial she will appeal in federal court of Gribanovsky region in order to clarify whether a new date for subsequent hearings has been scheduled.  (tr. by PDS, posted 20 June 2008)

Related article:  Orthodoxy in schools provokes violence against non-Orthodox

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Orthodox church wants to clear national conscience over tsar's family killing

MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE AGAIN CALLS STATE TO MAKE MORAL ASSESSMENT OF MURDER OF TSARIST FAMILY
Interfax-religiia, 19 June 2008

Figures in the Russian Orthodox church think that in the year of the ninetieth anniversary of the shooting of the family of Emperor Nicholas II the Russian state should make a moral assessment of this evil deed.

"As long as the state has not called the murder of the tsarist family a crime, as long has it has not given a moral evaluation of the actions of those who gave, approved, and fulfilled the order for the shooting, those who detained the tsarist family and who kept them under guardÑas long as this has not been done at the level of symbolically important state decisions and at the level of clarification of this question within public consciousness, it will be difficult for Russia to make headway in the future without being liberated from the historical stains upon its conscience," the deputy head of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said, responding to journalists' questions in Moscow.

He expressed disagreement with those who call Russians to repent for the sin of regicide. "I am opposed to rituals of nationwide repentance," the priest said. "Mankind bears the seal of original sin, which is purged in baptism, but talk about natural or national sins of which we should repent goes counter to the doctrine of salvation."

At the same time, Fr Vsevolod is convinced "it is necessary to heal the wound to the national conscience of the murder of the tsarist family."

The representative of the church is particularly puzzled that discussion has been going on for a long time now with authorities about whether to rename the "Voikov" station of the Moscow metro, which is named in honor of one of the chief murderers of the imperial family.

"No particular difficulties arose when the decision was made to rename two other metro stations, which, in my view, were much less in need of renaming," the priest noted, thinking of the stations "Bittsevskii Park" and "Delovoi Center."

He expressed regret that with regard to the question of attitudes toward the shooting of the tsarist family there remain "disagreements and there are people who state explicitly: it is not necessary to restore the good name of Nicholas II and it is not necessary to condemn the bolsheviks."

However, in the priest's opinion, these people "today are losing the arguments because society has been learning the truth more and more, about how the bolshevik leadership was a criminal organization and that it was not the people that brought the bolsheviks to power."

And the more society learns the truth, the more questions arise "how to think about this criminal organization and about everything that it did and how to deal with its legacy," the representative of the church notes.

"Yes, surely, there was much in Russia that could have been corrected; there was the First World War, and there were social and economic problems. . . . But nothing was corrected by the red terror; no problems were solved by the absolutely criminal activity that the bolsheviks committed in Russia," Fr Vsevolod emphasized.

Concluding, he expressed the opinion that "Russia will not be able to go into the future with a free conscience if we think that what the bolsheviks did was normal."  (tr. by PDS, posted 20 June 2008)

TSARIST FAMILY SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED AS VICTIMES OF POLITICAL REPRESSION
Interfax-religiia, 20 June 2008

The famous rights advocate Arseny Robinsky agreed with the opinion of the Russian Orthodox church that in the year of the ninetieth anniversary of the shooting of the family of Emperor Nicholas II the Russian state should make a moral assessment of this evil deed.

"It is time to do it. But the evaluation should be not only a moral one, but also a juridical one; the family of Nicholas II should be recognized as victims of political repression," Roginsky, the head of the historical, educational, and rights defense "Memorial" society told Interfax.

"In our country very often a moral assessment has less significance than a juridical one. It is necessary to settle this and recognize the Romanovs as victims of political repression," he emphasized.

A. Roginsky stated that he shares the opinion of the church also about the necessity of renaming the "Voikov" metro station, which bears the name of Peter Voikov, the organizer of the murder of the family of the last Russian emperor.

"Our Moscow authorities are hypersensitive. They renamed with ease the neutral names, but in the case of the "Voikov" they are afraid of making a political decision. I am convinced that it is necessary to do this," the head of "Memorial" said.  (tr. by PDS, posted 20 June 2008)

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Moscow walks out on Constantinople

NEW CONFRONTATION BETWEEN MOSCOW AND CONSTANTINOPLE PATRIARCHATES
Portal-credo.ru, 19 June 2008

A new conflict has flared up between the Moscow and Constantinople patriarchates because of a decision by the latter to invite representatives of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox church for participation in the work of the Inter-Orthodox Commission on the island of Rhodes; RPTsMP has again pronounced the Estonian church "uncanonical," ten years after a peaceful division of its parishes in Estonia.

"Such manifestations of unilateral diktats on the part of representatives of the Constantinople patriarchate make it extremely difficult to find a mutually satisfactory resolution of the question of a canonical rectification of the state of Orthodoxy in Estonia," Interfax-religiia quotes a statement from the Communications Service of OVTsSMP.

In addition, the document notes, such actions convey "a serious threat to the realistic achievement of Orthodoxy unity, whose strengthening is one of the most important concerns of the Russian Orthodox church." "Responsibility for such actions lies fully on representatives of the Constantinople patriarchate," the OVTsSMP said.

The delegation of the Moscow patriarchate duly left the session of the commission being held on Rhodes on 19 June, saying that a report about the situation that arose will be made to members of the Bishops' Council of RPTsMP that will begin on 24 June.

The goal of the commission's session is to prepare a draft of a letter to representatives of official local Orthodox churches. Adoption of the document itself is scheduled for the time of a meeting of Orthodox leaders which is expected to occur in October in Istanbul and will coincide with the current "year of the apostle Paul" to be declared by the Constantinople church.

The Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew invited Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Alexis II to participate in the fall meeting. In response to a letter of 3 June Patriarch Alexis expressed the hope that Patriarch Bartholomew will keep in mind the resolution of the Bishops' Council of RPTsMP of 2000 which speaks of the impossibility of representatives of the Moscow patriarchate participating in inter-Orthodox forums where representatives of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox church participate in the capacity of official delegates.

Previously, in October 2007, a delegation of the Moscow patriarchate left a session of the Joint Orthodox-Catholic Theological Commission in Ravenna, where representatives of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox church also participated. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 June 2008)

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Pentecostal congregation burned out

HOUSE OF WORSHIP OF FULL-GOSPEL CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST BURNS
Slavic Legal Center, 19 June 2008

In the city of Shlisselburg [original Swedish name: Schlüsselburg.] in Leningrad province the house of worship of the autonomous congregation of the Full-gospel Church of Jesus Christ burned down, the press service of Slavic Legal Center reports.

The outbreak of fire happened back in the night of 14-15 May, the pastor of the church, Aik Ovsepian, noted in an interview with the press service of the Slavic Legal Center. At the present time, fire inspectors and law enforcement agencies acknowledge that it was a matter of arson and a criminal case was begun.

The Full-gospel church of Shlisselburg has owned the building since 1996. The protestant congregation is attended by 100-120 believers. Problems with the building began for the church five years ago, in 2003, when the city administration of Shlisselburg drew up a plan for construction of a trade and entertainment complex on the land parcel on which the house of worship is located. Then also in 2003 there was the first case of arson at the building of the house of worship. After this believers sent letters regarding the intentional setting fire to the house of worship to various organs of authority and attacks on the church on the part of local authorities temporarily ceased. They privatized the land and the building became the property of the congregation.

However, according to Pastor Aik Ovsepian, city authorities hope to seize the land by illegal means. Bureaucrats have refused to provide any kind of building in exchange for the house of worship. On 15 May the building was entirely destroyed. As the pastor emphasized, believing people will defend their rights to the end, since the church cannot get along without a house of worship.  (tr. by PDS, posted 19 June 2008)

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Moscow patriarchate criticizes Estonian church

DOCUMENT:  DECLARATION OF THE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE OF OVTsSMP WITH REGARD TO ELECTION OF NEW BISHOPS IN ESTONIA

On 12 June 2008, candidates for consecration as bishops of the dioceses of Tartu and Piarnu-Saaremaa were elected at a meeting of representatives of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Constantinople patriarchate in Estonia and the upcoming completion of the process of the "restoration of the Estonian Orthodox church" by means of the establishment of its Bishops' Synod was announced.

In connection with this, the Communications Service of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate is authorized to report the following.

The canonical status of the so-called autonomous Estonian Orthodox church, whose creation was announced by the Constantinople patriarchate in 1996, is not recognized by the Russian Orthodox church and also by other local Orthodox churches.

In particular, the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox church in 2000 considered it impossible to recognize the canonical status of autonomy for the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Constantinople patriarchate existing in Estonia since 1996, inasmuch as "recognition of such a status for it does not correspond in full measure to the historical development and contemporary situation of all of Orthodoxy in Estonia."

For more than twelve years the Moscow patriarchate has devoted its efforts directed to the rectification of the consequences of the unilateral actions of the Constantinople church on the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox church, which led in 1996 to a temporary interruption of Eucharistic communion between the two patriarchates. At the same time, readiness to seek mutually acceptable resolutions has frequently been manifested on the part of the Russian Orthodox church.

Thus, in the latest negotiations on this question between delegations of the Constantinople and Moscow patriarchates, held on 26 March 2008 in Zurich, the parties recognized the usefulness of continuing the negotiation process until the achievement of "a comprehensive agreement which will include both a resolution of the question of immovable church property in Estonia, in fulfillment of the Zurich agreements of 1996, and a resolution of the question of the canonical status of ecclesiastical jurisdictions of the Constantinople and Moscow patriarchates in this country."

The position of the Russian Orthodox church on the question of rectification of the church situation in Estonia, presented in the above mentioned negotiations, was set forth in a report from the Communications Service of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate of 16 May 2008.

The decision for the consecration of new bishops obviously is not based on realistic needs of the small flock of the Constantinople ecclesiastical organization, which numbers, according to official data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia, 25,000 believers. According to the same data, the number of the autonomous Estonian Orthodox church of the Moscow patriarchate is 170,000 believers, who are served by 60 clergymen. It is sufficient to note that in "the diocese of Piarnu-Saaremaa" there are only six clergymen and in "the diocese of Tartu," for whose ministry a monastic priest was selected, who was ordained a cleric in April 2007, of the nine existing clergymen, some are rectors of three parishes and one cleric serves in two dioceses simultaneously.

According to available information, church buildings of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Constantinople patriarchate in Estonia are not filled with worshippers even during the rare conducting of the divine liturgy in many of them. The election of new bishops will not likely help to change this situation, which is based on the desire of the overwhelming majority of Orthodox believers in the country to maintain loyalty to the Mother Church--the Moscow patriarchate. Motives for the decision made on 12 June are evident in the attempt to create the external impression of a full-orbed church life and to gain recognition of the status of an autonomous church from local Orthodox churches, as well as to obtain support from international Christian organizations.

The step taken by the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Constantinople patriarchate, which is not based on pastoral requirements, is directed toward gaining a unilateral advantage, and it only complicates the situation for Orthodoxy in Estonia. The actions taken make yet more difficult the negotiation process between the two patriarchates, directed toward the achievement of a fair resolution of questions of church property and canonical status of the two ecclesiastical jurisdictions. The responsibility for this lies entirely upon the Constantinople side.  (tr. by PDS, posted 18 June 2008)

Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 18 June 2008


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15,000 Moscow school children studied religion

CONTROVERSIAL ORTHODOXY
Moskovskii komsomolets, 16 June 2008

Deputies of the Moscow City Duma are not agreed regarding the usefulness of religious education in the schools. They do not like the textbook for the elective study by school children for foundations of world religions. Meanwhile deputies of the State Duma have already tried to make "Foundations of Orthodox Culture" mandatory.

The elective course on the history of religions of the world was introduced in the Autumn of 2007 for upper grades in a number of Moscow schools on the basis of an academic textbook "Religions of the World:  History, Culture, Teaching" under the editorship of A.O. Chubarian and G.M. Bongard-Levin. This text does not have the proper approval of the Ministry of Education; that is, it cannot be used as a textbook for any foundational course although the city department of education considered it possible to use it for elective courses.

This year more than 15,000 pupils attended the elective course. The contents of the "Foundations of World Religions" course include such topics as the history of the origins and development of traditional religions, the essence of doctrine and ritual practices, knowledge of sacred scriptures, religious culture, and moral and humanistic standards and values in religion.  [Interfax reports that there are about 800,000 pupils in 1560 public and 300 private schools in Moscow.]

However Moscow teachers themselves are still weakly oriented to the foundations and traditions of religious beliefs. Syllabi for the "Foundations of World Religions" have been worked out for them, along with thematic plans and methodological recommendations. During this academic year, 550 Moscow teachers underwent training at the Department for Continuing Education of Pedagogical Cadres at the Moscow Institute of Open Educaaton.  (tr. by PDS, posted 16 June 2008)

"FOUNDATIONS OF WORLD RELIGIONS" DISCUSSED IN MOSCOW CITY DUMA
Religiia v svetskom obshchestve, 6 June 2008

On 5 June, during a joint session of commissions of the Moscow City Duma on science and education and interethnic and interconfessional relations, the problems of training cadres for teaching the "Foundations of World Religions" course were discussed.

According to the rector of the Moscow Institute of Open Education, Aleksei Semenov, this course is being taught in schools with an ethno-cultural component and in general education schools (the latter only as an elective).

The academic course in the history of religions was introduced in Moscow schools in 2007. In that time more than 500 teachers underwent training in the Department for Continuing EducationÑthey were teachers of history, world artistic culture, Russian language and literature, geography, and other subjects.

In the main, the teaching was conducted in accordance with the textbook "Religions of the World" edited by A. Chubarian and G. Bongard-Levin, but other resources also were used, such as the book "Religions of Russia" by A. Kulakov. A. Semenov noted that teachers still are poorly oriented to the foundations of religions, which demonstrate the usefulness of teaching this course.

On the contrary, the chair of the Moscow City Duma commission on interethnic and interconfessional relations, Igor Eleferenko, thinks that the idea of teaching "Foundations of World Religions" in the schools is incorrect. He suggests that it misleads pupils who still have not been established  in their own religious choice. Deputy Mikhail Moskvin-Tarkhanov also spoke against teaching the foundations of religion to school children.

The chair of the commission on science and education, Evgeny Bunimovich, recalled that the final decision on the usefulness of this course rests with the society.

Participants in the session recommended to the Moscow Institute of Open Education that they continue work in training staff.  (tr. by PDS, posted 16 June 2008)


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Sect leader's case goes to court

COURT TO REVIEW CASE AGAINST LEADER OF PENZA HERMITS
Portal-credo.ru, 13 June 2008

A criminal case against Peter Kuznetsov, the leader of the Penza hermits, will be preliminarily reviewed in the Bekovo regional court at the end of June, RIA Novosti was told on Tuesday, 10 June, by the senior assistant prosecutor of Penza region, Tatiana Otrovskaia.

"Most likely the criminal case will be reviewed in court at the end of June. The case against Peter Kuznetsov was sent to the Bekovo court for application of measures of a compulsory medical nature. Since Kuznetsov was found by expert examination to be not competent, the court will have to make a decision about his placement in treatment," the agency's interlocutor reported.

She added that the length of treatment will not be determined by the court. It will depend on the results of treatment.

In November of last year 35 persons took cover in a previously outfitted underground refuge near the village of Nikolskoe, Bekovo region. They decided to remain there until May 2008, when, in their opinion, the end of the world should occur. The people threatened to set fire to themselves if someone attempts to remove them from under ground by force.

The founder of the religious organization was a local resident, PeterKuznetsov. He did not intend to go down under ground with his followers but he planned to wait for new followers in his own home in Bekovo. After the criminal case was begun, Peter Kuznetsov was placed in a psychiatric hospital.

At the end of March and the beginning of April 2008 the hermits left the cave in several groups, after which it was blown up.

The criminal case was begun against the leader, Kuznetsov, on the basis of part 1, article 239 (organizing an association infringing on the person and rights of citizens) and part 1, article 282 (incitement of hatred on the basis of religious affiliation) of the Criminal Code of RF. As a result of psychiatric expert analysis Kuznetsov was found to be not competent.

At the present time he is in a psychiatric clinic in Penza. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 June 2008)


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