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Patriarchs face their disagreements in Ukraine with civility

PEOPLE ASSEMBLED ON VLADIMIR'S HILL IN KIEV GREET PARIARCHS BARTHOLOMEW AND ALEXIS WITH CHANT "ALEXIS IS OUR PATRIARCH!"
Portal-credo.ru, 27 July 2008

A divine liturgy under the open sky on the occasion of the celebration of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus was conducted on 27 July on Vladimir's hill of Kiev near the monument to the Saint Equal-of-the-apostles Prince Vladimir by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Patriarch Alexis of Moscow and all-Rus with concelebrants the archbishops of Athens and all-Greece Hieronymos, of Tirana and all-Albania Anastasy, Metropolitan of Kiev and all-Ukraine Vladimir, and another approximately 100 bishops of various local churches, a Portal-credo.ru correspondent reports.

Behind a cordon several dozen meters from the place of the worship service gathered about 2,000 believers and onlookers who held in their hands Ukrainian flags and portraits of Patriarch Alexis. The head of the ecumenical patriarchate was 20 minutes late for the beginning of the service so that the head of RPTsMP was forced to await him in his automobile.

When the two patriarchs went to the platform on which an improvised altar had been erected those who had assembled, led by the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods of Ukraine and the Orthodox Brotherhood of St. Alexander Nevsky, began to chant: "Alexis! Alexis;" and "Alexis is our patriarch!" As happened yesterday in the Kiev caves lavra, the head of RPTsMP was greeted with applause.

Both patriarchs vested themselves on the platform, after which the Divine Liturgy began, which was conducted primarily in Greek. At the conclusion of the service, Metropolitan Vladimir delivered a speech of greeting, speaking mainly in Russian. He noted the pain which UPTsMP has suffered from the continuing church divisions in Ukraine and he called for overcoming them "with love."

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in his speech, recalled the great role of the Constantinople church in the establishment of the Kievan metropolia and gave assurance that the ecumenical patriarchate feels the division of Ukrainian Orthodoxy as its own pain. In his responding speech Patriarch Alexis three times thanked the ecumenical patriarch for participating in the celebrations and he recalled the "wise step" of Patriarch Dionisy, who in 1686 transferred the Kievan metropolia to the jurisdiction of the Moscow patriarchate. The main part of the speech by the head of RPTsMP was given to the idea that the Ukrainian church is inseparable from Russian Orthodoxy and that church unity with Moscow does not violate the state sovereignty of countries that are heirs of Kievan Rus.

Upon conclusion of the exchange of greetings the patriarchs proceeded to their own automobiles, again accompanied by the chant "Alexis is our patriarch" and singing of the paschal tropar.

In the patriarchal schedule for 27 July there is also to be a meeting of the primates of the ecumenical and Moscow patriarchates with Metropolitan Vladimir and bishops of UPTsMP in the Kiev caves lavra. In the evening of 27 July Patriarch Bartholomew will return to his Constantinople residence and Patriarch Alexis II will remain in Kiev in order to serve the Divine Liturgy on the day of commemoration of St. Equal-of-the-apostles Grand Prince Vladimir in the square of the Kiev caves lavra. (tr. by PDS, posted 27 July 2008)


IN ALL LIKELIHOOD PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW WILL NOT SIGN DECLARATION ABOUT BEGINNING PROCESS OF UNIFICATION OF UKRAINIAN CHURCHES TODAY
Portal-credo.ru, 27 July 2008

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will leave Ukraine in the evening of 27 July, not having signed any document about the beginning of the process of unification of the "branches" of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, which analysts considered to have been the chief goal of his visit to Kiev. This suggestion was expressed in a conversation with a Portal-credo.ru correspondent by a source very close to the ecumenical patriarch.

The draft of the declaration, in which Patriarch Bartholomew would declare his consent to initiation of the process of a return to the "canonical field of world Orthodoxy" of the "schismatic" Ukrainian churchesÑUPTsKP and UAPTsÑhad been worked out by representatives of the ecumenical patriarchate and the secretariat of the president of Ukraine. Besides Patriarch Bartholomew, it could have been signed by the president of Ukraine and leaders of UPTsKP and UAPTs.

However, back on 26 July the head of the ecumenical patriarchate indicated that he would consent to participate in the process of "reunification" of Ukrainian Orthodoxy only on condition of the "repentance" of the leadership of the "schismatic" churches and their total renunciation of independence. Inasmuch as the leadership of UPTsKP and UAPTs aspire to the autocephaly of the Ukrainian church, such strict conditions were viewed by them as unacceptable. On its part, the delegation of the Constantinople patriarchate considers the position of representatives of the "noncanonical" churches to be "extremely impractical."

At the same time there remained little likelihood that the previously achieved agreement of the Ukrainian leadership with the ecumenical patriarchate regarding the latter's participation in the process of Ukrainian church integration will be gradually realized following the conclusion of the visit. A session of the synod of the Constantinople church is planned for 28 July, whose agenda includes the "Ukrainian question."  (tr. by PDS, posted 27 July 2008)


ALEXIS II AND BARTHOLOMEW CONFIRM READINESS TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS BY MEANS OF DIALOGUE
Interfax, 27 July 2008

Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus and Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew stated the necessity of negotiations between the two churches for resolution of disputed questions.

"When problems arise between fraternal Orthodox churches, dialogue is the more useful," Bartholomew said in a meeting with Alexis II on Sunday in the Kiev caves lavra.

He said that in the course of the conversations being conducted with the Moscow patriarch both sides agreed to work on strengthening mutual relations between the two churches and acknowledged their mutual responsibility "for Orthodox unity and joint witness of Orthodoxy to the whole world."

Bartholomew expressed the hope that Alexis II will be able to take part in the pan-Orthodox meeting of primates of all Orthodox churches in October of this year in Istanbul.

"We agreed that all questions that arise between our churches must be resolved by means of discussion and dialogue," Alexis II confirmed. He also reported that at the meeting an agreement was reached to turn over disputed subjects for discussion by delegations of both churches for preparation of agreements "which would correspond to our interests."

The head of the Department of External Church Relations, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill, commenting for journalists on the meeting of the two patriarchs, emphasized that it took place in a very good atmosphere and "really was a meeting of two brothers and not of two competing firms" and will give "new breath to our bilateral relations."

"These conversations give evidence of the full unity of the two churches and the two patriarchs and of the maintenance of complete canonical unity in ecumenical Orthodoxy," Master Kirill noted. (tr. By PDS, posted 27 July 2008)

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Parallel celebrations of anniversary of Baptism of Rus

PATRIARCH ALEXIS II CONDUCTS PRAYER SERVICE IN CAVES LAVRA OF KIEV
Portal-credo.ru, 26 July 2008

Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus, having arrived in Kiev in the evening of 26 July accompanied by a representative delegation of bishops of RPTsMP, conducted a short prayer service in the yard in front of the Dormition cathedral of the Kievan caves lavra. As a Portal-credo.ru correspondent reports, around 2,000 believers who had assembled in the yard of the lavra greeted the head of RPTsMP with applause and shouts of "Your Holiness, do not leave us!"

Above the crowd of greeters rose numerous placards and  transparencies with photographs of Patriarch Alexis and also with slogans whose essence amounted to requests to establish a patriarchal stauropegion within Ukraine for parishes that do not wish to be separated from RPTsMP and to the notion that "Autocephaly is the road to Hades."

The road from the airport to the lavra was allotted to the patriarch for more than an hour and a half. The head of RPTsMP and people accompanying him had great difficulty making their way through the crowd to the place of the prayer service. After a brief service the exalted guest was greeted by the primate of UPTsMP Metropolitan Vladimir, who presented to the patriarch an icon of saints of the Kievan caves and pieces of their relics. In his responsive address the primate of RPTsMP expressed great excitement about his visit to Kiev, "the mother of Russian cities," "the fount of our monasticism," where 1020 years ago there occurred the Baptism of Rus. The patriarch concluded his speech by repeating the Easter greeting three times:  "Christ is risen," indicating that in the crowd of greeters he had heard the singing of the paschal tropar.

Alexis II took a look around the Dormition cathedral of the lavra which had been returned by Ukrainian authorities and then he went to his hotel. In the patriarch's suite there were metropolitans of Krutitsy and Kolomna Yuvenaly, Minsk and Slutsk Filaret, Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kiril, Kaluga and Borovsk Kliment, and Kishinev and all-Moldova Vladimir and more than 30 archbishops and bishops.

At the time of the head of RPTsMP's visit to the Kiev caves lavra, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was attending a reception held in his honor by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. The primates of the Greek and Albanian Orthodox churches were there also. (tr. by PDS, posted 26 July 2008)


PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE, PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW, HEADS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF CHURCHES HONOR VICTIMS OF THE HOLODOMORÑGENOCIDE OF UKRAINIAN PEOPLE
Portal-credo.ru, 26 July 2008

Addressing the Ukrainian nation from a tribune in Sophia square at the time of the gala celebration of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus on 26 July, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko called the bolshevik-communist regime that seized Ukraine the greatest tragedy and set the number of victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933, which was a deliberate genocide of the Ukrainian nation, at about ten million persons, a Portal-credo.ru correspondent reports from Ukraine.

According to the head of the Ukrainian state, during the time of the totalitarian persecutions directed from Moscow the genuine Ukrainian church was preserved in the catacombs and in exile.

After the holiday concert on Sophia square Patriarch Bartholomew, President Viktor Yushchenko, Archbishops of Greek Hieronymos and of Albania Anastasy, the head of UGKTs Cardinal Liubomir Guzar, hierarchs of local Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, and many honored guests made a funeral march to the Mikhailov square to the monument to the memory of the victims of the Holodomor. Along the route of the march its participants were greeted by citizens of Kiev waving thousands of national flags of Ukraine and white banners with the emblem of Patriarch Bartholomew.

At the monument to the memory of the victims of the Holodomor, beneath the walls of the Mikhailov Golden Roof monastery, President Viktor Yushchenko, Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Hieronymos and Archbishop Anastasy lit candles. Then, after a moment of silence, Patriarch Bartholomew, robed in his homophorion, conducted a requiem litany.

At the conclusion of the event the participants in the ceremonies proceeded to "Ukrainskii dom," where they participated in the opening of an art exhibit devoted to the jubilee of the Baptism of Kievan Rus.

The schedule of celebrations for 26 July included a meeting of Patriarch Bartholomew with the head of RPTsMP Alexis II, on his arrival in Kiev, and a gala reception hosted by the president of Ukraine in the yard of the "Holy Wisdom of Kiev" museum preserve. (tr. by PDS, posted 26 July 2008)

PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW CONDUCTED VESPER SERVICE IN HOLY WISDOM CATHEDRAL OF KIEV IN PRESENCE OF UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT AND HEADS OF LOCAL CHURCHES
Portal-credo.ru, 25 July 2008

The schedule for the first day of the visit to Kiev of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew concluded in the evening of 25 July with a solemn vespers in the oldest church of the city, Holy Wisdom cathedral built by Yaroslav the Wise, a Portal-credo.ru correspondent reports. The worship service was concelebrated by the protopresbyter and deacon who accompanied the patriarch, although the head of the Ecumenical Church himself read several of the prayers and issued the dismissal, standing in the patriarchal spot at the right column of the cathedral.

Present in the cathedral were Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and his wife, the head of the Organizing Committee for the Celebration of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus, former president Leonid Kravchuk, primates of the Greek and Albanian Orthodox churches Archbishops Hieronymos and Anastasy, the head of UPTsMP Metropolitan Vladimir and a group of bishops, and representatives of other local churches, the diplomatic corps, and top Ukrainian politicians.

During the service, a Byzantine choir of the patriarchal cathedral of St. George on the Phanar in Constantinople. The service was broadcast live by several national TV channels in Ukraine, with commentators who called attention to the manifestation of joy in the Holy Wisdom cathedral during the worship service when there was no rain in Kiev.

After vespers the participants and guests of the service, accompanied by the singing of the choir of the Kiev caves lavra, went out into the yard of Holy Wisdom cathedral, where new bells for the cathedral belfry were consecrated.

At 11:00 on 26 July will begin a theatre concert activity in Sophia square, which will be the central event of the state's program for the celebration of the 1020th anniversary. Then the patriarch and president, in the presence of tens of thousands of people, will lay flowers at the monument to the victims of the Holodomor near the Mikhailov Golden Roof monastery.  (tr. by PDS, posted 26 July 2008)

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT CONFIDENT OF THE CREATION OF A NATIONAL LOCAL CHURCH IN THE NEAR FUTURE
Portal-credo.ru, 26 July 2008

The president of Ukraine is confident of the creation of a national local church. "I believe that with wisdom and patience we will follow the path to the dream. I believe that any divisions among Ukrainian believers will be short-lived. I believe that there will be a national local church in Ukraine as God's gift and historical right and justice," the Ukrainian president declared on 26 July in Sophia square, where the celebrations on the occasion of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus were being conducted.

As the official web site of the president of Ukraine reported, appealing to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the president asked for his blessing.  "I trust and I request your blessing, Your Holiness. For the dream. For justice. For hope. For our state. For Ukraine," Viktor Yushchenko said.

At the same time he gave assurances that the Ukrainian government will not interfere in the affairs of the churches and will deal equally with each one of them. "The Ukrainian state . . . stands outside of all interconfessional disputes and respects each church, each religion, and each believer equally. But we shall always support the unification of Ukrainian Christianity and the conduct of the closest of dialogues among various cultures and confessions," he said.

Meanwhile, as a Portal-credo.ru correspondent has learned, the signing of an agreement about the paths to the creation of a local church in Ukraine between Patriarch Bartholomew and representatives of Ukrainian churches is scheduled now for 27 July. (tr. by PDS, posted 26 July 2008)

FOR THIRD TIME IN A DAY YUSHCHENKO STATED THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATION OF LOCAL CHURCH IN UKRAINE
Interfax, 26 July 2008

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is confident that there will be a united local church in the Ukrainian state, about which he spoke another time on Saturday evening in the course of a gala reception in Holy Wisdom cathedral of Kiev devoted to the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus.

"I believe that there is justice, and along with the regeneration of the Ukrainian state there will be the regeneration of the Ukrainian church as the support of its own people and the great unity of the Orthodox world," V. Yushchenko said.

He emphasized that the presence of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and leaders of the churches at the celebrations is "a sign from God and God's blessing."

The president thanked the guests for their full spiritual support.

"We are observing the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus as a celebration of the spirit, as the great day in the life of Christianity and in the life of the European world," he said.

In his turn, Patriarch Bartholomew declared that "church" means "unity." "Let's greet one another on this sacred occasion (the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of RusÑ"IF"), the patriarch said.

As reported by an Interfax correspondent, the yard of Holy Wisdom cathedral of Kiev was decorated with flowers and there were candelabra with candles on the lawns.

More than 900 guests were greeted at the gala reception. Among those invited were the president of the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine Arseny Yatseniuk, the secretary of the Council of National Security and Defense Raisa Bogatyreva, the first president of independent Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk, and people's deputies. (tr. by PDS, posted 26 July 2008)


PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW CALLS FOR RESTORATION OF UNITY OF ORTHODOX CHURCH IN UKRAINE.
Interfax, 26 July 2008

Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew called the elite of Ukraine to devote all their efforts to overcoming the schism in Ukrainian Orthodoxy.

"Concern for the defense and restoration of church unity is our common obligation, which transcends any political or ecclesiastical goals whatever," he said on Saturday in Kiev in the course of celebrations on the occasion of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus.

Bartholomew also emphasized that "social, political, church, and on the whole intellectual leading forces of the Ukrainian people have the common obligation to use as widely as possible within permissible limits the gift given by God," including "for the restoration of the unifying role which the Orthodox church has played in the creation of the Ukrainian nation."

"The continuation of the confusion of goals that do not correspond to the spiritual character of the church would destroy the unifying force of the Baptism and escalate yet more the dangerous division of the church body," the patriarch noted.

He said that the division "violates not only the spiritual unity but also the civic unity of the Ukrainian people and will bring obvious problematic consequences for the future of Ukraine."

Later at a meeting with Speaker of the Supreme Soviet Arseny Yatseniuk he noted that in his prayers he continually remembers Ukraine and prays for peace and stability in the Ukrainian land.

At the same time the patriarch again expressed the hope that the celebration of such a significant event as the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus will unite the Ukrainian people and bring spiritual consolidation to it.

In his turn A. Yatseniuk noted that the Baptism of Kievan Rus is an important milestone in the history of Ukraine. "And we believe that your presence at the celebration of the 1020th anniversary of this event is a confirmation of that and brings great significance to all celebration events," Yatseniuk noted.

Also during the conversation the sides discussed the question of the establishment and development of the Orthodox church in Europe as a whole and in Ukraine in particular. At the end of the meeting the patriarch presented Yatseniuk a jubilee medal that had been issued twenty years ago on the occasion of the millennium of the Baptism of Rus.  (tr. by PDS, posted 26 July 2008)

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Anti-Jehovah's Witnesses campaign

EXPULSION OF THE WITNESSES
by Irina Aroian, Olga Egorova
Rossisskaia gazeta, 25 July 2008

Agitation against the activity of one of the international religious organizations has intensified in the south of the country.

In Rostov provincial court the provincial prosecutor's office has filed suit for the liquidation of the local religious organization of "Jehovah's WitnessesÑTaganrog." The Jehovists are accused directly in accordance with several articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian federation, including "extremism" and "propaganda of exclusivity, disrespect for human dignity, and incitement of religious strife."

Activity of the alternative religious organizations has evoked a wave of protest also in the city of Novoshkhtinsk of Rostov province. The agitation of the Novoshakhtinsk citizens was stirred up by the local Orthodox clergy, who conducted a demonstration and procession of the cross timed to coincide with the beginning of a congress of the Jehovists. The city administration supported the organizers of the procession.

"The demonstration was officially sanctioned and the police followed its course," a representative of the city administration of Novoshakhtinsk, Alexander Brizhanov, who supervises public communications and relations with the population, told "RG". "The administration of the city and the Orthodox citizens are disturbed that thousands of adherents of the alternative church from all over the south of Russia are converging on Novoshakhtinsk."

With banners, icons, and crosses Orthodox parishioners gathered around the church of the Pokrov of the Most Holy Mother of God and walked to the house of worship of the Jehovists with the demand that they cease the activity of this organization as sowers of harmful teaching.

Meanwhile, in Kalmykia a scandal on religious grounds has gained strength. As the secretary of the Elista and Kalmyk diocese, Father Aleksei Grishchenko, told "RG," about a month ago twenty-five-year-old Yury Vorozhbitov turned to Archbishop Zosima for help. He maintained that his parents forced him into their sect, while, according to the words of the young man, psychological and even physical force was exerted upon him. In his letter to the plenipotentiary for human rights in Kalmykia, Vladislav Savisko, Yury Vorozhbitov wrote about how he was on the verge of despair and suicide. In light of the critical psychological state of Yury, the leadership of the Kalmyk Orthodox diocese allowed him to stay in a guest room of the Kazan cathedral church.

Last Saturday, 19 July, four men broke into the Elevation of the Cross church of Elista, and forcefully removed Yury Vorozhbitov, put him in a vehicle, and took off in an unknown direction. As "RG" has learned, the parents placed Yury in the republic's psychiatric hospital, from which he was discharged on 21 July.  (tr. by PDS, posted 25 July 2008)

HIEROMONK SERAPION: IT IS NECESSARY TO BAN THE SECT OF JEHOVISTS
Russkaia Liniia, 22 July 2008

The director of the Missionary Department of Yaroslav diocese comments on the abduction by sectarians of a man right out of a church.

"Jehovah's Witnesses are a totalitarian structure whose activity is directed to the destruction of the individual, society, and state. It is an illness in the body of our society and an illness that it is better to prevent than to cure. It is amazing that until now this organization has not been prohibited in our country since the teaching of this sect contains all the indicators of extremism that contradicts legislation. Jehovah's Witnesses view any governmental system and religion as satanism; they forbid their members to participate in the life of society. Several of their 'doctrinal' provisions lead to people's death; for example, several members of the sect have died because they were forbidden to have blood transfusion. In addition, the sectarians suffer serious psychic changes when cannot be explained in any other way than the activities which were conducted in Elista," the director of the Missionary Department of Yaroslavl diocese stated in an interview with "Russkaia Liniia." Hieromonk Serapion Mitko is the first prorector of the Yaroslavl Ecclesiastical Seminary and a kandidat of philosophy; he commented on the abduction of a man that was conducted, according to preliminary information, by the sect of "Jehovah's Witnesses."

A representative of the Kalmyk diocese, Father Aleksii, told a correspondent of the "Rosbalt-Yug" news agency, during a service in the Elevation of the Cross church, located on the grounds of the cathedral church of Elista, four men broke in and removed from there by force 25-year-old Yury Vorozhbitov, put him in a vehicle, and drove off in an unknown direction. The priest stipulated that "the kidnappers acted rudely, disturbed the course of the worship service, and offended the feelings of believers."

Clergy of the diocese along with officers of law enforcement agencies have already managed to establish the location of the kidnapped person. As Fr Aleksii told it, at the present time Vorozhbitov is in a psychiatric hospital on the territory of the Kalmyk village of Priiutnoe. Relatives of the kidnapped man maintain that he is incompetent and needs treatment. Representatives of the Russian church and police insist on conducting a psychiatric evaluation and the liberation of the young man.

We note that the father of the kidnapped person is one of the leaders of the Kalmyk "Jehovah's Witnesses," Vasily Vorozhbitov. Around a week ago the son went to the cathedral church of Elista and asked for protection from the harsh treatment of his own parents. According to the youth, his relatives by force made him participate in meetings of the Jehovists. "They subject me to humiliation, insults, and assault, they threaten to confiscate part of my inheritance and property," Yury Vorozhbitov stated. "I am on the verge of despair and suicide; I ask you to help me and save me." In light of the critical psychological state of the young man he was given the possibility of living in a guest room of the Kazan cathedral church of Elista. The director of the Jehovists often tried to persuade his son to return to the bosom of the family, but he would not consent. In the end the senior Volrozhbitov accused his son of insanity and threatened to use force to get him to return home. Thus at the present the suspicion of organizing the abduction of the young man falls mainly on the Kalmyk Jehovah's Witnesses.

According to Hieromonk Serapion, Jehovists "feel themselves completely immune to punishment in our country; they break into Orthodox churches and kidnap people. The state should put an end to the activity of this organization and begin an investigation of their literature as an object of extremism. In recent time very many extremist sects have been prohibited, but for some reason the Jehovah's Witnesses are not among them. Meanwhile their 'works' include the call for the destruction of the existing order on earth."

"There are several reasons for the inaction of the authorities that have arisen at various stages of the existence of the present Russian state. First, our state in the 90s consciously restrained itself from limiting the activity of any of the foreign religious movements, since it was trying to avoid pressure from western powers. Now the state, it seems, isn't afraid of this, but there is the inertia of the past and there is the elementary incompetence of bureaucrats, who simply do not understand what sects are like and what kind of danger they pose. Second, the struggle with the sects, unfortunately, is not a priority for our authorities; the state faces too many problems for them to turn their attention to some Jehovah's Witnesses, in their opinion. Actually, there are Islamic extremists and there are other forces hostile to Russia, but one should still not underrate the danger proceeding from such sects. If the state will not take action, then tomorrow Jehovists will break into governmental institutions and kidnap people from there," the director of the Missionary Department of Yaroslavl diocese noted.

"It is necessary to conduct expert analysis of their literature and investigate their activity, because there are too many cases of the 'work' of the Jehovists connected with murders and suicides of people, damage to health, and deaths of patients who are not permitted blood transfusions," Hieromonk Serapion concluded. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 July 2008)

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