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Metropolitan Kirill vs. Metropolitan Kliment

WHO WILL BECOME THE NEW PATRIARCH?
by Stanislav Minin
Nezavisimaia gazeta, 10 December 2008

The Synod of RPTs has set the date for election of the next patriarch. The local council which will determine who will administer the church will be held 28-29 January 2009.

As all experts, observers, and analysts note, the contest is developing between Acting Patriarch Metropolitan Kirill and the chancellor of the Moscow patriarchate, Metropolitan Kliment. It does not seem to me that this is a conflict over some "conceptions of the church," models of its positioning in society, relations with the state, and the like. Rather it is a struggle of personal ambitions of relatively young hierarchs (Kirill is 62 and Kliment, 59). Among hierarchs of RPTs (in contrast with, say, hierarchs of the Anglican church) it is impossible to distinguish between "liberals" and "conservatives," but only shades of general conservatism.

The basic difference between Kirill and Kliment is in methods, and the methods are determined largely by personal abilities and talents (or their absence). If at the local council public charisma is the primary assessment, Kirill would defeat his opponent by a devastating score. His media activity and rhetorical skills have created for him a reputation as an "intellectual from Orthodoxy," although he is rather simply a self-made man and not a highly educated or profound thinker. Kliment cannot boast of such gifts. Although he compensates for this lack by skillful back door lobbying for the interests of RPTs. And at times his successes in this field push the achievements of Kirill into the background (just consider the project of "spiritual and moral culture" in the schools).

The rather widespread discussion in the news media seems somewhat strained, according to which one of the metropolitans will facilitate convergence of the church with the authorities while the other will establish for it, that is, the church, independence from the state. Whatever may be the differences or personal relations of hierarchs of RPTs, the church was, is, and will remain a "group with influence," whose members unite around the common interests and attempt to lobby for them in the corridors of power and state agencies. Convergence with authority or a demonstrative distance with respect to it is just a tactic which is determined by conditions and does not much depend on who it is that heads the church. Maximalism such as "the church is outside of politics" cannot be popular in RPTs, which acts and thinks in a completely pragmatic way. Such maximalism is doomed to marginal status within the church.

The present political environment has developed in such a way that RPTs must, one way or another, take into account the preferences of the Kremlin. The Kremlin, interested in maintaining the status quo, may not favor the most effective lobbyist for church interests. And Metropolitan Kliment has demonstrated a certain effectiveness in this area. So the choice might well fall upon his opponent.

Kliment is favorably distinguished from Kirill in that the hierarchs of RPTs are somehow more indifferent to him (i.e. to Kliment). Whatever may be said in the church, Metropolitan Kirill's patriarchal ambitions were recognized rather long ago. These ambitions, along with tangible influence, have permitted the metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad to achieve the advancement of "his" bishops and the transfers of potential rivals (for example Metropolitan Mefody or Metropolitan Sergius) and have won for Kirill his ill-wishers. Another group of ill-wishers are those dyed in the wool conservatives for whom Kirill and the department he heads, the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, are the personification of unforgivably meek, "liberal" relations with Catholics, protestants, Muslims, etc.

Finally, a third potential group of ill-wishers is a portion of the Ukrainian hierarchs. There will be more than fifty of them at the local council. Metropolitan Kirill has recently made certain steps in the Ukrainian direction: thus there have appeared his supporters in the synodal Department of External Church Relations of UPTsMP. At the same time Kirill himself and parachurch movements that support him have appeared extremely stubborn and even aggressive on the question of expanding the autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox church to the point of autocephaly.

At the same time the number of "separatists" within the ranks of UPTs has grown and will continue to grow. They declare themselves ever more actively. And at the local council this group (while it is difficult to say how many there are) may take a stand and vote against Kirill. Ukrainian hierarchs, I note, are not very much interested in the Kremlin's point of view or the success in the work of spreading Foundations of Orthodox Culture throughout Russia or Orthodox concepts of human rights. They are interested in "their shirts," which are closer to the body.

I am possibly wrong, but it seems to me that Metropolitan Kliment has managed to create in RPTs his own "party." His figure simply automatically attracts those displeased with the candidacy of Kirill. The local council will become a church referendum of confidence in Metropolitan Kirill. It will provide a conclusion regarding his activity in the post of chairman of the Department of External Church Relations. His election as patriarch is very likely. But it is not predetermined.  (tr. by PDS, posted 12 December 2008)

Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 12 December 2008


SACRED LOT
Election of new head of RPTsMP will be most democratic

By Yuliia Taratuta
Kommersant, 12 December 2008

Election of patriarch

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox church has taken the first steps toward preparing for the local council, the supreme organ of administration of RPTs, having given the official start to the preelection campaign of candidates for the patriarchal throne. The first decisions of the synod are formal ones:  it has determined the procedure for selection of delegates to the local council, the date of the election of the first hierarch and his enthronement, and the composition of the organizing commission for the election. However, in the opinion of experts, already at this stage the main candidates for the patriarchal throne, Metropolitans Kirill and Kliment, have received the first preelection inspection.

The Holy Synod set the date of the election of the patriarchÑconduct of the local council in the church of Christ the SaviorÑfor 27-29 January 2009. Enthronement will take place 1 February. The number of delegate electors, according to the patriarchate's plan, will reach 700.  As reported by Acting Patriarch Metropolitan Kirill on Wednesday at the conclusion of the Synod's session, their selection will proceed according to the following scenario: from each diocese (there now are 156) three persons will be electedÑa cleric, a monk, and a layperson. Two persons will represent each patriarchal parish in USA, Canada, and Scandinavia. Some of the electors will be selected from ecclesiastical seminaries and stauropigial convents. Lists of delegates must be prepared by 15 January. A special church commission comprising 29 clergy and laity will engage in operational preparations for the Bishops' Council and local council (at the Bishops' Council which will be held 25-26 January the candidates for head of RPTs will be announced).

These synodal decisions seem formal only on first glance. In the opinion of church and secular analysts, they give evidence of initial victories and defeats of the main candidates to the patriarchal throne; the favorites of the preelection campaign are still considered to be Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill and Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Kliment.

Thus, clergy of RPTs who study the composition of the organizing commission think that in the main the list has been drawn up "on the criterion of responsibility": it is permanent members of the Synod, directors of synodal departmenst, several members of the administration of the head of RPTs and the Department of External Church Relations. The quantity of so-called supporters of metropolitans Kirill and Kliment is practically equal. However, to achieve this parity, in the opinion of one of Kommersant's sources who supports the candidacy of Metropolitan Kirill, it required the inclusion in the commission of "nonresponsible" participants. This means Archbishop of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz Feofan, Bishop of Shatursk Nikodim, and Bishop of Bronnitsy FeofilaktÑso-called people of Metropolitan Kliment. In RPTs it is explained that the composition of the organizing commission has significance for the subsequent design of the procedure for election.

Another important provision of the synodal document has been the change in the composition of the electors. In the opinion of the press secretary of the Moscow patriarchate Fr Vladimir Vigiliansky, the Synod followed the path of "democratization": to the three diocesan members of a delegation (a monk, a cleric, and a layperson) have been added a teacher of an ecclesiastical seminary which leads to a broader representation of electors. At the same time, the monastic body did not receive a separate quota for this council (in 1917, they recall within the church, a monastic congress determined the electors).

Stauropigial monasteries (immediately subordinate to the patriarch) received the right to nominate as delegates only abbots of episcopal rank; in other words "ordinary" stauropigial monks (for example, representatives of the Saint Sergius Holy Trinity lavra) will not be in the council. On the other hand, according to the instructions of the Synod, other monasteries may send their own monastic representatives to the election as members of the delegations from dioceses. Thus their number may be substantially increased (in comparison with previous elections) and may reach 150 persons (the number of dioceses). "Monastic circles, as more traditionalist, may display a critical attitude toward Metropolitan Kirill, who is considered in the church to be liberal," according to a Kommersant source who is a priest of RPTs and well versed in higher church politics.

However, the main thing in the competition of candidates, in the opinion of church analysts, is the establishment by the Synod of the date of the election. Despite the fact that according to the church statute the Bishops' and local councils could be conducted even a half year after the death of the patriarch, the election in the RPTs was not drawn out. In the opinion of theologian Deacon Andrei Kuraev, this was yet another victory for Metropolitan Kirill:  "It will be difficult to consolidate the opposition in the time remaining before the election. So that in the aftermath of his election to the post of acting patriarch Metropolitan Kirill got a certain advantage." Opponents of Metropolitan Kirill include among the versions of the significance of the expedited election his fear of an "informational war," for which holding the local council at the end of January simply does not leave enough time for his opponents.  "It is possible to maintain a pause, if you take into account the holding of consultations and meetings. In the event of a likely war it's better not to drag things out," a Kommersant source in the apparatus of RPTs said.

In Metropolitan Kliment's entourage it is suggested that the date of the election of the patriarch deprives him of a preelection space. Thus, the annual Christmas readings, which usually come at the end of January, will be postponed this year. And their preparation traditionally fell within the sphere of the metropolitan's influence. In his turn, the chief editor of the Orthodox magazine "Foma," Vladimir Legoida is convinced that the church, in setting the date for the election, simply wanted specificity:  "The expedited election of the patriarch will not permit the church to exist long without a leader, and besides the balance between the church, society, and the state will not be upset."

However, in the opinion of Kommersant sources within RPTs, a great deal will depend on the decisions of the organizing commission or the Synod, which will be made later. Experts recall that the election procedure itself (it still has not been determined) could vary. Thus, for example, in 1990 the Bishops' Council was presented a list of 70 candidates for the patriarchal throne for its judgment; that is, originally the number was not restricted. As a result of the preferential voting only three candidates remained and the final outcome was a pair. It is still not clear whether the patriarchate will use such a practice or still eliminate the possibility of the appearance of a dark horse at the election. In the election of Patriarch Tikhon in 1917, which produced three finalist candidates, the clergy turned to lots. However analysts predict that the current local council will not leave things to fate. Finally, it is theoretically possible to turn the outcome of the election in favor of one of the candidates by dividing delegates according to status; thus, church experts do not rule out the possibility that in the first round all delegates will be able to vote but in the second, only bishops.

Experts have practically eliminated the likelihood that the secret ballot at the local council will be changed, maintaining that in and of itself it would make the election of the patriarch "unpredictable, and therefore the most democratic election in Russia." "I am sure that God will not abandon our church," Vladimir Legoida stated to Kommersant. "That person will be the patriarch whom the Russian Orthodox church now needs." (tr. by PDS, posted 12 December 2008)

Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 12 December 2008

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Russian church activity increases

NUMBER OF ORTHODOX PARISHES, CLERGY, AND DIOCESES GROWS
Portal-credo.ru, 12 December 2008

The number of parishes of RPTsMP increased in the past year by more than 1,300, from 27,942 to 29,263; the number of clergy grew from 29,751 to 30,670, bishops from 193 to 203, and dioceses from 142 to 157, RIA Novosti reports.

These statistics were produced on Friday, 12 December, by Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna Yuvenaly at the diocesan assembly of clergy of Moscow.

According to his data, today there are in RPTsMP 804 monasteries. Of those in Russia, 234 are for men and 244 for women, while in the [other] countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States there are 142 for men and 153 for women and in the far abroad, three male and three female. There also are 203 annexes and 65 sketes.

In addition there are 16 male and 9 female cloisters in ROCOR(L), which united with the Moscow patriarchate in 2007.

Just six months ago the total number of monasteries of RPTsMP was 769 (it grew by 35).

In the year the number of churches and chapels in Moscow grew by more than 20, from 851 to 872.

In the capital there are 82 churches and chapels under construction. Services have not been restored in 22 churches and 20 churches have not been surrendered by their former renters (a year ago that number was 25). In all there are 1838 clerics in Moscow (last December there were 1770). Thirty-two priests and 13 deacons have been inhibited from ministry.

Metropolitan Yuvenaly also produced statistics regarding ecclesiastical academic institutions. He said that at the present time five ecclesiastical academies, three Orthodox universities, two theological institutes, 38 ecclesiastical seminaries, and 39 ecclesiastical schools and pastors' courses are active in RPTsMP.

In 2007-2008 the leading academic institution of RPTsMP, the Moscow Ecclesiastical Academy, graduated 66 persons of residential courses and 43 through correspondence courses. The Moscow Ecclesiastical Seminary had 57 graduates of residential courses and 96 through correspondence. The choral department of the academy graduated 26 specialists and 26 iconpainters. The Orthodox St. Tikhon's University graduated 350 persons. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 December 2008)

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Statistics show Orthodox population growing

73% RUSSIANS CONSIDER SELVES ORTHODOX

This was determined by surveys by the central institute of public opinion (VTsIOM).

The majority of Russian consider themselves adherents of Orthodoxy (73%). Since November 2006 the portion of those confessing this religion in the Russian federation grew by 10%, investigations by sociologists have shown.

According to the results of an all-Russian survey by VTsIOM that were published in new media on Wednesday, more women are Orthodox than men, 79% and 66% respectively.

As the survey, which was conducted in 140 residential areas in 42 provinces, territories and republic of Russia, including 1,500 respondents, showed, 6% of participants reported that they are Muslims and 3% consider themselves believers but are not affiliated with any specific confession (in November 2006 the proportion of such respondents was 12%).

Of those questioned, 11% call themselves nonbelievers; thus in two years, according to sociological data, the number of such respondents has declined by 5%. Among men now the portion of nonbelievers is greated than among women (17% against 7%).

Most often religion functions for Russians in the capacity of a national tradition and the faith of ancestors (39%). Almost a quarter (26%) view religion as adherence to moral and ethical norms. For a fifth (21%) it is a part of world culture and history. For 17% religion is considered personal salvation and fellowship with God. One tenth equate religion with observance of religious rites and participation in church life, while 7% consider it superstition.

The chief mortal sins for Russians are most often considered murder (43%), stealing (28%) and adultery (14%). One tenth name cursing and false witness, while 8% say hatred. Five percent of respondents consider pride and vanity to be among the mortal sins, 4%, gluttony, while 3% name in this category the use of alcohol, lust, anger, and causing harm to another. Then follow such acts as abortion, greed and coveting, blasphemy, sloth, suicide and despair (2% each). Most rarely the respondents include among mortal sins spite, hatred, disobedience to parents and dirty talk (1% each). A third were unable to name a single mortal sin.  (tr. by PDS, posted 11 December 2008)

Russian original posted on Religiia i SMI site, 10 December 2008

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Patriarchal choice uncertain

PATRIARCH WILL APPEAR AFTER CHRISTMAS
by Elia Vermisheva, German Prokhorov
Gazeta.ru, 10 December 2008

The name of the new patriarch will become known at the end of January 2009 when the local council of RPTs is held. That was the decision of the Holy Synod.  Some experts say that the council could produce surprises, while other say that the election will not be as democratic as the preceding one and therefore everything has already been determined.

On Wednesday members of the Holy Synod of RPTs set the date for the election of the new patriarch. As reported at the conclusion of the session by Acting Patriarch Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill, on 25 and 26 January 2009 a Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox church will be held and the candidates for patriarch will be named. Immediately after this, from 27 to 29 January, the local council will be assembled (bishops, priests, monks, and laity will participate). The name of the sixteenth patriarch will be announced there.

According to the plans of the Moscow patriarchate, enthronement of the new head of the church will be held on 1 February.

Thus, from the moment of Alexis II's death to the naming of the new first hierarch almost two months will pass. The local council has been summoned rather quickly: according to the church's statute the election of the next patriarch is given up to six months.

Experts are speaking about four possible candidates: Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret, Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna Yuvenaly, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill, and the chancellor of the Moscow patriarchate, Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Kliment. In addition, religion scholars have noted that the chances of becoming the sixteenth patriarch of RPTs are greater in the case of the acting patriarch named after the death of the head of the church, and this now is Metropolitan Kirill. However, this is by no means assured, because Alexis II, in his time, was not the acting patriarch (at the time Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia Filaret had been named to this post), but it was he would became patriarch and his opponent later went into schism.

Now RPTs must deal with the system of election of delegates for the local council (all this will be finally confirmed by the Bishops' Council).

The local council of RPTs, which is chaired by the acting patriarch in the absence of a patriarch, in addition to the election of the patriarch, according to the statute, interprets the doctrine of the church on the basis of sacred scripture.

The last local council for the election of a patriarch was convened by the church in 1990. But 18 years ago the country had substantially fewer dioceses, monasteries, and ecclesiastical schools sending their delegates to the council for participating in the election of the patriarch. As an academic associate of the Center for the Study of Eastern Europe of Bremen University, Nikolai Mitrokhin, explained to Gazeta.ru, at that time in addition to bishops each diocese sent one representative of the clergy and one of the laity; in addition, representatives of the ecclesiastical educational institutions and monasteries participated in the council. Now the number of delegates, if they were selected according to the same scheme, could reach 1,500.

And the main thing is that it is unclear just what the relationships among bishops, monks, and laity could turn out to be at the council, "and it on this that whom the council elects depends," Mitrokhin noted.

In his opinion, in the event that the portion of bishops among the voters turns out to be greater than laity and monastics, then Metropolitan Kirill's chances increase. In his turn, Metropolitan Kliment could win if more laypersons and ordinary clergy take part in the council; his views are closer to theirs. Instead, the expert says, "Filaret could turn out to be the middle courseÑboth liberals and conservatives are loyal to him." However, as everything gets complicated in practice, one can only guess. After all, often the final outcome of the voting is determined by lot.

However, in the opinion of others of Gazeta.ru's sources, the current election of patriarch will not be as democratic as the preceding one. They say that members of the diocesan delegations will vote with an eye to the ruling bishops; in other words, each diocese will vote unanimously for a single candidate and the election in the RPTs has already been determined.  (tr. by PDS, posted 11 December 2008)

Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 11 December 2008

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Orthodox church defines patriarchal electors

RULES REGARDING COMPOSITION OF THE LOCAL COUNCIL OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

The following are members of the local council of the Russian Orthodox church:

1.  Diocesan bishops of the Russian Orthodox church;

2.  Assistant bishops of the Russian Orthodox church

3.  Heads of the following synodal institutions:

    1. Chancellor of the Moscow patriarchate;
    2 Department of External Church Relations;
    3. Publishing council;
    4. Academic committee;
    5. Department of catechesis and religious education;
    6. Department of charity and social service;
    7. Evangelism department;
    8. Department for cooperation with the armed forces and health maintenance institutions
    9. Department for Youth Affairs.

4. Rectors of ecclesiastical academies and the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanities University;

5.  From ecclesiastical seminariesÑfive delegates elected at a rector's assembly;

6.  From male stauropigial monasteriesÑabbots with Episcopal rank;

7.  From female stauropigial conventsÑfour delegates elected at a congress of heads of these cloisters;

8.  director of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem;

9.  Members of the Commission for Preparation of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox church;

10.  Three delegates from each diocese, including one cleric, one monk, and one layperson. Delegates are elected at a diocesan assembly in accordance with the procedure established by the assembly itself, from persons of Orthodox confession possessing the qualities stated in point 32 of chapter XI* of the statute of the Russian Orthodox church for members of parishes of the Russian Orthodox church and residing in the territory of that diocese from which they are elected.

11.  Patriarchal parishes in Canada, USA, and Scandinavian countries elect two delegates (a clergyman and layperson) each. Delegates are elected by parish-wide meetings in accordance with the procedure established by the meetings themselves, from persons fulfilling the criteria provided for delegates of dioceses.

*32.  Each parishioner has the obligation to participate in worship services and to make confession and communion regularly, to observe the canon and ecclesiastical prescriptions, to perform deeds of faith, to strive for religious and moral perfection, and to work for the well-being of the parish. (tr. by PDS, posted 11 December 2008)

Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 11 December 2008

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Orthodox church prepares to elect new patriarch

LOCAL COUNCIL OF RPTsMP TO BE 28-29 JANUARY TO ELECT NEW PATRIARCH
Portal-credo.ru, 10 December 2008

At the session of the Synod of RPTsMP held 10 December the dates for conducting the upcoming local council, at which the patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus will be elected, were set. By decision of the Synod, the local council will be held in Moscow 27-29 January 2009, Patriarkhiia.ru reports.

In accordance with the statute of RPTsMP the work of the local council will be preceded by a Bishops' Council on 25-26 January.

A commission for preparing the local council of RPTsMP was created, whose membership comprises 29 persons, including bishops, clerics, and laity.

The enthronement of the newly elected patriarch will be held 1 February 2009. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 December 2008)

NEW PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW TO BE ELECTED AT LOCAL COUNCIL 27-29 JANUARY
Interfax-religiia, 10 December 2008

A local council of the Russian Orthodox church will be held 27-29 January, journalists were told on Wednesday after a session of the Synod by Acting Patriarch Metropolitan Kirill.

"On 25 January in the cathedral of Christ the Savior a divine liturgy will be performed after which the first session of the Bishops' Council will be opened, in accordance with the statute of the Russian Orthodox church, preceding the local council," the master said.

The Synod also created a commission for preparing the local council, which will be headed by the acting patriarch. In addition, at the session on Wednesday the regulation for planning the council was adopted in accordance with which by 15 January each diocese, at diocesan assemblies, must determine the delegates who will participate in the upcoming church forum.

"Each diocesan assembly has the right to determine the procedure (of election of delegates to the local sobor). The synod will not interfere in this case in the internal affairs of the dioceses," Metropolitan Kirill emphasized.

He reported that from each diocese, three persons will be elected as delegates for the council. However, he said, the patriarchal parishes in USA, Canada, and Scandinavia will be represented at the council in accordance with a special quota.

"The quota for them will be not three but only two persons," the metropolitan noted.

In addition, a special quota will be allotted to ecclesiastical academic institutions and stauropigial monasteries of the Russian Orthodox church.

Responding to a question about the candidates for the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Kirill stated that they "will be nominated by the Bishops' Council immediately preceding the local council."  (tr. by PDS, posted 10 December 2008)


SYNOD TO DISCUSS PROBLEM OF ELECTION OF DELEGATES TO LOCAL COUNCIL
Portal-credo.ru, 10 December 2008

The Synod of RPTsMP will discuss the problem of election of delegates to the local council which, in its turn, should elect the new patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus, a correspondent for RIA Novosti reports.

The problem, as they say in the corridors, consists in the fact that if one uses the rule of the last local council that elected Alexis II, the number of delegates would be about 1,500, since the eighteen years of the patriarchate of Alexis II was marked by colossal growth of RPTsMP. The number of dioceses, monasteries, and ecclesiastical schools, which will send delegates to the council, has grown.

As Acting Patriarch Metropolitan Kirill said before the funeral of the primate of RPTsMP, Alexis II "managed to guide the church craft to such a height" that just the number of monasteries grew from 18 to 700, which has never happened in a single country.

The session of the Synod will be held on Wednesday, 10 December, in the patriarchal synodal residence in the monastery of St. Daniel under the chairmanship of Acting Patriarch Metropolitan Kirill. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 December 2008)

METROPOLITAN KIRILL URGES NOT MAKING ELECTION OF NEW PATRIARCH LIKE A SECULAR ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Portal-credo.ru, 10 December 2008

The elections of the new Moscow patriarch should not be likened to a secular election campaign and should not bring dissension into church life, Acting Patriarch Metropolitan Kirill thinks. This was reported by Interfax-Religion.

"In contrast with state campaigns for the election of a leader, the church campaign usually is conducted in such a way that the activity itself directed to the election of a new patriarch will in no way weaken the bonds of love and harmony," Metropolitan Kirill said on Tuesday evening upon the conclusion of the memorial dinner for Patriarch Alexis.

From the history of councils, the acting patriarch recalled, it is known that "everything was in the past, but it is remarkable that when the church, going through such a fateful moment in its history, is united in love, it comes out the stronger."

According to Metropolitan Kirill, in contrast with secular people, RPTsMP rests in the hope primarily for the will of God. "And in order for this to be accomplished we must ask the Lord that he not forsake us, so that not our will but his be done," Metropolitan Kirill noted in a text provided by the patriarchal press service on Wednesday, 10 December.

In this regard Metropolitan Kirill called all bishops of RPTsMP to intensified prayers in the period leading up to the local council so that, as the metropolitan said, "based on our faith and on our church consciousness we will maintain unity."

Having thanked all the people for their participation in the planning of the farewell to the late primate, the acting patriarch stated:  "May the Lord, by his prayers, preserve our land, historic Russia, Holy Rus, the Russian Orthodox church and all of us who surrounded his chief prelate's throne and whom the Lord has entrusted to go forward together in life, confirming Orthodoxy among our peoples." (tr. by PDS, posted 10 December 2008)



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