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New council recalls soviet era

PROTESTERS CALL MINISTER OF JUSTICE TO DISSOLVE COUNCIL OR RESIGN
But the heart senses everybody will remain in their places.
by Mikhail Pozdniaev
Novye izvestiia, 29 April 2009

In USSR there was a Council for Religious Affairs. Recently one has had occasion to hear a suggestion that it should be reborn. Because the way it is, controls have been placed over everybody but only the Almighty is over believers. But it does not turn out that way: besides the Almighty, over everybody there is still the constitution. And in it is written:  "Everyone is guaranteed freedom of religious confession, including the right to profess individually and together with others any religion or none at all, and to freely choose, have, and disseminate religious and other convictions and to act in accordance with them."

I suspect that our minister of justice, Alexander Konovalov, recalls these provisions of the constitution. However his order for the creation within the Ministry of Justice of an expert council for conducting state religious expert analysis does not accord either with the constitution or with the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations." And the point is not that the skeleton of this council consists of priests and laity of the Moscow patriarchate and is headed by the frenzied "sect warrior" Alexander Dvorkin, under whom the minister studied in St. Tikhon's Orthodox University while he was still a prosecutor. It is sadder that the law provides for conducting state expert analysis only at the time of registration of a religious organization and Minister Konovalov's order endows the council with the right of expert analysis "also in other cases." Expert analysis conducted by the council is supposed to have a "complex character": in reaching a verdict everything will be taken into account that pertains to the activity of one or another organization, including internal documents, liturgical practice, and religious literature, which appears to be interference of the state in religious affairs.

This and a great deal more was recently stated by the director of the Center for Study of Problems of Religion and Society of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Anatoly Krasikov, the former head of the Department for Relations with Religious Associations of the Russian government's apparatus, Andrei Sebentsov, the director of the Center for Strategic Study of Religion and Politics in the Modern World and member of the Public Chamber, Maxim Shevchenko, the director of the Institute of Religion and Law, Roman Lunkin, and the executive director of the Russian Bible Society, Anatoly RudenkoÑin a word, by people who may be called experts without any qualification. Recently on the Internet has begun a movement "No to Inquisitors!," which hundreds of Russians have managed to join. The protesters have called the minister either to dissolve the council or submit his resignation. But the heart senses that everybody will remain in their places.

However, why should one be surprised by the composition of the council within the Ministry of Justice if the newly appointed chairman of the Committee for Communications with Religious Organizations is Mikhail Orlov, the former deputy prefect of the Central Administrative District, who dealt with the sphere of the consumer market and services. One recalls that he fervently advocated an increase in the number of baths in the city. It is true that the affair ended there. Now Mr. Orlov will be concerned with a purge of the ranks of believers.

Archpriest Mikhail Ardov has some caustic remarks. The first chairman of the Council for Religious Affairs was a man whose name was Karpov. When fresh fish disappeared from the market, Karpov was removed and Kuroedov was appointed to the post. As time passed and problems with chickens began, a certain Kharchev replaced Kuroedov. And when under Gorbachev the shelves became completely bare, the last chairman of the council was Khristoradnov.  [tr. note: these are puns on the family names]

You don't call the appointment of the new "councilors for affairs" anything other than "the lack of fish." But it seems that that is just what is needed. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 May 2009)

Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 29 April 2009


DVORKIN'S ANTICULT ASSOCIATION STRESSES THAT HEAD OF COUNCIL WITHIN RUSSIAN JUSTICE MINISTRY DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED
Slavic Legal Center, 30 April 2009

The anticult association of Dvorkin emphasizes that the chairman of the council within the Ministry of Justice of RF was elected democratically and the decisions of the council will be more authoritative for the state than any public assessments, according to the press service of the Slavic Legal Center.

This was stated 28 April in a declaration by the network of Dvorkin's anticult associations, the Russian Association of Centers for the Study of Religions and Sects (RATsIRS) titled "Whose interests are served by the hysteria on sites defending sects with respect to the Expert Council within the Ministry of Justice of RF."

The declaration was distributed as a response of "scholars of sects" to the on-going Russia-wide action "No to Inquisitors!"

The declaration specifically noted:  "The council has managed to meet only once for its first organizational session and to elect (by means of the democratic procedure of nomination of candidates and voting) its leadership." Directors of RATsIRS emphasize:  "In contrast with numerous public councils the authority of the expert assessments conducted by the Expert Council for State Religious Expert Analysis within the Ministry of Justice of RF will obviously have priority." Followers of Dvorkin respond disdainfully  to those academic and public leaders who signed the open appeal to A.V. Konovalov with regard to the inclusion in the council within the Ministry of Justice of a whole number of partisan employees of Dvorkin's centers, Dvorkin himself, the president of RATsIRS, the priest Lev Semenov, executive secretary of RATsIRS, and regional representatives of RATsIRS, Evgeny Mukhtarov, Alexander Kusmin, and Andrei Vasilchenko. The declaration says:  "It is amusing that among the signatories one finds people who call themselves writers, doctors of sciences, etc, representatives of the creative and scientific intelligentsia, to say nothing of the neo-Pentecostal "pastors," who pretend to have the status of religious leaders."

We recall that the Council for Conducting State Religious Expert Analysis within the Ministry of Justice of RF, which democratically elected "sect scholar" Dvorkin as its president, includes the following:

Alifanov, Vladimir Vladimirovich, deputy director of the Department for Cooperation with Public and Religious Associations of the Department of Culture and Education of the government of the Russian federation (by consent);

Belov, Vladimir Nikkolaevich, director of the Center of Orthodox Culture and Religious Anthropology of Saratov State University (by consent);

Berenson, Elena Aleksandrovna, director of the apparatus of "Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia," a centralized religious organization (by consent);

Bobrovnikov, Vladimir Olegovich, senior scientific associate of Institute of Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, kandidat of historical sciences (by consent)

Vasilchenko, Andrei Vizcheslavovich, member of the Council of Questions of Religious Associations on the city government of Yaroslavl, general director of "Gubernsky narod" of Yaroslavl (by consent);

Volodina, Nina Vitalevna, professor of philosophy of Moscow University of MVD of Russia, doctor of philosophy (by consent);

Dvorkin, Alexander Leonidovich, professor of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Humanities University, president of Russian Association of Centers for the Study of Religions and Sects, member of council of directors of the European Federation of Centers for the Study of Contemporary Sectarianism (by consent);

Kovalenko, Mikhail Igorevich, professor of International Academy of Psychological Sciences (by consent);

Kuzmin, Alexander Valerevich, director of Saratov Department of the Center for Religious Studies Research (by consent);

Popov, Sergei Alexandrovich, president of the Committee of the State Duma Federal Assembly of the Russian federation for Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations (by consent);

Mukhtarov, Evgeny Olegovich, member of the Council on Questions of Religious Associations of city government of Yaroslavl, president of the "Civic Security" public center, special correspondent of "Trud" newspaper for Yaroslavl and Kostroma provinces (by consent);

Redkozubov, Andrei Dmitrievich, teacher of Arabic and Islamic Studies of the St. Tikhon Orthodox Humanities University (by consent);

Rutkevich, Elena Dmitrievna, leading scientific associate of the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, kandidat of philosophy, docent (by consent);

Savin, Alexander Viktorovich, kandidat of philosophy, dean of South Russian Humanities Institute (by consent);

Sarychev, Andrei Grigorevich, counselor of the Department for Affairs of Religious Organizations of the Department for Affairs of Noncommercial Organizations of the Ministry of Justice of Russia;

Semenov, Lev Efimovich, member of the Russian Association for Study of Antiquities of the Russian Academy of Sciences, kandidat of historical sciences, docent of St. Tikhon Orthodox Humanities University (by consent);

Silantiev, Roman Anatolevich, executive director of the "World Russian National Assembly" international public organization, Center for Defense of Rights (by consent);

Kitinov, Baatr Uchaevich, acting chairman of department of World History of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Russian University of Friendship of Peoples, kandidat of historical sciences'

Shershneva-Tsitulskaia, Irina Alexandrovna, senior teacher of Department of Theory and History of State and Law of the Russian Legal Academy of the Ministry of Justice of Russia, kandidat of juridical sciences (by cvonsent);

Shchipkov, Alexander Vladimirovich, president of Guild of Religious Journalists, kandidat of philosophy (by consent);

Engel, Valery Viktorovich, executive vice-president of Religious Organization of Orthodox Judaism, "Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia," kandidat of historical sciences (by consent);

Yakupov, Valiulla Makhmutovich, deputy chairman of Ecclesiastical Board of Muslims of Republic of Tatarstan, kandidat of historical sciences (by consent);

Yablokov, Igor Nikolaevich, director of Department of Philosophy of Religion and Religious Studies of M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, chairman of Dissertation Council of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics,  member of Expert Council of All-Russian Accreditation Commission of Russia for Philosophical and sociological sciences, member of Academic Methodological Association for Philosophy, Political Science, and Religious Studies of the Ministry of Education and Sciences of the Russian federation (by consent).  (tr. by PDS, posted 3 May 2009)


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Pentecostals fend off secret police

DOCUMENT.  INSTRUCTIONAL LETTER FOR CLERGY OF ROSKhVE IN CONNECTION WITH CASES OF RECRUITMENT OF PARISHIONERS AND MINISTERS OF CHURCHES ON THE PART OF AGENTS OF FSBRF.

29 April 2009

Esteemed friends! Clergy of Russian Associated Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (ROSKhVE)!

Recently there have occurred instances of attempts to recruit informers from among parishioners, workers, and clergy of protestant churches on the part of agents of the Federal Service of Security of the Russian federation (FSBRF).

In accordance with Russian legislation, such actions with respect to clergy and representatives of religious organizations are forbidden.

The federal law of 3 April 1995 "On the Federal Service of Security," article 19.

"Persons assisting agencies of the Federal Service of Security are forbidden to use confidential assistance on a contract basis of deputies, judges, prosecutors, attorneys, minors, clergy, and authorized representatives of officially registered religious organizations."

What should you do if you or a minister of your church receives a suggestion in any form regarding a meeting, contacts, cooperation, or providing information?

1.  If an agent of the "organs" approaches you, it is obligatory to ask him to present his official credentials. And do not simply shrug it off, but take the time and effort to get in detail his full name, position and rank, and number of his credentials. This might also protect you from fraud.  The press is filled with examples of the exposure of "were-wolves" with counterfeit credentials of agents of the power structures.

2.  Avoid "unofficial" meetings (in a café, park, etc.).  Do not fall for "spy games."  If an agent of the organs approaches you as an official representative of a religious organization and proposes a meeting, insist upon its official nature. Either in his professional office in the territorial department of FSB or invite him to your church building and give him some tea.

3.  If you are invited to a meeting and you have fulfilled the preceding recommendations, do not go to it alone but with somebody of your close assistants. It is possible that the inviting party will not like this, but you are not their subordinate, obliged to fulfill all orders. The presence of a witness will protect you from both possible provocations and bad suspicions of your friends.

4.  Do not agree to any requests to keep the meeting secret and do not give any promises about this. Immediately after a meeting, describe it to at least a circle of close coworkers, the pastoral council and/or the leaders of the superior centralized religious organization (association, diocese, union).

5.  Do not sign ANY agreements for cooperation, agreement on nondisclosure of state secrets, and other documents. If they especially urgently insist on the necessity of signing this "vitally important" or, on the contrary, "absolutely formal and harmless" document, then plead that as a religious minister you do not have the right to sign such documents without the blessing of a highly placed pastor or bishop. Also in accordance with your clerical oath you cannot be a keeper of any secrets other than the secrecy of the confessional.

6.  Always inform your "comrades" that your leadership (bishop) knows about this meeting and that you also are obligated to inform him about its results. Publicity and openness on this question are your basic weapon.

7.  On all questions and personal situations refer to the leadership of your association or union. Also you can refer the agents of the organs to the central office of ROSKhVE, since it is within its competence that representative functions lie.

8.  The union is prepared, when necessary, to conduct educational lectures and seminars on questions of legal education both for our ministers and church members and immediately for agents of FSB and other so-called "power" organs.

9.  Pray for agents of FSB and other state structures as servants of god (Rom 13.1-5; 1 Tim 2.1-4).

Respectfully,
First vice-chairman
Chancellor of ROSKhVE
Bishop Konstantin Bendas

(translated by PDS, posted 30 April 2009)

Russian original posted on Slavic Legal Center site, 29 April 2009

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Cyber-attack on news media

INDEPENDENT RELIGIOUS NEWS SITE AGAIN BLOCKED
Slavic Legal Center, 24 April 2009

The independent information and analysis site regarding religion "Portal-credo.ru," well known for its articles in defense of believers and also for criticism of several representatives of the Moscow patriarchate, has again been blocked for unknown reasons, according to reports from the press service of the Slavic Legal Center.

According to an assistant of the chief editor of the portal, Vladimir Oivin, "Portal-credo.ru" was shut down on 24 April. The site simply ceased functioning; neither the user nor editorial interface is working. According to Vladimir Oivin, the reasons explaining what happened are still unknown, whether they were some technical causes or hacker attacks, which led to the blockage of the portal on the eve of and during the conduct of the Bishops' and Local councils of RPTsMP for election of Patriarch Kirill as primate of the Russian Orthodox church.

At the beginning of 2009, on 23 January unknown structures blocked access to the information and analysis portal dealing with religion. Access to the portal and its normal work was achieved only by the middle of February. There were signs of a massive DOS attack, which, inter alia, could have led to the physical destruction of the portal's contents. The editors have connected what happened with the preparations for the Bishops' and Local councils. Chief editor of "Portal-credo.ru," Alexander Soldatov, emphasized:  "The occasion for such an ordeal was the portal's systematic publication of information and analytical materials about the candidates for the patriarchal throne and the course of the pre-election campaign." Despite the absence of any official accusations against our portal, the acting patriarch and representatives of his closest associates often stated that the existence of this news medium was undesirable. On the eve of the election of the patriarch power structures of the Russian federation took upon themselves concern for "assuring its security."

The chief editor of the portal issued a statement in January:  " This is not the first time that a campaign of targeting and gossip has been undertaken against the Portal, which simply tries to discuss various aspects of church life in our country.Its professionalism and trustworthiness is demonstrated in that not a single accusation against it has ever led to a court case.In this instance, the public figures of the ROC MP and their supporters in the government have shown their fear of truthful information and have turned to coarse bullying instead of an honest and open dialogue.

The editorial board asks other sources of mass media, institutions of secular society, and its readers to demonstrate forcefully against the censorship of the church-government forces and to make all effort to restore the activity of the Portal.

During the time when the Portal will remain blocked, its information can be read in the Live Journal at http://credo-rating.livejournal.com/.We also expect other similar sites and sources of mass media to distribute our information and analytical material. Censorship Ð is our common enemy." (tr. by PDS, posted 24 April 2009)

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Court rules in Pentecostals' favor

MURMANSK COURT FINDS REFUSAL OF CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST ORTHODOX DIOCESE ILLEGAL
Slavic Legal Center, 14 April 2009

The Pervomai district court of the city of Murmansk on 8 April of this year found the directive refusing to open a criminal case against the director of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Murmansk and Monchegora diocese of RPTsMP, Anton Tuchkov, illegal and ordered the Investigation Committee of the procurator's office of RF for Murmansk province to eliminate the violations of the law that have been committed, the press service of the Slavic Legal Center reports.

We recall that Murmansk Pentecostals, who were insulted by the head of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Murmansk diocese of RPTsMP, A.I. Tuchkov, requested the opening of a criminal case on the basis of article 282 of the Criminal Code of RF concerning incitement of inter-religious strife. Back in the autumn of 2008 the Murmansk diocese of RPTsMP began a "campaign" against non-Orthodox Christians in connection with the construction of a house of worship of the "Na Murmane" church of Christians of Evangelical Faith (KhVE). In particular, the "Orthodoxy in the Northern Land" Internet newspaper published an article insulting the protestant church with the title "Charismatic sect will build a house of worship in center of Murmansk." The author of the article, quoting the director of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of Murmansk diocese, Anton Tuchkov, accused the KhVE church in Murman of "proselytizing extremism." Tuchkov noted that "among such totalitarian sects active in Murmansk province, neo-Pentecostals are the most numerous. At the present time there operate in the region more than 100 religious organizations and groups of a charismatic variety. They all hide under inoffensive names like "Church on Golgotha," "Bethany," and the like. Along with the Jehovah's Witnesses, the charismatics constitute a nucleus of anti-Orthodox action in the region."

On the Orthodox youth portal of the Murmansk diocese there was published a declaration of the Evangelism Department in which the KhVE church in Murmansk was also accused of "extremist proselytism."

Besides this, in Murmansk there was begun the distribution of pamphlets directed against the protestant church. In the pamphlets, under the title "Orthodox Rus goes to the Day of National Unity," the Evangelism Department along with the "Streta" scientific research center issued the following call:  "Dear citizens of Murmansk, brothers and sisters. In practically the very center of our city, at 10 Poliarnye Zori street, the construction of a house of worshp has begun by the sect calling itself 'Christians of Evangelical Faith.' The history of this sect goes back a bit more than 10 years, but that has not kept their leader from striving to achieve domination of the minds and souls of residents of our city. . . . They have not contributed anything to our city; on the contrary, they have actively collected contributions from their parishioners and they have managed to win over to themselves the city authorities and obtain permission for building in the vicinity of schools and practically in the center of the business district of the city." Further, with some speculation about where the "sect" gets the money for construction, the above-mentioned organizations called "all patriots, sons and daughters of the dear fatherland, not to permit lies and deceit in the spiritual life of our territory and to prevent the loss of personal freedom and spiritual death and to unite in the struggle with those who infringe upon our freedom in the name of the attainment of their mercenary goals."

A collective complaint against the actions of Tuchkov for inciting religious strife and hatred was sent to the provincial prosecutor's office by 1216 members of the "Na Murmane" church of Christians of Evangelical Faith. The complaint emphasized that "ignorance of the Christian principles on which the Russian church of Christians of Evangelical Faith (the centralized organization of which the "Na Murmane" church is a member) is based does not free Tuchkov from responsibility, since he casts a shadow over the parishioners of the church and offends their religious feelings." The complaint says that the investigator apparently is unaware of the provisions of the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" and the constitute of the Russian federation guaranteeing freedom of conscience and equality of all confessions before the law.

The attempt to settle peacefully this conflict between the employee of the Orthodox diocese and the Pentecostal church has not been crowned with success.  Representatives of the KhVE church were not even able to get Tuchkov to apologize privately. The director of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis behaved belligerently and the press began carrying articles about "religious opposition in the region," while the Pentecostal community did not at all wish for such opposition. The Murmansk diocese of RPTsMP, in the person of Tuchkov, as was stressed by the attorney Anatoly Pchelintsev, who represented the believers' interests in court, has acted within the bounds of the legal field and, in addition, is sure that has the right to act in such a way. Representatives of the diocese must learn to live within the conditions of ideological and confessional pluralism and not try to drive everybody into the Russian Orthodox church, Pchelintsev noted. In his opinion, despite the obvious essence of a crime, the agencies of the prosecutor's office want to bury this scandal associated with the unseemly behavior of the employee of the local diocese. Further steps for the protection of their rights taken by members of the KhVE church and attorneys representing their interests will depend on the subsequent actions of the Investigation Committee of the prosecutor's office.  The matter of the offensive articles directed against the protestant church also was referred to the Public College of the Union of Russian Journalists for Complaints against the Press. The Slavic Legal Center will inform its readers regarding developments in events in Murmansk. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 April 2009)

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