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Religion in schools viewed by ecumenical gathering

INTERCONFESSIONAL PRAYER IN HOTEL PRESIDENT CONDUCTED UNDER SINGING OF ANGELS
by Elena Semenova
Cef.ru, 17 March 2010

On 16 March the 10th annual national prayer breakfast was held in Moscow

On this sunny morning in a cozy room of the "Hotel President" religious leaders and clergy of various Christian confessionsÑOrthodox, Catholic, protestantÑgathered for prayer for Russia. Their initiative was supported by representatives of governmental agencies and prominent public figures.

The theme of the jubilee prayer breakfast was "Education." The president of the council of trustees of the "National Prayer Breakfast" foundation, Pastor Vitaly Vlasenko, greeted the meeting's participants and explained the basis for the choice of the theme of the morning prayer. Considering that on the initiative of the president of the Russian federation, 2010 was declared the year of the teacher, questions of education and spiritual and moral training of children and youth have emerged to the forefront and directly concern the religious confessions of Russia.

Vitaly Kirillovich emphasized that "the change of a person begins with his internal spiritual regeneration." A representative of the Moscow patriarchate, a staffer of the Department of External Church Relations, priest Alexander Vasiutin, agreed with this, who also noted that "education should facilitate the creation of personality, but today there still is a multitude of problems in this area."

The first deputy of the ruling bishop of the Russian church of Christians of Evangelical Faith, Viktor Filyk, speaking of spiritual and moral upbringing in the schools, expressed the opinion that "the state schools should preserve their secular character so that the children of adherents of various confessions can feel comfortable." At the same time he noted that "the foundations for upbringing should be laid in the family." Viktor Viktorovich also mentioned the danger for the psyche of children of "sect-fighting" television shows that may tell negatively on their worldview and bring conflict into the family.

The president of the Russian Associated Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith, Bishop Sergei Riakhovsky, speaking of the role of the church in the upbringing of the young generation, noted that "all confessions should create massive structures of Sunday schools, where it will be possible to teach children basic spiritual principles." Regarding spiritual and moral education in secular schools, the bishop suggested "possibly we are a bit late with this project, but time will show what will be the results of this experiment, which received high support on the part of our president, Dmitry Medvedev."

The chairman of the State Duma Committee for Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations, Sergei Popov, said that "at the base of spiritual and moral upbringing lies the doctrine of the relationship between God and man." At the same time he noted that the chief teacher who should serve as an example is Jesus Christ.

The president of the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia, Zinovy Kogan, in his speech emphasized:  "Education is a dialogue and not an attempt to impose one's views. The goal of spiritual and moral education is understanding and accepting people with different views just as they are."

The distinguished artiste of Russia Elena Tsyplakova called those in attendance "to show children love for God by their own examples." And the president of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, Yury Sipko, said: "do not indulge in materialism whose cause is striving for superiority over others."

The president of the Union of Seventh-day Adventist Christians of the European part of Russia, Pastor Vasily Stoliar, speaking of the formation of faith, noted that often "we have sufficient faith to hate one another, but not enough to love," and he wished that it would be the other way round in Russia.

Honored guests at the morning prayer included ambassadors and representatives of about 13 foreign states. The meeting's participants prayed for Russia, for spiritual and political leaders of the world, for peace, health, and tolerance. In conclusion, the general secretary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia, Fr Igor Kovalevsky, called those present to pray the Lord's Prayer together.

The meeting included the awarding of prizes and diplomas from the "National Prayer Breakfast" foundation to Christians of various confessions who had made a special contribution to the work of serving God. The president of the Russian Associated Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith, Bishop Sergei Riakhovsky, was awarded a diploma for his active participation in the work of expanding the "national prayer breakfasts" movement.

The tenth national prayer breakfast was conducted to the accompaniment of the Vocalitis chamber choir, the Soli Deo Gloria symphony orchestra, and the "Russian Singing Angels" ensemble. The interconfessional meeting concluded with friendly toasts. (tr. by PDS, posted 17 March 2010)

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Education ministry takes steps to approve religion course

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION SESSION FOR APPROVING "FOUNDATIONS OF RELIGIOUS  CULTURES AND SECULAR ETHICS" COURSE
Religiopolis, 17 March 2010

On 15 March a session of the Interagency Coordinating Council for Implementing the Plan of Procedures for Approving the Complex Academic Course "Foundations of religious cultures and secular ethics" was held in the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian federation under the chairmanship of Minister A.A. Fursenko.

Session participants included representatives of the staffs of the presidential envoys of the federal districts, the Russian Academy of Education, the Academy for Professional Development of Education Workers, agencies of educational administrations of the experimental regions, and of traditional Russian religions. The Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church was represented by the chairman of the department, Bishop of Zaraisk Merkury, and the director of the sector of Orthodox education, G.V. Demidov.

The council reviewed current questions of securing the implementation of the experiment and preparing a methodological letter to the constituent elements of the Russian federation in accordance with suggestions coming from members of the interagency council.

Representatives of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis proposed changes in the text of the methodological letter reflecting the necessity of more active and fruitful cooperation of the confessions with the administrative agencies of education in conducting the experiment. In particular, Bishop Merkury noted that "the contents of teaching of the new subject of religious culture must adequately reflect the history and teaching of the traditional Russian religions." (tr. by PDS, posted 17 March 2010)

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Court orders searches of Jehovah's Witnesses' homes

SEARCHES IN HOMES OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES IN TAMBOV
Religiia v svetskom obshchestve, 17 March 2010

Massive searches in private homes of Jehovah's Witnesses believers in Tambov began at 7 o'clock in the morning.

Early in the morning of 17 March 2010, Tambov police and others began bursting into the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses, rousing adults and children from their beds and overturning personal libraries and cupboards. At the present time searches are underway in three homes of believers. In the family of Mikhail and Larisa Cheprunov the children were unable to go to school because of the search.

The law enforcement agents were armed with an order for the search of apartments with the following explanation:  "In those places there may be items, literature, and electronic media propagandizing religious hatred, and there also may be other documents detailing the activity of the religious organization." The order was issued by Judge L.V. Riazantseva of the Lenin regional court of Tambov, on the basis of a petition from Investigator Avdeev, who had opened a case on article 282 of the Criminal Code.

With such a broad formulation, the police seized all of the believers' literature as well as personal computers and papers.

Believers were not handed copies of the order for the search. They were denied the possibility of calling an attorney. Some of them were denied the use of a telephone for this purpose.

We will report later developments.  (tr. by PDS, posted 17 March 2010)

Source:  Press service of Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia

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Experiment in teaching religion in schools ready to start

MAJORITY OF FAMILIES CHOSE COURSE IN SECULAR ETHICS OR UNIFIED HISTORY OF WORLD RELIGIONS
by Marina Lemutkina
Moskovskii komsomolets, 16 March 2010

In 2010 the fourth grades of 19 regions will start to study the discipline of a religious-moral block. MK has learned that a majority, 65%, have chosen nonreligious subjects, foundations of secular ethics and history of world religions. The general director of the "Prosveshchenie" publishing house, Alexander Kondakov, talked about this with MK, as well as about how the textbooks were prepared.

--Alexander Mikhailovich, how many textbooks for the module on the history of religion were printed? Who determined the quantity?

--The press run does not depend on the publisher and the ministry but on the specific survey of families of the regions taking part in the experiment. On the whole, the breakdown is as follows: about 40% of the families selected secular ethics; approximately a third, Foundations of Orthodox Culture; around 25%, History of World Religions, and quite few, about 10-20 thousand copies, the cultures of Judaism, Buddhism, or Islam. I wish to emphasize: the numbers do not reflect the distribution of believers, but a public survey. And this proves that the majority selected the course in secular ethics, the formation of standards and rules of conduct in our society and state. Another large group preferred the unified course in the history of world religions, becoming acquainted with the traditions, ethical norms, rules, and histories of the main confessions of our country. And both courses were preferred in the ethnically homogeneous territories, including those where Islam is traditionally strong.

--Who wrote the textbooks?

--We did not invite the traditional authors from the schools but the heads of university faculties and representatives of the confessions (for example, the rector of the Murtazin Islamic University). But the adaptation of their thoughts to the child's level required serious work from the publishing house, since it is very hard to describe for ten-year-old children the rather complicated things. Actually we used three expert analyses for each text. The first was confessional, with a verification of the corresponding basic canonical standards. The second serious expert analysis, checking for scientific errors, was conducted by the Russian Academy of Sciences. The third, psycho-pedagogical, established whether the textbooks were appropriate to the age, for which it was determined whether they followed the previous textbook experience of the children.

--And what else besides the textbook did you manage to prepare?

--The schools will receive electronic supplements for the class, putting the pupils into a world of digital information and forms in which they are comfortable. In addition, considering the social significance and potential risks of this course, we prepared a book for parents. There will be parents' meetings before the start of the course, where the booklets will be distributed to all.

--That is, there will also be books on all subjects for the parents?

--In the new requirements we included the goal of more active participation of parents in the educational process. We did not forget about the teacher, too. Before the beginning of classes, each one will receive an informational resource that will acquaint the pedagogue with the specifics of each confession and will permit conducting dialogue with the children, with families, and with representatives of the confessions. On the whole, the experiment has been prepared to a high degree.

--After the textbooks for 4th and 5th grades, will there be textbooks for older ones?

--Speaking frankly, I am not an advocate for the continuation of this course. Ethical and moral principles are created by the style of public life and the family. Why make it a separate subject? Indeed, considering the load which now is being laid on the child, we should not be thinking about new subjects but about a careful selection and the contents of education. (tr. by PDS, posted 16 March 2010)

Russian original posted on Interfax-religiia site, 16 March 2010

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Lutherans accused of "extremism"

POLICE OFFICERS WITH DOGS CONDUCT SECURITY ACTION DURING WORSHIP SERVICE IN LUTHERAN PARISH IN KALUGA
Slavic Legal Center, 12 March 2010

On 28 February police officers with dogs conducted a security action during a worship service in a recently consecrated church of the parish of St. George Evangelical Lutheran church (Augsburg Confession) of the city of Kaluga, the press service of the Slavic Legal Center reports.

As the portal Luther.ru reported, during the ordination of Pastor Dmitry Martyshenko, which was being conducted by EL Archbishop Joseph Baron and the pastor of the St. Paul EL parish of the city of Pavlov-Posad, Igor Kniazev, eleven persons armed with machine guns and accompanied by dogs burst into the church and blocked the entrance; they did not permit people to enter the church and they stated "everybody is now covered."

To the question "what led the police officers with machine guns and dogs to come to the Lutheran mass," the commander of the "squad" declared that "there was a signal that terrorists are gathering here and are distributing terrorist literature." The explanations that the Bible and the books of the Augsburg Confession had nothing to do with "terrorist literature" did not persuade the visitors.

The priests did not interrupt the service for a time. Soon three other policemen arrived, without guns. One stood at the entrance and began demonstratively to record the service on videocamera, and a third officer, Natalia Novikova, who brazenly settled herself in the worship hall and paid no attention to believers, began to demonstratively take out papers and fill out a "protocol."

Pastor Igor Kniazev continued his sermon, in which he recalled what kind of persecutions of believers occurred under the communists and how Russians have rejoiced in the liberation of their country, and that everybody thought that those dark times would never return again, and now everything seems to be being repeated. Pastor Kniazev emphasized that it is not even important who gave the orders to the "marauders," and what kind of government policy and struggle with whomever there was; what is important is something else: the very same people, who have done all of this, will also die and they will have to give account for what was done and how do they intend to be on their death bed?

Pastor Dmitry Martyshenko has already written a complaint to the plenipotentiary for human rights with a copy to the administration of the governor of the city and to the public chamber of the city.

As the co-chairman of the Slavic Legal Center, RGGU professor and attorney Anatoly Pchelintsev noted, the actions of the police officers demonstrate legal and religious studies nihilism. A special structure has been created within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Center E for the struggle with extremism, which includes persons who are accustomed to combating especially dangerous criminals, but they do not understand the doctrine and the distinctives of the activity of religious organizations. Pchelintsev noted that MVD officers are required to show responsibility and awareness of matters in this category. This is why they showed up at the worship service, although they did not disrupt it but merely kept several people from entering the church. According to Pchelintsev, the actions of the police officers fall under article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian federationÑhindering the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience. It turns out that the threat to public security is coming not at all from believers of the Lutheran congregation but from the law enforcement agents. This is an extremely alarming sign.

It is obvious that police officers who are dealing with problems of extremism must receive at least minimal knowledge of religious studies. In addition, it is necessary that police officers be acquainted with legal practice regarding such conflict situations, including what is the position of the European Court for Human Rights in the case of "Kuznetsov and others v. Russia," when in a similar situation in Cheliabinsk the court found crude violation of the European Convention on Human Rights in actions of police officers who hindered the performance of a worship service. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 March 2010)

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Jehovah's Witness detained outside Moscow

GIBDD OFFICERS ARREST JEHOVAH'S WITNESS TRANSPORTING LITERATURE IN MOSCOW SUBURB
Portal-credo.ru, 12 March 2010

A "Gazel" automobile driven by Jehovah's Witness Yury Gusev was stopped on 12 March around 9:00 a.m. at a stationary post of GIBDD  [State Inspection for Security of Highway Traffic] in Moscow province at the 81 kilometer mark of the Riazan highway. As a Portal-credo.ru correspondent reports, the officers explained to the believer the reason for his arrest as "investigating the transport of extremist literature."

Despite the fact that literature was found in the vehicle which is not on the Russian lists of extremist literature, the driver and his auto were detained.

In accordance with the demand of GIBDD officers, the Jehovah's Witness followed to the Department of Internal Affairs for the Voskresensky municipal region of Moscow province. At the present time an investigator is ascertaining the circumstances of the transport of literature and its contents.

Arrests and investigations of Jehovah's Witnesses have been systematically conducted in all regions of Russia in the course of the past month. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 March 2010)

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Text of Jehovah's Witnesses' pamphlet of protest

IS HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF? A QUESTION FOR RUSSIANS


With these words President Dmitry Medvedev called all of us to consider seriously what happened in one of the darkest periods of our history, when millions of our compatriots were subjected to the most brutal repressions. The president's words, like the very idea of a Day of Memorial, reflect a noble goal: it is necessary to recall the mistakes of the past in order not to repeat them in the future.

This tract has been published in order to acquaint you with that page of history which perhaps is closed for you, and to warn of a real danger: history may be repeating itself. In essence, there already are signs of the beginning of this process.

On the Day of Memorial few recalled one religious group that has existed in Russia for already more than 100 years. For long years tens of thousands of believers were subjected to persecution for their faith. Innocent people were thrown out of their own houses and sent to prisons and labor camps for extended terms. Husbands were most ruthlessly separated from their wives, parents from children, grandmothers and grandfathers from grandchildren. Many of them lost one another forever.

The enormous tragedy began with a little thing: with skillful manipulation of rumors, insinuations, and unfounded generalizations. Without restraint these evil words were transformed into lies and explicit slander. Then followed prohibitions, searches, arrests, show trials, exiles, and prison confinement.

People who lived through these nightmarish years and came to see better times are now observing that on the horizon again storm clouds are gathering. A wave of false accusations and persecutions is again ready to sweep through the country. So what is happening?  Is history really repeating itself? Are persecutions being revived.



Persecution is well known to Jehovah's Witnesses. Semion Kozlitsky was the first person in the Russian empire who in 1891 adopted this faith. He began sharing his convictions with others and for this he was immediately exiled to Siberia. In the 1920s and 1930s "Bible Students" (as Jehovah's Witnesses were then called) were quite few in our country, but they still were persecuted. After the Second World War, Witnesses were subjected to repressions for decades. Here are just a few facts:

*It all began with propaganda. Witnesses were vilified as "anti-soviets," "American spies," and "enemies of the people."
*From 1949 to 1951 more than 9,000 Jehovah's Witnesses were exiled to Siberia for their faith.
*The last of the incarcerated Witnesses received freedom in 1990. Thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses were delighted; they were rehabilitated as innocent victims of repressions, the stigma of "enemies of the people" was taken from them. The activity of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia was officially registered by the Ministry of Justice of RF in 1991 and reregistered in 1999.

Today there are more than 157,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, who are united in more than 2,000 congregations. Another 125,000 people in our country study the Bible with Witnesses. Possibly you also have met these people because the most varied strata of society are represented among them. They are ordinary people, industrious and honest. Perhaps some of them are your relatives, neighbors, coworkers, or friends.

However recently there have appeared in the news media shocking statements about how Jehovah's Witnesses are "extremists." They also are smeared with the labels "dangerous sect" and "American spies." Such labels, like the stigma "enemies of the people," may produce a push to new persecutions. Think about it:

*In February 2009 alone throughout the country more than 500 prosecutorial investigations of the religious activity of Jehovah's Witnesses were conducted.
*Information about Jehovah's Witnesses patients containing private medical items was illegally obtained.
*Worship services in religious buildings and private homes were broken up.
*The rights of attorneys trying to give legal aid to Jehovah's Witnesses were crudely violated and they were prevented from participating in court sessions.
*In various regions courts have made attempts to rule the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses illegal and to liquidate their local religious organizations.

Possibly the question arises in you: are such accusations against the Jehovah's Witnesses well founded?

Five members of the Klimko family were sentenced as Jehovah's Witnesses to a total of 120 years in confinement and they spent 51 years in prisons and camps.

Konstantin Skripchuk, a Jehovah's Witness, spent 25 years in prison for his faith.

Are the accusations well founded?

Imagine that you were publicly accused as an extremist or a dangerous criminal. These very words make one shudder, recalling the monstrous crimes and serious problems of our time. And the more often such words are repeated, the more they are believed. But can such accusations be justified?

The Jehovah's Witnesses suggest that you answer this question for yourself. We invite you to come to our meetings or to become acquainted with us when we come to your home in order to share our faith with you. Try to get to know us better if you work or study with us or live in the neighborhood. We are certain: You will be truly amazed that we are called extremists or people who are dangerous to society.

What prompts such accusations? Let's review three accusations advanced against Jehovah's Witnesses and brief answers to them.

ACCUSATION:  Jehovah's Witnesses are dangerous to the state since they incite religious strife, claiming that only their religion is true.

THINK IT OVER: Do you know any religion that does not affirm that it alone is true? Would a person confess any religion whose teachings he does not believe to be true? It turns out that such an accusation could be equally applied to all religions. Perhaps it would be more accurate to ask: "How are adherents of one or another religion taught to treat people who have different convictions?"

FACTS: Jehovah's Witnesses do not pose a danger for anybody. It is well known that they try to live in accordance with biblical principles. Thus they reject all forms of violence (Matthew 26.52). They submit to secular laws (1 Peter 2:13,14). They strive for peace in all areas of life (Romans 12.18). In one work published under the editorship of M.P. Mchedlov, who occupied the post of chairman of the Expert Council for Conducting State Religious Studies Expert Analysis within the Russian Ministry of Justice it is noted:  "The governing authorities are viewed by Jehovah's Witnesses as a system that exists with divine permission. They do not enter into conflict with the law and they respect order and obedience to the law." (Religions of the peoples of contemporary Russia, ed. M.P. Mchedlov, M. 1999, page 463.)

ACCUSATION: Jehovah's Witnesses are a destructive sect because they break up families.

THINK ABOUT IT: The question of religion can become a sensitive topic in any family, especially when one of its members adopts another faith. But if disagreements arise in a family because of this, then is the religion at fault? Or are people themselves responsible for how they overcome disagreements in opinions? For example, if a conflict arose in a family because one of the members converted to Orthodoxy or began to spend a great deal of time in church, should the Orthodox church be blamed for this? Of course not.

FACTS:  Sociological investigation conducted in 2001 showed that Jehovah's Wiitnesses' families break up extremely rarely. It said:  "Analysis of the data of the survey shows an absence of any negative effect of the doctrine and religious activity of Jehovah's Witnesses on intrafamily relations, or on relations between husbands and wives or parents and children." The investigation revealed that in many respects a "positive effect of adherence to Jehovah's Witnesses was manifested." (Scientific conclusion from results of a sociological study of the religious society of Jehovah's Witnesses of the city of Moscow conducted by Professor A.I. Antonov and Docent V.M. Medkov, department of sociology and family demograpy of the Sociology faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University.)

ACCUSATION: Jehovah's Witnesses refuse medical treatment.

THINK ABOUT IT: If Jehovah's Witnesses were to refuse treatment, then they would not apply for medical help nor work as nurses and physicians. In fact they want to receive the best treatment for themselves and their children. They value life and love their children. They merely ask that they be treated without blood transfusions.

FACTS:  More and more medical institutions throughout the world are advocating bloodless methods of treatment. Why? Because many physicians think that bloodless medicine is a higher standard of treatment. In 2004 the chief transfusionist of the Ministry of Health of RF said that "refusal of an operation of transfusion of basic components of donor's blood is not the same as refusal of medical aid as a whole." (Response of the director of hematology and transfusion of the Ministry of Health of RF, E.A. Selivanov, on 12 February 2004 to a question from an attorney of the St. Petersburg International College of Attorneys, A.E. Leontiev.)

If you have questions connected with the doctrine and activity of Jehovah's Witnesses, please contact us personally. More information may be found at www.jw-russia.org.

What will the future bring?


These words inspire hope.  Jehovah's Witnesses are thankful to officials who are applying all their energies to translate them into life. Such people are sincerely trying to understand the Witnesses and to protect their right to freedom of religious confession.

And there are substantial bases for this. Despite all rumors, the Witnesses have not been banned in a single country of Europe, or North and South America. The activity of the Witnesses is restricted in several countries of Asia and Africa, where Christianity is not the traditional religion and the governments restrict practically any Christian religious activity. Throughout the world Jehovah's Witnesses enjoy broad rights, including the right to protection from persecution. They now are preaching in 236 countries and territories and their number exceeds 7 million.

So do such achievements in the area of human rights signify that there will not be in Russia any more dark time of repressions and persecutions? Everybody who values freedom sincerely hopes for that. Nevertheless, one wishes to ask:

WHY are the unreasonable searches continuing even though again and again no evidence of violations of the law are discovered?

WHY are Jehovah's Witnesses hindered in peacefully gathering together in order to calmly study the bible, to say nothing of being denied their rights guaranteed by the constitution of the Russian federation and international conventions?

WHY cannot the Witnesses freely import into their country literature that is internationally recognized and offer it to others?

On 8 December 2009 the Supreme Court of RF ruled a number of our publications to be "extremist materials." So will Russia strive for the noble goal expressed in the quotations presented above from President Medvedev, or will it sink to the spreading of slanders and persecution of a religious minority? Only time will tell. But there are two things that we can say now with confidence.

First, repression will not succeed. We will not cease speaking tactfully and respectfully about Jehovah God and his word, the Bible (1 Peter 3.15). We did not cease speaking under the pressure of Nazi Germany. We did not cease speaking in the darkest years of repression in our country. And we will not cease speaking now (Acts 4.18-20).

Second, such frightful words as "dangerous sect," "enemies of the people," and "extremists" have force only so long as they are repeated mindlessly. The use of insinuation and slander should not work on you. We hope that you will not take the empty words on faith but will try to get to the heart of the matter.

We advise you to find out the truth about Jehovah's Witnesses for yourself. Our "Watchtower" magazine is published in 180 languages and has been printed without interruption for 130 years now. The circulation of each issue exceeds 30 million copies. We invite you to read one of the issues of this magazine, while examining in your own Bible the verses cited in it. We will be very happy to learn your opinion.

Year of publication, 2010.

Copyright 2010 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.

(tr. by PDS, posted 12 March 2010)

Russian original on official site of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia

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