Russia is pleased that Beijing is holding the Olympics

Russian businessman Yuri Ilyakhin was a participant of the Olympic torch relay in the city of Lanzhou in north-western China. The Russian is one of the eight foreigners who won the right to be in the relay by participating in the “I am and China” competition. The competition was organised by the newspaper China Daily and the Lenovo Chinese Company, a producer of computers and electronic appliances. Several thousand Internet users from China and Russia voted for Yuri Ilyakhin. 

This is pleasant news for the staff of Voice of Russia. Some time ago, Yuri Ilyakhin worked as part-time reporter at the broadcasting company, but, now, he is a successful businessman. He worked at the Soviet news agency TASS in the 80s after graduating from the Institute of Asia and Africa of Moscow State University. He is fluent in the Chinese language, translates poems by Li Bo and other Chinese classical poets, and writes and edits books on traditional Chinese opera. “We are happy to be involved in an Olympic torch relay that unites people. We wish success to the Olympics starting next month”, Yuri said on behalf of the other foreign participants. 

Preparations for the Olympic Games are in the final stretch. One of the largest contingents to take part in the Olympics shall be the Russian team, as was stated by Vitaly Mutko, the Minister of Sports, Tourism, and Youth Policy, at a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last week. About 500 Russian sportsmen will take part in 28 sport events. Russia is sincerely happy that Beijing won the right to hold the Olympic Games and believes that they will be staged with the highest standards. The participants and guests of the Beijing Olympics will remember them as a great holiday, a holiday of sport and free communication uniting athletes from many countries.

Russia and other member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will cooperate actively with China in guaranteeing security to the event. This issue was discussed at the recent meeting of the Executive Committee of the regional antiterrorist structure of the SCO in Beijing. A statement released after the meeting says that Beijing Olympic Games are a great event not only for Chinese people, but, also for the people of the SCO member countries. In view of this, the SCO members said they would oppose any attempt to boycott the Olympics. They emphasised that they would not support any action that undermines the 2008 Olympic Games. 

9 July 2008

Igor Denisov  

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29413&cid=63&p=08.07.2008 (in English)

Deep-Submergence Research Vehicles Mir-1 and Mir-2 to Study Lake Baikal

The deep-submergence research vehicles (DSRVs) Mir-1 and Mir-2 shall dive to the floor of Lake Baikal. The scientific expedition is aimed at gathering information that shall help to determine methods to preserve the unique natural lake. The two vessels shall go to Lake Baikal after diving to the floor of the Arctic in August. They will be used to study the lake, the Pearl of Siberia or Holy Sea. The depth of the lake at its deepest point is 1,637 metres (5,370 feet). It has 20 percent of the fresh water in the world. There are over 2,600 various kinds of flora and fauna, the majority of which exist only around or in the lake. The Mir DSRVs shall help to reveal many secrets hidden in the lake. The programme of research drawn up by the Russian Academy of Sciences provides for gathering information about tectonic activity on the floor of the lake, studying underwater muddy volcanoes, and determining the amount of mineral reserves.

Solid-state gas, gas-hydrate has been discovered in the lake, like in the Arctic, said Anatoly Sagalevich, Russian scientist and deep-water diver. “Baikal is a unique lake, a crack in the earth’s crust; it is a mini-oceanic rift zone with all its features. Consequently, the programme includes studying the geological structure of the lake, its banks, and floor. Special research shall be devoted to hydrothermal effusions, which have been discovered on the floor as methanoic sips. We are going to study gas-hydrate. Reportedly, there is a large amount of gas-hydrate. Fauna is another area of research. We hope to find new species. I think the results of the expedition will be quite valuable”, Professor Sagalevich said. Sagalevich reached a depth of 1,400 metres (4,593 feet) beneath the lake in the DSRV Paisis 20 years ago. Now, he plans to reach a record depth of 1,600 metres (5,249 feet) on board the Mir vessels. 

Video cameras installed on the vessels send images during the dive. These recordings will be used to make a science film. The leading Russian and foreign scientific centres will work out practical measures and recommendations in conjunction with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre to preserve the natural resources of Lake Baikal. “The preservation of Lake Baikal is a national task, and Russia must do its best to preserve it for future generations”, said Artur Chilingarov, scientist and deputy of the RF Gosduma, who headed a recent expedition to the North Pole. 

The Mir DSRVs shall be sent to Ulan Ude, the capital of Buryatia. The first submergence is scheduled for 20 July. Scientists plan to make 60 submergences this year and another 100 next year. Among the participants of the expedition are Prince Albert II of Monaco, the Japanese Association of Baikal programme, and the Royal Society of England. 

9 July 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29472&cid=61&p=09.07.2008 (in English)  

Mathematician Vladimir Arnold, Universal Scientist

Academician Vladimir Arnold (1936- ), honoured scientist, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN)

The State Prize for 2007 was awarded in the Kremlin on 12 June, Russia Day. The laureates of the awards in Science and Technology were physicist Alexei Khokhlov, linguist Andrei Zaliznyak, and mathematician Vladimir Arnold. Vladimir Arnold was honoured for making great contributions to mathematical physics. He is considered one of the most brilliant universal-scientists in the world. He approaches mathematical problems as a natural scientist, and his results are used by chemists, physics, and biologists. His former student, Academician Viktor Vasilev, said that his works on dynamic systems theory, classical and celestial mechanics, singularity theory, topology, algebraic geometry, hydrodynamics, differential geometry, mathematical physics, the calculus of variations, and combinatorial theory have been recognised throughout the world. 

“Vladimir Arnold engaged himself in practically all areas of mathematics. This is a distinguished feature of our mathematical school, where we consider it correct that people should have interest and knowledge of all areas. Many of the accomplishments of Vladimir Arnold are brilliant in his specific area of expertise, but, his knowledge of other areas helped him to this end, and, sometimes, he discovered unexpected linkages. The fact that he is keen on everything led to limited successes in some areas where there was no correct solution, whilst an analogue with another theory helped him to solve the specific question”, Professor Vasilev said. 

Vladimir Arnold was awarded a doctorate when he was 28. He won his first award in 1965. He and his teacher and guide Andrei Kolmogorov were honoured with the Lenin Prize for their work on celestial mechanics. However, he became world famous when he was 20, after solving Hilbert’s thirteenth problem. “Vladimir Arnold solved the problem when he was studying in the second or third course of Moscow State University. David Hilbert put forth 26 unsolved problems in 1900, which are considered the main mathematical problems of the century. Arnold solved one of them. This is a great achievement”, Professor Vasilev said. 

Currently, Academician Arnold is a member of many foreign academies, including the French Academy, the Academy of Arts and Sciences of the United States, the Royal Society of London, and he is an honorary doctor at several universities. The great scientist has been keen on sports since childhood. He is now 72, but, he starts seminars after a 50-kilometre bicycle cross. He is an alpinist and likes to swim in icy ponds in the winter. Professor Arnold insists that sports are essential for doing scientific work. This is advice that he could have given to his students.

9 July 2008

Voice of Russia World Service 

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29470&cid=61&p=09.07.2008 (in English) 

President Medvedev took Positive View of Hokkaido Summit

President Dmitri Medvedev (1965- )

President Dmitri Medvedev took a highly positive view of the results of the Hokkaido summit conference of the world’s leading industrial nations. First of all, President Medvedev thanked the Japanese for their ability to streamline the summit conference which focused on pressing and meaningful global problems. He said that the developed nations had been able to make a few sweeping decisions, in particular, on food relief and other emergency aid to developing countries. President Medvedev saw a boost in food production as Russia’s contribution to the efforts to meet the problem of food shortages. In addition, he suggested calling a grain summit conference. 

The leading industrial nations emphasised the key role of the United Nations in the war on international terrorism. They focused on the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East, and the North Korean and Iranian moves in the nuclear field. It turned out they held similar views of those problems. They upheld the call for the convocation of an extended conference on the Middle East in Moscow. They conferred with the five biggest developing nations, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and Mexico. It became clear that upgraded cooperation would meet both their own and the developing countries’ interests. This is necessary because it takes more than just the efforts of the G8 members to settle global problems. 

President Medvedev told newsmen that opinions were exchanged on the US-Czech agreement on basing elements of the American anti-missile defence system. He said that Russia refuses to accept the American plans. According to Mr Medvedev, “Russia refuses to kick up a row, but, we shall do what we must to meet this challenge. We hold the door open to continued anti-missile negotiations and will continue these negotiations, with other members of the G-8 and the members of the North Atlantic Alliance, amongst others”. A newcomer to G-8 gatherings, President Medvedev closed the press conference by saying he took a positive view of the Hokkaido summit. 

9 July 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29463&cid=56&p=09.07.2008 (in English)

Russia and USA Fated To Cooperate

President Dmitri Medvedev (1965- )

President Dmitri Medvedev told Russian journalists on the sidelines of the Hokkaido G-8 summit that Moscow, regardless of the outcome of the American presidential election, hopes to promote full-scale and constructive relations with Washington. It takes two to tango, Mr Medvedev said. What President Medvedev said reveals an uncompromising refusal to bow to fleeting considerations. But, and this was also mentioned in Mr Medvedev’s conversation with the press, even though Moscow and Washington keep exchanging views and continuing their dialogue, the problem boils down to the absence of progress in the latest efforts to settle some disputes. 

Today, the problems are highlighted. On the one hand, Presidents Medvedev and Bush enjoyed each other’s company and discussed the whole range of bilateral and international problems on the island of Hokkaido. On the other, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talked Prague into the deployment of a powerful element of the American anti-missile system in the Czech Republic. At the same time, Washington is trying to secure Polish permission for the deployment of ten missile silos in Poland. It is not only Russian objections that it pays no attention to. It has turned a deaf ear to constructive Russian suggestions. Did all that prompt the question that an American journalist asked Secretary Rice on the way from Washington to Prague, would Secretary Rice describe Russian-US relations as a simmering conflict? Secretary Rice gave a negative answer to that question. She spoke about the positive experience of joint ventures in power production, in the framework of the Economic Cooperation and Development Organisation and the Russian-NATO Council, in the settlement of the North Korean and the Iranian problem, and, finally, US support of the Russian efforts to join the World Trade Organisation.

What she said made sense. Her list of positive developments in Russian-US relations could be extended. But, that only adds weight to the question of why should anyone be trying to escalate tension and antagonise a country that you describe as your strategic partner and an ally in the war on terrorism and other threats and challenges. Wouldn’t it make more sense to accept invitations to expanded cooperation and a joint search for compromise and the negotiated settlement of, not arbitrary decisions on, complicated international problems? Why should anyone want to create problems and triple its own efforts in a bid to settle them, or make its partner respond in kind? Why should anyone want to do this now that so much depends in this world of ours on fruitful cooperation between Moscow and Washington? Haven’t we learned the lessons of history and don’t we agree that Russia and the United States of America are fated to cooperate?

9 July 2008

Viktor Yenikeyev 

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29462&cid=56&p=09.07.2008 (in English)

Andrei Denisov says it’s High Time for Russia to put forward New Foreign Policy Initiatives

Andrei Denisov (1952- ), First Deputy Foreign Minister of the RF

In an interview with Voice of Russia, First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov stated, “It’s high time for Russia to put forward new foreign policy initiatives and work with its partners patiently and systematically to achieve a wide range of agreements on global and regional security issues”. In Mr Denisov’s opinion, Russian foreign policy is strong because of its continuity and there is no need for making radical changes. However, there is a need of elaborating changes in emphasis in putting forward certain elements of Russian foreign policy to the foreground in view of the favourable changes in Russia and the strengthening of its role on the international scene. “It’s quite important here to catch up with the changes in Russia’s conditions in the world family”, Mr Denisov said. 

Mr Denisov said, “Clearly, the era of ideological confrontation that existed until the 1990s has ended. Both Russia and its partners should comply with new realities by orienting themselves, first and foremost, to collective approaches, affirmation of international law concerning states and group of states, and the realisation of the need for collective principles in guaranteeing equal security for all. At present, it is impossible to count on guaranteeing a country’s security by infringing the security of other participants in international relations. Russia believes that it is high time to put forward new foreign policy initiatives and work with its partners patiently and systematically to achieve broader agreements on various issues of global and regional security”. 

Mr Denisov believes that, in view of this, there is a need to focus on a recent proposal by President Dmitri Medvedev about working out a general agreement on collective security in Europe. At the same time, the new document should comply with the realities of the time, when mankind faces such challenges as international terrorism, organised crime, spread of narcotics, world food and energy crises, and climate change, rather than open military threat and ideological confrontation. 

According to Mr Denisov, the search for mutually acceptable solutions to the above issues is a part of the hard and methodical work of the Foreign Ministry. Russia will resume discussion of future plans and prospects during the two-day conference of ambassadors and permanent envoys of the Russian Federation to international organisations due to start in Moscow on Tuesday. President Medvedev will attend the conference, which, according to the constitution, forms the trends of the country’s foreign policy. 

9 July 2008

Yelizaveta Isakova 

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29461&cid=56&p=09.07.2008 (in English)

US Missile Shield in Poland and Czech Republic Threatens Global Security

The deployment of the US global anti-missile defence system in Europe can undermine stability and security in Europe and worldwide, the Foreign Ministry announced after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Czech counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg signed the main treaty on the stationing of a US radar base on Czech soil on Tuesday. 

If Washington and Prague go further in missile negotiations, Moscow will have to change its tactics and resort to military and technical methods. Although the US says the shield will be aimed against Iran, Russia is strongly opposed to the deployment of the system since it poses a threat to its strategic interests. However, these are not merely declarations, but, they are based on the technical capabilities and deployment of the elements that determine the potential of the anti-missile defence system. The US plans to place missile elements close to the Russian borders indicates that they may be used to weaken the deterrence capabilities of Russia. Thus, a radar site in the Czech Republic may not only monitor Russian territory, but, also target it.

In the long run, the US will seek military superiority, Konstantin Kosachyov, the head of the RF Gosduma Foreign Affairs Committee, said, “We strongly oppose such an attitude where states are divided into those ‘under an umbrella’ and those without it. But, we do suggest alternative ways! We insist that a system of security and counteraction to threats may unite the efforts of all members of the international community. Russia has all the necessary capabilities to join such system”. 

But, the US side seems not to accept this proposal and refuses to give guarantees that its anti-missile system in Eastern Europe won’t be aimed against Russia. The transparency and control measures Washington used to propose before, now are withdrawn. Obviously, Russia has nothing to do but take adequate steps to protect its national interests. 

9 July 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29444&cid=58&p=09.07.2008 (in English)  

The MP Urges the Government to Condemn Communism and Demolish Memorials to Soviet Leaders

The tomb of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) (1870-1924) in Red Square in Moscow. Does Fr Georgy wish to remove this structure as well? I say it should remain as a memorial to the victims of the repressions (but, Lenin’s body must be removed and given decent burial, a nicety he refused others, but, we are Christians, after all).

Moscow, 9 July 208 (Interfax):

The Moscow Patriarchate said that the present government should condemn the communist régime, not only in its pronouncements, but, in reality. “The condemnation of communism began in the 1990s, but, we failed to see it to completion”, Fr Georgy Ryabykh, the secretary of the Division of the Interrelation of Church and Society of the MP Department for External Church Relations, told Interfax-Religion on Wednesday. In his opinion, we must continue to condemn communism today. “We must honour the memory and civic courage of the victims of the repression; we must open memorial complexes, return cities and streets to their original names, remove Soviet symbols from public buildings, demolish the monuments to the bloody leaders [of Communism] in the central squares of Russian cities, and move the cemetery [of Soviet leaders] from the vicinity of the Kremlin wall. Perhaps, the only monuments that should remain are those related to the Great Patriotic War and those honouring the scientific and cultural achievements achieved during the Soviet era”, Fr Georgy said, and he warned us to “avoid the extremes that are seen in some Baltic countries” (this is a reference to the barbarous and profane exhumation of the bodies of Soviet soldiers in Estonia: editor’s note).

He stressed that it was crucial to reassess the Soviet past in view of the coming 90th anniversary of the shooting of the Imperial family. “Today, for some reason, we are reluctant to give a clear moral judgement of this evil crime. But, such a judgement is necessary, and it must be expressed in public actions and statements. The open condemnation of this crime and the recognition of the podvig (“great feat” is a VERY weak translation: editor’s note) of the imperial family by the state would counteract any nostalgia for the ‘revolution’ in the national consciousness”, Fr Georgy said with conviction. In his view, “the patience and commitment of the imperial family in following the evangelical commandments, to the extent of sacrificing their lives, illustrates their strong and moral patriotism and their devotion to the Motherland. It would be a mistake not to use this exemplar in the upbringing of a new Russian generation. If we delay our condemnation of the overthrow of a lawful government, then, we run the risk of seeing this experiment repeated in respect to the existing lawful government”, he added.

Interfax-Religion 

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=25376 (in Russian)

Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev says that the Church of England Decision to Consecrate Female Bishops makes any Future Orthodox-Anglican Dialogue Problematical

Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev (1966- ) of Vienna and Austria, the MP Representative to the European International Institutions

Moscow, 9 July 2008 (Interfax):

Last Monday, the decision taken by the General Synod of the Church of England to consecrate female bishops shall affect Orthodox-Anglican relations, according to a prominent bishop in the MP. “The so-called ‘female presbyterate’ is one of the stumbling blocks in the dialogue between Anglicans and Orthodox. The institution of a ‘female episcopate’ shall simply become one more obstacle [in our discussion]. Its introduction shall distance the position of the Anglican Communion from that of the Orthodox Church even more”, Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Vienna and Austria, the representative of the MP to the European International Institutions told an Interfax-Religion correspondent on Wednesday.

According to Bishop Hilarion, the MP interprets this step “as just another successive surrender of the Anglican Communion to contemporary secular notions that demand the total equalisation of the roles of men and women in every respect. Yet again, the centuries-old tradition of the Christian church is sacrificed on the altar of political correctness”. He reminded our correspondent that the Orthodox Church has always condemned the ordination of women to the clergy as practised by the Anglican Communion “as such ordinations contradict the original Church tradition that came down to us from the Apostles and from Christ Himself”.

Bishop Hilarion is surprised that such a decision was adopted on the eve of the Lambeth Conference, a decennial meeting of Anglican bishops from all around the world to be held in London from 16 July to 3 August. “The conference invited Orthodox observers and they shall have an opportunity to express their opinion on the processes underway in the Anglican Communion”, Vladyki Hilarion said, who is scheduled to be the observer from the MP at the Lambeth Conference. In this case, he asked the questions, “Does it make sense for Orthodox observers to participate in a forum of a church that invariably makes decisions deliberately in conflict with Orthodox ecclesiology? To what extent is the bilateral Orthodox-Anglican dialogue useful in such a situation? I take it for granted that the hierarchy of the Local Orthodox Churches must seriously consider the above questions again”, Bishop Hilarion added.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=25375 (in Russian) 

Archpastoral Council of the MP: Church Unity

His Holiness Aleksei Rediger (1929- ), Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, First Hierarch of the Moscow Patriarchate

The Archpastoral Council that took place last week was a graphic demonstration of the unity of the Moscow Patriarchate. For the first time, a delegation from the ROCOR participated in the sessions. Not only intra-church affairs were on the agenda, for one of the main items of discussion was the theme that Patriarch Aleksei II already raised in his speech before the Deputies of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This was the conflict of modern liberal values with traditional Christian morals. As an example of this, he spoke of the homosexual marriages now legalised in some countries, which forces society to no longer consider such behaviour sinful. As a result, the Council approved a document on the Orthodox understanding of human rights. The bishops know that this position shall be strongly condemned in Europe. However, both the Russian and foreign hierarchs all agreed on this together.

Twenty years ago, they couldn’t even pray together… even simple ordinary everyday conversation seemed impossible. For almost a century, clergy and laity on different sides of the borders of the then-USSR considered each other enemies and were hostile to one another… Soviet Russia versus the White emigration. Each side had its pain… the Civil War, the bloodshed, the foreign lands of exile. When they said “Holy Russia”, it seemed that they were talking of two very different countries.

All thought that a miracle would be needed for reconciliation. However, they united a year ago. Now, they speak about the miracle that happened, how they understand one another thoroughly now, and it seems as if there was never almost a hundred years of separation. This was an Archpastoral Council of the MP graced with the participation of the hierarchs of the foreign church, an event truly out of the ordinary. For the first time, Orthodox Americans, Australians, Kazakhs, Japanese, and Russians spoke, served, and lived together.

A little buffet in a small café in the centre of Moscow… here sits Metropolitan Hilarion of New York and Eastern America. He’s a little troubled by his accent, but, not when he’s praying. Modern Russian… he only learned that relatively recently. His parents emigrated to Canada from Volynia, their native language was Ukrainian, and their mother-church was Russian Orthodox. However, even then, in the middle of the last century, they did not recognise the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that had appeared in the diaspora.

Metropolitan HIlarion Kapral (1948- ), Metropolitan of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the ROCOR

“We were Russian Orthodox because we considered that Russians, Byelorussians, and Ukrainians are one people. Therefore, my parents did not join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was a splinter group”, said Metropolitan Hilarion, who is the First Hierarch of the ROCOR. “Orthodoxy is so joined with Russian consciousness that only those people in the emigration who retained a sense of Russianness remained in the Church. Those who stayed outside of the Church were assimilated into the local culture in short order”, noted Archpriest Peter Kholodny, the Treasurer of the Holy Synod of the ROCOR.

Nikolai Sluchevsky, the great-grandson of Pyotr Stolypin was one of those who did not assimilate. Although he was born in California, he considers Russia his homeland. He started a story about parish life in San Francisco with the following words, “How many young people are coming to church! This is a new thing for us”.

Not only pleasant matters were discussed at the Archpastoral Council. There was the whole scandalous affair of Bishop Diomid of Anadyr and Chukotka, more precisely, he was a bishop two days ago, but, now he is deposed from his office. Some of his parishioners came to Moscow to support him outside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. They did not hide from the cameras, but, the priests amongst them appeared to be hiding from the photographers.

What does he trouble us with? If Diomid’s protests against passports and taxpayer identification numbers are nothing but simple obscurantism, his calls for conflict with other confessions and nationalities are direct incitements to religious and national hostility. This is a matter covered by the criminal statutes. The church sees this as nothing but schism. The Council called this schismatic to repentance, but, he refuses to answer.

The word “schism” was heard often enough in the Council sessions. “We know that any schism is a tragedy. They shall divide the saints and make them strangers; they shall cause nothing but chaos in the Church. Certainly, the true reason behind the schism is that there is a political scheme to foment a quarrel between the Ukrainian and Russian peoples”, stated Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail.

Metropolitan Vladimir Sabodan (1935- ) of Kiev and all the Ukraine, First Hierarch of the canonical Ukrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church of the MP

The Ukraine… Presidents changed, revolutions occurred, but, the attempts of the leadership in Kiev to separate the Ukrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church of the MP from its mother-church never ceased. The very words, “Moscow Patriarchate” were a red flag to the Ukrainian establishment, as if it were a political choice, for example, between canonical Orthodoxy and NATO.

“In general, the church relates to political boundaries as it does to any human fancy. Today, we have these boundaries. Tomorrow, we may have others. However, the Church has an entirely different concept of history. It recognises a united civilisational space, expressed in a common secular language. But, I would say that Church language follows spiritual-cultural space. Some are attempting to destroy this space, to reshape it. We ask, why? This is the first time this has been attempted in a thousand years”, said Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the MP Department of External Church Relations.   

This is not the first time… in the Ukraine, there have been repeated attempts to destroy Orthodoxy. Even in the 17th century, a Catholic Metropolitan proposed to create in Little Russia an independent Orthodox Church. Then, something happened. Those who grasped independence soon entered the Unia with the Catholics. In essence, they were absorbed by them.  

“Today, in the Ukraine, there is the so-called ‘Ukrainian independent church’ that is headed by the deposed and anathematised Philaret Denisenko. He has already stated several times that union with the Catholic Church is necessary. Why is this a requirement?” asked Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, the superior of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow.

In order to change the mentality of the people… what shall happen with those who refuse to change and stand for their faith and their conscience?

If there were any disputes regarding the Orthodox understanding of human rights, there are only indirect signs. The concept was approved unanimously, but, there were questions. Should the Church be involving itself in secular matters? Is it necessary to criticise secular laws? It was decided that if the secular law legalises sin, then, yes. In the human sense, homosexual marriage is against nature. In the church sense, it is sinful.

“We are posed the question, what do you want to do? Should we work within existing paradigms to attain certain rights? Or, do you want to change the world? But, I pose this question to homosexuals, what do you want? Do you wish to act within the existing law and tradition? Or, do you want to change the world? They wish to change the world, and they are changing it. If this is permitted for homosexuals, why is it not permitted for believers?” noted Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

A priest changes the world by his sermon and missions… in Orthodoxy, the tradition of mission is not as strong as it is amongst Catholics or Muslims. Should we change this attitude? Can we preach the Gospel only in the church?

Deacon Andrei Kuraev (1963- ), Professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, great Orthodox preacher

“A group of priests from Moscow demanded that the Council forbid all non-traditional missions, that is, the only form that mission could take was that the priest would stand in church and speak in Church Slavonic… there would be no more sermons at rock concerts or at sporting events. They wanted to forbid everything. Well… the Council did not give in to these loudmouths. That is good”, said Deacon Andrei Kuraev, professor at the Moscow Theological Academy.

Orthodox priests on the streets of Moscow, Tallinn, Shanghai, or Toronto… you wouldn’t say they are a common sight. However, 20 years ago, there were only 42 churches in Moscow, today, there are over 600. Churches are popping up everywhere. You can buy everything you need for your parish in Sofrino. All the hierarchs from all over the world are buying “church utensils”. True… the word “utensils” does no justice to their splendour.

29 June 2008

Ilya Kanavin

Vesti-Nedeli (News Weekly)

Quoted in Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=radio&div=891 (in Russian)