There is a Movement in the OCA for the Election of Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of the MP as its First Hierarch

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

Moscow, 30 October 2008 (Interfax):

Some clergy in the Orthodox Church of America (OCA) suggest that it elect Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Vienna and Austria of the MP as its First Hierarch. Archpriest Thomas Hopko, a well-known theologian and former rector of St Vladimir Theological Seminary, issued an open letter calling the Holy Synod of the OCA to contact the Holy Synod of the MP in regards to the possible election of Bishop Hilarion. “There can be nothing else that it expects of us at this given moment”, Fr Thomas stated in his letter, posted on Thursday on the website Bogoslov.ru.

The election of the First Hierarch of the OCA shall place at the All-American Council (a misnomer, it is more a Protestant-style convention than an Orthodox council: editor’s note) in Pittsburgh on 11 November. Previously, Archpriest Andrew Moore, the rector of St Thomas parish in Springfield MO, stated in an open letter to delegates to the All-American Council that they should “pray and reflect, and to vote on the first ballot without opposition to elect Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev as the Metropolitan of the OCA. We need a metropolitan who has proven that he is a good pastor, but, also a capable administrator, even when the cause of Christ is out of favour… We must pray and appeal to God that the MP would allow him (Bishop Hilarion: Interfax) to serve us. We must, through our prayers, make it known to him that he is needed here”.

The prospect of the election of Vladyki Hilarion’s election as Metropolitan of all America and Canada caused lively discussion on the website Orthodox Christians for Accountability. Fr John Scollard of the Albanian Diocese of the OCA thinks it best to consult with Bishop Basil Osborne (a schismatic EP bishop who caused church turmoil in England in 2006: editor’s note), who in 2006 passed from the authority of the MP to the EP. A laywoman from New York, Rebecca Matovic, assumes that a possible election of Bishop Hilarion as metropolitan “cannot be interpreted in any other way except as a step on the way to the reunification of the OCA with Moscow”. On this site, one also finds comments in support of Bishop Hilarion’s candidacy, signed by people such as Archimandrite Jonas Pfaffhausen, due to elevated to the episcopacy on 1 November, by Hieromonk Alexander Golitsyn, who is a professor at Marquette University, and by Archpriest Michael Dahulich, the rector of St Tikhon Spiritual Seminary. “Bishop Hilarion would be an excellent candidate… If Moscow allows him to come and lead us, nothing could be better for the strengthening of ties between the different Russian churches and even the different jurisdictions in America”, according to Fr John Peck.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=27150 (in Russian)

Editor’s Note:

This was NOT translated into English on the Interfax site. A GIANT “Big Green Weenie Award” for that one! In any case, there are other candidates in the woodwork… many staunch ethnic people are for a Hilarion… not Hilarion Alfeyev, but, Hilarion Kapral of the ROCOR. As Fr Andrew Phillips rightly points up, he is Canadian-born; therefore, he has a better grasp of the pastoral reality in North America.

In any case, the OCA as it has been known for the past 38 years is no more… es ist das ENDE. Finis. Da svidaniya, Syosset! There is a small rear-guard of apparatchiki and true-believers guarding the last positions… no one else has confidence in this organisation, not the clergy, not the laity, and I would say, not even the bishops.

The meeting on 11 November bids fair to be INTERESTING in the extreme. No matter what happens, the status quo ante bellum shall not be restored, for it cannot be. As for what shall happen, that is anyone’s good guess. I certainly have no insider info. Pray… like you have never done so before.

Fr Vsevolod Chaplin becomes the First Russian Orthodox Priest to Visit Saudi Arabia

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin (1968- ), Deputy Chairman of the MP Department of External Church Relations

Jeddah, 29 October 2008 (Interfax):

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, became the first Russian Orthodox priest in history to visit Saudi Arabia. He attended the fourth forum of the Russia-Islamic World strategic vision group held in Jeddah, 27-29 October. “Russia and the Islamic world have much in common. We are intermingled. Russia is inseparable from the Islamic world, as many millions of Muslims live there, and the Islamic world is inseparable from the Russian and Orthodox world, as so many Orthodox live in so many Muslim countries”, Fr Vsevolod said in addressing the forum.

In his opinion, the most important thing is that “we have much in common in our views on the family and society, as well as the place of religion and morals in our lives”. Fr Vsevolod noted that the Russian model of inter-religious relations involved respect to the traditions of different religions, their intrinsic way of life, and social norms related to them. “Today, this model is in demand in the world which increasingly understands that it is necessary to respect different civilisations along with their religious or secular roots, their laws, rules, social models, and political systems”, he said.

Fr Vsevolod called for mutual support of inter-religious peacemaking initiatives, in particular, the Russian proposal to organise a consultative interreligious council under the auspices of UN, and the initiative of the King of Saudi Arabia to develop interreligious dialogue, as well as measures designed to prevent the trampling of the sensibilities of religious believers proposed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference. In Fr Vsevolod’s view, Russia and the Islamic world share common challenges. This is, in particular, the attempts of some to use religious feelings to unleash national and political extremism and radicalism, to justify terror, and to reach vile mundane goals.

The other strong challenge is an attempt to induce believers, including by means of some models of “interreligious dialogue”, to reject their identity and traditions, introduce liberal reforms into their beliefs, “privatise” religion, and recognise the monopoly of secular values in the social sphere, Fr Vsevolod said. “Recently, both Orthodox and Muslims are being lectured and condescended to. We are told to abandon our ’superstitions’, recognise the supremacy of secular conceptions and secular values, and you will be an enlightened student fit for Western society”, Fr Vsevolod said.

Today, however, he said, “Convinced and firm believers understand more and more that their world outlook, way of life, laws, rules, and their model of society have no less right in the context of the world structure than the worldly Western social and ideological model. If together we are able to stand up for such a position, we will be much stronger”, Fr Vsevolod concluded.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=27134 (in Russian)

Renowned Missionary Hegumen Sergei Rybko Compared the Opponents of Pastoral Work amongst Counterculture Youth to Pharisees

Hegumen Sergei Rybko, renowned “Apostle to the Counter-culture”. Rock on, Fr Sergei!

Moscow, 30 October 2008 (Interfax):

Renowned missionary Hegumen Sergei Rybko compared those who oppose missionary activity among counter-culture youth to Pharisees and he urged such people to follow the lead of the hierarchs of the Church. In an interview with Interfax-Religion on Thursday, Fr Sergei made the point, “Those folks who wish to fight rock-music and pastoral work amongst rockers are nothing but Pharisees”. He made these comments at a roundtable discussion on Orthodox mission in the youth subculture.

Sergei Chapnin, the editor of the newspaper Tserkovny Vestnik (The Church Herald), said that the Church could work amongst rockers and nonconformists, but, it should give more emphasis to missionary programmes oriented to college and high school students, which are larger groups. Another participant in the roundtable, Zhanna Grigoryev, the head of the division for scientific-theological literature for the MP and editor of the missionary journal Foma (Thomas), said, “Only recently, I heard those who say, ‘Rock is elemental, it is the language of philosophers, poets, thinkers, and honest people’. The beginning of this attitude was traced to people like Hegumen Sergei Rybko and some other lesser-known clergy. But, why rock music, in particular? What about the students at the conservatoire?”

In reply, Fr Sergei said, “The Pharisees very often blamed Christ for directing his preaching not only to the élite, but, to everyone without distinction, to gentiles, publicans, and whores, leading them to repentance. The Pharisees were people who respected the letter of law, stressed their élitism, and believed that Christianity was only for them. The apostles and martyrs heard the same reproaches. There’s nothing new under the sun. St Vitaly, who is listed in the Orthodox Menaion, preached in brothels. So, brothels are all right, whilst young people are under the ban?” he asked.

Fr Sergei urged his opponents “to be more obedient to the hierarchy. It can turn out that if you disparage someone, if you call what is holy sinful, you can unwittingly interfere with the preaching of the Word of God by your insinuations”, he reminded his listeners. In any case, Fr Sergei pointed up that his mission has the blessing of Patriarch Aleksei II. “I am a soldier. Where they send me, I will preach there. If they order me to go to Africa tomorrow… or, to any other place, for that matter… I will go there. As Metropolitan Antony of Surouzh said, ‘If I am ordered to preach in hell, I will preach in hell’”, Fr Sergei said.

He noted that he was nothing but a simple monk that went to the monastery in order to pray to God, to live in solitude, with a love of the church, the prayers, and the divine services. “The work at rock concerts is very tiring to me; I think that I could do as well at the altar celebrating the Divine Liturgy. My pastoral work is a heavy labour that I accomplish as an act of obedience. If they were to give me a different obedience tomorrow, it would gladden me”, Fr Sergei acknowledged. He expressed his exasperation that his critics did not note his publishing activity. “We have now published a collection of works by St John Chrysostom, and works by St Tikhon of Zadonsk. Actually, we have issued them in a single volume. I have a parish in Bibirevo that serves some 200,000 people, I use my own money, and we don’t have any “New Russians” (a slang term for affluent Russians: editor’s note). Why don’t they note this side of my activity?” he asked.

In his opinion, his mission work amongst rockers is only one of his pastoral duties. “It’s probably the best-known, but, it is not the most important”. Speaking about rock-culture, Fr Sergei pointed out that rock “originally opposed many tendencies found in the world, evil, injustice… Rockers positioned themselves as fighters against the foundations of these things. However, the fact is that Christianity is also fighting against the evil in the world. We agree in it and I try to show rockers that their protest finds its answer in Orthodoxy. There’s a straight line way from nonconformity and protest to Christ”, Fr Sergei concluded.

Recently, the Moscow Patriarchate decorated Fr Sergei for his missionary work amongst counter-culture youth.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=27154 (in Russian)

Editor’s Note:

Interfax gets a GIGANTIC “Big Green Weenie Award” for this one. Less than half of the Russian text was in their English translation, distorting it immensely. SHEESH! Call out Vince McMahon and the entire WWWF stable! Let’s get Hulk Hogan to get the Interfax translator into the sleeper hold… I don’t think it would do much good, though.

Carpatho-Russians Seek Divorce from the Ukraine, Like the Czechs and Slovaks

The Orthodox cathedral in Užgorod, as seen from the ramparts of the Užgorod Castle-Museum

“We are not Transdnistria, we are not Georgia, we are a different people, and we hope the Ukrainians will give us a divorce in a peaceful way, like the Czechs and Slovaks did”, Fr Dmitri Sidor, the head of Carpathian-Russian parliament, told ZIK on 28 October.

Carpatho-Russians are seeking autonomy for the Zakarpatya oblast of the Ukraine. “The conflict in Transdnistria erupted because proud Moldova refused to divorce Transdnistria”, Rev Sidor argued. He considers the Ukraine to be a totalitarian state outside of the rule of law because the government refuses to engage in talks with the Carpatho-Russian leadership and rejects their demands. Carpatho-Russian activists wish the Zakarpatya Oblast Council session due on 1 December to endorse the results of the referendum of 1 December 1991 in which residents of Zakarpatya supported an autonomous status for the region. “The régime ignored our calls for autonomy for 17 years”, commented Yevgeni Zhupan, an Our Ukraine faction council member and an activist of the Carpatho-Russian movement.

Fr Dmitri warned that, if the Oblast Council does not support the Carpatho-Russian initiative on 1 December, they will wait for some time and then start to fight for their rights. “We shall demand our autonomy in a peaceful way. But, how we will fight for it is our national secret. If Lvov residents do not support us, we will have supporters coming from Rovno, Kiev, and Odessa”.

28 October 2008

ZIK

http://zik.com.ua/en/news/2008/10/28/155535 (in English)

Editor’s Note:

So much for American support of “democracy”! Well… perhaps, Fr Dmitri should convert to the “Assemblies of God”, and, then, the neocons would deign to “notice” his existence! Note well that “human rights” does not apply to Orthodox Christians. All Orthodox Christians in this country should take heed of this and act accordingly.

Carpatho-Russians in Mukačevo Declare Podkarpatska Rus a Republic

A Carpatho-Russian church in Mukačevo

A new republic, Podkarpatska Rus, was declared by Carpatho-Russians at their European Congress in Mukačevo on 25 October, the congress co-chairman, Fr Dmitri Sidor, told ZIK. The congress was attended by 109 deputies. A guest from the Czech Republic gave the congress international status. The Carpatho-Russian delegates signed an act of declaration of Carpatho-Russian statehood and announced the re-formation of the republic on the basis stated on 22 November 1938, the date of the original declaration of independence, as well as electing an executive for the republic. Congress participants told ZIK they will appeal to the Zakarpatya Oblast Council to award autonomy to the republic and to declare the oblast an autonomous republic.

27 October 2008

ZIK

http://zik.com.ua/en/news/2008/10/27/155336 (in English)

Editor’s Note:

Big news! It sure wasn’t reported in the western press! Is it because it puts one of the darling mascot-states of the neocons, the Ukraine, in a VERY bad light? Hmm… Give your prayers and support to the brave Carpatho-Russian people. They deserve to be free of Galician Uniate domination.

A note to my readers:

I use “Carpatho-Russian” because that is the usage favoured by Orthodox Christians from the region. “Rusyn” is an anti-Orthodox Uniate coinage best avoided. It is like using “Byzantine” when we should be using “New Roman”. Let’s use the form preferred by our Orthodox confrères. The papists can use what they will.

A Worthy Cause…

This worthy project is being aided by my good cyberfriend Sasha Ressetar (that is Sasha playing the balalaika in the above snap). Click on the photo above to view this in better detail. As Sasha sent this as a jpg-attachment, it was the only way to get it up on my site.

If you’re in that part of PA, consider helping out.

A big 4.0 to Sasha. Na mnogaya lyeta!

Ukrainian President Trails Two Main Rivals in Opinion Poll

Prime Minister Yuliya Timoshenko (1960- ), the leading candidate for President in the Ukraine, the foremost land-shark in Ukrainian politics. Cookie the Bookie sez that all punters would be wise to back this particular favourite… I wouldn’t bet against her!

Kiev, 30 October 2008 (RIA-Novosti):

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko would not even make the runoff if the Ukraine held a presidential election at the moment, the National Institute for Strategic Studies said on Thursday. The institute’s poll showed Prime Minister Yuliya Timoshenko top with 24.2 percent of respondents saying they would vote for her, followed by opposition Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovich with 20.7 percent. Only 9.7 percent of respondents said they supported Mr Yushchenko. Vladimir Litvin, the leader of his eponymous bloc, received 6.8 percent of the votes, whilst 5.9 percent of those polled backed Parliamentary Speaker Arseny Yatsenyuk, and 4 percent supported Communist leader Pyotr Simonenko. As many as 5 percent of respondents said they would vote against all the candidates, 7 percent said they would not vote at all, whilst 13 percent had not made up their minds.

The survey was conducted on 20-24 October, and involved a sample of 2,013 respondents. The margin of error is 2.3 percent. The data provided by the National Institute for Strategic Studies, which is considered an advisory research body assisting the president and government, is somewhat different from earlier published poll results, which gave the president no more than 5 percent backing. Presidential elections in the Ukraine are due to be held in late 2009 or early 2010, depending on parliament’s decision.

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/world/20081030/118043153.html (in English)

Deacon Andrei Kuraev thinks that the Popularity of the Deposed Bishop Diomid is a Direct Result of the Lack of Missionary Zeal in the Church

Deacon Andrei Kuraev (1963- ), Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy and popular preacher

Tomsk, 29 October 2008 (Interfax):

Deacon Andrei Kuraev, a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, thinks that the Moscow Patriarchate must intensify its missionary efforts and not concentrate so much on the building of thousands of new churches. “The popularity of this Bishop Diomid fellow in some church circles is the direct result of our lack of missionary zeal in the 90s, when all our efforts in the Church seemed to be focused on bricks and bells”, Deacon Andrei said to our Interfax correspondent at a news conference in Tomsk. He shares the opinion of many in the Orthodox clergy in Russia that the era of building grandiose cathedrals is over, but, he is not sure that he agrees with the proposition that “we must build thousands of small churches in residential neighbourhoods”. Focusing our energies solely on the building of new churches can create a false sense of security and complacency in the church administration, the dioceses, and the clergy, Fr Andrei believes.

“These are some virtues that come perilously close to being sins. For example, here is a priest who does not know how to mix with people; he doesn’t know how to go to the school to talk with the children, so, then, he keeps to the church building according to the rubrics.  I guess one could call this a good deed, but, I would call it a substitute, a sublimation of the real thing”, Deacon Andrei mused.

At present, in his opinion, the Church should be concentrating on publishing solid and canonical material for the general public. “Just go to any bookseller! It’s all trashy pseudo-literature and pseudo-Orthodoxy, there are no solid canonical Orthodox books in the shops”, Deacon Andrei said. “If we were to devote millions of dollars to cope with this problem, to ensure that solid Orthodox literature would be on the shelves of the shops, this would greatly change the spiritual climate in our country”. Today, Deacon Andrei believes that the Church has a choice to make. “We can either fancy up the ‘church ghetto’ or pack up our bags and leave the ‘ghetto’ behind”. He expressed his frustration that, so far, “the first phenomenon rules [in the Church], which shall inexorably lead to a serious crisis, including inside the very ‘church ghetto’ itself”.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=27125 (in Russian)

The Moscow Patriarchate shall send some of its Holiest Objects to France for Exhibition

Cathedral of the Daniilovsky Monastery in Moscow, the headquarters of the Moscow Patriarchte

Moscow, 29 October 2008 (Interfax):

The Moscow Patriarchate is planning to participate in the celebrations that shall be a part of The Year of Russia in France, which is scheduled for 2010. “The [Moscow Patriarchate] intends to participate in this endeavour, and it shall send some of its sacred objects to France so that Orthodox and believers of other Christian confessions may pray before them”, Patriarch Aleksei II told journalists on Wednesday at the Daniilovsky Monastery after his meeting with Monsignor André Armand Cardinal Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris, the Chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of France. His Holiness said that this gesture was in response to an invitation of Monsignor André.

Patriarch Aleksei also noted that there are many common tasks facing both churches today, in particular, in the sphere of preserving moral and intellectual values, which he believes can only be solved through a combined effort and strengthened bilateral relations. “The common historical experience of the Orthodox Church in Russia and the Catholic Church in France can become the basis of our common effort, especially as contacts between Orthodox Russians and French Catholics have a long history”, His Holiness commented. In particular, he called to mind the situation after the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War, when many émigrés from Russia lived in France. “Because they were faithful to the traditions of the Orthodox Church in Russia, it had an effect on French Catholic theology, as well”.

Patriarch Aleksei thanked Monsignor André for the opportunity, during his trip to Paris a year ago, to visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame and venerate one of the greatest Christian relics, the Crown of Thorns of Our Lord Christ the Saviour and to serve an Orthodox molieben before it. In turn, Monsignor André expressed his appreciation to His Holiness for his cordial reception and he shared his impressions of his recent visit to the St Sergius-Holy Trinity Lavra and the Solovetsky monasteries in the north. Monsignor André said that these visits convinced him “of the tremendous spiritual revival now sweeping the Orthodox Church in Russia, a revival not only of monastic and spiritual life, but, also, a renewing of theological studies”.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=27137 (in Russian)

Deacon Andrei Kuraev Advises Employers to Cut Back on Oysters during Lunch during the Financial Crisis, Not Cut Back Their Workers Pay-Packets

Deacon Andrei Kuraev (1963- ), Professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, one of the most popular preachers in Russia

Moscow, 29 October 2008 (Interfax):

Deacon Andrei Kuraev, a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, thinks that people should use the events surrounding the economic crisis as a means to grow spiritually. “Under the pressures that come with a crisis, people break down, but, this can lead to a cleansing, as they can come to an understanding of what is real and what is rubbish. It is possible for people to become better after undergoing such a test”, Fr Andrei said to our Interfax-Religion correspondent on Wednesday during an interview.

In his opinion, the main thing in a time of economic crisis is “to retain one’s humane impulses, and not make up such excuses as ’such extraordinary economic conditions force me to be especially stingy’”. He thinks that this applies with special force to employers. “Let them moderate their thirst for profits and limit their appetite, but, they should not make people redundant, for this shall leave them without bread. It is better to cut back on oysters during lunch than to cut back your workers’ pay-packets”, Fr Andrei emphasised. He gave a quote from the Holy Scripture, “Alms given to the poor are a loan to the Lord, and He shall render reward for every good deed”. “Repeatedly, I have seen these words proven correct and true by my own experience”, Fr Andrei noted.

As a case in point, he told of an event that happened to him last week. In St Petersburg, where he flew to take part in a television programme, the producers reimbursed him for the price of the ticket. He met two young seminarians from Piter (like saying “da Big Apple” for New York: editor’s note) who “looked like hungry sparrows. I gave each of them 1,000 roubles (37 USD. 29 euros. 23 UK pounds) and caught a flight from St Petersburg to Kiev. In Kiev, an unknown man approached me and said, ‘Oh, Fr Andrei, I am so glad to see you! I want to help you get by in this financial crisis’. He gave me 2,000 dollars (53,917 roubles. 1,558 euros. 1,224 UK pounds)”, Deacon Andrei said. “Sometimes, if I find myself in a tight squeeze financially and I find a needy seminarian, I give him the money he needs, then, I look up to Heaven and say, ‘Lord, did you see that? You owe me a small debt’”, Fr Andrei joked.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=27129 (in Russian)

Editor’s Note:

Vintage 100 percent pure Deacon Andrei, to be sure! Nevertheless, there is a point to be made. If you make someone redundant these days, you condemn them to poverty. If you can cut back on luxuries so that your employees have the means to support to their families, this is a Christian duty, not an option. How many American employers shall go against Deacon Andrei’s advice? All too many, I am afraid… and the worst ones shall be “born agains”, just you wait and see!