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

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”.

29 October 2008

Interfax-Religion

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

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

Cathedral of the Danilovsky Monastery in Moscow, the headquarters of the Moscow Patriarchate

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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 told journalists on Wednesday at the Danilovsky 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”.

29 October 2008

Interfax-Religion

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

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

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.

29 October 2008

Interfax-Religion

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

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!

BMD

Memorial Plaque Commemorating Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak to Be Unveiled in the Courtyard of a Chapel in the City-Centre of Moscow

Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak (1874-1920), commander of the Black Sea Fleet in World War I, leader of White forces in the Civil War, and Polar explorer

A memorial plaque commemorating Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak will be unveiled in central Moscow on Friday, 31 October. He was a naval commander and Polar explorer, and was executed by the Bolsheviks in 1920 as one of the leaders of the White movement during the Civil War. The unveiling ceremony will take place in the courtyard of the Chapel of St Nicholas the Wonderworker, who is the patron saint of travellers, the Heritage of Admiral Kolchak Movement said in a report on its website.

The chapel was originally built by the well-known adventurer Fyodor Konyukhov as a monument to some of his friends who died whilst exploring. Mr Konyukhov was also the impetus behind the installation of a memorial plaque to Admiral Kolchak. The plaque is meant to be unveiled on Admiral Kolchak’s birthday on November 4, coinciding with the Day of National Unity, an all-Russian national holiday.  On the walls of the chapel are inscribed the names of Jacques Cousteau, Thor Heyerdahl, and Yuri Senkevich, considered by Mr Konyukhov as the foremost explorers of the 20^th century. Now, this “honour roll” shall be augmented with the name of Aleksandr Kolchak. Admiral Kolchak’s scientific career included three around-the-world cruises and numerous Polar expeditions. “Whilst Kolchak’s significance as a historical and political figure may have received varying interpretations from his contemporaries, his role as a scientist who enriched science with works of major scientific significance is absolutely indubitable and, obviously, was under-appreciated to date”, according to the post on the Kolchak Movement website.

General Vladimir Kappel (1883-1920), White leader in the Civil War, died of severe frostbite on the reteat to Manchuria, reburied at the Donskoi Monastery in 2006

Earlier this week, the public movement Vozvrashchenie (Return) suggested that two of the streets in Moscow should be renamed in honour of Admiral Kolchak and General Vladimir Kappel, both White leaders in the Civil War. Mikhail Moskvin-Tarkhanov, the head of the urban development and town planning commission of the Moscow Municipal Duma also supports this idea.

29 October 2008

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=27118

Editor’s Note:

Another “Big Green Weenie Award” for the Interfax translators. About a third of the content was cut out of the Interfax English translation. Gotta send a smoke signal to get Chief Nocahoma out of his tipi! It’s time to give the “tomahawk chop” to the layabouts who translate at Interfax!

BMD