Russian Cathedral in Jerusalem Defiled with Anti-Christian Graffiti

Vandals defiled the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. During the night of 10 to 11 December, unknown intruders wrote in large red letters in Hebrew on the walls of the porch and the altar, “Death” and “Death to Christians”, as reported by Fr Feofan, a spokesman for the Mission, and according to the Mission’s official website. The mission filed a criminal complaint with the police in Jerusalem, but, the police say there is little chance of finding the guilty parties, as the church had no video security cameras. Fr Feofan said that the Mission was always refused permission whenever they asked the authorities if they could build a fence around the cathedral compound. “I hope that this incident will serve as an argument for it”, he said. As noted on the website, recently, Russian clergy, both Orthodox and those from other confessions, received similar threats repeatedly, both in public and in private. Yobbos threatened Christians, giving them an ultimatum: leave the country or we’ll “cut” you.

14 December 2009

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=33365

Official website of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem

http://www.rusdm.ru/?item=363

Voice of Russia World Service

http://english.ruvr.ru/2009/12/14/3028869.html

Here is an interesting article on similar incidents in the Jewish Daily Forward:

http://www.forward.com/articles/4360/

Anti-Semitic Demonstration in Chisinau on the Eve of Hanukkah

Statue of Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfânt in the Central Park in Chisinau

On Sunday, several dozen people took part in anti-Semitic demonstrations in Chisinau (formerly, Kishinev). The protesters, who identified themselves as “Orthodox Christians”, stated that they would not allow “Jews to rule” Moldova. Participants in the rally chanted anti-Semitic slogans in a square in the central park of Chisinau. They tore down Jewish symbols and items installed in the park two days earlier, on the eve of Hanukkah. They tore the menorah off its pedestal and threw it down before the monument of the 16th century Moldovan King Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfânt. At the rally, which lasted about an hour, several people dressed as priests took part. The police did not intervene to counter any action of the demonstrators, although several patrols were there to keep order. After the demonstration ended, a group from the main police station in Chisinau arrived with a delegation from the Israeli Embassy to Moldova.

A spokesman for the Association of Orthodox Experts believes that the anti-Semitic rally in Chisinau was the action of a marginal group. “According to media reports, these actions were committed by the Society of St Matrona of Moscow. This organisation has a ‘pro-Diomid’ {Editor’s note: This refers to the deposed Bishop of Anadyr and Chukhotka, Diomid Dzhuban.} and ‘anti-INN’ (Editor’s note: The INN is the Russian equivalent of the SSN or SIN.} orientation”, the association said in a statement received on Monday by Interfax-Religion. They believe that the organisers of the rally in Chisinau represent anti-Russian elements. The document went on to say, “There are those who believe that the modern passport is a ‘satanic instrument’. It’s easy to manipulate such people. So, let’s ask ourselves, ‘Who profits from this senseless extremist action, which some are inflating as a “new Kishinev pogrom”’ {Editor’s note: This is in reference to the 1903 Kishinev Pogrom.}?” The Association believes that the riot benefited the “new authorities in Chisinau, who needed a new ‘Reichstag fire’ as a pretext for repressing pro-Moldavian and pro-Russian elements in society and exert pressure on the Moldovan Metropolia of the MP”. The statement noted that the new authorities in Chisinau were amenable to elements in the Romanian Church that wished to take over the canonical territory of Moldavia by saying that its claims were “normal”, whereas the claims of the “Moscow Church” were “irregular and extremist”. “Incidents such as the one in Chisinau are proof of the need of a communal church effort to revitalise its mission and spiritual education so that we can overcome marginal tendencies in church circles”, the Association’s document summed up.

14 December 2009

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=33352

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=33361

Editor’s Note:

This does not “smell” like an ordinary outburst of anti-Semites, wretched as such sorts are. Normally, the cops would wade into the crowd and use their truncheons and water cannons until the idiots got tired of it and went home. Moldova is not the PC USA, after all. Cops can still slap a criminal silly without being hauled into court. The police stood motionless on the sidelines. They didn’t allow the riot to spread… but, they didn’t stop it, either. The police got orders from Somebody… you know, someone got a phone call from The Centre. Nobody wrote anything down, but, there was no confusion as to the meaning. The Jews and Hanukkah were only a pretext. Although, of course, part of it is that the Chisinau authorities who are “on the take” are going to demand a larger bite from Jewish businessmen, or, “God alone knows what can happen”.

Note well the statement that we “need… a communal church effort to revitalise its mission and spiritual education so that we can overcome marginal tendencies in church circles”. We need such here too. We’re not trashing Jewish symbols in a park… that’s minor in comparison to what SVS is doing. They laugh at the Holy Mountain at the instigation of a Uniate and invite a heterodox schismatic to speak on the Philokalia. That makes the desecration of a menorah look picayune. However, don’t get me wrong… those who ripped down the menorah deserve some good hard time in the slammer or a good “come to Jesus” thrashing from the cops. We don’t need to prove our “superiority” by ripping down other folks’ symbols. Would He have done that?

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Monday 14 December 2009

Albany NY

Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev Defended Women Who Come to Church in Trousers

Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk (1966- ), the head of the MP Department for External Church Relations

Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, the head of the MP Department for External Church Relations, urged parishioners to take a more tolerant attitude concerning the clothing worn by fellow worshippers. Speaking on the air during a segment of The Church and World (Церковь и мир: Tserkov i Mir) broadcast by the Vesti (News) network, Vladyki Hilarion pointed up with regret to cases of young people in informal clothing and girls in trousers that came to church in order to “find understanding and compassion, but, instead of that, they encountered abuse and swearing”. Furthermore, he went on to say, “We must fight this disease”, the official website of the DECR reported on Monday. Archbishop Hilarion noted that, in both Russia and the West, pantsuits for women have been around for more than 80 years, so, it’s an absurdity to say that trousers are purely an article of male apparel. “The Lord looks at the heart of man, not at his clothes”, he emphasised.

He also addressed the topic of clergy education; encouraging priests to follow the official position of the Church closely, as set out in its documents, in their pastoral activity. “Every priest should know the official teachings of the Church. Unfortunately, we still find priests who are either insufficiently educated or who knowingly put their opinions above the whole Church”, Vladyki Hilarion acknowledged. In his opinion, such people should “complete their education in the seminaries or work on themselves”.

14 December 2009

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=33366

Editor’s Note:

The issue of proper clothing at services sometimes takes a larger role than it should. My view is simple; we should be more concerned about the immodesty of clothing rather than its particular style. That is to say, a woman wearing trousers and a buttoned-up blouse is much more modest than one wearing a mid-thigh minidress with a plunging neckline. Anyone of good sense would agree with me, I am sure. In any case, immodesty proceeds from the interior to the exterior, not the other way around (in fact, I would say that there is more than one immodest person flitting about in a monastic riassa… looks DO deceive).

As for myself, when I go to the liturgy to pray, I don’t dress to show off. Normally, I choose a frock or skirt that is at least knee-length and I always wear a hat. There are “scarf people” and “hat people”… I’m of the latter camp; my preference is for a béret, as it doesn’t hinder the proper veneration of icons, block people’s vision, et al. It also very easy to tuck a béret into one’s handbag, so, one is prepared to enter a church at any time.

By the way, it’s not our place to hector other people at the services. I’m there to pray to Almighty God, not to look at everyone else. It’s not for me to lecture others on proper attire… the Church has not given me the warrant to pastor. I’d say that we should inspect those who make such loud complaints closely… all too often they are gossips, ignorant louts, or the self-righteous. Be especially leery if the comment issues forth from a baby konvertsy of less than seven years’ standing… they haven’t learnt “a cat sat on a mat” and they’re condemning others! Lordy!

If the Church tells us that we must lovingly tolerate those Orthodox who mistakenly use the papist calendar for the fixed feasts in the hopes of bringing them back to proper Orthodox practise, then, it’s easy to accept a gal in slacks. Don’t forget that St Paul was more concerned about whether a woman’s head was covered at prayer… he said nothing about the rest of her attire (except, of course, that it be modest goes without saying). Let’s show a sense of proportion.

A word or two concerning Hilarion Alfeyev is in order. There is much made of him in pseudo-intellectual circles, as he echoes their prejudices, preconceptions, and small-mindedness in so many ways. Priests are not independent actors… a friend of mine in the MP who is a canonist told me that, and it “sounds right”. Bishops make priests… not the other way around. Priests are the servants of the bishops and follow their orders. These so-called “pastoral documents” have their place, but, if a priest has a question on how to proceed, if the situation is in any way murky, he should consult his bishop. Then, he is on solid ground.

“Education” is far overrated; in my observation, too much of it leads to overweening pride and self-absorption. Don’t forget that HA is a leader of a faction, often, he does NOT speak for the Church; he only speaks for his clique (in fact, he is not as close a confidant to KMG as Fr Vsevolod Chaplin is, and Fr Vsevolod is much more adept in navigating the central apparat… HA merely looks nicer). In the above, when he spoke on dress in Church, he echoed the Mind of the Church; when he spoke on clergy education, he gave his personal opinion. One should attend to the former with some care; one must take the latter with a large block of salt in HA’s case. Caveat lector.

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Monday 14 December 2009

Albany NY

Churches in Perm Served Pannikhidas for Those Killed in the Lame Horse Nightclub Fire

Bishop Irinarkh Grezin of Perm and Solikamsk (1951- )

On the ninth day after the fire in the Хромая лошадь (Khromaya Loshchad: Lame Horse) nightclub, Bishop Irinarkh Grezin of Perm and Solikamsk blessed all parishes in the city of Perm to serve Pannikhidas for the repose of the souls of those who died in the tragedy. The bishop served a General Pannikhida for all the victims at Holy Trinity Cathedral. All the churches in the Diocese of Perm also served Memorial Liturgies. Priests preached their sermons only after the serving of the Pannikhida.

At the scene of the tragic fire, people laid flowers, lit candles, and placed pictures of their loved ones. Near the burnt-out shell of the club, mourners had laid veritable heaps of flowers, a myriad of red and white carnations, roses, and chrysanthemums. They lie on the stairs of the exit of the Park of the Ural Volunteers, and one sees them on the fence of the park. Governor Oleg Chirkunov of Perm Territory also laid flowers at the place of the tragedy and paid tribute to the victims at the memorial service at the Cathedral, ITAR-TASS reported on Sunday.

13 December 2009

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2009/12/13/3011476.html

Militant Pagan Placed a Bomb in a Church in Vladimir

In Vladimir, a suspect was arrested a in the case of the bombing of Ss Cyril and Methodius church, the police reported that they apprehended a 28-year-old local resident. According to the police, the detainee is an active member of a Neo-Pagan group, a movement that is in conflict with traditional religions, the Department of Counter-Terrorism told Itar-TASS on Friday.

The explosion occurred on 6 December in the church, which is adjacent to the campus of Vladimir State University (VGU). Investigators at the blast site found a leaflet printed by the group “White Storm” containing incitements to national and religious hatred and enmity. According to the records of the investigation, the suspect in the church blast had already written such a letter in September 2009 to one of the entertainment venues in the city of Vladimir. He threatened to carry out a terrorist attack upon a planned concert of Boris Moiseyev. The suspect had placed plastic bags with small amounts of explosives in the envelopes with the letters. Currently, the detainee is under investigation to see if he was involved in the commission of other crimes of an extremist nature.

11 December 2009

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2009/12/11/2997083.html

Atheists and Sex Shops in the United States and Britain Plan Sacrilegious Activities for the Christmas Season

On the eve of Christmas, the Humanist Association of the United States deployed a “pre-holiday” godless campaign throughout the country. According to the website Religion News Blog, in five American cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, members of the Association put up posters at municipal bus stops with a smiling Santa Claus and the slogan, “No God? No problem”. American humanists spent 40,000 US dollars (1.205 million Roubles. 27,236 Euros. 24,638 UK Pounds) on this advertising in the hope that it will remind atheists and agnostics that they are “not alone”. “To those who don’t believe in God, we say, everything’s okay”, said Roy Speckhardt, the representative of the Humanist Association in Washington.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the Ann Summers erotic goods store chain placed in the windows of its 138 outlets nationwide ads wishing “Merry Christmas” to all patrons, according to the British newspaper The Daily Mail, and in the front display window of one of its shops in Newcastle hung a poster reading “Have a Sexual Christmas!” The Church of England announced that the marketing campaign of this sex shop chain was “insensitive” and “stupid” and demanded that they immediately remove these ads from their windows. Newcastle cleric Rev Chris Dalliston called the posters “offensive to Christians” and called on merchants not to forget the true meaning of Christmas. However, the Newcastle City Council replied to Rev Dalliston by saying that although they believe the ad is “inappropriate”, they cannot force shopkeepers to remove it.

11 December 2009

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=33342

Editor’s Note:

Rev Dalliston went about this “bass-ackwards”, as the waggish would say. I’ll tell you what would have been effective! He should have enlisted a Muslim imam, a Buddhist bonze, and Dr M’Bogo, the local witch doctor (remember the Addams Family? Dr M’Bogo was their family witch doctor), to speak in front of the local Solons. Then, they would have folded immediately for fear of transgressing the Commandments of PC. You would have seen them grovel and flagellate themselves in full public view. “Oh, please! We’ll never do it again! We promise!” They would moan in ecstasy as they knelt on shards of broken glass whilst crazed Albanian dwarves whipped them bloody with motorcycle chains taken from superannuated Harleys.

That IS a pretty picture, no? You know what’s disturbing? I’m not exaggerating. If Christians complain, we get, “Screw you and the camel you came in on”. If non-Christians complain, one cannot imagine the depths of penitence the jerks would plumb. Amazing! It’s not a boring world, is it? I need a swaller of something good… do pass the jug!

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Friday 11 December 2009

Albany NY

The Moscow Patriarchate Wishes to Form a Front against the Godless

Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev (1946- ) of Moscow and all the Russias

Last week was full of the sort of contacts that the MP calls “external”, both with the secular authorities and with other religions. Patriarch Kirill, speaking Tuesday at the World Congress of Compatriots in Moscow, sadly noted that Russians living abroad often adulterated the Russian language. In his opinion, we should fight this debasement of everyday speech through the establishment of overseas centres for the study of the Russian language. His Holiness proposed that the state give its cooperation in this matter, we should establish cultural centres within foreign parishes, and the RF government should finance them. “The principle of the separation of church and state should not interfere with state support of our compatriots, including their religious life”, the patriarch said. Thus, the topic of the Russian language in the diaspora gives rise to an occasion to ask for money to support Orthodox parishes abroad.

The subject of state support of religious organisations was raised during a discussion at the RF Gosduma by Fr Vsevolod Chaplin, the chairman of the Synodal Department for Church-Society Relations, Pavel Shashkin, Executive Secretary of the Patriarchal Expert Council on Economics and Ethics, and Nikolai Levichyov, the faction leader of Just Russia (Справедливой России) in the RF Gosduma. Likewise, earlier, the faction United Russia and the Church agreed to cooperate. Both clergy and legislators proposed that we formalise the interaction of the state and the traditional religions in Russia by law, thereby calling into question the constitutional principle of separation of church and state.

That same day, Patriarch Kirill demonstrated how the church should interact with other traditional religions in Russia. He met with the head of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin and a delegation from the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAEK) and conferred upon Mufti Tadzhuddin the MP’s Order of the Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow, Second Class. Perhaps, by this award, the patriarch tried to show that the MP continues to seek peace with other religions and maintain a dialogue with them, that there are few problems and contradictions within the religious community in Russia. Mufti Tadzhuddin demonstrated reciprocity by taking the order, which is in the form of a New Roman cross with the image of an Orthodox saint in the centre.

On Thursday, in his Moscow residence, Patriarch Kirill met with a delegation of French Catholics, during which he called on Roman Catholics and Orthodox to join together to combat secularism in Europe. Two days earlier, he made a similar proposal to the delegation from the EAEK. “The patriarch said to us, ‘Let all of us who believe in God unite against those who do not believe in God’”, EAEK President Aleksandr Mashkevich told journalists.

7 December 2009

Andrei Melnikov

NG.ru

As quoted in Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=radio&div=1219

Orthodox Youth Plan “Day of Kindness” in Moscow

On 27 December, in Moscow, Orthodox youth organisations will hold a Day of Kindness. “Our purpose in holding this event is to support volunteer initiatives and involve young people in Moscow in acts of mercy”, Yuri Belanovsky, deputy head of the Patriarchal Centre for the Spiritual Development of Children and Youth at the Daniilovsky Monastery, told Interfax-Religion. According to Mr Belanovsky, volunteers shall work with children, play with them, and teach them how to draw. Meetings with celebrities and concerts shall be on tap for adults. The programme of events includes a charity fair, a drive to collect items for the needy, the presentation of charitable projects, seminars, and training sessions on skills necessary in volunteer service. The event will take place on 27 December from 08.00 to 20.00. The square in front of the Daniilovsky Monastery and the premises of the Patriarchal Centre for the Spiritual Development of Children and Youth (two-storey mansion in front of the monastery) will be the venue for all the events of the day.

10 December 2009

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=33312

Vladimir Strelbitsky, Wounded in the Attack that Killed Fr Daniil Sysoev, Discharged from Hospital

Vladimir Strelbitsky, choir director of St Thomas church, wounded in the attack that killed Fr Daniil Sysoev, was discharged from hospital. On 19 November, Mr Strelbitsky was shot during the assassination of Fr Daniil, and he was sent to the Botkin Hospital for the treatment of his wounds. However, now, he is recovering and, already, he is serving in the church, according to RIA-Novosti. “He (Mr Strelbitsky) is already back in the church singing. His hand doesn’t move around as much, yet, but, everything is fine, he has a spring in his step”, said Fr Vitaly Zubkov, a priest at St Thomas church. Mr Strelbitsky underwent immediate emergency surgery upon admittance to hospital. Fortunately, the bullet went right through him, without harming vital organs. Investigators believe that the most probable motive for the shooting is religious hatred.

9 December 2009

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2009/12/09/2963805.html

Russian Army Instituted the Post of Assistant to the Commander for Religious Work

On 1 December, the RF Armed Forces introduced the post of Assistant to the Commander (of a military unit) for Religious Work. Clergy would be appointed to fill this role, but, they would technically remain civilians, said Colonel Igor Sergienko, the head of the Section for Patriotic Education and Liaison with Community Associations of the General Directorate of Educational Work of the Armed Forces, at hearings Wednesday that focused on the topic of religion in the forces held by the Commission of the RF Public Chamber. He said that clergy would report directly to the unit commander, they would work in accordance with the daily routine of a military unit, and they would act as spiritual fathers of believers only when the troops were off duty, according to regulations concerning the armed forces.

In an interview with our Interfax correspondent, Colonel Sergienko noted that the first group of Orthodox clergy appointed to this post should be with the troops by the end of December. Nine of the 13 priests involved shall receive postings to units at Russian military bases abroad, and the remaining four will work with units in the North Caucasus Military District. According to Colonel Sergienko, the implementation of the institution of military clergy will be in full force in 2010. “In the second phase of the introduction, which begins on 1 January 2010, priests of the MP will serve in all units of the Armed Forces down to brigade level inclusive, and would act as spiritual advisors to soldiers of other religions such as Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews”, he said. He explained that, in units where 10 percent or more of the soldiers belong to another religion, the assistant commander for religious work would cooperate with the clergy of that religion.

According to studies and surveys of the sociological centre of the Armed Forces, currently more than 70 percent of the personnel in the Army and Navy consider themselves believers. Of these, about 80 percent identify as Orthodox, about 13 percent say that they are Muslim, about 3 percent are Buddhist, and 4 percent are adherents of other faiths. At present, some two thousand clergy of the MP do pastoral work in army and navy units and there are 530 churches on the property of the Defence Ministry.

9 December 2009

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=33298