Patriarch Kirill Visits Bethlehem… Confabs with Abbas

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On Saturday, on the second day of his Holy Land trip, Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias visited the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem and met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. After his visit to the Bethlehem church, built over the site where Christians believe Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable, Kirill met with the Palestinian president at his office in the West Bank city. A statement from the president’s office cited Abbas as telling Kirill that his visit was historical and had political meaning. Abbas said, “We feel it comes from the leadership of the Russian people”, observing that Moscow supported peace and justice in the Middle East. The statement also quoted Kirill as saying the visit was special to him, and especially important “since Christ walked here. I’m fully confident that you’re committed to real peace, and your position is welcome because the people living here know the meaning of living in unrest”.

Kirill heads the Patriarchate of Moscow and all the Russias (Russian Orthodox Church in colloquial usage), a church with some 150 million Orthodox believers; he arrived in Jerusalem on Friday for his first visit since becoming head of the powerful church in 2009, and held prayers at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Over the course of his six-day trip, Kirill will also meet Israeli President Shimon Peres and King Abdullah II of Jordan, in a sign of his new importance as a global religious figure. Israel‘s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called his trip “the most important (religious) visit (to Israel) since that of Pope Benedict XVI” in 2009. The 65-year-old patriarch will visit Christian holy sites in northern Israel as well as in Jordan.

10 November 2012

Agence France-Presse

As quoted by the Business Reporter

http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/1-front-top-news/89927-russian-orthodox-patriarch-visits-bethlehem.html

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The First Hierarch of the MP, Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias, praised Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for his efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, saying, “War always brings pain. We must achieve all of our goals peacefully. I thank you, Mr Abbas, for backing this position. We’ll pray for peace in the Holy Land”. The patriarch, for whom this is the first visit to the Holy Land since his election as First Hierarch in 2009, also thanked Abbas for supporting Christian shrines in the region.

10 November 2012

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/world/20121110/177358302.html

Jerusalem Greeted Patriarch Kirill

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On his arrival in Jerusalem on Friday, a solemn procession of clerics and laypeople accompanied Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias, the First Hierarch of the MP, as he walked from the Jaffa Gate to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre inside the Old City. Thousands of believers gathered in front of the church, which is the holiest site in the world for Christians, to greet Patriarch Kirill and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos Giannopoulos of Jerusalem, who met him. The two patriarchs held a short service.

For centuries, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was one of the most important pilgrimage destinations for millions of Christians, as it’s the purported site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Patriarch Theophilos addressed Patriarch Kirill, on his first visit to the Holy Land since his election as Patriarch in 2009, with a formal speech, in which he noted the importance of brotherly relations between the two Orthodox Churches. Patriarch Kirill said that every Christian dreams of visiting the Holy Land, saying, “For the first time, I’ve come to the Holy Land to offer prayers on behalf of the entire Russian Church that chose me as its First Hierarch”, adding that he’d, in particular, pray for peace in the world. During his six-day stay, Patriarch Kirill shall visit Christian holy sites in Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Jordan.

Earlier in November, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre threatened to close its doors as its bank account was frozen over a debt to an Israeli water company. The church was exempt from water charges due to a tacit agreement with the Jerusalem municipal authorities for decades, but the Hagihon company, which took over water supply to Jerusalem in the late 1990s, recently demanded payment of a 2.3 million USD bill dating back 15 years, including interest. Patriarch Theophilos even wrote letters to the leaders of Russia, Israel, the USA, Greece, Cyprus, and Jordan, with an appeal to intervene in the standoff and put a stop “to this flagrant act against the church”. President Putin’s spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that the presidential administration would thoroughly study Theophilos’s request for help. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem shares control of the church with the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Roman Catholic Franciscan Order through complicated arrangements essentially unchanged for centuries. The site, located within the Christian Quarter of the walled Old City of Jerusalem, attracts more than a million pilgrims annually.

10 November 2012

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/art_living/20121110/177345483.html

Christianity’s Holiest Site Threatens Closure over Water Bill Row

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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem threatened to close its doors to pilgrims and tourists as an Israeli court froze its bank account over an accumulated debt for water supplies. The church, which has been for centuries one of the most important pilgrimage destinations for millions of Christians as the purported site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is now unable to pay salaries to its expansive staff of priests, monks, and teachers. On Friday, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos Giannopoulos said, “If nothing changes, we intend to announce within a few days, for the first time in centuries, that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is closed”.

The church was exempt from water charges in a tacit agreement with Jerusalem authorities for decades, but the Hagihon company, which took over water supply to Jerusalem in the late 1990s, recently demanded payment of a 2.3 million USD (72.5 million Roubles. 1.8 million Euros. 1.45 million UK Pounds) bill dating back 15 years, including interest. The company insists that the Israeli laws don’t exempt any party from water charges and other religious institutions in Jerusalem pay their bills on a regular basis. The church says it is willing to pay for future utilities, but has asked Hagihon to write off the accumulated debt, as it was the result of an original misunderstanding.

Patriarch Theophilos wrote letters to the leaders of Israel, Russia, the USA, Greece, Cyprus, and Jordan with an appeal to intervene with the standoff and put a stop “to this flagrant act against the Church”. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem shares control of the church with the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Roman Catholic Franciscan Order through complicated arrangements essentially unchanged for centuries. The site, located within the Christian Quarter of the walled Old City of Jerusalem, attracts more than one million pilgrims annually.

3 November 2012

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/world/20121103/177159544.html

Editor’s Note:

This isn’t the Israeli government… it’s a bunch of greedy rightwing businessmen. This is the inevitable result of “deregulation”… crapitalist swine are holding the Church of the Holy Sepulchre up to ransom. This is what you’ll get if you vote for Romney. Let this be a warning to all comers… the rightwing doesn’t care whom it screws to get filthy lucre. To think that some money-hungry bastard is sleeping soundly after doing this…

BMD

Muslim Rage Spreads Worldwide

Protestors outside the American Embassy in Cairo (Cairo Governorate) EGYPT

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Protests against the American film Innocence of Muslims has begun to spread all over the world. There’ve been attacks on American Embassies worldwide as Muslim anger against American policies and meddling continued. The protests involved hundreds of thousands; for the most part, they’re peaceful, with the largest part of the most serious violence directed at American Embassies and businesses, and in one case, protesters burned down an American school. Since the murders in Benghazi, there have been no reports of violence against Americans.

Mass protests by Muslims continue to spread to more and more countries as outrage in the Islamic world escalates due to the trailer of an American film ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed called Innocence of Muslims, which appeared on the internet. Although the film was the spark that lit the flames of the violence, massive longstanding grievances and anger against the USA and its attempts to force its policies on countries worldwide, as well as the constant meddling of the USA into affairs in Muslim world are now serving to feed the escalating violence. The deep socioeconomic problems in Arab Spring countries, something that hasn’t been addressed, is also playing into the hands of Islamists and adding more fuel to the crisis.

All over the world, governments are asking Muslims to show restraint and not to escalate the level of violence. On Friday, the protests spread from Egypt and Libya to other countries including Israel, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen. There were also widespread protests in countries outside the Middle East, including but not limited to Bangladesh, Kashmir, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Qatar.

Israel

In Jerusalem, a protest near the Damascus Gate turned violent when protesters began throwing rocks at police. Apparently, the protesters began to head in the direction of the American Consulate, but the police stopped them by using concussion grenades. According to Ynetnews, there were protests in Akko, in the Wadi Ara region, and in the towns of Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Umm al-Fahm, which were for the most part peaceful.

Yemen

Yemen saw some of the most violent protests with reports saying that security forces killed four protesters who were rioting near the American Embassy.

Sudan

In Khartoum, hundreds of protesters stormed the German Embassy and set it on fire. Police used teargas to dispel the protesters, who then began protesting outside the British Embassy nearby.

Kashmir

In Kashmir, in some of the largest anti-American demonstrations so far, at least 15,000 people took part in dozens of protests, chanting “Down with America”, “Down with Israel”, and calling US President Barack Obama a “terrorist”. The country’s top cleric demanded that Americans leave the region immediately.

India

In Chennai, protesters threw stones at the American Consulate, shattering some windows and burned an effigy of Obama. Police arrested more than 100 protesters.

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, about 5,000 people marched in Dhaka burning American and Israeli flags and calling for the death of the film-maker. Police stopped them from reaching the American Embassy.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation in the world, protests were extremely peaceful, as only about 200 protesters held a peaceful protest outside the heavily-guarded American Embassy in Jakarta.

Iran

There were more protests in Tehran, including demonstrations outside the Swiss Embassy (which represents American interests in Iran). Reports say Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, denounced the anti-Muslim film during Friday prayers.

Tunisia

Three protesters were killed outside the American Embassy in Tunis, where demonstrators attempted to enter the compound. The demonstrators included ordinary Tunisians and Salafist activists. An American school was also set on fire.

Lebanon

Security forces in Tripoli killed one demonstrator as protesters attempted to storm a government building. In addition, protesters burned down an American Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.

Syria

In Damascus, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the American Embassy holding a peaceful demonstration. Protesters carried images of President Bashar al-Assad and chanted anti-American slogans.

Pakistan

Hundreds of protesters attempted to march towards the American Embassy in Islamabad and were stopped by police far from the city’s diplomatic quarter where the embassy is located.

Qatar

Protesters filled the streets of Doha and lined the city’s main highway. No violence was reported.

In closing, I’d personally like to ask all Muslims to show restraint and demonstrate peacefully, as this was another provocation. Those who made the film want to see violence and want you to overreact. If you react violently, you’ll be playing into their hands.

14 September 2012

John Robles

Voice of Russia World Service

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_09_14/Muslim-rage-spreads-worldwide/