Mosaic “Suvorov’s March Over the Italian Alps in 1799”. Suvorov Museum (St Petersburg (Federal City of St Petersburg) RF). Over two centuries later, the people of Switzerland and Northern Italy remember Marshal Suvorov… he was the Liberator, and there’s no two ways about it. Italy and Russia go back a LONG time…
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The Italian government granted legal status to the MP parishes on its territory, granting it official recognition. This move will greatly facilitate the pastoral ministry of priests and open new opportunities for the development of the Orthodox faith in the region. Bishop Nestor Sirotenko, the ordinary of the MP Diocese of Korsun (which has jurisdiction over Italy), said, “This recognition gives us completely new legal opportunities. We’ll be able to enter into contracts for the use of church buildings, that’s something that we have to do quite often. This recognition from the Italian government was an absolute necessity for us. In fact, in contemporary Italy, according to various estimates, about a million people are the MP’s spiritual children. Firstly, they’re emigrants from the Ukraine, Moldova, and Russia. Their number’s very considerable; the number of our parishes is constantly growing”.
As a legal entity, the MP can now purchase property and land, carry out legal action in the courts, have an independent income, and even apply for funds from the state budget. Fr Vladimir Kuchumov has already served in Italy for 10 years. Due to the fact that the MP wasn’t a recognised religious organization, he often met difficulties in his pastoral ministry. He said, “When I was rector of the Russian parish in Naples, I couldn’t visit the prison, even if our countrymen were imprisoned there. Even though I’m a priest, I wasn’t allowed to go there, because our church wasn‘t recognised by the Italian state. There were a few times that I used the pull of the local Catholic bishop in Naples when there was an urgent need. Now, no one has the right to keep me from visiting the gaol if our believers are imprisoned there”.
Today, Fr Vladimir’s the rector of the legendary Russian Compound in Bari. Earlier this year, the Italian government finally transferred the St Nicholas podvorie, also known as “Little Russia in Italy”, to the MP. In the early 20th century, the donations of Russian believers funded the construction of this unique Orthodox complex in Bari. True, in its early years, the Russian Compound belonged to the Russian state. After the 1917 Revolution, the new Soviet state abandoned the complex’s buildings. The process of returning the property of the Russian Compound of St Nicholas only began in the mid-1990s.
Fr Vladimir said, “Now, not only Russian Orthodox believers come to the complex, but also Orthodox from other countries, and even Catholics. Generally, we have very friendly relations with the Holy See’s representatives. Amongst practising and devout Catholics, there’s great interest in Eastern traditions. Orthodox priests in Italy are at their ease. When we go about in public wearing our riassa and the cross, the locals show signs of respect, they even ask for blessings and prayers. We’re always treated with great respect, and we’re always receiving invitations to come to Catholic parishes to talk to Catholics about the Orthodox faith”. Orthodoxy is the third largest religion in modern Italy. The history of Russian Orthodoxy in the region dates back to the late 18th century. The first “Russian” churches appeared in 1797 in Torino {because of Marshal Suvorov’s campaigns in Northern Italy: editor}, and two years later in Naples. At present, over 50 MP parishes and communities exist in Italy.
24 May 2012
Milena Faustova
Voice of Russia World Service
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_05_24/75777511/
Editor’s Note:
There’s “ecumenism” and there’s “friendly relations with the neighbours”, and they’re NOT the same thing. The first is indifferentist and syncretistic, and only the worst and most unhinged sort of Catholic and Orthodox “theologians” indulge in it. The second is human and natural, mostly engaged in by decent human beings. Latin Catholics are what they are… and, no doubt, they feel the same way about us. As an Ecumenical Patriarch put it famously, “Send us no more letters about doctrine; send us letters of friendship, only”.
If we follow such a course, that’ll smooth relations greatly, I’m sure. Let’s not chase after a false and chimerical “union” (our beliefs ARE that different)… let’s pursue a modest and decent friendship, as Christians ought (our beliefs ARE that similar). The key’s under the mat and the front gate’s unlatched… but you knew that already, didn’t you? Did you bring the church key and the Jimmy Sturr records? Now, THAT’S important…
BMD
