Department for the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church to Open In Moscow

Russian Orthodox parish in the Russian Embassy in Beijing

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The Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate decided at its winter session on Thursday to open a department concerned with the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church (CAOC). The decision by the Holy Synod accentuates the need to continue the efforts taken by the Department for External Church Relations in its dialogue with the Chinese authorities to normalise the situation of Orthodox believers in China. ”Under difficult conditions, many Orthodox believers in China have retained the Christian faith and their canonical ties with their Mother Church, the Moscow Patriarchate”, the session participants said, and their opinion is cited in the final documents adopted by the Holy Synod. The Russian spiritual mission existed in China since 1713 and it was abolished for political reasons in 1954. In 1956, the MP Holy Synod granted autonomy to the CAOC, and it appointed Archimandrite Vasili to head the Diocese of Beijing. Following the latter’s death in 1962, the CAOC fell into decay. In 1997, the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate said that, under existing circumstances, Patriarch Aleksei Rediger of Moscow and all the Russias would care for Orthodox believers in China.

27 December 2007

Interfax-Religion

www.interfax.ru

Patriarch Aleksei Says That Independence for Kosovo Can Lead to New Tragedy

Monument on Kosovo Polje

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Patriarch Aleksei Rediger of Moscow and all the Russias spoke against a unilateral proclamation of independence for Kosovo. ”The wish to proclaim independence for Kosovo will lead to new tragedy”, the patriarch said in Moscow. ”The Serbian people have suffered tragedy because many residents of Kosovo and Metohija had to flee their homes and had to relocate. Today, the future of Kosovo is resolved by people who’ve never been in Kosovo, people who don’t know how sacred this land is for the Serbian people. Think of the Kosovo Field, soaked with the blood of our brethren”, the patriarch said. He said that Patriarch Pavle of Serbia, who is currently ailing, is a “great zealot who prayed every day for reconciliation amongst the combatants from the beginning of bloodshed in the land of Yugoslavia”. Patriarch Aleksei wished that Serbs would endure less suffering and grief. ”May God help us, so that this year may be peaceful and creative, and let God’s blessing accompany all Serbians”, he said.

27 December 2007

Interfax-Religion

www.interfax.ru

A Multimedia Presentation. The Legends of Russian Rock Music, Part 21

Stantsiya Mir

Volodya Kozhekin, frontman of Stantsiya Mir, Russia’s leading harmonica player

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Stantsiya Mir is rather famous among Russian neo-hippies. Its frontman, Volodya Kozhekin, is one of the leading harmonica players in this country. “For us crazies, space is waiting. So, you’ll stay here, but off we go”, says one of the verses of the band’s most popular song.

14 February 2007

Vera Ivanova and Mikhail Manykin

Russia InfoCentre

http://www.russia-ic.com/culture_art/music/381/#r2

Parish in Lyons Is Accepted Into the Moscow Patriarchate

Andrei Schmemann (1921- ), identical twin-brother of the heretic Alexander Schmemann… he stands tall for tradition, through the OLTR, he leads the fight against the tradition-deniers at St Sergius

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The Moscow Patriarchate granted an appeal from an Orthodox parish in France to come under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. It is in the city of Lyons, and was set up by Russian émigrés in the 1930s. The Holy Synod granted the appeal on Thursday, saying that one of the reasons for its decision was the act of reunification between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia that took place on 17 May 2007. For 20 years, the parish of the Protection of the Mother of God in Lyons was under the rule of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul and usually held worship services once a month. On 13 October 2007, a parish meeting approved an appeal to be accepted under the omophor of the Moscow Patriarchate. The appeal was initiated by parish council members who wish their parish to maintain Russian traditions of worship. The Synod included the Lyons parish in the Diocese of Korsun headquartered in Paris.

27 December 2007

Interfax-Religion

www.interfax.ru