Happy Easter greetings to all of my readers who’re observing the Catholic Easter. Of course, you know that there’ll be an open gate at our house for Orthodox Easter on 5 May. I hope to see you there… after all, it’s the centre of our faith, isn’t it?
Oh… one last thing… I LIKE the Easter Bunny and I think that he’s legit. Anyone who wants to be a spoilsport can stay away from my door… ’nuff said!
BMD
Click here for an image gallery on Catholic Easter in Russia
On Sunday, Catholics all over the world celebrated Easter. In Moscow, Archbishop Monseigneur Paolo Pezzi FSCB, Chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia, led the Easter vigil mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary, attended by hundreds of Catholic believers from Moscow and other Russian cities. A silent prayer in the dark of the night preceded the mass, and, then, a special candle, the Great Paschal Candle, was lit from an Easter fire kindled in the churchyard. The burning candle symbolised Christ’s message dispelling the darkness.
Archbishop Paolo Pezzi said in his Easter sermon, “The resurrection of Christ is a new beginning, a new world, a new dimension in life. This new life changes our entire modern world. Man’s faith in himself stems from his faith in God. Without faith in God, man loses himself. Whenever people or nations forgot about God, they were unable to build a better life. Deep wretchedness always afflicted them. The Holy Light of Christ’s Resurrection illuminated the creation of the world and man, along with the mission, aspirations and entire existence of mankind”.
Fr Kirill Gorbunov told VOR, “The Catholic Easter mass is particularly solemn because Easter is the central event of the Church Year. Firstly, there’s the Liturgy of Light… the kindling of new light as a symbol of Resurrection, a symbol of Christ’s light, which shone out of the darkness of hopelessness, sin, and death, which gave us hope for salvation. Secondly, there is the recollection of the entire story of Salvation… the creation of the world, the fall from grace, the covenant between God and Man, the prophesies of the Saviour, and, finally, the story of the Resurrection of Christ. Thirdly, there’s the Baptismal Liturgy; the Catholic Church believes that the Easter Vigil is the right time for converts to undergo baptism”.
The tradition to baptise adults during the Catholic Easter Vigil liturgy dates back to ancient times. Catholic believers think that undergoing baptism during the Easter vigil is a special blessing. This time, there were 14 newly-baptised Christians at the Moscow-based Cathedral of Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary. One was Inna, who said, “I’ve been preparing for this for two long years, and, now, I’m happy. Now, I feel that my soul has light. It’s so beautiful at the cathedral today. Throughout the entire mass, I felt that this holy feast was dedicated to us, who became closer to God today. I’m lost for words to express what I feel”.
Orthodox Christians also visit Catholic churches on Easter… however, they don’t take part in the mass; they’re there to congratulate their fellow Christians. This time, Fr Dmitri Sizonenko, from the MP DECR, represented the patriarchate. He said, “This is a good tradition, for Orthodox and Catholic Christians to congratulate each other on major holy feasts. Although we have differences in ritual, the meaning of Easter is the same”. For Catholics, Easter is the most jubilant holiday. Apart from traditional Russian Easter eggs and kulich (Easter bread), Catholic believers presented each other with chocolate Easter bunnies, which symbolise fertility.
31 March 2013
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_31/Russian-Catholics-celebrate-Easter/
The leadership of United Russia doesn’t share the opinion of former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachyov about the need to resume perestroika. On Sunday, Sergei Neverov, secretary of the General Council of United Russia told the press commenting on Gorbachyov’s Saturday statement, “Mikhail Gorbachyov already initiated one perestroika. As a result, we lost the country”. He also disagreed with Gorbachyov’s evaluation of current Russian policy, saying, “It’s precisely this policy that helped us to preserve the state, tackle the problem of poverty, and stop criminal elements from coming to power… the consequences for Russia of the policy pursued by Gorbachyov”. He said that the majority of the population supports the actions of the government and president, noting, “This is the best proof of the correctness of the chosen policy”. Gorbachyov thinks that Russia should restart perestroika, saying in an open lecture in Moscow on Saturday, “We reached a stage when perestroika was interrupted. Increasingly, politics became play-acting. We need a new system of governing the country. We need real elections, not pretend elections. Health protection, education, and science arouse great concern”.
31 March 2013
Voice of Russia World Service
Voices from Russia 
Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus Sez: “We Should Withdraw from the Union”
Tags: Archbishop Chrysostomos, Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus, Christian, Christianity, Cyprus, Eastern Orthodox Church, ECB, economic crisis, EU, Euro, Euro Zone, Europe, European Central Bank, European Commission, European Union, Euroscepticism, Eurozone, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Italy, Orthodox Church in America, Orthodoxy, political commentary, politics, Portugal, Spain
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Archbishop Chrysostomos Demetriou of Nova Justiniana and all Cyprus said that his country should withdraw from the EU, as the EU would cease to exist in the future, as its coming apart. Vladyki Chrysostomos said in an interview with Pervy Kanal (Первый канал: Channel One), “Currently, the economies of Spain, Portugal, and Italy are in danger. If the Italian economy goes down, just like our economy, the EU won’t withstand it. The people who rule the EU, particularly, those making decisions in the so-called troika, don’t understand many things; that’ll lead to the collapse of the EU. This is why I believe we [Cyprus] should withdraw from the union before the collapse takes place”.
On Monday, the finance ministers of the 17-nation Eurozone agreed to a 10-billion Euro (399 billion Roubles. 12.9 billion USD. 8.5 billion UK Pounds) deal for Cyprus to rescue the island nation and its oversized banking sector from financial collapse. The new deal forces the holders of accounts of over 100,000 Euros (3.99 million Roubles. 128,400 USD. 84,300 UK Pounds) to take losses that could amount to 30 to 40 percent of their deposits. The ministers expect the new deal to yield some 4.2 billion Euros (137.5 billion Roubles. 5.4 billion USD. 3.5 billion UK Pounds) to allow Cyprus, which is currently teetering on the brink of default, to obtain 10 billion Euros in financial aid from the troika of international lenders. The so-called troika of creditors are the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and the ECB.
31 March 2013
RIA-Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/world/20130331/180359765/Archbishop-of-Cyprus-Says-His-Country-Should-Quit-EU.html