English version

ENGLISH VERSION: Metropolitan Valentine completes pastoral visit to USA

Metropolitan Valentine of Suzdal and Vladimir is back in Russia after a three week pastoral trip to America, having visited the grave of Bishop Gregory (Grabbe) of blessed memory and celebrating the 80th birthday of Church News editor...

Опубликовано: 13.06.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Belarussian authorities attempt to accuse priest of ROCOR(L) of "illegal religious activity"

A new wave of persecutions on ROCOR (L) believers has begun in Belarus. On 17 May into the house of the priest Leonid Plyats of ROCOR (L) in the village of Zabolotye, Smolevichi region of the Minsk territory,...

Опубликовано: 06.06.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: ROAC priests persecuted by MP and FSB in Bryansk

Three priests of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church in the Bryansk province are dealing with slander and pressure. At the end of 2004, three priests-- Michael Dudarev, Victor Zemlyakov and Oleg Yevseyev--left the Bryansk diocese of the MP...

Опубликовано: 31.05.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Avoiding participation in the great victory services. Sermon of the V. Rev. Archpriest Fr. Michael Ardov, Thomas Sunday, May 8th, Moscow

Christians should not get involved in politics. Christians, especially in our sad time in history, should stand far away from any such thing and from all political matters.

Опубликовано: 18.05.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Metropolitan Epiphany, First Hierarch Of The TOC Of Cyprus Reposes In The Lord

On the eve of Pascha, April 17/30 of 2005, in 6 PMMoscow time, Metropolitan Epiphany, First Hierarch of the True Orthodox Church of Cyprus (part of the "Matthewite Synod") reposed in the Lord, Vertograd reports.

Опубликовано: 12.05.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Paschal epistle of Valentine Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir, chief hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church

To Our beloved Brother Archpastors, Reverend Priests and Monastics,and to the entire God-loving flock of the Russian Orthodox ChurchMy dearly beloved Archpastors, Pastors, Brothers and Sisters,Christ is Risen!"Let us celebrate the demise of death…""…the never-ending beginning of another...

Опубликовано: 02.05.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Arbitration court in Stavropol decided to give St Olga church building of ROAС to local diocese of MP

On April 6, the Arbitration court for Stavropol decided to transfer the the St Olga Temple belonging to the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church to the jurisdiction of the Stavropol Diocese of the MP. This decision is a reversal...

Опубликовано: 27.04.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: The Government of Greece Rejects the Appeal of the Abbot Methody of Esphigmenou Against the Decision of Constantinople Patriarch to Banish the Monks of Esphigmenou from Athos

The State Council of Greece, being been the supreme judicial court, rejected the community of Esphigmenou's appeal through the abbot of the monastery, Abbot Methodius, who attempted to dispute the decision of Patriarch Bartholemew of Constantinople about the...

Опубликовано: 01.04.2005

ЕNGLISH VERSION: Lenten Epistle of the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church His Eminence Valentine Metropolitan of Suzdal and Vladimir

To all of our Fathers, honorable monastics, and God-fearing flock of the Church of God."O Lord and Master of my life.grant me to see mine own sinsand not to judge my brother,for blessed art Thou unto ages of...

Опубликовано: 10.03.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Embattled Eirinaios accuses Christodoulos

Patriarch Eirinaios of Jerusalem directly linked Archbishop Christodoulos with Greece's most wanted man, stating in a surprise revelation on February 23 that Christodoulos sent Apostolos Vavylis to Israel to help elect him. The revelation, made in an announcement...

Опубликовано: 06.03.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: American ROAC Clerics Visit Suzdal

The Dean of ROAC in North America and pastor of Holy Resurrection Church in Worcester (Massachusetts), Protopresbyter Victor Melehov, the rector of the Church of St John the Russian in Ipswich (Massachusetts) Archpriest Spyridon Schneider, and rector of...

Опубликовано: 02.03.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Archbishop Mark of Berlin is re-exposed to the "true essence" of the Moscow Patriarchate. By Alexander Soldatov

That circumstances would hinder the process of "reunification" between the ROCOR (L) and the Moscow Patriarchate has already been noted long ago-- it was clear even in the days of the "historic visit" to Russia of the official...

Опубликовано: 08.02.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Unification of ROCOR with Moscow Patriarchate Transferred to Early 2005

ROCOR (L) will solve the key issues of its "reunification" with MP during the All-Diaspora Sobor in first half of 2006, the reason given being that a decision on such an important question requires the convocation of a...

Опубликовано: 01.02.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: "INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WATCH": Divide and Rule. By Lawrence A. Uzzell

In the last two years the Russian news media have forgotten about us," the head of that country’s Roman Catholics told me in a recent interview in his Moscow office. Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz rightly thinks that is a...

Опубликовано: 26.01.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Georgia: attacks on religious minorities unpunished

In the handful of prosecutions of those responsible for physically attacking members of religious minorities and destroying places of worship and religious literature in the five-year reign of terror by self-designated and self-appointed Orthodox vigilantes from 1999 to...

Опубликовано: 19.01.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Repression Despite the Rose Revolution

By Lawrence A. Uzzell

Опубликовано: 11.01.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Nativity Epistle of Metropolitan Valentine of Suzdal and Vladimir to the Most Reverend Archpastors, Clergy and Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church

"Today the Virgin giveth birth to Him Who transcendeth being;and the earth proffereth a cave to Him Who is unapproachable;Angels and shepherds sing praises together;the Magi travel together with a star;for for our sake He Who is Pre-eternal...

Опубликовано: 10.01.2005

ENGLISH VERSION: Christian Leaders of Jerusalem See Reason for Hope. But Lament That Bethlehem Seems a "Big Prison"

The patriarchs and heads of the Christian churches in Jerusalem believe that there are "small signs of hope" despite the violence in the Holy Land."We go to Bethlehem to adore the mystery of Christmas, despite the grave difficulties...

Опубликовано: 28.12.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: ROAC Priest in Stavropol Evicted from His Home at the Request of the Local Moscow Patriarchate Bishop

Persecutions continue against clerics of the Russian Church in the Stavropol region. Now being a member of a ROAC is the all that is needed to be persecuted, Vertograd reports. MP Bishop Theofan (Ashurkov) has successfully orchestrated an...

Опубликовано: 23.12.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Azerbaijan - "We want freedom - freedom in society, freedom of faith and freedom to worship"

"We want freedom - freedom in society, freedom of faith and freedom to worship," a Protestant pastor in central Azerbaijan told Forum 18 News Service. "Freedom from the state so that it no longer interferes." Protestant, independent Muslim,...

Опубликовано: 17.12.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Chinese police arrest 3 leading intellectuals

BEIJING The Chinese police on Monday detained three leading intellectuals who have been critical of the government, apparently stepping up a campaign to silence public dissent.

Опубликовано: 14.12.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Relics Ceremony a Step Toward Unity, Says Bartholomew I

Bartholomew I says that receiving the relics of two Doctors of the Church from John Paul II was his most important service in 13 years as ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople.

Опубликовано: 10.12.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation Meets in Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, DC [SCOBA] -- The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation continued its reflection on primacies and conciliarity in our churches when it met at St. Paul's College in Washington, DC, from October 21 to 23, 2004. The meeting,...

Опубликовано: 06.12.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Man Shot Himself Inside Church

BOSTON, Mass. – A Greek Orthodox Christian allegedly committed suicide in his own church.Authorities said a young Greek American man, 35 years of age, killed himself inside Saint Barbara’s Church in Orange, Connecticut on November 11-12. He used...

Опубликовано: 02.12.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: "FORUM 18": Russia: mixed visa fortunes for foreign catholic clergy

"My main occupation here is applying for visas," Polish Catholic parish priest Fr Krzysztof Goik remarked to Forum 18 News Service in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar in late September. While their fellow foreign priests in other...

Опубликовано: 30.11.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Russia: pressure on Tatarstan protestants

The head of the FSB security service in Aznakayevo, a town in mainly Muslim-populated Tatarstan, has strongly denied to Forum 18 News Service that his officers have tried to expel Rafis Nabiullin, the pastor of a small Evangelical...

Опубликовано: 22.11.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: "Substantial Progress" Made Based on "Positive Spirit". Vatican Evaluation of Relations Between Catholic and Orthodox Churches

One of the most important elements of the decree "Unitatis Redintegratio" (UR) -- still valid, 40 years after its promulgation --, is that of relations with the Orthodox Churches. The Council exhorted everyone, "but especially those who intend...

Опубликовано: 19.11.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Georgia: Violence against religious minorities continues

Violence and the threat of violence against Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic and Pentecostal religious minorities continues, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. For example, a Baptist deacon, Zurab Khutsishvili, has been banned by police from building a house and...

Опубликовано: 05.11.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Notes from the underground. An independent Russian Orthodox congregation has been following ancient traditions in a Stapleton basement

The odyssey of the Rev. Vladimir Shishkoff and the parishioners of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church ended one day in December 2001 when they turned a Stapleton basement into a warm and thriving church.

Опубликовано: 01.11.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Macedonia: Monastery demolished – another church demolition planned, and Metropolitan to be jailed?

A Macedonian government official, Dr Cane Mojanovski, has refused to confirm or deny to Forum 18 News Service reports that the government intends to demolish the Serbian Orthodox Church in the village of Luzani. The reports follow the...

Опубликовано: 26.10.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: U.S. Episcopal Church Criticized for Consecrating Gay Bishop

An Anglican church commission on Monday sharply criticized the U.S. Episcopal Church for consecrating a gay bishop and called on the church to apologize and refrain from promoting any other clergy living in a same-sex union.

Опубликовано: 18.10.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: XINJIANG: Linked religious practice and state control levels?

China maintains few controls on religious life in the mountainous Altai [Altay] region in the far north of Xinjiang, Forum 18 News Service has noted, apparently because there are only low levels of Islamic, Buddhist, Pagan, Orthodox and...

Опубликовано: 12.10.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: The perils of accommodation: Russia and John Paul II. By John L. Allen Jr., Moscow

Russia has haunted Pope John Paul II, from the confrontation with Communism during his first decade to his push for reconciliation with the Russian Orthodox in the last. This first Slavic pope has long dreamed, so far fruitlessly,...

Опубликовано: 29.09.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: The ultra-Orthodox innocents

The following story is particularly appropriate for the 10 days of penitence between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In November 2003, President Moshe Katsav created a stir when at a speech to the first conference of the Yahad...

Опубликовано: 23.09.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Azerbaijan: Imam barred from travel to OSCE conference

Forum 18 News Service has been unable to discover from the Azerbaijani authorities why on 12 September border guards at Baku airport prevented religious freedom activist and imam Ilgar Ibrahimoglu Allahverdiev from travelling to Brussels to take part...

Опубликовано: 17.09.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Патриарх Варфоломей отвергает теорию "Москвы-Третьего Рима", предлагаемую Москвой

According to the Athens newspaper To Vima of 8 July 2004, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew responded to the "3rd Rome" theory of the Patriarch of Moscow (which had been brought up for discussion during the 8th International Assemblage of...

Опубликовано: 15.09.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Catholic Church always was a church of a minority. Interview with Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz

NCR Rome Correspondent John L. Allen Jr. traveled to Moscow with a Vatican delegation to return a late 17th-early 18th century copy of the Icon of the Madonna of Kazan, which was presented to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy...

Опубликовано: 09.09.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Insurgents Seize School in Russia and Hold Scores

ESLAN, Russia, Thursday, Sept. 2 - Heavily armed insurgents, some with explosives strapped to their bodies, seized a school here in southern Russia on Wednesday, herded scores of schoolchildren, parents and teachers into its gymnasium and threatened to...

Опубликовано: 02.09.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Ashgabat Relaxes Religion Rules

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan -- Pastor Pavel Fedotov was in church leading services when the bulldozers and wrecking balls showed up. Over the next week, they razed his house of worship as part of the authoritarian Turkmen government's crackdown on...

Опубликовано: 02.08.2004

ENGLISH VERSION: Bulgarian Church Tensions Hits the Roof

Bitter real estate struggle between branches of Orthodox Church forces hundreds of clergy to preach outdoors. By Albena Shkodrova in Sofia (BCR No 509, 30-Jul-04) A massive brass chandelier, a human-sized wooden cross, several icons printed on glossy...

Опубликовано: 01.08.2004