English version

ENGLISH VERSION: Ukraine. A chapter from Report "International Religious Freedom Report for 2015" by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the Department of State of the US

In February 2014, Russia began its military intervention in Ukraine when its forces occupied Crimea. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262, adopted on March 27, 2014, and entitled “Territorial Integrity of Ukraine,” states the Autonomous Republic of Crimea...

Опубликовано: 30.08.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Archbishop Andrei, administrator of ROAC parishes abroad, admitted the congregations in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina under his omophorion, and also paid visits to Greece, Romania and Georgia

Congregations of St. George Church in the town of ?a?ak (Serbia) and Dormition Home Church in the village of Bukovica (Bosnia and Herzegovina) were admitted to the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) by Andrei (Maklakov), Archbishop of Pavlovskoye...

Опубликовано: 16.08.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: From Suzdal to Tbilisi. A warm welcome from the True Orthodox Church of Georgia for the pilgrim delegation of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church headed by Metropolitan Theodore

The blessed land of Sakartvelo, named “Gruzia" (Georgia) by the Russians, lies at the meeting point of ancient cultures and at the crossroads of civilization routes from East to West and from South to North. Its flamboyancy and...

Опубликовано: 09.08.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Act of the Establishment of Full Ecclesial-Canonical Communion Between Previously Separated Parts of the Orthodox Church of Russia

For the first time in history, two True Orthodox Churches in Russia have officially declared recognition of each other’s Mysteries. The hierarchs of the Orthodox Church of Russia (under Metropolitan Damascene) and the Bishops’ Conference of the Russian...

Опубликовано: 12.07.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Regarding the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, which ended on Crete. Message of the press center of Kyiv Patriarchate

From June 16 to 26, 2016, the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church convened on the Greek island of Crete, chaired by His All-Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch. This Council was held subsequent to decisions of the...

Опубликовано: 01.07.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: For Whom the Bell Tolls… the Fight of the Churches, Round 1

There is great dissension within the Orthodox Christian community around the globe. Four out of fourteen autocephalous churches, and the Georgian among them, have chosen to boycott the Holy Council which will be held in Greece. Russia was...

Опубликовано: 17.06.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: The "holy" and the "anti-religious". Persecution of the faithful in present-day Russia: ideological motives, methods and principles of victim selection. Report of Alexander Soldatov read by him at MHG conference

Moscow Helsinki Group has traditionally been focusing on the defense of the rights of the faithful subjected to persecution in both the Soviet Union and the present-day Russia. The current situation is aggravated by the fact that the...

Опубликовано: 25.05.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Conflict between two Churches will be shown in Strasbourg. Appeal against the ban on “Bailiff Piety”, the documentary film about the confiscation of the relics of Suzdal Saints from ROAC, lodged with ECHR

The dispute between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) over the right to own the relics of the Saints Euphymios and Euphrosynia of Suzdal that ended in 2012 after the confiscation of...

Опубликовано: 23.05.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Suzdal Diocese of ROAC forced to Abandon Church of St. George the Great Martyr in Village of Krapivye, Suzdal Province

The sole remaining historical church in use by faithful of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) in the Vladimir region, the Church of St. George the Trophy-bearer in the village of Krapivye, Suzdal district, has been taken away...

Опубликовано: 15.04.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Deacon Eugene Morgun. A short theological analysis of the draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council

The draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council is entitled "Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World". We begin by considering the title of the document. This title promotes, as an assumption, an idea...

Опубликовано: 25.03.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Archbishop Benjamin, Senior RTOC Hierarch, Withdraws Signature

Archbishop Benjamin (Rusalenko), the senior hierarch of the Russian True Orthodox Church (RTOC, popularly known as the “Tikhonites”), has withdrawn his signature from his Church’s most recent confessional document, Portal-Credo.Ru reports. “Due to his reluctance to participate in...

Опубликовано: 22.03.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Metropolitan Anthony Gavalas, head of the American Diocese of the Matthewite Synod of the True Orthodox Church of Greece, reposes

Metropolitan Anthony (Gavalas) of New York, head of the American diocese of the True Orthodox Church of Greece (Matthewite Synod under Archbishop Stephanos), reposed on March 21, correspondent of "Portal-Credo.Ru" has reported. Metropolitan Anthony was 73 years old....

Опубликовано: 22.03.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Letter from Prison. The Brotherhood of St. Philaret (HOCNA) in a Texas prison

The letter that follows should cause many who call themselves Orthodox Christians (or even True Orthodox Christians!) to bow their heads in shame. It is a letter written by prisoners in a Texas prison; these men, who formerly...

Опубликовано: 18.03.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Metropolitan Damascene on Healing the Schisms Within the True Orthodox Church

Translator’s introduction: When reading the following interview given by Metropolitan Damascene of Moscow and All Russia – who heads one branch of the “Russian Orthodox Church” (RusOC-D) – to Portal-Credo.Ru, it should be borne in mind that all...

Опубликовано: 06.03.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: The Synod of ROCiE-V Defrocks Three Bishops

On February 26, 2016, the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile under the presidency of Archbishop Vladimir (Tselishchev) of San Francisco and Western America (ROCiE-V) defrocked three bishops who had left the jurisdiction of...

Опубликовано: 05.03.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Elena Volkova. Feminism, Prison and Church

Does the word “feminist” hurt you as an Orthodox believer? Yes. It sounds obscene. Sergey Beloglazov, a security guard of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, was so much traumatized by Pussy Riot’s performance (21 February, 2012) and...

Опубликовано: 05.02.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Excessive act. Tetyana Derkach on appempt of Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) to draw Pan-Orthodox Council into a deep lie about Ukraine

Even before having reached Crete, the place where it was agreed to hold the Pan-Orthodox Council, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow decided to appear as a Cretan liar. As you know, the ROC, at least nominally, is the largest...

Опубликовано: 30.01.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Former editor of OCANews.org MARK STOKOE: “The most important religious event of 2015 - the Church"s continuing failure to stem a massive generational falling away from faith”

Portal-Credo.Ru: What religious event in 2015 do you feel was most important for the world? Mark Stokoe: Sometimes the most powerful earthquakes are so deep, or so far out at sea, it takes a long time before we...

Опубликовано: 14.01.2016

ENGLISH VERSION: Materials of Archbishop Andrei (Maklakov), administrator of ROAC parishes abroad, entered in the RF Federal List of Extremist Materials. Item 3209 of the List, made on 25 December 2015 (with comment)

The text is reprinted from the List without any corrections Materials: “Document: Reply to John Robles. Andrei (Maklakov), Bishop of Pavlovskoye and, denies the rumors about the US financing of the late First Hierarch of ROAC spread by...

Опубликовано: 28.12.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: The case instituted in order to have “Bailiff Piety” documentary considered as extremist, where Alexander Soldatov was a respondent, reached the RF Supreme Court

On 9 October L.N. Shvetsova, Judge of Vladimir Regional Court, dismissed the cassation appeal against the decisions of two court instances on “extremist” nature of “Bailiff Piety” documentary referred to by Portal-Credo.Ru. As reported by Portal-Credo.Ru, the appeal...

Опубликовано: 03.12.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: "Portal-Credo.Ru" notified by Roskomnadzor of the entry of one its articles in the RF Uniform Register of Banned Domain Names

On 17 September Federal Supervision Agency of the Russian Federation for Information Technologies and Communications (Roskomnadzor) informed the editorial office of Portal-Credo.Ru that one of its pages had been included in the Uniform Register of Banned Names, Indicators...

Опубликовано: 07.10.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: Swiss Dogmatics. By hieromonk Gregory (Lourie) (Now Bishop of Petrograd and Gdov)

The following is a translation of a series of short lectures originally given in Russian by Hieromonk Gregory (Lourie) of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church, now Bishop of Petrograd and Gdov. The idea for this translation came to...

Опубликовано: 23.08.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: "The bishops of our Church in North America have a meeting of the Holy Synod by the telephone conference call". Letter of retired Metropolitan Ephraim of Boston

HOLY ORTHODOX METROPOLIS OF BOSTON July 31/August 13, 2015 Saint Joseph of Arimathea To the beloved clergy, monastics, and laity of our Metropolis, Recently, because of the complications in the progress of my diabetes, my health has deteriorated...

Опубликовано: 15.08.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: The True Orthodox Church of Metropolitan Raphael Has Broken Communion with the Synod of Metropolitan John (LoBue)

At a meeting on July 13, 2015, the Council of Bishops of the True Orthodox Church under the presidency of Metropolitan Raphael (Motovilov) resolved to break communion with the American Synod under Metropolitan John (LoBue), "Portal-Credo.Ru" reports. In...

Опубликовано: 24.07.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: Bishop Gregory (Lourie). The Need for an Army: A Brief Explanation of the Meaning of Christianity for a Medieval Kid Living in Today’s World

The following article, written by Igumen Gregory (now Bishop of Petrograd and Gdov) in December 2006, was originally intended for an audience of young Russians familiar with both the classics of their literature and with the products of...

Опубликовано: 12.06.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: Another Huge Statue in Russia? Not Rare, but Hugely Divisive

Moscow does not exactly want for colossal statues. Nothing says “Soviet Union” quite like the imposing “Worker and Collective Farm Girl,” with its hammer, sickle, forward stride and idealized physiques; or Lenin glowering down on the capital, albeit...

Опубликовано: 10.06.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: Igor Knyazev, a Lutheran Bishop. Petition to the authorities of Kaluga Region and the city of Kaluga, as well as to the regional law enforcement agencies

I petition the heads of the administrations of the city of Kaluga and Kaluga Region, the heads of the law enforcement agencies and the mass media: Yesterday, on 20 May 2015, Pastor Dmitry Martyshenko, Senior Priest of St....

Опубликовано: 29.05.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: Petition of evangelical christians-baptists to the state authorities of the Russian Federation with a request to refrain from the registration of religious groups

TO: V.V. Putin, President of the RFCC: S.E. Naryshkin, Chairman of the RF State Duma Y.Y. Chaika, RF Prosecutor General S.V. Smirnov, Chief of Staff of the RF Civic ChamberFROM: the faithful of the Moscow Church of Evangelical...

Опубликовано: 14.05.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: Paschal Epistle of Bishop Gregory (Lourie) of Petrograd and Gdov, Chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church

Christ is Risen! Dear Orthodox Christians, Dear everyone who is still only trying on True Orthodoxy, Christ is Risen! This night Christ conquers death. This night Christ conquers sin. This night Christ releases us from defilement. This night...

Опубликовано: 11.04.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: “State authorities allow the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to make use of their means of repression” - LIUDMYLA ALEXEYEVA, President of the Moscow Helsinki Group

“Portal-Credo.Ru”: Several days ago a group of court bailiffs from Moscow accompanied by armed men from some special task force took the reliquaries of the Suzdal Saints out of the temple of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC)...

Опубликовано: 03.04.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: ROAC-owned reliquaries of the holy relics of the Saints Euphymios and Euphrosynia of Suzdal placed in the ROC MP Convent of the Deposition of the Robe in Suzdal

Wooden reliquaries with the images of the Saints Euphymios and Euphrosynia of Suzdal confiscated on March 25 from the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) were taken to the only church open to the public in...

Опубликовано: 02.04.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: Suzdal: ROAC Synodal Church re-consecrated; no relics in the reliquaries, reports State TV Company

Special prayer of re-consecration of desecrated temples from the Euchologion of Metropolitan Peter (Mohyla) was read on March 29, on the Fifth Week of the Great Lent, after the Divine Liturgy by Metropolitan Theodore of Suzdal and Vladimir,...

Опубликовано: 01.04.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: Holy relics of the Saints Euphymios and Euphrosynia of Suzdal taken away by court bailiffs from ROAC Synodal Church of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Suzdal

On March 25 a group of court bailiffs and police officers carried out the enforcement procedures aimed at the confiscation of the reliquaries of the holy relics of the Saints Euphymios and Euphrosynia of Suzdal from the religious...

Опубликовано: 31.03.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: The Theologian of the Name of God: Homily by Bishop Gregory (Lourie) of Petrograd and Gdov on the Second Sunday of Great Lent, in Memory of St. Gregory Palamas, Feb 23/Mar 8, 2015

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Today we celebrate the memory of St. Gregory Palamas; from the fifteenth century, when this feast was established, it has become the main...

Опубликовано: 21.03.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: The Vladimir Regional Court denied the appeals against the Ruling of the first-instance Court that the video, which deals with the situation concerning the exemption of the relics from ROAC, be recognized as extremist

“The appeal is denied and the decision of the first-instance Court is to be approved” – such was the Ruling, on February 17, of the Panel of Judges of the Vladimir Regional Court, after the Panel’s consideration of...

Опубликовано: 20.02.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: "We should bind this war!" The post card of Church of the russian lutherans to coreligionists on the situation in Ukraine

Moscow On February, 11th 2015 г Dear brothers and sisters! Any war is a trouble for the person, his family, relatives and friends. Doubly is a trouble, if it is necessary to be at war with the neighbour,...

Опубликовано: 13.02.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: "We have already stood on a firmly name-glorifying position." Statement of the Synod of the GOC(R) in response to the "anathema against the name-worshipping heresy" of the Synod of Met John (LoBue)

The Autonomous Metropolia headed by Metropolitan John (LoBue), with which our True Orthodox Church is in canonical communion, has officially declared an anathema against name-glorifying and its followers. This is a hard, unfortunate fact for us! We have...

Опубликовано: 17.01.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: Nativity Epistle of Bishop Gregory (Lourie) of Petrograd and Gdov, Chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church

Angels, shepherd, and wise men – thus were those who became witnesses of the Nativity of Christ. The Nativity of Christ was revealed to the world on high, but hidden from the one below. It was revealed to...

Опубликовано: 06.01.2015

ENGLISH VERSION: The Greatest Theologian of the Twentieth Century. Homily by Bishop Gregory (Lourie) of Petrograd and Gdov on the Feast Day of the Venerable Martyr Anthony (Bulatovich)

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Today we celebrate the memory of the Venerable Martyr Anthony Bulatovich. Bulatovich is his family name. Otherwise, of course, it would have been...

Опубликовано: 29.12.2014

ENGLISH VERSION: Editor-in-Chief of Portal-Credo.Ru, author of “Bailiff Piety” video and Moscow Helsinki Group lodged their appeals with the court challenging its judgment on the recognition of the video as "extremist"

Appeals against the judgment of Oktyabrsky District Court of Vladimir on the recognition of “Bailiff Piety” video linked to Portal-Credo.Ru as “extremist” were mailed to the court of higher instance on 25 December by Alexander Soldatov, Editor-in-Chief of...

Опубликовано: 29.12.2014