Patriarch Kirill compares situation with religion in Europe with period of atheism in USSR

Moscow, October 13, Interfax – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said the situation with religion in some countries, including Europe, reminds him of the times of militant atheism in the Soviet Union.

"I am deeply convinced that modern civilization is making the same mistake as the Soviet Union. It doesn't matter very much why you are removing faith from pubic life. The final result, as engineers say, is the same: you get dismantling of religious consciousness," the Patriarch said while meeting with German President Christian Wulff in Moscow on Wednesday.

The Russian Church has lived for decades in a country where the official ideology was the ideology of atheism, "where churches were destroyed, crosses were removed from churches to be used for some secular purposes, where religious life was squeezed out of public life and could only be manifested in private, intimate life."

The people who made such policies "have very good intentions and acted on the basis of their convictions, and their convictions were very humanistic: to build a just prospering society, good future, where people would be happy and would have everything they wanted to have, but religion, those crosses on churches were getting in the way," the Patriarch said.


"It scares me that something illogical is now taking place in some countries, including in Western Europe. No one is saying that the Christian presence should be removed for the sake of a good future, but they are using a different philosophy: they want to remove crosses from schools and religion from public life in the name of human rights," Patriarch Kirill said.

He thanked Germany for "defending the legality of the presence of traditional Christian values in societal life on many issues."

Patriarch Kirill said philosophies come and go and Christian faith has existed for 2,000 years and it "formed the spiritual and cultural foundation of Europe."


"For this reason, we believe we now need to speak loudly about it, because we have a right to do that, we have lived for many years in a country that drove God from public life and we know the consequences of that," the Patriarch said.

Patriarch Kirill said the current "phenomenal revival of religious life in Russia and the other former Soviet republics is largely a reaction to that past."


http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7798

French president calls for closer cooperation between Europe and Russia

ST. PETERSBURG, June 19 (Itar-Tass) -- Europe and Russia should cooperate closely in the spirit of trust, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Saturday closing the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The Cold War is over, the Berlin wall is down, Russia is a great power and we shall be more close, said Sarkozy who headed a big delegation of French businessmen. “It is a strategic choice,” he stressed.

“I believe in Medvedev’s word, I highly appreciate our work with him, when we managed to find a solution despite our differences,” the French president said and noted the two country’s stands on key issues of the international agenda were very close or even coincided, including on the Iran nuclear program.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15243884&PageNum=0



Russia should become dream-country for anyone in the world – Medvedev


Russia should become a dream country for anyone in the world who seeks success. This is the objective that President Dmitry Medvedev set when speaking during the opening of the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. The objective is perfectly real, he said, adding that one should only use correctly the resources available.

The current, 14th, economic forum boasts a record great number of attendees ever since the event was held first. Over 2,000 conferees from 69 countries have come to attend the forum in Russia’s Northern Capital.

Today, on the last day of the forum, Dmitry Medvedev is due to hold talks with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy. The two leaders will “synchronize watches” as regards options to consolidate European security.

Medvedev will then address the concluding full-scale meeting of the forum on “Re-thinking global development”, specifically on world economic growth in the post-crisis period.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/19/10160797.html



Vatican ambassador to Russia urges Catholic priests to periodically attend Orthodox divine services


Moscow, June 18, Interfax – The Holy See ambassador to the Russian Federation Archbishop Antonio Mennini suggested that Catholic priests every now and then attend divine services in Russian Orthodox churches.

The nuncio said it addressing participants in a regular session of Russia's Conference of Catholic Bishops in Sochi, its general secretary Rev. Igor Kovalevsky told Interfax-Religion on Friday.

According to Fr. Igor, Archbishop Mennini pointed out that Orthodox-Catholic relations had significantly improved and urged to develop "fraternal relations between Catholic and Orthodox clerics."

The nuncio also stated that state-church relations improved after establishing diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level between Russia and Vatican.

The Conference of Catholic Bishops made a statement regarding abolishing religious symbols in public schools of Europe and pointed out that the cross is one of most important elements of European identity. The bishops mentioned Russia's tragic experience when struggle against religious symbols resulted in prosecutions of believers and moral decay of the society.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7377



Metropolitan Hilarion regrets the Church lacks stable source of income


Moscow, June 17, Interfax – Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk believes the question of stable income is actual for the Church.

"The Church should have its own stable source of income and this income can't be based only on parishioners' donations. The Church can't exist only on money received from selling candles, icons or church literature," the Metropolitan said on air the Church and World program on the Rossiya 24 TV.

According to him, hierarchs spend major part of their time searching for sponsors and "surely, this situation is not normal." Metropolitan Hilarion noted that the Church pays for electricity, restoration and "these expenses are huge, multimillion."

He believes the Church lacks permanent income as its property was "nationalized and stolen."

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7370




Clergymen of the South American Diocese Who Followed Former Bishop Agathangel Into Schism Are Suspended


According to an ukase issued by His Grace Bishop John of Caracas and South America, of May 31, 2010, published on the official website of the South American Diocese, “clergymen of the South American Diocese who did not accept the decision of the Council of the Russian Church Abroad on the reestablishment of Eucharistic communion with the Church in the Fatherland, leaving their lawful hierarchy and creating a schism together with former Bishop Agathangel (Pashkovsky): Protopriest Vladimir Shlenev, Protopriest Valentin Iwasjewicz, Protopriest George Petrenko (who calls himself “Bishop Gregory”), Protopriest Konstantin Busygin, Priest Alejandro Iwasjewicz, Protopriest Vladimir Petrenko, Priest Michael Berduk, Deacon Igor Baratov, Deacon Caesar Mortari and Deacon Eugene Braga—are suspended from performing divine services in accordance with the following Holy Canons: Apostolic 31; I Ecumenical Council 16; Carthaginian 10, 11; Double Council 13, 14 and Laodicean 57.”

The matter of Priest Alejandro Iwascewicz, who is under criminal indictment in Uruguay, is also being considered.

The Diocese recalls that “even without suspension, any act of divine service, if performed outside of the bosom of the Holy Church, is not a salvific Mystery, but only a blasphemous private action by a person in clerical rank.”

http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2010/6enbuenosairesclerics.html

US stops destroying Afghan opium crops

The United States believes the policy of destroying all Afghan opium crops has badly backfired and must be stopped. Its forces on Afghan soil have already received appropriate orders.

Ambassador John Beyrle told this to a Russian news agency in an interview in Moscow Wednesday. He cited numerous instances in which poppy eradication stripped farmers of their livelihoods and forced them to join the Taliban.

At the same time, he did not rule out localized opium destruction operations.

In the period since the year 2000, the Afghan-produced heroin is estimated to have been killing some 100 thousand people each year. The Afghan drug industry generates income for three and a half million people.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/09/9442883.html



Lavrov urges stepping up struggle against Afghan drug production


Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for dealing with drug production in Afghanistan just as effectively as cocaine production is being fought in Latin America.

Opium poppy plantations and heroin labs should be wiped out, he told the international forum “Afghan Drug Production – a Challenge to the International Community”, which is under way in Moscow. We are certain of the need to treat the Afghan drug threat at the UN Security Council as a threat to international peace and security, he added.

Russia’s topmost diplomat feels that the ISAF coalition force in Afghanistan should come to grips with the drug industry problem.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/09/9427888.html



Russian economy can be seen as more stable in Europe – Gref


The Russian economy can be seen as one of the more stable European economies, but it needs foreign investment.

This came in an interview with the “Rossia 24” TV channel by Russia’s Sberbank CEO Hermann Gref.

The key objective now is the creation of sound macroeconomic conditions that would look attractive to investors, Gref said.

He pointed out that the Russian financial system’s dependence on mineral resources and the non-diversification of the economy was a major drawback. The Sberbank CEO says he is certain that this affects price instability in Russia.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/09/9424327.html



Russia will not buy The Mistral without the high-tech on it – Putin


Russia will not buy the French Mistral assault ship without the technology on it or contracts to procure much of the equipment for bringing it up to date from Russian companies. It wants the ship’s mammoth price tag of 300 million euros to stimulate naval and civilian manufacturers in Russia, as well as France.

Prime Minister Putin has told this to French media ahead of a visit to France from Thursday.

The Mistral displaces 21 thousand tons and can carry 16 attack helicopters to distances of up to 20 thousand nautical miles.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/09/9458711.html



Patriarch Bartholomew hopes Ukraine will overcome church schism under Yanukovich


Istanbul, June 9, Interfax – Patriarch Bartholomew hopes that under President Viktor Yanukovich Ukraine will overcome schism in Orthodoxy.

"We know there is a schism of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and it distresses us a lot. We pray for this separation to vanish as soon as possible and for our brothers who separated to come back to the canonical Church as it is our salvation," he said at his meeting with the Ukrainian President in his Istanbul residence.

The Patriarch confessed he was "more than convinced" that Yanukovich would spare no effort to "heal these wounds" and restore unity of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

In his turn, Yanukovich pointed out to the importance of unity for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7348

European integration among priorities for Ukraine – president

KIEV, May 28 (Itar-Tass) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said on Friday that European integration remains among priority directions in the country’s foreign policy.

With that in view, the president has instructed the government and the Foreign Ministry to finish by October 15, when a Ukraine-EU summit will be held, work to bring Ukrainian legislation in line with European and pave the way for the signing of the Association Agreement and an agreement on visa-free travels between Ukraine and the EU.

“Before October 15, we must practically finish work on all these directions, and during the summit we must in essence get specific answers,” Yanukovich told a session of the European integration committee. The president said that the signing of the Association Agreement was significant, and stressed that preparations for that “have entered the final stage”.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15174352&PageNum=0

The Russian language strengthens its position in Europe

The Russian language strengthens its position in Europe
Tag cloud: Russian language , News, Culture, Russia
Mar 21, 2010 08:38 Moscow Time

Russian language. Photo:RIA-Novosti
The Russian language is again becoming consolidated in the Slavic world. This was discussed on Saturday at the opening of the Moscow International Congress of researchers of the Russian language "Russian Language: its Historical Destiny and Present." According to a professor at the University of Belgrade, Bogoljub Stankovic, in Serbia recently, the popularity of the Russian language is growing not only among school children but also among students of higher learning institutions. In Polish educational institutions the Russian language is the second largest after English in the popularity ratings. In Slovakia, 25 percent of the population not only speaks Russian, but also actively use it. Professor Stankovic believes that the popularity of the Russian language among the western Slavs can be explained by the common historical and cultural heritage of Slavic nations.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/03/21/5484913.html

Turkish PM says US Congress vote on “Armenian genocide” was comedy

Turkish PM says US Congress vote on “Armenian genocide” was comedy



06.03.2010, 20.32



ANKARA, March 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday’s vote in the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on a resolution recognising the fact of “Armenian genocide” during the Ottoman Empire was a comedy.

“The scenario that was played out turned out to be a comedy. The country will not put up with the lie that is being forced upon it,” he said.

Erdogan said Turkey could not accept “such parody” and described the initiators of the vote as shortsighted.

The adoption of the resolution forced Ankara to recall its ambassador to Washington for consultations. He said upon arrival in Ankara that the vote had been wrong from the very beginning.

The diplomat did not say when he planned to return to the United States, adding that this would depend on his consultations and the decisions to be made by the government.

The issue of Armenian genocide has tarnished relations between Turkey and Armenia for decades and is one of the stumbling blocks to their improvement. Another problem is Nagorno-Karabakh.

However, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said the normalisation of relations with Turkey was not conditioned on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and recognition of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Sargsyan said the text of the protocols on the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkey did not mention Karabakh or the word “genocide”.

He said Yerevan would seek to resolve the Karabakh issue in accordance with the aspirations of the Armenian population of the disputed enclave.

The president also said that Armenia would not give up attempts to secure international recognition of genocide.

At the same time, he believes that these issues should not be an obstacle to the normalisation of relations between Yerevan and Ankara.

He expressed hope that a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh issue would be achieved, but did not name any deadlines.

According to Sargsyan, this may happen in a distant future.

The first step towards normalisation of bilateral relations, fully severed in 1993 over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, was taken in the autumn of 2008. Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited Yerevan at the invitation Sargsyan to watch a World Cup qualification game between the national football teams of the two countries. He invited Sargsyan to Ankara to a football game in October. Observers dubbed the visits “football diplomacy”, and although some politicians say such informal meeting between the leaders of the two countries should not be taken seriously, experts believe that these contacts can play an important role in the normalisation of relations between the two countries.

Sargyasn said that Armenia was ready to establish normal relations with Turkey without preconditions. “The ball is in the Turkish court,” he said.

He is “deeply and sincerely convinced” that Armenia “must establish good relations with Turkey”, and this conviction did not develop after his election as president.

Sargsyan believes that “such experienced diplomacy as the Turkish one will assess the degree of sincerity” of Armenian authorities in the establishment of relations with Ankara without preconditions.

The president said talks with Turkey had “never discussed the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh and the recognition of Armenian genocide” in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. “We do not condition normalisation of relations between the two countries on Turkey's recognition of Armenian genocide and hope that the Turks do not consider the termination of recognition of genocide [by different countries] as such precondition”, he said.

At the same time, normalisation of relations with Turkey does not mean questioning the fact of genocide in 1915, the president said. “We regret millions of innocent victims and should do everything we can to prevent such tragedies in the future,” Sargsyan said.

“We may have made a mistake in our relations with Turkey”, and they will take a totally different turn, Sargsayan said. But “even if it is a failure”, Armenia will “come out of this process stronger because the international community will see” that Yerevan “is ready to establish relations with Turkey without preconditions”.

Erdogan said earlier that his country would not open its border with Armenia until its troops leave occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

“The Karabakh conflict and the occupation of Azerbaijani territories are the cause, and the closure of the border with Turkey is the effect. Unless the cause is eliminated, the effects will remain,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan said the Turkish-Armenian border would not be opened unless the Nagorno-Karabakh problem was resolved.

“Turkey will not sign the final agreement with Armenia unless Azerbaijan and Armenia reach consensus on Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said.

“We will prepare the infrastructure and do preliminary work, but this [the opening of the border] will depend entirely on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani problem. It has to be settled first,” the prime minister said.

Erdogan said his country had not and would not take steps that would be detrimental to the national interests of Azerbaijan.

Ankara believes that the issue may be resolved only within the framework of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, he said.

“Unless the Karabakh conflict is resolved, no peace in the region will be possible,” the prime minister said.

“Independence, calm and stability of Azerbaijan are as important to us as independence and stability of Turkey,” Erdogan said.




http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14892799