Сергей Бабурин: Надо создать новый Союз, используя опыт СССР и Российской Империи

По словам политика, только возрождение Союзного государства способно решить межнациональные проблемы, в том числе и в Киргизии …


«Возрождение России в ее исторических границах как продолжение традиций Российской Империи, но уже в виде современного союзного государства, – это единственный способ обеспечить стабильность и мир на постсоветском пространстве. Кризис и кровопролитие в Киргизии – прямой результат разрушения Советского Союза», - сказал в интервью "Русской народной линии" известный российский политик, бывший вице-спикер Государственной Думы, ректор Российского государственного торгово-экономического университета Сергей Бабурин, комментируя предложение политолога Юрия Крупнова создать союз России и Киргизии.


Напомним, Ю.Крупнов в своем блоге высказал идею, связанную с созданием «союзного государства России и Киргизии при сохранении суверенитета Российской Федерации и Кыргызской Республики». «Нужен новый Союз, где каждое национальное государство кардинально укрепило бы свой суверенитет за счет кооперации в рамках единой геополитической миссии стабилизации Евразии. Нужен наш собственный единый рынок», - подчеркнул аналитик.

По словам С.Бабурина, который поддержал предложение Ю.Крупнова, сейчас нам «надо не возрождать Советский Союз таким, каким он был, а конструировать новую мощную державу на опыте Советского Союза и Российской Империи». «А это значит, что сегодня крайне необходимо обеспечить единство нынешних Российской Федерации, Украины, Белоруссии, Казахстана, Молдавии - в лице обоих молдавских государств, собственно Молдавии и Приднестровья, и, возможно, Киргизии», - продолжил политик.

«Тогда, уверен, многие проблемы Киргизии, и не только Киргизии, решатся сами собой. Любые другие стратегические цели не могут дать стабильного результата. А рассыпаться на несколько частей в наше время может не только Киргизия, но и большинство других постсоветских государств», - заключил Сергей Бабурин.

http://www.ruskline.ru/news_rl/2010/06/19/sergej_baburin_nado_sozdat_novyj_soyuz_ispolzuya_opyt_sssr_i_rossijskoj_imperii/

Встреча Президента Украины Виктора Януковича с Вселенским Патриархом Варфоломеем

8 июня в Стамбуле состоялась встреча Президента Украины Виктора Януковича с Вселенским Патриархом Варфоломеем. Вселенский Патриарх лично поздравил В. Януковича с избранием на должность Президента Украины и пожелал ему «очень плодотворного» пребывания на посту Главы государства в пользу Украинского народа.
Он отметил, что с волнением вспоминает свой визит в Украину два года назад, когда имел возможность «ознакомиться с прогрессом и святостью украинской православной нации». «Мы здесь всегда молимся за постоянную стабильность и процветание вашей возлюбленной страны. Мы знаем о расколе между православными в Украине, и это нас очень огорчает. Мы молимся, чтобы этот раскол исчез можно скорее », - отметил Вселенский Патриарх. Он, кроме того, рассказал, что недавно посетил с официальным визитом Россию, где общался со «своим братом» Патриархом Кириллом. По его словам, во время этих разговоров они неоднократно упоминали тот факт, что для России, как и для Украины, Константинопольская церковь является материнской.

«Недавно, когда я был в России, меня спросили и я сказал, что считаю, чтобы все наши братья, которые отделились, вернулись к канонической церкви, потому что в канонической церкви есть настоящее спасение», - также отметил Вселенский патриарх. «Мы более чем уверены, что вы во время пребывания на посту Президента сделаете все возможное, чтобы вылечить, залечить эти раны и восстановить единство украинской православной церкви. Мы никогда не прекращаем молиться и просить Бога восстановить единство украинской православной церкви », - сказал он.

Со своей стороны Глава Украинского государства выразил убеждение, что процесс консолидации церкви является чрезвычайно важным. «Без веры невозможно построить сильную страну», - убежден Президент.
Виктор Янукович также рассказал Вселенскому Патриарху о своем паломничество на священную гору Афон, где молился за Украину.


http://hram.zp.ua/?p=4493

ДОКУМЕНТ: Концепция развития церковно-государственных отношений в области социальной политики

1. Украинская Православная Церковь, как наибольшая религиозная организация Украины и неотъемлемая часть украинского общества, не может находитья в стороне от насущных проблем жизни людей и общества в целом.

«Исполняя миссию спасения рода человеческого, Церковь делает это не только через прямую проповедь, но и через благие дела, направленные на улучшение духовно-нравственного и материального состояния окружающего мира», и вступает с этой целью в сотрудничество с государством, общественными организациями и отдельными людьми в независимости от их религиозной принадлежности (Социальная Концепция Русской Православной Церкви I.4).

«Церковь уповает, что совместное благотворение приведет ее соработников и окружающих людей к познанию Истины, поможет им сохранить или восстановить верность богоданным нравственным нормам, подвигнет их к миру, согласию и благоденствию, в условиях которых Церковь может наилучшим образом исполнить свое спасительное делание» (Социальная Концепция Русской Православной Церкви I.4).

Церковь подчеркивает, что материальный прогресс и благосостояние должны рассматриваться не как самодостаточные и конечные цели человеческой деятельности, а как средства всестороннего, и прежде всего духовного развития человека и общества, предпосылкой и условием которого является удовлетворение элементарных человеческих потребностей.

Исходя из вышесказанного и основываясь на историческом опыте социального служения, Украинская Православная Церковь усматривает развитие церковно-государственных отношений в социальной сфере в устойчивом сотрудничестве, совместных мероприятиях и отдельных конкретных видах деятельности в отношении таких задач, как:

§ преодоление бедности;

§ поддержка незащищенных слоев населения;
§ забота о людях пожилого возраста;
§ защита детства;
§ социализация и воспитание молодежи;
§ защита семьи и семейных ценностей;
§ развитие духовно-нравственных начал в обществе;
§ формирование социальной политики



2. Решению обозначенных задач и развитию церковно-государственных отношений может существенно содействовать государственная поддержка и создание условий, при которых Церковь имела бы возможность осуществлять благотворительную и социальную деятельность на благо всего общества.

Одним из таких условий является расширение материальных возможностей церковной благотворительности и социальной работы.

Существующий опыт говорит о следующих возможных шагах в этом направлении:

§ законодательное урегулирование порядка получения церковными общинами и организациями государственных средств для осуществления проектов, мероприятий и отдельных видов деятельности социальной направленности;

§ введение существенных налоговых льгот для субъектов предпринимательской деятельности, организаций и предприятий, которые оказывают материальную и техническую помощь церковным благотворительным организациям и социальным инициативам Церкви, отвечающим целям и задачам государственной социальной политики;

§ введение альтернативного налогообложения физических лиц в пользу Церкви по усмотрению налогоплательщика.

Улучшению условий церковной благотворительности и духовно-морального климата в обществе может послужить помимо прочего введение в Украине национального «Дня милосердия» по проведению благотворительных акций и сбору пожертвований в пользу нуждающихся.


Расширению материальной базы и условий социальной деятельности Церкви может содействовать также:

§ урегулирование на законодательном уровне и поддержка работы церковных фондов (касс) взаимопомощи и добровольного пенсионного накопления;

§ создание и обустройство социальных благотворительных центров (столовых, приютов, домов престарелых, детских домов, пр.) на условиях их дальнейшего содержания и оказания ими помощи нуждающимся за счет ресурсов церковных общин и организаций.



3. Аккумулированные ресурсы и имеющиеся возможности Церковь будет направлять на оказание помощи людям пожилого возраста, инвалидам, неизлечимым больным, на преодоление сиротства, поддержку и развитие детских домов, в частности семейного типа, профилактику детской преступности и бездомности, духовную и социальную поддержку людей, в первую очередь детей и молодежи, находящихся в местах лишения свободы, исправительных учреждениях и под надзором правоохранительных органов.



4. Церковь считает что приоритетным в отношениях с государством должна быть совместная деятельность по духовно-нравственному воспитанию и социализации молодежи, в частности:

§ привлечение молодежи к оказанию благотворительной и социальной помощи нуждающимся, работе в приютах, больницах, домах инвалидов, домах престарелых, социальных центрах и др.;

§ поддержка молодежного социального добровольческого движения (социального добровольчества – волонтерства), молодежных организаций социальной направленности;

§ законодательное урегулирование и распространение практики альтернативной гражданской службы, а именно в социальных, медицинских и других учреждениях оказания помощи нуждающимся, привлечение к этой службе духовных пастырей (капелланов), воспитателей и социальных работников, имеющих соответствующую профессиональную подготовку.

С этой же целью имеет смысл профессиональное рассмотрение и общественное обсуждение вопроса о законодательном введения в Украине обязательной срочной социальной (гражданской) службы для молодежи независимо от пола и социального статуса по образцу военной повинности.



5. Развитие социальных инициатив Церкви и ее сотрудничество с государством в области социальной политики требует профессиональной осведомленности духовных пастырей и сотрудников Церкви с социальной сферой и в вопросах социальной работы.

В этой связи было бы полезным:

§ привлечение соответствующих учебных заведений и специалистов к разработке и преподаванию курса социальной работы для учащихся духовних школ;

§ введение государственного учебно-консультативного курса (трейнинга) для представителей Церкви и церковных благотворительных организаций на предмет социальной политики, законодательства, организации социальных проектов.



6. Церковь считает важным иметь возможности содействовать формированию этических начал социальной работы, воспитанию и духовно-моральной поддержки социальных работников.



7. Важным элементом церковно-государственных отношений должно становится сотрудничество в формировании социальной политики, в частности:

§ разработка государственных целевых программ, национальных проектов;

§ участие представителей Церкви в работе наблюдательных, экспертных, общественных советов государственных органов и учреждений социальной защиты;

§ проведение совместных научно-практических, образовательных и иных мероприятий.


http://orthodoxy.org.ua/tn/node/6696

Russia to invest into newest offensive, defensive arms - Medvedev

SEVERODVINSK, June 15 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday the country will inject huge funds into state-of-the-art offensive and defensive arms.

“Most great powers heavily invest into the newest offensive and defensive systems. We should do the same,” he told a ceremony of launching the Severodvinsk nuclear submarine in the dockyard of the Sevmash defence plant.

“Russia should simply effectively modernize its maritime forces and more actively build the most modern ships,” Medvedev said.

He noted that “in the near future a single program for the development of the country's military and civil shipbuilding will be adopted.”

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15227454&PageNum=0



Russia to consider CSTO norms in decision on sending peacekeepers to Kyrgyzstan


MOSCOW, June 16 (Itar-Tass) - Russia will base its decision on sending peacekeepers to Kyrgyzstan exclusively on the valid norms of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation /CSTO/, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

The CSTO already provides assistance to Kyrgyzstan, he said over a news conference.

“But whatever decision may be made only on the basis of the valid procedures, that is a request from the country and the unanimous consent in reply to it,” he said.

Lavrov said that according to the order from Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev, the CSTO secretaries had met already.

“Over the meeting, they made a detailed decision on the material and technical support to Kyrgyzstan so that its law enforcement authorities could fight with the disorders more effectively and could stabilise the situation there, as well as to spot the initiators,” he explained. “We have discussed joint work in the information space so that our residents could see our consolidated position.”

“We hope these measures will bring results,” Lavrov said.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15230868&PageNum=0



Some 350 groups of drug dealers active in Russia


Drugs kill some 80 people in Russia every day, says the Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev. He was speaking in a live interview with the Militseyskaya Volna, or Police Wave, radio station on Wednesday.

He admitted that the illegal drug traffic was a government problem, and that the drug addiction growth rates were a national threat. The Interior Minister pointed out that the imported, basically Afghan-made, drugs accounted for the lion’s share of all narcotics in the country. Almost the whole of heroin consumed in Russia is of Afghan origin.

According to Nurgaliyev’s estimates, some 350 organized crime groups are in charge of the delivery and marketing of narcotics in this country.

In the first four months of this year alone the law enforcement agencies found out about more than 81,000 crimes, related to illegal drug trafficking.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/16/9904746.html



Newcomers should mind that life in Moscow is based on Russian culture – authorities


Moscow, June 16, Interfax – Lifestyle of the Russian capital is based on Russian culture and traditions and newcomers should take it in consideration, head of the Moscow city Interregional Relations and National Policy Committee Mikhail Solomentsev said.

"Moscow is a city with its lifestyle based on Russian culture and centuries-old traditions and all who come to live here should mind it. We're sure that this important demand will help all residents of the capital without exception become Muscovites," Solomentsev said in his interview published on Wednesday in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Thus he commented on a provision of the national policy and interethnic relations concept worked out in Moscow and recently adopted by the city government saying that Moscow is not only a megapolis and the capital of Russia, but a Russian city as well.

Solomentsev explained that such a requirement should help newcomers who want to live in Moscow to become "members of the community that is more than a nationality as different cultures have interwoven here, the community with a certain Moscow lifestyle, certain rules of conduct."

According to him, there are certain unwritten rules residents of the city should observe.

"For example, not to kill sheep in the yard, not to cook barbeque in the balcony, not to wear national cloths in the city, to speak Russian. In the short run we want to work out a set of rules that will help newcomers who arrive in Moscow for permanent residence to settle down," the committee head said.

The city authorities proposed that Moscow diasporas start working out the rules. After receiving their proposals, scientists will be invited to complete the work that is to result in a kind of a "Muscovite Code."

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7365



Patriarch Kirill decisively against any transactions with church property in the Holy Land


Moscow, June 10, Interfax – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia states that it is inadmissible to lease or sell church property in the Holy Land.

"I categorically oppose any commercial operations with immovable property in the Holy Land," Patriarch Kirill said on Thursday speaking at the first conference of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society in the Audit Chamber of Russian Federation.

According to the Patriarch, "there can't be any cession of land (in the Holy Land - IF), any sale or lease.

"Everything should be under jurisdiction of the Church or other institutions representing our country," the Patriarch stressed.

He noted that church property in the Holy Land "has a special status as lots of our compatriots worked to collect it."

"Thus this property is national, all-church and integral heritage of historical Russia," Patriarch Kirill said.

By 1917, the Russian Empire owned 70 real estate items in Holy Land. In 1964, the Soviet government sold most of them to Israel for a minute sum of $3.5 in what was dubbed the "Orange Deal" as Israel, being short of hard currency, paid the Soviet Union in citrus fruit.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7353

Poland & St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was a Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Saxon Square built by authorities of Imperial Russia in Warsaw. The cathedral was designed by distinguished Russian architect Leon Benois. Leon Benois was a Russian architect. He was the son of architect Nicholas Benois, the brother of artists Alexandre Benois and Albert Benois, and the grandfather of the actor Sir Peter Ustinov.
The cathedral was built between 1894 and 1912. When it was finally completed, it was 70 metres in height, at that time, the tallest building in Warsaw.

It was demolished in mid-1920s by the Polish Second Republic. The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; from the creation of an independent Polish state in the aftermath of World War I, to the invasion of Poland in 1939 by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic.

It was destroyed by the Polish government less than 15 years after its construction. The negative connotations in Poland associated with Russian imperial policy towards Poland, and belief it was built purposely to hurt Polish national feelings, was cited as the major motive by the proponents of the demolition, especially since the church occupied one of Warsaw's main squares. While objectively speaking, the cathedral affair was the beginning of rampant russophobia and persecution of Orthodoxy and Orthodox churches and Christians on Polish territory. The cathedral was resented because of its beauty which was felt to serve as russophile and Orthodox propaganda, which only stirred Polish envy and hate. The cathedral shared the fate of many Orthodox churches demolished after Poland was artificially recreated after WWI in the aftermath of the Russian Revolutions of 1917. Up until then, Poland had been divided up into provinces shared by the Russian, Prussian and Austro-Hungarian empires after it had collapsed as a nation state in light of a decadent and contrived and unintelligible "republican monarchy" political model.

Warsaw became part of Imperial Russia in 1815, following the territorial rearrangements decided at the Congress of Vienna.
The former capital of Poland became a major administrative center in the Russian Empire and one of its largest cities. By the second half of the 19th century, Warsaw housed a large Russian military garrison as a result of two failed uprisings against Russian rule as well as failed and poor collaboration with Napoleon in his ambitions to conquer Russia. These developments were accompanied by a significant influx of Russian soldiers and officials into the city, most of them of the Russian Orthodox faith. Nearly 20 Russian Orthodox churches were built in Warsaw in the 1890s, primarily to accommodate the needs of the military.

The idea of building a large Orthodox cathedral in Warsaw was expressed in a letter from the Governor General of Poland, Joseph Vladimirovich Gurko. (Count Joseph Vladimirovich Romeiko-Gurko was a Russian Field Marshal prominent during the Russo-Turkish War.) He indicated that the Orthodox churches in Warsaw at that time were able to accommodate less than one tenth of the city's 42,000 Orthodox residents, who urgently needed a new place of worship.

On August 28 1893 a special committee for the construction of the new cathedral was organized, with Gurko as its head. The committee adopted the design proposed by Leon Benois and construction began in 1894. The place chosen as site of the cathedral was a monument raised by Russian authorities in memory of Polish generals who were executed in the November Uprising (The November Uprising —also known as the Cadet Revolution—was an armed rebellion against the rule of the Russian Empire in Poland and Lithuania. The uprising began on November 29, 1830 in Warsaw when a group of young non-commissioned officer conspirators from the Imperial Russian Army.)
by Polish rebels for being patriotic to the Russian Empire which had brought Slavic civilization to Poland.

Tsar Alexander III gave his approval to fund the cathedral on the date of anniversary of partitions of Poland in 1893 which was celebrated as " the joining of the West Russian state".

A significant part of the funds needed to build the cathedral were raised by personal donations from almost every corner of the Russian Empire. In an appeal to Moscow's residents, Gurko's chancellery wrote:

"By its very presence… the Russian Church declares to the world… that in the western terrains along the, mighty Orthodox rule has taken root… The appearance of a new… church in Warsaw as a boundary and pillar of Orthodox Russia will animate the hopes of the Orthodox Slavs for unification under the Orthodox cross."

Some of the funds came from donations required from all municipalities within Gurko's jurisdiction and special tax increases within the city of Warsaw. Polish irredentists amongst the population who provided some of these funds resented being forced to contribute, adding to the political controversy surrounding the project.


By 1900, the construction of the building was largely finished and on November 9, the Latin cross was erected on the main cupola. At the end of the construction, the 70-meter (230 feet) bell tower was the tallest building in Warsaw.

Work on the interior of the cathedral, designed by Professor Nikolay Pokrovsky, continued for another 12 years. The frescoes were painted by Viktor M. Vasnetsov. (Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was a Russian artist who specialized in religious and historical subjects. He is considered a key figure of the revivalist movement in Russian art.) The cathedral was decorated with 16 mosaic panels esigned by Vasnetsov and Andrei P. Ryabushkin. (Andrei Petrovich Ryabushkin was a Russian painter. His major works were devoted to life of ordinary Russians of the 17th century.) The decorations of the cathedral used precious and semi-precious stones extensively, marble and granite. The altar was decorated with jasper columns. The largest of the 14 bells was the fifth-largest in the empire.


On May 20 1912 the ceremonial dedication of the Cathedral to St. Alexander Nevsky was held, where Archbishop Nicholas of Warsaw said:

"The creators of this cathedral had nothing hostile in their thoughts towards the heterodoxy that surrounds us: coercion is not in the nature of the Eastern Orthodox Church."


During World War I, the Russians evacuated Warsaw in August 1915. They took with them most of the Orthodox inhabitants and clergy, as well as many precious works of art from the cathedral. During the German occupation in 1915–1918 the cathedral was used by the German military as a garrison church and redidicated to a "Saint" Henry. They appropriated the valuable copper roof, towards their war effort, leading to increasing water damage inside the church. They also made some alterations to the cathedral to suit their needs, such as adding a pipe organ and chairs for the worshippers, as a rule not found in Orthodox churches as they tend to hinder authentic Christian worship.

After Poland regained its independence in 1918, the fate of the cathedral was the subject of an intense debate for a number of years. It was perceived by the Polish inhabitants of Warsaw as a symbol of Russian domination and hence was very unpopular, and while some considered it a great work of architecture that should be preserved, the Stefan Batory University Arts Faculty estimated it "as having little artistic value."

There were proposals to make it into a Catholic church. Among other proposals, the famous Polish writer, Stefan Zheromski, argued that the Cathedral might be the best place for the Museum of the Martyrology. Others argued on more utilitarian grounds that a church constructed as recently as 1912, and taking up valuable space in one of Warsaw's main squares, was not a significant enough work of architecture to be preserved, given that so many of the Russian Orthodox believers had been forced to flee or jailed and forcibly deported from Poland when the new Polish state was artificially restored.


In the end, protests were supressed by Pilsudski and protestors villefied in the Polish press as "Russians". The beautiful cathedral was demolished in 1924–1926, along with all but two Orthodox churches in Warsaw, a testament to Polish Catholic "tolerance" and "Slavic brotherhood". Adding to the political and nation-wide character to the destruction of the largest Orthodox Cathedral in interwar Poland, the Warsaw magistrate issued public bonds to "give a chance to every Pole to take part in the action." The bonds were backed by the value of the materials recovered during demolition.

Desperate attempts to save the cathedral continued even while demolition was underway. For example, in the summer of 1924 an Orthodox member of the Polish Senate, Vyacheslav Bogdanovich, gave a passionate speech in favour of preserving the cathedral. However, overall such voices were intimidated into not speaking up with threats of repatriation to Lenin's Soviet Union accompanied with open Polish discrimination (and police orchestrated and led frequent mob violence, pogroms) against the Russian and Orthodox populations. The proponents of its preservation in its original form were contemptuously called the "Cathedralists", thus implicitly vilefying them of an underlying lack of patriotism and "Polishness", which was code for episodes of anti Russian and Rusin Orthodox pogroms in Poland orchestrated by the Pilsudski government.


The demolition itself was complex, and required almost 15,000 controlled explosions. Much of the high quality marble obtained during the demolition was reused in the decoration of various Warsaw buildings. The mosaics were carefully disassembled and some of them taken to the Orthodox cathedral in Baranovichi After many years of storage in the National Museum in Warsaw, other fragments were installed in the St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Cathedral in the Warsaw suburb of Praga.

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Alexander_Nevsky_Cathedral,_Warsaw

Afghan drugs undermine Eurasian stability – Russian officer

Russia believes the Afghan drug trade badly undermines stability in former Soviet Central Asia and the Russian Caucasus. It also calls attention to the role of this trade in making Europe the world’s worst drug abusing continent in per capita terms.

The chief Russian counternarcotics officer Viktor Ivanov told this to the media in Moscow on Monday.

He said Afghanistan is turning out two times more heroin than a decade ago and this deadly stuff has already left a million people dead and 16 million severely disabled.. The main importer of Afghan drugs into Europe is the underworld of Kosovo.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/07/9250568.html



Finnish authorities deport Russian girl


Finnish authorities have deported the daughter of a Finnish-based Russian woman, Valentina Putkonen, to Russia , media reports said on Monday. They quoted Putkonen as saying that she is now desperately tryin to contact her 9-year-old daughter Julia, who was reportedly taken away from an orphanage by Valentina’s Finnish ex-husband earlier in the day.
Last month, Julia turned to the Child Protection Union after her mother refused to give her candies before dinner. The appeal was prompted by the girl’s father and Valentina’s former husband, who signaled his readiness to get custody of the child.

Valentina was accused of physically abusing her daughter, who was quickly sent to an orphanage. Last week, police detained Julia, who had attempted to run away from the shelter .

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/07/9236035.html



Russian and Polish people need reconciliation – Patriarch Kirill

Katyn (Smolensk Region), June 7, Interfax – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia hopes that tragic events in Katyn will work for historical reconciliation of Russia and Poland.

"Let this shared suffering, shared pain and shared blood reconcile us above all historiosophic and other existing disagreements," Patriarch Kirill said on Friday visiting the Katyn memorial complex.

According to him, "nothing reconciles people better than shared suffering."

"If we speak about relations between fraternal peoples - Polish and Russian - fraternal as we are Slavs, then we need reconciliation," the Patriarch said.

He noted that Katyn should "be a place of sacred memory that would help us clearly understand the meaning of the historical process and at the same time it should be a place of common prayer."

"I pray for our reconciliation and hope for peaceful prosperous future of the two Slavic nations in our countries," Patriarch Kirill said.

When visiting Katyn, he looked at the model of the Resurrection memorial Church that is under construction, Russian and Polish prime ministers laid the first stone to its foundation this April.

The Patriarch expressed hope that in future this church would become "a place of ardent prayer for all who visit Katyn."


[Why no mention of Pilsudski's and Rieczmigli's reign of terror against Russians and Orthodox Christians in interwar Poland along with Poland's inherent INGRATITUDE and RUSSOPHOBIA after the fall of Communism? We only liberated them and established a nation for them. Hitler was pretty clear in his intent to exterminate these "Slavs" as cochroaches. We saved them. They now point missiles at our churches and children. Yet this Patriarch answers that with sycophancy and polonophilia. Would St. Germogen be as "diplomatic"?! These are a people who have spent their history betraying Slavs and Slavdom while being chief actors in the promotion of Unia and Inquisition in Eastern Europe. Much of the problems of the Russian ethnos and its branches today are precisely the unresolved by-products of the enserfment of Russian Slavs by recz pospolita. Russia no longer needs the "sympathies" of a Catherine II "to weep for Poland". NURNBERG TRIALS AND NOT ANY "RAPPROACHMENT" FOR POLAND! Russia needs to intercede and once and for all CIVILIZE Poland and MAKE IT A SLAVIC, FRATERNAL NATION, with the understanding it breathes because we gave it life, and it will conform to the Russian Orthodox and Slavic will!

Patience is wearing thin not only with this INSIGNIFICANT RUSSOPHOBIC nation and its pathological and CRIMINAL, genocidal impulses, but with the heirs of Msgr. Rotov. To Patriarch Kirill, we respectfully answer, "Remember St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Warsaw." That is of greater primary concern to Russians and Orthodox Christians than the Polish officer corps, which persecuted and repressed Russians and Orthodox Christians and perpetrated acts of genocide against the Russian and Orthodox populations of Poland. Katyn, we remind this Nikodimite Patriarch, did not stop them in their hatred of Russia and Orthodoxy (or populations in process of returning to Orthodoxy). The ACT OF GENOCIDE after the Great Patriotic War perpetrated under the auspices of "Operation Vistula" to displace and destroy Lemkian Rusins and culture goes on ignored even by the Russian church today, which dares to pray for the Polish animals possessed by this very genocidal spirit of extermination of our peoples and our Holy Faith. Shall his Holiness be offering prayers for Josaphat Kuntsevich and Ipatius Potij shortly?! Where is the Lemko Rusin memorial, Patriarch Kirill?! Or are they, the Lemkian Rusins-once unapolgetic, loving sons of Rus' and Orthodoxy- correct in now holding to the fact that "Moscow does not care about Rus', but sells Russian blood for diplomacy and Western money"?! Provide RUSSIAN VICTIMS OF POLAND AND ITS BLOODY, RUSSOPHOBIC AND PSYCHOPATHIC HISTORY with prayer and a memorial, your Holiness.

Moreover, it is FORBIDDEN FOR THE DUKHOVENSTVO TO OFFER PRAYER FOR THE DEPARTED HETERODOX! ENOUGH. These problems with crypto-Uniates and crypto-Renovationists are only solved when an Orthodox government HAS A STRONG HAND IN SYMPHONIA and promotes Traditional Orthodoxy, for as we witnessed with the February Revolution, the Church is ready to betray Russia and her sovereign and even the very Orthodox Faith under the "right auspices". Arianism would have consumed the Church Militant had St. Constantine not interceded for Orthodoxy. UNIA and RENOVATIONISM are the heretical spectres on the verge of betraying the Church Militant today. They and the foul personages who promote them must be stopped. The solution to the heirs of Msgr. Rotov is a rebuttal from a strong Orthodox government. A cold, northern monastery with a strict Igumen would be appropos. A place where cigarette sales and their fortunes have been consumed in cinders and forgotten. Perhaps then these odious Nikodimites will forego the vogue of Vatican collared cassocks and beardless, bare headed betrayals of the Holy Orthodox Faith.

Russian and Orthodox prayers are offered for the VICTIMS of these VICTIMIZERS of Katyn and their post-war Operation Vistula russophobic heirs. Russian and Orthodox blood drips from their hands even decades later. Our RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PRAYERS are for our Lemkian Rusin brothers and for our holy and beautiful churches such as St. Alexander Nevsky cathedral in Warsaw.-R]

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7343

Patriarch Kirill consecrates Boldino cloister

On Sunday Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill consecrated the St. Trinity Church at the Boldino monastery in the Smolensk region west of Moscow.

Despite the remoteness of the place, about a thousand people attended the ceremony.

Founded in 1528, the cloister was shut and turned into a warehouse in 1929.

Then, in 1943, retreating German troops blew up its churches and belfry.

Finally, in 1991, the Boldino monastery was handed back to the church.

As of today all of its edifices have been fully restored.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/06/9188620.html



Rimma Salonen goes to Court of Human Rights


Rimma Salonen of Russia intends to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, human rights activist Johan Beckman reports. She wants to challenge a decision by Finland’s court which deprived Rimma of her son Anton after she had taken the boy back to Russia. Earlier, Anton’s Finnish father had taken the boy away with the help of a Finnish diplomat.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/06/9203290.html



Moscow marks Pushkin`s 211th birthday


Moscow is celebrating the 211th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Pushkin, one of the greatest poets of all time.

Since Pushkin was born and baptized in Moscow, spent his childhood and also met his wife Natalia Goncharova here, the city traditionally hosts various events, including poetry readings.

Today the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow offers free entry to all visitors.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/06/9178971.html



Russia’s Central Bank issues 5kg gold coin


Russia’s Central Bank has issued a 5kg gold collector’s coin with a face value of 50,000 rubles. It depicts Emperor Alexander II who established the Central Bank.

50 coins have been made of 999 probe gold, which is the purest from of gold known, and will go into circulation on June 12th, the 150th anniversary of the Bank of Russia.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/06/9194924.html



Ukraine wishes to broaden trade, economic cooperation with Greece


KIEV, June 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukraine is interested in broadening trade and economic cooperation with Greece, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said upon the arrival in Greece on a working visit.

“Ukraine wishes to broaden trade and economic cooperation with Greece, which have reduced because of the world economic crisis,” Yanukovich told Greek President Karolos Papoulias.

Ukraine and Greece should pool efforts to prevent a negative effect of the world economic crisis on the bilateral investments, Yanukovich said. So far, investments fall short the Ukrainian potential, he added.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15199965

Yanukovich: I would not recognize S Ossetia, Abkhazia independence

KIEV, June 4 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said on Friday he would hardly ever recognize independent Caucasian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

“International laws and norms prohibit any violations of the integrity of this or that state,” he told a news conference and reminded that he had actively opposed “recognizing independence of Kosovo, which gave birth to the policy of double standards.”

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15196544&PageNum=0

[No mention of genocide in the Caucasus sponsored and directed by US-Israeli advisors during that war, nor any remorse over "Ukrainian" (in all actuality, Galician Neo Nazis) nationals fighting against Russia in that conflict. Nor does he seem to care about the destruction of Serbian Orthodox cultural landmarks, churches, monasteries and the displacement of Serbian Orthodox people and the expansion of Islamism in Eurasia. Genocide is good as far as "blue and yellow" is concerned if it is sponsored by the West. Because that is what the "pseudo-culture of mova" has to hold on to in the hope of somehow legitimatizing its slave dialect and russophobic (as in regard to Kievan Rus' and even the Russian Brotherhoods of Little Russia) identity. These people will do anything for the West including selling their children to pedophiles in pornography and then using their press to blame and fault the children and say "They like it". Degenerate scum. They are such hateful toadies and fatally Polish in their sycophancy to the West that troops should be mobilized and placed on the border as well as placed in Moldavia with the fleet on stand by to ONCE AND FOR ALL CLOSE THE RUSSIAN FRONTIER, AKA "Ukraina", and reapportion these RUSSIAN territories accordingly to RESTORE RUSSIAN AND RUSIN identity and culture! After all, the USA closed its frontier in 1900. It is time for Russia to do the same. We must liberate the cradle of Rus' and purge our history of the dark day of "Ukrainian nationalism"!

This disagreeable "blue and yellow" apparatchik is no doubt afraid of the partitions to come of the Russian frontier, AKA "Ukraina" ("Ukraina" means "frontier" and since it occupies the old capitol lands of Rus', it is HISTORICALLY ACCURATE to translate it as "Russian frontier".) and paid off by London, Washington and Tel Aviv to make such traitorous statements. Kuchma has risen from the political grave in the person of this corrupt wannabe oligarch. No good can be expected of anything "blue and yellow", no matter what farsical "pro-Russian" appelation it applies to itself. "Ukrainian nationalism" in whatever guise is a hostile and russophobic self-loathing orientation which occupies the lands of Rus', while hating her and acting to dispossess and repress the people of Rus' in the most totalitarian of ways, by robbing them of their Russian identities and imposing upon them a nineteenth century Austrian-concocted quack "nationality" to deconstruct Holy Rus' and her achievements and subjugate them to the Vatican and the undead "McCulture" of Europe. This new serfdom of ethnic identity and "mova pseudo culture" is a glorification of recz pospolita's lash and its accursed Unia.

After all, Russians don't "movich". POLES DO! (Yet strangely the Poles, the sires of the BASTARD "mova pseudo culture", call their language a "JEZYK"! That is a glaring admission of the real linguistic status of this pseudo-morphosed SLAVE DIALECT AND ITS "culture" and "nationality".)

The Russian and RUSIN (AKA "Ukrainian" and Carpatho Rusin) people HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF "mova pseudo culture" and look forward to the day when we once and for all extinguish it in the stable of Polish Western slavery in which it raped Russian womanhood and RESTORE RUS' to the Ukraine and Carpatho Russia. We are constantly set upon to reratify the work of Hetman Khmelnitsky and the Russian Brotherhoods. Even Vygovsky's abolition of Unia on these territories! ENOUGH!!! To this traitor, we faithful Orthodox sons and daughters of Rus' (and of the Northern Caucasus) reply, "Look to your predecessors Mazeppa and Petlura in order to see how Russia greets your treason and how well we will suffer it!" The Cossacks will be back in the Ukraine again and then you "blue and yellow accursed neRus'" will come to understand how Russian and how Orthodox they are and ALWAYS WERE.-R)



Timoshenko criticizes first 100 days of President Yanukovich

KIEV, June 4 (Itar-Tass) -- Ex-premier and bloc leader Yulia Timoshenko gave a press conference on Friday in reply to President Viktor Yanukovich’s press conference.

The introductory speech, which lasted for about an hour, criticized the first 100 days of Yanukovich’s presidency as ‘a tragedy for Ukrainian democracy’ [White slavery is one of the few "accomplishments" of this "democracy" as well as Neo-Unia and Third World poverty on Russian territory. Just shameless. This Eva Braun is as much an enemy to herself as she is to the Ukraine while she is too ignorant to even realize it.-R]. In her words, Yanukovich “developed an authoritarian government model and introduced media censorship, which brought the country back to the Soviet times.”

Timoshenko called for unity, which would prevent “the worst in the Ukrainian development.”

“In the 100 days [of his presidency] Viktor Yanukovich almost built an authoritarian model. This model will not serve the nation, and Ukraine is entering a new period, which will not be pleasant for citizens. Election promises of Yanukovich have not been kept,” she said.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15196998&PageNum=0

"Orange" elite baptizes children in canonical Church, Ukrainian Orthodox Church spokesman says

Moscow, June 4, Interfax – Head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church press service Vasily Anisimov said that "orange" Ukrainian politicians prefer to baptize their children in canonical Orthodoxy.

"It's interesting that orange elite (its uniate part) still prefer to baptize and marry their children in canonical Orthodox Church. It has always surprised me," Anisimov said in his interview to the Radonezh website.

He believes it happens thanks to politicians' wives. According to him, an Ukrainian woman is "ardent protectress of Orthodoxy, of traditional values."

He also told that once Athos monks predicted that Yanukovich would win the election, but added that it wouldn't happen "at a time."

Speaking about schismatics, head of the church press service said that as well as Greek Catholics "they don't have grounds to ask even for Yanukovich's respectful attitude as they've never been tolerant to him, but were used against him as dirty political technologies."

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7340

Ukraine gets first ever chance to build nation without conflicts -- President

KIEV, June 3 (Itar-Tass) - For the first time in its newest history, Ukraine has gotten a chance to roll up its sleeves and start building a statehood for the people rather than the powers that be and to do it quietly and without conflicts, President Viktor Yanukovich said Thursday in an address to the nation.

He indicated that the law on internal and foreign policy, which the country's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada is going to adopt "will make our policies transparent and clear for everyone and will put an end to political instability."

Yanukovich recalled that the new parliamentary coalition, which formed the cabinet of ministers and the executive vertical of power, "has brought up the first encouraging tendencies in the economy."

""Over a brief period of time, Ukraine managed to stabilize relations with key partners -- the EU, the U.S. and Russia," he said.

Reinforced police cordons were placed around the Ukraina State Palace where he delivered his speech.

Numerous supporters of the Regions Party with flags in their hands stood on both sides of the palace.

An attempt to hold an action of protest undertakern by members of the opposition party For the Fatherland led by MP Vyacheslav Kirilenko was cut short

They were tightly encircled by the police and found themselves unable to break through the encirclement.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15193305&PageNum=0



Ukraine declares its non-bloc status - the draft law

KIEV, June 3 (Itar-Tass) - The Ukrainian parliament has adopted after first reading the draft law on the fundamentals of the domestic and foreign policy of the country, submitted by President Viktor Yanukovich. The resolution got 253 votes, while the minimal number was 226.

Presenting the draft law, Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said that “Ukraine will be an understandable, predictable and responsible country both for its citizens and for the whole world. “The unambiguous confirmation of the non-bloc status of Ukraine is the key elements of the foreign policy forecasting and consistency, contained in the draft law,” Azarov said. He stressed that the president suggested the withdrawal from the agenda of the problem of Ukraine’s joining of NATO, which is splitting the nation and is distracting people from a search for effective ways of the development of Ukraine.

The opposition – Yulia Timoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine-Popular Self-Defence – emphatically criticised the draft law, because it drops the idea of Ukraine’s membership in NATO, and urged to vote against it.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15191899&PageNum=0



Pres signs law on access of foreign units to Ukraine for exercise

KIEV, June 3 (Itar-Tass) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich on Thursday signed a law on access of units of foreign armed forces to the territory of the country this year for participation in international exercises, the presidential press service reported. The law comes into effect on the day when it is published.

The parliament approved the president’s decision on May 18. Earlier, Defence Minister Mikhail Yezhel said Ukrainian military will take part this year in 21 international exercises both in Ukraine and outside it. “Nine exercises are to be held in Ukraine,” he said. The minister also said that over 600 Ukrainian military would take part in international exercises abroad.

In 2009, the parliament did not pass a bill on access of foreign military to the country. International manoeuvres were replaced with command-and-staff exercises without participation of military units.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15192254&PageNum=0



Ukrainian opposition believes lightning strike at the Rada building is a sign from above

Kiev, June 3, Interfax – The Our Ukraine's MP Yury Klochkovsky said the lightning stroke at the building of the Supreme Rada was "a sign from above" for the Party of Regions.

"The fact that the lightnings stroke reached the Supreme Rada when it was considering the draft on principles of home and foreign policy is another sign for the Party of Regions as it strives to change Ukrainian legislation for satisfying its political needs," the MP said criticizing the a draft on All-Ukrainian referendum suggested by the Party of Regions.

As Ukrainian Pravda reported on Thursday referring to the Supreme Rada source, the lightning stroke resulted in failure of lightning and telephone systems, thus the light was partially switched off, the Rada system and phone network were disconnected for a few seconds.

In a few seconds, voltage stabilizers snapped into action and work of all systems was restored.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7333



Ukraine security chief doesn't see Ukraine as a country with high Islamist hazard

Kiev, May 31, Interfax - Ukrainian Security Service head Valery Khoroshkovsky said the hazard of international terrorist organizations, including those of Islamist character, is not high at present.

"Unfortunately, not a single country is immune from this (threat - IF) and we are a part of the risk zone. At the same time, there is no high terrorist hazard in Ukraine," Khoroshkovsky stressed in an interview with Kommersant Ukraine issue.

According to him, the Ukrainian Security Service has a well-developed system of information gathering, which exposes terrorist act planning at early phases.

There is no ethnic component for terrorism in the Crimea either, Khoroshkovsky stressed.

"The Crimea has certain specifics, but they are unrelated to the Crimean Tatars. The specifics are related to the geography, as the peninsula has convenient places for secret meetings and camps. We have information about certain terrorist organizations, but they view Ukraine as a place for taking rest or preparing operations in other states rather than as a theater of operation," he said.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1852914147210219259

Russian disabled lady to be deported from Finland June 16

Irina Antonova with her daughter. Photo: RIA Novosti

Moscow is concerned with Finland’s decision to deport Russian Irina Antonova, who is old and disabled, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Andrey Nesterenko told journalists on Thursday. He said the Helsinki authorities plan to deport Antonova June 16.

Irina Antonova’s daughter, who married a Fin, took her wheelchair-bound mother to Helsinki two years ago through a guest visa. She has nobody to look after her in Russia. Doctors say Irina may not survive the flight. Nesterenko hopes the situation will be settled peacefully.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/03/9029034.html

Armenian-RF friendship may serve example for other states – leader

YEREVAN, June 2 (Itar-Tass) - Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said a high level of mutual understanding and trust with Russia could serve an example for other countries.

Sargsyan met with the Armenian community of South Russia in Rostov-on-Don, the presidential press service reported on Wednesday.

“Today relations between Armenia and Russia are based on a firm foundation. I am sure that we will continue to strengthen relations,” Sargsyan said.

In his opinion, “It’s a reality, an obvious advantage and a favourable condition for the development of our communities [Armenian community – Itar-Tass] because there is an excellent friendship between a new homeland, Russia, and the historical homeland, Armenia.”

Moreover, Russia and Armenia “have reached a high level of mutual understanding and mutual trust that may serve an example for others”, the Armenian president stressed.


http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15187684&PageNum=0

Ukraine turns back on idea of integration with NATO

KIEV, June 1 (Itar-Tass) -- The item on NATO integration has been removed from the bill on Ukraine’s home and foreign policy. The draft, approved at Tuesday’s meeting of the Security and Defense Council under the chairmanship of Viktor Yanukovich, has been registered in the country’ s parliament.

Parliamentary Speaker Vladimir Litvin said that this bill will be considered in the first reading on June 3.

Among the basic principles the bill mentions Ukraine’s full-fledged participation in the pan-European and regional systems of collective security, membership of the European Union on the condition of neighborly relations and strategic partnership with the Russian Federation and other CIS member-states, as well as with other countries of the world. The item on Ukraine’s future membership of NATO is gone.

The national priorities are guarantees of constitutional rights and freedoms of the individual and citizen, development of civil society and its democratic institutions, protection of the state sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the state borders, prevention of interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine, stronger political and social stability in society, measures to ensure the development and functioning of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of public life in the whole territory of the country, guarantees of the free development, use and protection of the Russian language and other minority languages in Ukraine, creation of a competitive, socially oriented free market economy and sustainable growth of the standard of living and wealth of the population.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15185646&PageNum=0



Russia, Ukraine sign nuclear fuel contract

KIEV, June 1 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia’s TVEL and Ukraine’s Energoatom have signed a long-term contract on the delivery of nuclear fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants after 2010.

The contract was signed in development of a protocol of the sixth meeting of the Russia-Ukraine Interstate Commission’s Economic Cooperation Committee of April 30, 2010.

“The contract is mutually beneficial,” Energoatom President Yuri Nedashkovsky said.

TVEL started to cooperate with Ukraine in 1996, after it had won an international tender for fuel deliveries to water-cooled water-moderated reactors of Ukraine. TVEL and Energoatom signed a contract in 1997 to ensure fuel shipments thru 2010.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15185645&PageNum=0

Patriarch Bartholomew urged Ukrainian dissenters to join the Orthodox Church

Strelna, May 31, Interfax - Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople urged Ukrainian dissenters to repent and join the canonic Orthodox Church.
"Let them (dissenters - IF) not hesitate, but join the canonic Orthodox Church which is a ship of salvation," Patriarch Bartholomew said in an interview to Vesti 24 TV which was recorded Sunday in the Constantinovsky Palace in Strelna near St. Petersburg.

He noted that speaking with Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and all Ukraine he wished him that "he be honoured by God to see the solution to this problem while alive, and that the schism ceased to exist."

"Our Church does everything with due respect to the existing canonic order (in Ukraine - IF)," Patriarch Bartholomew commented current standpoint by Constantinople Patriarchate on Ukrainian schism.

He expressed willingness of his Church to pray both for "Russian and Ukrainian people."

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7318



Patriarch Kirill gives an excursion in English for Patriarch Bartholomew in Tsarskoye Selo

St. Petersburg, May 31, Interfax – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople on Sunday evening visited Tsarskoye Selo.

Guard orchestras welcomed the Primates with festival marches.

During the half an hour excursion in main halls of the Yekaterinsky Palace Patriarch Kirill acted as an English speaking guide for the Primate of the Constantinople Church and told him about sights, exhibits of the museum, making stops before the portraits of Russian tsars and empresses and commenting on certain moments of Russian history. The museum's staff members helped the Primate in his story.

Local musicians played harpsichords and flutes to accompany the Patriarchs during their tour in the palace.

Patriarch Bartholomew showed special interest to the Amber room.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7317



Patriarch Kirill: Russian and Constantinople Churches are coming closer together

Saint-Petersburg, May 31, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia states that relations between the Russian and Constantinople Churches are moving forward.

"I am happy that every meeting brings us closer together," Patriarch stated on Saturday after the liturgy in St. Isaac's Cathedral in Saint-Petersburg served together with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

He reminded the words of Patriarch Bartholomew during his visit to Russia in 1993 that Patriarch Bartholomew took back with him "only half of [his] heart because the other half [I am] leaving here."

"Hopefully, you leave your entire heart here this time," Patriarch Kirill said addressing Patriarch Bartholomew and concluded his speech exclaiming "Christ is risen!" in Greek.

After the service Patriarch Kirill showed Patriarch Bartholomew around the historical building of the Synod in Senatskaya Square which houses the working residence of Moscow Patriarch since May 2009.

Heads of two Churches arrived to St. Petersburg by boat from the Constantinople Palace in Strelna on Monday morning. The boat was greeted with bell ringing in the Admiralty Embankment next to the "Bronze Horseman" - the monument to Peter the Great - and both Patriarchs joined the priests carrying church banners and followed along the ranks of Baltic sailors to St. Isaac's Cathedral.


http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7316



Patriarch Bartholomew is willing to advance convening of the All-Orthodox Coucil

Strelna, May 31, Interfax - Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople thinks it necessary to advance convening of the All-Orthodox Council with the participation of all local Orthodox Churches.

"We decided to facilitate the process of convening the holy and great Council of all Orthodox Churches," Patriarch Bartholomew said in an interview to Vesti 24 TV which was recorded Sunday in the Constantinovsky Palace in Strelna near St. Petersburg.

He referred to the Council as one of the major objectives for the Constantinople Church and stated that the Council and its outcomes would "have the greatest impact on the entire Orthodox world."

According to him, the event's agenda "has been already set up and is well-known to the Orthodox community," it covers ten major points, including the principles of autocephaly and autonomy of the Orthodox Churches, challenges of fasting, and a set of issues related to diptych (the order of mentioning Churches during service - IF.)

"Our Orthodox Church continuously seeks to keep up with the times avoiding to give up anything of its teaching, but at the same time, respond to the spirit of the time helping believers to stand up to the current real world," Patriarch Bartholomew said.

The preliminary work to convene the Council was started as far back as 1960s. The All-Orthodox Council is preceded with the meetings of All-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference and Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission. The Council shall decide the problems which have been accumulating within several centuries, from the time of the last 7th Ecumenical Council, which should be addressed by the entire Church.

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