Patriarchal and Synodal Epistle in connection with the situation in Montenegro Патриаршее и Синодальное послание в связи с ситуацией в Черногории

Patriarchal and Synodal Epistle in connection with the situation in Montenegro Патриаршее и Синодальное послание в связи с ситуацией в Черногории print version December 30, 2019 08:30 In connection with the dangerous development of the situation around the canonical Orthodox Church in Montenegro, a remote meeting of the Holy Synod was held on Saturday December 28, 2019, whose members unanimously approved the following Patriarchal and Synodal Message on the situation in Montenegro. His Holiness, His Holiness Irenaeus, Archbishop of Pechsky, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovac, Patriarch of Serbia His Eminence, His Eminence Amphilochius, Metropolitan of Montenegro-Primorsky His Grace, His Grace, Bishop of Budymlyansk-Niksic His Grace, His Grace Athanasius, Bishop of Mileshevsky His Grace, His Grace Demetrius, Bishop of Zakhum-Herzegovina His Grace, His Grace Methodius, Bishop of Diocles The clergy, monks and all Orthodox believers of Montenegro Your Holiness, beloved fellow archpastors beloved in the Lord, venerable fathers, dear brothers and sisters! With pain and concern, we learned about the adoption by the Assembly of Montenegro of a discriminatory law against the Serbian Orthodox Church, and of the dramatic events that followed. Accept on behalf of the fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church the expression of deep, sincere and heartfelt sympathy in connection with the outrageous arbitrariness of the police, which humiliated and battered the faithful, led by His Grace Bishop Methodius of Diocles. The bitterness is caused by the legislators' disregard for the will of the majority of citizens who were and remain members of the Church of St. Basil of Ostrog and Peter Tsetinsky. It is this Church, as a caring mother, spiritually gave birth and through vigilant care for centuries brought up in love for freedom and truth the inhabitants of Montenegro. And today, its temples and monasteries, testifying to the living faith and piety of the generations who built them, faced the threat of plunder. An attempt to raise the question of the legitimacy of the rights of religious organizations to property belonging to them after many years of reign of the atheistic regime, condemning them to lawlessness, looks like a cynical blow to the Church, restoring what was lost during the years of oppression. The new Law on Freedom of Religion is an act to support the split by weakening the canonical Church and attempting to make it humiliating and dangerous depending on the state - all the more unjust because Montenegro is a secular state. Arbitrarily and illegally intruding into the field of canon law, the country's authorities deny the obvious and easily proven continuity of the canonical Church, insisting on its re-registration, which takes the Church beyond the legal framework and puts it under attack from aggressive nationalism. In the Russian Orthodox Church, they know from their own experience that schism is the greatest national tragedy. The political forces of both Montenegro and Ukraine, interested in undermining national unity, supported the schismatics for many years, seeing in them an instrument for weakening the canonical Church. The tree they brought up brought the poisonous fruits of a new “state thinking,” which assigns the split the role of the driving force for the degeneration of public consciousness. This painful transformation inflicted on Ukraine unhealed wounds of fratricidal hostility. We see with sorrow that the same consequences are now threatening your country, where parallels with the Ukrainian situation are clearly visible in what is happening. Both countries adopted discriminatory laws that laid the legal basis for the removal of churches, monasteries and lands from the Church. In Montenegro, schismatics with the support of the authorities for many years trying to capture the churches of the canonical Church - as well as in Ukraine. This is not just an external resemblance - in both countries, in fact, the same plan is being implemented, born far beyond their borders. Therefore, our brothers in Montenegro understand the suffering of the people of God of Ukraine, which they always strive to support in the trials they experience. We now appeal to all Local Orthodox Churches with an appeal to support the canonical Church in Montenegro. The danger hanging over it should not be perceived by any of us as distant or alien. What the Montenegrin believers are trying to impose today, tomorrow any of the Churches can comprehend. We appeal to the world community to prevent the violation of the rights of religious communities in Montenegro. Serious comments on the new Law on Religious Freedom were previously made by the European Commission for Democracy through Law. Obviously, this legislative act ignores the will of a significant part of the country's population. It should be noted that the principle of separation of religious communities from the state, formally enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution (Charter) of Montenegro, is in fact grossly violated by the state leadership of the country, which has openly embarked on the creation of a “new church” that would serve their political interests. We urge the leaders of Montenegro to come to their senses and instead of the mythical "great Serb chauvinists" see their Orthodox grandfathers, fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and children. It is impossible and meaningless to declare the canonical Church, uniting the majority of the citizens of its country, a conductor of foreign, hostile influence. The adopted law does not provide for freedom of religion, it is aimed at alienation from the centuries-old historical memory of the people, from the fatherly spiritual tradition inherited by them. Voting in the Assembly launched processes that could in the foreseeable future lead to such sad consequences as the massive violation of the rights of believers, the seizure of churches from their rightful owners and the redistribution of property. We have already observed all this with Ukraine as an example, where similar laws were adopted, but where the interference of politicians in matters of church life could not shake the spiritual stronghold of the canonical Church and avert the people of God from it. Moreover, this intervention led to the loss of senior public office by the person who was most anxious to turn the Church into its political instrument. Outrage at the Church of God does not go unpunished. The people will not forgive the encroachment on its shrines, and God pays for it with condemnation in eternity. We pray to the All-Merciful Lord, may He grant His omnipotent help to archpastors, pastors, and all faithful children of the canonical Orthodox Church in Montenegro, may he bring forth admonition to those who now bear the responsibility for peace and civil harmony in the country. With love about the Lord

Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich: Tomos became the spiritual "Berlin Wall" for Ukrainian Orthodoxy

Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich: Tomos became the spiritual "Berlin Wall" for Ukrainian Orthodoxy Протоиерей Николай Данилевич: Томос стал духовной «берлинской стеной» для украинского Православия print version November 30, 2019 16:44 Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich, Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, gave an exclusive interview to the Apostrof website . - I would like to start the conversation with the important event of this year, namely the recognition by the Hellas Church , and after it by the Patriarchate of Alexandria , of the autocephaly of the “Orthodox Ukrainian Church” (hereinafter PCU). What is the official position of the UOC on this issue? - The final official position will be formed by the Synod of our Church, which has not yet met since the events you mentioned. Currently, there is a statement from the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC, which states that this decision was a stab in the back of the canonical UOC. After all, the churches you mentioned earlier recognized our Church as the only canonical, and now they have taken a diametrically opposite position. At the same time, we expressed gratitude to the metropolitans, priests and laity of the Church of Greece, who opposed the recognition of the PCO, and there were many of them. Ten bishops expressed their disagreement publicly, but in reality those bishops who are against the recognition of the PCO in the Greek Church, at least half. They are just silent. - Fear? Or why? - There are various reasons. Firstly, the Greek Church is half dependent on Constantinople. How? It has 80 metropolitans, of which 36 depend on Constantinople almost directly: they are administratively governed by the Synod in Athens, but the Constantinople Patriarch, whom they commemorate during the service, influences their election. This is historically the case. By the way, there was information that from Istanbul even the archbishop of Athens Jerome was threatened - if he does not recognize the PCO, then these 36 dioceses will be completely taken to Constantinople. Thus, we see that the PCUs were recognized by the satellites of the Patriarchate of Constantinople , that is, the same Greeks, only in other Churches. That is, the second reason is the pressure from Fanar itself (the district in Istanbul where the residence of the Patriarch of Constantinople is located is the “Apostrophe” ). The third reason is Greek solidarity. They are trying to support their Patriarch, even if he is not right. On October 12, 2019, many bishops of the Greek Church, when leaving the cathedral, which actually agreed with the recognition of the PCO, on the sidelines said literally like this: “We understand that it is wrong to recognize the saints and excommunicated, but we must help our Patriarch [Constantinople]”. For the Greeks, the Patriarch of Constantinople is to some extent a sacred person who reminds them of the glorious times of the Byzantine Empire, where the Greeks played a major role. It must be understood that the Greeks in Africa, namely in Alexandria and in Constantinople, are the remnants of those Greeks who remained there after the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. By the way, in Istanbul there are only 650 people living there now. The Ecumenical Patriarch, in fact, does not mean universal, but the patriarch of the empire, the Byzantine empire, which no longer exists. They just translated the title from Greek and mislead people. The fourth reason is the pressure of the Greek state, because the Greek Church has a connection with the state at the constitutional level, and, in fact, is the state Church. Bishops and priests in Greece receive salaries not from the Church, but from the state. The Greek state also finances the Alexandrian Patriarchate. And this means that they are dependent on the state. The last but very important reason is the pressure of the United States of America. This is also evident from the fact that the US ambassador to Greece, Jeffrey Payette, has recently met with the majority of the metropolitans of the Greek Church and continues to do so. Over the past year and a half, American ambassadors have begun to regularly meet with the heads and representatives of almost all the Local Orthodox Churches. The last such meetings are with the Patriarchs of Bulgaria and Serbia. This is confirmed by many official messages and photos that are easy to find on the Internet. In addition, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the PCU with the creation, and the US Senate even published a whole resolution on this subject. And the other day a cherry on the cake was the message that on the second day after the announcement by the Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilos of November 21 of the initiative for an All-Orthodox meeting in Jordan to resolve the crisis in Orthodoxy, the Ambassador Jeffrey Payette, already mentioned by us, is meeting with the Archbishop of Athens Jerome , who after the meeting declares that will not go anywhere. And he clarifies that he will not go until Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul tells him about this. It is surprising why no other country pays such attention to the Orthodox processes in Ukraine, and America, which is the majority of the Protestant-Catholic country where the Orthodox belong to minorities, so openly supports the PCO? Agree, this causes certain suspicions. - What is the interest of the States? - I think that for the USA, Greece and Ukraine have value, rather, as an outpost in the confrontation with Russia, but now in the spiritual sense. If before the United States fought with Russia in the political, military, information and economic spheres, now the confrontation has passed into the church sphere. We in Ukraine need to clearly understand this. Understand our real place in these confrontations. We are a battlefield. Unfortunately. This is a big problem for the Church itself. The interference of political and geopolitical factors in the church situation is becoming very noticeable. And this is understood in the Local Churches. The other day, Anastasiy, the authoritative in the Orthodox world, Archbishop of Albania, supported the Patriarch of Jerusalem regarding pan-Orthodox discussion of the Ukrainian church issue. In his statement, he, incidentally, said that "the church events of the outgoing year created a new reality, with the clear intervention of geopolitical interests." Our Church is categorically against any external or internal state influences on church life. This only complicates the life and mission of the Church. This is one of the reasons why our Church did not want and does not want to take part in these games with the Tomos, which we have observed over the past year and a half. - And then what is the role of Russia in the struggle for church influence in Ukraine? “I understand your question.” Our Ukrainian Orthodox Church is often accused of allegedly wanting to be with Moscow, supporting the interests of the Russian Federation, the “Russian world”, etc. But this is not so, this is not true. As His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry said , when he was asked a similar question, "we are not building any Russian world, we are building the peace of God." This is important to understand. The church is separated from the state, both Ukrainian and Russian, and from the American, by the way. And the Church must be out of politics. Therefore, for the UOC, it is not Moscow that matters, not political issues, but church issues, questions of preserving the canonical order in the Church. These things must be understood and separated. At the same time, I would very much like that in the future Ukraine would not be anti-Russian, just as Russia would not be anti-Ukrainian. After all, both peoples suffer from this. But this is a mutual process, efforts are needed from both sides. The church and priests should call for peace and reconciliation, and not for war and confrontation. It is written in the gospel. This is what we are trying to do. There is no tension between the church people of our countries, the conflict exists only between politicians, between states. In my opinion, reconciliation could be started from the “information world”. We must stop in the media to pump hysteria against each other. We must move away from radical views and statements on both sides. - What reaction should be expected from other patriarchates? Will the already announced decisions of the Greek and Alexandrian Churches be a signal for them? - The situation with the proclamation of autocephaly of the PCU contradicts both the canons and the traditions of the Orthodox Church. This has never happened in church history. I mean, the presence of priestly and episcopal dignity is recognized for those who do not have it at all. And this is understood in the Local Churches. Therefore, even those Churches that identify with the erroneous actions of Phanar and recognize the PCO are forced to do this not because it is correct from the church point of view, but because they are subjected to external pressure. I am very unpleasant to talk about these things for an external audience, but people need to know the truth, because it has already come out. Thus, the answer to your question depends on whether other Churches are subject to external pressure or not. But in any case, churches that do not recognize the PCO will still remain until some kind of common Orthodox decision is made. It should be said frankly, now world Orthodoxy has not just entered the zone of turbulence, it faces the threat of a split. And the reason for this is the action of Constantinople. If here, in Ukraine, everything was done according to the canons and laws of the Church, then no one in the Orthodox world would have questions. But since the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine actually created a parallel hierarchy, having founded a parallel Church, introduced people into the bosom of the Church who in reality do not have priests and episcopal ordinations - this raises, to put it mildly, many questions in other Local Churches. Now in Ukraine there are two metropolitans of Kiev. It’s like two presidents in one state. But this is wrong! Why is our UOC opposing the PCU? Because the PCU was created on the basis of the UAOC and the UOC-KP, which were once parts of our Church. Speaking in secular language, in the early 1990s, processes of church separatism took place in Ukraine. The UAOC was separated from the UOC in 1989, and then the UOC-KP in 1992, and now these units, which then left us, claim to be called the Local Church of Ukraine. Such an absurdity took place in the Ukrainian church community. But the worst part is that this absurdity is being served and promoted as the norm today. Therefore, these wrong things should be corrected. - You mentioned the initiative of the Primate of the Church of Jerusalem, who invited the First Hierarchs to Jordan to discuss the issue of “maintaining unity in the Eucharistic communion”. What will this discussion give? Will it finally help to find harmony in the relations of the Orthodox? - Yes, this is a very positive and encouraging gesture. We hope that at the present crisis moment this voice will be heard and if not all, then a significant number of Church leaders will have the will to come there. And then the Ukrainian church issue will either be resolved, or the ways to resolve it will be outlined. At least this is a chance to solve the problem. There are no other options yet. And the voice of the Albanian Archbishop Anastasius, who also speaks for the Pan-Orthodox Conference, increases the chances that it can still take place. - What issues should be raised there? - The Ukrainian question, first of all. That is, what to do with the PCU and how to solve the church schism in Ukraine, since the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople only led to even bigger problems - not only in Ukraine, they created a pan-Orthodox crisis. And also, on occasion, other issues relevant to Orthodoxy may be raised.

For the year of the existence of the schismatic "Orthodox Church of Ukraine" less than 1% of the canonical Church passed into it

For the year of the existence of the schismatic "Orthodox Church of Ukraine" less than 1% of the canonical Church passed into it За год существования раскольнической «Православной церкви Украины» в нее перешло менее 1% канонической Церкви print version December 3, 2019 2:51 p.m. Despite the efforts of state propaganda, less than 1% of all parishes of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church joined or were forcibly transferred to its ranks in the year since the formation of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”. This was announced in an interview with the Russia-24 television channel by the managing director of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovarsky . According to the bishop, since December 2018, schismatics have seized about 100 churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, illegally re-registered 220, voluntarily changed the jurisdiction of about 78 parishes. Thus, Vladyka Anthony summed up the results, of the more than 12 thousand parishes that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has, this is less than 1%, while some parishes after that have already returned to the fold of the canonical Church. “In such periods, self-cleaning takes place. After all, who left us? Those who wore various gossip, strife within the Church, who asserted themselves, who had a very high opinion of themselves, left ... There remained people who were faithful to God, Churches, faithful to their oath - both priestly and bishops, those who live for Christ and in Christ, ”said Metropolitan Anthony.

The 24th Radonezh Film Festival was held in Moscow

The 24th Radonezh Film Festival was held in Moscow XXIV кинофестиваль «Радонеж» состоялся в Москве print version November 28, 2019 17:43 November 22-25, 2019 at the Cinema House of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation in Moscow, the XXIV International Festival of Film and Television Programs "Radonezh" was held . The film festival united around 300 film and television companies from all over Russia, near and far abroad. This year, 230 films and television programs from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Abkhazia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Poland, and Lithuania were sent to the selection committee. Of these, 123 films were selected in the festival program. 54 films participated in the competition program, 50 films participated in the television competition. In addition to documentaries and television programs, 12 animated films and 12 short films were also featured in the competition. This year's jury included the chairman of the jury, film director V.I. Khotinenko, film actress V.I. Telichkina, TV journalist B.I. Kostenko, film director A.V. Bogatyrev, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation A.N. Zolotukhina, film critic T.O. Jensen, writer, Ph.D. D.M. Volodikhin, film director B.G. Krinitsyn, Archpriest Andrei Spiridonov, Archpriest Nikolai Germansky, publicist S.N. Komarov (Ukraine). The main award of the festival - the silver medal of St. Sergius of Radonezh - received seven nominees. The Grand Prix of the festival - the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the silver medal of St. Sergius of Radonezh - by unanimous decision, the jury received the film “Andrei Tarkovsky. Cinema as a Prayer ”(script and director Andrei Tarkovsky, Jr.). The prize for the best directorial work went to the film “Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Repentance ”(scriptwriter and director Sergei Miroshnichenko). The prize for the best cinematography was given to the film “Sky” (screenwriter Aleksey Malechkin with the participation of Ilya Lozinsky; directors Aleksey Malechkin, Sergey Linnikov). The prize for the best script went to the film "The New Martyrs" (scriptwriter Elena Chavchavadze; director Galina Ogurnaya). The jury noted the best animated film, which was the work of animators from St. Petersburg "Heavenly Joy (Barefoot Joy)" (script by Ekaterina Kalikinskaya; director and artist Natalya Fedchenko). In the television competition among the paintings of regional studios, the film “The Commemoration” was awarded (the authors of the idea are Tatyana Favstriyskaya, Elena Trostnikova; script and director Lyudmila Razgon). The best television movie of the central channels is “Don't Get Out of Here” (screenwriter Marina Trush; directors Marina Trush, Vladimir Samorodov). The special prize of the president of the festival - for a documentary - received the picture "Yuri Kublanovsky. Homeland is nearby ”(script and director Aleksey Burykin). Silver medal of St. The hero of the film, poet Yuri Kublanovsky “For Contribution to the Development of Russian Literature,” also received Sergius of Radonezh. The special prize of the jury chairman - for the documentary - went to the work "The Stalingrad Gospel of Ivan Pavlov" (script and director Vladimir Shuvannikov). The special prize of the festival’s general producer awarded the film “Vasily Shukshin. I’ve come to give you free rein ... ”(script by Oksana Shaparova; director Yuri Malyugin). In addition, Special prizes and diplomas of the synodal departments of the Moscow Patriarchate and public organizations in various categories were awarded. The festival was held with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Government of Moscow, and the Union of Russian Filmmakers.

during his visit to Baku, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill performs a moleben at the site of the martyrdom of the Apostle Bartholomew Святейший Патриарх Кирилл совершил молебен на месте мученической кончины апостола Варфоломея print version November 14, 2019 20:12 On November 14, 2019, during his visit to Baku, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill served a moleben on the foundation of the chapel of the Apostle Bartholomew at the foot of the Maiden’s Tower in the Azerbaijani capital. According to legend, in 71 AD, one of the twelve disciples of the Savior, the holy apostle Bartholomew, was martyred here. Subsequently, a Christian church was erected there, and in 1892 a chapel appeared in this place in the name of St. Apostle Bartholomew, built on private donations. In the XX century, during the years of persecution of faith, it was blown up. Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus Metropolitan Minsky and Zaslavsky Pavel, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Metropolitan of Tashkent and Uzbekistan Vincent, Metropolitan of Yekaterinburg and Verkhotursky Kirill, Archbishop of Baku and Azerbaijan, prayed for the service, Archbishop Patriarch of Baku and Azerbaijan, prayed dioceses and many Orthodox residents of Baku.