The Shepherd, July 2006
NEWS SECTION, 1
RAPPROCHEMENT COMMISSIONS
From 26th - 28th June, 2006, the seventh joint meeting of the Commissions of the Moscow Patriarchate and of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad was held at the offices of the Department of External Church Relations at St Danilov Monastery in Moscow. Participating on behalf of the Moscow Patriarchate were: President of the Commission, Archbishop Innokenty of Korsun; Archbishop Evgeny of Verey; Protopriest Vladislav Tsypin; Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov); and Secretary of the Commission, Protopriest Nikolai Balashov. On the side of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad were: President of the Commission, Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany; Bishop Ambroise; Archimandrite Luke; Protopriest Nikolai Artemoff; and the Commission's Secretary, Protopriest Alexander Lebedeff. The Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, also participated in the discussion of certain questions. The main topic of the meeting was the further steps upon the path of reestablishing church unity in the light of the decisions of the IV All- Diaspora Council and of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, held last May in San Francisco. The proposals expressed by the Council of Bishops of ROCA regarding the further development of the Act on Canonical Communion were carefully studied. After an exhaustive discussion, a supplemented draft of the Act was prepared for submission to the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Synod of Bishops of the ROCA for consideration. Clarifications were made at the meetings on some aspects of the participation of the Moscow Patriarchate in inter-religious and inter- Christian activities. The Commissions also examined other canonical and practical questions which needed to be decided in connection with the reestablishment of ecclesiastical unity. Among these were problems of the existing parishes of the Russian Church Abroad on the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate and of pastoral interrelations between the bishops and clergymen of the ROCA and of the Moscow Patriarchate who conduct their ministry abroad.
LAW CHANGED IN GREECE
THE TABLET, 10th June 2006, reports that Greek politicians have voted to strip the Orthodox Church of its constitutional right to be consulted over the construction of non-Orthodox places of worship. “From now on, requests for building mosques, synagogues or other Christian churches should be lodged directly with the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs,” said last week’s resolution. “The establishment, erection and activity of a church or prayer house for any religion or confession, not including the Orthodox Church of Greece, no longer requires the consent or judgment of that Church.” Religious minorities, according to the magazine, have often complained of discrimination in Greece, a European Union and Nato member-state, whose constitution declares Orthodoxy the “dominant religion”, prohibits Bible translations without Orthodox consent and requires public office-holders to take an oath before an Orthodox priest. According to other reports, a court in Athens has also legitimised the existence of an association called “Ellinais,” which claims to follow the pagan religion of Ancient Greece, and is seeking permission to worship at the ancient temples. This association claims 2,000 adherents. However, it appears that Ellinais will not receive full recognition lest they follow claims about the ownership of the ancient sites and artefacts.
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