Russian Orthodox Church-Supporters: Ιουνίου 2015

Τετάρτη 10 Ιουνίου 2015

Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem

The church of Saint Mary Magdalene is situated on the slope of the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane and is one of the most easily recognizable landmarks of Jerusalem. This striking example of Russian architecture was built in the Muscovite style with golden onion domes or cupolas.

It was built as a memorial to Empress Maria Alexandrovna by her son the Russian Czar Alexander III and his brothers. Grand-Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, brother of Alexander III, and his wife Grand-Duchess Elizabeth (Princess Elizabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt), grand-daughter of Queen Victoria and sister of the last Empress of Russia, presided at the consecration of the church of Saint Mary Magdalene in 1888 as representatives of the Emperor.

The Grand-Duchess took a deep personal interest in the church and commissioned the well-known Russian artist Sergei Ivanov (1864-1910) to paint the large imposing murals depicting the life of Saint Mary Magdalene which were brought to Jerusalem for the consecration and hang in the church today.

The large canvas above the iconostasis shows Mary Magdalene before the Roman Emperor Tiberius. In her hand she holds a red egg which she presents to the Emperor, symbolizing the resurrection and eternal life. She tells Tiberius about the unjust judgment and death on the cross of Jesus Christ. It is known that after re-examining this unlawful trial Pilate, at that time governor of Jerusalem, was deposed and sent into exile. The elegant white marble and bronze iconostasis holds icons by the distinguished Russian artist, Vereshchaguin.

On the right side of the iconostasis in a specially carved wooden icon-case is the miracle-working icon of the Mother of God ‘HODIGITRIA’. This icon comes from Lebanon. Records of its miracles date back to the 16th century when it miraculously survived a fire that consumed the church. Later it healed many people during a cholera epidemic.

In this century, the metropolitan of Lebanon had repeated dreams telling him to give the icon of the Hodigitria to Abbess Mary in Palestine. After some inquiries he found Abbess Mary at the Russian Orthodox Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, and this is how the icon came to be in the Church. To this day believers receive miraculous help from the Mother of God after praying before Her holy icon.

Grand-Duchess Elizabeth, widowed by an assassin’s attack on her husband in 1905, became a nun and founded a convent devoted to nursing and charitable work in Moscow. After the revolution, in 1918, the Grand-Duchess together with her companion Sister Barbara and several members of the Russian Imperial Family were thrown into a mine shaft by the Bolsheviks and left to die. Her remains and those of Sister Barbara eventually were brought to Jerusalem. In 1920, they were laid to rest, as the Grand-Duchess wished, in a crypt below the Saint Mary Magdalene Church. They were canonized as Martyr Saints in 1981 and at this time their relics were moved into the main section of the church where they rest today in marble sarcophagi.

Princess Andrew of Greece (Princess Alice of Battenberg), mother of the Duke of Edinburgh visited the church and stayed in the monastery in the 1930s. Her wish was to be buried near her Aunt ‘Ella’, the Grand-Duchess Elizabeth whose devotion to the church and to nursing and charitable service she strove to emulate. Princess Andrew died at Buckingham Palace in 1969. Her wish to be buried at the Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane was finally realized in 1988 when her remains were transferred to her final resting place in a crypt below the church.

The church stands in the Garden of Gethsemane, the place where Jesus spent His last night on earth. Also found on the convent grounds are the remnants of a pre-Roman road, the biblical entry to Jerusalem. Not far from this road is a large stone on to which the Mother of God dropped her cincture to Apostle Thomas on the third day following her Dormition.

There are many caves in the Garden of Gethsemane which the Church tells us were used by Christ and his Disciples for prayer. One large cave in the grounds of the convent is used as a chapel, where the sisters meet to read their evening prayer rule.

Today, the church is the place of daily worship for the women’s convent of St. Mary Magdalene, under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. The sisterhood was established in 1936 by Mother Mary (Robinson), an English convert to Orthodoxy. The convent is a thriving community of 30 nuns from all over the world: Russians, Americans, Australians, Arabs, Serbs and Romanians.

The sisters are multi-talented: some paint icons, others embroider vestments and items for liturgical use. Hand-painted Russian eggs from Gethsemane are famous around the world as are the sisters’ prayer ropes, bookmarks, and other hand crafts. They also make incense for use in the church and for private prayer. All these items are available at the monastery kiosk.

These are perilous times for historical landmarks throughout the world. Each year our precious monuments of ‘living history’ fall victim to deterioration and decline, often due to lack of funds to maintain and repair them.

The Holy Land is no exception. The church is in a bad state of deterioration and ‘The Gethsemane Restoration Project’ was launched in 1994. Our goal is to repair and restore this famous landmark to its former magnificence. We ask for your help to achieve our aim.

The Bethany Community of the Resurrection of the Lord - The Bethany School

In 1909 the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem purchased a plot of land in Bethany and erected two buildings for the needs of pilgrims. During World War I, Turkish soldiers occupied the premises and, not only left everything in disorder, but took down doors and window frames. For lack of funds after the Russian Revolution, the buildings stood neglected.

In 1932, two British women - Barbara-Stella Robinson and Alix Sprot were traveling to India, and on the way made a stop in Jerusalem. Here they became acquainted with Orthodoxy, converted, and decided to remain in the Holy Land. Archbishop Anastassy tonsures them nuns and gave them the names of Mary and Martha, respectively

Πέμπτη 4 Ιουνίου 2015

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH REPRESENTATIVE ATTENDS HUMAN RIGHTS SEMINAR IN HAGABERG

A seminar organized by a mixed human rights working group of the Conference of European Church in cooperation with representatives of international organizations in Brussels took place on May 25-29, 2015, in the People’s University in Hagaberg, Sweden.

The forum was attended by over 40 clergy, political and public figures and experts in human rights.

The main themes under discussions were theological foundations of the Christian understanding of human rights, freedom of confession in the system of fundamental human rights, pressing aspects of human rights protection in pastoral work with prisoners, emigrants, and representatives of small nations, as well as new initiatives of the European Union, Council of Europe, Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe and United Nations in the area of protection of freedom of religious beliefs.

Archpriest Dimitry Sizonenko, acting representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to European international organizations in Brussels, took part in the panel discussion on Theology, Politics and Human Rights organized as part of the forum. In his address, he presented the Russian Church’s basic propositions on human dignity, freedom and rights, stressing the need for an open and constructive dialogue between representatives of traditional religions and proponents of the secular interpretation of the so-called ‘collective rights’ concept, which is used to oust any manifestation of faith and religious beliefs from public life under the pretext of opposing the growing radicalism in Europe today.

The participants in the seminar had an opportunity to see the work carried out in Sweden to accept refugees from the Middle East countries and to meet the Swedish commissioner for human rights and members of the Interreligious Council in Sweden.

In the exchange of opinions, participants stressed that in today’s Europe there must be a system of commonly accepted values based on the age-old tradition of the Christian civilization, without which it is impossible to exist in a situation of globalization.

RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBERS AND PUBLIC FIGURES ATTEND DIVINE SERVICE AT THE CHURCH OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH DAMASCUS REPRESENTATION

On May 28, 2015, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Damascus Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church. Celebrated by Hegumen Arseny (Sokolov), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East, the service was attended by the delegation of Russian parliament members and public figures who had brought humanitarian aid consisting of food stuffs and medicines to the country suffering from war. Among the worshippers were staff members of the Russia embassy and a few parishioners who could not evacuate and had to stay in the capital.

The delegation led by D. Sablin, a member of the Russian Federation Council, was in Syria from May 25-28. They met with Mr. Wael Nader al-Halqi, President of the Syrian Council of Ministers, Mr. Muhammed Jihad al-Laham, speaker of the People’s Council, Dr. Omran Ahed al-Zoubi, minister of information, and the Supreme Mufti of Syria Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun.

The Russian guests visited a hospital and orphanages to give them humanitarian aid for the patients and orphans.

On May 26, they met with bishops of the Patriarchate of Antioch who serve in Syria. The delegation was accompanied by Hegumen Arseny, the website of the ROC Representation reports.

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia(ROCOR)

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (Russian: Русская Православная Церковь Заграницей), also called ROCOR is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church. The ROCOR is also referred to as the Karlovtsy Synod (from its seminal formations in Serbia) or simply the Synod, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, or ROCA. It was formed as a jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodoxy as a response against the policy of the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and separated from the Russian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1927 after an imprisoned Patriarch Sergius I of Moscow.

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia officially signed the Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate on May 17, 2007 restoring the canonical link between the churches. Critics of the reunification argue that the issue of KGB infiltration of the Moscow Patriarchate church hierarchy has not been addressed by the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1920 near the end of the Russian Civil War, after the White Russian Army under Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak was crushed, a mass exodus of Russian refugees moved into Manchuria. Over ninety thousand refugees settled in Harbin, Shanghai, Dairen, Hailar and the smaller towns along the Chinese branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway within three years. Lacking adequate lodgings or employment many migrated to America, Europe or Australia. Also in 1920 the Soviet government revealed that it was hostile to the Russian Orthodox Church. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ukase (decree) that all Orthodox Christians currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate seek protection and guidance elsewhere. Among some Russian Bishops and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency synod of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia. To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "Living Church" as a "reform" of the Russian Orthodox Church. In September 13, 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia met in the town of Sremski Karlovci and established a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan Platon as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas. This led to a three-way conflict in the United States among the Exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the Living Church, which asserted that it was the legitimate (Soviet-government-recognized) owner of all Eastern Orthodox properties in the USA. Between 1997–2000 the ROCOR and the ROC came into direct conflict over ownership of churches and properties within Palestine. In 2000 Metropolitan Laurus became the First Hierarch of the ROCOR and expressed interest in the idea of reunification. In 2003 Vladimir Putin met with Metropolitan Laurus in New York. This event was later hailed as an important step by Patriarch Alexy II who said that it showed the ROCOR that "not a fighter against God, but an Orthodox Christian is at the country's helm." In May 2004, Metropolitan Laurus, the head of the ROCOR, visited Russia participating in several joint services. In June 2004, a contingent of ROCOR clergy meeting with Patriarch Alexey II. Committees were set up by both the Patriarchate and ROCOR to begin dialogue towards rapprochement. Both sides decided to set up joint commissions, and determined the range of issues to be discussed at the All-Diaspora Council, which met for the first time since 1974. On December 28, 2006, it was officially announced that the Act of Canonical Communion would finally be signed. The signing took place on the May 17, 2007, followed immediately by a full restoration of communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, celebrated by a Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, at which the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexius II and the First Hierarch of ROCOR concelebrated for the first time in history. On May 17, 2007, at 9:15 a.m., Metropolitan Laurus was greeted at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow by a special peal of the bells, and shortly thereafter, Patriarch Alexey II entered the Cathedral. After the Patriarch read the prayer for the unity of the Russian Church, the Act of Canonical Communion was read aloud, and two copies were each signed by both Metropolitan Laurus and Patriarch Alexey II. The two hierarchs then exchanged the "kiss of peace," and they and the entire Russian Church sang "God Grant You Many Years." Following this, the Divine Liturgy of the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord began, culminating with the entirety of the bishops of both ROCOR and MP partaking of the same Eucharist. The ROCOR has over 400 parishes worldwide, and an estimated membership of over 400,000 people. Within the ROCOR there are 13 hierarchs, and also monasteries and nunneries in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and South America.