News from Orthodox Russia
T254
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE by His Holiness Patriarch ALEXY II
of Moscow and All Russia
to archpastors, pastors, the monastics and all
children of the Russian Orthodox Church
CHRIST'S NATIVITY CELEBRATED THROUGHOUT RUSSIA - strana.ru, 7 January
2001
The glorious holiday of Christ's Nativity is being celebrated today in
Russia. The main event of the Christmas festivities in St. Petersburg today
is the consecration of a church to St. Sergius of Radonezh that was
erected at the southern gates of the city on Srednaia Rogatka. ITAR-TASS
reports that this is the largest postrevolutionary church structure in
the northern capital, capable of accommodating up to 500 worshippers. The
church was built in the Pskov-Novogorodian style of architecture of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Contemporary church builders used
the ancient method of laying bricks by hand without changing
construction technique. The white stone church, crowned with a silver cupola
with
a golden cross, is located on the picturesque island in Srednaia Rogatka
pond.
ITAR-TASS reports that the first service in the church consecrated to
the holy tsarist passion bearers, erected at the Ganina Yama estate outside
Ekaterinburg, was held early this morning. Here on a summer night in
1918 the remains of Nicholas II and his family and attendants were
destroyed in a bonfire. The divine liturgy was performed by Archbishop
Vikenty of Ekaterinburg and Verkhotursk.
The log church, constructed without a single nail and paid for by
believers, was built in the fall of last year. Its construction was blessed by
Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus, who performed divine services
on the site of the shooting of the Romanov family in Ekaterinburg and
here, in the woods, where once there was a fire place. The church is a
part of a monastery complex whose construction is not yet completed.
Eight cells for monks have been built of wood and the foundation for a
Sunday school has been laid; it will be attended by children from
surrounding villages. By an amazing conincidence the construction was
overseen by Nikolai Romanov, a novice monk of Ekaterinburg diocese.
Young people of the far east, students in children's Sunday schools of
Khabarovsk diocese, celebrated the holiday of Christ's Nativity on a
pilgrimage to sacred places of Rus. ITAR-TASS reports that this trip is
a Christmas present for forty children, given to them by the Far Eastern
Department of Aeroflot, which provided free tickets for the flight to
Moscow and back. The pupils of church schools will see the restored
church of Christ the Savior in Moscow and visit St. Sergius Holy Trinity
lavra and monasteries and churches in Kolomna, Serpukhov, and other
cities of Russia.
On Christmas day in Omsk the consecration of the largest church in the
Asiatic part of Russia, the cathedral of Christ's Nativity, will be
conducted. As ITAR-TASS reports, the church was erected in honor of the
bimillennium of the birth of Christ in just two years with the
contributions of workers of Omsk enterprises and businessmen. The
cathedral and its belfry are crowned by six gilded cupolas. There are eleven
bells, the largest of which weighs around one and a half tons, which
were made at the Petkov factory in Kamensk-Uralsk. The most modern
technology was used in the construction of the church.
An unusual exhibit was opened in one of the child care centers of
Cheliabinsk, according to ITAR-TASS. To the delight of the children, the
exhibit consists of almost 1200 extremely diverse creations made of
chocolate eggs and candies. The creator of such a rare display is
twenty-six-year-old Aleksei Veretnov, who is a native of Cheliabinsk and
has been crippled since childhood.
Patriarch Congratulates Russians on Christmas
RRN, MOSCOW, January 7 (Itar-Tass) - Parishioners were not in a hurry to
lleave the Savior Cathedral after the Orthodox Christmas service on
Sunday evening. They were waiting for Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia
Alexiy II to return from the Trinity -- St. Sergius Lavra, where he had
met with President Vladimir Putin and German Federal Chancellor Gerhardt
Schroeder.
The way of the Patriarch's motorcade to Moscow was quick, and soon he
entered the Cathedral to meet statesmen, among them chief of the
Kremlin administration Alexander Voloshin and Deputy Prime Minister
Valentina Matviyenko, clergymen, public figures, military commanders,
scientists and artists.
The Patriarch congratulated them on Christmas. This Christmas is special
as it coincides with the beginning of a new century and a new
millennium, the Patriarch said. Russia's history had plenty of tragic
pages in the 20th century, there were plenty of casualties, repressions and
the disintegration of a great country, he said. Yet the end of the 20th
century witnessed a spiritual rebirth of Russia. The Patriarch wished the
new century to be an era of peace, construction and prosperity for the
country. "That will require to pool everyone's efforts," he said.
Christmas rhymes were sung in the Cathedral after the speech of the
Patriarch. Alexander Voloshin presented a bouquet of white roses to Alexiy
II and congratulated him on Christmas.
A reception on behalf of the Patriarch has started in the Savior
Cathedral's Refectory.
Russian president sends best wishes for Orthodox Christmas
MOSCOW, Jan 6 (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin sent his besst wishes to
Russian members of the Orthodox Church on Saturday as they
prepared to celebrate Christmas on January 7.
"I am sure, in this new era, the traditions of good relations, mutual
understanding and tolerance that have always characterised our multi-ethnic
and multi-denominational country will continue to be affirmed in Russian
society," Putin said in a written message.
"Humanity is entering its third millenium. It's the signal for a
renaissance, not only historical but spiritual," said Putin, an
Orthodox Christian.
Up to 80 million Russians are members of the Russian Orthodox Church,
which does not recognise the "new-style" Western calendar introduced
by the Roman Catholic Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
Orthodox Christians, who have enjoyed a revival in Russia since the fall
of the Soviet Union in 1991, celebrate Christmas on January 7, which is
December 25 under the "old-style" Julian calendar.
Patriarch Alexis II, the head of the Church, was due to conduct the main
Christmas Eve service at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on
Saturday.
Relations between the Russian church and state have improved greatly
since the end of the Soviet era in 1991. Putin and the Patriarch have
regularly appeared together in public.
PATRIARCH ALEXIS II VISITED CHRISTMAS PARTY IN STATE KREMLIN PALACE
strana.ru, 9 January 2001 - RRN, Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and
all-Rus today invited Moscow's children to the Christmas party ["Yolka"]
in the State Kremlin Palace during the Christmas "Sviatki," according to
ITAR-TASS. Along with the president's wife, Liudmila Putina, and the
head of the adminstration of the presidency of RF, Alexander Voloshin,
the primate of the church attended the Christmas production and before
its opening gave Christmas greetings to the children.
He recalled that the holiday of Christ's Birth is glorious and joyful
and "as the wise men from the East 2000 years ago, when they learned of the
birth of the Savior of the world, brought to the divine infant their
gifts, gold, incense, and myrrh, the church in these days tries to bring
children
joy with Christmas presents and productions."
Patriarch Alexis recalled that this year the holiday of Christmas is
special; with it the twenty-first century and the third millennium begin. The
patriarch encouraged the children to study diligently and to grow up to
be good and honest persons in order to be of service to the fatherland in
the future.
The sponsors of the production are the Moscow Federation of Unions and
the government of Moscow. In the 38 years since the beginning of
conducting New Year's-Christmas productions here around eleven million
children have attended. This year children from various regions of
Russia were invited to the State Kremlin Palace, along with those from
Ukraine and Belorussia, including residents of children's homes, children
from unfortunate families, and sons and daughters of members of the crew
of "Kursk" who perished and children of soldiers of the 201st
motorized division deployed in Tazikistan and the Tula division that
fought in Chechnia.
RUSSIA'S CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE IN KREMLIN - by Olga
Kostromina, Itar-Tass, 8 January 2001
Christmas celebrations, which started in Moscow's Christ the Saviour
Cathedral on January 7, continued on Monday in the Moscow Kremlin.
Russian Patriarch Alexy II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, read a
liturgy in the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral earlier in the day.
On this day, the Church hails the Mother of God, Alexy said. "In the
most difficult minutes of life, Christian Orthodox man always sends
prayers to the Holy Virgin and receives as answer help and
fortification," the patriarch said.
Also on Monday, he awarded to Mitropolitan Pitirim of Volokolamsk and
Yuryev an order of Holy Innokenty of Moscow for enlightenment and
missionary labours and on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
robert G Tallick