for BM: Controversial Priest Gunned Down in Church
captain!
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=30366
MOSCOW - Hundreds of mourners gathered Sunday to pay their respects to
Father Daniil Sysoyev, a Russian Orthodox priest famous for his missionary
work and criticism of Islam, after he was gunned down in his church last
week. Church insiders said the attack, which happened late Thursday in
southern Moscow, could have been the work of radical Islamists, who had
regularly threatened him for preaching to Muslims. Law enforcement officials
said they believed religion was the primary motive in the killing.
The 35-year-old Sysoyev, who led the St. Thomas Church on Kantemirovskaya
Ulitsa, was shot point-blank four times by an unidentified man wearing a
medical face mask, police said. He was severely wounded and died in an
ambulance.
Vladimir Strelbitsky, a 41-year-old who was nearby during the attack, was
also shot and remains hospitalized in serious condition.
Citing sources with knowledge of the matter, Interfax reported that the
killer called out to Sysoyev twice shortly before the shooting. Viktor
Kupriyanchuk, the church's elder, told Kommersant that the killer burst into
the church shouting, "Where's Sysoyev?" When Sysoyev stepped forward from
behind the altar, the assailant shot him several times and attempted to
flee.
The shooter encountered and wounded Strelbitsky on his way out of the
church, Kupriyanchuk said.
Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said "witness accounts
were collected indicating that Father Daniil had long received threats
because of his religious activity."
In February 2008, Sysoyev said on television that he had received "10
threats via e-mail that I shall have my head cut off," unless he stopped
preaching to Muslims. "As I see it, it is a sin not to preach to Muslims."
Sysoyev was a popular blogger, who also wrote against cults in his
LiveJournal blog. An ethnic Tatar, he was a fervent critic of Islam, arguing
that coexistence between Christians and Muslims was not possible.
"How can we create a union with people who see a territory not governed by
sharia law as a land of war?" he said in an interview on Ekho Moskvy radio
in 2005.
In one of his books, "Marriage to a Muslim," Sysoyev spoke against
intermarriage between Muslim and Christians, saying such unions were only
possible if Muslims converted. Writing in his blog about the anniversary of
the Bolshevik revolution earlier this month, Sysoyev said Christians should
not even sit at the same table with Communists, comments that angered many
on the left.
Although in his books and speeches he tried to refrain from radical remarks
often used by the Orthodox Christian right, religion experts said Sysoyev
often crossed that line while clashing with his opponents.
"Many of his texts strayed far from political correctness. He often balanced
on the edge," said Alexander Soldatov, a religious commentator and editor of
the Credo.ru religious news service.
News of Sysoyev's death was met with cheers on Internet forums for radical
Islamists, with some acknowledging that they had dreamed of knifing him to
death personally.
The official leaders of the Russian Islamic community condemned the murder,
and Orthodox leaders called for calm.
"We are against any extreme act or act of terror, and we consider the
killing of an Orthodox priest a terrible sin," Ravil Gainutdin, chairman of
the Muftis' Council of Russia, told reporters Friday.
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, extended his
condolences to Sysoyev's family and called on investigators to solve the
murder.
"The killing of a priest in a church is a challenge to divine law and the
desecration of a sacred place," he said in a statement.
Sysoyev's funeral will be held at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Holy Apostles
Peter and Paul, in Yasenevo, after which Kirill will perform the conclusion
of the all-night vigil. Sysoyev will be buried at the Kuznetskoye Cemetery
in western Moscow.
And while some religious experts told The Moscow Times that the patriarchate
had been distancing itself from the outspoken priest, he was popular and
respected among the lower-ranking clergy. Sysoyev's supporters were
collecting signatures on a petition over the weekend asking Kirill to make
sure that his missionary work is continued.
Father Boris, who leads an Orthodox church outside Moscow, told The St.
Petersburg Times that he admired Sysoyev's books and that he believed the
priest was a victim in a war against Christianity unleashed by Muslims.
"When I was reading them, I understood that it will end like this," he said.
"There is a war, and people are being shot. Then they leave the trenches to
go to battle. Father Daniil has left his trench."
The Black Monk
Another of many perscuted or martyred Christians, the most persecuted
religion in the world after World War II.
regards,
BM
captain!
"The Black Monk" <ch....@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:e8143383-443e-45ee...@u7g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
From what little I know, sounds like he was a decent and brave man.
Another of many perscuted or martyred Christians, the most persecuted
religion in the world after World War II.
regards,
BM
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he was, according to this article, openly anti-islam, and you know what that
means: death to the infidel.
although the muslim community in russia officially condemned the killing,
there were of course the raving lunatic muslim fringe who were calling for
his head.
The Black Monk
> "The Black Monk" <ch....@hotmail.com> wrote in messagenews:e8143383-443e-45ee...@u7g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
The problem for Muslims there is that Russian fight back.
Althought he victims will likely be people who had nothing to do with
the crime, some poor gastarbeiters at the wrong place at the wrong
time.
regards,
BM
Dmitry
> intermarriage between Muslim and Christians, saying such unions were only
> possible if Muslims converted.
Partnership is possible when both parties have chosen to be together.
And if they want to convert to another religion it should be up to
them, not up to a priest.
> Writing in his blog about the anniversary of
> the Bolshevik revolution earlier this month, Sysoyev said Christians should
> not even sit at the same table with Communists, comments that angered many
> on the left.
It does sound like he was quite an intolerant person.
> Father Boris, who leads an Orthodox church outside Moscow, told The St.
> Petersburg Times that he admired Sysoyev's books and that he believed the
> priest was a victim in a war against Christianity unleashed by Muslims.
Maintaining the myth that there is the war between Christianity and
Islam today won't bring any positive results.