Staunton, December 15 – Many have seen the statements of the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church and the official hierarchies of that country’s Muslim community as an indication that they are moving toward greater mutual understanding and cooperation, according to Nezavisimaya Gazeta. But is a misreading of the situation, the paper suggests in a […]
Staunton, November 30 – Announcements that the Russian government will give the Moscow Patriarchate two billion rubles (40 million US dollars) over the next two years to open “spiritual-enlightenment centers” at a time when Moscow is cutting funding for the social and medical needs of Russians will further undermine Russian Orthodoxy in Russia. On the […]
Staunton, VA – November 12, 2014 – Many have been troubled by policies of the Moscow Patriarchate that are inconsistent with the Christian tradition, but now Alfred Kokh, a former Russian vice prime minister, says that the Russian Church has moved so far away from Christianity that it has transformed itself into an independent religion. […]
Staunton, October 31 – President Vladimir Putin this week signed a new law, pushed by the Moscow Patriarchate, that will provide government funding at the regional level for religious organizations in the name of the preservation of those of their buildings which have been or will be designated as “objects of cultural heritage.” Because money […]
Staunton, October 18 – Polls show that a higher percentage of Russians believe in Vladimir Putin than believe in God, but those figures are less about political support than the desire to find a savior – and, if the experience of other countries including the United States is any guide, almost certainly will dissipate quickly, […]
Staunton, October 12 – On October 11, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate said that Russian special services are planning provocations against that denomination on October 14th, a reminder if one is need that Vladimir Putin is following the Soviet provocation model first developed by Cheka founder Felix Dzerzhinsky. On its website, the […]
Staunton, September 20 – Pressured by the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian education ministry is preparing to dramatically expand the number of hours school children spend studying religion, a move that Nezavisimaya Gazeta says will reduce the number of hours they spend on other subjects and ultimately Russia’s ability to compete in the world. In […]
Staunton, September 14 – Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has “no influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin or on Kremlin policy,” according to Patriarch Filaret, head of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate. Instead, Filaret said in Lviv on September 13, influence runs in the other direction […]
Staunton, September 12 – Konstantin Zatulin, the director of the Russian Institute for CIS Countries, has bluntly described Moscow’s war aims in Ukraine as directed toward the establishment of complete control over Ukraine’s foreign and domestic policies and a privileged position in that country for the Russian language and the Moscow Patriarchate. Speaking in Sevastopol […]
