BISHOPS’ COUNCIL OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, February 18-23 1997

The Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in Moscow from February 18 to 23, 1997. According to the Statutes, it is convened once in two years and is the supreme church authority in the period between Local Councils. Participating were 133 bishops (out of the total number of 146) who are heads of the dioceses of the Moscow Patriarchate (in Russia, Ukraine, Byelarus and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, in Baltia and abroad), of the institutions of the Holy Synod and the Theological academies and seminaries. Decisions of the Bishops’ Council are binding to the whole Church and can be repealed or changed by the Local Council exclusively.

The Council is chaired by the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia. Presidium comprises members of the Holy Synod

The last Bishops’ Council was held in Moscow from November 29 to December 4, 1994.

On February 18, members of the Council – Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church – prayed at Divine liturgy in the Holy Trinity cathedral of St.Daniel’s monastery in Moscow.

Then the first plenary session began at the conference chamber of the ‘Danilovsky’ hotel complex.

After the prayer His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and all Russia made a short introduction and declared the Council open.

Mr. Victor S. Chernomyrdin, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation sent a special greeting to the Council in which he said that “today the Church has placed upon herself a heavy burden – to revive spiritual life and to affirm the abiding moral values and landmarks”.

The Prime Minister noted that the Russian Orthodox Church “has a special place in the history of fraternal Slavonic nations, Russia among them. The Church was at the roots of the Russian statehood and throughout centuries used to rally the nation and bring hope and faith to people in the years of hard trials”.

The governing bodies of the Council were elected. The secretariat of the Council included Archbishop Sergy of Solnechnogorsk – secretary of the Council, Bishop Arseny of Istra, Bishop Ioann of Belgorod and Stary Oskol, Bishop Nikon of Ekaterinburg and Verkhnyaya Tura and Bishop Alexy of Orekhovo-Zuevo.

The drafting committee of the Council included Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad – chairman of the committee, Metropolitan Vladimir of Kishinev and all Moldova, Archbishop Isidor of Kransnodar and Novorossisk, Archbishop Ioanafan of Sumy and Akhtyrka, Archbishop Alexander of Riga and all Latvia, Bishop Stefan of Pinsk and Luninets, Bishop Tikhon of Bronnitsy and Bishop Evgeny of Vereya. The functions of the drafting committee include the elaboration of draft final

documents on the basis of reports and discussions to be presented to the bishops for discussion and adoption.

The credentials committee included Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail – chairman of the committee, Bishop Aristarkh of Gomel and Zhlobin and Bishop Sergy of Novosibirsk and Berdsk.

The participants in the Bishops’ Council were presented with the reports on the matters included in the agenda:

the report by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and all Russia and of the Holy Synod on the life of the Church in the period between the Councils and on the tasks facing the Church at present;

the report by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna, Chairman of the Commission on Canonization, on the results of the studies undertaken for canonization of the new Orthodox saints;

Exarch of all Byelarus, chairman of the Synodal Theological Commission, on the results of the work done on the subjects of inter-Christian cooperation, dialogue with the Oriental Orthodox Church, and others;

the report by Bishop Evgeny of Vereya, acting Chairman of the Education committee at the Holy Synod, on a new concept of theological education and training of future clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The reports were presented and discussed at the plenary session on February 18 and 19.

The credentials committee reported that participating in the Council were 133 hierarchs, including 115 ruling diocesan bishops, 17 vicar bishops and 1 bishop in retirement.

On February 20 the working sessions were adjourned. Members of the Council made a pilgrimage to the holy sites of Moscow: the chapel of the Iberian icon of the Theotokos at the Resurrection gates; the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin where they celebrated Moleben; the Donskoy monastery where they celebrated Moleben before the reliquary of St.Tikhon, Patriarch of all Russia; the Novospassky monastery; the Epiphany cathedral church where they celebrated Moleben before the relics of St.Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow; the Church of Christ the Savior and the Church of St.George the Victorious at the Poklonnaya hill.

On Friday, February 21, the Bishops’ Council resumed its plenary sessions during which the discussion on the matters on the agenda and on other questions of church life were continued and final documents were adopted.

After the report of the drafting committee and its thorough discussion the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church approved the following documents:

Message of the Bishops’ Council to God-loving pastors, the religious and all faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Decision ‘On the report of the Synodal Commission on Canonization’ to canonize the holy martyrs Metropolitan Petr Polyansky of Krutitsy, Patriarchal Locum Tenens (1862-1937), Metropolitan Serafim Chichagov (1856-1937) and Archbishop Faddey Uspensky (1872-1937) and to refer the question of canonization of the Tsar’s Family to the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Decision ‘On some matters of inner life and external activities of the Church’

Decision ‘On relations with the state and civil society’

Decision ‘On the report of the Synodal Theological Commission’ concerning the dialogues with non-Orthodox Churches, the cooperation with international Christian organizations and the development of the dialogue between the Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Act on excommunication of monk Filaret Denisenko.

Act on excommunication of Gleb Pavlovich Yakunin

Decision «On the deposition of the suspended Archimandrites Valentin Rusantsov, Adrian Starina and Hegumen Ioasaf Shibaev.

Letter to Mr.G.N.Seleznev, Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, and to the deputies of the State Duma.

The same day, a press conference was held at the conference chamber of the ‘Danilovsky’ hotel complex. Participating were Metropolitans Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of all Beylarus, Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna, Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Archbishop Sergy of Solnechnogorsk – permanent members of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail and Bishop Evgeny of Vereya. They gave detailed answers to the questions of journalists on the major themes discussed at the Council. On Saturday, February 22, members of the Bishops’ Council made a pilgrimage to the Holy Trinity-St.Sergius Laura where they prayed at the relics of St.Sergius and visited the Moscow theological academy and seminary. They also visited the ‘Sofrino’ Arts Production. In the evening the hierarchs prayed at the Vigil service in St.Daniel’s monastery.

On February 23, the Bishop’s Council completed its program with Divine liturgy at the Transfiguration church in the Church of Christ