The meeting of the Holy Synod

THE MEETING OF THE HOLY SYNOD

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church met on 28-29 December for its regular session.. It was chaired by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.

In the light of the forthcoming 70th birthday of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, the Holy Synod resolved that “thanks be given to God for the revival of mission, religious education, social service, pastoral care provided in the army and penitentiaries, renewal of all spheres of the life of the Church and the growth of her authority in society in the period of the patriarchal ministry of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia; and that His Holiness be asked to accept the Russian Orthodox Church Order of St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, Class I, as a token of gratitude for his primatial services and love from the Plenitude of the Church”.

The commemoration of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow in the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Moscow was transferred to February 5/18, with other churches to celebrate it according to the calendar. On this day, celebrations will be held on the occasion of the name-day and the 70th birthday of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.

The Holy Synod expressed satisfaction with the Conciliar Meeting of the World Russian People’s Council which took place on 9 October 1998 at St. Daniel’s monastery on the theme “Russia: A Way to Salvation”. It was attended by high-ranking state officials, leaders of the Duma factions, prominent public and cultural figures, representatives of trade unions and scientific community and military commanders. The Holy Synod deemed it useful to continue consultations with representatives of state and political and public organizations on ways to implement the decision made by the Conciliar Meeting to intensify the dialogue and cooperation among all forces in society in order to overcome the crisis in economic and political life in Russia.

It was resolved that the remains of Archbishop Hilarion (Troitsky) of the blessed memory, who died on his way to exile on December 28, 1929, will be transferred to the Monastery of the Meeting of the Lord in Moscow.

The Holy Synod approved the results of the first meeting of the 2000th Anniversary Commission, set up its working groups and appointed their leaders. It also acknowledged the report by His Holiness the Patriarch on the religious and scholarly forum “Russia in the History of Christianity” which took place on 16-18 December under the program of preparations for the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ.

A new diocese of Baku and Transcaspian Region was established in the territory of Azerbaijan, Daghestan and Chechnya. It will be ruled by Archimandrite Alexander (Ischein) of the Stavropol diocese.

Bishop Rostislav of Magadan and Chukotka was appointed Bishop of Tomsk and Asinovsk; Bishop Anatoly of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, vicar of the Yaroslavl diocese – Bishop of Magadan and Chukotka; and Archimandrite Joseph (Balabanov), rector of the Vysotsky monastery in the Moscow diocese – Bishop of Uglich, vicar of the Yaroslavl diocese.

All the diocesan bishops were prescribed to register the new civil statutes of their dioceses and parishes with the Ministry of Justice within the first half of 1999.

It was decided to publish the address by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II to the clergy and parish councils in Moscow made at the Moscow Diocesan Assembly on December 23. The Holy Synod drew attention of the bishops and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church to the need to settle issues arising in pastoral practice on the recommendations made in the Patriarchal address.

The Holy Synod heard the report by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, on the Department’s 1999 work plan and approved the program of external activity presented.

The Holy Synod also summarized the visit of His Beatitude Anastasios of Tirana and All Albania to the Russian Orthodox Church that took place from October 3 to 9 and the visit of His Holiness Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria made to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Metochion of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Moscow. Having thanked the Lord for the fraternal communion with the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches, the Holy Synod noted the importance of these visits for consolidating inter-Orthodox unity and cooperation.

After a discussion on the report made my Metropolitan Kirill on the state of Orthodox-Old Believers relations, the Holy Synod acknowledged the importance of developing and deepening cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Old Believers for strengthening the traditional spiritual values and norms of life in our society. The Department for External Church Relations was charged with making a thorough study on the forms and prospects for further cooperation between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Old Believers and preparing a proposal for the development of dialogue between them.

Having considered the state of dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the international and European inter-state organizations, the Holy Synod resolved that a delegation headed by Metropolitan Kirill will be sent to the headquarters of the European Union for negotiations.

Approval was given to the position taken by the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church at the working meeting with a delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople that took place on November 27 in Geneva to discuss unsettled issues concerning the church situation in Estonia. It was deemed desirable to sent a joint delegation of the two Churches to Estonia to hold negotiations with the Estonian prime minister on settling legal and property problems encountered by the Orthodox parishes in Estonia.

The Holy Synod also heard the report by DECR chairman Metropolitan Kirill on the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation in the 8th Assembly of the World Council of Churches which took place from December 3 to 14 in Harare, Zimbabwe. The position taken by the Russian Orthodox Church delegation at the Assembly as well as its observance of the decisions made by the inter-Orthodox meeting in Thessaloniki (April 29 – May 2, 1998) received approval. The Holy Synod also expressed satisfaction with the fact that Orthodox delegations at the WCC Assembly presented the Thessaloniki Final Document jointly and unanimously as expressing an agreed pan-Orthodox attitude to the World Council of Churches. It also welcomed the decision of the 8th WCC Assembly, recommended by the Thessaloniki Inter-Orthodox Meeting, to set up a Special Commission of the World Council of Churches and representatives of the Orthodox Churches for developing new structural forms of the WCC, acceptable for the Orthodox and reflecting their ecclesiological self-awareness. It is after considering the results of the work of the Special Commission and on the basis of pan-Orthodox agreement that the Holy Synod will decide whether the Russian Orthodox Church will continue participating in the World Council of Churches.

Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga made a report on the 11th theological talks with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland, which took place on October 12-19 in Lapperanta, Finland. Satisfied with the meeting, the Holy Synod deemed it beneficial to continue the dialogue with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland.

Metropolitan Kirill also made a report on the visit he made to the Holy Land from November 7 to 13 under the program for preparations for the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ. The Holy Synod noted the importance of the meetings and talks he had there with Israeli and Palestinian high-ranking statesmen.

Blessing was given upon the opening of one monastery in the diocese of Ufa and six convents in the dioceses of Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk, Kursk, Novosibirsk and Smolensk.

Acknowledged was the report of the DECR chairman on the agreement signed on November 23 in Moscow to give a church and part of a Pilgrim’s House in Bari, Italy, to the Moscow Patriarchate for free and termless ownership. It was decided to establish a metochion of the Moscow Patriarchate for providing pastoral care for the local Russian-speaking community and numerous pilgrims coming to Bari to venerate the holy relics of St. Nicholas the Miracle-worker and for maintaining working contacts with religious and public circles in Italy. Rev. Vladimir Kuchumov of the Department for External Church Relations was appointed rector of the metochion.

The Holy Synod approved the establishment of a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in Switzerland with the Church of St. Mauricius in Payerne and the Church of the Holy Trinity in Dompierre. Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, DECR chairman, was charged with taking pastoral care of the newly-established parish.

The Holy Synod gave its blessing upon the establishment of a parish of the Moscow Patriarchate in South Africa for the Russian-speaking people, on the basis of the respective agreement with His Beatitude Peter, Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa. Archpriest Sergiy Rasskazovsky of the St. Petersburg diocese was appointed rector of the parish.

Rev. Vitaly Tarasjev was appointed rector of the Russian Orthodox Church metochion in Belgrade. Archpriest Victor Tseshkovsky, who was rector of St. Nicholas’ in San Francisco, USA, was appointed rector of the Cathedral of St. Barbara in Edmonton, Canada, AND Archpriest Nikolay Scherbakov of the Krasnodar diocese was appointed rector of St. Nicholas’ in San Francisco.

Blessing was given upon the opening of a inter-diocesan three-year pre-seminary in Smolensk. For the first time choir conductors, readers, teachers of catechism, icon-painters and nurses will be taught together in a theological school. The Holy Synod invoked God’s blessing upon the future work of the students of the Smolensk Inter-diocesan Pre-seminary. Sister Ioanna (Kadurova) was appointed rector of the pre-seminary.

The Holy Synod considered the increasing number of cases in which some pastors abused the power “to bind and loose” (Mt. 18:18) entrusted to them by God. The resolution on this matter states in particular: “Considering the increasing number of complaints of lay people against unjustified action of some pastors, priests who serve as spiritual directors be instructed that any coercion or enticement of their charges to make decisions against their will – as to take monastic vows, to undertake a particular church obedience, to make a donation, marry, except cases where marriage is not possible for canonical reasons, to refuse marital life in marriage, to refuse to serve in the army, to refuse to take part in elections or fulfill other civic duties, to refuse medical care, to refuse education, to find a job or change employment, to resettle – is inadmissible.

“…All pastors who serve as spiritual directors be reminded that they are called to help their charges by counsel and love, without violating the God-given freedom of every Christian. The implicit obedience that lies in the basis of relations between a novice and his starets in a monastery cannot be fully applicable in the parish practice to relationships between the priest and his flock. Any interference of pastors in matters concerning the choice of a bride or a groom is inadmissible except cases when the faithful ask for a specific counsel.

“…The pastors should be reminded of the need to observe special chastity and pastoral carefulness in discussing with their charges particular aspects of their family life. It is inadmissible for pastors to create around themselves such communities in which opposition and criticism are voiced against both the supreme church leadership and other pastors and parish communities. It is inadmissible to use the church pulpit for preaching particular political views.

“…The faithful of the Orthodox Church be called to turn to their ruling bishop in all cases where their pastor and spiritual director exceeded his God-given power “to bind and to loose”. The Orthodox flock be reminded that the spiritual counsel should not contradict Holy Scriptures, the Holy Tradition, the teaching of the Fathers of the Church and the canonical regulations of the Orthodox Church. In case the counsel given diverts from these regulations, preference should be given to the latter”.

The resolution also deals with a number of issues concerning marriage and celibacy as perceived by ministers in their pastorship and spiritual guidance.

The Holy Synod also made other decisions on the internal life of the Church.