The Holy Synod session

THE HOLY SYNOD SESSION

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church met on July 18-19, 1999. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia chaired the session.

On July 18, the Holy Synod met for an enlarged session. Along with the Holy Synod permanent and summoned members, it was attended by bishops who came to St. Sergius Laura’s of the Trinity for the Day of St. Sergius of Radonezh. It was agreed to hold a Jubilee Bishops’ Council instead of a Jubilee Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. In particular, this Council will make a final decision on the position of the Church with regard to the canonization of Emperor Nicholas II and his family.

The Holy Synod gave a high appraisal to the visit made by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and his delegation to Belgrade on April 20, 1999. The hierarchs underlined the importance of giving fraternal support to the suffering people of Yugoslavia. They also stressed the significance that the visit had for peace. It was expressed in the address of His Holiness to the Serbian people and the concrete proposals offered to the Yugoslavian officials and the leader of the Kosovo Albanian community for resolving the conflict around Kosovo. These proposals were received with appreciation and eventually helped to promote the peace process in many ways.

After the report by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, on the situation in Kosovo, the Holy Synod adopted a special appeal. Its full text is given below.

The Holy Synod expressed satisfaction with the efforts of the Non-formal International Christian Group for Yugoslavia and the results of its visit to Yugoslavia and the meetings and talks its members had there. The most important area for its work at this stage was believed to be the efforts to a overcome in a balanced and equitable way the consequences brought by the war against sovereign Yugoslavia. The settlement should be based on building a lawful order in Kosovo that will ensure a full life for all people in the region, regardless of their ethnic and religious backgrounds.

After the report by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna, chairman of the Synodal Canonization Committee, the Holy Synod referred to the next Bishops’ Council the matter of canonization of a large number of bishops, clergy and laity as new Russian martyrs and confessors to be venerated by the whole Church. The Bishops’ Council is to consider those cases which have been documented by diocesan bishops.

The Holy Synod approved the decisions of the Church-Public Conference for the 2000th Anniversary of the Nativity of Christ. The conference took place on March 23, 1999, at the DECR, as a follow-up of the working group of the Russian Orthodox Jubilee Commission for inter-church, public and academic relations co-chaired by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad and Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna. The conference decided to set up a church-public co-ordinating group for the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, with Metropolitan Kirill as chair. The Holy Synod also adopted the conceptual principles of church-state and church-society co-operation in preparations for the jubilee.

The visits of His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria and All Africa (April 30 – May 7, 1999) and His Beatitude Theodosius, Metropolitan of All America and Canada (June 8 – 13, 1999) to the Russian Orthodox Church were given a high appraisal. The opening of a Representation of the Church of Alexandria in Moscow, the granting of a church to the Russian Church in the Cairo, as well as the work of the American Representation in Moscow were deemed important.

Having heard the report by Metropolitan Kirill on his visit to Greece and Mount Athos from May 11 to 17, 1999, the Holy Synod deemed his talks with His Beatitude Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece and representatives of the Greek-Russian Orthodox Associations helpful. The hierarchs were satisfied with the restoration work carried out in the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos. They underlined the importance of maintaining spiritual and cultural relations between Russia and Russian monasteries on Athos and the need to ensure them through dialogue with the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The Holy Synod approved the results of the talks held by the DECR chairman Metropolitan Kirill with representatives of the Old Believer’s Metropolitanate and the Old Orthodox Pomor Church. On the basis of the actions taken by the 1971 and the 1988 Local Councils to lift up anathema from the old rites, the Holy Synod called the diocesan bishops to take these church-wide decisions into account in their practical work. The forceful methods of overcoming the schism that took place in history as a result of the Soviet State’s interference in church affairs were condemned. The Holy Synod urged the church book publishers to make a critical approach to the reproduction of books which came out before the 1917 Revolution when the Old Believers were critisized in a wrong and unacceptable way. The disputes over property, buildings and plots of land arising between local church authorities and Old Believers should be settled, according to the Synodal decision, in the spirit of harmony and mutual respect and in compliance with law. It was agreed to set up at the DECR a co-ordinating commission for the Russian Orthodox Church and the Old Believers.

In connection with the visit made by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA and his delegation to the Russian Orthodox Church from July 3 to 7, 1999, the Holy Synod expressed satisfaction with the good relations established between the two Churches. It was deemed necessary to develop the bilateral relations for strengthening inter-Christian cooperation in peacemaking and social service.

In discussing the results of the consultation between Orthodox Churches and the European Union on «Reconciliation and rehabilitation: Building Project Networks in Developing Countries and south-east Europe» (June 24-25, 1999, Luxembourg), the Holy Synod resolved that it would be beneficial for all Local Orthodox Churches concerned to discuss, on the level of their Holy Authorities, their relations with the European Union and other international organizations in view of the need to co-ordinate their efforts and decisions in ordering these relations conceptually and structurally and to work out a plan of activities involving Orthodox Churches already on the stage where the desirability of these relations is considered and initial preparations for them are made. At the same time, the Holy Synod pointed out that only a mutually negotiated position of the Holy Authorities of the Local Churches concerned might become a basis for a common Orthodox position.

Having heard the report by Metropolitan Kirill on his visit to Finland on April 26 – May 3, 1999, the Holy Synod deemed his meeting with the Head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland, Archbishop Jukka Paarma, helpful. Archpriest Victor Liutik, rector of the Church of the Intercession in Helsinki, was appointed official representative of the Moscow Patriarchate in Finland.

The talks Metropolitan Kirill had during his visit to Norway (June 26 – 29, 1999) with representatives of the Church of Norway, the National Council of Churches in Norway and the Norwegian Foreign Minister K. Vollebaek, who is also Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, were also deemed useful. The talks concerned the work of the Moscow Patriarchate parishes in Norway, co-operation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of Norway and dialogue with the OSCE.

Satisfaction was expressed with the 2nd meeting of the Joint Russian-Iranian Commission for Islam-Orthodoxy Dialogue (May 4-7, 1999). It was deemed important to continue the dialogue with the Muslim community in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The results of the visit to Russia by a delegation of the Christian Studies Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences invited by the Russian Orthodox Church proved it desirable to develop, through the DECR, academic and business contacts with governmental agencies, public and academic organisations in China.

The civil statutes of the theological seminary and pre-seminary were adopted as valid for all the theological schools in Russia and as models for theological schools in far abroad.

The Holy Synod asked Archbishop Cornilius of Tallinn and All Estonia, who sent in his resignation due to the age of retirement (75), to continue his ministry. Archbishop Valentin (Mischuk) was assigned to the diocese of Orenburg. Hegumen Tikhon (Nedosekin), rector of St. Catherine’s of the Moscow Patriarchate, was nominated Bishop of Vidnoye, vicar of the Moscow diocese. Bishop Victor of Podolsk was granted his request to retire. Bishop Yevgeny of Vereya was appointed deputy chairman of the Synodal theological commission.

The Holy Synod admitted that blunders made by Bishop Nikon of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye as leader of the diocese had led to division among the clergy and laity and confusion among the faithful and the public. Therefore, it was resolved to place him on the retired list and at the same time stated that he himself asked to relieve him from administration over the diocese for the sake of peace in the Church. Archbishop Vikenty of Abakan and Kyzyl was assigned to the diocese of Yekaterinburg, while Archbishop Vikenty of Krasnoyarsk and Yenisey was entrusted with temporary administration of the Abakan diocese. A commission was set up to complete the investigation into the conflict that had arisen in the Yekaterinburg diocese. It will be led by Archbishop Alexander of Kostroma and Galich.

Blessing was given upon the opening of a monastery in the diocese of Joshkar-Ola and a convent in the diocese of Tula. The Holy Synod also authorized the opening of a pre-seminary in Tyumen.

Archpriest Michael Furik was released of his duties as cleric of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada. Hegumen Venedict (Kanters) was released of his duties as rector of the Parish of the Resurrection in Zurich, Switzerland. Deacon Gennady Bod’ko, Moscow, after his ordination as priest, will serve as rector of the new Church of St. George at the Russian embassy in Prague, Czechia. Archimandrite Tikhon (Bondarenko), who served the Russian parish in Prague, was placed at the disposal of His Holiness the Patriarch.

The Holy Synod made a number of other decisions concerning internal church life and the international activity and social service of the Russian Orthodox Church.