Meeting of the Russian Organizing Committee for the 3d Millennium and the 2000th Anniversary of Christianity

MEETING OF THE RUSSIAN ORGANIZING COMMITTEE FOR THE 3D MILLENNIUM AND THE 2000TH ANNIVERSARY OF CHRISTIANITY

The Russian Organizing Committee for the 3d Millennium and the 2000th Anniversary of Christianity met on May 22 at the President Hotel. It was chaired by the prime minister M. Kasyanov and Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia. The meeting was attended by heads and representatives of the traditional religious associations in Russia, government officials, presidential staff, executives of various ministries and departments, scholars and public figures.

The participants discussed the implementation of the celebrations programs.

The first volume of Pravoslavnaya Entsiklopedia (Orthodox Encyclopedia) was presented. Its publishing is dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ. Presented also was the official web site of the Russian Millennium Organizing Committee on the Russia-2000 server, set up by the Presidential Office.

Opening the meeting Mr. Kasyanov noted that «recently we have become witnesses to many important events in the life of the country: a new Duma has started its work, new President has taken office, the Russian Federation Government has been formed, and measures to strengthen the power vertical in the country are carried out. One of the primary tasks is still to build partner relations of mutual respect among all the sections and structures of our society. Age-old spiritual and cultural traditions associated with Christianity, especially Orthodoxy, as well as Islam, Buddhism and Judaism and other religions and confessions rooted in the history of our Fatherland are strong in Russia. Speaking about the Millennium celebrations I would like to stress that we attach a special importance to the proposals made by the Russian Orthodox Church and included in the Organizing Committee’s plan for cooperation with the Millennium Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church».

Then His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia addressed the participants, saying:

«Your Excellency, highly esteemed Mikhail Mikhailovich; and distinguished members of the Organizing Committee:

«Cordially greeting you today, I would like to note that we have met at a time when the Russian state power is undergoing an intensive renewal. Using this opportunity, I congratulate Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov on assuming the high office of Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. I would like to wish you and the newly-formed Government success in their difficult work and to express hope for active cooperation between church and state for the benefit of the people.

«Much time has elapsed since the previous meeting of the Organizing Committee. I believe that now we have an opportunity for reviewing the Mellennium celebrations which have already taken place and to compare again our plans for the nearest future.

«On November 23-25, 1999, an International Interconfessional Conference took place in Moscow. It was devoted to the jubilee of Christianity. Its motto was taken from Holy Scripture: ‘Jesus Christ Is the Same Yesterday, and Today and Forever (Heb. 13:8)’. Representatives of Christian Churches and communities in Russia and other CIS and Baltic countries discussed the state and prospects of their service in today’s dynamically changing world. There was also a meaningful discussion on relations between religion, state and society.

«On December 6-7, 1999, the Fifth World Russian People’s Council took place in Moscow. Bishops and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, government officials, leaders of parliamentary factions, parties, public associations, as well as scientists, artists and public figures discussed the theme ‘Russia on the Eve of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity. Faith. People. Power’.

«On December 15, 1999, the Millennium meeting of the Moscow diocese took place at the State Kremlin Palace, during which the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ was honoured by the clergy and laity of our capital city and the Moscow region.

«On December 31, the lesser blessing of the Church of Christ the Saviour took place. I believe it to be profoundly symbolic that the Church, on the last day of the year 1999 of the outgoing dramatic 20th century, entered the renewed Church, which is becoming a symbol of Russia’s rebirth and her return to her spiritual sources. And it was on the same day that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the present head of our state, began performing the duties of the President.

«In the beginning of this year, a delegation of our Church, headed by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, visited the Holy Land. Together with primates of other Local Orthodox Churches and with state officials, including the first President of Russia, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, we shared in the jubilee celebrations devoted to the Nativity of Christ. In those days I lifted up a special prayer for Russia and all her much-suffered people, asking God to grant them a better destiny. I am convinced that in the new millennium our fellow countrymen have deserved a full life, spiritual well-being and material prosperity. We are called to serve this cause and the great jubilee helps us to become more aware of our calling. It is gratifying therefore that the visit to Jerusalem and subsequent celebrations of the Nativity of Christ in Moscow have shown the unity of the Church, state and society.

«On February 7-9, a theological conference of the Russian Orthodox Church took place in Moscow. Its theme was ‘Orthodox Theology on the Threshold of a Third Millennium’. In the jubilee year, hierarchs, rectors and professors of theological schools from various regions in Russia and the near abroad reviewed Orthodox theology as it developed in the outgoing century and formulated themes for theological analysis in the future. It was the first conference of this kind to be held in the post-Revolutionary time, and it has become an important landmark in the development of church scholarship.

«I have said on various occasions that the jubilee year should not become only a time for deliberately solemn events. It is also necessary to reflect on the past and to draw right conclusions from this reflection for building the present and the future. In this regard, I am grateful to the Organizing Committee and the government for the support they have given to the Orthodox Encyclopedia project which has recently produced the first volume.

«Creative contests, children’s drawing exhibitions and other activities connected with the Millennium have been held in Moscow and other dioceses. Many church editions devoted to the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ have come out both in the center and in provinces. I would like to note that Millennium organizing committees like the all Russia’s one have been set up in regions as well. Cooperation between Russian Orthodox Church dioceses and the regional leadership has been given a new impetus by the jubilee celebrations which have become a truly national and nation-wide feast.

«We continue our participation in the celebrations held on the inter-Orthodox level. During the celebrations we have come into interaction with non-Orthodox Churches and communities, governmental and public circles in other countries and intergovernmental organizations.

The chairman of the Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, will outline plans for future church celebrations. August will be the central time in these celebrations. I hope that the government and all society will join us in the forthcoming events.

«From August 13 to 16, the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church will be held. Of course, it will be of festive, jubilee, nature. But at the same time we hope that the Council will make important decisions for the Church. We expect to canonize an assembly of new Russian martyrs and confessors as well as some other saints who served God in the 20th century. It is also expected that a conception of the Russian Orthodox Church on church-state relations and problems of the present-day society on the whole will be adopted. I am not afraid to say that it is for the first time that such a document is being developed in the history of Orthodoxy. Finally, it is expected that the Council will adopt a new Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church.

«On August 19, the feast-day of the Holy Transfiguration, the great consecration of the Church of Christ the Savior will take place. The next day the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated in the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin with the rite of the glorification of saints. The decision on their canonization will be made by the Bishops’ Council On the same day a solemn gathering and a concert will take place.

«We plan to conduct a Peace Forum on Cooperation Between Traditional Religions and Cultures on November 13-15. It has been initiated by the Interreligious Council in Russia uniting followers of Orthodoxy. Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. A similar initiative has been made by the Ministry for the Federation and Nationalities. I thank the government for the financial support it has given to this important event.

Distinguished chairman, distinguished members of the Organizing Committee, using this opportunity, I would like to stress the importance of strengthening church-state and church-society cooperation in connection with the Millennium. It is our common feast, even if some underline the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, while others the coming of a third millennium. Any point in the program we have adopted should become an occasion for close cooperation between all state structures and public forces represented in the Organizing Committee. I would suggest, in particular, that we should work together on the church-society celebrations to mark the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ which should become an unforgettable cultural event.

«I hope that our efforts will not be limited to the jubilee period alone and will not go to the past with the beginning of a new century. The experience accumulated needs to be preserved and developed. I would suggest that we should think how to do it.

«Today we are to consider again the coverage of the Millennium celebrations by the mass media. Without doubt, home journalists are doing much to cover adequately the festive events. I thank them for this. But we still would like to see more attention given to the Christian meaning of the occasion. Indeed, it is the primary meaning for the Orthodox Church which embraces many dozens of millions of the faithful. So, we hope for an adequate coverage of the church festivities planned for August.

«In conclusion I would like to express gratitude to the Russian Organizing Committee for the very useful cooperation and manifold assistance given to the Russian Orthodox Church in arranging the Millennium celebrations. I thank you for the organizational and financial support given on several occasions. I am convinced that our common efforts are not in vain, for they promote the spiritual rebirth of Russia. The rebirth of Russia is our common task».

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad devoted his remarks to the conceptual foundations of church-state and church-society cooperation with regard to the Millennium celebrations. He said in particular:

«On July 19, 1999, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted the conceptual foundations of church-state and church-society cooperation with regard to the celebrations devoted to the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, in which stress is put on the reflection on the Russian and world history and on the comprehension of causes of global mistakes and crises. The Holy Synod called the contemporaries of the Millennium to think over what we are, where we are going and what we are called to. Celebration and entertainment are not synonyms, and it is very important that the celebrations should be held in the spirit of serious reflection on the destinies of the Fatherland and the global human family.

«As His Holiness the Patriarch has already noted, the Millennium Bishops’ Council will adopt a Conception of the Russian Orthodox Church on Church-State Relations and Problems of the Present-Day Society as a Whole. The task for the Church is to respond to the challenges of the modern social development in an authoritative way on the level of general church teaching. As a great number of problems faced by humanity today has no formulated answeres either in Holy Scriptures or in the church Tradition, these answers should be expressed in the spirit of Holy Scriptures and the Holy Tradition.

«On July 14, there will be a symposium on Church and Society-2000, to which the basic provisions of the Conception will be presented for approbation by church and society. This symposium will be open for all».

The work of the Russian Orthodox Church Millennium Commission was explained by its secretary, Metropolitan Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate. He noted with satisfaction that the work of the Commission have united representatives of the Church and Russian science. «Thus, the history sub-commission of the Millennium Commission together with the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences have published a Istoricheski vestnik (Historical messenger) journal. On May 15-18, a conference on Christianity and Culture was held in Astrakhan, and two volumes of its papers have already been published. In the same days, a conference on Christianity and Science was held in Samara, at which there were some 200 speakers. Among the recent publications and products are jubilee editions of the Bible and other books devoted to the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, as well as icons, medals, badges, coins», he reported.

Among the speakers at the meeting were also presidential chancellor V. Kozhin, minister of culture M. Shvykoy, deputy finance minister B. Volkov, Moscow mayor Yu. Luzhkov, chairman of the St. Petersburg Government V. Yakovlev, president of the New Names interregional charity society I. Voronova, acting first deputy chairman of the State Committee for Youth G. Kupriyanova, rector of the Russian State Humanitarian University Yu. Afanasyev and others.