Meeting of the Holy Synod
16.10.2001 · English, Архив 2001
MEETING OF THE HOLY SYNOD
The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church met on October 6. The meeting was chaired by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia
With gratitude to the Lord Jesus Christ the Chief Pastor, the Holy Synod asked His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia to accept the Order of St. Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow, 1st Degree, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his episcopal consecration.
The Holy Synod issued a fraternal message to the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad to take place on October 23, 2001 (see the full text of the message in a separate report issued earlier).
Satisfaction was expressed with the results of the visit made by His Holiness Alexy II to the Republic of Belarus from June 23 to 27, 2001, especially his coming to places associated with the heroic defence of our homeland in the first days of the Great Patriotic War and to the dioceses of Pinsk, Turov and Gomel the worst affected by the Chernobyl accident. It was deemed important to promote further the manifold relations between Russia and Belarus and the consolidation of the union state.
Satisfaction was also expressed with the visit made by His Holiness to Armenia on September 22-23, 2001, for the celebrations devoted to the 1700th of the declaration of Christianity as state religion in Armenia. It was noted that the fraternal relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church grew in strength and the relationships with representatives of the Armenian Government continued to develop. The visit was deemed to have become a valuable contribution to the ongoing dialogue with the Oriental Orthodox (non-Chalcedonian) Churches.
The Holy Synod heard a report from His Beatitude Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine, about the jubilee celebrations which took place in Kiev from August 25 to 28, 2001 to mark the 950th anniversary of the Kiev Laura of the Caves. The Lord was thanked for the abundant mercies He showed throughout the 950-year-long history of the Laura. Special gratitude was expressed to His Beatitude Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, for his visit to Ukraine together with a high-ranking delegation of the Greek Orthodox Church and for his support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in her opposition to the ungodly schism. The Synod testified that almost all the Local Orthodox Churches, which participated in the celebrations, stated their recognition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev as the only canonical Church in Ukraine. They called the schismatics to re-unification, as only after it the question of the future status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church might be settled canonically.
The Holy Synod considered a report by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolmna, chairman of the Synodal Commission for Canonisation, and authorised that the names of devotees presented by the dioceses of Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Syktyvkar and Yaroslavl be included in the Community of Russia’s New Martyrs and Confessors.
The Holy Synod heard a report by Metropolitan Juvenaly about his visit to Jerusalem for the enthronization His Beatitude Iranaios I, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine. Hope was expressed that age-old friendly relations between the Orthodox Churches of Jerusalem and Russia would further develop and strengthen through prayer and mutual understanding under Patriarch Irinaios I.
Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, reported about his visits to Slovenia from July 26 to 29 and to Croatia on July 30, 2001. Having heard it, the Holy Synod expressed hope that relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Churches and Christian public in these countries would continue to develop fruitfully. Gratitude was expressed to the Presidents of Slovenia and Croatia as well as other statesmen for the attention they gave to the visits. Satisfaction was also expressed with the results of the visit Metropolitan Kirill made to Hungary from August 18 to 21, 2001, as his meetings and talks with the Hungarian President and Prime Minister as well as representatives of religious and social circles were deemed useful. Hope was expressed that the mutually advantageous cooperation would continue.
The Holy Synod expressed satisfaction with the results of the 2001-2002 Metropolitan Macarius (Bulgakov) of Moscow and Kolomna commemorative contest and the jubilee ceremony devoted to his 185th birthday. The work of the Macarius Foundation is a testimony to the cooperation between the Church and the humanitarian arts as it stimulates research and supports homeland scholars. The Macarius Prize restored in 1997 at the initiative of the Russian Orthodox Church is a good example of cooperation between the Church and the scientific community. Gratitude was expressed to the Russian Academy of Sciences president Yu. Osipov, the Macarius Foundation chairman, as well as Metropolitan Methodius of Voronezh and Lipetsk, and their co-workers, with wishes of success to the organisers and participants in the contest in their efforts for the revival and support of the traditions of the Russian school of history, patriotic thinking and morality.
Archimandrite Daniel (Dorovsky), dean of St. Sergius’ Laura of the Trinity, was appointed Bishop of South Sakhalin and the Kuriles.
Having considered the respective report by Metropolitan Kirill, the Holy Synod resolved that a Parish of St. Nicholas of the Russian Orthodox Church be established in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Archpriest Basily Tarasov was relieved of his duties as rector of the Russian Orthodox Church Representation in Karlovy Vary. Rev. Gennady Budko has been appointed to this post and discharged as rector of St. George’s Parish at the Russian Embassy in Prague. Father Gennady has been also appointed Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church at the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. Hegumen Sergius (Zyatkov) has been discharged as rector of St. Zinaida’s Parish in Rio de Janeiro and replaced by Rev. Pavel Feoktistov. Hieromonk Arsenius (Sokolov) has been appointed rector of the Parish of the Nativity of Christ in Madrid. Archimandrite Joseph (Pustoutov) and Hieromonk Maisius (Azovkin) have been sent for service at the diocese of Berlin. Hieromonk Phillip (Vasiltsev) has been appointed to serve at St. Nicholas’ in Rome.
The Tula Pre-Seminary has been transformed into a seminary. Blessing has been given upon the opening of a pre-seminary at the Verkhoturye Monastery of St. Nicholas in the diocese of Yekaterinburg and a diocesan women’s school in Kaluga. The Holy Synod has also authorised the opening of two monasteries in the dioceses of Vladivistok and Stavropol and two convents in the diocese of Blagoveschensk and Tula.
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