A conference on Church and State in Post-Communist Eastern Europe held in Romania

A conference on Church and State in Post-Communist Eastern Europe was held from October 5 to 10, 2005, in Jassa, Romania. It was organized by the Diocese of Moldavia and Bukovina and the Institute of Post-Communist Studies, Canada.

The conference was attended by researchers from the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia and other countries. Speakers presented the results of studies on state-church cooperation made by various scientific, state and public organizations. Rev. Mikhail Dudko, DECR secretary for church-society relations, spoke of the role the Church plays in Russian society today, noting a strong demand for the presence of the Church in public life, and expressed hope that society would learn anew the Christian moral lessons forgotten in the decades of anti-religious propaganda.

‘A considerable part of the population in our country, according to polls, claim to be Orthodox. This is a great potential for organizing social life on Christian principles. This potential should not remain unused’, he emphasized.