Congress of Orthodox Youth in the Far East and Transbaikal Region

A congress of Orthodox youth in the Far East and Transbaikal Region opened on October 18, 2005, in Khabarovsk. It was organized by the Synodal Youth Department and the Khabarovsk diocese with support of the Khabarovsk regional government.

Among the participants in the congress are well-known church publicists, theologians and clergy engaged in developing Orthodox youth movement. The forum will discuss the most burning problems concerning the territorial integrity of the country, the state economic, demographic and youth policy, principles of church-state cooperation in these areas, and tasks for Orthodox youth missionary work.

The delegates were addressed by Archbishop Mark of Khabarovsk and Priamurye, who read out a massage of greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia. Speaking about the efforts of the Church to revive Orthodoxy in the Far East, Archbishop Mark stressed the need to lay a solid foundation for Orthodox faith among compatriots and expressed hope for further cooperation with secular higher education institutions.

Kabarovsk Governor V. Ishaev also brought greetings to the congress.

A. Zhuravsky, deputy chairman of the Russian Government’s commission for religious organizations, spoke of various aspects of church-state cooperation in education. He pointed to ‘a difficult situation in the Far East Region’ and said ‘he would like to believe it is not the last event aimed to promote the spiritual and moral education of the youth and it will bring its fruits’. He also underlined that in world practice any state, while recognizing religious equality, gives preference to the traditional faiths and culture-forming religions. It is Orthodoxy in our country.

The forum will continue its work in sections.

From the Vladivostok diocesan press service