Meeting of the governmental Commission for Religious Associations

The Commission for Religious Associations at the Russian Government met for a regular session on December 21, 2005. It was chaired by the Minister of Culture and Mass Communications, Mr. A. Sokolov. Among those invited were Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, DECR vice-chairman, Archpriest Sergiy Kiselev, dean of the Troitsky district in Moscow, as well as Mr. K. Chernega and Mr. M. Ilyichev, DECR lawyers.

The meeting discussed proposals for amendments and additions to be made to the Provision for Transfer of Religious Property in Federal Ownership to Religious Organizations. The participants also heard a report on the distribution and use of budget allocations made in 2005 to the restoration of historical and cultural monuments transferred to religious organizations for use.

The Commission has completed its study on the possibility for professional theological schools to train specialists on the basis of state educational standards. It was noted that the Ministry of Education and Science recommended that the proposal for such training be supported and the graduates be granted state-recognized certificates.