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An IndependentPublication of OrthodoxChurch Opinion

April,2002 Vol.13,#3(104)

Supportedby the voluntary contributions of its readers. Republicationpermitted upon acknowledgment of source.

CORRECTIONS: We apologizefor several typos in thelast issue... the date and issue numbers were incorrect and in thearticle on "Defenseof BishopVarnava" several typos occurred... lt shouldhave been designated: March 2002, Vol. 13 # 2 (103)and some proper names were incorrectly spelled due to toohasty use of thecomputer spell check feature. Veranda shouldread Varnava, Ridge should read Ridiger, Tsarina should read Starina, Lena should read Lesna. Alsothe previous issue should be designated January-February 2002,Vol. 13 # 1 (1021.

GONTENTS:

THENADIR OF BETRAYALAND MEANNESS THELATEST DISHONESTY OF MARK PARISHIN RIMAN LEAVESROCOR AND JOINS METROPOLITAN VALENTIN THEDIOCESAN COUNCIL OF THE LATVIAN ORTHODOX IN DEFENSE OF METROPOLITAN VALENTIN FROMTHE UNPUBLISHED WORKS ABOUTTHE WESTERN EUROPE "ASSISI"IN ATHENS ECUMENICALPATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW IN AMERICA A NEWVERSTON OF THE PENTATEUCH (TORAH) FOR CONTEMPORARY JEWS EXPLOSIONWITHIN CATHOLICISM ABOUTTHE "RELIGIOUS REVIVAL'' IN PUTINAND THE CHIEF RABBI IN RUSSIA FEWWORDS ABOUT INN NEWTEACHING ON

CHURGHNEWS 639Center St. Oradell,NJ 07649 Tel./Fax120'll 967 -7 684 Findus at: http://www. russianorthodoxch urch. org THENADIR OF BETRAYALAND MEANNESS

TheSynod of Bishopsof ROCOR(Laurus) via the Internet has published one of itsmost disgraceful documents called:

\--/ t'

TheSvnod of Bishops: Willwaivethe restraining orders against Mrs. Rosniansky in Canadaand the US. Willremove Mrs. Rosniansky as a co-defendantin the Canadian litigation concerning property registered in thename of MetropolitanVitaly. Willprocure living arrangements for MetropolitanVitaly suitable to hisposition and forward specifically to the personof MetropolitanVitaly his personalproperty. Willprovide Mrs. Rosniansky with living quarters in proximityto MetropolitanVitaly. Willsend Metropolitan Vitaly his automobile for his use. Willprovide health insurance coverage for Mrs. Rosniansky. Willprovide a secretaryfor the Metropolitan. In return.Mrs. Rosnianskv: Willin goodfaith attempt to persuadeMetropolitan Vitaly to moveto NovoDiveevo. Willbe responsiblefor the daily care of MetropolitanVitaly. Willnot involve herself in ecclesiasticalaffairs. Will not removeMetropolitan Vitaly from NovoDiveevo without first providing simple notice to the .The Synod reservesthe right to appealto MetropolitanVitaly directly should it feelnecessary. Willnot allow visitors to MetropolitanVitaly who may be objectionable to the Synod for any reason. Willnot restrict access to theMetropolitan by members or representativesof the Synod. Willnot participate in anysecretarial functions for MetropolitanVitaly. Willmaintain a detailedaccounting of MetropolitanVitaly's expenditures and a detailedlist of medicationsprescribed to MetropolitanVitaly and provide both to theSynod upon request. ln addition: MetropolitanVitaly's primary physician will be the physicianof the NovoDiveevo Old Age Home.No Metropolitan physiciansmay examine or prescribemedication to MetropolitanVitaly without approval from his doctor. ---t Signed: + MetropolitanLaurus Date:March 2no,2OO2 Signed: L. Rosiansky Date: 310512002

Alsoon the Internet(in English)the adherentsof MetropolitanVitaly, who did not signtheir names to the published explanation,stated that so farthe Synod of Bishopshas already spent more than $150,000 in theeffort to makethe aged MetropolitanVitaly return to NewYork. Afternot succeedingin attainingthe resultsdesired, nevertheless Metropolitan Laurus decided to get the necessary resultsby bribingthe womanwho had swornher loyaltyto MetropolitanVitaly and who, accordingto the Synodof Bishops'opinion stated in court,was keeping him under the influenceof drugsand was dangerous to hiswell being. As is clearfrom the publisheddocument, this treachery did indeedhappen. Mr. Paganuzzi,who recently blocked the roadin Mansonvilleto preventthe abduction of theMetropolltan, took upon himself the role of go-between.Rosniansky agreed to lurethe Metropolitaninto a trapand to becomean actualhouse jailer under the supervision of BishopGabriel. According to the detailsof the agreement,Metropolitan Vitaly will neverneed to use his car and,even less - a secretarylMrs. Rosniansky,for herbetrayal would get free living quarters and medical insurance. Nothing is saidabout a salary,but it is a commonknowledge, that one gets medical insurance in additionto a salary! Accordingto informationfrom Canada,so far MetropolitanVitaly flatly has refusedto go to New York evendespite permissionof thecourt issued to Mrs.Rosniansky to visithim. She did show up to seethe Metropolitan being escorted by twopolice officers! lt seemsMrs. Rosniansky still hopes to lurethe Metropolitan into the trap in the USA,despite the fact thatsome of thebishops in Mansonvilletold her that she is notwelcome there. Fromthis agreement it is notclear what will happen to Mrs.Rosniansky nor whether she will succeed in herefforts "in goodfaith" to capturethe agedMetropolitanl

THELATEST DISHONESTY OF ARCHBISHOP MARK

It has beenknown for sometime that the formerAbbess Juliania of Mt. OlivesConvent in Jerusalem,after being removedfrom the Holy City by the ROCORSynod of Bishopsbecause she so bravelydefended the church property there .-. frombeing seized by the MP is awarehow much the whole course of the ROCORhas changed. The Councilof Bishops of 2001confirmed her apprehensions and when it becamequite clear that a schismwithin the ROCORhad materialized, AbbessJuliania and her convent left the newlyelected Metropolitan Laurus and joined the new jurisdiction of Metropolitan Vitaly.The Abbess Juliania on severaloccasions publicly sharply criticized the new policy of theChurch Abroad. 2 'Thoughts Accordingto theagency Vetrograd.Razsylka #233 of March19th, an Internetpublication, aboutRussia' has publisheda denial,signed by the AbbessJuliania, of disinformationgiven by ArchbishopMark. In this refutationit is reportedthat the Archbishoprefused to forwardto AbbessJuliania a donationfrom the Fuenerfamily, and without his memo,they cannot receive a "taxexemption." Trusting Archbishop Mark, Alexander and KyraFuener wished Mother '--l Julianiafind "spiritual and moral support" from the MoscowPatriarchate. The donation of thisfamily is the mainsource of incomefor Abbess Juliania's convent and orphanage in Chile. Thisis not the firsttime that the treacherousinterference of ArchbishopMark has preventeda possibledonation of fundsto ecclesiasticalinstitutions that do not acceptthe MoscowPatriarchate. Once he managedto stopan almost completedagreement with a Germanconstruction company that was ready, almost free of charge,to fix theroof of theSt. AlexanderNevsky Church and the buildingsin the "RussianExcavations" in Jerusalem,which belong to the Orthodox PalestineSociety. He slanderouslydeclared to the ownerof thiscompany that the OrthodoxPalestine Society is illegal and its President,Bishop Anthony (Grabbe), is a morethan dubious person. Due to this lie of ArchbishopMark, the agreementwas not completedand, ever since, the roofof the Excavationshas beenin such poorcondition that no pilgrimsare allowed inside for fear that it mightfall in.

PARISHIN RIAZANLEAVES ROCOR AND JOINS METROPOLITAN VALENTIN

Accordingto Vertograd.Razsylka#233,at the end of CheeseFare Week, Metropolitan Valentin, First Hierarch of the RussianAutonomous Church, visited a parishin the cityof Riazan,which left the ROCORand joined him about a year ago. MetropolitanValentin served in the HolyEpiphany Church with the rectorPriest Serge Yevchik. After the service, Vladykamet with the parishionerswhom he praisedfor standingfirm in the truthand recommendedthey speed up the processof the newregistration of the parish.This parish has leftthe ChurchAbroad, considering the decisionsof the Councilof Bishopsof 2000to be unacceptable. Originallythis church was builtin 1673and functioned normally until 1930, when the priest,Fr. John, was martyred. At the beginningof 1992this church was handedover to the parishof St. Basilof Riazanby a decisionof the Riazanlocal administrationand until 2001 was in thejurisdiction of ROCOR.

THEDIOCESAN COUNCIL OF THE IN DEFENSEOF METROPOLITANVALENTIN

'J Accordingto theagency Vertograd.Razsylka # 231 of March14tn, the Diocesan Council of theLatvian Orthodox Church withinthe Russian Autonomous Church, on March4'n sent to theProsecutor of thecity of Vladimirthe following letter: DearMr. Prosecutor; The Orthodoxworld diaspora is concernedby the prolongedlitigation regarding the case of the Most Reverend Valentin(Rousantsov), Metropolitan on Suzdaland Vladimir, President of theRussian Orthodox Autonomous Church. Someinternational agencies report what we believeto be a judicialfarce, inspired by interestedpeople under the influenceof the MoscowPatriarchate. The saidcourt litlgation discredits the honorof the Orthodoxdiaspora in , whichis underthe spiritual of MetropolitanValentin. We believethat the accusationsagainst Metropolitan Valentin, a steadfastpreserver of theOrthodoxy and the follower of thelast canonical Patriarch of Moscowand All RussiaSt. Tikhon, are a judicialabsurdity. The provocateursof thisenterprise are definitelynon-believing people. A. Osetrov,H. Shipounova,D. Krasovskyand S. Morozovahave even the physicalsymptoms of theirsickness and uttermoral downfall. The negativepsychological influenceupon their own childrenthat was createdby theirperjury before court officials is an act of parentingthat is criminaland, therefore, F. Osetrovand H. Shipounovashould be deprived of parentalrights. Peopleabroad are also greatly concerned by the health of theMetropolitan who was subjected to thisslander. We appealto you, Mr. Prosecutor,to showhuman understanding and, consideringthe internationalresponse, to demandthat this case against the FirstHierarch of the ROACMetropolitan Valentin be closedand accusations against himdropped. With hopeand withthe blessingof His EminenceVictor, Archbishop of Daugavpilsand Latvia,the memberof the Synodof Bishopsof theROAC, fhe DiocesanCouncil of theAutonomous True Orthodox Church in Latvia. 'former' Despitegreat efforts on the partof Communistlocal authorities of thecity of Vladimirto preventthe re-election of MetropolitanValentin to the officeof a deputyto the CityCouncil of Suzdal,he was re-electedby the residentsfor a thirdterm, in spiteof theoutrageous persecution of the FirstHierarch of theROAC by hispersonal enemies. lt is obvious thatnothing could shake the residents' respect and love for him. .*, Vertograd.Razsylka# 237 of March26'n published the resultsof the Suzdalelections compiled by Priest-monkFr. Theophan(Areskin). Suzdal, in spiteof its glorioushistorical past, is a smallcity with 12,000 residentsand therefore, everythinghappening in it soonbecomes common knowledge. 3 As we havereported previously, the newspaper"Prizyv" which has publishedan outrageous"special edition" which slanderednot only Metropolitan Valentin, but also Archbishop Theodore, a numberof respectedclergymen and the Mayor lllarionovand his assistants. On March15th one of the representativesof this newspaper not only denied authorship of thisscandalous publication, butalso even characterized it (and quite properly) as a "criminalact punishableby law",although in Suzdalno one had anydoubts that this newspaper was guilty of a crime. Threedays before the election,the staffmembers of the prosecutor'soffice in Vladimirfound and confiscated in the printingfacilities a secondedition of a similardirty trick, but under another name, supposedly a newspaper called "Suzdals Nabat"("Suzdal Alarm"), which does not exist. lt was mostlyabout Mayor lllarionov and a littlebit about the Metropolitan. Mayorlllarionov has friendlyrelations with MetropolitanValentin and, probably,this is a reasonwhy he cameto be dislikedby the major agitators in Vladimir. Peoplein Suzdalrather quickly found out whose work it was. Therewere 4 candidatesfor mayorand three of themin theirtelevised campaign promised they would campaign with honest methods and only one of themdid not make such a promise.But namely he willbecome the nextmayor of Suzdal.In addition,the publishedinformation about a donationto the electionfund showed that this money came not from Suzdal, nor even Vladimir, but... from Moscow and in particular fromthe "Electron-2O00" I Therewas anotheract by the enemiesof MetropolitanValentin. The defrockedAndrew Osetrov on March17th lthe electiondate) was arrestedby the militiain the marketplace for distributing,with the assistanceof another6 persons, sordidleaflets which, in theform of "poetry"and caricatures, ridiculed the Metropolitan and Mayor lllarionov. The militiainterrogated those arrested and madean officialreport. From it we learnthat these people belong to a Moscoworganization "Our Cause". Osetrov admitted that he was hiredby oneof candidatesfor mayorin Suzdal.lt is easyto guesswho was it. At the sametime, Fr. Theophan reports another important event: "The local law enforcement aqenciesreceived an order from Moscowto put a stop to the slanderersof MetropolitanValentin, letting the case of slanderof Mavorlllarionov oo to trial."(Emphasis by "Ch. N.") Shortlybefore the election,a littleknown lady (a residentof Vladimirand from the MP)came to Suzdalto runagainst the Metropolitanfor the poston theCity Council. Her campaign met with no success:she visited a numberof housesand peopleasked her notto comeagain. She then, through another person named Zolin, sued the Metropolitanfor "bribing thevoters" with humanitarian aid and for givingout hisnewly published book of sermonsand articles. For some time the Metropolitanhas been able to securehumanitarian aid in theform of dehydratedfood and distribute it amongthe poorof Suzdal.Out of thisaid he alsofeeds dozens of needyretired seniors free of charge.He distributed such assistance at the endof Novemberof lastyear. Despiteall efforts, Anikina (who did not have any social agenda for the city) did not win election to theCity Council. She received91 votes.35 of themcame from the Protectionconvent of the MP and it is knownthat an additional10 votes wereregistered illegally. In otherwords, half of thevotes for this woman came from the MP. Metropolitan Valentin won the electionwith 95 votes. It is quiteobvious that the MoscowPatriarchate in this particularcase used all availableammunition in the hopeof gettingrid of the FirstHierarch of the ROAC,who is likea bonein its throat.And, thank God, the effortsfailed. She succeededonly electing a mayorunfriendly toward Metropolitan Valentin, but it doesnot mean that the whole friendly City Council,with whom the new mayor has to work,has also changed. Wereit notthat Metropolitan Valentin is a seriousthreat for the MoscowPatriarchate, it would never attempt this many efforts,using various methods, to get rid of him.After all, it neverattacked the ROCORin the personsof Archbishop Lazarusand BishopsBenjamin and Agathangel. They are inactiveenough and have no personalitiesworth wasting time andmoney on!

FROMTHE UNPUBLISHED WORKS (Letter to ArchbishopAnthony of Genevaot Ufih, rc87)

YourEminence, Dear Vladyko! It has beenmore than a monthsince I havebeen [back] in Americaand I observewith the horrorthe declinein our churchlife during my absence.The very best priests are leaving us. One priest writes me: "What is happeningto us nowI believeis not leadingto the salvationof oursouls, but toward the destructionof the Church.Even in a plainlynumerical sense:under you, until recently, the Synodaccepted into its true Orthodox bosom more and more parishes from various Churchesand jurisdictions. And by nowin halfa yeatsomething like thirty parishes have left. The canonicalinnovations, thetotal lack of communicationwith the flock (everything is keptfrom it as if it werean importantsecret), the replacement of localpriests by the emissaries from USSR and other communist countries... Those who treasure the RussianOrthodox Churchin particularfeel themselves to be on a sinkingvessel. They ask withanguish: what should we do now?Join anotherChurch? ln all thisloss, due to someevil will, their souls do notfind salvation, but miserably perish. People sin. Theyjudge the legallyordained pastors and archpastors. They flee (not leave, but literally,flee) from their parishes. All thisis a sin.But yet one cannot go againsthis own conscience." Duringevery war the mostdangerous thing is spreadingtalk behind the backs of thecommanders and creating distrust of them.This is whatis happeningnow all around us. ln thisferment, they begin to suspectthis or thatbishop of treason. Someare suspected of beingecumenists, others of Sovietplots to uniteour Church with Moscow. Especially destructive 4 werethe punishmentswithout trial and properinvestigation, totally ignoring persons' previous merits, but takingin considerationonly the accusations, no matterwhat the source, without referring to canonlaw. Theinventions by Archbishop Anthony of LosAngeles to leadthe persecuted clergymen to totaldesperation in orderto defrockthem laterfor illegalexit, was extremelydestructive, especially when the Metropolitanadmitted to a groupof J clergythat this methodwas consciouslyapplied in the cases of ArchimandritesPanteleimon and Anthony.The accusationsof lyingand prejudiceon partof hierarchsis especiallywide spread (in particularof the Metropolitanand BishopHilarion). In somecases it mightbe rumorsand slander,but unfortunately,I know of someother cases. ln any event,this is an unhealthyatmosphere that is destructive.The officialdeclarations of BishopHilarion that he is not an ecumenistand not pro-Soviet,didn't help much. At no timeI haveever complained about the unfairnesstoward me and thestrange overt hatred toward me bythe Metropolitan, but it is beingfelt by the flock and gets explained by the ideathat I haveto be removedso thatI notstand in theway of thedestruction of ourChurch and of openingthe road to pro-Soviet elements.Unfortunately, the Metropolitanis not careful enough in hisconversations with the clergy about other hierarchs andthus gives cause for accusations of themand of himself. Whatto do now?How to persuadeour flock that the hierarchy has not abandoned the principle of love?You have done a lot,when the decisionwas madeto be moretolerant to the fallenaway. But we haveto lookfor a wayto recoverand firstof all,make people feel a change,stopping the vengeance. I rack my brains how to offersomething realistic when you arrive.But to do thiswe haveto meet,knowing ahead of timethat this will be hindered,as theclergy that wished this were hinderedso far. Thedecision not to punishthe departed,might help to pacify,but temporarily only; this has to be donein orderto help someto returnand not to depriveGrace of thosewho will remain with the Greeks. Probably, we willhave to negotiatewith themand establishsome canonical relations. After all, we are responsiblefor thosewho throughus havejoined the Church,and now have been scandalized by us. Amongour hierarchy,you are at presentthe onlyhope, but I understandhow difficult it is for you.May the Lordhelp you. Askingfor your holy prayers I remain your devoted brother in Christ+ BishopGregory.

Letterto ArchbishopAnthony of San Francisco,dated Juty 14/2lh, 1994 YourEminence! You havetouched me by yourtelephone call and kindattention to my concernabout the generalsituation of our Church.I was preparing to speakabout these matters, but the inopportune cancer got in myway. '--/ Unfortunately,I get no compassionfrom above. The Metropolitanonce called Fr. Vladimir Shishkoff and asked him to tellme thatI shouldration my commentsabout the canons.He doesnot understand the propheticdirectives given us in the lastpatriarchal Ukase # 362.I compareit withthe particularphenomena of ourtimes regarding the total ignorance of thestipulations of thestatutes and the duty of the Metropolitanto seeto it thatall their paragraphs be followed.This was demonstratedby his protection of BishopBarnabas. VladykaValentin writes very humbly and meekly,trying to keepthe roadopen for theirlegalization (the civil action is alreadydone), But is it notabsurd to do nothingto ecclesiasticallylegalize so manyparishes, which have been gathered by the localbishops, even if oneis to believethat they made some errors? The PatriarchalUkase gives a basisfor it, andthe Metropolitanincorrectly interprets it withthe helpof yourneighbor. .Ch. [ArchbishopAnthony of LosAngeles, N."]He seesin it onlya basisfor his personalpower, while he ignoresthe Statuteof the ChurchAbroad. Unwillingness to legalizemore than a hundredparishes threatens to creategreat confusion.lt is terriblethat our Churchhas lost so muchtime just waiting, actually doing nothing and, yet, not supporting thework of our parishesin Russia.I wishthe Council would correct this, even against the will of the Metropolitan,who is actuallyno longercapable of healthyactivity. Maythe Lord help you. Askingfor your holy prayers, I remain your loving brother in Christ, + BishopGregory

ABOUTTHE WESTERN EUROPE CLERGY

Accordingto yet unotficialinformation from Europe,the WesternEurope Bishop Ambrose, after a repeatedoperation on hislegs due to diabetes,has requested of MetropolitanLaurus retirement from the Synod of Bishops. It is presumedthat he will be replacedby BishopMichael, formerly of Toronto,but eventhe rumorsof such an appointmenthave already created unrest and protest from the Western Europe clergy. Theclergy in Francedid not showmuch unity. Fathers Michelle and Quentin de Castebaljac- have left and returned to...Metropolitan Laurus! lt seemsthe mainreason for thisis thatMetropolitan Vitaly renounced his affiliationwith the Cyprianites,while Metropolitan Laurus has not.Father M. de Castebaljachas a daughterwho is a nun in a Cyprianite convent. ,,--/ In connectionwith this, inevitably, there will be a schismin theparish in Lyons,where Fr. Quentin de Castebaljacis the rector,while the protodeaconof this parish,Fr. Hermanlvanov-Trinadzaty, remains in the jurisdictionof Metropolitan Vitaly/BishopBarnabas! Thepoor Russian Orthodox believers, whose heads are swimming due to theconfusion created by their own hierarchy, theleadership of whichwas seized by the sympathizers with the Moscow ! 5 "ASSISI''IN ATHENS

Accordingto thenewspaper "National Catholic Reporter" of March22no, on theinitiative of theEcumenical Patriarchate, J whichis eagernot to lag behindin anythingpopular in the West,on September11tn, 2002, in Athensthere will be a prayerfulgathering of participating"Christians", Muslims and Jews. This gathering has beenorganized on the pretextof demonstratingtheir protest against terrorism and the desireto markthe anniversaryof lastyear's attack by Muslimson theWorld Trade Center in NewYork. The headof theVatican center for the Promotionof ChristianUnity, Cardinal Walter Casper already agreed to sendto Greecea "highlevel delegation", although at presentit is notknown who will be itsmembers. Accordingto the newspaper,on March11tn a Greekdelegation arrived at the Vatican,consisting of 2 ,2 bishopsand 2 archimandritesthat was received by the Popeand with whom the agreement was made on March10th, this delegationprayed in St. Peter's. Thespokesman of thisdelegation Archimandrite Epifanios lkonomou gave an interviewto the newspaperand said that thesummit "will be a stepfonvard for all the monotheistic religions, where we will offer our words of peace." Oneof the reasonsfor thisdelegation to Romewas also to establisha foundationthat would support Catholics willing to studyin Greeceand Greekswilling to studyin Rome.Of course,Greeks have no problemwith studying in Rome's Catholicschools, but what the Catholicscan learnin Greeceis questionable,because the EcumenicalPatriarchate for decadesunsuccessfully has tried to persuadeTurks to opentheir theological school in Halki,which they closed. The newspaperbelieves that the Pope'svisit to Greece,where he apologizedfor the plunderingof Constantinopleby crusadersin 1204,did "breakthe ice".On his part,Archimandrite lkonomou used the opportunityto softenthe MP's displeasurewith the expansionof Catholicismin Russiaand said:"ln Greece,Catholic dioceses exist without any difficulty.They don't engage in proselytism". Forgood reason the newspaperasks: why such a shiftin attitude?lt turnsout that "Europe has a Christianidentity, and we don'twant this to be lost.We haveto actswiftly to promotecollaboration on thisissue." [!] ECUMENICALPATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW INAMERICA

In the beginningof March,the EcumenicalPatriarch Bartholomew visited the USAin orderto markon March11th the 6-monthanniversary of thedestruction of theWorld Trade Center in NewYork. -,--/ Accordingthe Greek Archdiocese's newspaper "Orthodox Observer" of February/March,Bartholomew visited the White Housewhere he was received by PresidentBush and the Secretary of State,Collin Powell. i Afterthe audience,at an interviewgiven to reporters,Bartholomew (who was accompaniedto the WhiteHouse by severalbishops and activists of the Greekdioceses in America)reported that he askedthe Presidentto secure"freedom of action,so thatthe Patriarchatecan fulfill its spiritual,religious and cultural mission', and Powellto assistin gettingthe Turksto openagain the theological school in Halki,which was closed in 1971. The Patriarchand Archbishop Demetrios, the headof theGreek Exarchate of the EcumenicalPatriarchate in America, metwith Catholic Cardinals Keeler and McCarric,Washington's Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the ApostolicNuncio and membersof the UnitedStates Conference of CatholicBishops. All the bishopswho went with Bartholomew to theWhite Houseparticipated in this meeting.During the meeting,which lasted for an hour,the roleof clergyin mattersof world peacewas discussed. Speakingabout the dialogueof "Orthodox"with the hereticCatholics, Patriarch Bartholomew declared that: "We meet withyou today with great willingness and joy, and we thankyou for thisopportunity to communicatewith you spiritually. Yourinvitation demonstrates your sincere desire for the cultivationand developmentof inter-Christiandialogue. ln our presentday when so much effortis expendedon inter-rellgiousdialogues and the creationof a spiritof mutual understandingof one anotherand the peacefulco-existence among nations of religiouspersuasions that havelittle in commonwith , we, as Christians,are chargedby God himselfto restoreour unity,so thatthe worldwould believein the divine mission of theChurch of Christ". ThenBartholomew went to Boston,where he visitedthe Greek theological school. He also went to NewYork, where he servedin theSt. Demetrios Church in Astoria and then visited the World Trade Center site. Thesame newspaper reports that just recently Patriarch Bartholomew visited some Muslim countries, lran in particular, becausehe sponsoreda conferencein Brusselswith a goalof rapprochementamong Christians, Muslims and Jews!

A NEWVERSION OF THE PENTATEUCH (TORAH) FOR GONTEMPORARY JEWS

Accordingto "TheNew York Times" of .March gth, the UnitedSynagogue of ConservativeJudaism in the USA,which -,,'r€pfesentssome 1.5 millionmembers, just recentlypublished a newedition of the Pentateuch(Torah) with extensive commentaries.lt is called"EE Hayim"("The Tree of Life")and supposedly presents the newest discoveries in archeology, philologyand facts about the most ancient cultures. The new "Torah"questions the entireBiblical history. For example,the Presidentof the JewishUniversity in Los Angeles,Robert Wexler insists that for the sourcesof the Bookof Exodusone hasto looknot to Palestine,but to the 6 Mesopotamianepics, and the historyof Noahis basedonly upon Mesopotamian legend since the world-wideFlood neveractually happened, but was just the overflow of theTigris and Euphrates rivers. Anotherprofessor of HebrewUniversity in Jerusalem,Lee Levine,states that "thereis no referencein Egyptian sourcesfor lsrael'ssojourn in thatcountry, and the evidencethat does exist is negligibleand indirect,"therefore, there v wasnever a passingthrough the Red Sea, The fall of the wallsof Jericho,according to Levine,is alsoa fictionbecause excavations have not discoveredany remnantsof them and this areawas generallyuninhabited. He alsostates that thereis "an almosttotal absence of archeologicalevidence" that Jerusalemwas builtby KingDavid and his son Solomon.Also, both of themwere just unimportantchieftains of a smalltribe. Duringthe Jewish Passover of lastyear Rabbi Wolpe told his 2,200 congregation members that "virtually every modern archeologistagrees that the way the Bibledescribes the Exodusis not the way it happened,if it happenedat all".He claimedthat scientists have not found any traces of lsrael'stribes on Mt.Sinai and also that the ProphetMoses himself wasa mythicalpersonage. Jewishfeminists participated in composingthe newTorah. Their influence was noticedby observersin the historyof theThree Travelers who prophesized to Sarahthat she would bear a sonin herold age. lt turnsout that she laughed not becauseshe doubted the possibilityof beingpregnant in oldage, but because she still could have intimate relations with AbrahamlEverything that is saidin Bibleagainst the sinsof Sodomis notonly rejected, but the very opposite, is greatly encouraged. Someconservative rabbis are concernedabout the actualrejection of all the basicsof theirconfession and defend themselveswith the oppositearguments: "There is no evidencethat it didn'thappen. Most of the 'evidence'is the evidencefrom silence". However, so far no one hasever been persuaded to believeinto anything by the "evidenceof silence".lt seemsthat Judaism is goingthrough a deepcrisis with the atheism evidently widely spread within it thatis still veiled. One hundredthousand copies of this bookwere published that were immediately sold out. lt is expectedthat it will becomea standardBible for the 760 synagogues belonging to thisgroup in America. Afterseveral decades of implantinggodlessness among the non-Jews,especially in Russia,they thought that they coulddestroy Christianity from within, without getting infected themselves. Now it is quiteobvious that by working for the destructionof Christianity,they could not avoidbeing infected themselves and the new "Torah"is nothingbut a total negationof themost basic elements of Judaism.

.---,,EXPLOSION WITHIN CATHOLICISM

Todaymany believethat MartinLuther, who was a Catholicmonk and died in 1546,established his religionof Lutheranismonly as a protestagainst the saleby the Vaticanof indulgences,the dispensationsgiven to the deadand eventheir heirs for money.The truthis thathis rejection of indulgenceswas actually a by-productof hisoutrage against theunlimited debauchery of theCatholic clergy of thatperiod. The creationof LutheranProtestantism forced the Catholicepiscopate to take urgentmeasures. The debauchery continuedto exist,but no longerso openly.A substantialnumber of Catholicpriests (due to the celibacyobligatory upon them) resortedto the housekeepersin the parish houses.Over time and the degenerationof morals,these "housekeepers"(by the way,a veryhonorable position in parishesin Germany)were gradually replaced by youngmen (sometimes even children). So, everything followed its course until 1970, when in the USA,for thefirst time in centuries, the questionof the immoralityof the Catholicclergy was raisedagain. The Catholichierarchy reacted to thisin a new manner.Clergyman who were, without doubt, guilty of crimeswere immediately transferred to otherparishes. This was practicedfor morethan 20 years,until in 2001an enormousscandal erupted in the CatholicBoston diocese, which has costthat church already about 50 milliondollars. OnJanuary gtn,2}Ozthe newspaper"The Boston Globe" published information abouta priest, John Geoghan, whowas accusedof immoralityby 80 youngmen. lt becameknown that the Bostonbishop had protected him for 30 yearsand he wastransferred to 13 differentparishes. At presentthis Catholic priest is injail. Meanwhile, trying to hushup thescandal, the Bostondiocese paid accusers enormous sums of money,up to $400,000in one case.A diocesein NewYork just recentlypaid to a middle-agedwoman $1,200,000 for being raped and forced to havean abortion. Theinformation about the Bostonscandal created a chainreaction of similarcases in importantCatholic dioceses: New York, Florida,California, lllinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania,New Hampshire,Main, Connecticut,Missouri and others. Everywherethe same accusations surfaced; the same transfers of guiltyclerics to otherparishes and monetary fines due to courtorders or outof courtsettlements. Accordingto "EcumenicalNews International" of March 20th, the FloridaBishop O'Connell voluntarily resigned and paid to onlyone of hisaccusers $125,000. ln 1999he hadreplaced Bishop Joseph Simons who hadto resignfor the same ._,-/reasons. Fromthe information published by "The New York Times" of March12tn, the already has paid out more thana milliondollars due to legaldemands. This resulted in bankruptcyto sucha pointthat even the richdioceses were forcedto selltheir schools and hospitalsand on someoccasions even parish church buildings were then closed under variouspretexts. 7 SomeCatholic bishops agreed to cooperatewith the police, while some of themare accused of criminalprotection of the guiltyand of transfersto otherparishes. A numberof priests,under the pressureof indisputableevidence, publicly ,- admittingtheir guilt, have voluntarily retired and there even have been a few caseswhen, expecting arrest, they turned themselvesin to thepolice. 'J 'U. Accordingto the importantmagazine S. News& WorldReport" of April1't, similar scandalous cases have also happenedin othercountries. This magazine calls it "thegreatest crisis of the RomanCatholic Church in modernhistory". It is knownthat in Canadait is alreadyestimated that more than a thousandcases will cost their dioceses several billion in Canadiandollars. Similar cases are known in Franceand lreland. A popularbishop of Belfast(lreland) Brendan Komiskey, according to "TheNew York Times" of April2no' already has announcedhis retirement.The newspaper"Calvary Contender" of March1"' reported that the lrishChurch in February agreedto pay 110million dollars to the accusers,under the conditionthat there will be no moredemands by the same people. TheVatican staff hoped to keepfrom the ailing Pope that his compatriot, Bishop Juliusz Paetz of Posnanin Poland,is alsoresigning because of the similaraccusations. When the informationabout Paetz's immorality reached the Vatican andnothing was done about it, the Polishclergy and laity made strong and loud protests, so thatthe newspaper"Rzecz Pospolita"in Februaryhad to printthe story on itsfirst page. According to "TheNew York Times" of March29'n it became impossibleto keepthis story from the Popeand a whileago he receivedPaetz's official resignation, although Vatican has givenno explanationfor this resignation.The newspaper"National Catholic Reporter" of March29th reported that the Popesaid in connectionwith these numerous scandals: "As priests we arepersonally and profoundly afflicted by thesins of someof our brotherswho havebetrayed the graceof ordinationin succumbingeven to the mostgrievous forms of mysteryof evilat workin theworld. As theChurch shows her concern for thevictims and strives to respondin truthand justiceto eachof thesepainful situations, all of us...are called to commitourselves more fully to thesearch of holiness". All this has createdterrible confusion within the Catholicmasses and makesthem pressure the episcopateto insist morestrongly that the obligatory celibacy rules for clergy be rescindedby the Vatican. At thesame time, Catholics have to urgentlyreexamine the whole systemof their seminaryeducation, to the point where every futureseminarian's backgroundwould be thoroughly checked before enrollment.

ABOUTTHE "RELIGIOUS REVIVAL'' IN RUSSIA 'capital' At the end of a ratherlong Internet article by AlexanderSoldatov, entitled "Sacred and its'oligarchs"'(# 1) ---, interestinginformation was publishedabout contemporary Russian Orthodox, based upon a recentlytaken opinion poll. Fromit we learnthat 54% of Russiansconsider themselves Orthodox, 5% Muslim.The amount of othervarious religions is lessthan 1%. 37o/odeclared themselves to be atheists. It is takenfor grantedthat 49% of the peopleto someextent follow religious obligations: they go to churchon Sundays and observethe majorholy days.But here also,only 11% strictlyfollow church regulations, while 38% followthe regulationsaccording their own choice. ConcerningGreat Lent, in 2000only 6% fasted,and again,according their own choice:they mainly abstained from alcoholand pastries. Those who abstained from dairy products were much more rare and only 1/3 of those"fasting" didn't eatfish during ! Afterseeing such minimal results after the liberationfrom Communist oppression, can one seriously consider there to be a "religiousrevival" among our compatriots,about which so muchis beingsaid now by the adherentsto the ideaof unitingthe ChurchAbroad with the MoscowPatriarchate?

PUTINAND THE CHIEF RABBI IN RUSSIA

Accordingto the lnternetreports of Strana.Ruon February7tn,2OO2, Putin received the chiefrabbi of Russia,Lazar Berl.The audience with the Presidentlasted about an hour.After the audience, the Rabbigave an interviewin whichhe declaredthat Putin was verymuch interested with the situationof Jewsin Russia.This Rabbi noted that previously the Jewswere sort of "ashamed"to admittheir national affiliation but that now the situation has considerably changed for the better.According to him"people have begun to understandthat we wantto helpthe country we areliving in. At thesame timeit is worthmentioning that the situationhas changed on bothsides, since not only has society became more loyal towardJews, but alsothe Jewsthemselves see thatto livesecluded within their own community, without into societyis senseless".Rabbi Berl didn't utter a singleword about how the Jews "helped" produce the Revolutionin Russia andthen the concentration camps throughout her huge expanse. In the audiencethe Rabbimentioned that between the "RussianOrthodox Church" and Muslimsthere now exists a totallygenuine understanding as a resultof inter-confessionalcouncils and committees. ,i Putinwas honored by the praiseof theRabbi when he saidthat "the President has a commonsense understanding the futureof Russiaand of the placeof religionin thesociety. There is an understandingthat without spiritual values, human lifehas no meaningand that they give it thecorrect direction" B FEWWORDSABOUT INN

In Russia,as wellas in Ukraine,over the years there have been heated discussions regarding the introductionby the governmentof the so-calledINN (lndividual Taxpayer ldentification), since originally it was to havea bar-linecode which includedalso three 6's. Manybelievers, (interestingly also many non-believers) believed this government measure to be the "sealof antichrist" andcategorically refused to acceptthis number for payingtaxes, while others saw no harmin it. The protestersagainst the INN beganto organizelarge scale demonstrations, write letters to theirhierarchs and alsoturned to the "startsy' (elders)flourishing at presentin Russia. Theunrest about this matter reached such a degreethat the MP was forced to contactthe major representatives of the governmentand in Marchof 2000the Synod officially declared that the authorities were required to respectthe feelings of the faithfuland "reject the sixesin thosecodes that are offensiveto the faithful".The declarationstated that the useof theseparticular numbers was not unavoidable and could be technically different. Amongthe "elders" who expressed his views the most prominent was Archimandrite John (Krestiankin) who shares the opinionof hisSynod. He said:"At present,submitting such documents presents no danger.Our resistance to thecoming fearslies only in ourfaith in Godand life according to faith". In Februaryof lastyear, an extendedSynod Theological Committee met in the MoscowEcclesiastical Academy, which studiedthis matter and came to the conclusionthat the INNis a successionof 12Arabic numbers, of whichthe first two area regionalcode; the next2 numeralsrepresent the numberof the localtax department; the next6 arethe numberof thetaxpayer and the 2 lastfigures are a numberto checkthe correctness of an entry.The presence of threesixes can be onlyaccidental. lf oneis to trustthe conclusionsof MoscowEcclesiastical Academy regarding this matter, at the presenttime, indeed onecan call INN "the antichrist's seal" only by stretchingthe point.However, there is no doubtthat this measure is one morestep towardthe unlimitedcontrol over the populationwhich in the end will resultin the consciousand willful acceptanceof thetrue antichrist's seal. Accordingto the InternetStrana.Ru information of February21"t, 2002,the local court of the city of Priozersk (LeningradRegion) agreed to recognizethe right of thecitizens to paytaxes without using this INN number.

NEWTEACHING ON CHRISTOLOGY

A Catholicmagazine "Commonweal" # 12 for Marchpublished an extendedarticle by a professorof the Catholic Universityof NotreDame, Robert A. Krieg,entitled: "Who do you say I am?" Onthe very same subject there is an articleby Terence Tilley, who chairs the Theology Department at theUniversity of Daytonand is theauthor of thebook "lnventing Catholic Tradition." The third article is byan Anglican"priest" of theOxford dioceseand Sarah Coakley, professor of Divinityat HartfordUniversity and also the author of a theologicalwork. RobertKrieg starts with the informationthat the CatholicCongregation for the Doctrineof the Faithquestioned the theologicalteachings of RogerHaight and JaquesDupius that were very sharply criticized by the ratherconservative CardinalRatzinger of theVatican. In October2001 Ratzinger presented to the Synoda memoin whichit wasstated that "Thecentral problem of ourtime is theemptying out of thehistorical figure of Jesus.lt beginswith denying the virgin birth, thenthe Resurrectionbecomes a spiritualevent, then Christ's awareness of beingthe Son of Godis denied,leaving Him onlythe words of a rabbi.Then the falls, and becomes just a farewelldinner." Thearticle states that now the definition of the Personalityof JesusChrist and the answer to thequestion: "Who do you sayI am?"can be answeredin variousways, for example:you are the crucified Messiah, the Christof Cana,the Son of Manamong the pooror somethingsimilar. The contemporaryCatholic more and more often compares Christ with such personalitiesas Buddha, Confucius, Krishna, Mohamed and... Moses! ln orderto clarifythose questions there are proposalsto convenea ThirdVatican Council that wouldinstruct the contemporaryCatholic on howthey are to believein Christthe Savior! The new"theologians" have discovered a newteaching about the SecondPerson of the HolyTrinity, as havingtwo levels:"Christology from above" and "Christology from below", and even more bluntly: "low" Christology. "Christologyfrom above" is the elevatedOrthodox teaching about the Savior,defined by thecouncil in Chalcedon,but, it happenedto be very"risky" one, because it insufficientlyspeaks of the humanNature of Christand thiscan leadto otherheresies. The"Christology from below" treats almost exclusively the human nature of Christ. A JesuitDupius came up withthe ideathat since Christ was a historicalperson who expressed His teaching under the influenceof Galileanculture and Jewishtraditions, while at the sametime beingthe "universalLogos," thus the non- Christianfaiths can also participate in themediation role of Christ SarahCoakley believes that the mattershould be putin the threelevels. the exclusivismof Christ,the relationof the Divinityand Humanity of Christand authority. Shespeaks comfortably about the necessityof Catholicsto believein the humanityand divinity of Christand therefore states:"That this remains important for contemporaryRoman Catholic affairs is demonstratedby the remarkablerecent ecumenicalagreements achieved by Romewith the non-Chalcedoniandescendents of bothAlexandria and Antioch - 9 withthe OrientalOrthodox churches on the one hand(1971,1984), and with the "Assyrian"Church of the Easton the other (1994).The questionthus arises:How can Rome simultaneouslycourt two widelydivergent Christological perspectiveswhile simultaneously reining in itsown theologians to a tightChalcedonian standard that actually tilts toward onlyone side?" Whilediscussing the matterof authority,Coakley does not deny that in the matterof Christologythe authoritybelongs ecclesiasticaladministration. However, "power is at the heart of this struggleover who decideswhat is to the 'correct' Christologicallylegitimate - and therebywhat is a readingof immenselycomplex and somewhatfluid earlier views.The CDF mightexercise its notablepower with a closedeye to ecumenicalrelations already mandated by Rome couldsurely be onlyto itsown advantage". Tilleyat the end of the articlestated that: "We don'tneed to developa theoryto showhow God works it out. Terrence 'who We do notneed to getour Christological stories straight when we respondto do yousay that I am?' We do needto showthat we cantalk without contradiction of God's universal salvific will and the scandalous particularity of the incarnate andrisen Lord. These challenges make Christology interesting - and,necessary, now as ever". Allthree articles demonstrate the terrible state of contemporaryWestern "Christianity".