Peter Anderson berichtet aus der orthodoxen Welt

Seit vielen Jahren verfolgt Peter Anderson aus Seattle USA die Entwicklungen in der orthodoxen Welt. Nicht im Auftrag einer Zeitung, sondern aus persönlicher Liebe zu den Ostkirchen und im Einsatz für die Communio von Ost und West gibt er Einblicke in neue Entwicklungen. Mit Zustimmung von Peter Anderson werden seine E-mail-Nachrichten auf der Homepage des Zentrums St. Nikolaus dokumentiert.

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NEWS 2025

  • 31 January 2025: Funeral of Archbishop Anastasios & other news

    The Liturgy and Funeral Service for Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës and all Albania, primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, was held on January 30 in the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tirana.  The entire Liturgy and Funeral Service can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs02Sn76bxE .  Six primates of the Local Orthodox Churches were present:  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Ecumenical Patriarchate); Patriarch Theodoros (Patriarchate of Alexandria); Patriarch Theophilos (Patriarchate of Jerusalem); Patriarch Daniil (Patriarchate of Bulgaria); Archbishop George (Church of Cyprus); and Archbishop Ieronymos (Church of Greece).  The Moscow Patriarchate was represented by Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, and the Romanian Patriarchate was represented by Metropolitan Nifon of Târgoviște.  There were also representatives present from the Patriarchates of Antioch, Serbia, and Georgia and the Churches of Poland, Czech Lands and Slovakia, and North Macedonia.   The delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate also included Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon.  https://www.orthodoxianewsagency.gr/aytokefales_ekklisies/ekklisia_albanias/to-ystato-xaire-ston-arxiepiskopo-alvanias-kyro-anastasio-vinteofoto/   From the video, it appears that Archbishop Flavio Pace, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, represented the Vatican.

    The Divine Liturgy was celebrated solely by bishops and clergy of the Albanian Church.  This avoided the need for Metropolitan Anthony to excuse himself from serving in the Liturgy in view of the participation in the Liturgy of primates with whom the Moscow Patriarchate has severed communion.  This is similar to the funeral liturgy for Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria in March 2024 where only Bulgarian hierarchs served.  The Funeral Service for Archbishop Anastasios was led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and begins at 3:08:00 in the video.    

    The funeral address of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew can be read at  https://fosfanariou.gr/index.php/2025/01/30/epikideios-logoa-ecum-patr-ston-alvanias-anastasio/  It is a beautiful tribute to Archbishop Anastasios.  The Ecumenical Patriarch’s remarks were greeted multiple times by applause, including standing applause.  See video especially at 5:24:30 to 5:29:10.  At one point, 5:28:00, when saying “we bid you farewell,” the Ecumenical Patriarch almost lost his composure.  The Ecumenical Patriarch’s address included a story that I had not heard before.  The Ecumenical Patriarch stated: “His [the Archbishop’s] holy mother rejected with disgust the doctors' urging to undergo an abortion, as she was suffering from tuberculosis, because death was supposedly inevitable for both her and the pregnant child!”   This child lived 95 years and accomplished so much for Our Lord and His Church during his lifetime!  Other speakers at the Funeral were: the WCC’s Moderator, Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (text at https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/sermon-by-bishop-heinrich-bedford-strohm-at-the-funeral-of-archbishop-anastasios-of-albania); the Locum Tenens Metropolitan John of Korçë; the niece of the late Archbishop, Roxane Yannoulatos; Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece (text at https://www.primeminister.gr/2025/01/30/35738) ; and Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania (text at  https://www.kryeministria.al/en/newsroom/kryeministri-edi-rama-ne-ceremonine-e-homazheve-ne-nderim-te-kryepeshkopit-te-kishes-ortodokse-autoqefale-te-shqiperise-anastas-janullatos/) .

    Archbishop Anastasios was buried in a special crypt under the altar of the Cathedral of the Resurrection.  To the best of my knowledge, a date has not yet been set by the Holy Synod of the Albanian Orthodox Church for its election of a new primate.

    As reported in my previous newsletters, the Church of Greece and the Greek government have made special efforts subsequent to the fall of the Assad regime to reach out to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and offer support.  On January 22, Patriarch John X, primate of the Patriarchate of Antioch, “received Metropolitan Ignatios Dimitriados [member of the Church of Greece’s Synodal Committee on Inter-Orthodox Relations] and Father Emmanuel Papamikrouli [secretary of the Synodal Committee] as delegates from Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece and from the Greek government, at the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Balamand [Lebanon].”   https://antiochpatriarchate.org/en/page/receiving-a-delegation-from-the-greek-orthodox-church/2832/ ; https://www.romfea.gr/patriarxeia-ts/patriarxeio-antioxeias/67524-antiprosopeia-tis-ekklisias-tis-ellados-ston-patriarxi-antioxeias    With respect to this meeting, the Greek City Times made the following observation at https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/01/23/greek-orthodox-antioch-john-x / : 

    The meeting comes following the news that the Greek government will finance 600 clergymen in the diaspora, including the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.  With this move, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is on the soft power offensive following the Patriarchate of Moscow’s expansionism in Africa and the recent overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria, with the Christian communities of the Eastern Mediterranean country becoming especially vulnerable since Turkish-backed jihadists came to power. 

    By placing hundreds of clergy in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa and by strengthening diplomatic efforts to protect Greek Orthodox Christians in Syria, Greece is taking steps to become a shield for Orthodoxy in these regions.

    The Greek City Times has also posted a separate article relating to the financing of the 600 clergymen.  https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/01/22/greece-600-greek-orthodox-priests/  According to the latter article, the “Greek government’s plans have already been completed, and the special legislative regulation is expected to be implemented within the first quarter of 2025.”   The regulation “aims to recruit 50-70 clergymen annually until the 600 positions are fulfilled.”

    Three days later, on January 25, Patriarch John met at Balamand with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department of External Relations (DECR) of the Moscow Patriarchate.  https://mospat.ru/en/news/92808/  In addition to Metropolitan Anthony, the Russian delegation included such persons as Archpriest Nikolai Balashov (advisor to Patriarch Kirill) and Alexander Rudakov (Russian Ambassador to Lebanon).  With respect to the meeting, the website of the DECR states in part:  “In the cordial atmosphere, the participants in the meeting discussed at length a wide range of issues of mutual interest and concern, including the plight of Christians in the Middle East and other regions, prospects of promoting further the fraternal cooperation between the Antiochian and the Moscow Patriarchates, and the current state of inter-Orthodox and inter-Christian relations….  After the meeting, Patriarch John gave a dinner in honour of the DECR chairman and other members of the Russian Church’s delegation.”  Although the official website and the Facebook site of the Antiochian Patriarchate publicized the meeting with the Church of Greece, both of these sites are completely silent with respect to the Patriarch’s meeting with Metropolitan Anthony and the Russian Ambassador and with respect to the dinner that followed.

    Lastly, there is the sad news that Father Ronald G. Roberson, CSP, died on January 19 at the age of 74.  For 28 years, until his retirement in 2023, he was the key staff person at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who was responsible for Orthodox – Catholic relations in the United States.  Any American Catholic who has worked seriously in the field of ecumenical relations with the Orthodox would know Father Roberson.  Personally, he has helped me many times.  Father Roberson received his doctorate degree from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome in 1988 after defending his thesis on “Contemporary Romanian Orthodox Ecclesiology.”  From 1988 to 1992 he worked at the Vatican with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.  Beginning in 2005, he was a member of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.  https://paulist.org/who-we-are/bio/ronald-g-roberson-c-s-p/ ;  http://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/news/2024/2024-01-21-rip-ron-roberson.html   Thank you, Father Roberson, for all that you have done for Christian unity.  May he rest in peace!

     

    Peter Anderson, Seattle USA

  • 28 January 2025: Romanian Patriarchate on unified Easter

    https://basilica.ro/en/response-to-pope-francis-statement-on-a-unified-date-for-easter/   The following was posted today, January 28, by the Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate:

    Following a recent statement by Pope Francis regarding the establishment of a common date for the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord, we wish to clarify that any consultation on the date of Easter and a possible decision can only take place within the framework of a future Pan-Orthodox Council, with the participation of all sister Orthodox Churches.

    This initiative aligns with the ongoing efforts on this matter, taking into account the significant recommendation of the Synaxis of the Primates and Representatives of the Orthodox Churches, convened from January 21-28, 2016, at the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Center in Chambésy.

    During this meeting, it was emphasized: “Regarding the issue of the Calendar, it is appropriate for each Church to freely implement what it considers beneficial for the spiritual formation of its faithful, but without altering the common date of the celebration of Easter by all Orthodox.”

    Therefore, any initiative concerning the date of Easter can only be addressed within the context of a Pan-Orthodox Council.

    Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate

    In my opinion, this is a further indication that an agreement for a common date for Easter will not occur this year.  Especially in view of present tensions between the Ecumenical and Moscow Patriarchates, the likelihood of a convening of a “Pan-Orthodox Council” in the near future is almost zero. 

    The “recent statement by Pope Francis” is presumably the remarks made by Pope Francis on January 25.  https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2025/documents/20250125-vespri-unita-cristiani.html   The remarks are as follows:

    This year, the celebration of Easter coincides in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars, a circumstance that proves providential as we commemorate the anniversary of the Ecumenical Council [of Nicaea].  I renew my appeal that this coincidence may serve as an appeal to all Christians to take a decisive step forward towards unity around a common date for Easter (cf. Bull Spes Non Confundit, 17).  The Catholic Church is open to accepting the date that everyone wants: a date of unity.

    The Pope’s references to “all Christians” and “everyone wants” clearly indicate that the Pope is speaking about an agreement that would encompass not only Catholics and Orthodox, but also the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Anglicans, and the Protestants.  Reaching such a pan-Christian consensus will take much time.

    To the best of my knowledge, Ecumenical Patriarchate has said nothing to indicate that the Orthodox would be willing to abandon its Paschalion and the Julian calendar in calculating Pascha, such as adopting a new method of calculation based on the most current astronomical data.  Indeed, the Synaxis of the Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne (Ecumenical Patriarchate) stated on September 3, 2024:  “In this spirit, the unanimous wish is expressed that the common celebration of Pascha next year by Eastern and Western Christianity should not be merely a happy coincidence, but the beginning of the establishment of a common date for its annual celebration, according to the Paschalion of our Orthodox Church.”    https://ec-patr.org/%ce%b1%ce%bd%ce%b1%ce%ba%ce%bf%ce%b9%ce%bd%cf%89%ce%b8%ce%ad%ce%bd-%ce%b9-%cf%83%cf%85%ce%bd%ce%ac%ce%be%ce%b5%cf%89%cf%82-%cf%84%ce%b7%cf%82-%ce%b9%ce%b5%cf%81%ce%b1%cf%81%cf%87%ce%af%ce%b1%cf%82/   In other words, a common celebration of Easter can be obtained by the rest of Christianity accepting the Orthodox method of calculation.  However, I have heard nothing to indicate that the rest of Christianity is seriously considering doing this.   

    Hopefully, there will someday be a common date for Easter, but, absent a miracle, it will not occur this year.

     

    Peter Anderson, Seattle USA

  • 26 January 2025: Archbishop Anastasios, primate of Albanian Orthodox Church, rests in the Lord

    On January 25, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., Archbishop Anastasios (“Anastas” in Albanian) of Tirana, Durrës and all Albania, primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, died at the age of 95 from multiple organ failure.  https://orthodoxalbania.org/2020/2025/01/25/fjeti-me-zotin-kryepiskopi-i-tiranes-durresit-dhe-gjithe-shqiperise-anastasi/   A few hours later, the Holy Synod of the Albanian Orthodox Church met and issued a notice.  https://orthodoxalbania.org/2020/2025/01/25/njoftim-kisha-orthodhokse-autoqefale-e-shqiperise-sinodi-i-shenjte/  Metropolitan Joan of Korça was appointed as Locum Tenens, and the funeral service was set for Thursday, January 30, at 11:00 a.m. after the Divine Liturgy.  Already many tributes for this great churchman are being expressed.  The following are a few examples:  https://ec-patr.org/%cf%83%cf%85%ce%bb%ce%bb%cf%85%cf%80%ce%b7%cf%84%ce%ae%cf%81%ce%b9%ce%bf-%cf%80%ce%b1%cf%84%cf%81%ce%b9%ce%b1%cf%81%cf%87%ce%b9%ce%ba%cf%8c-%ce%bc%ce%ae%ce%bd%cf%85%ce%bc%ce%b1-%ce%b3%ce%b9%ce%b1/ (Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew); https://mospat.ru/ru/news/92802/ (Russian Patriarch Kirill); https://www.romfea.gr/ekklisia-ellados/67585-syllypitiria-ekklisias-tis-ellados-ston-topotiriti-tis-ekklisias-tis-alvanias (Church of Greece);  https://www.oikoumene.org/news/archbishop-anastasios-of-tirana-dies-at-95 (WCC). 

    Archbishop Anastasios had been hospitalized on December 30 in Tirana due to a virus and then transferred by helicopter to the Evangelismos Hospital in Athens on January 3 after his health further deteriorated.  On January 10, he was transferred to the Hospital's ICU and intubated.  On the same day he underwent emergency surgery to control bleeding in his small intestines.  Several days ago, an unsuccessful attempt was made to take the Archbishop off of the respirator and a tracheostomy was performed.  https://www.romfea.gr/epikairotita-xronika/67562-ekoimithi-o-arxiepiskopos-alvanias-anastasios  On January 23, when the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Athens came for a visit, he was informed that the Archbishop’s condition “remains stable, with a small improvement.”  https://www.facebook.com/koash1991/posts/935915648629788?ref=embed_post  However, a multiple organ failure then occurred, and Our Lord called the Archbishop home.

    Archbishop Anastasios accomplished so much in this lifetime.  His curriculum vitae covers many pages of honors and publications.  See, for example,  https://orthodoxalbania.org/2020/en/archbishop-of-tirana-durres-and-all-albania/.  A short version (his biographical sketch) is found at https://orthodoxalbania.org/2020/en/2020/04/04/biographical-sketch-of-archbishop-anastasios/ .  His life in the Church can be divided into three major periods:  University of Athens, Africa, and Albania. 

    Catholics have also contributed to the literature relating to Archbishop Anastasios.  In 2022, a book was published by the Sant’Egidio Community with the title:  Anastasio di Albania -- Un uomo dalle molte patrie.  https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Roberto-Morozzo-Della-Rocca/dp/8837235895  In the book Archbishop Anastasios, prompted by Prof. Roberto Morozzo della Rocca and Father Tommaso Opocher, retraces his entire life.  The preface is written by Dr. Andrea Riccardi, the founder of the Sant’Egidio Community.  This summer, the book was published in Albanian with the title: Kryepiskopi Anastas, Shërbëtor i Perëndisë në shumë vende (Archbishop Anastasios, Servant of God in Many Places).   On January 9, when the Archbishop was in the hospital in Athens, a major media site in Albania posted online, with the permission of Dr. Riccardi, his preface relating to the Archbishop.  The preface can be read in English with the Google translation tool.  https://shqiptarja.com/lajm/themeluesi-i-sant-egidio-janullatos-e-greqizoi-apo-lindi-njw-kishw-tw-vwrtetw-orthodhokse-shqiptare 

    The preface stresses how Archbishop Anastasios encountered the whole world and lived on the “threshold” of Orthodoxy where it interfaced with the rest of the world.  The Archbishop's perspective was not limited to that of a specific Local Orthodox Church, although he was subject to untrue criticism that he was seeking to make the Albanian Church Greek.   The following are two excerpts from Dr. Riccardi’s preface:

    His story is deeply rooted in the Orthodox faith and liturgy, about which he has written and reflected in numerous theological and historiographical works, but it also has a completely unique characteristic.  He lives a life on the “threshold” of his Church, not in the sense of a lesser belonging, but one that wants to meet others, not simply to be among them.  It is an encounter that he lived through personal conversation, as well as through the study of religions: his Christianity does not remain isolated and self-referential, but is measured against the vast and diverse religious experience of contemporary humanity.

    In Africa, where he worked as a priest and bishop, but also as a teacher, he got to know peoples who were emancipating themselves from colonialism.  He encountered a world not only inhabited by different Christian churches, but also by traditional religions with many differences between them.  He measured himself with the culture and anthropology of African peoples, appreciating many aspects and refusing to “Hellenize” the evangelical world mission: the issue was that Africans should open the Gospel, not become “Greeks,” as for example when they sang a Greek hymn in church.  The future Archbishop of Albania understood well the challenges of the African world in great transition, not only for Orthodoxy, but for all of Christianity.

    …

    For the Albanian nationalist mentality, his origin would mean the Hellenization of the Autocephalous Church.  But exactly the opposite would happen.  In fact, it can be said that with Archbishop Anastasios, an independent Albanian Orthodox Church was truly born, rooted in its country and culture, open to the world, in communion with other Orthodox Churches, ecumenical and with rich activity in international relations.  For Anastasios, the rebuilder of the Church, as can be seen in the pages of this beautiful book, life was not easy, marked by nationalist hostility to the point that he only received Albanian citizenship, issued by the president, in 2018.

    Anastasios is a Christian, a responsible bishop, who knows well that his duty is to build an Orthodox Christian Church in Albania and not to create a foreign church.  The Greek Anastasios, with his work, proved the universality of Orthodoxy and its ability to be a reality of world mission.  Amid the ruins, the painful memories, the concerns of the Albanian community, he has been a builder and world missionary.   

    The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, in 1991, took charge of the situation in Orthodox Albania (where there was no longer a bishop) and sent Anastasios to Albania as Patriarchal Exarch.  Here he found 15 priests and 2 deacons who had survived the persecution, almost all in poor health.

    In this book, the Archbishop tells an emblematic episode from his life.  He was in Tirana, near the ruins of the old cathedral, without yet knowing a word in Albanian.  He was accompanied by a group of elderly people, who had survived the difficult decades of communism.  He asked how to say “Χριστός Ανέστη!” (Christ is risen!) in Albanian.  They told him, took some candles, and lit them.  Anastasios proclaimed in Albanian: “Christ is risen!”   And, as happens in the Orthodox Liturgy, everyone responded: “Truly he is risen!”   Anastasios says that “this became the essence and central message of my preaching and efforts here in Albania.”

    It had to be restarted in the perspective of the Resurrection.  Anastasios tells how he worked for 30 years to establish a true Orthodox Church in Albania, with bishops, clergy, monks from this country, with a cultural and religious profile that makes it an important reality for the country today.  He has ordained 155 priests.  And he adds: “The majority of the clergy and those responsible are Albanians”.   He did not Hellenize Albania, as his opponents feared, but he did reestablish the Christian faith in an Orthodox Church rooted in the culture and current affairs of the country.  He gathered the testimony of a generation that had suffered martyrdom and was dying out, while opening the door to a new generation, even when it did not come from Christian families.

    Thanks to the work of Archbishop Anastasios, it is extremely likely that his successor will be a native Albanian.  Under the Charter of the Albanian Church, a new archbishop is elected by the Holy Synod.  https://orthodoxalbania.org/2020/en/2015/03/24/statute-of-orthodox-autocephalous-church-of-albania/ (Articles 12 and 17).  The Holy Synod consists of the archbishop and all of the active metropolitans and bishops.  (Article 11).  Aside from the Archbishopric, there are five metropolitan sees headed by the following five metropolitans: Metropolitan Dhimiti of Gjirokastër (born in Greece 1940);  Metropolitan Joan of Korça (born in Albania 1956); Metropolitan Andon of Elbasan (born in Albania 1969); Metropolitan Nikolla of Apolonia (born in Albania 1972); Metropolitan Asti of Berat (born in Albania 1974).  Other members of the Synod are Metropolitan Nathaniel, Chief Secretary of the Synod (born in Greece 1957) and Bishop Anastas, administrator of church property and economic activities (born in Albania 1979).  Presumably, one of these hierarchs will be the new primate.

    MAY THE MEMORY OF ARCHBISHOP ANASTASIOS BE ETERNAL!

     

    Peter Anderson, Seattle USA  

  • 16 January 2025: Bulgaria's sole "Orthodox" church & other news

    On December 16, 2024, the Supreme Court of Cassation of the Republic of Bulgaria, Commercial Chamber, issued a decision to enter into the public register a religious organization with the name, “Bulgarian Orthodox Old-style Church."  The full text of the court decision is found at https://www.vks.bg/pregled-akt.jsp?type=ot-delo&id=CBEA2A91E009B2A8C2258BF50043C5FB&fbclid=IwY2xjawHUy9NleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHf1AzGXg2GlgU2dRuc5gyG3OtnjWbpdDDY_fXsfnMzbhHlX9CXVsbzefrw_aem_EMguUQkizxInlLelZ700lg .   As the name implies, this small church objects to the use of the new Julian calendar.  The church has been in existence since 1990 and has approximately15 parishes.  See https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D1%86%D1%8A%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B0  The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) reacted to the court’s decision with great alarm.  On December 30, 2024, the BOC’s Holy Synod issued a statement that the “court's recognition and permission for registration of another (second) parallel ‘Orthodox Church’ within the borders of the Bulgarian state is in sharp contradiction” of a fundamental principle of canon law “that on a specific state territory there can exist only one Church with one Primate and one Holy Council.”   https://bg-patriarshia.bg/news/izyavlenie-na-svetia-sinod-na-bpts-bp-vav-vrazka-s-resheniet  The Holy Synod stated that the BOC is recognized by the other Local Orthodox Churches and can be the only “Orthodox” church in Bulgaria.

    On January 14, 2025, Prof. Natalia Kiselova, Chairperson of the National Assembly of Bulgaria, met with Patriarch Daniil and the members of the Synod.  https://bg-patriarshia.bg/news/sreshta-na-sv-sinod-na-bpts-bp-s-dots-natalia-kiselova-preds  The purpose of the meeting was to familiarize the Patriarch and the Synod with bills submitted by a wide range of political parties to amend the Law on Religious Denominations to recognize the BOC as the sole expression of Eastern Orthodoxy in Bulgaria.  Three different bills relating to this issue were passed on the first reading by the National Assembly on January 9.  The bills are described at https://dveri.bg/component/com_content/Itemid,100723/catid,14/id,73872/view,article/.  The full text of the bills can be read at  https://www.parliament.bg/bg/bills/ID/165951.  The Assembly’s committee responsible for the bills will now consolidate the three bills into a single bill. 

    An interesting legal question will be raised if Bulgaria does pass a law providing that the BOC is the only religious organization in Bulgaria that can use the word “Orthodox” in its legal title.  On January 13, the “Armenian Apostolic Orthodox [emphasis added] Holy Church” sent a letter to the Chairperson of the National Assembly stating that the proposed bills should not affect its legal title which has already been registered in Bulgaria.  https://dveri.bg/component/com_content/Itemid,100723/catid,14/id,73883/view,article/   You may recall that Ukraine passed a law (Law 2662-VIII) in December 2018 which in effect requires that the UOC include Russia in its legal title.  https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-s-president-signs-law-forcing-orthodox-church-to-change-its-name/29671193.html  According to the UOC, a church “has the right to determine what it will be called” and limitations of this right violate international conventions.  https://vzcz.church.ua/2021/12/20/u-kijevo-pecherskij-lavri-vidbuvsya-kruglij-stil-tri-roki-sprob-primusovogo-perejmenuvannya-ukrajinskoji-pravoslavnoji-cerkvi-naslidki-ocinki-komentari/  If the Bulgarian National Assembly does give the BOC the exclusive right to use the word “Orthodox” in its title, the matter may possibly end up at the European Court of Human Rights.

    On January 14, the Holy Synod of the BOC also published the list of bishops who will be candidates to become the new Metropolitan of Vidin, a vacancy caused by the election of Metropolitan Daniil of Vidin to be the new Bulgarian patriarch.  https://bg-patriarshia.bg/news/sv-sinod-opredeli-listata-s-dostoizbiraemite-episkopi-kandid--3  The new metropolitan will become a member of the Holy Synod.  The election is extremely important as the Holy Synod is now sharply divided.  For example, Patriarch Daniil and Metropolitan Gavriil support good relations with the Moscow Patriarchate.  On the other hand, a group of six metropolitans on the Synod are consistent supporters of Constantinople.  The list of candidates announced on January 14 will be submitted to the Vidin Diocesan Electoral Council, which consists of a specified number of clergy and laity from the various deaneries in the Vidin diocese.  On February 2 the Electoral Council will elect a “short list” of two candidates.  On February 9, the Holy Synod will meet and elect one of the two as the new Metropolitan of Vidin.

    In my opinion, it is likely that the future Metropolitan of Vidin will share the views of Daniil and Gavriil.  The Vidin Diocesan Electoral Council will probably support bishops who are favored by Patriarch Daniil because of the six years that Daniil previously headed the Vidin Diocese.  The list of eight candidates includes Bishop Sionios of Veliki, who served under Daniil as his vicar bishop, and Bishop Mikhael of Constantine, who is the vicar of Metropolitan Gavriil.  If the Vidin Electoral Council elects both Sionios and Mikhael to be on the two-person short list, the Holy Synod will have no choice but to elect one of them as the new Metropolitan of Vidin.  It is more likely than not that a vicar bishop will share his governing bishop's views on such matters as support of Moscow.   

     On December 31, 2024, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued its “REPORT ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN UKRAINE, 1 September to 30 November 2024.”  The full report in English can be accessed at  https://ukraine.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/PR41%20Ukraine%202024-12-31.pdf .  Six pages (pp. 14-20) of the report cover human rights in the territory occupied by the Russian Federation, and four pages (pp. 20 – 24) cover human rights in the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine.  Ukrainian Law 3894, the new law regarding religious organizations, is discussed in the Report's executive summary at pages 2-3 and in its general text at paragraphs 84 – 88, found at pages  20 – 21.  With respect to Law 3894, the executive summary states:  “In territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine, new legal provisions regarding religious organizations entered into force; these prohibit the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian religious organizations found to be affiliated with counterparts in the Russian Federation. The law introducing these provisions established disproportionate restrictions on the freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief.”

    The general text of the Report focuses on the specific provisions found in the language of 3894.  The conclusions reached by the Report with respect to these provisions are supported by references in the Report to the applicable parts of the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Council of Europe’s European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).  The Report includes such findings as the following:

    Law 3894  invokes  “national (or public) security” as a ground for restrictions on freedom of religion, but neither the ICCPR nor the ECHR include “national security” as a permissible ground for such restrictions.

    Law 3894 “also established disproportionate restrictions on the freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief.”

    “Ukraine has not demonstrated the necessity and proportionality of this measure [dissolution of the religious organization],  such as by showing why less restrictive measures, such as measures restricted specifically to individuals responsible for wrongdoing, would not be satisfactory and sufficient.”

    “Furthermore, the amendments state that a religious organization shall be dissolved if its ‘authorized persons’ are convicted of various crimes, including those against national security, or if the organization is involved in ‘repeated facts’ of spreading the ‘propaganda of the ideology of the Russian World,’ vague terms that do not give fair notice of what the law requires.  These provisions can result in entire religious communities being held responsible for the conduct of specific individuals.  Furthermore, the overbroad and ambiguous formulation may put in jeopardy the right to freedom of expression.”

    “The amendments also prohibit Ukrainian religious organizations that are affiliated with another organization holding a prohibited affiliation, enabling the dissolution of many interconnected religious organizations without an individual case-by-case assessment.”

    “[O]n the basis of an administrative decision that a Ukrainian religious organization has a prohibited affiliation, State entities are ordered to cancel all contracts for lease of property to the religious organization, even before a court has taken a decision on the religious organization’s dissolution.”

    On January 2, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued a “Commentary…on the UN’s false accusations.”  The total text of the Commentary can be read in English at https://mfa.gov.ua/en/news/komentar-mzs-shchodo-nepravdivih-zvinuvachen-oon-v-nibito-obmezhenni-ukrayinoyu-religijnih-svobod.  The Commentary does not reference any of the specific provisions of Law 3894.  The Commentary makes no reference to the ICCPR or the ECHR.  There is no attempt by the Commentary to address the specific problems raised by the Report (summarized above).  The Ukrainian government continues to try to defend Law 3894 without ever referring to what Law 3894 actually says.  As discussed in my previous newsletters, I have prepared a Google English translation of the entire text of Law 3894 and provided comments on the various provisions at https://www.unifr.ch/orthodoxia/de/assets/public/files/Dokumentation/Anderson/LAW%203894%20OF%20UKRAINE.pdf  The comments include serious problems with Law 3894 in addition to those enumerated in the OHCHR Report above.

    In a speech to the UN Security Council on November 17, 2023, the UN’s Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris, addressed the subject of the draft law which is now Law 3894.  In the presence of Ukraine’s mission to the UN, she extended an express invitation to Ukrainian lawmakers to make use of the expertise of the OHCHR “to assess whether the proposed means are clearly defined and the least intrusive ones possible for achieving the specific aim, and whether the proposed amendments comply with international legal standards.”  https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2023/11/asg-brands-kehris-briefs-security-council-ukraine  Ukraine never responded to this invitation.  If Ukraine had worked with the experts of the OHCHR, the OHCHR negative report on Law 3894 may never have been necessary.

    With the election of Trump, there have been relatively few comments in the Ukrainian media about Law 3894.  Now, Deputy Mykyta Poturayev, head of the Rada committee that was responsible for 3894, has stated that the regulations implementing 3894 have been drafted by DESS and are awaiting approval by the Cabinet of Ministers.   https://glavcom.ua/country/politics/zaborona-moskovskoji-tserkvi-v-ukrajini-sluha-narodu-pojasniv-shcho-halmuje-protses--1039201.html#google_vignette  Poturayev believes that approval will be obtained by the end of January and that DESS will then be able to begin its examinations of whether Ukrainian religious organizations are affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.  Under the terms of 3894, the Cabinet of Ministers was required to complete its work by November 24, 2024 (three months after the publication of the Law).  See Article 6.  It therefore appears that the Cabinet of Ministers will be approximately two months late in completing its work.  Is this delay intentional in view of Trump’s election?  Under the Law, DESS will be able to bring court proceedings to dissolve a religious organization beginning May 24, 2025.

    Lastly, Archbishop Anastasios, primate of the Orthodox Church of Albania, remains in critical condition at the Evangelismos Hospital in Athens.  The last report by his doctors was on January 10.   https://orthodoxalbania.org/2020/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/%CE%99%CE%91%CE%A4%CE%A1%CE%99%CE%9A%CE%9F-%CE%91%CE%9D%CE%91%CE%9A%CE%9F%CE%99%CE%9D%CE%A9%CE%98%CE%95%CE%9D.png  There have been no reports since that time, which is probably a hopeful sign.  Many people are praying for this outstanding hierarch. 

     

    Peter Anderson, Seattle USA

  • 1 January 2025: Interview of Metropolitan Hilarion by RIA Novosti

    https://ria.ru/20241231/ilarion-1992145756.html  This is an interview of Metropolitan Hilarion relating to the recent decision of the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate to retire him.   Although the entire interview should be read, Metropolitan Hilarion’s answer to the first question summarizes his reaction to the decision of the Holy Synod.  The answer is as follows:

    I have accepted this decision with humility and gratitude and will work where I am assigned.  And those shortcomings in my personal life and everyday life that His Holiness the Patriarch pointed out, I will try to correct with God's help.

    The past year has been difficult for me.  Enormous efforts have been made to deprive me of the opportunity to serve the Church.  The secret services, foreign agent media, persons wanted internationally, defrocked former clergy and militant atheists have united for this purpose.  Slander, blackmail, threats and falsified evidence have all been used.

    But the Church protected me.  I can continue to serve, preach, perform sacred sacraments, and stand before the throne of God.  For this I am grateful to His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod.

     

    Peter Anderson, Seattle USA