Current interview with Bishop Anthony of Zvenigorod. An agreement was signed to carry out design work for an Orthodox church in Heviz

On October 1, the 17th Sunday after Pentecost, after the Exaltation, Bishop Anthony of Zvenigorod, head of the Moscow Patriarchate Office for Foreign Institutions, temporary administrator of the Berlin diocese, paid an archpastoral visit to the parish in honor of the Resurrection of Christ in Munich. In the chapel of St. Joseph the Betrothed, provided to the parish by the local Catholic community for the performance of divine services, His Eminence performed Divine Liturgy.

Concelebrating with Bishop Anthony was the rector of the parish, Archpriest Nikolai Zabelich, the vicar St. George's Monastery in Gotschendorf, Abbot Daniel (Irbits), parish cleric Priest Anatoly Schaefer, press secretary of the St. George Monastery of the Hieromonks Venedikt (Kochergin), Protodeacon Vitaly Sadakov, Deacon Archil Chkhikvadze.

At the end of the service, Bishop Anthony addressed the participants of the service with.

In conclusion, the bishop thanked the rector and parishioners for the warm welcome and joint prayer: “I am very glad to have the opportunity today to visit your wonderful parish for the first time and pray with you,” he said. “I only regret that the reason for my visit was the death of Archbishop Theophan of Berlin and Germany, who served for the benefit of the Church of Christ in Germany for more than a quarter of a century. Vladyka left us unexpectedly and very early. And the grief from this loss will live in our hearts for a long time. Live together with prayer for the ruler. That the Lord would forgive all his sins, voluntary and involuntary. And, seeing the zealous service that the bishop performed throughout his life, we believe that the Lord will grant him, including through our humble prayers, eternal and blessed memory.”

“I have heard a lot of good things about your parish community and your rector. But it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times. I sincerely thank you all for the warm welcome, for your kind, warm and heartfelt prayer,” concluded the archpastor.

Archpriest Nikolai Zabelich addressed Bishop Anthony with words of gratitude. “We are always pleased to pray with the bishop, because according to the word of the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer, without a bishop there is no Church; where there is a bishop, there must be people, just as where Jesus Christ is, there cathedral church (see To the Smyrneans, chapter VIII). Therefore, your arrival today is a special holiday for us,” said Father Nikolai.

Moscow diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, named after the city of Zvenigorod (Moscow region). The first Zvenigorod bishop in the chronicles under 1382/83-1397. named Daniel, former. Bishop of Smolensk, early 80s because of his pro-Moscow position, forced to move from Smolensk to Moscow (PSRL. T. 8. P. 52, 61; T. 11. P. 94, 95, 116, 122, 126; T. 15. Issue 1. Stb 155; T. 18. S. 134, 138; Priselkov M. D. Trinity Chronicle. M., 1950. S. 425, 433, 434; ). Short-term revival of the Zvenigorod department in the end. XVII century became one of the episodes of the proposed reorganization of the diocesan system of the Russian Church. 6 Nov In 1681, Archimandrite Nikon, a disciple of Patriarch Nikon, was consecrated Bishop of Zvenigorod. Nikita (Totemsky), rector of Kirillov Belozersky in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy. Our Lady of the Monastery. The bishop was supposed to live in Moscow, for his maintenance the estates of the Archbishops of Arkhangelsk (bishops who served at the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin) were allocated (RGADA. F. 210. Discharge order. Columns of the Moscow Table. Stb. 628. L. 3287). However, already in December. 1681 ep. Nikita was appointed to the Kolomna and Kashira departments.

Z.v. was established in 1921 on August 13. He was consecrated Bishop of Zvenigorod, vicar of the Moscow diocese. Nikolai (Dobronravov). In 1922, the bishop was arrested and exiled to the city of Ust-Sysolsk, Vologda province. (now Syktyvkar), in 1923, in the rank of archbishop, he was appointed to the Vladimir and Suzdal departments. In May 1927, Philip (Gumilevsky) was installed as Archbishop of Zvenigorod, governing the Moscow diocese, and from May 18 of the same year he was a member of the Temporary Patriarchal Priest. Synod under the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan. Sergius (Stragorodsky). Archbishop Philip lived in Moscow, where he was arrested on February 8 or 18. 1931

In 1934-1943. there was a renovationist century, headed by: “Archbishop” John (Ostrogozhsky; July 1934 - February 1935, was rector of the Spassky Cathedral in Moscow), “Bishop” Sergius (Larin; October 11, 1941 - May 5, 1943, from May 8, 1942 he served as chairman of the renovationist Moscow diocesan administration), “Archbishop” Andrei (Rastorguev; 1943).

Z.v. was revived in the beginning. 60s XX century, from that time the Zvenigorod bishops were employees of the Department for External Church Relations. Initially, the Zvenigorod bishops served as representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate at the World Council of Churches in Geneva. This obedience was carried out by bishops Vladimir (Kotlyarov; December 30, 1962 - March 30, 1964), Vladimir (Sabodan; July 9, 1966 - November 28, 1968). In the 70-90s. XX century The Zvenigorod bishops were representatives of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' under the Patriarch of the Antiochian Church and the All East in Damascus and Beirut. During this period, the see was occupied by bishops: Anatoly (Kuznetsov; September 3, 1974 - November 16, 1979), Valentin (Mishchuk; November 16, 1979 - April 26, 1985), Nikolai (Shkrumko; July 21, 1985 - March 23, 1987), Nikandr (Kovalenko; Aug. 7, 1988 - Feb. 17, 1997; Dec. 25, 1995, Bishop Nikandr was relieved of his duties as the representative of the Patriarch of Moscow to the Patriarch of Antioch). Afterwards Z.v. was not replaced.

Source: Naming and consecration of Archimandrite. Vladimir (Kotlyarov) as bishop. Zvenigorodsky // ZhMP. 1963. No. 2. P. 18-20; Naming and consecration of Archimandrite. Vladimir (Sabodan) as bishop. Zvenigorodsky, vicar of the Moscow diocese // Ibid. 1966. No. 9. P. 3-10; Naming and consecration of Archimandrite. Nicholas (Shkrumko) as bishop. Zvenigorodsky // Ibid. 1985. No. 10. P. 9-11; Naming and consecration of Archimandrite. Nikandra (Kovalenko) as bishop. Zvenigorodsky // Ibid. 1989. No. 2. P. 9-11.

A. V. Mashtafarov

— On February 21, the first meeting of the working group of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in Italy within the framework of the Russian-Italian Forum-Dialogue through civil societies at the Danilovskaya Hotel in Moscow, and was dedicated to the topic “Spiritual and secular art as a tool for strengthening harmony and mutual understanding between peoples.” How important was the meeting between representatives of the two Christian denominations within the framework of the Dialogue Forum through civil societies? What kind of cultural projects in present moment are they being discussed and are there any proposals at the level of civil initiatives that deserve attention?

Andrey

The meeting you are talking about was the first event of this kind within the framework of dialogue between civil societies in Russia and Italy. For this reason alone we can say with confidence that it was important. I was present at the mentioned meeting, and, moreover, as a person directly related to Italy, I personally knew those members of the group who represented Roman Catholic Church. We have a fairly long-standing connection with many of them. good relations. First of all, I can mention Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco. Heading the diocese in Genoa, he at one time provided significant support to the Moscow Patriarchate in organizing a full-fledged parish there and provided the use of a beautiful church in the very center of the city. He also heads the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Italy, with which the Administration of the parishes of the Russian Church in Italy has very close cooperation. Therefore, I gladly welcomed him to Moscow and had the opportunity to discuss many issues of mutual interest. I will not talk about this in too much detail; on the part of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Department for External Church Relations is dealing with the topic of dialogue with Catholics, but I still wanted to emphasize that cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church is now taking place in many areas - in those in which our common mutual witness is required. Of course, we are not talking about doctrinal issues here - our Churches have certain differences in them. But there are also topics on which Orthodox and Catholics can speak the same language. For example, today we are spending together large number cultural events: we organize festivals, exhibitions and much more. Not long ago, a wonderful exhibition of works of art from the collection of the Vatican Museums took place in Moscow. Last December, a joint concert of the Moscow Synodal Choir and the Papal Sistine Chapel Choir took place in Rome. There are many such events, and their main task is one - to show the world the beauty of Christian cultural tradition. In modern conditions Western Europe Where it is often no longer accepted today to speak out loud about Christ and the Gospel, witness to Christianity and the value of Gospel ideals seems very important. I think that in this area our two Churches can and should do a lot together.

— In connection with the recognized fact of persecution of Christians in the Middle East and due to the fact that geographically Italy is located on the route of the flow of migrants from the countries of the Middle East to Europe, were there any cases when Christian migrants finding themselves in Italy turned to parishes for help? Russian Orthodox Church?

Andrey

You are right, Italy is located in the path of a flow of migrants who, fleeing a humanitarian catastrophe in their homeland, come to Europe in search of protection. Boats carrying refugees arrive almost daily on the Italian island of Lampedusa. Italy is trying to accept them and provide the necessary conditions so that they can integrate into local society. Italy often serves only as a transit country for refugees on their way to other European states. Of course, all these people need help, and speaking about Italy, I note that such help is provided primarily by the Catholic Church. There are various Catholic charities that provide migrants with shelter, food, clothing, the opportunity to learn Italian, and obtain the documents necessary for legal stay in the country. Sometimes refugees turn to us, to the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Italy, and we, for our part, try to help with what we can - food, accommodation, etc. But it is worth noting that for the most part people who come to us for help are not from the Middle East, but from fraternal Ukraine. There are very, very many such people in need in our parishes. Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, thousands of refugees have arrived in Italy hoping to escape the fighting in the east of the country. We help them not only on the spot, but also organize regular shipments of funds, food, and essential items to the regions affected by the confrontation. To orphanages, to nursing homes, to parishes and monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

— Under the Office of the Moscow Patriarchate for Foreign Institutions it operates Pilgrimage Service. What are the most popular routes for Russian pilgrims today? Service development plans?

Andrey

The most popular destination was, is and, I think, will always be the Holy Land. The vast majority of pilgrims who contact our pilgrimage service want to visit places sacred to every Christian, associated with earthly life Savior Holy Mother of God and the apostles. The Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem is one of our foreign institutions; over the years, a clear system for organizing pilgrimage trips has developed. When necessary, we also send our pilgrims to other countries. First of all, this is Greece and Cyprus. Plans to develop pilgrimage trips to the countries of the Christian West. For example, in Italy alone there are a huge number of shrines from the times of the undivided Church.

- Lord! You are the youngest member of the Supreme Church Council. Both by age and by consecration. Please tell us about your impressions of participating in the work of this body church administration. How important is his work?

Ivan

Indeed, by virtue of my position, I am a member of the All-Russian Central Council and have been taking part in its work for a year and a half now. Based on my small experience, I can testify that this is a very important tool of church governance. Before certain issues are presented for consideration and approval by the Holy Synod, they are often discussed at the All-Russian Central Council. At each meeting, we work with documents of general church significance and discuss a variety of initiatives and projects. The agenda is very diverse. I think, first of all, one of the main advantages of the All-Russian Central Council is that the work there takes place in an amazingly interesting collegial spirit, when all of us, the leaders of the Synodal institutions, have the opportunity to directly exchange opinions with each other and personally with His Holiness the Patriarch. Myself His Holiness Patriarch actively participates in all discussions. And very often, it is in the mode of such a lively discussion that decisions are born, which are then implemented at various levels church life. The work is extremely intense, sometimes meetings last until the evening. At the same time, believe me, there is not a single topic that was, as they say, brought down from above. Every time we talk about very real tasks facing the Church.

— Is it permissible to display Catholic icons in an Orthodox church, on the grounds that the icon was consecrated at the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem?

Anthony

The question is not entirely clear. What is meant by “Catholic icon”? If we are talking, say, about the traditions of sacred images, then, of course, such traditions can be very different. There are icons in a strict “canonical style,” but there are also those that were painted under the influence of later trends in church art. My student years took place in St. Petersburg. The appearance and interior decoration of the churches of this city are under noticeable Western influence - which, by the way, some call “Catholic”. If the author of the question argues in this vein and talks about an icon that was not painted in strict traditions Orthodox canons, but is influenced by Western European art, but at the same time the icon contains an image of the Savior, the Mother of God or an Orthodox saint - then I don’t see anything wrong with that. But if by “Catholic icon” we mean an icon depicting a saint who is glorified exclusively Catholic Church, or in the iconographic image alien Orthodox teaching details, then it would indeed be inappropriate to place it in an Orthodox church. Even if it is consecrated at the Holy Sepulcher.

— Vladyka Anthony, how actively are citizens of other countries converting to Orthodoxy and do Orthodox parishes use new mission methods in their service? social work, sermons among young people? Thank you.

Roman Lunkin

The answer to this question depends on the specific country. The Russian Church today is present in more than 60 countries abroad, and the situation in many countries is very different. Let me give you Italy as an example. The main task that we set for ourselves when opening the parishes, united today into the Administration of the MP parishes in Italy, is to care, first of all, for our flock living on the territory of the Italian state. There are now 67 parishes in Italy; the second largest diocese of the MP abroad is located in the Apennines. Among our flock there are Russians, Ukrainians, Moldovans, and representatives of other nationalities. There are, of course, Italians, but they are few. These are mainly those who married our parishioners. By coming to church with their spouses, and sometimes inspired by their personal example, husbands sometimes accept Orthodoxy and become our parishioners. There are Italians who themselves came to Orthodox faith- through reading books, meeting wonderful shepherds, and so on. But we do not conduct a targeted mission among the local population.

In other countries the situation may be completely different. Let's say, in Southeast Asia, which today, from the point of view of the presence of our Church, is one of the most dynamically developing regions. The local population, for example, in Thailand, shows great interest in Orthodoxy. For our part, we are doing everything possible to make it easier for Thais to get to the temple. Translation into national languages liturgical texts, we publish catechetical literature. Our priests and parishioners play the most active role in this process.

Carrying out a mission is a very difficult task. First of all, because the mission must be responsible. In other words, if we set out to preach the Gospel, then we must be aware of our responsibility before God and before people for what we do. The history of our Church teaches us this - in the past centuries, wonderful preachers worked in the field of evangelism, who left everything, went to one country or another, remained there with their flock, sometimes in not the most simple conditions, and themselves inextricably identified with those among whom they preached. Probably the most striking example of this is St. Nicholas of Japan. But not every preacher can be ready for this! You know, it's not so difficult these days to take advantage of a vacation, go to some exotic country and baptize several local residents. And then what? Return home, leaving these people to fend for themselves, and guide their spiritual lives from a distance? This approach, in my opinion, is not acceptable. I constantly tell our priests about this - if you take up preaching, you need to be prepared to devote all your strength, your whole life to this matter. What can we offer new converts other than Baptism? Will we be able to provide them with the opportunity to constantly participate in the Sacraments? Can we instruct them in the faith in a language they understand? Who will do this and how? Without answers to these questions, the work of the mission will not be able to bear the fruit it deserves.

“Catholics often come to our church and even pray with us at services; sometimes they even light candles.” And we are glad to see them, but, of course, they do not participate in the sacraments (which is a pity). It's because Catholic churches in Moscow there are few and services there are not every day, but we have a monastery, every day we have open services and services are held. Do Catholics come to Orthodox churches in Italy? If so, what attracts them there and how are Catholics treated in Orthodox churches in Italy?

Natalia

Catholics often come to our churches. For example, Catholics literally come to the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine in Rome, where I served for five years. And local residents, and tourists, and even high-ranking Catholic hierarchs. This, of course, is primarily due to the fact that our temple, located a few minutes’ walk from the Vatican, stands out very much from the surrounding landscape Eternal City. It was built according to Russian traditions church architecture, with a bell tower and a golden dome, which can be seen from afar. Therefore, people passing by, who may not have initially set out to visit the temple, involuntarily stop and eventually come to us. And we are happy about it! None of our parishes in Italy strives to become a kind of ghetto, where entry is prohibited to outsiders. Our churches abroad are open to all people who would like to come into contact with our culture and our spiritual tradition. Therefore, in many temples, incl. in a church in Rome, there is a priest or employee on duty every day who talks about the Church, about icons, about worship. I personally am very pleased to hear later, and this happens quite often, that people who visited our churches were impressed by the magnificent worship, the singing of the choir and communication with the priest.

- Your Eminence, bless! Tell us how a particular clergyman becomes a candidate for service in foreign institutions?

Sergius

Let's start with the fact that there is a list of vacancies in the Office of Overseas Establishments. There are parishes where we must send clergy as a matter of priority - either due to the need to replace one priest with another due to the end of a business trip, or because the parish has just opened and the believers feel the need to regularly perform divine services. Further, we are often approached by clergy who themselves feel called to work and serve abroad. In addition, the Moscow Patriarchate Office for Foreign Institutions itself simultaneously searches for candidates, asking diocesan bishops if they have clergy in mind who meet the requirements for serving abroad. Serving abroad is not an easy task. The candidate is required to have certain skills and abilities, and knowledge of foreign languages ​​is not the only condition. Not every priest will be able to minister in a tropical climate or from 10,000 km away. from their native places.

I personally meet and talk with all candidates. If the priest appears suitable, his personal file is sent to His Holiness the Patriarch and the members of the Holy Synod. The Synod then decides on the possibility or impossibility of sending this cleric to serve abroad.

- IN lately The saying about “priests in Mercedes” is quite widely known. To a large extent, the clergy actually live much richer than the general population. Especially wealthy urban clergy, and even more so in big cities. This spoils the face of the Church. For the sake of all piety, why not transfer the clergy to domestic cars? They are no worse and certainly cheaper. This can “kill two birds with one stone”: both support the domestic auto industry and increase the authority of the Church.

Peter

Thanks for the question. It has been raised several times before; I would not like to repeat what other clergy have already said more than once in this regard. I will only say one thing - my ministry takes place in communication with clergy of foreign parishes, and among them you will not see those who could be classified in the category of “rich clergy” you designated. In general, the standard of living of the absolute majority of our compatriots abroad is not at all high. There are, of course, rich people, but for the most part the parishioners of our churches belong to a completely different category. These are those who come abroad to work in the hope of feeding their families. The work is often hard and poorly paid. You have to send almost all your earnings to your family back home. The ability to support the temple and the clergy in this case is extremely limited. Many of our priests work in secular jobs - after all, most have families, and the price of the consumer basket in Europe is much higher than in Russia. But I still admit about cars: abroad, almost all the cars available to the clergy are foreign cars. In Italy it is much cheaper to buy a used Fiat than to import a Volga from Russia.

— I got married at 17 years old, we lived for 3 months and left on my own, I’m 45 years old. I have been living with a man for 5-6 years. Can I get married? There are no children from either the first or the second husband. My soul is restless. I now began to write about my first husband’s health in church. Maybe it will be a little easier.

Marina

In the Orthodox Church there is a rule that was recorded at the dawn Christian history that in cases of extreme necessity, due to weakness, the Church can bless a person for the conclusion of a second and even third (and last) church marriage. Therefore, if a person does not succeed the first time family life, anything can happen, then you can turn to the ruling bishop for a blessing for a new church marriage.

The head of the Moscow Patriarchate Office for Foreign Institutions, Bishop Anthony of Zvenigorod, answered questions from visitors to the INFO website.

On February 21, the first meeting of the working group of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in Italy took place within the framework of the Russian-Italian Forum-Dialogue through civil societies at the Danilovskaya Hotel in Moscow, and was devoted to the topic “Spiritual and secular art as a tool for strengthening harmony and mutual understanding between peoples." How important was the meeting of representatives of two Christian denominations within the framework of the Dialogue Forum through civil societies? What specific projects in the field of culture are currently being discussed and are there any proposals at the level of civil initiatives that deserve attention?

Andrey

The meeting you are talking about was the first event of this kind within the framework of dialogue between civil societies in Russia and Italy. For this reason alone we can say with confidence that it was important. I was present at the mentioned meeting, and, moreover, as a person directly related to Italy, I personally knew those members of the group who represented the Roman Catholic Church. We have quite long-standing and good relations with many of them. First of all, I can mention Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco. Heading the diocese in Genoa, he at one time provided significant support to the Moscow Patriarchate in organizing a full-fledged parish there and provided the use of a beautiful church in the very center of the city. He also heads the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Italy, with which the Administration of the parishes of the Russian Church in Italy has very close cooperation. Therefore, I gladly welcomed him to Moscow and had the opportunity to discuss many issues of mutual interest. I will not talk about this in too much detail; on the part of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Department for External Church Relations is dealing with the topic of dialogue with Catholics, but I still wanted to emphasize that cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church is now taking place in many areas - in those in which our common mutual witness is required. Of course, we are not talking about doctrinal issues here - our Churches have certain differences in them. But there are also topics on which Orthodox and Catholics can speak the same language. For example, today we hold a large number of cultural events together: we organize festivals, exhibitions and much more. Not long ago a wonderful exhibition of works of art from the collection of the Vatican Museums took place in Moscow. Last December, a joint concert of the Moscow Synodal Choir and the Papal Sistine Chapel Choir took place in Rome. There are many such events, and their main task is one - to show the world the beauty of the Christian cultural tradition. In the conditions of modern Western Europe, where it is often no longer accepted today to speak out loud about Christ and the Gospel, witness to Christianity and the value of Gospel ideals seems very important. I think that in this area our two Churches can and should do a lot together.

In connection with the recognized fact of persecution of Christians in the Middle East and due to the fact that geographically Italy is located on the route of the flow of migrants from the countries of the Middle East to Europe, were there any cases when Christian migrants finding themselves in Italy turned to Russian parishes for help? Orthodox Church?

Andrey

You are right, Italy is located in the path of a flow of migrants who, fleeing a humanitarian catastrophe in their homeland, come to Europe in search of protection. Boats carrying refugees arrive almost daily on the Italian island of Lampedusa. Italy is trying to accept them and provide the necessary conditions so that they can integrate into local society. Italy often serves only as a transit country for refugees on their way to other European countries. Of course, all these people need help, and speaking about Italy, I note that such help is provided primarily by the Catholic Church. There are various Catholic charities that provide migrants with shelter, food, clothing, the opportunity to learn Italian, and obtain the documents necessary for legal stay in the country. Sometimes refugees turn to us, to the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Italy, and we, for our part, try to help with what we can - food, accommodation, etc. But it is worth noting that for the most part people who come to us for help are not from the Middle East, but from fraternal Ukraine. There are very, very many such people in need in our parishes. Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, thousands of refugees have arrived in Italy hoping to escape the fighting in the east of the country. We help them not only on the spot, but also organize regular shipments of funds, food, and essential items to the regions affected by the confrontation. To orphanages, to nursing homes, to parishes and monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The Pilgrimage Service operates under the Office of the Moscow Patriarchate for Foreign Institutions. What are the most popular routes for Russian pilgrims today? Service development plans?

Andrey

The most popular destination was, is and, I think, will always be the Holy Land. The vast majority of pilgrims who contact our pilgrimage service want to visit places sacred to every Christian, associated with the earthly life of the Savior, the Most Holy Theotokos and the apostles. The Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem is one of our foreign institutions; over the years, a clear system for organizing pilgrimage trips has developed. When necessary, we also send our pilgrims to other countries. First of all, this is Greece and Cyprus. There are plans to develop pilgrimage trips to the countries of the Christian West. For example, in Italy alone there are a huge number of shrines from the times of the undivided Church.

Lord! You are the youngest member of the Supreme Church Council. Both by age and by consecration. Please tell us about your impressions of participating in the work of this church governing body. How important is his work?

Ivan

Indeed, by virtue of my position, I am a member of the All-Russian Central Council and have been taking part in its work for a year and a half now. Based on my small experience, I can testify that this is a very important tool of church governance. Before certain issues are presented for consideration and approval by the Holy Synod, they are often discussed at the All-Russian Central Council. At each meeting, we work with documents of general church significance and discuss a variety of initiatives and projects. The agenda is very diverse. I think, first of all, one of the main advantages of the All-Russian Central Council is that the work there takes place in an amazingly interesting collegial spirit, when all of us, the leaders of the Synodal institutions, have the opportunity to directly exchange opinions with each other and personally with His Holiness the Patriarch. His Holiness the Patriarch himself actively takes part in all discussions. And very often, it is in the mode of such a lively discussion that decisions are born, which are then implemented at various levels of church life. The work is extremely intense, sometimes meetings last until the evening. At the same time, believe me, there is not a single topic that was, as they say, brought down from above. Every time we talk about very real tasks facing the Church.

Is it permissible to display Catholic icons in an Orthodox church, on the grounds that the icon was consecrated at the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem?

Anthony

The question is not entirely clear. What is meant by “Catholic icon”? If we are talking, say, about the traditions of sacred images, then, of course, such traditions can be very different. There are icons in a strict “canonical style,” but there are also those that were painted under the influence of later trends in church art. My student years were spent in St. Petersburg. The appearance and interior decoration of the churches of this city are under noticeable Western influence - which, by the way, some call “Catholic”. If the author of the question argues in this vein and talks about an icon that is not painted in the strict traditions of Orthodox canons, but is influenced by Western European art, but at the same time the icon contains an image of the Savior, the Mother of God or an Orthodox saint, then I don’t see anything wrong with that. But if by “Catholic icon” we mean an icon depicting a saint who is glorified exclusively by the Catholic Church, or if details alien to Orthodox teaching are visible in the iconographic image, then it would indeed be inappropriate to place it in an Orthodox church. Even if it is consecrated at the Holy Sepulcher.

Bishop Anthony, how actively are citizens of other countries converting to Orthodoxy and do Orthodox parishes use new methods of mission, social work, and preaching among young people in their ministry? Thank you.

Roman Lunkin

The answer to this question depends on the specific country. The Russian Church today is present in more than 60 countries abroad, and the situation in many countries is very different. Let me give you Italy as an example. The main task that we set for ourselves when opening the parishes, united today into the Administration of the MP parishes in Italy, is to care, first of all, for our flock living on the territory of the Italian state. There are now 67 parishes in Italy; the second largest diocese of the MP abroad is located in the Apennines. Among our flock there are Russians, Ukrainians, Moldovans, and representatives of other nationalities. There are, of course, Italians, but they are few. These are mainly those who married our parishioners. By coming to church with their spouses, and sometimes inspired by their personal example, husbands sometimes accept Orthodoxy and become our parishioners. There are Italians who themselves came to the Orthodox faith - through reading books, meeting wonderful shepherds, and so on. But we do not conduct a targeted mission among the local population.

In other countries the situation may be completely different. Let's say, in Southeast Asia, which today, from the point of view of the presence of our Church, is one of the most dynamically developing regions. The local population, for example, in Thailand, shows great interest in Orthodoxy. For our part, we are doing everything possible to make it easier for Thais to get to the temple. We translate liturgical texts into national languages ​​and publish catechetical literature. Our priests and parishioners play the most active role in this process.

Carrying out a mission is a very difficult task. First of all, because the mission must be responsible. In other words, if we set out to preach the Gospel, then we must be aware of our responsibility before God and before people for what we do. The history of our Church teaches us this - in the past centuries, wonderful preachers worked in the field of evangelism, who left everything, went to one country or another, remained there with their flock, sometimes in difficult conditions, and inextricably identified themselves with those among who they preached. Probably the most striking example of this is St. Nicholas of Japan. But not every preacher can be ready for this! You know, it's not so difficult these days to take advantage of a vacation, go to some exotic country and baptize several local residents. And then what? Return home, leaving these people to fend for themselves, and guide their spiritual lives from a distance? This approach, in my opinion, is not acceptable. I constantly tell our priests about this - if you take up preaching, you need to be prepared to devote all your strength, your whole life to this matter. What can we offer new converts other than Baptism? Will we be able to provide them with the opportunity to constantly participate in the Sacraments? Can we instruct them in the faith in a language they understand? Who will do this and how? Without answers to these questions, the work of the mission will not be able to bear the fruit it deserves.

Catholics often come to our church and even pray with us at services; sometimes they even light candles. And we are glad to see them, but, of course, they do not participate in the sacraments (which is a pity). This is because there are few Catholic churches in Moscow and services are not held there every day, but we have a monastery, and services are open and held every day. Do Catholics come to Orthodox churches in Italy? If so, what attracts them there and how are Catholics treated in Orthodox churches in Italy?

Natalia

Catholics often come to our churches. For example, Catholics literally come to the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine in Rome, where I served for five years. And local residents, and tourists, and even high-ranking Catholic hierarchs. This, of course, is primarily due to the fact that our temple, located a few minutes’ walk from the Vatican, stands out very much from the surrounding landscape of the Eternal City. It was built according to the traditions of Russian church architecture, with a bell tower and a golden dome that can be seen from afar. Therefore, people passing by, who may not have initially set out to visit the temple, involuntarily stop and eventually come to us. And we are happy about it! None of our parishes in Italy strives to become a kind of ghetto, where entry is prohibited to outsiders. Our churches abroad are open to all people who would like to come into contact with our culture and our spiritual tradition. Therefore, in many temples, incl. in a church in Rome, there is a priest or employee on duty every day who talks about the Church, about icons, about worship. I personally am very pleased to hear later, and this happens quite often, that people who visited our churches were impressed by the magnificent worship, the singing of the choir and communication with the priest.

Your Eminence, bless! Tell us how a particular clergyman becomes a candidate for service in foreign institutions?

Sergius

Let's start with the fact that there is a list of vacancies in the Office of Overseas Establishments. There are parishes where we must send clergy as a matter of priority - either due to the need to replace one priest with another due to the end of a business trip, or because the parish has just opened and the believers feel the need to regularly perform divine services. Further, we are often approached by clergy who themselves feel called to work and serve abroad. In addition, the Moscow Patriarchate Office for Foreign Institutions itself simultaneously searches for candidates, asking diocesan bishops if they have clergy in mind who meet the requirements for serving abroad. Serving abroad is not an easy task. The candidate is required to have certain skills and abilities, and knowledge of foreign languages ​​is not the only condition. Not every priest will be able to minister in a tropical climate or from 10,000 km away. from their native places.

I personally meet and talk with all candidates. If the priest appears suitable, his personal file is sent to His Holiness the Patriarch and the members of the Holy Synod. The Synod then decides on the possibility or impossibility of sending this cleric to serve abroad.

Recently, the saying about “priests in Mercedes” has become quite widely known. To a large extent, the clergy actually live much richer than the general population. Especially the wealthy urban clergy, and even more so in big cities. This spoils the face of the Church. For the sake of all piety, why not transfer the clergy to domestic cars? They are no worse and certainly cheaper. This can “kill two birds with one stone”: both support the domestic auto industry and increase the authority of the Church.

Peter

Thanks for the question. It has been raised several times before; I would not like to repeat what other clergy have already said more than once in this regard. I will only say one thing - my ministry takes place in communication with clergy of foreign parishes, and among them you will not see those who could be classified in the category of “rich clergy” you designated. In general, the standard of living of the absolute majority of our compatriots abroad is not at all high. There are, of course, rich people, but for the most part the parishioners of our churches belong to a completely different category. These are those who come abroad to work in the hope of feeding their families. The work is often hard and poorly paid. You have to send almost all your earnings to your family back home. The ability to support the temple and the clergy in this case is extremely limited. Many of our priests work in secular jobs - after all, most have families, and the price of the consumer basket in Europe is much higher than in Russia. But I still admit about cars - abroad, almost all the cars at the disposal of the clergy are foreign cars. In Italy it is much cheaper to buy a used Fiat than to import a Volga from Russia.

I got married at 17 years old, we lived for 3 months and left on my own, I’m 45 years old. I have been living with a man for 5-6 years. Can I get married? There are no children from either the first or the second husband. My soul is restless. I now began to write about my first husband’s health in church. Maybe it will be a little easier.

Marina

In the Orthodox Church there is a rule that was recorded at the dawn of Christian history that in cases of extreme necessity, due to weakness, the Church can bless a person to enter into a second and even third (and last) church marriage. Therefore, if a person’s family life did not work out the first time, anything can happen, then you can turn to the ruling bishop for a blessing for a new church marriage.