New Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos on Saturday called on the faithful to struggle for common targets, speaking during his enthronement ceremony in Athens.

A new Old Age Home has today been added to the many other institutes which have been built by the Patriarchate of Alexandria throughout Africa for missionary purposes

The new Old Age Home, which was inaugurated on 19th February 2008 by His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, is the result and fruition of another lot of donations which this time came from Cyprus , whom the Venerable Primate thanked warmly.' It is right that we thank the benefactors who contributed towards this Home. We thank the heroic island of Cyprus from our hearts. We especially thank the Holy Metropolis of Kition and the town of Larnaca ' said His Beaitude, remembering also to thank the Greeks of Australia who also assisted in the completion of this work.

This new Home in Madagascar which is added to the already existing clinic and Seminary which started operating two days ago, the offices and hostels of the missions and the Byzantine church, completes one of the biggest missionary orthodox centres on the entire African Continent, in the area of Alasora, under the ceaseless efforts and the pastoral and missionary care of the local Bishop, His Grace Nektarios. Alasora is one of the poorest areas of Madagascar, where the aged find support with great difficulty when they need it, given the very low income of the local citizens which in the best instance is not more than 100€ a month.Following the inauguration ceremonies His Beatitude had a private meeting with the 200 seminarians of the Seminary of the Diocese, listened to their problems and their visions, as future active members of staff of the pastoral and missionary work of the local church of Madagascar . He gave them his paternal advice and expressed his love for them, which the ancient Patriarchate extends to all its spiritual children.

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His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa celebrated his name day in Antananarivo on 17th February 2008, conducting the Divine Liturgy in a huge athletics stadium, in the presence of hundreds of the local population, high ranking Ministers and Ambassadors from many African countries.Despite the torrential downpours, there were citizens who traveled long distances to pay their respects to the Venerable Primate of the Orthodox Church of Africa.

“I came to celebrate my name day here in Madagascar , with my flock, my Orthodox brothers and sisters. And I thank you that today we have become one family”, said His Beatitude when thanking everyone for coming.Also, His Beatitude asked of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Marcel Ranjeva, to pass on his warmest greetings to His Excellency the President of the country, Mr. Marc Ravalomanana. “I want you to know that the Greek Orthodox Church will always be there for the people of Madagascar , to always do the best, with its schools, hospitals and anything else that it can offer the people of this African island”. During the Divine Liturgy concelebrated by His Grace Bishop Ignatios of Madagascar and all the priests of the island, the ordination of a local Deacon was also conducted as were the elevation to Oikonomos of two priests, by His Beatitude.His grace Bishop Ignatios then hosted an official lunch in honour of His Beatitude at a central Hotel in Antananarivo . In his address to those present, His Beatitude said:

“Following the spiritual table and the communion from the chalice of life, we are here at the table of God’s given food, which, according to the tradition of out Holy Church , is a continuation of the worship and the spiritual elation.We have come together here to enjoy all that His Grace Bishop Ignatios prepared for us, so that we may glorify “with one mouth and one heart” the true gift-giving God for His excellent gifts which He showers every day on Madagascar , where the people live in harmony, with no racial, religious, cultural or other distinctions.We confess whatever we endure, whatever wonders we notice, whatever we live through in these few days among you, the spiritual children of the Patriarchal Throne of St Mark, the Christians of the Church of M a d a g a s c a r , Greeks and natives. Your filial live and dedication to our ancient missionary Patriarchate and to your Patriarch, who has today received many blessings, celebrating his name day with all of you, the Priests, the Officials and the people, is great and sincere. We thank you from our hearts for all that you have given us, for the kind words, gifts, rich hospitality and this lunch.We wis h to assure you that even from our See, the Great City of Alexandria, where our sainted predecessor Patriarchs lived and worked, we care and pray for you, with you in mind and spirit, taking note of your efforts, your work, your anxieties as well as your hymns and gratitude to the Almighty Heavenly Father. paternally ask you to remain steadfast in the faith and unmoving in its traditions. And to pray that the Mission ary work in Africa , the continent of the future, will continue ceaselessly so that others may be led to the Truth.

Your Grace, my beloved brothers and sisters,

I greet you with much love and fervent gratitude and we raise our glass for the long life and progress of the Officials and the people of the island of Madagascar , the members of the local church, and for peace and prosperity for the whole world”.His Grace, in his reply, expressed his filial love, and the joy and gratitude of the local Chu rch for the presence of the Venerable Primate of the Throne of St mark, especially on this his name day.Present on this day were Ministers and Ambassadors of African Countries in Madagascar , the Apostolic Nuncio, the Consul General of Greece Mr Panayiotis Taloumis, the Chairman of the Hellenic Community of Madagascar Mr Christos Spiliopoulos, and other dignitaries.

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More than 1000 members of Melbourne's Serbian community have staged a small but passionate protest in the city tonight.

They chanted and waved banners in objection to Kosovo's declaration of independence and the Australian government's recognition of the breakaway state.Uniform and mounted police looked on as church and community leaders gave speeches in Federation Square.

The crowd then marched up Swanston Street and Bourke Streets to Parliament House, chanting "Kosovo is Serbia" and "Rudd is a wanker" while waving Serbian flags.Police ordered one protester to roll up an Australian flag that had a swastika sign drawn on the Union Jack and flares were let off near the corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Lane and again on the steps of Parliament House in Spring Street.Four mounted and about 20 uniform police accompanied the marchers but there were no violent incidents.

One of the protesters, Desa Bojanic, said she was there because "Kosovo is a part of Serbia and what they've created is an illegal state."

Asked what impact the secession had on Serbs living half a world away in Australia, Ms Bojanic said: "We can integrate but we can't assimilate. I have a son born here who is Australian but I have a brother back in Serbia.

"Can I choose between being a mother and a sister? Being Serbian or Australian? This is important to us."

The organiser of tonight's protest, Father Milan Milutinovic, the parish priest at St Stefan's Orthodox Church in Keysborough, said Serbs were shocked at the Rudd Government's quick recognition of the new state, when other countries had been more cautious.He said local Serbian anger at the decision remains strong.

"Kosovo has always been the heartland of Serbia - it's like taking Jerusalem away from the Jews."

Superintendent John Cooke said police were pleased the protest was peaceful and that community leaders had conferred with them beforehand.He was disappointed flares were set off but said that no action would be taken.

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“Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko during their meeting invited the patriarch to visit the country to celebrate the 1020th anniversary of Russia’s Baptism. His Holiness thanked him for the invitation,” Secretary of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archpriest Nikolay Balashov told Interfax-Religion on Friday.

“The exact time hasn’t been set and yet to be considered,” Fr. Nikolay said.

The celebrations to mark 2008 jubilee will be held in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, in Russia and Byelorussia.

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The session was convoked in view of the latest illegal selfdeclaration of independence by the so-called Albanian parliament in Pristina. Some great states which have enriched themselves with wordly powers have recognized this act by the parliament of Pristina and, as we have said before, they have cast shame on themselves as well as their historical path, minding only their bare interests.

Yet, our concern goes to our people, which is deeply and justifiedly embittered by this injustice and violence. We know from our ages long church experience that every violence ends up with the perpetrator's ruin, for, as the proverb says, every power is of time, and that of God is eternal.

Therefore, „be not afraid little flock"! „We stand upright"! We are no longer alone as we were in the times of the shameful and bloodly bomb attacks against us. We now have the support of great states such as brotherly Russia, friendly China and many other countires which do respect the norms of international law.

Uncountable times has the grace and the love of God for the Serbian people and all justice-loving people been confirmed. The latest events and the apostle Paul's words "God chastens those whom He loves'', reaffirm this. In this hardship God did show us His love, for by touching our hearts through this most recent suffering, he made the love of our people for Kosovo and Metohija and the Holy Kosovo oath flare.

It is especially touching to see this love in the eyes and on the faces of the young people, who are living this love and growing up into human matureness. These young people will, very quickly and together with us and with the help of all honorable individuals all over the world, bring about the return of the reign of justice Kosovo and Metohija and the restitution of what Serbia has been stripped of.

Most imortant of all, however, is the fact that we firmly believe that the our Lord Jesus Christ is with us, - may we only be with Him, too, for otherwise we won't be able to endure the humiliations, whipping, slapping and carrying the cross. We will resurrect and we will live in freedom and as free persons, for our God is alive and our soul will be alive, as well.

We thus wholeheartedly support His Rt Rev. Bishop of Ras and Prizren, Artemije, the church and the monastic clergy and the faithful Serbian people which endures on the path of Christ, remaining in their homes in Kosovo and Metohija, the pillar of our spiritual, cultural and national identity.

We pray to the Gracious Lord to grant us and the remaining non-albanian population additional strength to endure, to preserve peace and trust in a final victory which shall be slow but attainable.

We always have before us and in our hearts the invincible word of the true God: „ He who endures till the end, he shall find salvation".

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Moscow, February 21, Interfax – The Moscow Patriarchate proposes to revise the Orthodox skeptic attitude to fiction.

“It is a frequent conviction that activities not aimed at saving one’s soul are useless. Many pastors advocate this position. However, many Orthodox people including priests read fiction,” Yaroslavl Theological Seminary’s pro-rector Hieromonk Sergius (Mitko) said in the Contemporary Fiction and Youth round table in frames of the 12th World Russian People’s Council.

According to the priest, “Christianity and fiction are close to each other as both are directed to the future.”

“Christianity is directed to the seemingly fictional prospects. From this stand both Gospels and the more so Apocalypses sound like fiction. When we read contemporary fiction, it is perceived as a special genre, something like prophecy,” the priest stated.

The seminary’s pro-rector believes that “it’s possible to form a model of positive national future in frames of fiction” and it “will be perceived better than an ordinary national ideology .”

Moscow, February 20, Interfax - Chairman of the boards of trustees of the Russian National Glory Center and the Saint Andrew Foundation thinks that critics of teaching the basics of Orthodox culture at Russian schools make another "clumsy attempt to suppress the national self-identification of Russians."

"Our citizens should be brought up with regard to our national traditions and roots. Basics of Islam must be taught in regions with a predominantly Muslim population. This would be far better than the situation where people return from countries where they were taught an incorrect interpretation of Islam and then become mullahs in our cities," Yakunin said in an interview with the Izvestia daily published on Wednesday.

In all times, "it is primarily the Russian people who bear all problems of multiethnic Russia. Just by default: it is larger. There are more of us," Yakunin said.

"Most Russians died in wars and most Russians suffered repressions. We want to maintain our culture, our traditions and our faith - what is bad about this? This country was built by the effort of many generations of Russian Orthodox people. One should not be boasting, but Russians should demand to be shown no less respect to them than any other nationality living in Russia," Yakunin said.

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Moscow, February 21, Interfax - Metropolitan Laurus of East America and New York has urged to be more active in preaching Orthodoxy among young generation of Russian emigrants and do it in a comprehensible language.

"Russian church schools exist and flourish (abroad - IF), but we don't address people and young generation as often as we should," the metropolitan said in the Kremlin at an opening ceremony of the 12th World Russian People's Council.

'We should present them Orthodoxy in a comprehensible form. People coming to services don't understand much in them. It refers both to liturgical language and the course of a service," he noted.

According to Metropolitan Laurus, it is necessary to "explain everything": what is clerical robe, why a priest blesses in such a way, why he says such-and-such proclamations, "why certain things are performed during the divine service."

"From my personal experience I can say it works, people become interested. They ask more questions, read more and become more sensible in attending the Church," the hierarch of the Russian Church Outside of Russia said.

He considers assimilation, 'a threat of alienation from the Church", one of the basic youth problems abroad.

"Assimilation remains a great problem as we live in non-Orthodox and non-Christian environment, in a secular society, which serves up a different outlook and does it very seductively," the hierarch noted.

According to him, Orthodoxy and "Russianness" are preserved only at the Church. "It is experimentally proved: one can't keep the faith, the language, and the culture without the Church. If we meet a young man who considers himself Russian, it is most likely that he is a churchgoer and takes an active part in parochial life," Metropolitan Laurus said.

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On the evening of Monday, February 18, 2008 more than 400 Serbian Orthodox Christians from throughout the Chicago area attended a special prayer service (moleban) at Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral. The service, led by His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher, Fr. Darko Spasojevic, and Deacon Damjan Bozic was prayerful and moving and a loving display of brotherhood and solidarity for the suffering Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija.

The clergy was supported by a student choir of the St. Sava School of Theology, Libertyville, Illinois, who sang the responses beautifully. The Serbian Orthodox Christians in attendance wholeheartedly reject the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence by the Albanian Muslims and the United States' subsequent recognition.

Anna Pavichevich

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The Serbian Orthodox Church

Honourable Prime Minister:

We write to you on behalf of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the substantial, patriotic Serbian community in Australia to urge you and the Australian government, in the strongest possible terms, to reverse its decision of 19 February 2008 to extend diplomatic recognition of Kosovo’s unilateral secession from the Republic of Serbia.

Kosovo and Metohija is Serbia’s spiritual Jerusalem and the very cradle of the Serbian nation. Kosovo is and remains an integral province within the sovereign Republic of Serbia in accordance with The Charter of The United Nations, Security Council Resolution 1244, as well as all relevant international conventions on human rights, the rights of peoples and on the inviolability of internationally recognized borders. Therefore, the recognition of Kosovo as an independent entity violates every established norm of International Law concerned with state creation.

First, customary International Law, for very good reasons, holds that secession from a recognised state can only be granted if it has the consent of the host state, in this case Serbia. As the former Secretary-General of the United Nations Boutros Boutros-Ghali observed in 1992: “[I]f every ethnic, religious or linguistic group claimed statehood, there would be no limit to fragmentation, and peace, security and economic well-being for all would become ever more difficult to achieve”. (Boutros Boutros-Ghali, An Agenda for Peace, Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking and Peace-keeping, United Nations, New York, 1992, para. 17.) Second, the putative state of Kosovo fails to meet the essential criteria of statehood set out in the Montevideo Convention of 1933. In particular, Kosovo’s present situation of effectively being an international protectorate renders it incapable of satisfying the requirement that a state should be possessed of a government and capacity to enter relations with other states. Kosovo simply does not meet the threshold of independence required by International Law. Third, recognition of Kosovo violates the European Union’s Guidelines on Recognition in relation to states emerging from the former USSR and Yugoslavia issued in 1991. In particular, prospective states had to establish that they respected and guaranteed various international law norms relating to human rights and the rights of ethnic and national minorities. The situation of the remaining Serbian population in Kosovo, which is segregated behind barbed wire and protected only by the presence of international forces on the ground, is a horrific demonstration of the violation of these requirements in Kosovo.

Prime Minister, not quite three months ago, the Australian people elected you and your government with a mandate to provide new leadership for this country. In terms of Australia’s foreign policy, it was clear that this mandate meant that Australia would exercise its own independent policy and no longer be part of any ‘coalition of the willing’. Recognition of Kosovo betrays this trust placed in you and your government by the Australian people. That Australia’s traditional allies, such as the United States and Great Britain, have sought fit to extend recognition to Kosovo, is not reason enough for Australia to automatically fall into line. Instead, it is in Australia’s interest to follow the lead of its closest regional ally, New Zealand, and not recognise a state in circumstances where, to do so, would be to ignore fundamental norms of International Law.

As the war in Iraq has led to massive instability in the region and exacerbated the growth of terrorism, in like manner the precipitate recognition of Kosovo will lead to the same consequences in the Balkans. Australia should take note of the concerns and interests of states in the region, such as Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia that are most likely to suffer from the regional instability that will inevitably follow recognition, and that have, therefore determined not to recognise Kosovo.

For all of these reasons Prime Minister, we urge you and your government to revoke the decision to extend recognition to Kosovo, and further, to use Australia’s standing as a good international citizen that respects the Rule of Law to impress upon all interested parties that the only way to resolve the status of Kosovo is through equitable, constructive dialogue and peaceful negotiations.

Yours sincerely,

+IRINEJ Bishop of Australia and New Zealand The Serbian Orthodox Church

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Moscow, February 18, Interfax - Kosovan Albanians need to remember that you cannot build a peaceful and successful life at somebody else's expense, the Russian Orthodox Church said.

"Certainly, the Albanians who live in Kosovo like any other people, who at any moment in history can wish for the life of peace and dignity. But you cannot build such a life at the expense of others," deputy chief of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said, commenting on the unilateral declaration of Kosovan independence.

This event is a breach of the international law, "one of the most crucial principles of which is the inviolability of territorial integrity of the state," the priest said.

"This principle in the international legal system is not inferior to the idea of human rights, and an attempt to otherwise interpret international law is biased," Fr. Vsevolod said.

That the global community has failed to prevent this breach by ceding to forceful and political pressure "is the most serious blow to the very foundation of the legal system of international relations," he said.

Most non-Albanians have left Kosovo, and hundreds of churches, which are part of world cultural heritage, have been destroyed and vandalized, and "this was accompanied by outrageous nationalist propaganda," the priest said.

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II spoke of these instances on many occasions in public speeches and during meetings with high officials from various countries, Fr. Vsevolod said.

Hopefully, the remaining Serbs and other non-Albanians will not have to leave their homes and their spiritual and cultural legacy will not be disappear from the surface of the globe, the Church official said.

"I would like to hope that the Serb Orthodox Church which has an old spiritual center in this province will continue normal life in Kosovo, by developing its mission and service," Fr. Vsevolod said.

However, "previous events leave little hope for this," he added.

Nevertheless, all countries of the world today must do everything they can to make sure that people of various ethnicities can live a free and peaceful life in Kosovo and have an opportunity to fulfill their hopes and expectations and to choose for themselves a lifestyle both on a governmental level and on an ethnic community level.

"When one party to a conflict feels injustice and is suffering, the conflict cannot be deemed resolved, and this should be clear to all those who make decisions in Kosovo itself and in countries which are trying to take responsibility for the people who live there."

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Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ,

It is already Sunday in Kosovo, and the Muslims have most likely declared their independence from Serbia. What a shame that our nation, especially the previous administration, has been the chief catalyst in handing over the most sacred region of Serbia to Islamic extremists that have destroyed hundreds of Church and Monasteries in the last 9 years, and murdered thousands of Orthodox Christians.

Please read the Spirit-filled plea of Archmandrite Nektarios Serfes and join with him in prayer for our suffering brothers and sisters. I entreat the 900+ souls on my list throughout the world to send this to their respective lists as well; and entreat my Brother Priests to remember the Orthodox of Kosovo in their respective Holy Liturgies tomorrow. May the Holy Archangel Michael be their protector! +Fr. Demetrios

The concern all of us have to be aware of is after independence is declared in Kosovo/Metohija with or without the UN approval this is what shall happen thereafter….

1). The celebration of independence shall go for about two weeks!

2). Once these celebrations are over the people who believe in this independence then will start to go from home to home and tell the Serbian population ‘you owe us tax for you to live in this home and if you do not pay this tax then you must leave this property within twenty-four hours!’ This as well will be the same for the those who own farms and local business as a heavy tax will be imposed. If these tax’s are not paid then the property becomes the new Independent States land!

3). Thousands of individuals who are a part of this independence shall march towards our Serbian Orthodox Churches, and local monasteries and declare that their property no longer belongs to them but to the new Independent State. Monks, and nuns, including priest will be slaughtered if they do not approve or desire to leave their churches or monasteries. Orthodox monks and nuns, as well as priest will perish and be known missing! The media will pay no attention to these matters!

4). An increase of destruction of our Serbian Orthodox Churches and Holy Monasteries will rise and once one or two more churches and monasteries are destroyed and the Western media will pay no intention as well as the local police -then more churches and monasteries will perish week by week and month by month.

5). Local towns and cities with the Serbian population will be attacked and more citizens will seek to flee for their lives as no one shows interest or concern for the lives of these men, women, and children either by the peace-keeping troops who must themselves defend their own lives, however some peace-keeping troops will remain loyal!

6). Their will be an increase of Serbian missing men, women, and children!

7). Serbian citizens will perish on a daily basis, and the children will be in fear to come out of their homes or even go to school!

8). Dishonor and the lack of respect for the ideals of it’s culture or it’s religious heritage this will indeed be on the increase to seek to destroy the ideals and teachings of the Holy Orthodox Faith throughout the region!

9). The Holy Orthodox faith within the region of Kosovo/Metohija will decrease and the persecution of it’s loving Christian shall perish and we shall see more martyrdoms! Blood will be spilled everywhere!

10). Talk will be that the new Independent State will say that they somewhat desire to see the restoration of the local Serbian Orthodox Churches and Monasteries but only for tourist reasons and to attract others to visit their region. Lies about the destruction of more then 150 Serbian Orthodox Churches shall go unnoticed and it will be indicated that these churches and monasteries where all destroyed during the war in spite of the fact that 99% of these churches and monasteries where destroyed after the war was over!

11). An abundance of abandoned Serbian Orthodox Churches and monasteries will be on the increase!

12). Rumors of war will increase throughout the region, and throughout the world as the debate of this independence will be that it’s not acceptable!

13). The UN peace-keeping troops will leave the region or a decrease of these troops will take place and then the Independent State shall wait to then make their move to destroy or take over local towns, cities, and the Serbian Orthodox Churches, Monasteries and local cemeteries!

14). A humanitarian crisis!

15). Starvation and fear will be on the rise!

16). God weeps!

This independence is and always will be null!

Kosovo/Metohija, Serbia and always will be Serbia forever!

Pray and fast for all of Serbia, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray and pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray and pray!

May our Gracious God be Merciful!

Pray and fast for Serbia!

Peace to your souls!

Humbly in Christ our Lord,
+Very Reverend Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes
Who prays for you and with you!
Boise, Idaho
USA

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'Today's Ukrainian governmental authorities have a task: to gain 'autocephaly', separation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Moscow Patriarchate already in 2008 at all costs,' he said in an interview to the Russkiy Dom magazine.

Metropolitan Agafangel notes that earlier the Ukrainian state attempted to 'impose' a split with the Russian Church on canonical Church by establishing parallel 'schismatic pseudo-churches' while today the believers face 'an absolutely new, unprecedented in its scale and impudence, scenario when 'a canonical autocephaly' is imposed on the very Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

According to the metropolitan, local authorities were commanded to 'lobby autocephaly.'

'Bishops and clerics of the Moscow Patriarchate's Ukrainian Orthodox Church are under strongest pressure. Both glittering promises and threats, blackmails are used. In store is lynching of most active advocates of church unity among clergy and laymen. No effort is spared not to let function those public organizations that openly oppose the threat of a new schism,' the metropolitan said.

He further said that the canonical Church is forced to 'dialogue' with schismatics from the so-called 'Kiev Patriarchate' of 'Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.'
'In compliance with the holy canons there cannot be any 'unification' with the 'Kiev Patriarchate's Ukrainian Church' or 'Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.' The only possible thing for schismatics is to join the canonical Church. It's not the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that should meet the conditions set by schismatics and nationalistic politicos and break the holy God-willed unity with the Russian Orthodox Church. It's the scismatics who have to accept the teaching, the practice and the church organization of the Mother-Church,' Metropolitan Agafangel said.

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“I see nothing wrong with this. Thank God, that people have another opportunity to spend more time together, and give presents to their loved ones. Certainly, as long as we really mean love, and not fashion or stereotypic induced behavior patterns. The latter case is a shame,” said Fr. Andrey to Interfax-Religion Wednesday.
According to Fr. Andrey, St. Valentine’s Day as a holiday “may be good or bad, as well as New Year’s Day may also be good or bad.”

“For some, it means joy and a chance to manifest love, giving and generosity,” he noted.

Commenting the intention of some Orthodox young people to hold an Internet campaign on February 14 in protest at “pagan” and “commercial” nature of St. Valentine’s Day, Fr. Andrey said that organizers of such events were “driven by fear on the one hand, and by hypocrisy and a wish to make a name for themselves, on the other hand.”
“There is still a healthy trace in such protests - it is the zeal of their Orthodox tradition. However, it is well known, that such zeal unfortunately is not always moved by reason,” claims Fr. Andrey. At the same time, he agreed that the annual boom around St. Valentine’s Day had a commercial nature and was “certainly instigated by sales networks which raise a lot of money on that.”

“This boom refers to the modern tradition rather than to religious or popular worship of St. Valentine. From Christian and religious standpoint, this is not a holiday, because this day has no reference to any of St. Valentines known to us. For example, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of St. Martyr Triphon on February 14,” said Fr. Andrey.

In his turn, the Head of Communication Service of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Mikhail Prokopenko thinks that the setting of Saint Valentine’s Day and its symbols are “some kind of a flash mob (a large group of people who assemble at a certain time for a special purpose - IF) with a commercial touch,” which indicate that people “lack festive events which could really reach their souls and lives.”

“The most deplorable thing we have to observe during the days of total obsession with Valentine greetings is that great and enigmatic phenomena of human life, such as love and faith which inspired many generations of poets and artists are pushed into the Procrustean bed of spiritual “fast food,” said Fr. Mikhail to Interfax-Religion.

He reminded that today’s family crisis is the objective reality, and one of its reasons is the fact that “many people see no ideals of love and family life, the images on which to build their lives.”

“Real true love is inseparable from responsibility; it is not selfish or ambitious. According to Paul the Apostle, such love is not self-seeking; it needs no reasons to reveal itself. Reasons are needed to habitual users of surrogates who lost their ability to feel true love long ago,” claims Fr. Mikhail.

According to him, if a person in love “never thinks about responsibility, and never cares that love is a very serious affair, he should better not disturb his spirit with such emotions which have no vital prospects.”

“Torturing one’s spiritual world with infatuation is harmful,” claims Fr. Mikhail.

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So when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to travel to Georgia for Mikheil Saakashvili's inauguration to a controversial second term, it was taken as a sign that warmer ties might be on the way.

And when Lavrov's first meeting during the January trip was with Georgian Patriarch Ilia II -- rather than Saakashvili or members of the ascendant political opposition -- it was seen as a sign that the church might play a key role in persuading a traditionally devout nation to turn the other cheek with regard to their domineering northern neighbor.

Lavrov set aside the harsh rhetoric he has typically adopted during the past two years of open hostilities between Tbilisi and Moscow. Instead, he warmly assured Ilia of Russia's "sincere interest" in collaborating on contentious issues like Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The 75-year-old patriarch, a dignified figure with eyeglasses and a snowy white beard, responded in kind, urging a bilateral partnership and professing "deep respect" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he credited with "doing a lot" to improve relations between Tbilisi and Moscow.

Traditional Ties

Ilia's comments raised the bar significantly in a season when Georgian rhetoric on Russia has often sunk low. It also marked somewhat of a departure for the religious leader. Ilia, patriarch since 1977, has traditionally refrained from making open political statements, much less professing "deep respect" for a figure many Georgians see as an ill-intentioned adversary.

In a country where 80 percent of the population is Orthodox, a gesture of reconciliation from Ilia is not likely to go unnoticed. Indeed, at a time of bitter divisions between the two countries, their common religious heritage may prove a critical -- if not always welcome -- bond.

Kakhaber Kurtanidze, an Orthodox priest, says that it's the linguistic and cultural ties that bind -- and not any shared political ideologies.

"We continue to speak the same language. We have a good command of Russian, so Russian-language texts are easily accessible for us," he says. "Our rituals -- baptism, wakes -- are mostly Russian. The Greek and Romanian rituals are slightly different. So sympathy toward Russia is predominantly determined by the fact that we've shared the same cultural space for two centuries."

Ties between the Russian and Georgian Orthodox churches have not been without their troubles. After the Russian Empire annexed Georgia in the early 1800s, the Georgian church was subject to the authority of the Russian Holy Synod for more than a century.

Harassment by communist officials followed in the Soviet period. More recently, church officials in Georgia have complained that Russian clerics were practicing in churches in Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- a charge the Moscow Patriarchate has denied.

Still, the commonalities appear to outweigh the differences. In the spring of 2007, the Georgian Patriarchate took an early step toward playing the peacemaker amid rising tensions over Tbilisi's arrest of alleged Russian spies and Moscow's retaliatory move to impose economic sanctions, including a ban on air traffic.

The patriarchate succeeded in getting the flight ban lifted, and Ilia traveled out on one of the first Moscow-bound flights to meet with his Russian counterpart, Aleksy II, and attend the unveiling of a new volume of an Orthodox encyclopedia.

An Insular Church

Ties between the Russian and Georgian Orthodox churches have been aided, inadvertently, by the insular tendencies of the Georgian church.

In 1997, amid rising nationalism and concerns that ecumenism would destroy the integrity of the Georgian faith, clerics in Georgia withdrew their country from the World Council of Churches. (In the 1980s, Ilia II had served as one of the presidents of the body, the largest global grouping of Christian churches.) A subsequent visit by Pope John Paul II also alarmed many clerics, who instructed their congregations to stay away from the papal Mass.

According to religious scholar Beka Mindiashvili, the Georgian Orthodox Church was slowly isolating itself from not only other Christian denominations, but other Orthodox churches as well. The one exception, he says, was Russia, where the church is known for its conservative and exclusionary stance.

"For a long time, the Georgian Orthodox Church had fairly cold relations with the World Orthodox Patriarchate, which was very active on the ecumenical scene; and with the old patriarchates -- Antiochian, Alexandria, or others," Mindiashvili says. "At the same time, cordial and friendly relations were deepening with the Russian church."

That friendship, some say, only heightened the isolationist, anti-Western tendencies of the Georgian church -- a tendency that runs counter to the progressive leanings of Georgia's political leadership, and could ultimately be working to Russia's advantage.

Mindiashvili says such skepticism toward Western values can often be detected in church sermons.

"There is talk about all kinds of sexual sins, other kinds of moral degradation, the erosion of our traditions, and so on," he says. "And there is also talk that the West -- the European Union and the United States -- are preparing the way for the Antichrist, because they are denationalized, so to speak."

Church And State

Church representatives, however, reject the notion of an entrenched anti-Western bias. Patriarchate spokesperson Davit Sharashenidze says the church backs the government's Western course. Still, he says, individual clerics are free to endorse their own particular views.

"The church represents the whole spectrum of society," Sharashenidze says. "Some clerics like the Western lifestyle; others find some values characteristic of Western society to be unacceptable for them."

Others say there's no inherent contradiction in the church supporting the state's pro-Western aims even as it harbors its own isolationist tendencies. Religious scholar Levan Abashidze says the Georgian church rarely opposes government policies in public.

"The good relations between the church and the government is characteristic of Eastern churches," Abashidze says. "Since our government is openly pro-Western, the church can't afford to be openly anti-Western."

Nor can officials afford to overlook the importance of the church. Politicians and other officials make a point of attending religious services, and political rhetoric in Georgia is frequently imbued with religious and patriotic undertones.

Religious fervor became so fashionable ahead of the January presidential election, in fact, that the church urged all politicians -- from both the ruling side and the opposition -- to refrain from involving the church in their campaigns. Saakashvili, whose "Georgianness" has come under attack by populist opponents, has nonetheless sought to counter that image with frequent public appearances in church.

Will the church help Saakashvili find peace in relations with Russia? Some Georgians, weary of months of angry rhetoric, threats, and the deprivations of economic blockades, appear to welcome the idea of a detente -- especially one built on the basis of a common faith.

"Religion, in itself, may not be a decisive factor," says one Tbilisi man. “Because it so happens that we and the Russians are both Orthodox, of course we have much more in common. There can be no question about this."

"Of course, this is a plus. And I think it will be best if things normalize," a middle-aged woman adds. "Perhaps Russia is not going to be the same partner it was in the 20th century. But some normal, neighborly relations have to be restored. We are both Orthodox countries."

Source

His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia, Ilia II, celebrated his 30th jubilee of enthronement as Patriarch of Georgia. The solemn celebration took place at the Patriarchate Court in Tbilisi. On this occasion, numerous worshippers coming from all parts of Georgia visited the Patriarch and congratulated him for the jubilee, which is important not only for him personally, but for the entire Church of Georgia, as well.

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