Russians Criticize Missionaries

The Council of Bishops, the church's highest ruling body, said non-Orthodox churches recruited believers from traditionally Orthodox areas using "destructive missionary activity," the Interfax news agency quoted a church statement as saying.

The criticism of Catholic proselytizing was included in a resolution on Orthodox relations with other faiths. Orthodox leaders frequently have criticized other churches for their missionary work in Russia. 

The document said Catholic and other foreign missionaries recruit in Russia "with the use of material wealth." It didn't elaborate on the accusation. 

[The Russian Orthodox Church still protects its members from the "infectious heresies". 100+ years ago the sectarians (Old Believers, Molokans, Doukhobors, etc.) were the religious enemy. Today the American evangelic movements and cult-type groups are the bad guys.]

A Roman Catholic Church spokesman in Russia said Tuesday the church disagrees with the Orthodox contention and denies recruiting with promises of material well-being.

"It is not true that our attendance is increased at the expense of the Orthodox Church," the priest, known only as Father Bagdan, told The Associated Press.

"There are a few cases when people come to Catholicism from Orthodoxy, but it is very rare and you have to respect the decision of the individual person."

The resolution said the Russian Orthodox Church respects freedom of worship for foreign churches in Russia, but only among "those groups which traditionally belong to them." 

Russia has many religious minorities, including Catholics and other Christian faiths, but only a few are characterized as traditional under a 1997 Russian law on religious activity.  [The Molokans and Doukhobors have not been harrassed under the new law. Both groups have recieved  help to resettle from the Transcaucasus back to "Mother Russia".]

The Catholic church rejects the argument that ethnic Russians have a "traditional" religion. "If a person is not baptized, why should we consider his national background?" Bagdan asked.

The Vatican had no comment.

The resolution Tuesday called for forming ties between individual Orthodox and Catholic congregations, rather than among church leaders in Moscow and Rome, according to Interfax.

The two churches split in 1054 in the Great Schism. Current talks between Orthodox and Catholic officials have focused on resolving a dispute over churches in Western Ukraine that profess loyalty to the Pope but practice an Orthodox liturgy. That dispute dates to the 16th century.

The Council of Bishops opened Sunday in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral, and was to consider key church business for the new millennium throughout the week.

In a historic decision, the council Monday canonized Russia's last czar Nicholas II and six members of his family as martyrs for their death by a communist firing squad in 1918. [Besides the Tsar, 853 other Russians, mostly Orthodox priests and monks, were also canonized--given Saint status.]

By Andrew Kramer -- Associated Press Writer  -- Tuesday , August 15, 2000

© 2000 The Associated Press