| John Anthony McGuckin United States of America, Orthodoxy in the THOMAS FITZGERALD THE ALASKAN MISSION The Alaskan territory became part of the United States in 1867 when it was sold by Imperial Russia. The Orthodox Church had a significant presence in the territory dating from 1794. In that year, eight monks and two novices from the Church of Russia established the first mission in Alaska. Led by Archimandrite Joseph Bolotov, the missionaries departed St. Petersburg on December 25, 1793 and arrived on Kodiak Island on September 24, 1794. They had traveled about a third of the circumference of the earth. Discovered and explored by Russian explorers from 1741 onwards, the Alaskan coastland and the numerous islands between North America and Siberia were claimed by Imperial Russia. A colony had been established in 1784 on Kodiak and became the center of trade. While these early missionaries confronted numerous difficult challenges, their work in Alaska in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was remarkable. Spreading from its center on Kodiak to other populated regions, the Alaskan Mission was one of the largest and most significant missionary endeavors guided by the Church of Russia and supported by the imperial government. As a sign of its significance, the Church of Russia selected Fr. Joseph the head of the mission to serve as the first bishop in Alaska in 1796. After traveling to Siberia for his consecration, however, the new bishop died in a shipwreck before returning to Kodiak. Two missionaries during this period have attracted particular attention. With little formal education, the monk Herman (1760–1837) came to exemplify the best qualities of the early missionaries in Russian Alaska. As one of the first missionaries, Herman, who was not ordained, instructed the natives both about Christianity and about agricultural techniques. He staunchly defended the rights of the natives in the face of exploitation by many Russian merchants and traders. By 1812, Herman moved to Spruce Island, three miles from Kodiak, and established a chapel, an orphanage, and a hermitage. Not long after his death in 1837, the natives began to honor him as a saint. They collected stories about his service and recorded the miracles attributed to his intercession. His formal canonization took place in 1970. |
| Archbishop Feofan of Korea: We Continue the Work that Was Initiated Several Centuries Ago Source: DECR Photo: pravtuva.ru On February 26, 2019, at the session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, a decision was made to establish a diocese of Korea as part of the Patriarchal Exarchate of South-East Asia. Bishop Feofan of Kyzyl and Tyva was appointed its ruling hierarch. In an interview to Pravoslavie.ru portal Archbishop Feofan told about the history and present-day situation of Orthodoxy in Korea, as well as about the life of parishes in the newly-established diocese. – Your Eminence, at the session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, which took place on February 26, 2019, it was decided to establish a diocese of Korea of the Patriarchal Exarchate of South-East Asia. On April 4, you were appointed its ruling hierarch. What has prompted these decisions? How timely are they? – The Holy Synod has rightly decided that the Russian Orthodox Church is called today to resume its pastoral and missionary work in South-East Asia – the work that was initiated several centuries ago. The emergence of Orthodoxy in Korea is closely linked with the development of Russian-Korean relations in the 19th-20th centuries. In the second part of the 19the century, Koreans began resettling en mass in the Far East of imperial Russia. The missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church among the Koreans began in 1856 when St. Innocent (Venyaminov), Archbishop of Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands and the Aleutian Islands, began sending Orthodox preachers to the South-Ussuri Region with its inflow of Korean settlers. The Koreans embraced the Orthodox faith by whole settlements. Later many of them returned to Korea, thus forming the first flock of the Russian Ecclesial Mission in Korea established in 1897 and began functioning in the Korean peninsula in February 1900, and only the tragic events in the history of Russia and Korea prevented its normal function. I mean the 1917 Russian Revolution, which led to the formation of the Soviet state with its hostile policy toward the Church, and the division of Korea after World War II into North and South Koreas with a subsequent civil war waged in the period from 1950-1953. |
| Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Archbishop Nicholas (Kasatkin; 1836-1912), an outstanding missionary to Japan where he labored for over fifty years, was the founder of the Japanese Orthodox Church. Of the tens of thousands of Japanese converted to Orthodoxy thanks to his labors, a significant portion were former Buddhists, and amongst his assistants were former Buddhist monks (Bhikkhu), for example, Paul Savabe. The saint studied Buddhism during the first eight years of his time in Japan, when, in his words, he “strove with all diligence to study Japanese history, religion, and the spirit of the Japanese people.” St. Nicholas offered an integral study of Buddhism in his work, “Japan from the point of view of Christian mission,” published in 1869. This was the first description of Japanese Buddhism accessible to the Russian language reader. It was clear from this work that the author studied Buddhism quite seriously, but for understandable reasons, limited his sources to those in the Japanese language. If Archbishop Nilus, who acquainted himself with Buddhism using sources in the Buryat language, saw in it nothing more than just one more of the many forms of paganism, St. Nicholas gives this teaching a much higher evaluation. He determines Buddhism as “the best of the pagan religions—a herculean pillar of human effort compiled for itself a religion, guided by those obscure remains of God-revealed truths that had been preserved by the races after the Babylonian dispersion. Although he thoroughly studied it, St. Nicholas did not have an interest in Buddhism in and of itself and looked at it exclusively from the practical, missionary point of view. This view allowed him to notice what other scholars and polemicists paid no attention to in Buddhism. This included missionary methods of Buddhism. The saint notes the “flexibility of Buddhism and its ability to adapt to the customs of the country in which it appears.” As an illustration the author points to how, according to Buddhist belief, Buddha and the Bodhisattvas made an oath to “be born in various ignorant countries in order to bring them to salvation.” This allowed Buddhists to pronounce Amaterasu and other Japanese gods to be incarnations of Buddha and the Bodhisattvas, taken on by them in order to “prepare them to receive the true teachings of Buddhism… Thus, Buddhism called Japanese gods by their names, accepted them under these names and into their temples, and took root and flourished in Japan. |
| М.Р. Салахов Евфимий Александрович Малов и миссионерская деятельность «Братства святителя Гурия» во второй половине XIX в. Источник Евфимий Александрович Малов известен в истории как талантливый миссионер, ученый и церковный деятель. Он оставил после себя многочисленные дневники, печатные издания и переводы на тему противомусульманской полемики. В своих трудах Малов описывал развитие миссионерского дела, имперскую политику в Казанской губернии в прошлом и критиковал процессы, свидетелем и современником которых был. E.A. Malov is well-known as a talented missionary, scientist and church leader. He had left numerous diaries, publications and translations on the topic of anti-islamic dispute. In his papers Malov described the development of missionary work, imperial politics in Kazan province in the past. He criticised the processes he had witnessed and been a contemporary of. Besided, he can also be called a historian of missionary work. Значительные преобразования в России во второй половине XIX и начале ХХ в. отразились на всех аспектах жизни страны. Перемены коснулись экономических, культурных, идеологических и духовных сфер общества. Шло дальнейшее продолжение интеграции нерусских народов как в культурно-языковой, так и религиозной сфере. Развитая инфраструктура Русской православной церкви (РПЦ) активно использовалась государством для продвижения важных социальных и полицейско-охранительных проектов. Важным направлением взаимодействия государства и православной церкви становилась реализация политики по христианизации религиозных меньшинств. Казанская епархия на рубеже веков была многонациональной. Так, численность населения Казанской губернии в это время составляла более 1650 тыс., из них русских – около 700 тыс. чел. Все остальное население было «инородческим», и татары занимали здесь первое по численности место, т.е. 452 тыс. чел. (из них более 400 тыс. исповедовали ислам и лишь 40 тыс. считались принадлежащими к православной церкви) 1 . Большая часть «инородцев» (как старокрещеных, так и новокрещеных) не понимала самой сути православия, не знала русского языка и свое участие в церковной службе ограничивала лишь одной обрядовой стороной. Данные обстоятельства приводили к сознательным массовым переходам в ислам . Этому способствовали также изжившие себя старые административные методы борьбы с отступничеством, усилившаяся пропаганда исламистов, подъем национального самосознания и другие явления. Необходимо было искать иной выход из создавшегося положения. |
| Patriarch Daniel: Let Us Always Thank God Because We Live Permanently from His Mercy Source: Basilica.ro On his 13th enthronement anniversary, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel urged the faithful to always be thankfulness to God because ‘we live permanently from His help and mercy and feel His blessing.’ Work in communion The Patriarch confessed that in this period of patriarchal stewardship he felt ‘God’s blessing,’ especially through ‘the work in communion’: ‘what we accomplished together with the members of the Holy Synod, helped by the clergy and the believers, but also by the central and local state authorities for the profit of the Romanian people.’ ‘These years of ministry showed us that when we obey one another and together we obey to Christ the Lord, the result of these humble obediences is turned into visible and enduring works. Therefore, we found that the work of the Synod together was and remains the greatest blessing from God,’ His Beatitude said Sept. 30. In his speech at the Patriarchal Cathedral, the Patriarch of Romania presented the effects of the elevation to the rank of archdiocese in 2009 of several dioceses. “They have intensified the pastoral, missionary, building activity, so that any new step raised in life, as Nicolae Iorga said, is a new altar of sacrifice.” Romanians abroad He also spoke about the changes brought about by the establishment, during his patriarchal mandate, of new dioceses abroad. They pointed out that the Church must take care not only of the faithful who remain in the country, but also of those who live abroad. “Those who are spatially farther from us must feel more parental and fraternal love from the mother Church,” said the Patriarch, who explained that this role belongs to “hierarchs and clergy outside the country and in the Western diaspora.” Religious education The work carried out in theological schools and by professors of religious education he described as “a joy and a great blessing.” “Professors have always been eager to pass on the faith to the new generation, but at the same time to form characters, to teach children to value love for God, for their parents, teachers and professors, but also for their peers.” Pastoral challenges during coronavirus pandemic |
| Christian Response to Challenges of the Pandemic Discussed at Online-Conference Photo: mospat.ru A conference titled “Church and the Pandemic”, associated with the fifth anniversary of the Havana Meeting between Pope Francis and His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, took place online on February 12, 2021, reported the Department for External Church Relations (DECR). In his report , Metropolitan Hilarion, Chairman of the DECR of the Moscow Patriarchate, noted that the coronavirus pandemic has become a huge and unexpected trial for the entire world. “This global disaster has revealed quite a number of acute international and social imbalances. In order to correct them it is important, as never before, not only to do joint missionary work, but also to engage in joint actions”, he emphasized, “Today we are called to comprehend the challenges we are facing so that in the months to come we could join efforts to help work out adequate solutions of aggravating problems in order to be able to present ways to overcome these problems, which are shared by major Christian Churches.” The DECR chairman stated that the problems have affected both society and Christian Churches throughout the world. “The dramatic situation last spring and the strict restrictions imposed on any gathering of people demanded that a whole series of measures had to be taken by the Supreme Authority of the Russian Orthodox Church,” the metropolitan said. He also pointed out that the emergency situation promoted the accelerated mastering of appropriate technologies that had been used on a very small scale before the pandemic. “Certainly, the ‘virtual’ presence at a divine service in no way can replace the real participation in it, primarily, in the sacrament of the Eucharist”, the hierarch emphasized, “However, in those hard conditions, the spread of live streaming services was not only because of the pastoral need and concern for the common good, but also offered the Church certain missionary opportunities. By the example of my Moscow parish I can attest that during the pandemic tens of thousands of people participated in live steaming of worship services – much more than could be even accommodated in the church”. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Metropolitan Hilarion speaks at the opening of the conference on Ss Nicholas of Japan and Innocent of Moscow: Culture of the Peoples of Russia, Japan and America November 8, 2017 – An international academic reflection-action conference on Ss Nicholas of Japan and Innocent of Moscow: Culture of the Peoples of Russia, Japan and America, took place at the Russian embassy in Tokyo. It was held on the occasion of the 220 th birthday of St. Innocent (Veniaminov), Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, Apostle of Siberia and America, spiritual father of St. Nicholas of Japan, Equal-to-the-Apostles. It was organized by the Russian Ministry of Culture as part of the Russian Seasons project, with the support of the Department for External Church Relation (DECR) of the Moscow Patriarchate and the assistance of the Russian diplomatic mission in Japan and the Tokyo representation Rossotrudnichestvo – the federal agency for the affairs of the Commonwealth of the Independent States and compatriots residing abroad and for internal cooperation. The conference was addressed by Russian ambassador to Japan, Ye. Afanasyev, who pointed to the significance of the church academic forum as clearly stressing the spiritual foundations of the Russian-Japanese relations. Metropolitan Hilarion opened the work of the conference with his paper on St. Nicholas Equal-to-the-Apostle and St. Innocent of Moscow – Saints Who Bind Nations. He said in particular, ‘The present meeting gives us an opportunity to address the spiritual sources of ties between Russia, Japan and America – the Pacific countries – the ties based on the Orthodox faith which was brought to this part of the world by Russian missionaries. Our meeting takes place in the year marking the 220 th birthday of a faithful son of the Russian Orthodox Church and outstanding missionary named as the apostle of Siberia and America for his missionary work – St. Innocent of Moscow. It was St. Innocent who, with already 40 years of apostolic service behand him, managed to show to still young, 24 year-old Hieromonk Nicholas (Kasatkin) in which direction his efforts should be exerted, on what he should focus his work so that his chosen service of the Japanese people might produce positive results. |
| Growing Orthodox Presence in Timor-Leste Photo by Irene Archos Timor Leste, is a small country of 1.2 million occupying half the island of Timor. While Timor West is predominantly Muslim and has made headlines in recent years for the aggressive attacks on its Christian minority population, Timor Leste is predominantly Catholic. This is due to its history of colonization under the Portuguese. In fact, it has only recently gained independence from Portugal 1975 and even more recently 2002 from Indonesia, which still governs a large part of its borders. In the last couple of years, however, the Catholic population of Timor Leste has experienced a great awakening for Orthodoxy. Since 2017, thousands have converted to Russian Orthodoxy. Father Fotie, an ordained ROCOR priest from Jordanville who shepherds a tiny parish in upstate New York, has been instrumental in bringing many Timor Leste Catholics into the fold. He has thus far made two missionary attempts, each time chrismating a couple of hundred to the faith. This is unexpected in a country that has been historically 90% Catholic. Father Fotie attributes the conversions to the “might power of Grace in the Orthodox Church as the one true faith.” Father Kirill Shkarbul, a Russian Orthodox priest serving in Taiwan, began the Orthodox Mission in Timor Leste only three years ago. Over his several visits he was able to chrismate 160 faithful. It was he who invited Father Fotie to help with the effort. “ Our hope,” explains Father Fotie, “was that a sufficient nucleus could be gathered there to form the work into a mission under the Russian Orthodox Church.” Father Fotie’s most recent trip occurred in February of this year, just before the break of the COVID pandemic. The missionary work in Timor Leste had begun under the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion. This opportunity arose as a result of Father Kirill Shkarbul’s initial invitation to officiate for the Blessed Nativity service on January 7 th . From February 2019, Father Kirill visited Timor-Leste a total of four times with each visit lasting on average between 14 to 20 days. When he was not there, he sent four different lay missionaries to the island for follow-up work. |
| Saint Ninian of Whithorn, Apostle of the Southern Picts, Wonderworker Commemorated August 26/September 8 Dmitry Lapa Saint Ninian (Ninia), a Briton by origin, is one of the most venerated saints of Scotland. He is commemorated as “Apostle of the Southern Picts.” Although few details of the life and activities of St. Ninian are known, in addition to ancient traditions several early written pieces of evidence about the saint have survived. Our great authority, the Venerable Bede mentions St. Ninian in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731). In the ninth century, an anonymous author wrote an account of St. Ninian’s miracles. Ailred of Rievaulx in the twelfth century and the Irish archbishop James Usher of Armagh early in the seventeenth century wrote about St. Ninian as well. The future saint was most probably born in the second half of the fourth century—perhaps in about 360. He belonged to the so-called “Roman-British” tradition of early British Christianity. His native land was most likely Cumbria; at least it is nearly certain that he was born south of Hadrian’s Wall in today’s northern England. His father, according to some sources, was a local Christian ruler. While still very young, St. Ninian very clearly began to feel a calling to Christianize his native country. According to tradition, after the saint went to study in Rome, he then visited Gaul where at his monastery in Tours he met St. Martin—a great missionary and father of monasticism of Gaul. There is an opinion that St. Ninian was consecrated bishop either in Rome or Gaul (and, if the latter, the consecration was probably performed by St. Martin himself). Remains of St. Ninian " s Chapel on Whithorn. Inspired by St. Martin’s example, in about 394 St. Ninian returned to Scotland where he made the Whithorn peninsula in the present-day region of Dumfries and Galloway (south-western Scotland) the centre of his missionary activities. From here the hierarch successfully preached to the Southern Picts and converted many of them to Christ. He obviously preached to Irish settlers in Scotland as well and his work among them was fruitful. There is no doubt that St. Ninian established his see at Whithorn and also founded a church and a monastery dedicating it to St. Martin. Historians suppose that it was St. Martin who sent skilled masons from Gaul to help Ninian build the church at Whithorn. Whithorn derives its name from the main monastery church whose walls had been built of stone covered with lime plaster, which was a great rarity in Britain at that time. The very name “Whithorn” can be translated as “lime washed church”, or “white house”, and throughout the medieval period this splendid church together with the whole diocese was known as “Candida Casa” (“white house” in Latin). The church was built in a Roman fashion and according to the best standards of the time. |
| What’s Happening in the Ukraine Is a Tragedy for All: Interview with Metropolitan Nikoloz (Pachuashvili) of Akhalkalaki and Kumurdo. Source: Pravoslavie.ru Many people in the U.S. have met the remarkable Georgian hierarch, Metropolitan Nikoloz. He has made a number of charity visits to various U.S. cities, given talks and presentations of his own films, and in turn received pilgrims in his own Georgian diocese. His missionary work comes straight from the heart, as the many people who were baptized on his missionary trips can testify. Can a physicist believe in God, how should a modern cinematographer be, why does the Lord allow wars and persecutions against Christians, and what experience can Georgia share with Russia and the Ukraine are questions discussed in an interview by RIA Novosti with this multi-talented hierarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Nikoloz (Pachuashvili) of Akhalkalaki and Kumurdo. —The events in the Ukraine are provoking an active response in world society. The Church, caught in the conflict between two states, also has its own relationship to the tragedy. Even families are breaking apart by differing political views—people living in the Ukraine have broken communications with relatives in Russia… —I can call what is happening in the Ukraine by only one name: a fratricidal war. We also experienced and experience its weight—both on the level of an international conflict and political processes, and on the level of common, everyday manifestations. It still happens in our society that the members of a family have differing political convictions and therefore relate to each other with tension, mistrust—almost enmity. Unfortunately, this is a common human tragedy. But the greatest problem consists in the fact that people do not have enough faith. It would be correct to look at everything that is happening from the standpoint of our religious confession. I can say that the more a person understands the sources of his faith, the less aggressive he will be toward another person. In associating with Georgians, Russians, Abkhazis, or Ossetians I have always related to them as to Christians, even if they were not Christians. After all, regardless of their faith, if people find a religious motivation within themselves, if they will more often turn to their religious roots, a solution to the conflicts will most likely be found without the need for bloodshed. |
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