Episcopal Press and News
News Briefs
Episcopal News Service. February 13, 2002 [2002-041-1]
Russian Orthodox Church deplores Vatican decision to form dioceses
(ENS) An announcement by the Vatican on February 11 that it intended to form four dioceses in Russia has brought a strong reaction from the Russian Orthodox Church, further straining the relationship between the two churches.
A statement by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia said, "We see this step as unfriendly and undermining the prospects for better relations between the two churches." He said that the decision to establish a "church province" in Russia headed by a metropolitan "means in fact the establishment of a national Catholic Church in Russia having its center in Moscow and claiming the Russian people, who are the flock of the Russian Orthodox church culturally, spiritually and historically, as its flock."
The patriarch added, "The formation of such a church in Russia means in fact a challenge to Orthodoxy which has been rooted in the country for centuries. Nothing of this sort has ever happened in the history of our country." He pointed out that "in taking care of its faithful in Catholic countries, the Russian Orthodox Church has never tried to establish church institutions parallel to Catholic ones" or to "carry out missionary work among the local population. If the Catholic Church worked in Russia with the same tact and good will as we do in Catholic countries, then no difficulties would arise in our relations." He dismissed the Vatican's argument that it was merely restoring Catholic structures that existed in Russia before the 1917 Revolution.
"Such actions of the Roman Catholic Church, not conditioned by any real pastoral needs, expose the missionary purposes of the changes made," Alexy charged. The Orthodox are very sensitive to what they perceive as attempts to proselytize, especially on their "home turf." He cited it as "one of the basic obstacles for improving relations." The frosty relationship has led Alexy to block Pope John Paul II's interest in visiting Russia, even after President Vladimir Putin issued an invitation.
"The leadership of the Roman Catholic Church is now responsible before God and history for a sharp aggravation of our relations, for the frustration of the hope for their normalization that has just begun to shape," the patriarch concluded. "The Vatican's action has put in jeopardy the ability of the Catholic West and the Orthodox East to cooperate as two great civilizations for the benefit of Europe and the world."
Peace and Justice networks meet together for overview of their ministries
(ENS) Representatives of the Episcopal Church's peace and justice networks met at a conference center near San Francisco in early January to present overviews of their ministries and forge new partnerships. The meeting was convened by the Rev. Carmen Guerrero, Jubilee officer for the Episcopal Church.
"This gathering was in response to an Executive Council resolution that commended what used to be the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Committee for its contributions," said Marge Christie of the Diocese of Newark. "The council recommended occasional gatherings so that it could keep track of the trends, initiatives and ministries in church and society that reflect the church's commitment to issues of peace and justice." The council sent a "listening team" to the meeting, also attending by staff members of the Church Center.
Many participants urged better interaction among the peace and justice groups to increase the impact of the church's ministries. For example, they said, since the AIDS pandemic is escalating among ethnic minority youth and heterosexual women, the church's ministry with women and youth should be involved. While the church's resettlement of refugees is very successful, there was dismay over the inability to minister to asylum seekers being held in detention centers because there is neither funding nor a network to address the issue. "Participants also acknowledged the common thread of racism that runs through every justice," Christie added.
Participants expressed their appreciation to representatives from Executive Council and the Church Center for their support and there was general agreement that more networks should be represented at the next consultation, with an emphasis on seeking youth involvement.
Sudan's Supreme Court blocks execution of Christian woman
(ENS) Under intense pressure from the international community, Sudan's Supreme Court has overturned a sentence imposed under Islamic law on a Christian woman calling for her to be stoned to death for adultery.
Non-governmental agencies, including Human Rights Watch, called on Sudan's president and members of the government to save the life of Abok Alfa Akok. She is a Christian who is a member of the Dinka tribe and was sentenced by a court under Shari'ah law imposed by Islamic authorities in Sudan's South Darfur province. The law is being applied to all residents in the northern states, regardless of their religion. A Nigerian woman is appealing a similar sentence imposed by Islamic authorities in northern Nigeria after an international outcry.
Sudan has been enduring civil war between the northern Muslim government in Khartoum and rebels in the mainly Christian and animist south since independence in 1956.
Christians in northern Nigeria face growing hostility
(ENS) Christians in northern Nigeria, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, are facing increased hostility, including the possible demolition of churches and the dissolution of non-Islamic courts, according to a release from the Barnabas Fund, a British-based organization that monitors persecution of Christians around the world.
Local authorities in the state of Zamfara are reportedly threatening to demolish 14 churches to prevent the growth of Christianity and its governor has suggested that he might abolish magistrates courts, leaving on the Islamic courts to function.
Zamfara was the first of a dozen Nigerian states to introduce full Islamic Shari'ah law in January 2000, but the move was intended to affect only Muslims. Christians fear that Muslims now intend the law to apply to everyone.
Authorities in the states of Kano and Jigawa, also with Muslim majorities, deployed police and soldiers because of fear of reprisals against Christians in the wake of recent riots in Lagos in southern Nigeria. Revenge attacks are common against minority groups in the country. Christian Yorubas in Kano, for example, live in fear that last October's violence against them will be repeated. Over 200 were killed when Muslims demonstrated in support of Osama bin Laden, causing Yoruba Christians to flee for their lives.
Ecumenical solidarity and action promised in Israeli-Palestinian conflict
(WCC) As violence between Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East escalates, representatives of over 40 churches and church-related organizations met in Geneva February 1-2 to establish the scope and framework of an Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in the region.
The World Council of Churches program may engage in a number of tasks, including human rights monitoring, advocacy, support for non-violent resistance by local Palestinian and Israeli peace groups by "accompanying" them in their efforts.
Among the objectives for the program are exposing the violence of the Israeli occupation; ending brutality, humiliation and violence against civilians; building a stronger global advocacy network; attempting to influence public opinion on the international level and foreign policy in the Middle East to end the occupation and create a viable Palestinian state; and serving as active witnesses to the possibility of an alternative, non-violent struggle for peace and justice.
The meeting also looked at coordination, training, recruitment criteria and communication for those who will be accompanying the peace activists. It was not possible, however, to solve the immediate problem of funding to implement the program.
Chinese Christians play a role in the nation's social vision
(ENI) The "extraordinary expansion" of Christianity in China is not sufficiently appreciated in the West, according to Caroline Fielder, an Anglican who will serve as a specialist on the subject for churches that are members of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
There now an estimated 17 million Protestants and about six million Catholics in China, according to some estimates, although statistics are complicated because the number of Christians who attend churches not registered with the government is unknown. According to some experts, counting those Christians could increase the total by 50 percent.
Fielder, who speaks Mandarin Chinese and taught at a school in Jiangxi Province, said that she would visit the country at least twice a year because "it is changing incredibly fast" and she must keep current on church trends. "For the first time, the churches are being seen as part of the social vision for China," she said.
Overseas churches currently support many social projects in areas such as health, teaching and rural development through the Nanjing-based Amity Foundation, founded by the Chinese with strong links to the China Christian Council, the official agency for the Protestant churches.
Chinese authorities have launched occasional crackdowns on churches not willing to work with the government, according to observers. The situation has gotten worse since the 1980s when Christians played a role in the collapse of Communist regimes in eastern Europe, leading some Chinese authorities to speculate that Christians in China might present a similar challenge. "We don't do anything that's not transparent," said Edmond Tang, an advisor to the commission on mission for Churches Together. "We're not taking sides and we work to promote the reconciliation of the official and unofficial churches."