In this Issue: 

Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Christodoulos on the Fields of Collaboration between the Two Churches

Javier Solana and Luzius Wildhaber reply to Archbishop Christodoulos Regarding the Imprisonment of the Archbishop John of Skopje

Bishop John of Skopje Remains in Prison as Appeal Fails

The Foundation Stone of the School at Tormented Beslan (Russia) Is Laid

The Shrine of Holy Cross in Moscow

Templeton Prize for Religion Writing Awarded to Tomas Gärtner in Dresden, Germany




Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Christodoulos on the Fields of Collaboration between the Two Churches

At the formal lunch hosted by the Holy Synod in honour of the Ecumenical Patriarch, after expressing his joy at the Patriarch’s visit, the Archbishop spoke of the relations between Church – State, emphasizing that these relations serve the Greek people, because they are close and fully respectful of the distinctive roles.

The Archbishop mentioned the Patriarch’s endeavours regarding the ecological problem, the surmounting of the problems afflicting the local Orthodox Churches, the preservation of the unity of the Churches and the resumption of the theological dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church. He emphasized that “The Church of Greece stands by you “in Your God-loved aspirations” with all its strength and its prayers and its actions.

In his reply, the Ecumenical Patriarch, after thanking His Beatitude for the honourary accompaniment during his stay in Northern Greece, noted that this lunch inaugurates a new period of close co-operation between the two Churches, as this is essential because it demands common decisions and mutual facing of current issues such as: State – Church relations, especially where the Orthodox population is the majority, the participation of the Orthodox Church in the World Council of Churches, in Theological Dialogue, which must continue in order that the Orthodox Church does not find itself isolated and is deprived of the possibility of promoting the truth which it professes, as well as the bio-ethical problems which must be faced with pan-Orthodox agreement, the activity of schismatics-old calendarists, as also the upliftment and organization of the clergy.

Present at the lunch which was hosted by the Holy Synod (21/9/2005), were the Minister and Deputy Minister of Education and Religions Marietta Yiannakou and George Kalos, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Panayiotis Skandalakis, the Patriarch’s entourage, members of the Holy Synod and Church officials.

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Javier Solana and Luzius Wildhaber reply to Archbishop Christodoulos Regarding the Imprisonment of the Archbishop John of Skopje

Archbishop Christodoulos has received correspondence of reply from officers of the European Union regarding the protest of the Holy Synod concerning the continued persecution and imprisonment of Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje Jovan (John) Ioannis of Achrid by FYROM.

In his letter, Javier Solana, secretary-general of the Council of the European Union/high representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and secretary general of the Western European Union, (5/9/2005) notes that “freedom of expression and religious freedom are principles which are close to the sentiment of the Church of Greece. They are also a central component of our evaluation for the attainment of membership which was submitted last year by FYROM. We are following closely the developments in the case of Archbishop Ioannis”.

In a corresponding letter the President of the Supreme Court of Human Rights Luzius Wildhaber (14/9/2005), replying to Archbishop Christodoulos, writes: “I thank you for your letter regarding the condition of Archbishop Ioannis of Achrida and deeply appreciate your concern for the right of whomever to exercise his religious duties freely in FYROM. According to article 34 of the European Treaty on human rights, the Archbishop of Achrida has the right to make an official petition to the Court. In this way the concern which is raised will be properly taken into consideration by the Court”.

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Bishop John of Skopje Remains in Prison as Appeal Fails

On 16 September FYROM Supreme Court acquitted Archbishop Jovan of Ohrid, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in FYROM, of two minor charges, but confirmed another two, thereby upholding the 18 month jail sentence which he began serving on 26 July.

"Senior political and religious leaders around the world asked the government to reconsider jailing a bishop for his religious beliefs," his colleague Bishop Marko (Kimev) of Dremvica and Bitola told to Western reporters on 19 September, "but the government of FYROM is deaf and blind - to its own detriment."

Bishop Marko complains of the isolation Archbishop Jovan has been held at the Idrizovo prison in Skopje. "They do not permit us to visit our shepherd - the police prevented us from visiting him on 28 August, the feast day of the Dormition of the Mother of God, when we wanted to bring him the sacraments. He is allowed no religious service in prison, and no visits are permitted except from his parents."

Among those appealing for Jovan's release were the heads of the Ecumenical and Russian Orthodox Patriarchates, the Orthodox Church of Greece and the Catholic European Bishop's Conference, as well as Serbia's prime minister Vojislav Kostunica.

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The Foundation Stone of the School at Tormented Beslan (Russia) Is Laid

The promise made by the Church of Greece one year ago, following the tragic events at the school, in Beslan of Oseta, Russia, where so many pupils and their teachers lost their lives in the bombs of human insanity, has become a reality. During the first ten days of October the “Kanideios” School foundation stone will be laid in the tormented town of Beslan, in memory of the martyred Greek teacher John Kanidis, donated by the “SOLIDARITY” Organization, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Development and Co-operation Service.

In statements made, the Deputy President of “Solidarity” Mr. Dimitris Fourlemadis emphasized: “In honouring the memory of the unjustly lost victims of the tragedy in Beslan, Greece continues to contribute material aid to the surviving pupils. Our proposal for the building of a school was immediately accepted by the authorities of Northern Oseta, and in this way, our country, through the “Solidarity” of the Church of Greece and the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gives evidence in the most essential way of its practical assistance to a suffering area with which we are united by historic and cultural bonds”.

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The Shrine of Holy Cross in Moscow

The shrine was brought in Moscow from the Greek Sagmato Monastery near Thebes, in Greece, on September 19, 2005, upon the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.

The city of Thebes has been known from antiquity. In the Middle Ages, it was a center of Orthodox monasticism. St. Luke the Evangelist is buried there. Emperor Alexius Comnenus ordered a monastery to be built at the height of 750 meters in a hill near Thebes and donated several shrines to it. The most important among them was a particle of the Holy Life-Giving Cross, which is believed to be the largest in the world.

The shrine was taken out from Greece 3 years ago and then it was brought to Crimea, Ukraine, and to the Kiev Monastery of the Caves.

The shrine was welcomed at the convent gates of Moscow by Archbishop Arseny of Istra, vicar of the Moscow Diocese, and has brought to the Convent of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Moscow. On September 25, Patriarch Alexy II has celebrated the Divine Liturgy before it.

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Templeton Prize for Religion Writing Awarded to Tomas Gärtner in Dresden, Germany

The John Templeton prize for the "European Religion Writer of the Year 2004" has been awarded to Dr Tomas Gärtner, a freelance journalist from Dresden, Germany. The award ceremony took place in the historical Dreikönigskirchen (Church of the Three Kings) of Dresden, 21 September.

The aim of the award is to honour journalists who write about religion in the secular press with accuracy, impartiality and with an ecumenical spirit. It is administered by the Conference of European Churches (CEC) on behalf of the prestigious "John Templeton Foundation".

Dr Gärtner's entry for the Templeton prize included three articles published by the daily newspaper "Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten" (DNN). "The articles he has submitted", said the judges, "tells his stories with objectivity, permitting readers to draw their own conclusions rather than imposing judgements upon them."

Thanking the Templeton Foundation and CEC, Dr Gärtner stated he tries "to tell people about the church, not only Christians, but especially those who are strangers to the church".

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