Grußbotschaft S. H. Patriarch Kyrill:
To His Eminence, the Very Most Reverend Hilarion
Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York
First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad
To the Eminent Archpastors, Members of the Council of Bishops
of the Russian Church Abroad
Beloved in the Lord Metropolitan Hilarion, Eminent Archpastors!
I sincere greet all of you, the hierarchs of the Russian Diaspora, who have gathered in Munich to convene a Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
It is significant that your gathering is held on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion, an event of great historic breadth, which put an end to the long division of the Russian nation incurred by the tragic troubles in our Fatherland 100 years ago.
I am overjoyed that many of you were able to participate in the great consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the Holy New Martyrs & Confessors of Russia in Sretensky Monastery, which took place on the feast day of the Ascension of the Lord. It was on this very feast in 2007 that, on the ambo of Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, His Holiness, Patriarch Alexey II of Moscow & All Russia, and His Eminence Laurus, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, inscribed their signatures on the historic Act, opening for us the possibility of praising and glorifying the most-holy name of God "with one mouth and one heart," and of partaking from one Chalice of Christ. Our joint services in this newly built church became our common grace-filled prayer to the Lord, Who by His omnipotent right hand led us to the desired unity. Today, a decade later, we bear witness to the good fruits of this unity, fully sensing ourselves members of a single ecclesiastical organism.
Expressing my gratitude to you for your selfless Orthodox witness, I call upon you to continue with the same fervor to "edify the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12).
To mark the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion, and in recognition of the your zealous labors in strengthening the spiritual unity we have recovered, I deem it worthy to bestow upon the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, the right to wear two panagias within the spiritual territory entrusted to him.
I invoke God’s blessings upon the efforts of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad.
+KYRILL
Patriarch of Moscow & All Russia
Dekret vom 13.6.:
BUCHENDORF: June 13, 2017
The Council of Bishops Issues a Decree on the Orthodox School in Bethany
On June 12, 2017, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, convening at St Elizabeth Convent in Buchendorf, Germany, heard a report by Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, on the state of affairs in the Holy Land. Among the matters discussed was the Orthodox Bethany School for Girls, which this year celebrates the 80th anniversary of its founding.
During that time, the school has overcome numerous hardships while succeeding in the following ways:
The continuation and development of Russian charitable and educational work in the Holy Land;
The strengthening of friendship between the Russian and Palestinian peoples;
The creation of a positive atmosphere among Palestinian Muslims and Russian and other Orthodox Christians;
Teaching Arab Orthodox children about their faith and exposing them to Russian culture;
Elevating the educational levels of Muslim Arab children, helping their future careers and family life, and hindering the possibility of their radicalization.
Orthodox Bethany School is a unique educational institution and has contributed a great deal towards the friendly relations among the peoples of the Holy Land. The Council of Bishops therefore calls upon all social structures in the diaspora (including the Fund for Assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the “FfA”) and in Russia, all people who value the importance of this region, to support Bethany School for Girls.
Also, in recognition of the ten years of service by Nun Martha (Wall), the Council of Bishops expresses its profound gratitude to her for her work to the benefit of the souls of Arab girls and teenagers, and prayerfully invokes Divine blessings upon her and her school.
Zusammenfassung der Sitzung:
MUNICH: June 13, 2017
The Third Day of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad
On Tuesday, June 13, 2017, after Divine Liturgy, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia convened at St Elizabeth Convent in Buchendorf, Germany, reviewed and signed the minutes from Day 2 of the gathering.
The Council then heard a report by Protodeacon Denis Lvov, manager of the Synodal candle factory, and a report by the Treasurer of the Synod of Bishops, Subdeacon George Schatiloff.
In the afternoon, the member bishops deliberated on candidates to the episcopacy and clergy of the Russian Church Abroad. His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, President of the Synod of Bishops, proposed granting His Eminence Archbishop Peter of Chicago and Mid-America the right to wear the jeweled cross on his klobuk, and to elevate His Grace Bishop Agapit of Stuttgart to the rank of archbishop as well as the right to wear the jeweled cross on his klobuk. Metropolitan Hilarion’s proposals were unanimously approved with the singing of “Axios.”
Various documents prepared by committees and the secretariat were then reviewed, and the proposal of Protopriest Ilya Limberger was approved, as follows:
The Council of Bishops, having heard the report on youth ministry in the Russian Church Abroad of Protopriest Ilya Limberger of the German Diocese, and after an exhaustive discussion of the matters outlined therein, decreed:
1) To bolster youth ministry in Central and South America. Towards this end, to find a coordinator for youth ministry in South America, who is to be instructed to join with other youth leaders to develop a plan to organize a youth conference in Latin America.
2) To insist that in every diocese, each parish nominate a youth representative (preferably two) to be the contact person for youth work.
3) To see to it that in every diocese, youth representatives participate in diocesan and parish councils, so that youth ministry remains on the permanent agenda. This should encourage new ideas for youth projects, and will serve to broaden and deepen existing projects.
4) To encourage large parishes to establish youth committees or councils to help the rector in youth ministry.
5) To see to it that parishes donate towards youth ministry on an annual basis. Youth leaders should have the opportunity to manage these funds independently, yet be held accountable before diocesan assemblies. It is desirable that a diocesan youth representative and youth coordinator receive a modest stipend in order to ensure active work and responsibility.
6) To appeal to the Fund for Assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia to finance a conference of diocesan youth leaders and small delegations of youth delegates with the aim of strengthening contact between diocesan youth groups, to exchange ideas and develop new projects. Such conferences should be held at least once every three years in various countries.
7) To appeal to diocesan activists and benefactors to seek out funding for youth pilgrimages to holy sites both within each country and in other countries (the Holy Land, Russia, Greece, etc.).
