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RISU / English / News / News Archive of 2005 / December:

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December

“Spiritual Bonds” with Ukraine Must be Maintained, Says Russian Orthodox Patriarch
30.12.2005, [17:37] // Orthodox //
Moscow– The Russian Orthodox Church has “granted the Ukrainian church wide autonomy,” but “it is not ours to break… spiritual bonds.” So said Patriarch Alexis II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, in an interview with Constantine Eggert, editor-in-chief of the BBC Russian Service. pravoslavye.org.ua posted the news on 28 December 2005. Excerpts from the interview follow.

Ukrainian Christian Leaders Support 2006 as Year of Child
30.12.2005, [17:31] // Speech, greeting, press release //
Kyiv – The heads of various Christian denominations of Ukraine have responded to the request of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko to have 2006 as the Year of the Protection of Children’s Rights. On 27 December 2005, the Christian leaders of Ukraine released their address to children, parents, teachers, political and civic activists and all people of good will in Ukraine about proclaiming 2006 as the Year of the Protection of the Child’s Spiritual World.

Dnipropetrovsk Roman Catholics Celebrate Christmas Outdoors
30.12.2005, [17:29] // RCC //
Dnipropetrovsk– Roman Catholics in eastern Ukrainian Dnipropetrovsk gathered near St. Joseph’s Church on the city’s central avenue on 25 December 2005. At a temperature of -7 (Celsius), Bishop Stanislaw Padewski of the Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhia Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church presided at Christmas Mass on the steps of the church, which is rented out to various organizations.

Ternopil Official Says Religious Freedom Law not Broken
30.12.2005, [17:26] // Church-state relations //
Ternopil – Anatolii Vukhrushch, assistant to the head of the Regional Administration in western Ukrainian Ternopil (TRA), on 23 December 2005 commented on the previous day’s decision of the Ukrainian Parliament to investigate cases of the violation of the rights of citizens regarding freedom of conscience. According to Vukhrushch, neither Ivan Stoiko, head of the TRA, nor Vasyl Petruk, head of the Shumsk District Administration, made any criminal decisions regarding the situation in the village of Rokhmaniv, Shumsk district, Ternopil region.

Ukrainian Parliament Adopts Several Acts on Freedom of Conscience
30.12.2005, [17:24] // Violation of rights //
Kyiv –At a plenary session on 22 December 2005, the Ukrainian Parliament discussed various incidents where freedom of conscience may have been violated and considered revised legislation regarding exemption from military service for religious reasons.

President Visits Kyiv Synagogue
29.12.2005, [13:16] // Jewish Communities //
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on 28 December 2005 visited the Central Synagogue in Kyiv to mark Hanukkah with Ukrainian Jews. He greeted them on this religious holiday and pledged to spare no effort to help people of all nationalities and beliefs preserve and develop their traditions, culture and language. He wished those present good health, peace, happiness, and inspiration.

Hanukkah Celebrated in Kyiv
28.12.2005, [19:32] // Jewish Communities //
Kyiv – On 25 December 2005 the first Hanukkah lights near the Kyiv Sports Palace were lit by Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko, Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe-Reuven Asman, and Vadim Rabinovich, president of all-Ukrainian Jewish Congress. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko greeted the Jews on their holiday. He said that the holiday of Hanukkah reminds us that “deep and genuine faith can make miracles.”

Church and Religious Organization Reps Meet Ukraine’s Defense Minister
28.12.2005, [19:30] // Church-state relations //
Kyiv – Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anatolii Hrytsenko met with representatives of churches and religious organizations to discuss the spiritual and pastoral support of the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the creation of a Christian program for the moral training of military personnel. pravoslavyye.ru posted the news on 24 December 2005.

Lviv Authorities and Church Leaders Discuss Property Issues
28.12.2005, [19:29] // Church-state relations //
Lviv – The regular session of the Interdepartmental Commission on the Restoration of the Violated Rights of Churches and Religious Organizations, with the participation of local authorities and representatives of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), was held in the building of the Regional Administration in western Ukrainian Lviv (LRA) on 21 December 2005.

Clergy and Laity to Help Prepare Next Ukrainian Greek Catholic Synod
28.12.2005, [19:27] // UGCC //
Lviv – “Clergy and laity of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church [UGCC] will be invited to participate in the preparation of the next Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, which is to take place in Lviv, 13-20 September 2006,” said Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), head of the UGCC, on 21 December 2005.

International Religious Liberty Director Visits Ukraine
28.12.2005, [19:23] // Church-state relations //
Kyiv – Dr. John Graz, secretary general of the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA), visited Ukraine from 14 to 18 December 2005. The main aim of his visit was to support the activity of the Ukrainian Religious Liberty Association (URLA), which is part of the IRLA, as Petro Hanulych, head of the Department of Social Relations and Religious Freedom of the Ukrainian Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and secretary general of the URLA, reported.

Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Promotes Light of Hanukkah
27.12.2005, [19:06] // Jewish Communities //
Kyiv– One of the leading weekly periodicals issued in Ukraine, the 'Kommersant" newspaper, ran an interview with Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Azriel Chaikin. This publication is very popular among people occupying a high cultural level within society, including scholars, workers of culture, politicians and businessmen. Fjc.ru posted the news on 26 December 2005.

Ukrainian Scholars Criticize Homosexuality on Biblical Grounds
26.12.2005, [13:15] // Speech, greeting, press release //
Kyiv— Scholars of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine have released a statement in “protest against homosexuality, lesbianism, pedophilia, [and] homosexual marriages.” The appeal to heads of all states and churches, which was released on 23 December 2005 and uses biblical texts for some of its arguments, is given below in its entirety.

Biggest Number of Churches Built in Volyn
26.12.2005, [13:11] // Construction //
Lutsk – Statistics say that the number of religious organizations in northwestern Ukraine’s Volyn region has more than doubled since 1992. During the years of Ukraine’s independence, more than 200 worship buildings were restored and 440 churches were constructed, which is the highest number in Ukraine. RISU’s Ukrainian-language site posted the news on 23 December 2005.

Volyn Christian Leaders Hold First Joint Meeting
26.12.2005, [13:09] // Inter-Christian relations //
Lutsk – On 23 December 2005, a session of the Volyn Council of Churches (VCC) was conducted in the building of the Regional Administration in northwestern Ukraine’s Volyn region (VRA). This was the first meeting of the leaders of the largest Christian communities in Volyn, where Christians of different denominations are willing and able to work fruitfully to solve common problems and to respond adequately to the challenges of today, which they proved by their actions, as the press service of the Volyn Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate reported.

Ukrainian Authorities “Ignore” Religious Leaders’ Positions, Says Freedom Institute
26.12.2005, [13:06] // Church-state relations //
Kyiv – On 22 December 2005, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted in the second reading the draft law “On the introduction of changes to Article 3 of the law of Ukraine ‘On state registration of juridical and natural people, business people’” (registration # 4389-1). According to the Institute of Religious Freedom (IRF), the draft law totally neglects the interests of churches and religious organizations.

Kharkiv Religious Council Has First Meeting
26.12.2005, [13:03] // Church-state relations //
Kharkiv – The first meeting of the Kharkiv Regional Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (KRCCRO), headed by Y. Yushchenko, assistant head of the regional administration in eastern Ukrainian Kharkiv (KRA) and head of the KRCCRO, took place on 21 December 2005. The Department on Religious Matters of the KRA reported on this and other recent religious events in the region.

Christmas Greetings from RISU!
23.12.2005, [18:59] // Speech, greeting, press release //
Lviv- For those celebrating Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar, RISU wishes a hearty “Merry Christmas”! Follow the links below for Christmas greetings from the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Outside Ukraine.

Pope Approves Choice of New Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishops
23.12.2005, [18:48] // UGCC //
Lviv – On 21 December 2005 Pope Benedict VI blessed the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) concerning the appointment of Fr. Dionisii Liakhovych, a priest of the Order of St Basil the Great, as a curial bishop of the major archbishop of Kyiv and Halych (Patriarch Lubomyr Husar) and the appointment of Fr. Dr. Bohdan Dziurakh, a priest of the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), as auxiliary bishop of the UGCC’s Kyiv-Vyshhorod Archeparchy.

Constantinople not Unanimous on UOC-KP Orthodox, Says Scholar
23.12.2005, [18:46] // Orthodox //
Lviv – Andrii Yurash, a religious scholar, considers the words of Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateria and Great Britain that the Patriarchate of Constantinople does not recognize the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) to be the traditional and official position of the church of Constantinople. The archbishop said this during a recent visit to Kyiv. But Yurash maintains that Constantinople has no unanimous position “concerning the Ukrainian issue.” zik.com.ua posted the news on 20 December 2005.

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