Patriarch Bartholomew I is calling upon Orthodox Christians to “take part in the titanic and righteous battle to alleviate the environmental crisis.” Calling for “a standard of economic and social policy whose priority will be the environment, and not unbridled financial gain.” The Ecumenical Patriarch  said that “for our Orthodox Church, the protection of the environment, as a divine and very good creation, embodies a great responsibility for every human person, regardless of material or financial benefits.” “The direct correlation of the God-given duty and mandate, to work and preserve, with every aspect of contemporary life constitutes the only way to a harmonious co-existence with each and every element of creation, and the entirety of the natural world in general,” he added in his September 1 message for the Day of the Protection of the Environment. The day is also the beginning of the Orthodox liturgical year. The patriarch concluded, “Let us motivate ourselves to harmonize our personal and collective life and attitudes with the needs of nature’s ecosystems, so that every kind of fauna and flora in the world and in the universe may live and thrive and be preserved.”

The ecumenical patriarch’s message came three days after a similar call by Pope Benedict XVI:

On this coming 1 September, the Day for the Safeguard of Creation, promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference, will be celebrated in Italy. It is now a customary event that is also important at the ecumenical level. This year it reminds us that there can be no peace without respect for the environment. In fact, we are duty bound to consign the earth to the new generations in such a condition that they too may live a dignified life on it and in turn continue to preserve it. May the Lord help us in this task!

 NEW YORK – Metropolitan Christopher, of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada fell asleep in the Lord on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at the age of 81.

Archbishop Demetrios, the primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, immediately upon hearing of the passing of the esteemed Archpastor conveyed his “deepest and heartfelt condolences to the precious flock of His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher, and to his beloved family.” 

Archbishop Demetrios, in his letter addressed to the Locum Tenens, Bishop Mitrophan states:

I join you and clergy and laity of the Serbian Orthodox Church in prayerfully commending this beloved shepherd of the Church to our Heavenly Father’s eternal love.  I am confident that the memory of his dedicated archpastoral ministry distinguished by his fervent commitment to education, ecumenism, and church unity will inspire the precious flock he served ever so zealously to respond ever more generously to the call of discipleship.

May Our Savior give rest to this devoted servant of God among the spirits of the saints and righteous perfected in faith. Eternal be the memory of His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher, the unforgettable brother and distinguished Hierarch, worthy of blessedness and everlasting remembrance. 

Metropolitan Christopher was born on Christmas Day in 1928 in Galveston Texas. He was the ninth of twelve children of Serbian immigrant parents, the late Petar and Rista Kovacevich. He was baptized Velimir Kovacevich. After graduation from high school, he attended Nashotah House and graduated from St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Seminary in Libertyville, Illinois. After marriage, he was ordained to the Diaconate and Priesthood. Continuing his education, he earned a B.A. at the University of Pittsburgh, the Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, and completed courses and examinations for the doctorate at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Father Velimir ministered to parishes in Pennsylvania and in Chicago, also serving as chaplain to four universities. He assisted his parishes to become bilingual in their worship and education programs, and at the same time he was active in the defense of unity and canonical order in his church during a period of schism. As a priest, he served as spiritual father, counselor, youth worker, administrator, educator, and, above all, in priestly ministry at the Holy Altar. Widowed in 1970, he is the father of four, as well as the grandfather of nine. 

Elevated to the episcopate in 1978 by the Assembly of Bishops in Belgrade and tonsured with the monastic name of Christopher, he became the first American-born bishop to serve a diocese of his church in North America. As Bishop of Eastern America and Canada, he soon developed a diocesan-wide program in religious education. Active also in ecumenism, he has served on the joint commission of Orthodox and Roman Catholic bishops and on the Orthodox-Lutheran dialogue, and has represented his church at high levels in both the National and World Councils of Churches. In 1991, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of the Midwestern Diocese of his church, thereby becoming also its Primate.

A Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated Monday August 23, at the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, in Chicago. The Hierarchical Divine Liturgy and Requiem Service, followed by interment were held Tuesday, August 24, at the St. Sava Monastery, in Libertyville, Ill. 

May the Lord our God grant blessed repose and eternal rest to His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher.

ROME, AUG. 24, 2010 (Zenit.org).- High-ranking representatives of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches embraced on Monday in a moment reflecting a will for unity between the two Churches.

A photo of the embrace between Cardinal Peter Erdo and Metropolitan Filaret was printed with the title "Europe's Brothers."

The embrace between the two high-level representatives was a highlight of the 31st Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, an annual event sponsored by the Catholic Communion and Liberation Movement in Rimini, Italy.

The cardinal and metropolitan made their embrace of unity as they joined in a debate on the topic "Can An Educated Man, a European of Our Days, Actually Believe in the Divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ?"

Cardinal Erdo is the archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, and the president of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE). Filaret is the metropolitan of Minsk and Sluzk and Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus.

2011 meeting?

The Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches are already united in their common stance on many issues affecting Europe: challenges to life and family and religious freedom among them. Recently, an apostolic nunciature was opened in Moscow, and there is ever greater insistence on a meeting between Benedict XVI and Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
 
To this end, Metropolitan Filaret said that "the time is ripe for a meeting between the Pope and the Patriarch. It might even be possible in 2011; in principle I see no obstacles,"
 
"We have been in dialogue with the Catholic Church for some time, at times with moments of exhilaration, at others with a fall in tensions," he added. "Now we are in a moment of stability, but between us, we, the parties, are open to dialogue. I hope this atmosphere will continue."

Cardinal Erdo pointed to Catholic-Orthodox union in dogmatic issues. "Hence, for me," he said, "the circumstance that we are not in full and complete communion is a physical pain."

Debate

The cardinal and metropolitan considered the debate topic on Christ's divinity, a theme drawn from notes of the novel "Demons" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It reflects a question among the European elite of the 1860s, which returns with burning timeliness.
 
Filaret observed that "Europe is completely changed; European man has changed to the point of being irreconcilable. However, the question is always the same."

He reflected on the doubts plaguing Europeans of our day and suggested a "lively conscience" to overcome them -- a conscience that "does not grow silent, but that sets afire the lies that deceive the heart, and unmasks the sin that besieges the soul."

"We must pray so that the Lord will help our faith because everything is possible for one who believes," the metropolitan concluded.

For his part, Cardinal Erdo pointed to the contradictions in contemporary European intellectuals.

He suggested that a "trite atheism" and the "famous historical and dialectical materialism of traditional Marxism" do not seem attractive. But, pantheism is fashionable, he proposed.

"If the man of today asks himself seriously the question on the existence of God, absolute, transcendent and personal, he must investigate also the possibility of communion between God and man that took place in Jesus Christ," the cardinal said.

"God is only one, and only one is the mediator between God and men: the man Jesus Christ," stressed Cardinal Erdo. Because of this, "we must be messengers and missionaries of the new evangelization of Europe. We must be united with our other Christian brothers, because unity can reinforce our testimony."

 (CNN) -- Patriarch Bartholomew I is the living embodiment of one of the world's oldest institutions -- the Greek Orthodox Church in Constantinople.

But he could be the last to hold the title in what is modern-day Istanbul, in secular but Muslim majority Turkey.

CNN's "World's Untold Stories" examines the dwindling Greek Orthodox community in Turkey and how they are faring.

There has been a patriarch in Constantinople for 14 centuries, ever since it was the capital of Byzantium and the Eastern Roman Empire, ruling over the Eastern Mediterranean and much of the Middle East.

But Bartholomew, who is now 70, may become the last in a line of some 270 bishops in Constantinople.

The Turkish government refuses to recognize Bartholomew's title as "Ecumenical Patriarch."

Twenty-five years ago, the Turkish government shut the seminary where Greek Orthodox clergy traditionally trained. Greeks who do not hold Turkish passports are barred from becoming clerics.

Instead of being the spiritual leader of his faith, Bartholomew has become a symbol of the dwindling community of ethnic Greeks still living in modern-day Istanbul.

There are only around 2,000 ethnic Greeks left in Istanbul.

The last members of this community are gradually dying out, but they cling tenaciously to the churches and schools their ancestors built in what was once the capital of a Greek empire.

 Moscow (AsiaNews) - Mission in mainland China, while complying with the law of the People's Republic, has become an issue throughout the Russian Orthodox Church because, "there are prospects for development” on the horizon. The rector of the parish of St. Peter and Paul in Hong Kong, Archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyayev is convinced of this and in an interview with Interfax news describes the current state of the autonomous Orthodox Church of China between prohibitions and openings.   The priest is attempting in a way to discredit the "common belief” that the Orthodox faith is banned in China. "It's a mistake – he says -. In China, all religious movements are legally protected, have their rights, but there are certain conditions. The main condition for religious life of officially recognized religious organizations in the PRC is independence from foreign influences. The Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church does not exist at the national level, but there are four officially opened sites for celebrating Divine Liturgies: two of them are in country's north-west in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, one in Harbin, and the last one in the city of Labdarin in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous District. These four churches belong to the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church".

Small faith communities (about 5 thousand in total) are present not only in these regions but also elsewhere in the country. Particularly in large cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Yunnan Province, but they have no places of worship. Following the Cultural Revolution, the Church was decimated and there are no priests present on the territory. A dozen seminarians are studying in Russia with the intention of returning to China.

"According to the law – explains the Archpriest Pozdnyayev - foreign priests can celebrate in Chinese churches, if local communities invite them and the service is approved in the Religious Affairs Administration. but in practice we haven't had such cases when foreign priests, for instance Russian priests, celebrated divine services for Chinese citizens at these opened churches. There were services for foreigners as religious activities of foreigners are regulated with another special legislation”.

In practice, therefore, the Orthodox Church does not celebrate functions for Chinese. For large celebrations at Christmas and Easter there are Russian priests who celebrate the liturgies, but within the territory of the embassies or consulates. Nevertheless, Pozdnyayev is confident: " We haven't had such practice, but I don't exclude a possibility that it can take place. There've been some positive tendencies this year and some steps of the Chinese authorities make us think it is possible. We were first time allowed to celebrate for foreigners in Harbin. Then there's a very old Chinese priest who is retired and lives in Shanghai. He was allowed to celebrate for Chinese citizens and foreigners were also allowed to the service. An Orthodox church is given to the Orthodox community in Shanghai for the time of Expo-2010, though the community still doesn't have legal status".

The priest tells of a "a great interest to Christianity, but Chinese people mostly see Catholicism and Protestantism that are much wider presented in China. Though I can say that academic circles show great interest to Orthodoxy, there's much feedback at our website, there are active discussions in Chinese section of our forum dedicated to Orthodoxy in China. Ordinary and educated people show great interest to Orthodoxy as Catholicism and Protestantism don't answer some of their inner questions. There are certain things in Chinese spiritual tradition that make Orthodoxy more attractive than Catholicism and Protestantism for the Chinese".

This he says, because there is fertile ground, "it is important that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church does not save on efforts in this direction". The Moscow Theological Academy, for example, opened optional courses in the Chinese language and culture for students. But that is not enough: "whole Church should consider the question: on one side, it involves bordering dioceses, on the other, theological educational establishments, and, on the third, the Department for External Church Relations.

"There are prospects.– he concludes-. - The main task is to solve the question of creating Orthodox environment. We have to educate people and to bring up the Chinese, to give them education, to translate literature into the Chinese language".

The Chinese Orthodox Church is an autonomous Church: its Primate should be appointed by the autocephalous Church on which the Church formally depends, ie, the Moscow Patriarchate. But the autonomy of the Chinese Church is not recognized by Constantinople and the establishment of the metropolis of Hong Kong by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1996, has created tensions in relations with Moscow.

Regarding China, feeble government openings were registered in 2007, when a liturgy was celebrated in memory of the 222 martyrs killed during the revolt of the Boxers the chapel inside the Russian embassy.

News Agencies

 NEW YORK – Supporters of a Greek Orthodox church destroyed on Sept. 11 say officials willing to speak out about a planned community center and mosque near ground zero have been silent on efforts to get the church rebuilt.

But the World Trade Center site's owner says a deal to help rebuild St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was offered and rejected, after years of negotiations, over money and other issues.

Though the projects are not related, supporters — including George Pataki, New York's governor at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks — have questioned why public officials have not addressed St. Nicholas' future while they lead a debate on whether and where the Islamic cultural center should be built.

"What about us? Why have they forgotten or abandoned their commitment to us?" asked Father Alex Karloutsos, assistant to the archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. "When I see them raising issues about the mosque and not thinking about the church that was destroyed, it does bother us."

In an effort to deal with the furor over the planned location of the Islamic center, Gov. David Paterson has suggested that state land farther away from ground zero be used. He was scheduled to meet with New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan on Tuesday to discuss the Park51project, which is planned for two blocks north of the 16-acre World Trade Center site.

"Rather than focus his attention on the mosque, Gov. Paterson should step in right away to ensure that the state of New York and the Port Authority uphold the agreement with the Greek Orthodox church so this project can go forward without further delay," state Sen. Dean Skelos said Monday.

Paterson declined to comment on the issue.

The 300-member congregation lost its 90-year-old parish just south of the World Trade Center when the twin towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001, leaving only a handful of artifacts that were removed from the rubble, including a small bell and cross, a crucifix and wax candles that had not melted.

Leaders of the church and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — the agency that owns ground zero — have spent years negotiating a deal that would let the church rebuild on land a bit farther south than the 1,200-square-foot lot it sat on, in exchange for financial help to rebuild it.

The agency said the church stopped negotiating after rejecting an offer in 2008 of $20 million in financing, plus up to an additional $40 million to cover costs related to the construction of a parking lot underneath the church.

Port Authority officials said the church wanted final approval on the design of the parking lot and the potential for an additional $20 million in public money. The agency said it made a final offer in 2009 that was rejected.

 "St. Nicholas Church continues to retain the right to build on its original location," the agency said in a statement Monday. It said work could begin in 2013 if the church helped finance it.

Karloutsos, the archbishop's assistant, denied that any offer had been rejected, instead saying that Port Authority pulled the deal and has since ignored the church's attempts at dialogue. "This is about the Port Authority reneging on a promise," he said.

Pataki, who as governor promised that St. Nicholas would be rebuilt after the 2001 attacks, said Monday that the Port Authority needed to reach out to church officials.

"It's just wrong that the rebuilding of St. Nicholas Church, which was there, which was part of the master plan... has basically been ignored," he said.

 Bishop Andonios of Phasiane, chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, stood beside Mr. Pataki  during a news conference. But the bishop said he did not intend to fan the bitter dispute over the Islamic Center with his presence at the news conference. “It’s unfortunate that it took a controversy over a mosque to bring attention to the church,” he said. He described that attention as “a silver lining” of the increasingly bitter clash.

FOX News

 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese officials  trying to rebuild the only church destroyed in the Sept. 11 terror attacks expressed shock this week after learning, via Fox News, that government officials had killed a deal to relocate the church. 

The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, once a tiny, four-story building in the shadows of lower Manhattan, was destroyed in 2001 by one of the falling World Trade Center towers. Nobody from the church was hurt in the attack, but the congregation has, for the past eight years, been trying to rebuild its house of worship. 

Though talks between the church and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey stalled last year, church leaders say they've been trying to kick-start discussions ever since. But amid debate over whether a proposed Islamic community center should go forward near Ground Zero, government officials threw cold water on the prospect of any deal with the church -- telling Fox News the deal is off the table. 

Confronted with the Port Authority's verdict, Father Mark Arey, of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, said it's the first he's heard that. 

"Negotiations did break off last year. We were expecting to hear from their lawyers -- we never did. We're still expecting to hear from them," he told Fox News. "We're disappointed. ... 130 Liberty Street was promised to us." 

 Arey was referring to the address, about 100 yards away from the original site, where the government earlier proposed relocating the church. The Port Authority and the church announced a deal in July 2008 under which the Port Authority would grant land and up to $20 million to help rebuild the church -- in addition, the authority was willing to pay up to $40 million to construct a bomb-proof platform underneath. 

Within a year, the deal fell through and talks ended -- apparently for good, according to the Port Authority. 

The archdiocese and Port Authority now offer sharply conflicting accounts of where things went wrong. The Port Authority has previously claimed the church was making additional demands -- like wanting the $20 million up front and wanting to review plans for the surrounding area. They say the church can still proceed on its own if it wishes. 

"The church continues to have the right to rebuild at their original site, and we will pay fair market value for the underground space beneath that building," a spokesperson with the Port Authority told Fox News. 

But Arey said the original site is no good. Archdiocese officials disputed the Port Authority's claims, saying the church has complied with all conditions. 

"It's not about money," Arey said. He expressed hope that the project can still be salvaged. 

"This little church deserves to be rebuilt. It's symbolic, not just for Orthodox Christians, not just for Christians, but for all Americans," Arey said, calling the mosque debate "helpful" to the church's cause. "I believe that people around the country are asking themselves the question -- why all this talk about a mosque being built near Ground Zero? What about a little church that was destroyed on 9/11? ... This is basically a bureaucratic impasse. This will dissolve in the face of the American public consciousness." 

Former New York Gov. George Pataki, who worked with the church as governor, told Fox News on Tuesday that the church should be rebuilt. 

George Demos, a Republican candidate for New York's 1st Congressional District, also has drawn attention to the negotiations. He released an open letter to President Obama Tuesday urging him to, as he did with the mosque debate, weigh in on the church discussions. 

"While we may disagree on the appropriateness of the mosque, we can surely agree that it is an issue of national importance that the only house of worship actually destroyed on September 11, 2001, the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, be rebuilt," Demos wrote. "Mr. President, please stand up and defend our Judeo-Christian values, express your public and unwavering support for St. Nicholas Church, and ensure that it is rebuilt." 

Father Alex Karloutsos, assistant to the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, Archbishop Demetrios, told FoxNews.com that the Port Authority "simply forgot about the church" at Ground Zero. 

Sandro Magister

Chiesa

 ROME, August 13, 2010 – The news was released at the end of June by the agency "Fides" of the Vatican congregation for the evangelization. For August 15, which for the Orthodox is the feast of the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God, the Turkish government has authorized the celebration of a liturgy in a place that is a symbol of the Christian faith of the East, as much of its flourishing as of its violent uprooting: the monastery of Sumela or (its Greek name) of the Mother of God of the Black Mountain.

The concession was greeted with surprise by the Orthodox community, not only in Turkey, where the Greek-Byzantines of the patriarchate of Constantinople have been reduced to a few thousand, but also abroad, especially in Greece and Russia.

Nonetheless, it's still a concession limited to a few hours. The liturgy will be allowed to be celebrated only once, outside of the monastery, in front of the ruins.

The monastery of Sumela, in fact, after withstanding the storms of history for fifteen centuries and staying alive even during Ottoman rule, was emptied and reduced to ruins in 1923, with the expulsion of the Greek Orthodox by the modern Turkish state.

Since then, it has been forbidden to celebrate the liturgy there. The monastery, a small portion of which has been restored, has become a destination for tourist excursions from nearby Trabzon, the city on the Black Sea where on February 5, 2006, a young Muslim killed the Catholic priest Andrea Santoro.

For August 19, the Turkish government has made a similar concession for the Armenians. It has authorized the celebration of a liturgy in the Church of the Holy Cross in Akhtamar, on an island of Lake Van.

This church, which had also fallen into ruin, was renovated in 2007. But it was set up as a museum, and until now the liturgy has not been permitted to be celebrated there.

When the Armenian patriarch asked for permission to place a cross on top of the renovated church, the Turkish authorities refused. The church had to remain without a cross, without bells, without sacred markings, without pastors, and without faithful. Instead, the ceremony for the conclusion of the renovations prominently featured images of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish state.

The liturgies at Sumela and Akhtamar on August 15 and 19 will be attended by a few thousand faithful, many of them from abroad: an unusual number for Turkey, a cradle of the early Christianity propagated by Paul and for centuries a land of flourishing Christianity, but where today the Churches – or the little of them that remains – don't even have legal recognition.

Moreover, last August 5 two churches dating back to the fourth and sixth centuries in the village of Yemisli in the region of Mardin in southeastern Anatolia were reopened for worship. The buildings were renovated by seventy-two families of the Syriac Orthodox community, which numbers about five thousand faithful in Turkey.

The concessions made this August by the government of Ankara are being interpreted as a move on the chessboard of Turkey's problematic entry into the European Union, which is impossible without minimal standards concerning religious freedom.

But these and other appearances of openness continue to be accompanied by massive and persistent constraint. One of the reasons why the Turkish authorities oppose religious freedom is the fear that an increase in places of worship would bring out into the open the many secret Christians, registered as Muslims, believed to be living in the country.
 

Moscow (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Russian Orthodox Church has collected 200 tons in humanitarian aid and raised 15 million rubles for the victims of Russia’s raging wildfires.

Since the end of July, fires have raged in central Russia, smoke hovering over huge swathes of land. Early estimates put total damages at around US$ 15 billion.

“As regards to the aid organized by the Church, I am very satisfied with its amount. We collected about 200 tons of humanitarian supplies” and raised “15 million rubles,” Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus, said yesterday.

“"I am also very pleased with the work of volunteers. People came to the church's department that deals with aid; young people who just came in off the streets, and asked, "How can I help?” he added. “They collected humanitarian aid, loaded it into their vehicles, and then risked their lives because they had to drive in the smokiest areas.”

What is more, “I think that everything that has happened has helped all of us understand how important solidarity is, without which life is impossible in human society. If our people, especially our youth, are responding to the pain of those who are suffering today, that is a very good sign. May God grant us all” the power “to grow in unity and solidarity."

AFP

SUMELA, Turkey —  Orthodox faithful flocked to the cliffside setting of Sumela monastery in northeast Turkey on Sunday after Ankara allowed the liturgy to be celebrated here for the first time in 88 years.

"After 88 years, the tears of the Virgin Mary have stopped flowing,"  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, said during the service.

Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou, speaking after attending liturgy on the Cyclades Islands off the Greek mainland, welcomed the "historic and important event."

It was a sign of bilateral rapprochement with Turkey and reflected "a spirit of cooperation and peace between us and our neighbor," the prime minister said.

The site is of particular importance to Pontian Greeks, whose ancestors fled the region around the Black Sea during fighting after World War I and dispersed in Greece and Russia.

When Turkey fought Greece between 1920-22 during its war of independence, several tens of thousands of Pontian Greeks were massacred, or died as they went into forced exodus.

Greece says 350,000 people died and describes the event as genocide, though the term is not used by the international community and is rejected by Turkey.

On Sunday, around 500 Pontians were allowed into the fourth-century monastery while around 2,000 others come from Istanbul, Greece, Russia and Georgia, watched the mass on a giant television screen outside.

"For us the Virgin of Sumela is more important than our own mother," said Charalambos Zigas, a 51-year-old mechanic from Greece. "You have to be a Pontian Greek to understand the importance of this liturgy."

He said that when his grandfather fled the mountainous region for exile in Russia in 1922, he lost his wife and son who were eaten by bears.

Many of the faithful sought out houses that used to belong to their ancestors.

"Everyone here is like me, they came to see the region, find a house... we've even met two people from here who say they're Pontian and we spoke Pontian Greek," said Greek veterinarian Maria Piativou, 42.

Turkey in May sent a letter to the patriarch authorizing the liturgy to be celebrated here once a year on August 15.

The gesture appeared aimed at Turkey's own Greek Orthodox minority, thought today to number around 2,000 people, which complains of discrimination.

In a similar gesture to Turkey's Armenian minority, Ankara also authorized a liturgy to be celebrated in September at the museum-church of Akdamar, in the eastern Van province.

 Moscow (AsiaNews) - Catholic and Orthodox Churches in Russia are now united in prayer for victims of fires that have brought the country to its knees and in the hope that rain will soon arrive. "We have been praying for rain for weeks and for families who have lost their homes in the disaster this summer," Fr Kirll Gorbunov head of Communications for the Diocese of the Mother of God in Moscow tells AsiaNews.

In early August, the Archbishop of the Mother of God, Mgr. Paolo Pezzi, sent a letter to all parishes asking for prayers. "Every Sunday morning  -" Father Gorbunov – we have a special service for those affected by fires and in Vladimir, Caritas Germany is making plans as we speak to help people.". The apostolic nuncio, Mgr. Antonio Mennini, visited the parish of Nizhny Novogorod, one of the worst affected areas, and was shocked by the great level of destruction and suffering he saw among the people, "said Fr Gorbunov.

For weeks, even the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill has asked for prayers for the arrival of rain. Collections for all kinds of aid are taking place in Orthodox parishes: people bring clothes, food, dishes and even samovar to be sent to affected areas. The Patriarchate has also opened a bank account to send donations. In Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow, s a special liturgy is celebrated each morning for the victims of the fire, while some believers have written to the Patriarch inviting him to hold a period of fasting for an improvement to the situation.

With the same intentions Muslims are also praying, as reported by the press officer of the Council of muftis of Russia Gulnur Gaziyeva.

Meanwhile today, the cloud of smoke that has invaded Moscow for over a week was somewhat dissipated by the wind increasing visibility, while the temperature decreased slightly, remaining above 30 degrees. Fires continue in the capital and the smog alert is still at the highest levels.

The opposition has demanded the resignation of the Moscow mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, over his delay and inadequacy in addressing the situation. But the mayor, after refusing to decree a state of emergency, today also assured Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is in the capital, that the situation is "under control" and announced that the municipality has started to wet roads and flowerbeds with tons of water .

In the capital, the morgues are full, hospitals complete, pharmacies have run out of gas masks and the mortality rate has doubled. "We are shocked, we were left alone here in Moscow - says Natalia, a 33 year old office worker- the authorities are not taking care of us, they should at least distribute masks to breathe, they haven’t even thought about the children! Here it’s impossible to even leave the house. "

The authorities in the capital were forced to open 123 "anti-smog" centres. They are air-conditioned rooms designed in some hospitals and government buildings, said an official of the municipal administration, Vladimir Petrosyan. Most apartments, but also for public offices in Moscow have no air conditioning and on social networks like Facebook and Twitter posts are beginning to appear in which people ask the lucky few who own air conditioners to be allowed come to their homes.

And while the Kremlin is trying to disclose as little information as possible about the consequences of the extraordinary heat wave and forest fires in Russia, they have begun to face losses in economic terms which could reach 1% of 2010GDP, 15 billion dollars.  

Telegraph, UK

The remains – small fragments of a skull, bones from a jaw and an arm, and a tooth – were discovered embedded in an altar in the ruins of the ancient monastery, on the island in the Black Sea.

A Greek inscription on the stone casque contains a reference to June 24 – the date on which John the Baptist is believed to have been born.

"We found the relics of St John the Baptist - exactly what the archaeologists had expected," said Bozhidar Dimitrov, Bulgaria's minister without portfolio and a former director of the country's National History Museum, who was present when the stone urn was opened.

"It has been confirmed that these are parts of his skeleton."

Exactly how the relics ended up on the island is a mystery, but Mr Dimitrov said they may have been donated by the Christian Church in Constantinople when Bulgaria was part of the Byzantine Empire.

But other experts cast doubt on the claim, saying carbon dating tests were needed before the bones could be identified as belonging to Christ's baptiser.

Many countries around the Mediterranean claim to have remains of St John, including Turkey, Montenegro, Greece, Italy and Egypt.

St John, who is especially revered by the Eastern Orthodox Church, foretold the coming of Christ before being beheaded on the orders of King Herod, with his head served up on a plate.

Sofia News Agency

 The recently discovered relics of St John the Baptist have been laid in state in Bulgaria’s Sozopol after a transfer processing which brought much excitement and euphoria in the Black Sea town.

The relics, which include part of an arm bone, a skull bone, and a tooth, were found in a sealed marble reliquary in the St. John the Forerunner Church on the St. Ivan Island near Sozopol on July 28, 2010, by the team of archaeologists led by Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov.

The procession led by the Bulgarian Orthodox Bishop of Sliven Yoanikiy brought the relics of St. John the Baptist from the St. Ivan Island to the St. George Church in the downtown where they were laid in state.

Thus, the holy relics have been officially transferred from the archaeologists to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Thousands of Bulgarians as well as dozens of buses with foreign tourists – Germans, Russians, Poles, Czechs - having their vacations along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast have immediately arrived on a pilgrimage trips to pay their respects to the relics of St. John the Baptist.

The samples from the reliquary and the bones are still to be tested by specialists have expressed their views that there is no doubt whatsoever that absolutely unique archaeological discovery consists of relics of St. John the Baptist.

The wide-ranging arguments for that start with the fact that the small sarcophagus was found in a “natural architectural environment” - hidden under the major slabstone on the floor of the St. John the Forerunner Church – the oldest church on the St. Ivan Island.

(The island off the Sozopol coast itself is named St. John the Baptist – as Ivan is the Bulgarian/Slavic name for John.)

Experts have pointed out that at the time of the building of the St. Ivan the Forerunner Church – 4th century AD – the tradition was to build in relics of saints in the construction instead of to lay them in state for pilgrims, and there was no intentional falsifications of such holy items.

The greatest argument supporting the thesis that the relics belong to St. John the Baptist is the “clue” found at 1.2 m from the reliquary. It consists of a small box bearing inscriptions that make it clear who and when brought the relics of St. John the Baptist to Sozopol.

The inscriptions make it clear that a man name Thomas, “God’s servant brought a particle of St. John on the 24th.” Even though some of the end letters are missing, the inscription in Greek makes it clear that the date refers to the birthday of St. John the Baptist, June 24. The use of genetive case in the inscription leaves no doubt that the relics belonged to one of the founders of Christianity.

“It is important to understand one thing – this is the first time ever in the world archaeological practice that relics of St. John are found together with an inscription which just literally nails the conclusion and leaves no doubts. There are no speculations here,” said the man who made the unique discovery, archaeologist Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov.

“I think that this is the discovery of the year, not just in the Bulgarian archaeology but also in the European archaeology. It is hard to speak of the symbols of early Christianity but Apolonia (i.e. the Greek name of Sozopol) and the St. Ivan Island were one of the earliest places where Christians settled as they were persecuted by the Roman authorities. Their heritage is connected with the entire Christian history,” explained the Director of the Burgas Regional History Museum Tsonya Drazheva who is also part of the archaeological team that found the relics of St. John.

The relics of St. John the Baptist will lay in state in the St. George Church in Sozopol until the completion of the repairs of the larger St. Cyril and St. Methodius Church nearby.

Once the larger church is completed, the relics of St. John will be transferred there, together with two other holy items already kept in Sozopol – the a piece of the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ donated to the town by the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the National History Museum, and relics of St. Andrew, which were donated to the town by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I during his visit to Sozopol last month.

On Wednesday, the Bulgarian government allocated additional BGN 420 000 for completing the renovation of the St. Cyril and St. Methodius Church which will be the home of the holy relics. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov

“As soon as this amazing archaeological discovery was made, I made some research, and found that such finds generate great returns from tourism and pilgrimage. Bulgaria and this region will now enter the world tourism maps as a pilgrimage site. The fact that this is a sea resort provides for an unique combination between cultural and sea tourism,” declared Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Simeon Djankov who participated in the procession carrying the relics together with Diaspora Minister Bozhidar Dimitrov, a Sozopol native.

 Ankara (AsiaNews / Agencies) - After 30 years, the Syrian Orthodox Church of Mor Eşayo and Mor Kuryakuş were reopened yesterday in the village of Midyat's Yemişli in the region of Mardin, south-eastern Turkey.

Mor Eşayo and Mor Kuryakuş respectively of the fourth and sixth centuries, had been closed since the 1980s and were restored by 72 Syrian families, who spent 600 thousand Turkish lira (about 300 thousand euros).

Hundreds of people belonging to the Syrian Orthodox communities from around the world attended the inaugural Mass presided by Mor Timetheos Samuel Aktaş, Metropolitan Bishop of Tur Abdin. In Turkey, the Syrian Orthodox church has 5 thousand faithful.

Tuma Çelik vice-president of the European Syriac Association, spoke at the ceremony: "The Syrians who live in countries far from their land - he said - actually live here in mind and spirit. Want to return to rest in this land". "The existence of the Syrians in Turkey - he added - is not recognized by the Constitution, it should be. If the government build infrastructure to improve the social, cultural and economic conditions, that the Syrians who return will grow quickly".

Sources told AsiaNews that "in eastern Turkey, the Syrian Orthodox community is very active and that Ankara is making positive overtures towards them." 

 Associated Press

THESSALONIKI, Greece – Many soccer fans follow the sport religiously, and Father Christos Mitsios is no exception.

The 51-year-old Greek Orthodox priest has become a mainstay in the hardcore section at PAOK Thessaloniki matches, cheering on the team and offering help and guidance to many of Greece's most fervent supporters in the fearsome Gate 4 section of the Toumba Stadium.

"Gate 4 is magnificent. These boys have a fire inside them, in their heart and soul," Father Christos told The Associated Press in an interview. "I will always stay with the drug addicts, the hooligans, and those abandoned by society and their own families.

"It's the abandoned who often have more principles and more heart than those that appear respectable."

Father Christos does not go unnoticed at matches in the northern Greek city, where he went to theology school years ago. His flowing gray beard and full-length black cassock set him apart from the bare-chested thugs who attend every home match, but it is with them that Father Christos says he can do the most good.

Out of his modest Thessaloniki church, Father Christos runs a foodbank and has attracted hundreds of troubled youths to church confession, while helping others join state-run drug programs.

"They are the people who work for minimum wage, and do what they can to get a ticket for the weekend match," Father Christos said. "They are the first to join demonstrations and they would be the first to fight when their country needs them, while the children of the (rich) study at university abroad."

The church's  hierarchy is less than amused with Father Christos and the images of him, all smiles, being carried on the shoulders of boisterous youths, or chanting slogans with a black-and-white scarf tied around his neck.

The Church stripped Father Christos of his administrative responsibilities, angry at his blunt refusal to stop attending matches. But a campaign with 18,000 followers launched on the social media site Facebook last year helped ensure that his punishment stopped there.

Fans routinely post clips of "Papa-PAOK," as he is known to the club's faithful, on YouTube, one showing the bespectacled priest holding up a flare and chanting "PAOK I live and breathe only for you." Others show his car being stopped in the street by supporters who erupt in spontaneous chants of admiration.

Father Christos said he's happy with all the attention if it means he can help kids who would otherwise ignore the church.

"The other day about 20 motorcycles pulled up to my church, and they were all fans seeking confession," he said. "I probably do between 1,000 and 1,500 confessions each month, and 80 percent of those who come are below the age of 30. I'll sit with them, give them food and drinks, and we'll discuss their problems until the morning."

On Wednesday, PAOK was set to play in one of its most important matches ever, facing Ajax at home in the second leg of the third qualifying round for the Champions League. The Greek team held the four-time European champions to a 1-1 draw in Amsterdam in the first leg.

"I don't see why we shouldn't pull it off," Father Christos said. "Look at all the big teams that got knocked out of the last World Cup."

 NATO peacekeepers will hand over security of a key medieval Serb Orthodox monastery to Kosovo's police force a decade after the end of the war, the alliance's commander said Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Markus Bentler, who commands NATO's 10,000-strong force, said the local officers will replace foreign troops that guard the monastery of Gracanica, just outside the capital Pristina.

The move is important for Kosovo's authorities, aiming to prove that they are able to run their own affairs since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008.

NATO's decision, however, angered Kosovo's Serb minority that remains deeply distrustful of the Albanian-dominated police force and government.

Serbia's government minister dealing with Kosovo, Goran Bogdanovic also criticized the move, describing it as a "provocation, which does not lead to peace, stability and building of trust."

Bogdanovic said this was not agreed with Belgrade nor the Serbian Orthodox Church, who warned, in a separate statement that the handover will "greatly endanger" Serb churches and monasteries.

The alliance's troops have been protecting Serb Orthodox churches and monasteries since the end of the 1998-99 war in Kosovo because they were often targeted in attacks by ethnic-Albanians angry at years of Serb repression during the 1990s.

In 2004, about 30 churches and monasteries in Kosovo were burned or vandalized in anti-Serb riots by ethnic Albanian mobs.

Bentler said the handover decision was reached after "intense discussions" with local Serb leaders and the clergy in Kosovo.

"Of course there was lots of reservation, even objection to that step," Bentler told reporters. "We feel the time is ripe to drive on with this process."

NATO's peacekeeping mission — known as KFOR — is under pressure to transfer many security responsibilities to local security forces as it aims to reduced its presence to some 4,000 troops by early next year.

In Gracanica, where the 12-century monastery's high walls are skirted with barbed wire to prevent intruders from crossing over, some Serbs were dismayed with the announcement.

Milorad Vasic said he feared extremists could use NATO's absence to trigger another wave of violence in a country already divided along ethnic lines.

"It's a bit risky, there are all sorts of fools that will use this to stoke up old fires," Vasic said. "I think it's better for KFOR to remain."

 Moscow (AsiaNews) – The Russian Orthodox Church is going to provide help to victims of the record heat wave and forest fires that have devastated large areas of Russia over the past week. In addition to asking the faithful to pray “God to send rain to our country,” Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia called on Orthodox communities to mobilise to raise aid. Since Monday, clothing and other items have been collected for the families affected by the fires. Each parish will soon also start raising funds, Kirill said.

“National tragedy”

In the meantime, Russia continues to burn. A week of scorched earth has left 40 people dead, 650,000 hectares of mostly forestland destroyed, 1,800 houses burnt and 2,000 people left homeless.

Economic losses have reached US$ 215 million, Regional Development Minister Viktor Basargin said.

The Kremlin has declared a state of emergency in seven areas of the Federation: Mari El, on the Volga River, Vladimir, Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, Rjazan, the Republic of Mordovia and the Moscow region.

“Smoke without flames,” titled many local newspapers; smoke that has enveloped the capital; smoke that has covered the entire urban area in a thick and muggy cloud making breathing nigh impossible.

The authorities have dispatched 2,000 soldiers to help fire-fighters contain the blaze, which could cause “irreparable damages” as President Dmitri Medvedev said.

The weather forecast appears to justify his fears. Temperatures have broken the records of the past 130 years. Tomorrow they should reach 40-41 degrees Celsius in Moscow and no rain is expected for the next days.

In the meantime, international aid is starting to arrive. Ukraine has sent two fire fighting Antonov 32P. Other nations are providing other forms of assistance.

Peat bog problems

So far, there have been 776 fires, including 57 peat bogs. Summer fires in Russia are not new even if this year they have been particularly devastating because of the scorching heat. According to Moscow Regional Fire Chief Evgeny Sekirin, “the problem can be solved by flooding the peat bogs.”

At the time of the Soviet Union, peat was intensely used as fuel. In order to increase supplies, the authorities drained large swamp areas. However, “dry peat is self-igniting and burns for a long time without flames,” Sekirin said.

However, any attempt to flood drained peat bogs would cost around US$ 650 million and would take at least three years. Governors from the affected regions and federal authorities are currently discussing the issue.

President Medvedev said that about 2,000 houses would be rebuilt before the winter. He also pledged US$ 100,000 in aid to homeowners who lost property. Prime Minister Putin ordered governors to start reconstruction. “I want plans for each region, city and house,” he said. However, “beyond emergency measure, we shall decide based on future perspectives,” he added.

Environmentalists blame the situation on the government’s short-sighted policies and lack of vision towards fire prevention. They say that fires are as bad as they are because in 2007, under pressure from the lumber industry lobby, then President Putin, “introduced a new forest code that dramatically cut the number of forest guards who could monitor and act in case of fires,” said Alexey Yaroshenko from Greenpeace Russia. “Forest guards were reduced by 75 per cent and 12,000 people were hired for paper work,” he added.

Perhaps the summer 2010 will be a wakeup call for the Kremlin to pay more attention to the environment, whose problems it has tended to underestimate.

Together in Thanksgiving George Strickland, Ph.D. Editor From the November 20, 2006 issue of Orthodox Times America observes a day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. The history of this rich tradition dates back to 1621 when the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is now known as the first Thanksgiving. The picture of Thanksgiving Day is one of contentment. The family gathers around the bountiful Thanksgiving take with turkey and all the trimmings. Norman Rockwell captures a scene of heads bowed saying grace. The big question, however, is have we learned to be thankful? Leaving this serene Thanksgiving scene, we move to another Thanksgiving table, the Holy Table. The priest intones, “Lift up your hearts!” And the people respond, “We lift them to the Lord!” Someone in the third row from the back is saying, “I can’t. My wife is dying of cancer. My heart is too heavy.” Other hearts are filled with doubts, resentments and confusion. “Lift up your hearts.” “We lift them to the Lord.” Broken, doubting, tranquil, joyful, terror-ridden—whatever, we lift them to the Lord. “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” “It is right to give Him thanks and praise.” It is what we feel like doing? It will solve our problems? It will change the world? Maybe. Who knows? But this we know: our uncertainties, conflicts and sorrows are offered with our joys and our gratitude for the amazing grace that makes whole our broken lives. As the psalmist writes, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103: 1-5)

Reuters

By Ibon Villelabeitia

AKDAMAR ISLAND, Turkey - Swallows dart around the dome of the 10th century Armenian church rising from an island set amid the turquoise waters of Lake Van.

Tombstones with ancient Christian inscriptions and crosses lie scattered among the weeds in the garden, where day-trippers picnic in the shade of almond trees and sunbathe after a swim.

The serenity of the scene belies a traumatic past that haunts Turkey and Armenia to this day.

For Armenians across the world, the church in eastern Anatolia is a testimony to centuries of persecution, deportations and mass killings at the hands of Ottoman forces.

Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia are bitterly divided over their troubled history and the border between them remains closed despite U.S.-brokered peace accords signed last year.

Today, the Church of the Holy Cross, which is now a state museum, has become a symbol of a tortuous reconciliation process as Turkey prepares to open the site on September 19 for a one-day religious service that could become an annual event.

"This church is very important for Armenians, not only in Turkey, but across the world," said Archbishop Aram Ateshian, a spiritual leader from Turkey's surviving Armenian community.

"For decades, we could not say mass or have a religious service because it was forbidden by the government," he said.

With its conical dome, frescoes depicting saints and carvings of biblical scenes on its red stone outer walls, the church is considered one of the finest architectural examples that remain of the ancient Armenian civilization in Turkey, erased a century ago in what many regard as genocide.

Its scenic location, at the centre of the volcanic, salt lake, ringed year-round by snow-capped mountains, would make a natural draw for tourists to this poverty stricken region.

RESTORATION OF THE CROSS

Large numbers of Armenians lived in the nearby city of Van and in eastern Anatolia until they were expelled by Ottoman forces in 1915 during the chaotic break-up of the empire.

At one point, there were 2,000 Armenian churches in Turkey, but only 45 are left standing. The rest, Armenian officials say, were destroyed, ransacked or turned into mosques or schools.

The church reopened in 2007 as a museum, following a $1.5 million renovation by the Turkish government. Despite pleas by church officials, a cross was not allowed on the church.

Munir Karaloglu, governor of Van province, said a cross will be placed on the dome before the mass and will remain there.

Church officials say the holy site in Akdamar, built between 915 and 921 A.D., has been appropriated by the Turkish state. Because it is a public building, expressions of religious belief are not tolerated under Turkey's strict secular constitution.

Often criticised in the West for its treatment of Christian minorities, Ankara has promoted the mass as proof of commitment to tolerance. Critics say the one-day service is a public relations campaign to improve EU candidate's Turkey's image.

KNOTTED THREADS OF OLD ENMITIES

Efforts at normalizing ties suffered a setback in April when Yerevan froze ratification of an accord after months of deadlock from both sides. It would establish ties and called for an "impartial and scientific" investigation into the 1915 events.

Armenia, backed by many historians and world parliaments, says some 1.5 million Armenians died during the upheavals that accompanied World War I and labels the events as genocide.

Ankara rejects the term genocide and says large numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks were killed.

A Turkish foreign ministry official hoped the church mass would improve the atmosphere around the peace process.

"It will be nice if this step contributes to the normalisation process between Turkey and Armenia but we have to be realistic," the official said. "The border between Armenia and Turkey is closed due to political reasons."

Turkey closed the border in 1993 in solidarity with Muslim ally Azerbaijan in its war over Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.

Ankara says progress with Armenia is impossible until Armenia and Azerbaijan settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

LINGERING SENSIBILITIES

Officials in Van say hotels are fully booked and that the city is bracing itself to receive Armenians "from all over the world" -- although the nearby border is closed and visitors from Armenia will have to make a 20-hour drive via Georgia or fly to faraway Istanbul and then take another flight to Van.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry did not comment on the mass, and officials in Yerevan said they have not received any invitation, but Armenian church officials saw hopeful signs of a change in attitude towards their faith.

"We are glad that Turkish authorities have partly changed their attitude on this issue, but the September 19 event is a late and insufficient step," said Vahram Melikyan, a spokesman for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia's main church and residence of the Armenian Patriarch.

Posters inside the church these days tell visitors "Respect the history, respect the culture," but sensitivities linger.

As children ran around the empty, echoing building, two women wearing Muslim headscarves looked at the frescoes.

"Let's not stay too long. It is haram to be here," one of them whispered before heading out into the garden.

Carvings are seen on the exterior of the Church of the Holy Cross, an Armenian church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van, near the eastern Turkish city of Van June 27, 2010. Now a state museum, it has become the latest symbol of the difficult reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey as the latter prepares to open the site for a one-day religious service next month. Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia are bitterly divided over their troubled history and the border remains closed despite U.S.-brokered peace accords signed last year Picture taken June 27, 2010.

Associated Press

 Armenian-American lawyers filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Turkish government and two banks seeking compensation for the heirs of Armenians whose property was allegedly seized nearly a century ago as they were driven from the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

Lawyers were seeking class-action status for the suit, a process that attorney Brian Kabateck said could take as long as three years.

"We are rolling up our sleeves and are going forward," he said.

The suit was filed on behalf of plaintiffs Garbis Davouyan of Los Angeles and Hrayr Turabian of Queens, New York. It alleges breach of statutory trust, unjust enrichment, human rights violations and violations of international law.

 It seeks compensation for land, buildings and businesses allegedly seized from Armenians along with bank deposits and property, including priceless religious and other artifacts, some of which are now housed in museums in Turkey.

 Attorney Mark Geragos said it was the first such lawsuit directly naming the government of the Republic of Turkey as a defendant.

"All of the lawyers involved have relatives who perished or fled the Armenian genocide, which gives it a special poignancy for us," he said.

The lawsuit claims more than a million Armenians were killed in forced marches, concentration camps and massacres "perpetrated, assisted and condoned" by Turkish officials and armed forces.

The U.S. government does not recognize the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide.

Also named in the lawsuit were the Central Bank of Turkey and T.C., Ziraat Bankasi, the largest and oldest Turkish bank with origins dating back to the 1860s.

The lawsuit claims the government of Turkey agreed to administer the property, collect rents and sale proceeds from the seized assets and deposit the receipts in trust accounts until the property could be restored to owners.

Instead, the government has "withheld the property and any income derived from such property," the lawsuit said.

A message left with the Turkish Consul General's office in Los Angeles was not immediately returned. After-hours e-mails seeking comment from both banks were not immediately returned.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs believe records of the properties and profits still exist, and they are seeking an accounting that could reach billions of dollars.

Geragos said the biggest issue in Armenian communities is seeking recognition for the ethnic bloodshed that allegedly claimed the lives of as many as 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1919.

In 2000, the California Legislature recognized the deaths as genocide when it allowed heirs to seek payment on life insurance policies of dead relatives.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later invalidated the law. Geragos has appealed that ruling.

Still, the heirs were paid nearly $40 million by New York Life Insurance Co. and French insurer AXA.

 Tel Aviv (AsiaNews) – The Churches of Jerusalem are perplexed and concerned by the municipal authorities threat to cut off water supplies to the basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. Since water supplies were first operational in the area, successive governments have always provided access to the Holy Sepulcher free of charge as a public service to the pilgrims and act of courtesy to the religious, Orthodox, Catholic and other churches, who custody the sanctuary.

So did the British government in the Holy Land (1917-1948), the Jordanian (1948-1967) and so far the Israelis. But now Israeli municipal authorities have stepped up pressure and threats to cut off water supplies unless a tax is paid, not only in future but also for all water supplied since 1967.

The revelations were made to AsiaNews by sources in the Basilica, who prefer not to be identified in the hope that the city authorities will have a change of heart. The curious fact is that the payment requests are directed to a nonexistent entity, "the church of the Holy Sepulcher." An administration that does not exist, since the ancient basilica is governed by a special, internationally recognized, legal regime, known as the "Status quo". The "Status quo" means that the spaces, time, and functions are divided between the Catholic Church, represented by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land and several groups and  monks of other churches, primarily Greek and Armenian but also to a lesser extent, Copts, Ethiopian and Syrian Orthodox.

An expert of Church-State relations in the Holy Land contacted by AsiaNews, said: "The question of paying for the past use is clearly unfounded, because it was a conscious choice and consistent political of all the successive states that ruled in Jerusalem both de facto and de jure, to offer this courtesy to those who officiate and those visiting the Holy Sepulcher of Our Lord Jesus Christ [and also to many other churches in the past]. As for the future, nobody denies that nowadays the supply of water could be seen as a 'commodity' for which you should always pay a fair price. However, in order for this to be applied to the whole of the Holy Sepulcher, specific agreements must be reached between first among the different users regarding the splitting of costs for the consumption of water in common areas, and then you will have to install separate water meters so that it can be demanded that each group of monks pay for what they consume. In fact it is a rather complex legal and technical transaction, which can be addressed only by mutual agreement and not to the sound of threats and warnings, addressed to nobody in particular”.

With some hesitation, the scholar concludes: "But in the end, is it worthwhile for the Israeli authorities to remove an appreciated courtesy practiced by all other states that have controlled the area? It's likely that whoever had this idea will now have to consult with the Office of the Prime Minister or the Foreign Ministry to reach a more lenient conclusion".

KIEV (AFP) – An 80-year-old nun has been killed in an explosion that wounded eight others at a church in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporozhye, officials said on Thursday.

The explosion at the church late Wednesday took place on the last day of a visit to Ukraine by Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill that has been hotly disputed by nationalists. It was not clear if the events were linked.

The woman, named as nun Lyudmila, was taken to hospital in a serious condition after the blast and doctors were unable to save her, said civic health official Nadezhda Sevalneva according to local media.

"She was in a very bad condition. She had lost a lot of blood, she had 40 percent burns to the body and had numerous broken bones," she said according to the reporter.zp.ua news site.

The building belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is under the Russian patriarchate in Moscow. The church operates in Ukraine alongside dissident Orthodox churches, with which it has tense relations.

A criminal investigation has been opened into premeditated murder, local media said. Deadly explosions are extremely unusual in Ukraine.

Local police said that the damage to the church caused by the blast was not significant and the device appeared to have been homemade.

Borys Petrov, governor of the Zaporozhye region, said that the blast was caused by explosives of 500g of TNT equivalent, reporter.zp.ua said.

Kirill's week long visit to Kiev, Odessa and other Ukrainian cities had sparked small-scale protests led by nationalist parties like UNA-UNSO and Svoboda.

Wednesday saw Orthodox Church celebrations of the anniversary of the adoption of Christianity by the Rus in 988 AD.

 VATICAN CITY, JULY 27, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Archbishop Antonio Mennini, until now the Pope's representative to the Russian Federation, is now the Holy See's first apostolic nuncio to the country, the Vatican is reporting.

The archbishop presented his letters of credence to Foreign Affairs Minister Sergej Lavrov on July 15 in a ceremony that was followed by a "cordial" meeting, reported the Vatican press office. 

Last December, Benedict XVI and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to upgrade relations between the two sides to full diplomatic ties, which raises the level of representation to apostolic nuncio and embassy.  

The two sides have maintained representation below the rank of ambassador since 1990.

In an address to the new nuncio, Alexander Krusko, the vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, reviewed the development of bilateral relations between the Russian Federation and the Holy See. He noted that the relations between the two were "characterized by a growing understanding and spirit of collaboration," reported L'Osservatore Romano.
 
Krusko also assured Archbishop Mennini, on behalf of the Russian president, of "a fruitful collaboration in the great moral and ethical challenges posed to man today."
 
For his part, the archbishop transmitted the Pope's greeting to the Russian president, assuring his "collaboration for a further reinforcement of relations with the government, as well as for the spiritual and moral growth of the Russian people."
 
This ceremony brought to an end the exchange of embassies, which began on June 26 in Rome with the presentation of the letters of credence of the first Russian ambassador to the Holy See, Mikolaj Sadlichov.

Reuters

 MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia officially celebrated a new holiday on Wednesday marking its conversion to Christianity in 988.

Rights groups have criticized the new holiday, approved by President Dmitry Medvedev in June, as undermining Russia's secular constitution and members of the country's large Muslim minority have complained that it excludes them.

Marking the anniversary, Patriarch Kirill  told state-run television: "Abandoning the historical significance of the baptism of Rus means discarding the supporting pillar of our entire civilization".

Kirill held a liturgy in Kiev, the capital of modern Ukraine and mediaeval Kievan Rus, whose leader Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity over a millennia ago and adopted it for his state. Kievan Rus is seen as the precursor to modern-day Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

In Kiev's historic Pecherska Lavra monastery, Kirill told thousands worshippers: "Facing aggressive atheism and resurgent paganism we remain firm in our belief in God".

The Orthodox Church is undergoing a revival in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union almost 20 years ago and Russia's leaders have endorsed it as the country's main faith.

The Russian patriarch also presides over the biggest branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, although some Ukrainian clergy have declared themselves independent of Moscow and Kirill's visit to Kiev has angered some Ukrainian nationalists.

The trend toward consolidation of the church as a national force in Russia has worried its 20-million strong Muslim population -- a seventh of Russia's people -- as well as those who believe church and state should be strictly separated.

Medvedev on June 1 signed a law making July 28 a National Day, a state holiday that is also a working day.

Across Russia, churches prepared to hold services and mass river baptisms in honor of the conversion.

Since Medvedev's law, Muslim lawmakers have asked for a national holiday to mark the arrival of Islam in modern-day Russia, which Arabs brought through the southern gateway city of Derbent on the Caspian Sea more than 1,000 years ago.

 Moscow (AsiaNews) - "Down with the Moscow pope", is the slogan repeated by nationalist demonstrators every time the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia visits Ukraine. In fact it was brandished again today in Kiev, where Patriarch Kirill is on an official visit and were he opened the Synod of the Russian-Orthodox Church. Eight people were arrested for demonstrating against the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. In Dnipropetrovsk, however, the authorities have even banned any kind of street protests against Kirill, on this his third trip to the country since being elected in 2009.

In the Patriarch’s attempts to unify the various Orthodox Churches in Ukraine, bringing them back under the spiritual leadership of Moscow, the nationalists glimpse the political objective of the Kremlin to reassert its influence on the former satellite republic. In Russia the "tour of Ukraine" by Kirill is being closely followed by TV and newspapers, as if it were a state visit. In fact at the very same time, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich.

After the fall of the USSR in 1991, the Orthodox Church in Ukraine underwent a schism, with some bishops declaring their independence from Moscow. So far, the Russian Patriarchate has been able to avert their recognition by the global Orthodox hierarchy. In Ukraine, 80 percent of the 46 million inhabitants are Orthodox Christian, with a third referring to the Moscow Patriarchate.

Beyond the controversy, Kirill’s visit confirms that the unity of the Eastern Orthodox Church is one of his key objectives. During trip which touched several cities, the Patriarch made the most significant statement on the issue to date in the city of Odessa, tracing what the Russian media have called his "third path".

In the city home to the Kremlin’s Black Sea fleet, where the majority of the population is Russian and relations with the Ukrainian minority are always tense, Kirill spoke for the first time against nationalism as a "dangerous instrument for building societies" which instead, end up living under the "continuing threat of violence." The alternative to a fanaticism of boundaries, race and ethnicity is "a Western-style multicultural society, but based on a solid structure." "Even in the most multi-ethnic societies like the U.S. – he said - there is always a dominant culture, in this particular case the Anglo-Saxon culture: for Russia and Ukraine it is the Orthodox culture." And the Patriarch has also listed its core values: "Goodness, the absence of ill will, the spirit of sacrifice and willingness to help others." The "third path" is realized, then, in a society whose members live according to the "divine law of love."