Russian Orthodox Church in Delhi

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna

 

Is the Indian government aware of the plight of the Hare Krishna's in Russia?

Anyone would like to respond directly to the Times of India on this issue?

 

 

February 11, 2007 RUSSIA INDIA

TIMES OF INDIA

 

 

IN DECEMBER LAST YEAR, A FOUNDATION STONE WAS LAID IN THE PLACE OF CONSTRUCTION

OF THE FIRST CATHEDRAL OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN DELHI. AND NOW THE LEGACY

CONTINUES. THE CATHEDRAL OF SAINT APOSTLE THOMAS, CONSECRATOR OF INDIA, WILL BE

LOCATED IN THE TERRITORY OF THE INHABITED AREA OF THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY

 

IN SAINT APOSTLE'S STEPS....

by Elena Yakovleva

 

It is not a mission. We do not have a programme or intentions to open a

missionary camp of Russian Orthodox Church in each Indian town, was a comment

made in the department of church external relations of Moscow Patriarchy. We

reply to the real needs of spiritual food for our compatriots.

 

One of the participants of the December trip of metropolitan of Smolensk and

Kaliningrad Cyril to India, during which the first stone was laid, told us that

on the territory of Russian Embassy, a prayer place is equipped where orthodox

divine services take place for a long time. "For honour feasts our priests

regularly go there." Exchange between Russia and India will improve as more and

more Russians visit India and with the increase in number of Orthodox

believers, this move is pretty imperative.

Hence, a wish for a separate room that could seat all those who wish to be

present during service, is rather organic. Moreover, parishioners are not only

Russians, but also believers of the countries of Orthodox culture - Serbia,

Bulgaria, Belarus, Ukraine. Even citizens of France and other European

countries visit services in our prayer chamber, when our priest comes there. It

has now become a sort of a tradition.

 

During the visit to India of Russian Orthodox Church officials, they also

visited a place of martyr's death of Apostle Thomas and prayed there. Meetings

with representatives of different Indian religious organisations took place.

Active were the contacts with Malankar Orthodox Syria Church of India, one of

the Eastern Churches, with which Russian Orthodox Church conflicted upon dogma

divergences after Council of Chalcedon, decision of which they considered to be

invalid. Nowadays Russian Orthodox Church in every way develops contacts with

them and conducts a theological dialogue upon settlement of the present

theological contradictions.

 

Spiritual and cultural knowledge about India became actual for Russia since the

immemorial times.

 

For the first time Russians learned about India from such literary memorial as

"Word of law and mercy" by metropolitan of Kiev Illarion, written in the middle

of 11th century, -- narrates archpriest Nikolay Balashov. It was said that such

country existed and Apostle Thomas had visited it.

 

The first written testimony about attendance of India by Russians are known

among Russians from records of merchant Afanasiy Nikitin from "A walk beyond

three seas." When in 1703, a Slavic school was opened at Alexander-Nevskaya

Lavra, that subsequently became a spiritual academy where one Indian was

studying in its first course.

 

"It is doubtful that he came from India, most likely from Astrahan - explained

to us a specialist of department of church external relations of Russian

Orthodox Church. there was a close trade exchange with India and even a whole

Indian town existed." In 19 th century when an active dialogue with ancient

Eastern churches began - Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, representatives of

Orthodox Syria Church of India, followers of which inhabit mostly the Kerala

state, in 1851 informed Russian Ambassador of its intentions to have

negotiations upon closing in with Russian Orthodox Church, but Russian-Turkish

war interrupted this process. After that there were some more attempts from the

side of Indian Orthodox churches to re-establish canonic relations with Russian

Orthodox Church. Fragmentary contacts of Indian Christians with Russian priests

occurred also at the same time of visit to India of a Russian voluntary fleet,

with which these priests arrived. The particular role in development of

relations between Russian Orthodox Church and orthodox churches of India

belongs to archimandrite Andronicus Elpidinski, that lived for 18 years in

India and gave spiritual food to Russians who lived there (canonically he

related to metropolitan Evlogiy Georgievski -West-european exarchate of

Constantinople Partiarchy). Archimandrite Andronicus Elpidinski while moving

along India, visited all religious groups that raised their traditions to

Apostle Thomas, and made a conclusion that mission of Russian church there is

not completely justified; it is more likely to follow the wish of the Indians

to re-establish unity of universal church as it was intended in 1851.

 

"We had a meeting with Mayor of Delhi and we did not hear any objections in

relation to foundation of a cathedral," said one of the participants of

December trip of delegation of Russian Orthodox Church to India. Cathredral

must be built approximately during one and a half year from the moment of

beginning of the work.

 

It project are prepared by workshops of Danilov monastery. Mono-domical hipped

cathedral under north Russian tradition shall be "not big but significant."