christian churches
Kek: secretary general not appointedAll postponed to 2012. The Central Committee of Kek (the Conference that brings together 120 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches) failed to appoint the new secretary general at the last meeting which took place in Prague from 21 to 24 September. The post of secretary general of Kek had been left vacant after the resignation of Rev. Colin Williams in May 2010: since then, the post had been temporarily filled by Viorel Ionita of the Orthodox Church of Romania, and such post will end on 31 October. The Central Committee – Kek states in a release – thanked Viorel Ionita for his service and voted on a temporary structure that will take the lead after Ionita’s resignation. The presidency of Kek (composed of a president, the metropolitan bishop Emmanuel of France, and two deputy presidents, pastor Cordelia Kopsch of the Evangelical Church of Germany and the Anglican bishop Christopher Hill) will run such structure until a secretary general is appointed at the next meeting of the Central Committee, due to take place in Geneva from 24 to 25 January 2012. In Prague, the 40 members of the Central Committee also sent a letter to the member Churches to raise the awareness of the Churches about the situation of the Roma minorities in Europe, asking to respect the equality principle when revising the laws that concern such population.Moscow: card. Tomko meets Patriarca kirillThe Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill has expressed his “respect and fraternal love” to Pope Benedict XVI. At a meeting in Moscow with Card. Jozef Tomko, Patriarch Kirill asked him to convey “these feelings” to His Holiness. The cardinal arrived in Moscow to participate in the festivities on the occasion of the centenary of the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. The meeting with Patriarch Kirill – an official statement from the Patriarchate reads – took place in a “cordial and friendly atmosphere” and was followed by an exchange of gifts. The cardinal met Patriarch Kirill at the headquarters of the Patriarchate, accompanied by Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, Apostolic Nuncio to Russia. The patriarch “warmly” welcomed his guests saying that missionary work is a priority for the Russian Church too. He noted that “the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church today are faced with the same challenges of the secularised world and this constitutes a common basis for cooperation between the two Churches”. Card. Tomko, for his part, thanked the Patriarch for the welcome and expressed the hope that “the Russian Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church will continue their dialogue”.France: interreligious talks in Paris on laicismTalks on laicism within Act 1905, and they will be promoted by the leaders of all religious cults existing in France: the leaders of the Christian Churches (Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox), the Great Rabbi of France, the president of the French Council of the Muslim cult, and the Buddhist Union of France. The decision was taken on 17 September at the quarterly meeting of the Conference of the religious leaders of France that was held in the Parisian premises of the French Council of the Muslim cult. The goal of such meetings – which began in November 2010 – is to “increase mutual understanding – the release states – in order to contribute to the cohesion of our society, while respecting the other currents of thought and recognising laicism as part of the common good of our society”. Hence the decision to promote such talks, called “Reality and promises of laicism within Act 1905”, due to take place in Paris, at Palais du Luxembourg, which hosts the Senate, on 17 October. Such talks – the release goes on – are the result of the commitment of the Conference of Cults in France to develop, in the country, a reflection on laicism, which is “one of the pillars of our Republican pact”.Belarus: ecumenical youth gatheringAn unusual ecumenical meeting was held in the monastery courtyard in the village of Teryuha in Homel district in Belarus on 24 September, organised by the local Catholic parish. The recital was dedicated to celebration of the feast of Nativity of the Virgin Mary, according to Julian calendar. On Homel hieromonk Nikolai Tarasenko’s invitation about 50 young Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants gathered at the meeting by the fire. “Today we, brothers – Christians, have got together to praise Jesus and His good news with our songs, hoping for development of friendly mutual relations”, said hieromonk Nikolai at the beginning of the event. Gathering, where members of various confessions sang songs, recited poems and talked about their spirituality, lasted until the daybreak and its success was a preview of an interfaith Christian festival planned for the next year.
