RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report, Vol. 2: excerpts

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Subject: RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report, Vol. 2: excerpts

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RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report, Vol. 2: excerpts


RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report
Vol. 2, No. 25, 4 July 2000
 
A Survey of Developments in Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine by the
Regional Specialists of RFE/RL's Newsline Team.
 
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UKRAINE
 
MOSCOW AND KYIV PATRIARCHATES WAGE INFORMATION WAR. Believers and
priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) in
Crimea sought to halt a 23-25 June trip to Crimea by Metropolitan
Filaret, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate),
Interfax reported on 26 June, quoting sources from the Simferopol and
Crimean Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow
Patriarchate). Following an appeal by Simferopol and Crimean
Archbishop Lazar (Moscow Patriarchate), hundreds of people blocked all
roads leading from Simferopol airport to Sevastopol. Filaret had to
sneak into Sevastopol across fields.

The Simferopol and Crimean Eparchy (Moscow Patriarchate) told Interfax
that its clergy and congregation also prevented Filaret from visiting
Khersones (near Sevastopol), the place of baptism of St. Vladimir, the
Kievan Rus's first Christian grand prince (980-1015). According to the
eparchy, tensions in Sevastopol were running so high that Filaret had
to forfeit the main purpose of his trip - a visit to the Institute of
the Ukrainian Navy, where he was expected to bless new graduates.

Ukraine's Moscow and Kyiv Patriarchates have remained at loggerheads
since 1992, when Filaret and part of the clergy split from Ukraine's
pro-Moscow Orthodox Church to form an independent Ukrainian Orthodox
Church. The Moscow Patriarchate anathematized Filaret and branded its
followers "schismatics" (Russian: raskolniki).

The press service of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate)
denied that Filaret's trip to Crimea had been ruined by the rival
patriarchate. The press service admitted that an attempt to prevent
Filaret from entering Crimea was made at Simferopol airport, but it
said that "the Republic of Crimea's authorities did everything
possible to prevent any confrontation on religious grounds." The press
service listed a number of meetings and religious services held by
Filaret during his three-day stay in Crimea, underscoring that there
were no "conflicts or clashes between believers."

..............

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Copyright (c) 2000. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report is prepared by Jan
Maksymiuk on the basis of a variety of sources including reporting by
"RFE/RL Newsline" and RFE/RL's broadcast services. It is distributed
every Tuesday.
 
Direct comments to Jan Maksymiuk at [email protected]. For
information on subscriptions or reprints, contact Paul Goble in
Washington at (202) 457-6947 or at [email protected]. Back issues are
online at http://www.rferl.org/pbureport/
 
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