Department for External Church Relations
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Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church completes the first day of its session
On 15 March 2012, the spring and summer session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church opened at the patriarchal residence in St Daniel’s Monastery in Moscow.
At its first session, the Holy Synod confirmed the Supreme Church Council’s decision of 6 February 2012 on approving plans of the work of the Synodal institutions for 2012 and adopted a resolution on transforming the Synodal Commission for Monasteries into the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism. A Board established at this Department includes the members of the Synodal Commission for Monasteries and Bishop Savva of Voskresensk, abbot of the Novospassky Stavropegic Monastery in Moscow, and Sister Philareta (Kalacheva), mother superior of the Stavropegic Convent of the Dormition in Pühtica.
The Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism and the Patriarchal Council for Culture were added to the Synodal institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Patriarchal Council for Family and Maternity Protection was renamed the Patriarchal Commission for Family and Maternity Protection. Amendments to the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church will be submitted to the Bishops’ Council.
The members of the Holy Synod discussed the results of the visits to Russia of His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa and of Metropolitan Christopher of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.
Considered at the session were the results of the 2nd talks between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in Lithuania; results of the visit of the DECR’s chairman to France; and results of the enlarged session of the Patriarchal Council for Culture and of the Congress of the Church-Public Council for Protection against Alcoholism.
The Holy Synod approved the standard charter of a stavropegic monastery’s metochion.
The following staff reshuffles were made in the Education Committee under the Holy Synod: archimandrite Kirill (Govorun) was released from his duties of the first deputy chairman of the Education Committee; archpriest Maksim Kozlov, rector of the Home Chapel of the Moscow State University, was appointed to this post.
The members of the Holy Synod established new metropolias: the Volgograd metropolia, which includes the dioceses of Volgograd, Kalach-na-Donu, Uriupinsk; the Nizhniy Novgorod metropolia, which includes the dioceses of Vyksa, Gorodets, Lyskovo, and Nizhniy Novgorod; the Samara metropolia, which includes the dioceses of Kinel, Otradny, Samara; and the Yaroslavl metropolia with the dioceses of Rybinsk and Yaroslavl.
Hegumen Yelisei (Fomkin), a cleric of the Volgograd diocese, was elected Bishop of Uriupinsk and Novoanninsky; hegumen Varnava (Baranov), a cleric of the Nizhniy Novgorod diocese, was nominated Bishop of Vyksa and Pavlovo; hegumen Avgustin (Anisimov), a cleric of the Nizhniy Novgorod diocese, was appointed Bishop of Gorodets and Vetluga; hegumen Nikifor (Khoteev), a cleric of the Samara diocese, was elected Bishop of Otradny and Pokhvistnevo.
His Eminence Veniamin, Bishop of Rybinsk, a vicar of the Yaroslavl diocese, was appointed Bishop of Rybinsk and Uglich.
Metropolitan German of Volgograd and Kamyshin was charged with temporary administration of the Kalach-na-Donu diocese; Archbishop Sergiy of Samara and Syzran was charged with temporary administration of the Kinel diocese; Archbishop Georgiy of Nizhniy Novgorod and Arzamas was charged with temporary administration of the Lyskovo diocese.
The Holy Synod will continue its work on March 16.
Patriarch
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