General Council of Old Believers prepared

The Russian Orthodox Old Believers Chruch held the first day of its regular Council of the Metropolitanate on March 2, in Rogozhska Sloboda. The council was attended by all the bishops as well as oeconomuses and rural deans of the eparchies, reported the website of the Russian Orthodox Church of Old Believers.  

In the first part of the day, the participants heard Metropolitan Kornylii's report about his participation in the session of the council under the president of the Russian Federation on cooperation with religious organizations. Then they heard Protopriest Viacheslav Zobnin's report on improvement of the procedure of preparation and organization of the councils. 

The council by its decision established a committee to prepare the General Old Believers Council. Archbishop Savatii of Kyiv and All Ukraine has been appointed its head. It was proposed to hold the first session of the committees of the two metropolitanates during the celebration of the Week of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Wives in Moscow with the participation of Archbishop Leontii Bilokrynytskyi and all the Old Believers of the metropolitan.

The participants of the council also considered the question of practical application of the recently passed Federal Law  “On Transferring Property under State or Municipal Ownership to Religious Organizations for Religious Purposes.” The leading advisor of the Committee of the State Duma on matters of public associations and religious organizations, S. Medvedko, participated in the discussion of that item of the agenda and answered numerous questions of the members of the Council of the Metropolitanate. 

After a discussion of the question of the acceptability of studying in educational institutions of other denominations, the Council of the Metropolitanate called Christians to receive primary spiritual education in the Moscow Spiritual [Religious] School and to settle the question of further study in other denominations’ institutions on an individual basis, with the blessing of the ruling priest, and to continue the studies under the supervision of one’s mentor. 

The Council of the Metropolitanate continued its activity on March 3.