Month: February 2010

RussiaProfile.org

The Patriarch’s First Year in Office Has Laid The Ground Work For Further Reform

Pat. Kirill

Prior to Kirill's enthronement in winter of 2009, many church members were wary of his pro-Western sympathies, reformer’s zeal and forceful character that, the fear was, could have led to a schism in the Russian Church. Now that the first year of his patriarchate has elapsed, these fears can be said to have been ungrounded.

When Patriarch Kirill celebrates Divine Liturgy, sound amplifiers make every word he utters audible in every corner of the church – including the Eucharistic prayers that priests usually speak quietly at the altar during the main part of the service.

For a long time, Eucharistic prayers said aloud have been a mark of liberalism in the Russian Orthodox Church. In Russia, few priests had the bishops’ authorization to do so, and conservatives regarded the practice as inadmissible. But Patriarch Kirill resorted to high technologies to resolve the controversy – no one can accuse him of articulating those prayers loudly. At the same time, everyone can hear them. Thus the service becomes more intelligible and parishioners feel more closely involved in it.

Continue reading →

This video shows the winner of 2009’s ” Ukraine ’s Got Talent”, Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch. The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about $75,000.

Continue reading →