ID :
73926
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 09:20
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https://oananews.org//node/73926
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Christians flock to Ukraine's Pochayev.
POCHAYEV, Western Ukraine, August 4 (Itar-Tass) - Christians flock to the Pochayev laura (laura means the highest-rank monastery in Eastern Orthodoxy), where Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill arrived on Tuesday, on the eve of the day of veneration of the famous Icon the Virgin Mary of Pochayev.
Patriarch Kirill is expected to lead the festive services dedicated to
the 450th anniversary since the appearance of the Virgin Mary to the
monastery's brethren during a foreign invasion.
Long-term residents of Pochayev (Ukraine's Ternopol region) hardly
remember such a number of pilgrims. All hotels in Pochayev and nearby
towns are occupied. People overnight at churches and in streets. Huge
tents are pitched at the walls of the monastery, Itar-Tass reports.
Pilgrims can get free meals at laura refectories.
People come here with families. Pilgrim Nikolai told Tass that he had
arrived with the wife and three children, the youngest of whom is nine
years old. Another family has arrived from Vinnitsa, making a
six-hour-long trip. Late on Tuesday voices chanting evening prayers could
be heard outside the laura after the evening church service.
On Wednesday, Patriarch Kirill will recite a divine liturgy in
conclusion of his ten-day tour of Ukraine.
About 15,000 believers gathered inside this olden monastery and by its
walls on Tuesday to greet Patriarch Kirill, while the total number of
people who came to Pochayev and nearby townships to join the festive
events led by the Patriarch exceeded 40,000, according to the data
provided by Pochayev clerics.
As for the opponents of His Holiness Kirill's visit to Western
Ukraine, their presence was little noticed, as only a few dozens of them
could be seen standing at some place 2 kilometres away from the monastery
waving Ukraine's yellow-and-white national banners.
"I trust today's Pochayevo brotherhood stands firm in defence of the
Orthodox Christian faith and maintains the unity of our Church," the
Patriarch said upon arrival in the laura.
"The Lord never leaves those who turn to Him with prayer and now those
who tried to desecrate this holy place have vanished, while pious pilgrims
gather here in a multitude, since the Lord stays over this holy place,"
His Holiness Kirill said.
"I'll be praying today and tomorrow for all of you and for Ukraine
that particularly needs peace and concord today so that the contentions
between the groups having radically different ideas about Church life
could stop," Patriarch Kirill said.
The Pochayev Laura is the second-important monastery in Ukraine. A
legend has it that it was founded by Kievan Cave Monastery monks who fled
from Tatars. It was first mentioned in 1527. It has never been closed
down, although it was under the authority of the Uniats (Catholics of the
Eastern rite) between 1731 and 1831. The Laura's main shrine is the Icon
the Virgin Mary of Pochayev that was regained by miracle in 1597.
.Baikal forum to discuss innovative education.
ULAN-UDE, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - An all-Russia Baikal educational
forum, which opens in the capital of Buryatia on Wednesday, will focus on
innovative education. Over 650 delegates from 24 Russian regions will take
part. The guests include educationalists from Mongolia and China.
The forum, which will run till August 8, will discuss ways to increase
the quality of education. A new system of teachers' salaries, problems of
the newly introduced unified state examination and other pressing matters
will also be discussed.
Educationalists from Mongolia and Buryatia, which neighbours on it,
will continue discussing ways to popularise their languages in each other'
s countries. The Mongolian and Buryat languages are closely related.
.Moderate quake registered in Russia's Tuva Republic.
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - A moderate quake measuring
5.4 on the Richter scale was registered in Russia's republic of Tuva
overnight to Wednesday.
According to the geophysical service of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, the epicentre of the quake was at the depth of 15 kilometres,
and it could measure 6.5 in the epicentre.
The earth tremor was registered at 00:20, local time on Wednesday
(20:20 Moscow time on Tuesday). There were no reports about destructions.
.Electricity restored to Sakhalin settlement.
PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - Electricity supply
has been restored in full in the settlement of Val on Russia's Sakhalin,
sources from the Far Eastern regional centre of the Russian Ministry for
Emergency Situations told Tass on Wednesday.
It was disrupted on August 3 as a result of power interruption at
transmission facilities. Electricity supply was cut off to 25 apartment
houses where about 1,000 people live.
-0-zhe/
Patriarch Kirill is expected to lead the festive services dedicated to
the 450th anniversary since the appearance of the Virgin Mary to the
monastery's brethren during a foreign invasion.
Long-term residents of Pochayev (Ukraine's Ternopol region) hardly
remember such a number of pilgrims. All hotels in Pochayev and nearby
towns are occupied. People overnight at churches and in streets. Huge
tents are pitched at the walls of the monastery, Itar-Tass reports.
Pilgrims can get free meals at laura refectories.
People come here with families. Pilgrim Nikolai told Tass that he had
arrived with the wife and three children, the youngest of whom is nine
years old. Another family has arrived from Vinnitsa, making a
six-hour-long trip. Late on Tuesday voices chanting evening prayers could
be heard outside the laura after the evening church service.
On Wednesday, Patriarch Kirill will recite a divine liturgy in
conclusion of his ten-day tour of Ukraine.
About 15,000 believers gathered inside this olden monastery and by its
walls on Tuesday to greet Patriarch Kirill, while the total number of
people who came to Pochayev and nearby townships to join the festive
events led by the Patriarch exceeded 40,000, according to the data
provided by Pochayev clerics.
As for the opponents of His Holiness Kirill's visit to Western
Ukraine, their presence was little noticed, as only a few dozens of them
could be seen standing at some place 2 kilometres away from the monastery
waving Ukraine's yellow-and-white national banners.
"I trust today's Pochayevo brotherhood stands firm in defence of the
Orthodox Christian faith and maintains the unity of our Church," the
Patriarch said upon arrival in the laura.
"The Lord never leaves those who turn to Him with prayer and now those
who tried to desecrate this holy place have vanished, while pious pilgrims
gather here in a multitude, since the Lord stays over this holy place,"
His Holiness Kirill said.
"I'll be praying today and tomorrow for all of you and for Ukraine
that particularly needs peace and concord today so that the contentions
between the groups having radically different ideas about Church life
could stop," Patriarch Kirill said.
The Pochayev Laura is the second-important monastery in Ukraine. A
legend has it that it was founded by Kievan Cave Monastery monks who fled
from Tatars. It was first mentioned in 1527. It has never been closed
down, although it was under the authority of the Uniats (Catholics of the
Eastern rite) between 1731 and 1831. The Laura's main shrine is the Icon
the Virgin Mary of Pochayev that was regained by miracle in 1597.
.Baikal forum to discuss innovative education.
ULAN-UDE, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - An all-Russia Baikal educational
forum, which opens in the capital of Buryatia on Wednesday, will focus on
innovative education. Over 650 delegates from 24 Russian regions will take
part. The guests include educationalists from Mongolia and China.
The forum, which will run till August 8, will discuss ways to increase
the quality of education. A new system of teachers' salaries, problems of
the newly introduced unified state examination and other pressing matters
will also be discussed.
Educationalists from Mongolia and Buryatia, which neighbours on it,
will continue discussing ways to popularise their languages in each other'
s countries. The Mongolian and Buryat languages are closely related.
.Moderate quake registered in Russia's Tuva Republic.
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - A moderate quake measuring
5.4 on the Richter scale was registered in Russia's republic of Tuva
overnight to Wednesday.
According to the geophysical service of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, the epicentre of the quake was at the depth of 15 kilometres,
and it could measure 6.5 in the epicentre.
The earth tremor was registered at 00:20, local time on Wednesday
(20:20 Moscow time on Tuesday). There were no reports about destructions.
.Electricity restored to Sakhalin settlement.
PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - Electricity supply
has been restored in full in the settlement of Val on Russia's Sakhalin,
sources from the Far Eastern regional centre of the Russian Ministry for
Emergency Situations told Tass on Wednesday.
It was disrupted on August 3 as a result of power interruption at
transmission facilities. Electricity supply was cut off to 25 apartment
houses where about 1,000 people live.
-0-zhe/
