One hundred years ago on October 25 (Old Style Calendar), a Marxist political movement led by an intellectual political activist named Vladimir Lenin mounted a successful coup d’état against Russia’s ailing Provisional Government. Most believed the Bolsheviks would themselves be overthrown quickly. Scarcely anyone recognized that the event marked the beginning of one of the Read more
Russia plays a crucial role in working for world peace, says Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Parolin, who has just returned from a four day trip to Russia, says: “I tried above all to say this, this was the message that I wanted to convey: Russia, for its geographical position, its history, its Read more
Cardinal Pietro Parolin will visit Moscow at the end of August. The Vatican secretary of state’s diplomatic visit aims to formalise Pope Francis’s peacemaking efforts to President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church. Read more
Over 300,000 Russians have been standing in huge lines for up to 10 hours to visit a gilded ark thought to carry bone fragment relics of St Nicholas. “The thing is, people don’t have much to hope for … they have nothing else to rely on, other than to go and pray,” says Xenia Loutchenko, Read more
A missionary Catholic priest serving in Russia says he expects new anti-terror laws will have a much bigger impact on small groups of Evangelicals than on the Catholic Church in Russia. The priest, who has been serving in Russia for 24 years, said since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Catholic Church has followed Read more
Russia’s new religious laws may affect small groups of Evangelicals more than the Catholic Church in Russia. Russia’s new anti-terrorism laws, which include sweeping restrictions on Christian evangelising and teaching the faith, have officially come into force. A Catholic priest, who has been serving in Russia for 24 years, says the Catholic Church follows government Read more
Officials in the Russian region of Arkhangelsk have banned Halloween being celebrated at local schools. The Education Ministry in the region in north-western Russia stated that Halloween is “incoherent to basic traditional values and causes a negative influence on fragile minds”. Russians began – unofficially – celebrating Halloween after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Read more
Older Catholics will remember that until 1965 Catholics prayed for the conversion of Russia at the end of each low Mass. Two decades after the collapse of the USSR, history’s most atheistic state, the vast majority of Russians attest to a belief in God – more than in any other European country – according to Read more
The other day there was an item on CathNews expressing dismay and anger by anti-poverty campaigners, at hundreds of tonnes of food being destroyed by the order of Vladimir Putin. This is much less than half the story and the other side needs to be aired also. When Western nations impose sanctions on other nations, Read more
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, recently gave a wide-ranging interview in regard to the role of Russia in the Mediterranean among other matters. What results can an agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme bring for peace in the Middle East? Why does the Holy See view it as a positive thing? Read more