November 23, 2007 in the Pilgrim center of the Moscow Patriarchate celebration took place on the 50 th anniversary of the founding of the Autonomous Orthodox Church. In the temple ravnoapostolnoy Princess Olga, located in the Pilgrim center of the Moscow Patriarchate, arhipastyri border diocese with the People's Republic of China have made moleben to 222 leading Chinese martyrs and for the repose of the soul of the deceased Chinese lithium arhiereyam, priests and laity. Then, Chairman of Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill chaired a conference on the anniversary and read out a welcome message of the Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II.
Participants in the forum Archbishop Vladivostok and Primorsky Veniamin, chairman of the Russian Committee for Training Orthodox Church Archbishop Vereysky Yevgeny, bishops and Abakansky Kyzylsky Ionafan, Chita and Zabaikalsky Evstafy, Barnaulsky and Altai Maxim and other representatives located near the border with the People's Republic of China dioceses, and Chinese teachers students Spiritual Russian Orthodox Church schools. The conference was also attended by Deputy Director of the First Asian Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Tomihin E. Yu, director of the Far East Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences Academician M. L. Titarenko and leading researchers at the Institute of Oriental Studies and the Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Far East.
"Russian Orthodox Church has been at the origin of establishment of relations between Russia and China," said Metropolitan Kirill at the opening of the forum. And it is impossible not to take into account the religious factor in the evaluation of Russian-Chinese ties. "
Vladika Kirill noted in his report that the distribution of Orthodoxy in China began in the late XVII century, when, together with prisoners from the Cossacks Albazinskogo acute arrived in Beijing Russian priest Maxim Leontiev, and since in 1713, China began to operate official Russian Spiritual Mission.
Through active Russian missionaries in the eastern State of a large Chinese followers with their national klirom. By 1954, China had acted more than a hundred Orthodox churches and houses of prayer. November 23, 1956 Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, in agreement with the Chinese side, it was decided to grant autonomy China Orthodox Church. First Church Predstoyatelem Beijing became Bishop Vasily (Yao Shuanglin).
However, in difficult circumstances "cultural revolution" China Life Church to decline. "A premature complete isolation from the Chinese Orthodox Materi-Tserkvi led to the complexity in the development of the young church body and its actual break under the yoke of acrimonious circumstances and the" cultural revolution "," pointed out in his statement, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.
Thus, to date, on the territory of the People's Republic, there is only one existing Chinese Orthodox priest. Nevertheless, the president stressed the ties of External Church of Moscow Patriarchy, "Russian Orthodox Church is interested in the restoration of China Autonomous Orthodox Church, and not in the establishment in China of its parishes." As Tserkov-Mat it was ready "to assist in the direction of Russian priests, as a temporary measure (primarily in the existing temples in Xinjiang and in the Northeast of China) and the preparation of national cadres in the Chinese priest Spiritual schools Russia and the subsequent placing them in the holy in San coordination with the State Administration of Religious Affairs of the PRC. "
On the current situation in China told Orthodoxy speaking at the conference Bitter Orthodox parish in Hong Kong archpriest Pozdnyaev Dionysius. According to him, at the moment in China there are four communities of Orthodox believers, there is also an Orthodox groups that have no legal status. "If during desyati-pyatnadtsati years in the country not appear Chinese priests, for the revival of China Autonomous Orthodox Church already be too late to say," pointed out, among other things, the father of Dionysius.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation supports the initiative of External links the Moscow Patriarchate church of a working group between the Division and the State Administration of Religious Affairs of the People's Republic of China," pointed out in his speech, Deputy Director of the First Asian Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia E. Y. Tomihin .
In addition, the representative diplomat of the status of the recovery in the territory of Russia embassy in Beijing temple Dormition of the Holy Virgin. This work is being done jointly with the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. "We hope that in the near future the church will be crowned on the cross and opened his historic place", he hoped E. Y. Tomihin.
During the conference, speakers reviewed the history of the Orthodox Mission in China, the current situation of religious organizations in the People's Republic of China, as well as various aspects of integration in the Russian society Chinese citizens residing in the territory of Russia. In some dioceses the Russian Orthodox Church-Blagoveschensk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, regularly conducts activities to familiarize themselves with the Chinese culture and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Also arhipastyri border with the People's Republic of China dioceses Russian Orthodox Church discussed the possibility of creating dioceses in the territories targeted China Autonomous Orthodox Church parishes and for the commission of worship in Chinese.
At the conclusion of the first meeting of the Presidium members of the conference responded to questions of journalists.