World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations"

One of the main Islamic holidays – Uraza-Bairam – was celebrated on September 30 this year. It is considered that on this day Allah sent the first verses of the Koran to Prophet Muhammad. In Arabic this holiday is called Eid al-Fitr (“breaking the period of fasting”), while Uraza-Bairam is the Turkic name of the Feast that is practiced, for example, in the Muslim republics which are part of Russia. Uraza-Bairam is the lesser of the Feasts as compared with the main holiday – the Feast of Sacrifice (Kurban-Bairam).

On Thursday, September 25, 2008, Archimandrite Zacchaeus, Representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Moscow Patriarchate, together with Mr. Vladimir I. Kulikov Ph.D., the Executive Secretary of World Public Forum – Dialogue of Civilizations were interviewed for the television station “Russia Today”. The interview will be aired on the news station’s program “Panorama” on October 3, 2008 at 10:30pm, Moscow time.
The interview focused on the upcoming World Public Forum’s Dialogue of Civilizations which is scheduled to be held on the Island of Rhodes from October 9-13, 2008. Themes of dialogue between religious and political leaders, the current situation in the Holy Land, and Russia’s growing influence in the world were discussed throughout the course of the interview.

More information about the initiatives and work of the World Public Forum – Dialogue of Civilizations can be found at www.wpfdc.org

The President of the World Public Forum (WPF) “Dialogue of Civilizations,” Vladimir Yakunin, and the Secretary General of the WPF, Oleg Atkov, attended the divine service in memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. The ceremony was held at the Moscow Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr in-the-Fields where the Representation of the Orthodox Church of America is located. The Senior Priest of the Representation, Archimandrite Zacchaeus (Wood) conducted the divine service in memory of “all those innocent victims who have lost their lives at the hands of the terrorists” in two languages – Church Slavonic and English. The divine service was attended by the US Ambassador to Russia, Mr. John Beyrle, as well as the Ambassadors of Canada, Greece, Serbia, Colombia, Cuba and other states, the Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council, Alexander Torshin, and the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Churov.

The outstanding Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn who died August 4 of heart failure at the age of 89 has been laid to rest in the central part of the old cemetery of Donskoi Monastery in Moscow. The writer’s grave is behind the altar of the Church of Ioann Lestvichnik – the Christian ascetic and Father of Superior of the Sinai Monastery, next to the grave of historian Vasili Klyuchevsky.

It was the last will of the great writer to be buried at Donskoi Monastery. He made such a request five years ago to Patriarch Alexiy II and received his blessings.

“Vladimir Yakunin received this award of the largest Islamic organization in Russia for his efforts in developing an inter-confessional dialogue and promoting cooperation among religious centers in our country and the whole world, including within the framework of the “Dialogue of Civilizations” project. In particular, for organizing a whole number of international conferences and symposiums with the participation of Islamic spiritual centers,” Abbyasov explained. The Decree about the decoration points out that Vladimir Yakunin has been given the highest award of Russian Muslims, the First-order of Honor “Al-Fahr”: For his formidable contribution to developing and strengthening the idea of a dialogue of civilizations, for disseminating the ideals of peaceful coexistence of peoples and religious traditions, and also in connection with his 60th birthday.”

14 July 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the Union for the Mediterranean, a new initiative aimed at boosting ties across the region which was launched at a high-level summit in Paris over the weekend.

Addressing the launch, Mr. Ban noted that the Union is “well timed” to help the countries of the region shoulder their collective responsibilities with regard to peace and security issues. But the initiative also has the potential to deliver on a much wider agenda, he added.