Russian Presence in the Holy Land

On June 12, 2008, the annual meeting of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, or IOPS, took place in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. More than 700 IOPS members and guests took part in it.

Alexy II, the Most Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, who chairs the Committee of Honorary IOPS Members, addressed the assembly.

He stressed that the Society, one of Russia’s oldest public organizations, “has traditionally united those concerned about expanding the spiritual ties of our Fatherland with the Holy Land.” Along with the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, the Society has done a lot to help Russian pilgrims, the Patriarch emphasized.

The chairman of IOPS, S. V. Stepashin, gave a progress report at the meeting. He summarized the work done in the period under review. Among the most significant events were the following: the conclusion of an agreement with the Orthodox Palestine Society in the Holy Land and the signing of a memorandum on cooperation with Russia’s Foreign Ministry on June 9. S. V. Stepashin told about the joint efforts of the Society and the Russian Foreign Ministry to conclude an agreement with Israel on the transfer of the Sergiy Podvorie (house) to Russia. In May, the head of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, allocated some land to the IOPS for building a school in Bethlehem. Moreover, Russia’s ownership right to the land in Jericho where the biblical sycamore tree stands was confirmed by official documents. Ownership documents for the land in Jericho that belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church (“Antonin section”) and the IOPS (“Ioasaf section”) were drawn up with the assistance of the Russian representative office at the PNA.

In his report, the chairman of IOPS told about the important scientific, publishing, and educational work done by the Society the past year. The Russian Historical Institute, the successor to the Constantinople Russian Archaeological Institute, was established. In conjunction with the Russian World and Russkoye Zarubezhye (“Russia Abroad”) foundations, the funding of Russian language courses in Bethlehem could be resumed and funds for running the only Russian school left in Bethany in the Holy Land were earmarked. S. V. Stepashin added that the president of Russia’s reserve fund had allocated $10 million for preserving and restoring the Sergiy Podvorie in Jerusalem.

Speaking about the Holy Land, Foreign Minister S. V. Lavrov noted Russia’s ties with the countries of that historic region in various spheres: economy, politics, culture, and humanitarian activities. In recent times, the efforts being made by Russia, which advocates a just and comprehensive peaceful settlement in the Middle East in accordance with norms of international law, are harmoniously being complemented by people’s diplomacy. IOPS activities play no small role in this process. “The Society’s activities are one of the elements of the spiritual cohesion of the resurging Russia and its emergence as an influential, respected and self-respecting power concerned about preserving its historical heritage,” the minister pointed out.

Russia’s foreign minister handed the Society’s president the deed for the land in the historic part of Bethlehem where a school is to be built. On May 21, 2008, the head of the PNA, Mahmoud Abbas, had handed the documents to A. V. Saltanov, the special Middle East envoy of the president of Russia, the deputy foreign minister of Russia and the deputy chairman of the IOPS.

P. V. Stegniy, Russia’s ambassador to Israel; M. B. Piotrovsky, chairman of the IOPS branch in St. Petersburg; Dr. Amin Safia, an IOPS member and member of the Israel division of the Red Cross Society; V. N. Ganichev, chairman of the Writers’ Union of Russia, and P. V. Platonov, chairman of the Jerusalem branch of the IOPS, also addressed the audience.

Supporting the speakers’ proposal, the assembly approved the work of the IOPS Council the past year. The IOPS members also approved the draft of a new wording of the IOPS Charter.

The meeting was followed by a performance of the Moscow Novospassky Monastery choir.

Yury Tavrovsky