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by United Methodist News Service
The United Methodist bishop in Moscow said July 24 that he was relieved over Russian President Boris Yeltsin's veto of a restrictive law on religious groups.
Yeltsin rejected "Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" on July 22. It had been passed overwhelmingly by both houses of Parliament and was strongly endorsed by the Russian Orthodox Church. The Parliament, or Duma, could override the veto or rework the bill and resubmit it to Yeltsin.
"I would like to commend the President for his wisdom and statesmanship and his determination to defend the Russian Constitution, human rights and Russia's international obligations," said Bishop Ruediger Minor of the Eurasia Area, which includes the Russian United Methodist Church.
The proposed law would have had the effect of legally barring all but a few faith groups in Russia and seemed particularly aimed at shutting out the Roman Catholics and most Protestants.
Minor thanked the many Christian sisters and brothers, both in Russia and abroad, who helped raise public awareness of the restrictive nature of the law.
Yeltsin had been asked personally by U.S. President Bill Clinton to veto the bill and had been threatened with loss of economic aid by the U.S. Senate if he declined to do so. But he also faced intense pressure from Russians, particularly the Orthodox Church, to sign the bill into law.
The Rev. Joe Hale, general secretary, World Methodist Council, called Yeltsin "courageous" to veto the bill. "By this act, he supports human rights and removes what might have been an impediment to the proclamation of the Christian faith," he said.
In Hale's opinion, the Russian Orthodox Church will itself benefit "by letting the gospel have free course and the growing friendliness of its relations with other Christian churches throughout the world will be improved."
Minor pointed out that the Christian community in Russia is challenged "to find new ways of dialogue and cooperation, especially in looking for spiritual ways to defend the Christian truth and to proclaim the gospel to a vast population that is living without a personal connection to the Christian faith.
"This would be a better contribution to the spiritual renewal of Russia and a spiritual and moral stabilization in Russia than any law could bring," he said.
United Methodists want to listen to and support Christians worldwide, including the Russian Orthodox, according to the Rev. Bruce Robbins, general secretary, United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.
"My hope is that the Russian government can find fairer and more effective ways of assisting spiritual growth in Russia," he said.
Bishop William Boyd Grove, who serves as ecumenical officer for the United Methodist Council of Bishops, noted that the council is concerned about restrictions on religious freedom anywhere.
"We honor our relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church, our ecumenical partner in the World Council of Churches, and hope that it will be possible for us to work together in mission in Russia," he said.
July 25, 1997
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New York, and Washington.
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