Russia: Information on the current status of a group which broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church and is known as either the Russian External Church, the Underground Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian Church in Exile or the Catacomb Church

Publisher	Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Author	Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada
Publication Date	1 June 1992
Citation / Document Symbol	RUS11081
Cite as	Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Russia: Information on the current status of a group which broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church and is known as either the Russian External Church, the Underground Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian Church in Exile or the Catacomb Church, 1 June 1992, RUS11081, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acd120.html [accessed 1 June 2023]
Disclaimer	This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Please find attached an article from Report on USSR which provides detailed historical and recent information on the Free Russian Orthodox Church, a branch within the Soviet Union of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (RFE/RL 1 Nov. 1991, 8-12). The article mentions that the Free Russian Orthodox Church "has been increasing rapidly in both numbers and influence ..." and "it is likely that (it) will continue to gain ground as long as the present democratic momentum in Russian politics is maintained" (Ibid., 8). In regard to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, please refer to previous Response to Information Request SUN9459 of 3 October 1991 and its attachments available at the Toronto I Documentation Centre.

In addition, please find attached several recent media reports which contain information on two particular churches which go by several names: the True Orthodox Church, also known as the Underground Church or the Catacomb Church, and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which is also often called the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile.

Additional and/or corroborating information on the above subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC in Ottawa.

References

The Daily Telegraph. 4 June 1992. Damian Thompson. "Holy

Sanctuary in Turmoil over Monks' Eviction." (NEXIS)

. 20 January 1992. Damian Thompson. "An Unorthodox View of Christian Unity." (NEXIS)

The Houston Chronicle. 27 October 1992. George Christian. "Soviets Just a Blip on Russian Tail; To Understand Russia, Believes Edward Ruthefurd, You Have To Look Backward Across the Centuries." (NEXIS)

Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre (IRBDC), Ottawa. 3 October 1991. Response to Information Request SUN9459

The Jerusalem Post. 5 July 1991. Haim Shapiro. "Will the Real Russian Church Please Stand Up." (NEXIS)

Moscow News. 18 March 1992. A. Kurayev. "Patriarch Accused of `Insulting Religious Feelings'" (NEXIS)

Reuters. 22 April 1992. BC Cycle. Jim Loney. "Funeral of Heir of Russian Tsar." (NEXIS)

RFE/RL Research Institute. 1 November 1991. Report on the USSR [Munich]. Vol. 3, No. 44. Dr. Vladimir Moss. "The Free Russian Orthodox Church," pp. 8-12.

The San Francisco Chronicle. 31 May 1992. "Suddenly Orthodox the Holy Order of Mans, an Eclectic New Age Sect Born in San Francisco ...." (NEXIS)

Soviet Press Digest [Moscow]. 13 December 1991. Konstantin Eggert. "Will Honecker Go Down to the Catacombs? Honecker: the Last Act." (NEXIS)

. 14 October 1991. Sergey Mitrofanov. "Archbishop Lazar and Vadim Bakatin Exorcize KGB Spirit." (NEXIS)

The Times. 7 April 1992. "Saintly Crown Prepared for the Murdered Tsar." (NEXIS)

The United Press International (UPI). 3 November 1991. BC Cycle. Jeff Berliner. "Unusual Processions through Moscow." (NEXIS)

Attachments