The interfaith conference in Omsk demonstrated the authorities' favor towards the Russian Orthodox Church

At the end of November, the XXVII Interconfessional Conference "Let the Light of Faith and the Light of Knowledge Complement Each Other" opened in Omsk. According to the regional administration, more than a thousand "representatives of traditional confessions - Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, scientists and students of Omsk universities, workers in the field of education and culture, teachers of schools in the city and the region, students, cadets, heads of government bodies and local government". However, Zulkarnay Shakirzyanov, the leader of the spiritual administration of the Muslims of Siberia, said that no one had invited him or representatives of the Siberian Spiritual Muslim Board to the event, and Muslims were represented at the conference by supporters of Imams Ashirov and Niyazov from the Omsk kazyyat.

Representatives of the Jewish community of Omsk participated only in the opening of the conference. According to a participant in the opening, members of the Jewish community "were there like guests; basically, there is all the talk about Orthodoxy." The organizers themselves named only Orthodox priests and representatives of the Patriarchate as guests of honor. The program of the conference announced the work of the sections "Missionary work in the Russian Orthodox Church" and "Orthodox education and upbringing". The closing of the conference is scheduled to take place in the Orthodox Cathedral of the Birth of Christ.

Sources

• Confessional boundary // Open Omsk News. 2003. November 28.