Andrey Sebentsov, Deputy Chairman of the Commission on Religious Associations under the government, is a supporter of the creation of a single state body in charge of relations with religious associations. He expressed his position on the pages of NG-Religions A.

In an interview with NG-Religions, the well-known Orthodox priest Georgy Kochetkov, rector of St. Philaret's Institute, expressed his position regarding the teaching of "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" in schools. According to Father George, it is not normal if a person has no idea about the history and culture of his own country, so the introduction of the "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" in schools is justified.

Ravil Gaynutdin, on behalf of the Council of Muftis, sent a letter to the Ministry of Antimonopoly Policy asking for the legality of labeling some meat products with the word "halal". The letter reads, in part: "The Council of Muftis ... expresses its concern about possible unfair use of the phrase 'halal' by manufacturers." R.

his point of view on the creation of a state body in charge of issues of religious associations on the pages of NG-Religions . Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, deputy chairman of the DECR, expressed In his opinion, several groups are interested in creating a state body. First, officials, public and religious figures who are concerned about the activities of pseudo-religious extremist organizations. This concern can be understood, but, according to Prot.

The organizing committee of the "March of Jesus" received an "urgent request" from the authorities of St. Petersburg not to hold a march during the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the city. The concept of the "March of Jesus" was developed taking into account the Federal Target Program "Formation of Attitudes of Tolerant Consciousness and Prevention of Extremism in Russian Society". A new meeting of the organizing committee is scheduled for June 2.

On May 22, at night, an arson attack was carried out on a prayer house for Evangelical Christian Baptists in Balashikha, Moscow Region. The fact that it was precisely a planned arson, and not an accidental fire, according to the pastor of the church, Viktor Kharlamov, is evidenced by the abandoned ladder, a container with traces of gasoline on the roof, and traces of gasoline on the ground around the building.

Employees of the military registration and enlistment offices of the Novgorod region assessed the experience of participation of Orthodox priests in the work of draft commissions as very successful. After an agreement was reached on cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Moscow Patriarchate in 2003, the Archbishop of Novgorod and Starorussky Lev (Tserpitsky) blessed the Novgorod clergy to participate in the work of local conscription commissions.