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Russian deacon calls for
proselytizing Jews
A leading Russian Orthodox scholar has called for a more
fervent effort to convert Russian-speaking Jews in Israel.
Deacon Andrei Kuraev, a professor at the Moscow Spiritual
Academy, said the Orthodox Christian Church based in Moscow should begin to
proselytize actively among Israel's 3 million Russian-speaking Jews.
"We have a unique opportunity here for the growth of
Orthodoxy in general because hundreds of thousands of Russian Jews have moved
to the area," Kuraev told the Interfax news service.
In his comments, Kuraev said that the middle-class
intelligentsia that makes up a large part of Russian immigrants to Israel
"shows a huge interest in Christianity." He doubted that the local
Greek Orthodox leaders had the resources or knowledge to reach Russian-speaking
Jews.
The Russian Orthodox Church, the dominant religious force in
Russia, in recent years consolidated with the Russian Orthodox Church abroad to
create a global unified church.
"This is a unique missionary opportunity," Kuraev
said. "Through Jews who were raised on European and Russian classics, we
could carry the light of the Gospel to all Israel."
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