Moscow, Mar. 26, 2008 (CWNews.com) - A spokesman for the Russian Orthodox patriarchate of Moscow has complained about "unacceptable" journalistic coverage of Easter Vigil services in Moscow's Catholic cathedral, at which 35 people were received into the Catholic Church.
Father Igor Vyzhanov, who attended the services as a representative of the Orthodox patriarchate, complained about a report that he was "sympathetic" to the newly baptized Catholics, and raised no objection about their entry into the Catholic Church.
Since some of those who were received into the Catholic Church had been raised in the Orthodox faith, Father Vyzhanov said, "we don't approve of such steps." The Russian Orthodox Church has complained for years about Catholic "proselytism" among Orthodox believers. Father Vyzhanov said that if he had welcomed the baptisms he would have broken from that policy.
In fact, the Orthodox spokesman said, he had attended the Catholic Easter services to deliver a general greeting from the Moscow patriarchate. "The act of baptism wasn't specially emphasized" in that message, he said.