Russian Orthodox Survey

Most members of the Russian Orthodox Church don't seem to take their faith very seriously. A new poll of Russians who say they belong to the church reveals 52% have never read the Bible, 24% rarely go to church and 28% rarely pray. The poll from the Russia's Public Opinion Foundation reveals one-in-four Russians consider themselves non-believers.

Russian Youths Protest Mormons As 'Cult'

Read or listen to the story at NPR here.

Russian Cult

Here is a video in which VICE visits a commune in Siberia in hopes of meeting a man who claims to be Jesus and has a following of thousands.

Moscow May Clamp Down on Religion

Russia's Justice Ministry is proposing a new law that would fine anyone sharing their faith if they are not a leader of a registered religious group. Only officially authorized missionaries would be allowed to pass out religious literature, preach and talk about their faith in public. If passed, anyone violating the law would face a fine up to $170.

New Russian Orthodox Leader

The Russian Orthodox Church has a new leader, the first to take the helm of the world's largest Orthodox church following fall of the Soviet Union. Patriarch Kirill has been supportive of reconcile with the Roman Catholic Church. He was deputy to his predecessor, Patriarch Alexy II who died in December after almost two decades as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Only about 1-in-20 Russians are serious about the faith.

One Year Ago.. Satanism & Coke

A year ago, Coca-Cola was being accused of blasphemy in Russia. Prosecutors the city of Nizhny Novgorod were looking into complaints from hundreds of people that the American company used images of Orthodox churches and crosses in its ads, some of which were even put upside down - which they consider a sign of Satanism. Coca-Cola says the marketing plan only promoted Russia's cultural heritage and in no way insults or is meant to demean Orthodox Christian beliefs. To avoid any further controversy, Coca-Cola decided to remove the ads.

A License for Faith Healers

Russia’s Federal Health Service is handing out licenses to faith healers and anyone else that proscribes traditional medicine to patients. That includes herbal treatments claims of paranormal powers, cleansing of auras and even those who say they can read minds or cast spells. In the last two years, more than 130 have gone through the government’s voluntary testing program that claims to determine if someone has an ability to cure – by whatever mean they choose.

Solzhenitsyn Dies

Writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn has died at the age 89. His writings were rooted in an Orthodox Christian faith. His books helped to bring down the Soviet Union. He lived in exile in the US for a number of years before finally returning to his Russian homeland after the Soviet System collapsed. In 1978, Solzhenitsyn delivered the commencement address at Harvard, offering harsh comments about laziness, materialism and godlessness in the West.

Uncut Solzhenitsyn

An unedited version of Aleksander Solzhenitsyn's The First Circle is coming out in English, four decades after it was first published and immediately banned by Soviet officials. The prison camp story will be published by Harper Perennial, a paperback imprint of HarperCollins. Solzhenitsyn now lives in Moscow. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970. A shortened version appeared for English audiences in 1968 over objections by the author.

US Pastor Out of Russian Jail

A South Carolina pastor will soon leave Russia after spending five months in prison for bringing a $25 box of hunting rounds into Russia. Phillip Miles of Christ Community Church in Conway was taking the .300-caliber cartridges to a fellow pastor who had recently bought a new rifle. Miles says he didn't know bringing ammunition into Russia was illegal and that he had asked US airline officials before boarding his plane and was assured there would not be a problem. He’s traveled often to Russia, working for a charity started by his father called Evangel Fellowship International.

Prison for Box of Ammo

A South Carolina pastor is facing a sentence of more than three years in prison for trying to bring a $25 box of hunting rounds into Russia. Phillip Miles of Christ Community Church in Conway has been in a Moscow jail since February. He was bringing the .300-caliber cartridges to a fellow pastor who had recently bought a new rifle. Miles says he didn't know bringing ammunition into Russia was illegal and that he had asked US airline officials before boarding his plane and was assured there would not be a problem.

GORBACHEV STILL AN ATHEIST?

The Russian news agency Interfax has published an article saying former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev denies reports he has become a Christian. A variety of news services reported Gorbachev’s recent visit to the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy was an expression of his faith. But Interfax claims the last communist leader of the Soviet Union is still an atheist and his visit was as a tourist and not a pilgrim.

THEY SAID IT - VLADIMIR PUTIN

“I have a copy of the Bible in my plane, and I fly a lot. I have the Bible in my plane and I also have an icon there, a special icon, embroidered, but everything is there. If I am flying a long distance - and we have a big country, and I also fly abroad regularly - I have the chance to read the Bible. It is my firm conviction that only religion can provide the moral values without which humanity as a whole and we as individuals cannot live. As for specific institutions or churches, this is a separate issue. Someone said once that if God exists, he does not know that people have different views on the church.” – Russian President Vladimir Putin, TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year