East-West Church & Ministry Report
Vol. 3, No. 1, Fall 1995, Covering the Former Soviet Union and East Central Europe


News Notes

CoMission Barred from Russian Schools

"From the available information it appears that the Protocol of Intention by and between The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the Executive Committee of the Christian Social Project The CoMission, USA, has in fact been suspended for now and the foreseeable future.  As a result, all activities in the schools [will] immediately cease.  This does not preclude contact with, or ministry to, Russian educators.  Meanwhile...the CoMission is alive and well, pursuing community outreach, Neighborhood Christian Education Centers, and home Bible study strategies led by nationals."

Source: Statement of CoMission Chairman, Dr. Bruce Wilkinson, 24 February 1995

The purpose of the new Society for Russian Religious Philosophy is to promote the study of religious philosophy as developed by Russian thinkers in their native land and in exile.  "No particular confession or philosophical system is privileged in the work of the Society."  Annual dues of $20 cover membership and a newsletter.  Contact:

Compromise Law on Foreign Adoptions
The Russian Duma passed legislation on 10 February 1995 prohibiting commercial agencies from dealing in adoptions and increasing the categories of children eligible for adoption by foreigners.  The law is a compromise worked out after President Yeltsin vetoed legislation in December that in effect precluded adoptions by foreigners.  The new legislation makes any child, for whom no Russian family can be found, eligible for foreign adoption.  At present, only children with medical problems, those with alcoholic or mentally ill parents, or non-Russian children who are older are eligible.  Source:  OMRI 1 (13 February 1995).

Dr. Charles W. Spicer, Jr., president of Overseas Council for Theological Education and Missions, will resign his position to become vice chairman of the U.S. board of OC, effective July 1995.  Dr. John C. Bennett, the current executive vice president, will become president.  Dr. Bennett obtained his Ph.D. in non-Western Christianity from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and has served with Overseas Council since 1990.


News Notes, East-West Church & Ministry Report, 3 (Winter 1995), 13.

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© 1995 Institute for East-West Christian Studies
ISSN 1069-5664


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