Russian Church fundraises for Orthodox believers in Japan

Interfax ^ | 15 March 2011

[dangus]

You know, if you had said, “Let’s not forget the suffering pagans, for we are commanded by God to be merciful and kind to all people,” I would’ve agreed with you. But one problem with judging is you *do* first have to walk the mile in their shoes.

The Miyagi Prefacture, where the tsunamis hit the hardest, was centuries ago the last holdout on Honshu of the Ainu, the earlier inhabitants of Japan prior to the medieval invasions from Korea and China. The Ainu were hunted down, and nearly exterminated; the invaders number now 130 million, while the Ainu are a mere 35,000; many of them now are Russian Orthodox, among the very few Christians in Japan. Until recently, they have been brutally repressed. Now, Japan is getting all multi-culti with the Ainu, but typically focusing on their pre-Christian animist roots, such as bear sacrifices.

So, you’re correct in that Christian charity shouldn’t be just for our fellow Christians; on the other hand, a special Russian concern for the Christian Ainu is understandable.

[Honorary Serb]

The local Autonomous Orthodox Church of Japan is our partner (working through IOCC) in providing assistance to all Japanese, of all faiths or none.

So if the local Church also has need, it is fitting to strengthen it, both in meeting the needs of its own people and in its service to the nation of Japan in general.

Moreover, the Church of Japan is the fruit of missionary efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church, so the Russian Church has a special relationship with it. St. Nicholas, Enlightener of Japan, a Russian who brought Orthodoxy to Japan, is mentioned every week in Vespers (at least in the OCA) and commemorated on February 3.

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Nicholas_of_Japan

[newberger]

Here is a report directly from the Orthodox Church in Japan:

http://www.orthodox-jp.com/westjapan/earthquake/201103earthquake_en.html