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Father Daniel Maurer distributes Communion at the mission of Most Holy Mother of God Church in Vladivostok, Russia. |
Although Christianity can now be freely practiced in Russia, the effects of more than 70 years of communist rule have left a deep wound on the spirituality of Russians.
Forty percent of Russians are baptized, yet less than 1% attend church. Drunkenness is a common problem, as is abortion and the abandonment of children. The average Russian woman has seven to eight abortions in her lifetime.
When religion was allowed to flourish again in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Fathers Myron Effing and Daniel Maurer, both Americans, were looking to establish a religious community and learned that there was a need for priests in Vladivostok. They visited the city at the invitation of the diocesan bishop — at that time in Novosibirsk, Siberia, 2,300 miles away — and founded the community of the Canons Regular of Jesus the Lord.
A new community of sisters has been launched in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph to help with the mission effort in Vladivostok...
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