Russian Orthodox far from ordinary

Brookside, Ala. The Rev. Benedict Tallant, above, seems like a typical Alabama preacher with his GMC pickup truck and slow drawl, yet the three-armed cross and onion-shaped copper dome on his little brick church stand out in the Bible Belt.

Tallant Father Benedict to parishioners is pastor of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, the oldest patriarchal Russian congregation in the South.

Just as Roman Catholic churches report to the pope in Rome, tiny St. Nicholas is under the auspices of Alexy II, head of the church in Russia.

“Our patriarch is in Moscow,” Tallant said.

That’s a long way from Brookside, a town of about 1,400 people some 20 miles north of Birmingham.

The church was organized in 1894 for Slavic immigrants who came to Alabama to work in area coal mines. The mines played out years ago, but a half-dozen of the congregations remain.

“Most families had up to 10 kids,” said Helen Slatsky, at 80 the oldest active member at St. Nicholas, which has about 70 members and averages 30 people for its Sunday service.

Council reports end of financial woes

New York The National Council of Churches announced that, due in part to cutbacks in staff and programs, it has recovered from its financial problems following a decade of deficit spending.

Bob Edgar, the council’s general secretary, said the organization ended its fiscal year June 30 with a balanced budget.

The Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis, Ind., also has given the group a $500,000 grant. Edgar said the foundation had previously expressed concern about giving money to the struggling religious organization.

The turnaround came after administrators reduced programs and the number of jobs at the council from 102 to 41 over the last couple of years, Edgar said. He said 32 of the 36 Protestant and Orthodox member denominations have now committed to paying their assessments, up from 23 out of 35 two years ago.

Royalties of $655,000 from Bible translation helped put the council back in the black, Edgar said.

The organization’s programs include Christian education, economic and environmental justice efforts and interfaith dialogues. The rebound comes as the council is working to reach out to Roman Catholics and evangelical Christians.

Religious headscarves not allowed in ID photos

Moscow A court in the Russian region of Tatarstan has ruled against three Muslim women who demanded the right to wear religious headscarves for official identification photos, a news agency reported.

The case is believed to be the first of its kind in Russia, which is predominantly Orthodox Christian. Muslims comprise the second-largest religious group.

The three women had argued that the rule imposed by the Interior Ministry of Tatarstan banning headscarves went against Islam, Interfax news agency reported.

The women said a passport photo without a head covering could lead officials to ask a Muslim woman to take off her scarf in public for identification purposes, shaming her. Islamic women must be modestly dressed and most Muslim societies require women to cover their heads in public.

The women plan to appeal to a higher court.