The World - News from June 7, 1988

Russian Orthodox bishops opened a general church council to celebrate 1,000 years of Christianity in what is now the Soviet Union. The four-day council in Zagorsk, 35 miles north of Moscow, is only the third such gathering allowed in the Soviet Union since World War II. Konstantin M. Kharchev, head of the state Council for Religious Affairs, read a message from the Soviet government assuring believers and atheists alike that the state will protect their interests. The council will discuss a draft charter on internal church management and a new law on church-state relations.