RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS SKIP PREPARATION FOR BAPTISM Indian Catholic October 9, 2008 India TASHKENT (UCAN) -- Every day, people line up outside the baptistery of Holy Assumption Church in Tashkent while waiting to be baptized, but hardly any show up beforehand for catechism classes. The church's priests are busy, so catechist Michael Belov offers "optional" catechism classes twice a week. The seminary graduate told UCA News most people seek baptism due to their ethnicity, "because they are Russians," but they seldom appear in church thereafter, except at Christmas and Easter. Compared to the Soviet communist era, Tashkent's main Russian Orthodox church today seems to be enjoying a revival, with about 100 people being baptized every week. Most are ethnic Russians, though there are also Tatars, Koreans, Armenians and a few...
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