In the work Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on which new patriarch will be elected will take part over 700 delegates. As deputy Patriarch metropolitan Cyril informed on Wednesday upon termination of the Synod where commission on preparation of the Council was generated, there would be three persons elected as delegates for participation in the Council from each diocese (for today there are 156 of them). There will be two persons submitted from the patriarchal peculiars in the USA, Canada and Scandinavia. Besides special quota will be given to spiritual educational institutions and stavropegial monasteries (being under direct management of the head of Church). At the moment there are 25 monasteries under direct management of the patriarch, the number of seminaries in the Russian church - 38. The total quantity of bishops of the Moscow patriarchy for today makes 190 people. The other participants of the Council will be simple clergymen and laymen.
The president of the USA George Bush named five main priorities of forthcoming anti-recessionary summit of world leaders in Washington. On the eve assistant to the president of the USA on questions of international economy Dan Price informed the journalists in the White house that Bush made the decision on carrying out of summit in that very format after consultations with world leaders. "Countries" of "the twenty" plus EU together make almost 90% of global gross national product", - Price emphasized. He reminded that the secretary general of the United Nations, the director - manager of IMF, the president of the World Bank and chairman of the Forum on financial stability would participate in the work of summit.