Missionaries descended on Russia in the wake of the Soviet breakup that marked the end of religious restrictions imposed during Communist rule. But the initial interest in them has waned in many areas, and Russia's Orthodox Church is openly critical of foreign mission work, which it sees as an affront to its leading role in religious affairs. In the Vladivostok region, there are 130 registered churches, temples and other religious centers, nearly all of them introduced by foreigners in the past five years, according to the department of Political Parties, Public Organizations and Religious Groups. They range from a traveling Danish Buddhist lama to a Hare Krishna cafe to a small congregation established by Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. At St. Nicholas Cathedral, part of the Russian Orthodox Church, Father Igor Talko was less than thrilled by the influx.
Similar views hold sway at the national level.
Talko also complained that foreigners have an unfair monetary advantage over the Russian church. L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology, which has a center in Vladivostok, offers stylish books that are visually far more appealing than the cheaply printed literature sold at a shop at Talko's cathedral. Despite the resistance, the foreign churches have loyal followers. Vladivostok's Mormon church, which consists of several American families and 25 Russian members, holds its Sunday services in a rented hall at a sanatorium. Baptisms are done in a public bathhouse.