The Territorial Administration Commission of the Federal Property Management Agency for the Vladimir Region will inspect Suzdal churches of alternative Orthodox jurisdictions

On March 24, Georgy Poltavchenko, the plenipotentiary representative of the President in the Central Federal District, received a request from State Duma deputy P.A. Pozhigailo. The document stated that a number of cultural heritage sites transferred in the 1990s. for gratuitous use by the Suzdal Diocesan Administration of the Russian Orthodox Free Church under the jurisdiction of ROCOR and the Suzdal Diocese of the ROAC, is used "inappropriately" (the report of the correspondent of Portal-Credo.ru refers to 17 objects, in the article from the "Suzdal Diocesan Gazette" published by the ROAC - about 14; obviously, this difference is due to the fact that, as the correspondent of the portal notes, “the list of monuments to be checked includes two churches and a bell tower in the village of Kideksha, whose parish four years ago passed into the ROC MP as a result of a conflict between the local rector, Archpriest Andrei Osetrov with the clergy of the ROAC").

The request was forwarded to the Federal Agency for Federal Property Management of the Russian Federation, and from there - to the territorial department of the agency for the Vladimir Region. May 12, acting head of the territorial administration V.L. Gorlanov issued an order to establish a commission to inspect churches. It included representatives of: the regional department of the Federal Property Management Agency, headed by V.L. Gorlanov; Upper Volga Department of the Federal Service for Supervision of Compliance with Legislation in the Sphere of Freedom of Speech, Mass Communications and Protection of Cultural Heritage; Vladimir Department for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments; ROAC; ROCOR under ROCOR jurisdiction.

The Suzdal Diocesan Gazette draws attention to the fact that the corresponding order of the Federal Agency for Federal Property Management to the regional administration is dated May 6 - this is the opening day of the IV ROCOR All-Diaspora Council . Hence the conclusion is drawn: "Obviously, officials are eager to transfer to the new owner - the MP - all the historical churches of the Russian Federation that have ever been transferred to the communities of ROCOR. The ROAC is practically the only owner of historical churches in the Russian Federation, until 1997 registered as the ROCA and located in jurisdiction of ROCOR".

“From the attached list of 14 objects of cultural heritage of federal property,” the Suzdal Diocesan Vedomosti also notes, “the user of all is the Suzdal Diocese of the ROAC, and there is not a single temple or bell tower or fence, the owner of which is now the mythical communities of the Russian Orthodox Church. The list does not include only the church of St. Stephen in Kideksha with a bell tower and a fence, which are still in the illegal use of the Vladimir diocese of the MP, but even the church in the village of Novosyolki, transferred to the ROAC in 2000 and then returned back to the state.

Fortunately, almost all objects of federal property transferred to the ROAC are in good condition and are used for their intended purpose as Orthodox churches. In all churches, Orthodox worship is performed and the premises are being renovated, which is known to all residents of Suzdal and which anyone who wishes can be convinced of. Unfortunately, the ROAC is deprived of subsidies from the federal budget for the restoration of churches, which were handed over to it after the Soviet hard times, often in a very deplorable state, and it is quite difficult for believers to repair their churches themselves.

However, those who wish can also see the catastrophic state of the St. Nicholas and Nativity churches in the Suzdal Kremlin, which were transferred to the Vladimir Eparchy of the MP. The MP took out the iconostasis from the St. Nicholas Church and closed the church, the roof of the church was destroyed, and the Church of the Nativity was rented out for a furniture workshop.

Sources

• At the request of a State Duma deputy, a representative commission will check how the ROAC churches in Suzdal are used // Portal-Credo.ru. 2006. May 16.
• MEDIA MONITORING: The authorities decided to "check" the ROAC // There. (An article from the "Suzdal Diocesan Gazette" - publication of the ROAC.)