The Veche movement asks the governor of the Pskov region to protect the priest from the arbitrariness of the bishop

The Pskov regional public movement "Veche" appealed to the governor of the Pskov region Mikhail Kuznetsov with a request to protect the priest Pavel Adelheim from dismissal from the church of St. Women of the Myrrhbearers. The conflict between the priest and the Archbishop of Pskov and Velikoluksky Eusebius (Savvin) arose long ago, and now the bishop intends to dismiss Father Pavel.

"If this happens, the Orthodox school and the orphanage will be closed, which prosper on the funds of the parish and owe their existence to Fr. Pavel," the appeal says .

Representatives of the "Veche" movement do not consider the conflict an internal affair of the diocese, since it "violates human rights and undermines the image of the province."

The authors of the appeal call on the governor to intervene in what is happening. "We hope that you will find an opportunity to prevent arbitrariness against a worthy person from happening," the text says.

In April, a group of residents of St. Petersburg turned to V. Putin and D. Medvedev with a request to intervene in the situation around the dismissal of Father Pavel Adelheim.

“We consider the current situation around Fr. Paul to be absolutely outrageous and unacceptable. Such actions of church and civil authorities stop the civil initiative of the parish and turn people away from the very essence and moral foundations of Christian service, they are lawlessness, which has outwardly legal, “canonical” forms.

This situation, in our opinion, goes beyond the framework of an intra-church conflict and is an obstacle to the formation of civil society and the further development of democracy. It splits public consciousness and prevents the consolidation of the healthy forces of society on the basis of the spiritual traditions of our country," the appeal says.

On July 23, the Keston Institute (Great Britain) spoke in support of Father Paul. “We are very concerned about his well-being and are outraged by the way the church authorities in the Pskov and Velikoluksky eparchy treated him. We believe that he is innocent of everything that he is accused of,” the letter to Patriarch Alexy II says .

Sources

• DOCUMENT: About the threat to the priest, his school and orphanage. Appeal of the Pskov regional public movement "Veche" to the Governor of the Pskov region in defense of Archpriest Pavel Adelgeim // Portal-Credo.ru. 2008. February 15.
• DOCUMENT: "The situation goes beyond the framework of an internal church conflict." Appeal of Petersburgers to Putin V.V. and Medvedev D.A. in connection with illegal repressions against the priest Pavel Adelheim // There. 15 April.
• Document. Appeal of the Keston Institute (Oxford, UK) to Patriarch Alexy II in support of Fr. Pavel Adelheim // Slavic Legal Center. 2008. 9 September.