Translated material
The TOC temple in Tatarstan was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in court
In the summer of 2008, by a court decision, the Kazan Bogoroditsky Church in the village of Smoldeyarovo in Tatarstan was returned to the Kazan Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 1995, Hieromonk Alexander (Mironov), who served in this church, moved from the Russian Orthodox Church to the True Orthodox Church. Soon he was banned from serving in the TOC, and the Holy Dormition Monastery of the TOC, run by Abbess Manefa (Torkanova), who had also previously been deprived of her monastic title in the ROC, was located in the temple.
After the temple was returned to the Kazan diocese by court, hieromonk Nektary (Chiryev) was appointed rector. On September 27, the first liturgy was held in the church.
In December, it became known that the community of the Kazan Bogoroditsky Church, which belongs to the TOC, sent an open letter to M. Shaimiev. In this document, believers ask the President of the Republic of Tatarstan to contribute to "the return of the Parish-community of the Kazan-Bogoroditsk Church of the Kazan Metropolis of the True Orthodox Church and all true believers." The authors of the letter also expressed the hope that the situation around the temple does not reflect the official position of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Sources
- Kazan Bogoroditsky Church Smoldeyarovo returned to the Russian Orthodox Church // Orthodoxy in Tatarstan. 2008. September 29.
- The Temple of the True Orthodox Church in the village of Smoldeyarovo in the Republic of Tatarstan was confiscated from the community and handed over to representatives of the Kazan Diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate // Portal-Credo.ru. 2008. October 3rd.
- DOCUMENT: An open letter from the parish-community of the Kazan Mother of God Church in the village of Smoldeyarovo, Laishevsky District of Tatarstan, from the Kazan Metropolis of the True Orthodox Church to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan M.Sh. Shaimiev about the seizure of the temple // Portal-Credo.ru. 2008. December 22.