Translated material
The priest of the Orthodox Russian Catacomb Church accuses the media of the Vologda region of conducting a “slanderous information campaign” against the PRCC
On March 3, the editorial office of Portal-Credo.ru received an open letter from the priest of the Orthodox Russian Catacomb Church (ORCC) Alexander Lipin (in September 2008, the ORCC hierarchy united with the ROCA ROCA headed by Bishop (now Metropolitan) Agafangel (Pashkovsky)). In this document, he points out that in the Vologda Oblast, secular and ecclesiastical media are waging a "slanderous information campaign" against the PRCC.
As an example, he cites an article in one of the district newspapers, Novaya Zhizn, entitled "Catacombs or Schism", in which Alexy Mokievsky, priest of the Russian Orthodox Church MP, "with the blessing of Archbishop Maximilian (Lazarenko) of Vologda," made "angry denunciations of the catacombs." Declaring that they have nothing to do with Orthodoxy, lead an “inappropriate way of life”, “go as far as frankly blasphemous statements”, “incite inter-religious hatred”, the ROC MP priest warns that he cannot turn a blind eye to “propaganda of anti-state slogans”.
The priest of the ROC MP also calls on the secular authorities to pay attention to "the nature of the activities of this religious group, since the imposition of religious hatred, nationalist and anti-state views does not correspond to the interests of our state." A. Liping points out that this article lacks concrete facts confirming the validity of the accusations made by the author.
“Seeing the unkind fruits of the spreading slander and wishing to protect the honorable name of ROCOR and its clergy, in particular Bishop Athanasius of Vologda and Veliky Ustyug, the parishioners of the churches of Ave. receiving a public apology from detractors," the letter reads.
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