In the Krasnodar Territory, the authorities terminated the agreement with Lutherans on the use of the church building

On November 21, the Department for the Protection, Restoration and Exploitation of the Cultural Heritage of the Krasnodar Territory sent a notice to the Novorossiysk Lutherans about the termination of the contract for the unlimited use of the church building - the only one in the region. The premises are proposed to be vacated by December 21. Otherwise, the question of forced eviction may be raised.

The authorities refer to an agreement concluded between the parties in 2003, where there is a clause stating that "Each of the parties has the right to withdraw from the agreement of gratuitous use concluded without specifying a period at any time by notifying the other party of this one month in advance, unless the agreement a different notice period is provided.After a month, the premises of the monument must be vacated."

The believers sent letters to various state and religious organizations.

The Department for the Protection, Restoration and Exploitation of the Cultural Heritage of the Krasnodar Territory stated that "the financial and budgetary department of the regional administration recently conducted an audit on the effectiveness of the use of regional property and recognized that some of the objects are used inefficiently. At one time, a very large number of objects were given to gratuitous use. Now, when the regional treasury needs funds, the regional administration decided to revise such agreements."

According to M. Berlizov, an employee of the Office, there is a possibility that after the termination of the contract, it will be possible to conclude a lease agreement that provides for a fee for the premises of the church.

The Novorossiysk community is confident that the authorities intend to sell the building.

The chairman of the council of the community, Pavel Tkachenko, said in an interview with Blagovest-info that "no one will be evicted voluntarily, let them sue."

Sources

• Evgenia Salko, Olga Potapova. Cross on the church? // Our Novorossiysk. 2009. November 26.
• The Lutherans of Novorossiysk do not understand why the church is being taken away from them // Blagovest-info. 2009. December 3rd.