The St. Petersburg Metropolitanate asks to speed up the transfer of St. Nicholas Church to the Edinoverie community • Sova • RIMA

The St. Petersburg Metropolitanate asks to speed up the transfer of St. Nicholas Church to the Edinoverie community

Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga appealed to the Federal Property Management Agency with a request to transfer the building of the St. Nicholas Church, occupied by the museum, to the Edinoverie parish. Previously, the Federal Property Management Agency refused to do this due to the lack of the necessary documents from the community.

On June 17, 2015, it became known that the St. Petersburg diocese insists on transferring the building of the St. Nicholas Church, occupied by the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic, to the Edinoverie community.

Let us remind you that the community has been trying to achieve the transfer of the temple for several years. The Federal Property Management Agencyrecognized the parish's right to the building, but then refused to transfer it due to the fact that the community did not provide a draft security obligation, although the building is a cultural heritage site of federal significance.

Now Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga has come out in support of the transfer of the building. He turned to the Federal Property Management Agency with a request to transfer the temple to the Edinoverie community, citing church canons.

Museum director Viktor Boyarsky noted that there is no money in the budget to move the museum, and therefore it would be better for everyone “to maintain the status quo, namely: leave the community their premises where they pray, leave the museum a building from where a huge part of the collection is simply cannot be taken out."

Metropolitan Vladimir responded to this that “the bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church cannot bless the commission of a sin - the transfer of a temple where liturgy and prayer should be performed, not for liturgical needs.” Sources

The Russian Orthodox Church insists on returning the building of the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic in St. Petersburg to fellow believers // Interfax-religion. 2015. June 17.