The police covered the fire

OMON first tore off the traditional Easter ritual of lighting a sacred fire near the Catholic Church on Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg

From the point of view of the city law, which for some reason decided to apply only this year, the police may be right. But humanly the situation is wild. Believers do not hold. However, they hope that this happened for the first and last time, and only due to the fact that on April 2, a terrorist attack occurred in the center of the northern capital, and now security measures have been strengthened in the city.

The incident between St. Petersburg Catholics and Police occurred on the evening of April 8 in the courtyard of the Catholic basilica of St. Catherine on Nevsky Prospekt. The worship of the Easter Empire (Catholics this year met one of the main Christian holidays on the night of April 9) traditionally begins with the blessing of fire and the lighting of Easter candles outside the walls of the temple. Before the start of this sacred ceremony to believers who gathered near the basilica, the OMON fighters suddenly approached the city daily (after the explosion in the cafe on the university embankment of the security forces on the streets of St. Petersburg, it became noticeably more).

- They asked what is happening here, do we have permission to breed fire? - said Father Paul in an interview with the “new” rector of the Catholic Church.

- I explained that such permission was never demanded with us, we ( lighting a sacred fire. - N.P. ) do annually, on the eve of Easter, starting since 1992 - from the moment the Basilica of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg was opened. OMONS specified: "Is there a permission specially for this year?" I replied: "No." Then they called somewhere. A police outfit drove up, and in a very correct form we were forbidden to breed fire.

According to the parishioners, a small, and not a huge bonfire on a metal removal, on the site in front of the church of St. Catherine, who does not even leave traces, had never raised questions before. Firefighters many years ago obliged believers just in case, when conducting a ritual, to have a water supply at hand. Since then, there is always a water nearby.

“But this“ just in case ”is absolutely theoretical,” Paul emphasizes. - When you hear that there is a danger of a fire from our fire, you smile. This is a very small fire. There is no threat of fire from him. Around the fire, parishioners are always closely standing, so the flame will not disperse anywhere. The fire is sanctified, Easter candles are lit from it, and it is immediately extinguished. The whole rite takes ten minutes from strength! But the police told us: “No, absolutely impossible. There is no permission. " There was no violence, no offensive words on the part of law enforcement officers. But it was a little unpleasant, a little offensive to me and the parishioners.

“Law enforcement officers did not give the opportunity to start a lightning service outside the temple,” Nikolai Dubinin, an auxiliary bishop of the Archbishop of the Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, commented on the “new”. -As a result, parishioners were forced to find some other way out, and they found it: instead of a fire they lit a candle. The ritual still managed to observe. The Liturgy of the Easter Empire passed with a large gathering of believers and guests and ended around midnight.

The archbishop of the Catholic Church in St. Petersburg admits that the city authorities did not officially officially notify this year of intention to light a sacred fire. Since even without such a notification, all previous years carried out a similar ritual without any obstacles and complaints, unlike other rites.

- After the ritual of lighting fire, the procession around the temple is usually performed. With a request to resolve the procession to us, we previously contacted the administration of St. Petersburg. We were always refused this, and in the end we stopped asking. Maybe everything would be fine if we filed a notification of fire of fire this year? - suggests Father Pavel. -Maybe it was worth taking into account that due to the explosion in the cafe there would be increased attention to everything that happens in the city center?

In the St. Petersburg police headquarters of Novy, it was confirmed that after the attack on April 2, security measures really intensified in the northern capital. However, it was noted that claims to believers are in no way related to anti -terrorist measures.

- These requirements do not come from the police. For many years, there has been a city law, according to which it is forbidden to breed bonfires in St. Petersburg, especially in the city center, ”explained Vyacheslav Stepchenko, head of the information and public relations of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. - Honestly, it surprises me that in past years the believers did this without notifying anyone. If they committed an offense and they were not caught or punished, then they were just lucky. Try to fry the barbecue near the house - get a fine.

- If the law limits the possibilities so, then what should we do? - Father Pavel reacted to the police explain to the police. -Next year, we will ask in advance permission to light a sacred fire and still get it.