ROC stands up for Pentecostal community
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, head of the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for Church and Society Relations, has asked the Moscow authorities to take control of the situation surrounding the demolished Pentecostal church in the Moscow district of Novokosino. According to the » «Interfax» « news agency, a letter with this request has been sent to Moscow Deputy Mayor Alexander Gorbenko.
Chaplin urged not to forget that “the feelings of believers toward the building in which they pray are worthy of respect and always require special attention.” He also noted that he does not intend to assess the legal aspects of the current situation.
The Pentecostal church in Novokosino was demolished on September 6. Community leaders said that at night, people who identified themselves as bailiffs and voluntary people’s guards broke into the church. They looted the building and then destroyed it.
The demolished church building was originally used as a temporary structure. The Pentecostals intended to build a new church on a plot of land they had leased from the Moscow authorities, but officials terminated the lease agreement, and construction had stalled at the zero‑cycle stage. In 2005, a court ordered the community to vacate the premises. Those who demolished the temporary church building cited that they were enforcing a court order.
After the church was demolished, Bishop of the Evangelical Church and member of the Public Chamber Sergei Ryakhovsky promised to file complaints with the prosecutor’s office, the Interior Ministry, and the Moscow mayor’s office.
Pentecostalism, also known as Evangelical Christianity, is one of the late Protestant movements. According to Interfax, Pentecostals constitute the largest Protestant community in Russia: experts estimate its number at 400,000 people.
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