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56 religious organisations in Russia to be eliminated

On 15 October, a declaration unexpectedly appeared on the webpage of the Russian Ministry of Justice listing 56 religious organisations scheduled for liquidation. These stem from a number of major world faiths and included Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, the Catholic "Caritas" as well as small, dissident Orthodox groups and one organisation belonging to the Kiev Orthodox Patriarchate, reports William Yoder, Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists. Yet at least 35 of the 56 listed qualify as Protestant organizations. These include the humanitarian "World Vision" and "Youth with a Mission". At least six Baptist organizations are listed. These include one established by the Russian branch of the "Billy Graham Evangelistic Association" and three regional districts of the "Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists" (RUECB). Apparently; several entire churches are up for liquidation, including the "Union of Churches of Presbyterian Christians" and the "Assemblies of God". Even the 26-congregation-strong "Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians" is scheduled for elimination. Its Bishop, businessman Alexander Semchenko, remains a member of the presti gious "Council for Cooperation with Religious Organisations at the Seat of the Russian President".

Pastor Vitaly Vlasenko, the RUECB's Director for External Church Relations, warns against undue alarm, for the declaration states only that the Justice Department "plans to file liquidation claims" against the 56. "This is a wake-up call," the Pastor adds. "This is certainly not the last word on the matter." He reports that thousands of religious organisa tions were registered during the 1990s, and that a number of them are now virtually defunct. Many have failed to submit the annual reports on activities and finance demanded by Russian law. In some cases, registered and factual activities no longer match. In one instance, a Baptist organization registered in Moscow is active only in Siberia.

Attorney Anatoly Pchelintsev from Moscow's „Slavic Centre for Law and Justice" (SCLC) sees serious injustice in the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate is absent from the list. Due to its overpowering size, the law of averages would demand that a least a few of its organisations find their way onto the list. Yet Protestants, who speak for less than 1% of the Russian population, make up 62% of the total list. He sees no regard for the appropriateness of means, describing liquidation as akin to meting out the death penalty to persons found guilty of jaywalking. "Such actions fly in the face of official Russian state policy on the freedom of worship and creed." Pchelin tsev, a seasoned legal veteran, believes the responsible officials are hardly aware of the complicated international ramifications of their own decree and cites the possibility of "chaos and destabilisation in church-state relations".

In June, the highly-active SCLJ succeeded in getting a decision requiring the liquidation of a 30-member Methodist congregation in Smolensk overturned. Two years ago, it won a Euro pean Court ruling in Strasbourg sentencing the Russian Federation to a fine for having forbidden the work of the Salvation Army. The SCLJ was initially formed in 1993 and took on its present name when it became an affiliate of the Washington/DC-based "American Center for Law and Justice" (ACLJ) in 1998. The head of ACLJ is Jay Sekulow, America's leading attorney on religious affairs. ACLJ was founded in 1990 by the controver sial Pat Robertson, a Southern Baptist and charismatic. He is probably America's most prominent television preacher.

The RUECB, Russia's largest, unified Protestant church, represents approximately 80.000 adult members in 1.750 congregations and groups. Its President is Yuri Sipko.

TAGS: Russia Russian Ministry of Justice World Vision Youth with a Mission Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Slavic Centre for Law and Justice

[10/23/2008]

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