ATTACK AGAINST ROAC IN SUZDAL
Fr. Elias Greer, Chancellor
Yesterday, Friday, August 24th, there was a demonstration in front of
the Synodal headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church in
Suzdal, Russia. The demonstrators, members of the Moscow Patriarchate,
were accompanied by officers of the local police, and gave interviews
to members of the local press, critical of the ROAC Church. As they
stood demonstrating, they called out,"Sectarians, get out of Suzdal!"
and "Sectarians, get out of Russia!"
Are all sectarians being treated this way, or are the "sectarians" of
the ROAC church being singled out for this treatment? What evil are
these people doing by going to church and saying their prayers the way
they want to? Why would this be a threat to the governing authorities?
How does the present government of the Russian Federation even
determine who is a sectarian? Since the fall of Communism, Russia, in
its bid to join the rest of the civilized nations of the world, has
signed international treaties guaranteeing freedom of conscience for
its citizens, and separation of church and state.
It would seem that events like this one do more to reinforce the oft-
repeated observation of late that the present leaders of the ex-Soviet
Union are returning more and more to their former totalitarian ways.
It is hard to imagine that any kind of demonstration like this could
take place in the West.