The Moscow Patriarchate has proposed amendments to the Federal law “On freedom of conscience and religious associations”. They should ban public associations not directly connected with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), to use in their names the word “Orthodox”. On Friday, September 15, RIA Novosti reported.
As explained by the Agency head of the legal service of the Moscow Patriarchate abbess Xenia (Chernega), such measures are necessary in order “not to mislead citizens.”
“Now the question looming on the law of other, non-religious, organizations to include in their names data on religion. We have a block of organizations — nonprofit, commercial — which include in their names the word “Orthodox” shows his special attitude towards the Orthodox Church,” she said.
Chernega added that often, these organizations present their activities as if she is the blessing of the Church hierarchy and approved by the Church.
Earlier in September, the Director’s lawyer Alexey Uchitel, Konstantin Dobrynin appealed to law enforcement bodies with the request to prosecute members of the “Christian state Holy Russia.” According to him, the heads of more than 100 cinemas received threats of arson and physical violence in the case of the screening of the film “Matilda”.
In January activists of the “Christian state” sent to the Russian cinema of the letter with the requirement to refuse rental of the tape. The teacher complained to the extremists in the General Prosecutor’s office, noting that the attacks “strangely coincided in time and tone” criticism Polonskaya in the film. The Deputy and Orthodox activists disown communication with each other.