By Sher Zieve – A new Russian law demands that churches in that country submit the names of worshippers and the content of weekly sermons to Russian authorities. The Russian Orthodox Church advised that the NGO law, which was originally passed to include non-governmental organizations, has been extended by the Russian government to include churches.

Moscow Patriarchate legal expert Ksenia Chernega commented: “We should not return to the malpractice of the Soviet era when every step of a religious organization was controlled by the government, the text of the sermon was verified and the state kept an eye on every religious document.”

Moscow Patriarchate spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin added: “It would be rather strange to count praying people in every parish or monastery and precisely register every donation, which is suggested by an amendment to the Law on Non-Profit Organizations.”


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