WHERE
"MAY" MISSIONARY ACTIVITY BE CONDUCTED?
Alive
Faith
Media, 14 August 2016
Attorney of the
Slavic Legal Center Konstantin Andreev continues to share
recommendations for
believers and religious organization in connection with the
adoption of the
"Yarovaya Law."
Point 2 of
article 24.1 of the law being analyzed declares that "missionary
activity
of a religious association may be conducted without hindrance in
worship premises, buildings and structures and also on land on
which such
buildings and structures are located; in buildings and
structures belonging to
religious organizations or provided for them, or land on which
such buildings
and structures are located; in premises belonging to religious
organizations or
provided for them for conducting their activity, and also on
land on which
buildings having appropriate premises are located in accordance
with agreements
with the owners of such buildings; in premises, buildings,
structures and on
land belonging to or provided for organizations created by
religious
organizations; on land belonging to religious organizations or
provided for
them; in places of pilgrimage; in cemeteries and crematoria; and
in premises of
educational organizations that have historically been used for
conducting
religious rituals."
The aforementioned point
essentially completely duplicates
point 2 of article 16 of federal law 125 "On freedom of
conscience and
religious associations," in which is spelled out where religious
associations may conduct worship services and other religious
rituals and
ceremonies without hindrance:
-- worship premises, buildings and
structures, and also on
land on which such buildings and structures are located;
-- in buildings and structures
belonging to religious
organizations by right of ownership or provided for them on by
another right of
possession for conducting their charter activity, and also on
land on which
such buildings and structures are located;
-- in premises belonging to
religious organizations by right
of ownership or provided for them by another right of possession
for conducting
their charter activity, and also on land on which buildings
having appropriate
premises are located, in accordance with an agreement with the
owners of such
buildings;
--in premises, buildings, and
structures and on land
belonging to them by right of ownership or provided for them by
another right
of possession, which are created by religious organizations;
--on land parcels belonging to
religious organization by
right of ownership or provided for them by another right of
possession;
--in places of pilgrimage;
--in cemeteries and in crematoria;
except for the last phrase: "in
residences."
And then there occurs a balancing
act that will be difficult
for even lawyers to figure out. Point 3 declares an exception
specifically with
regard to residences in which it is not permitted to conduct
missionary
activity with the exception of cases provided for by part 2 of
article 16 of
the present federal law.
What does this mean in Russian
translation?
That in a residence it is possible
to conduct missionary
activity (and we recall that its purpose is dissemination of
faith and
recruitment of new members) if this missionary activity is
performed in the manner
of the conduct of religious rituals and ceremonies, which, as
already noted
above, are conducted without hindrance.
The sphere of religious rituals and
ceremonies, in its turn,
pertains to the subject of internal rules of religious
associations in which
the state does not interfere and is required to respect in
accordance with
article 15 of the federal law "On freedom of conscience and
religious
associations."
A practical recommendation in this
regard would be
strengthening of the internal rules of the religious association
of the
practice of performing rituals and ceremonies, a substantial
part of which is,
for example, "a call to repentance" and "an appeal" of the
audience at the service. A juridically literate wording of
internal rules in
this case will act as a means of proof in defending the rights
of religious
associations by your attorneys.
Point 4 of article 24.1 prohibits
activity of a religious
association for disseminating information about its beliefs in
premises,
buildings, and structures that belong to another religious
association and also
on land on which such buildings and structures are located,
without written
agreement of the administrative body of the respective religious
association.
What is positive in this rule?
Let's read it the other way around
and we will find that
activity of a religious association for disseminating
information about its
beliefs is permitted in premises, buildings, and structures that
belong to
another religious association, and also on land on which such
buildings and
structures are located, if there exists a written agreement by
the
administrative body of the respective religious association.
The question of the "ownership" of
premises,
buildings, and structures, and also parcels of land, is not only
a question of
ownership but also possession, which may include a rental.
Thus, if one religious association,
which possesses (by
right of rental) premises, a building, or a structure, and also
land (on which,
for example, an evangelistic tent may be pitched), gives written
permission to
another association, the second one may conduct missionary
activity legally
along with the first. In this way questions of joint evangelism
and
conferences, in which several religious associations
participate, may be
resolved.
Your Christian attorney, Konstantin
Andreev
(tr. by PDS, posted 13 August 2016)
Previous article:
Protestant
law center explains approach to new law, continued
August 11, 2016
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