IN SAMARA, CHURCH BUILDING BEING DISMANTLED FELL ONTO NEIGHBORING HOUSE
In the village of Mekhzavod in Samara, an emergency occurred. During the dismantling of an illegally built church building, a part of the wall collapsed onto a private house next door. The buildings stood quite near each other.
We recall that the "Good News" church, which is identified on Yandex maps as Catholic, belonged to a different confession. It was built by representatives of the "Pentecostals," which is one of the religious denominations within protestantism. This denomination, especially its new portion, called "Neopentecostals," is, in the opinion of some specialists, on a border between traditional religion and sectarianism. In particular, Pentecostals engage in free-wheeling rituals, and the form of their worship is free and "close to modern language." The principal ideologues of the Pentecostals are in the U.S.A., where the parent organization is located, which provides help to their brothers throughout the world.
The church building in the village of Mekhzavod was built with violations and the lot was not switched from the category of "single-family residential" to the category of land for religious use. On the basis of a court decision, the Samara city government hired the "VEG" company, which was supposed to demolish the church building.
During demolition, workers miscalculated the
weight-bearing
points of dismantling and part of the wall, with its roof,
collapsed onto the
neighboring building. The roof and part of the wall of the
private house were damaged;
no people were injured. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 September 2021)
IT PILED UP ON THE ROOF OF HOUSE NEXT DOOR: CONSEQUENCES OF COLLAPSE OF WALL OF CHURCH IN SAMARA
In the village of Mekhzavod, the wall of a building collapsed onto a neighboring house after the start of work.
"The structure was not being used. Nobody was injured as a result of the incident," a representative of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for Samara oblast reported.
The church in question is located at the intersection of Moscow Highway and Anzersk Street. The building is considered to be a parish of one of the branches of Christianity. According to information of the Yandex Maps service, it belongs to Catholics. However there is a report that protestants, Pentecostals or Baptists, may have gathered here.
Nevertheless, Samara authorities decided that the structure was illegal. According to officials, the two-story building was built back in 2016 without permit documents. In mid-August 2021, it became known that the "VEG" company would undertake the destruction of the "Good News" church. For their work the contractors would receive 1.6 million rubles.
Demolition of the church began in late August. The contractors removed thermal insulation from the building and hauled the trash away from the site. However the decision of the authorities of Samara to demolish the religious structure evoked a mixed reaction from local residents. Opinions on this matter were divided. Some supported the officials and others considered that the building should not be destroyed, especially since it is a church. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 September 2021)
IN SAMARA, DEMOLITION OF CATHOLIC CHURCH IN MEKHZAVOD BEGINS
Domostroyrf.ru, 31 August 2021
Judging by the pictures, at the present time the contractor is removing paneling and the roof of the building and is taking the trash away. Subsequently the church building at the intersection of Moscow Highway and Anzhersk Street will be demolished.
City authorities decided to get rid of the building inasmuch as the building was ruled by a court to be illegal. In mid-August a contractor was found in the person of the VEG company. The demolition cost 1,629,106 rubles.
The building is the church of Russian Christian Presbyterian believers, and its parishioners do not intend to give up. The pastor of the church, Igor Liashevsky, published on his page in social media an open letter in which he described his own version of the story. The pastor maintains that the lot under the building is private property. The church received permission for construction and believers began erecting it. When the building was ready, the urban planning department discovered violations. Thus, there was no kitchen in the building, which had been provided for in the blueprints. Because of construction of a cross, the height of the church turned out to be three meters greater than the blueprints, and the church itself is situated on two, not one, lots. Igor Liashevsky said that the violations have been removed and the church was ready to go further, but it was decided to destroy the building anyway.
"By this letter we wish to call the Samara public to pay attention to this incident, which in and of itself enflames inter-confessional strife within a peaceful Samara religious community, and to help in halting a blatant injustice," Igor Liashevsky wrote. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 September 2021)
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