RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


Russians still resolving problems of restoration of churches to historic owners

A CONCERT IN A CATHOLIC CHURCH

For several years now Catholics have tried to regain the church for themselves

Argumenty i Fakty--Krasnoyarsk, 10 May 2018

 

Catholics are demanding the return to them of the building of Organ Hall in Krasnoyarsk, the cessation of concerts, and the construction of an altar in the spot of the organ. The territorial philharmonic, to which the building now belongs, thinks that doing this without harm to the instrument is impossible.

 

Peace in this dispute is not yet expected. After all, either the believers will again be left without a church or the city will lose an expensive instrument. A correspondent for Argumenty i Fakty--Krasnoyarsk has looked into the situation.

 

Apple of discord

 

Catholics have been trying now since the 1990s to restore the church of the Transfiguration of the Lord to their ownership. In their time they even sent a letter to the Roman pope. So now the Organ Hall has again become an apple of discord.

 

"It should not be forgotten that in 1911 the church was built with the donations of the parish and money was collected throughout the province. And it will be fair for the building to be returned to its owners, the Catholic Church. I believe in God. If he wills, they will return the church to us. If not, we will humbly ask again," the rector of the parish, Dariusz Byalek, says.

 

Parishioners maintain that concerts in the altar offend believers' feelings. As an alternative, people of Krasnoyarsk propose building another church for the Catholics.

 

The Ministry of Culture of Krasnoyarsk territory justifies its refusal to return the building by the fact that there is simply nowhere to move the organ to today. And indeed it was purchased with state funds. Many citizens support such a resolution, recalling that the reconstruction in the 1980s was done with taxpayers' money and that means that everybody has rights to ownership.

 

Exaggerated problem

 

In its lifetime the Catholic church building has gone through a lot. But the believers have always managed to display tolerance and to peacefully coexist with other organizations. In 1980, during reconstruction, it was decided to make the acoustics in the hall especially for the organ. Two years later, a unique instrument was made on a special order with a Czech factory. To the present, many consider it to be a miracle. At various times, great musicians have played on it: Alexander Gorin and Liudmila Kamelina. Since 1999, an outstanding organist and winner of international competitions, Andrei Bardin, has worked continually in Organ Hall.

 

"By and large, there are no problems as such. Everything can be resolved peacefully within the law. In order to transfer the building to the religious community it is first necessary to create proper conditions for moving the organ. For this it is necessary to find a special building with at least good acoustics. As far as I know, back in 2012 an expert analysis was conducted, but appropriate premises were not found. At the same time, it is possible to move the instrument without damaging it. Of course, it will require additional costs," Andrei Bardin comments.

 

Today Organ Hall is serving simultaneously both our people and your people. But there is a danger that if the building is given over to the Catholic parish then there will be no possibility of conducting concerts there.

 

In any case, the process of transfer will be carried out within the framework of Russian law. According to law, specialists must give a response within a month, so that the fate of Organ Hall will be resolved in the near future. (tr. by PDS, posted 11 May 2018)


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