RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


Pentecostal leader hopes for better treatment at local level

RUSSIAN PROTESTANTS SUPPORT IDEA OF MENTIONING GOD IN CONSTITUTION

RIA Novosti, 3 February 2020

 

The ruling bishop of the Russian Associated Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (ROSKhVE), Sergei Riakhovsky, supported the idea of adding to the preamble of the Russian constitution mention of God. Earlier, Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill suggested adding mention of God to the preamble of the constitution. He noted that a majority of Russians believe in the existence of God and he emphasized that he is talking not only about Orthodox, but also about Muslims and "about many, many others."

 

"We prayerfully support the initiative of His Holiness the patriarch, that the word or the concept of the Almighty God esxist (in the Russian constitution—ed.)," Riakhovsky said at a round table in the Rossiia Segodnia news agency.

 

He cited the example of Germany, in whose constitution there is the phrase "recognizing our responsibility before God and people," and Canada, which is "based on the principles of the dominion of God and the supremacy of secular law."

 

"We support the idea which is being discussed in (connection with—ed.) the new edition of the constitution, the unification of authority. We protestants are resolving important problems on the federal level. But when we go down to the region or municipality, they say to us 'we will not give permission for construction, we will not allot land' and so forth," [Sergei Riakhovsky said—tr.].

 

He said that the situation has developed in this way "not because officials are bad but exclusively because of misunderstanding of the diversity of religious life of Russia."

 

"There is dialogue, this is attributable to the federal and regional, but not the municipal, authority. Amendments to the constitution will help to bring clarity and correction of approaches. . . . I would hope that there will be unification of a single approach in order to fulfill the constitution and federal laws so that they will reach down to municipal authority," the representative of Russian protestants summed up." (tr. by PDS, posted 6 February 2020)


Russia Religion News Current News Items

Editorial disclaimer: RRN does not intend to certify the accuracy of information presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the articles as they appeared in news media of countries of the former USSR.

If material is quoted, please give credit to the publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please include reference to the URL, http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.