RUSSIAN
PROTESTANTS
SUPPORT IDEA OF MENTIONING GOD IN CONSTITUTION
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)
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