Source: www.forum18.org
Date: May 29, 2024
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Victoria Arnold, Forum 18
An independent Orthodox parish in the southern Krasnodar Region may be
forced to demolish its own church, apparently as a direct result of its
Archbishop's prosecution for opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The
city administration in Slavyansk-na-Kubani has lodged a civil lawsuit
against Archbishop Viktor Pivovarov, claiming that the Holy Intercession
Tikhonite Church – which has stood for nearly 25 years – is an
"unauthorised structure" and must be demolished at his own expense.
Slavyansk City Court began hearing the suit on 23 May, and is due to resume
consideration on 18 June (see below).
If the court upholds the Administration's request, Archbishop Viktor would
be obliged to have the church demolished within 30 days of the written
decision entering legal force. The decision comes into force either one
month after the judge issues it in its final form, or upon an unsuccessful
appeal. Archbishop Viktor would have one month to lodge an appeal, should
he choose to do so.
The Administration argues that holding worship services in the building
constitutes misuse of a land plot designated as being for "individual
residential construction" only. It appears, however, that the underlying
reason is the parish clergy's stance against Russia's war in Ukraine and
its leader's criminal prosecution for repeatedly "discrediting" the Russian
Armed Forces (see below).
Archbishop Viktor, who has consistently and repeatedly publicly criticised
from a religious perspective both the invasion of Ukraine and Russia's
conduct in the war, was convicted and fined under Criminal Code Article
280.3, Part 1 (repeat "discreditation" of the Russian Armed Forces) on 8
April (see below).
There have been multiple prosecutions of clergy from the Holy Intercession
Tikhonite Church, as well as an armed raid in October 2023, during which Fr
Iona Sigida was tortured. He was later prosecuted for writing an anti-war
article. There has been no answer to Forum 18's questions about the raid,
including why Fr Iona's torturers are not facing criminal prosecution for
torture, in line with Russia's obligations under the United Nations (UN)
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment (see below).
In December 2023, during the investigation of the criminal case against
Archbishop Viktor, Slavyansk Inter-District Investigative Department
informed the city administration that the Church was "a public place where
a crime has been repeatedly committed against the basis of the
constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation", suggested
that it had not been built in accordance with planning regulations, and
demanded that the administration "take measures to eliminate violations"
(see below).
Forum 18 wrote to the Administration of Slavyansk Urban Settlement (which
brought the suit) and Slavyansk District Municipality (a party to the suit)
asking:
– why the city administration wants to demolish the Church when it has
existed without causing problems for the administration or local residents
for 25 years;
– why the criminal case against Archbishop Viktor, initiated because of
his expression of religious views on war in general and the war in Ukraine,
should be considered grounds for demolishing a building used by an entire
religious community;
– whether the community might be given the opportunity to legalise the
Church building retrospectively, if it is found to have been built in
violation of planning regulations.
Neither body has answered these questions (see below).
In a statement on its website on 27 May, the parish called the authorities'
accusations "ridiculous and godless", and noted that it had undergone many
inspections over the thirty years of its existence, "with no claims made
against us".
"It is clear that the reason for the decision to demolish our church is not
formal violations, but only anger and revenge for the sermons and articles
of Archbishop Viktor, for his confession of the Truth of Christ, which they
hate so much", the statement concluded.
Church has stood for 25 years
Viktor Pivovarov, who is now 87, was ordained a priest in the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), which opened parishes inside Russia
in the early 1990s. In 2006 he became an Archbishop in the Russian
[Rossiyskaya] Orthodox Church (RosPTs), which was founded after a series of
splits within ROCOR. He now leads a rival branch of RosPTs which he
established in 2009 after a further split. It is not in communion with
either other parts of ROCOR or the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Holy Intercession Tikhonite Church was built in the late 1990s and
funded by donations from parishioners, a church member now living outside
Russia explained to Forum 18. The first service in the building took place
in January 2000. The community was registered as a local religious
organisation between 2000 and 2018, and has since existed as an
unregistered religious group.
(According to tax records, the local religious organisation took the
decision to liquidate itself in June 2017 and ceased its existence in July
2018. In its statement of 27 May, the parish claims that its registration
was "forcibly taken away" in 2018 after amendments to the Religion Law, and
that it was subsequently unable to re-register.)
"A place where a crime has been repeatedly committed"
In January 2024, shortly after investigators initiated the criminal case
against Archbishop Viktor
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
concerned that there could also be a threat to the Church itself
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"For now, everything is uncertain, because as you understand, this does not
depend on us", a church member outside Russia explained to Forum 18 on 8
April.
While investigating the criminal case against Archbishop Viktor, Slavyansk
Inter-District Investigative Department (a subdivision of the Krasnodar
Region branch of the Investigative Committee) wrote to the Administration
of Slavyansk Urban Settlement on 20 December 2023 about "elimination of
causes and conditions conducive to the commission of crimes". The
Administration appears to have received this in January 2024.
In the letter, seen by Forum 18, the Investigative Department informs
administration head Aleksandr Bersenev that Archbishop Viktor has been
charged under Criminal Code Article 280.3
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation")
The letter stated that Archbishop Viktor had committed his alleged offences
"in a public place, namely, in the building of the Holy Intercession
Tikhonite Church .. foreseeing the inevitability of socially dangerous
consequences in the form of destabilisation of the socio-political
situation, the exertion of influence on public opinion, the formation in
society of a negative mood and disruption of trust in decisions taken by
the Supreme Commander in Chief [and] state bodies of the Russian
Federation".
The Investigative Department particularly noted Archbishop Viktor's May
2023 video interview
(https://novayagazeta.eu/artic
with Novaya Gazeta Europe.
After the October 2023 raid on the Church
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
inspection", the Investigative Committee decided that, despite the land's
designated purpose as "individual residential construction", "in actuality
there is a church located on this land plot – the building of the Holy
Intercession Tikhonite Church, converted from a private house", in which
"church services take place, attended by residents of Slavyansk-na-Kubani
and other population centres".
Rather than "individual residential construction", the Church is "actually
a public place, with a large number of visitors, where a crime has been
repeatedly committed against the basis of the constitutional order and
security of the Russian Federation".
"This speaks of the improper execution of their professional obligations by
employees of the department for municipal land control of the
administration of Slavyansk-na-Kubani", the Investigative Department
concluded. It added that the land plot and buildings should be inspected
for compliance with their designated use and demanded that the city
administration "take immediate measures to eliminate violations and take
disciplinary action against the perpetrators".
Administration fulfils Investigative Committee's demand
The Slavyansk Urban Settlement Administration appears to have fulfilled the
Investigative Committee's demands. According to an Act of Inspection, also
seen by Forum 18, two members of the Settlement Administration's staff
visited the Church on 29 March 2024 and noted that its door was open, there
was no service in progress, and "Inside the premises were religious objects
(icons, an altar, candles)".
The parish claimed in its statement of 27 May that "the inspections carried
out took place in secret from us, and no one informed us of this or issued
any warnings about violations or asked any questions".
On 10 April 2024, Aleksandr Gopak, head of the Department for Architecture
and Town Planning for Slavyansk District Municipality, responded to a
request from the Administration, stating that there was no permission for
construction of the Church, or for bringing it into commission (vvod v
ekspluatatiyu), in the archive of his department.
It is unclear whether officials conducted any search for a permit granted
for the construction of a private house, which Archbishop Viktor obtained
in 1996, according to the parish statement of 27 May.
In the lawsuit seeking to have the Church demolished, seen by Forum 18, the
Administration notes that Archbishop Viktor owns the land plot at 130
Yunykh Kommunarov Street, as well as the red-brick, two-storey house which
stands on it, as shown in the cadastral register. The second building on
the plot – built of white brick and with an Orthodox cross on the roof
– is not entered in the cadastral register.
This second building is "used for carrying out the activities of religious
organisations [sic]. There are religious objects installed in the premises,
[and] icons hanging up. The premises are accessible to an unlimited circle
of persons". The land plot's designated purpose is "individual residential
construction".
The Administration then cites Slavyansk Inter-District Investigative
Department's communication "On the elimination of the reasons and
conditions enabling the commission of a crime", outlining its criminal
prosecution of Archbishop Viktor, the Archbishop's "negative attitude to
the activities of the state organs of the Russian Federation [and] the use
of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the conduct of the special
military operation on the territory of the Republic of Ukraine", and the
fact that his alleged offences occurred "in a public place – namely in
the building of the Holy Intercession Tikhonite Church".
The lawsuit notes that an "unauthorised structure" [samovolnaya postroyka]
is one built on a land plot "not designated for these purposes in the
manner established by law, or without receiving the necessary permissions,
or with significant violations of town-planning and building norms and
rules". A person who builds or allows the building of an unauthorised
structure does not have right of ownership, and such a structure is subject
to demolition at this person's expense.
The Administration therefore asks the court to recognise the Holy
Intercession Tikhonite Church as an "unauthorised structure" and to order
Archbishop Viktor to demolish the building at his own expense within thirty
days of the ruling coming into legal force.
On 18 April 2024, the Administration lodged its civil lawsuit against
Archbishop Viktor at Slavyansk City Court. Judge Natalya Kovalchuk accepted
the case for consideration on 22 April.
"It is clear that the reason for the decision to demolish our church is not
formal violations, but only anger and revenge for the sermons and articles
of Archbishop Viktor, for his confession of the Truth of Christ, which they
hate so much", the parish wrote on its website on 27 May.
The parish compares the threat of demolition with the destruction of
religious buildings in the Soviet era: "Just read the [court] sentences of
the New Martyrs or the decrees on the demolition of churches by the
communists – how do they differ from [the Administration's lawsuit]? Both
of them hide behind a formal law, which they themselves have written and
interpreted, and refer to the hostile attitude [of the Churches] towards
them."
Administration does not respond as to why it wants to demolish church
The plaintiff in the case to have the Holy Intercession Tikhonite Church
demolished is the Administration of Slavyansk Urban Settlement. This is the
local government body which runs the town of Slavyansk-na-Kubani.
The Architecture and Town Planning Department of Slavyansk District
Municipality is named as a third party; the Municipality administers
Slavyansk District, one of the territorial subdivisions of Krasnodar
Region. The region lies across the Sea of Azov from Russian-occupied
southern Ukraine.
Forum 18 wrote to both local government bodies on 22 May to ask for the
reasons behind the lawsuit, and again on 27 May with the following
questions:
– why the city administration wants to demolish the Church when it has
existed without causing problems for the administration or local residents
for 25 years;
– why the criminal case against Archbishop Viktor, initiated because of
his expression of religious views on war in general and the war in Ukraine,
should be considered grounds for demolishing a building used by an entire
religious community;
– whether the community might be given the opportunity to legalise the
Church building retrospectively, if it is found to have been built in
violation of planning regulations.
The city administration replied on 27 May, directing Forum 18 to contact
the Slavyansk District Municipality as there is no department for
architecture and town-planning at the city level.
When Forum 18 pointed out that it is the city administration which is the
plaintiff in the case (as a third party, the Municipality's town planning
department is making no explicit claim of its own), it responded further on
28 May: "We will register your request today and it will go to the head [of
the Administration] for consideration. The legal department will provide
you with an answer within the period established by law" (this should be no
more than 15 days).
What is an "unauthorised structure"?
According to Article 222 of the Civil Code, an "unauthorised structure" is
one which has been erected on a land plot whose designated use does not
allow for this type of building, or which has been built without the
necessary permits or in violation of town-planning and construction
regulations, if these regulations and requirements were in force when
construction began and when authorities found out about the unauthorised
structure.
The person who built an unauthorised structure has no right of ownership to
it, and therefore cannot legally sell it, rent it out, or transfer it to
another party for their use. If local authorities believe a building is an
unauthorised structure, they can apply for a court order to have it
demolished at the landowner's expense.
Many religious communities across Russia have faced the loss of their
places of worship (https://www.forum18.org/archi
because of alleged violations of planning regulations.
Since municipal authorities are usually unwilling to permit the
construction of purpose-built churches and mosques, congregations can be
obliged to meet in residential, agricultural, or commercial buildings. This
leaves them vulnerable to the complexities and contradictions of the
legislation which regulates the use of land.
Individuals and religious communities also risk punishment if they exercise
their right to freedom of religion or belief by meeting for worship on land
not designated for the purpose
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Civil Code amendments of 30 March 2016 and 4 August 2018, which give
religious organisations the right to use "unauthorised structures"
indefinitely if they conform to legal requirements, and up to 2030 if they
do not, resulted in the halting on 5 December 2019 of a threat to demolish
the Good News Pentecostal Church
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Intercession Tikhonite Church is not, however, a registered religious
organisation.
The Administration "wanted to demolish the Church on the quiet"
Judge Natalya Kovalchuk held the first hearing of the civil lawsuit brought
by the Administration of Slavyansk Urban Settlement against Archbishop
Viktor Pivovarov at Slavyansk City Court on 23 May. Parish representatives
attended the first hearing, only shortly after learning of its existence.
Judge Kovalchuk adjourned the case with a request for more evidence to be
provided. She set the date of the next hearing as 18 June 2024.
"[The Administration] wanted to demolish the church on the quiet, but
haven't managed it", a church member told Forum 18 from outside Russia the
same day.
The Church member explained to Forum 18 on 22 May that the Church had been
built over several years in the late 1990s, paid for by parishioners'
donations. The first service had taken place at Old New Year (14 January)
2000. Before this, the community had worshipped at a house church on Pobeda
Street in Slavyansk.
Before the current lawsuit, there had "of course" been no problems with the
city administration, the Church member told Forum 18. "[Archbishop Viktor]
has always been well known in the town. The gate is always open."
Multiple prosecutions, armed raid on church
In March 2023, Slavyansk City Court fined Archbishop Viktor Pivovarov
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
one month's average local wage or more than two months' average local
pension – under Administrative Code Article 20.3.3
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation") for an anti-war sermon he had given in church.
Subsequently, the Archbishop continued openly to oppose Russia's war in
Ukraine in his articles, his sermons (many of which are available on his
YouTube channel), and in a video made by independent Russian media outlet
Novaya Gazeta Europe and published on 5 May 2023
(https://novayagazeta.eu/artic
On 3 October 2023, Slavyansk Inter-District Investigative Department of the
Investigative Committee led a raid on the Holy Intercession Tikhonite
Church (https://www.forum18.org/archi
four other places, during which unidentified armed men physically
assaulted, tortured, and detained 32-year-old Hieromonk Iona Sigida, the
Archbishop's assistant. Officers also searched the premises and seized
electronic devices, documents, and money.
"I was amazed by this level of aggression and anger", Fr Iona told Novaya
Gazeta Europe. "And the most important thing is that they entered the
Church with machine guns. They completely turned everything over .. They
scattered everything as if on purpose."
There has been no answer to Forum 18's questions about the raid, including
why Fr Iona's torturers are not facing criminal prosecution
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
with Russia's obligations under the United Nations (UN) Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
In Fr Iona's and Archbishop Viktor's account of the raid
(https://eshatologia.org/dokum
they describe the armed men as belonging to "SOBR" (Spetsialny Otryad
Bystrogo Reagirovaniya), the Special Rapid Response Unit which has been
part of the National Guard (Rosgvardiya) since 2016 and which frequently
provides armed support for Investigative Committee operations.
Fr Iona was later charged with "disobeying a police officer"
(Administrative Code Article 19.3, Part 1), for which a court gave him two
days' short-term imprisonment
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
arest). On 20 November 2023, Slavyansk City Court also fined Fr Iona 30,000
Roubles (about three weeks' average local wage) under Administrative Code
Article 20.3.3 (https://www.forum18.org/archi
1 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the
Russian Federation") for his article "The cult of war", which he had
published on the Church's website on 28 September 2023.
During the October 2023 raid Fr Iona's torturers directly referred to this
article (https://www.forum18.org/archi
discusses how "the cult of war is an integral part of all totalitarian
anti-human regimes". He refers to prophecies in the Book of Daniel and the
Book of Revelation, and criticises the "militarisation" of the Moscow
Patriarchate.
Criminal prosecution
In December 2023, investigators summoned Archbishop Viktor for questioning
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
they had opened a case against him
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Article 280.3 (https://www.forum18.org/archi
("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the
Russian Federation").
The basis for the criminal prosecution appears to be an October 2023 post
on Archbishop Viktor's blog, entitled "An answer to the question which
concerns everyone today: what is this war?"
(https://alsoaboutchrist.blogs
Novaya Gazeta Europe video interview, and other articles and sermons.
The investigators did not say for which agency they worked, but it now
appears from the court verdict that it was the Slavyansk department of the
Investigative Committee which both handled the criminal case and led the
October 2023 raid (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Slavyansk City Court registered the case on 22 January 2024, and three
hearings took place on 27 February, 11 March, and 8 April. In court,
Archbishop Viktor pleaded not guilty and refused to testify.
The written verdict summarises statements he gave during questioning
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
noting that he thinks that the Russian government has "no right" to declare
Ukrainians to be enemies or to have invaded Ukraine, and does not recognise
the annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia Regions,
saying that "this decision was imposed and these territories were taken by
force by the Russian Federation from the state of Ukraine". The "special
military operation" is, for Archbishop Viktor, "lawless and aggressive" and
a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty.
On 8 April, the court fined Archbishop Viktor
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
nearly eight times the local average monthly pension – under Criminal
Code Article 280.3 (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Part 1 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces
of the Russian Federation", committed more than once in one year).
Archbishop Viktor will have a criminal record (sudimost
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
being a convicted person) for one year after he pays the fine.
Parishioners "scared away by recent events"
After the October 2023 raid on their Church
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
became concerned that investigative agencies were monitoring its
activities.
"Officers come to every service
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
everything and all the parishioners; others, under the guise of random
people or parishioners, also holding their phones, ask intrusive
questions", the Church member outside Russia told Forum 18 in January.
"This is probably a method of intimidation." Sunday services are continuing
to take place, but "of course not as normal", the Church member told Forum
18 on 12 April. "Many people have been scared away by recent events."
Forum 18 has repeatedly asked the Federal Investigative Committee and the
Krasnodar Region branches of the FSB security service and Interior Ministry
why investigators had placed the Church under surveillance, why they were
threatening members of the community with prosecution, and whether any
further administrative or criminal cases had been opened against anybody
other than Archbishop Viktor. Forum 18 has received no replies.
"Numerous inspections by the Justice Ministry, as well as by local
authorities"
"Regarding the ridiculous and godless accusations brought against us in the
spirit of Bolshevik materialism and Satanism, we want to respond", the
parish wrote in a statement on its website on 27 May. It noted that, since
its founding in 1993 under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church
Outside Russia, the parish has undergone "numerous inspections by the
Justice Ministry, as well as by local authorities, [during which] no claims
were made against us".
The parish claimed that it had found it impossible in the 1990s to gain
permission to construct a church which was actually registered as a
religious building, on land explicitly designated for this purpose:
"Construction by the book [po dokumentam] of a church not belonging to the
Soviet Moscow Patriarchate was blocked by local atheist communists –
those in the authorities and the [Russian Orthodox-Moscow Patriarchate]
Church – and then [we] decided to build the same as at 61 Pobeda Street,
a private house, which would be transferred to the use of the Church
community for worship."
The parish understood – both at the time and since – that it could hold
services in a private house. Technically, this has continued to be
permitted under the 1997 Religion Law, but religious communities have
frequently encountered problems in doing so, including fines under
Administrative Code Article 8.8, Part 1 ("The use of a land plot not for
its intended purpose").
"In 1996, the project was approved and a building permit was obtained", the
parish stated on 27 May. The two buildings on the plot – the Church and
the house in which Archbishop Viktor lives - were built at the same time, a
church member explained to Forum 18. All property rights were always held
by the Archbishop, and "he wrote an agreement which transferred [the
Church] to the use of the local religious organisation".
After construction was completed, the parish transferred its registered
address to the new location, at 130 Yunykh Kommunarov Street: "Here, too,
the Justice Ministry did not have any complaints against us", the parish
said in its statement. "And as far as we know, other religious communities
of other religious movements and faiths in the town were also forced to
operate without officially registering the land for religious use, and
registered [it] however they could [kak pridetsya]".
According to the state cadastral register, the land plot on which the
Church stands belongs to Archbishop Viktor, as does the house behind the
Church in which the Archbishop lives. The church building itself does not
appear in the cadastral register – it is unclear why this is the case.
The land plot is designated as being for "individual residential
construction". (END)
For background information see Forum 18's Russia religious freedom survey
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
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