Question: Could you on Christmas eve comment on the reports about the troubled situation evolving around the Orthodox Church of St Simeon the Stylite in Dresden and its parish?

Answer: That problem does exist, and we have received communications in this connection from Orthodox believers in Germany.

In order to understand its essence better, however, it is necessary to make a short historical excursion. The church in Dresden was built on the savings of the Russian merchant Semyon Vikulin and in 1874 registered as the property of a private fund specifically established to maintain and administer the church.

Under the 1938 law concerning the land property of the Russian Orthodox Church in Germany, signed by Hitler, the ownership of this church along with the other units of church property that belonged to the Russian State in Germany and, accordingly, had a different status, was transferred to the Russian Church Abroad, which was loyal to the Nazi regime.

In 1945 justice was restored, and the church came again under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. Legally this is confirmed by the provisions of Order of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany No. 82 of April 29, 1948, still relevant in connection with the obligations of the FRG under the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany ("2 plus 4" Treaty), which laid down the principle of the irreversibility of the confiscations of property based on the rights and supremacy of the allied occupying authorities.

In June 2002 the Supreme Court of Saxony ignored this obligation and, based on the above Nazi law, rendered a decision whereby the church would belong to the Church Abroad, which, by the way, does not even have a parish of its own in Dresden. This decision can lead to the real expulsion from the church of its dean and the numerous Orthodox parish. The elementary rights of the believers would thus be violated, not to speak of the obvious contradiction of the decision of the Saxonian judicial authorities to the international obligations of unified Germany under the "2+4" Treaty.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been following the developments in the situation most closely and has been taking practical steps to uphold the lawful rights and interests of the Orthodox believers in Dresden, among whom there are quite a few citizens of our country. This question was also raised within the framework of Russian-German political contacts.

The legally substantiated position of the Russian side is well known to the authorities of the FRG. We express the hope that in accordance with its international obligations the German side will undertake all the necessary measures to ensure a just solution of the problem. This would also be completely in accord with the high level of present-day Russian-German relations.

Click here to subscribe to the daily news digest.
You will be able to choose your own topics of interest.
Your e-mail address will be kept confidential and will be used exceptionally for sending you this digest.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES The war Against Terror: Task Force 121`s Big Catch Russians to face inflation shock in January. The Ideal Thermometer The game against the dollar continues; Corporate bonds grow again The Poisoned Tree A case of selective justice and a bad precedent A Challenge to the Authorities Money for ideas

MORE OF THE LATEST NEWS Russian Party of Life to propose its own presidential candidate Adzhar leader rules out participation in Georgian presidential elections Mobile networks facing overload Army to continue guarding Russia`s interests Rightist leader to run for president Moldova: Transnistrian problem in deadlock without Russia 3G communications to emerge in Russia Results of Duma elections to be canceled RESEARCH DOCUMENTS Investment Attractiveness Rating of Regions New! Expert 200 Ratings of Audit Companies Profiles of Russian Companies Privatization, Competitive Environment and Effectiveness of Management. Report synopsis.