Tug of warfare over Russian Orthodox church buildings in France: Moscow reclaims cultural websites

About 20 years in the past, the Russian state started a large-scale operation to take management of Orthodox parishes throughout Europe. A few of these had, over time, damaged ties with the Moscow patriarchate. They’re now the article of authorized instances pitting the Russian Federation towards native associations created to run these expatriate church buildings in the course of the Soviet period. In April, a court docket within the French metropolis of Good dominated {that a} church and historic cemetery there rightfully belonged to Russia, reasonably than to the native cultural affiliation. For a few of its parishioners, seeing the French justice system aspect with the nation waging warfare towards Ukraine has been laborious to just accept. Descendants of the Russian tsars, however, welcome this choice. FRANCE 24’s Elena Volochine experiences.



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