Novgorod Church Returned to Catholics Amid New Limits to Religious Freedom [Russia]

AsiaNews ^ | 3/19/21

[marshmallow]

The church of Saints Peter and Paul was built in 1893, but closed by the Bolsheviks in 1933, who tuned it into a cinema. The presence of Catholics in Novgorod dates back to the 9th century. New legal obligations: ministers of worship who study abroad must undergo "re-education" upon returning home. Concerns among Buddhists, Protestants and Catholics. Educational institutions must also receive a special "educational certificate" from state bodies.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - After 25 years of official requests, the church of Saints Peter and Paul in Novgorod, the ancient city in the north of Russia, 200 km from St. Petersburg, has been returned as the property of the Catholic Church.

The deed of concession was signed on March 15, and celebrated by the faithful with a solemn liturgy by the auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Moscow, the Russian Msgr. Nikolaj Dubinin (responsible for the northern part of the diocese), who in the previous days had carried out a pastoral visit in the area.

The church stands on the central street of St. Petersburg. Novgorod is the city where the Russians first joined the Scandinavian Varangians to form a new state in the 9th century. Catholics deported from Poland (about two thousand people) managed to build their church in 1893, but it was closed by the Bolsheviks in 1933, who used the building as a cinema entitled Rodina, "La Patria". In 1996 a small community of local Catholics gathered again and began to use some spaces of the former church for celebrations.

In 2009-2010, Catholics obtained federal funds to restore the external towers of the church, destroyed during the Soviet regime, and were able to have the building recognized as a "monument of federal value". After lengthy procedures, Catholics can now finally enjoy their church in absolute freedom.

Catholics have actually......

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