Russian Orthodox Church: We Cannot Approve Of Putting a Church Up for Sale

Global Orthodox ^ | 12/11/21

[marshmallow]

Putting churches on sale is something the Russian Orthodox Church cannot approve of anywhere and under any circumstances, said Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, Secretary for Inter-Orthodox relations of the Department for External Church Relations, in an interview with the RIA Novosti information agency.

Several days ago, Garo Paylan, deputy of the Turkish parliament and member of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, condemned the attempted sale of two Orthodox church buildings — a Greek Orthodox church in Bursa and a Syrian Orthodox church in Mardine. He urged the Turkish Minister of culture and tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, to intervene in the situation.

“Of course, the Russian Church will never approve of the auctioning of a Christian church anywhere. With regard to this particular situation in Turkey, it requires additional study. We do not have sufficiently detailed and objective information about this case as yet,” Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk told RIA Novosti.

In 2020, priests of the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated Orthodox Christmas services in the Turkish cities of Bursa, Antalya, and Izmir. However, traditionally, it is the Patriarchate of Constantinople that attends to the needs of the Orthodox Christian community in Turkey.

[livius]

All Christian churches have gone crazy. They’re selling off their property and ditching Christian civilization.

[Poison Pill]

Their demographics are collapsing. The remaining old ladies in the pews won’t live forever.

[sockmonkey]

Remember how many convents have been closed, and religious women have been kicked to the curb?

What is heartbreaking to me, is to see Churches, with the still visible little brass plaques on pews or by stained glass windows "donated by the '****** family for the greater glory of God' or 'in loving memory of *****'. These represent acts of sacrificial giving by real families who sometimes struggled to feed, or clothe their own. Working Class, immigrants, not fat cats.

And then to see them abandoned, closed, consolidated, sold. It seems an injustice to those who sacrificed to make beautiful places of worship.

[livius]

“ What is heartbreaking to me, is to see Churches, with the still visible little brass plaques on pews or by stained glass windows “donated by the ‘****** family for the greater glory of God’ or ‘in loving memory of *****’. These represent acts of sacrificial giving by real families who sometimes struggled to feed, or clothe their own. Working Class, immigrants, not fat cats.”

That is exactly how I feel when I see these little plaques.