Priest Viktor Pivovarov manages to defend his temple from authorities’ attempts to demolish it

The court’s decision containing the refusal to demolish a temple in Slavyansk-on-Kuban has entered into force. The deadline for appeal by the authorities, who had earlier demanded that the temple be demolished, has passed.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on May 27, it became known that the authorities of Slavyansk-on-Kuban appealed to the court with a demand to oblige the Archbishop of the Russia’s Orthodox Church Viktor Pivovarov to demolish the Holy Protection and Tikhon Church. According to the authorities’ version, the temple was built on a site for individual housing construction. The demand to demolish the temple continues the persecution for the Viktor Pivovarov’s position in relation to the authorities, the priest himself states.

“On July 23, the court’s decision to reject the claim lodged by the Slavyansk-on-Kuban administration to demolish the temple led by Viktor Pivovarov came into force,” reported a spokesperson for the Slavyansk-on-Kuban court. According to the court official, the above means that the temple will not be demolished.

Legal battles over the temple and the persecution of priests have paralyzed the activities of the very temple, one of the parishioners complains. “There are far fewer people coming to the temple because believers fear persecution and provocations by law enforcers, and the priests themselves are under the constant ‘sight’ of the FSB. There is no talk of any freedom of religion, as recorded in the Constitution of the Russian Federation,” parishioner Gennady expressed his opinion.