Moscow, Russia - The Russian Orthodox Church has rejected recent PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) accusations that it violates the freedom of worship, Interfax reported Thursday. PACE has demanded more religious liberalism of Russia than of any other country, the deputy head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s external relations department, Father Vsevolod Chaplin, said.
“From my point of view, PACE’s committee on Russia is applying double standards, when it asks of Russia greater religious liberalism than it does of the Western European countries,” Chaplin said.
PACE’s report denounced the restrictions introduced into law on the freedom of worship in Russia.
“The law on the freedom of worship created such a legal vacuum that it allowed the terrorist Japanese Sinrikyo sect to prepare militants in Russia, and quasi Islamic radicals felt at home too,” Chaplin said.
Commenting on PACE’s criticism of the Orthodox Church having a privileged position in society, Chaplin said most countries of Western Europe had privileged religious organizations, fixed by law and religious practices.
Chaplin went on to comment on the problems of providing land for religious minorities’ sanctuaries and returning historical property, saying the Orthodox Church, described as privileged in the PACE report, was affected just as much as other religious institutions.