Thursday, March 02, 2006

The Church and Belarus

Minsk, Belarus. From an article: "On Sunday 5 February the Christ's Covenant congregation of approximately 30 was reading the Bible and praying at his home, [Pastor Vyazovsky] ... when a local district official entered and began to take photographs. When church members refused to let in a police officer who arrived shortly afterwards...the two state representatives drew up a protocol accusing the pastor...of violating the established legal procedure for holding religious events. Under the 2002 Religion Law, such events require state permission if held outside a designated house of worship and may not be conducted systematically or on a large-scale in a private home."

Like sands through the hourglass, Belarus continues to be the most USSR-ish of all the former Soviet republics. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

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