French court rules a Russian church be returned to the Patriarchate of Constantinople immediately

Interfax new agency reports, citing the French Sude-Ouest, that the court of Pau, France, has ruled to return to the Patriarchate of Constantinople the Russian church in Biarriz, whose community decided earlier to return to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church.

According to this regional newspaper, the legal controversy was resolved through the interference of the DST, the French counterintelligence service.

In December 2004, the newspaper reports, parishioners of the Russian church of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God and St. Alexander Nevsky, together with their rector, Father George, ‘decided at a general meeting to tear away from Constantinople’ and to ‘seek shelter under the protective wing of Moscow’.

However, ‘a part of the parishioners’, the newspaper writes, turned to court, ‘challenging the legitimacy of the general meeting’. A year after the decision was made, the local court in Bayonne supported the minority of the parishioners, ‘referring to a procedural violation’ in convening the meeting. Consequent meetings, during which ‘the parish community reconfirmed its move to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate’, were ‘annulled’ as well. Recently the court of appeal resolved that the ruling of the first court be executed immediately in spite of the appeal made by the community.

Therefore, the newspaper reports, ‘from now on the parish in Biarriz depends again on Archbishop Gabriel of Comana’ who ‘suspended Father George a year ago, which ‘led to a serious crisis within the community’.

Among the circumstances of the case mentioned by the newspaper is ‘Father George’s complaint to the law enforcement concerning the threats made to his family’ and ‘an unprecedented’ event when ‘a DST agent came to Biarriz to investigate Moscow’s alleged attempt to take control of the Western European Orthodox Church’. According to the newspaper, Biarriz Mayor Didier Borotre ‘received the special agent in his office’.

Father George’s lawyer has stressed that the case has not been completed yet because an appeal has been filed. ‘However, Father George is treated like the worst of men, which is surprising as they claim to be Christians. And how can it be forgotten that the whole thing began with a desire of parishioners to observe the rites and traditions of the Russian Church?’ the director of a law firm in Paris wonders.