Posted 21 апреля 2020,, 22:16

Published 21 апреля 2020,, 22:16

Modified 24 декабря 2022,, 22:36

Updated 24 декабря 2022,, 22:36

Patriarch asked the government to postpone the payments for the housing and utilities for the churches

Patriarch asked the government to postpone the payments for the housing and utilities for the churches

21 апреля 2020, 22:16
Фото: Медиахолдинг 1Mi
Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, informed the Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin about the reduction of donations due to quarantine measures and asked to defer payment of utility bills for churches. The government also suggested that parishes individually deal with housing and communal services providers.

In his ьуыыфпу the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia noted that the bills exhibited to churches for the heat, electricity, gas, water and even garbage collection are paid from parishioners dontions, the volume of which fell sharply. In many regions, all churches for parishioners have been closed, but even where churches are open, fewer parishioners come to them.

Last week, the head of the synodal department of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) on relations between the church and society and the media, Vladimir Legoid, also noted that the ROC was in a difficult economic situation. Of the donations of the parishioners, they pay not only utilities and other expenses for the temple, but also the priests' incomes are formed from them. “The general church budget also consists of donations,” RBC quotes Vladimir Legoyda. According to Vladimir Legoyda, dioceses will support parishes that are experiencing difficulties.

According to RBC source in the government, Mikhail Mishustin redirected the letter from the Russian Orthodox Church to the relevant departments, including the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Natural Resources. But they suggested that the parishes deal with deferrals to consumers of energy and utilities resources by agreement of the parties based on the terms of the agreements. Gazprom promised to consider targeted appeals of churches and monasteries on deferring payments for gas individually.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service, the total debt for the payment of housing services to organizations and citizens of Russia at the end of the first quarter of 2020 reached 1.4 trillion rubles.

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