Who will be the next... What police accuses bishop Petrograd and Gdov Gregory (Lourie) of?

(This commentary was published by an Independent Russian Religious News Site Portal-Credo.ru)

The head of the Ecclesiastical Council of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) bishop of Petrograd and Gdov Gregory (Lourié) (Vadim Lourié) is a rector of the St. Elizabeth church in Saint-Petersburg. He is also a famous scholar, PhD and Dr. habil. in philosophy. He devotes himself to scholarly work and is the editor-in-chief of an international scholarly periodical "Scrinium. Revue de patrologie, d’hagiographie critique et d’histoire ecclésiastique" (http://scrinium.ru) and the author of more than hundred scholarly articles and several books about history and philosophy.

On 15 March Russian media started campaign of slander about bishop Gregory and St. Elizabeth church. Media says, that the relics of saints which are exposed in the church are "fake", and that clergymen of this church are "fake" either, because they belong to "wrong" church (ROAC), not to "right" church (ROC MP). Bishop Gregory is also accused of organizing in Internet a "self-murderer club". In a few days appeared a lot of articles and TV programs with slander about bishop Gregory. But the police opened the case against "unknown persons." Bishop Gregory and clergymen of St. Elisabeth church are witnesses in this case.

The table near the entrance of St. Elisabeth church says: "St. Elisabeth church of Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church." Bishop Gregory became a priest of the ROACin 1999. Since then, he always stressed in public, that he doesn’t belong to MP.Clergymen of the church have no doubt that the relics in their church are authentic. It is very strange, that it is police who decides now, which relics are true and which are fake. Several years ago hieromonk Gregory helped young people, who wanted to commit suicide. If an adult person wants to take his own life, it is not always possible to stop him. And hieromonk Gregory was able to help not to all of these young men and women, but most of them.

Last events show that in Russia continued campaign of destruction of the True Orthodox Churches, that is, the Churches which do not belong to the Patriarchate of Moscow. Recently, the state took away all the ROAC churches in Suzdal. Now they will try to take away St. Elizabeth church in St. Petersburg. And it is not important in what police accuses Bishop Gregory of. It is important, who will be the next.

http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=english&id=362