USCIRF Report 2010

The United States Commission of International Religious Freedom has included in its Annual Report the cases of persecution against True Orthodox Christians in Russia, including the church of St. Elizabeth.


We should like to remind our readers that USCIRF was one of the addresses of our Petition, which was sent to its Chair - Mr. Leonard Leo. Whether it was through the Petition that the USCIRF was informed about the details of harassment of St. Elizabeth's church of not, is really besides the point. The important thing is that the case of persecution of ROAC and of its community in St. Petersburg, was specifically mentioned in this year's report.

Excerpt:

"Another case involved properties of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC),
which is not affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, in the town of Suzdal. In February 2009, a regional
court ordered that 11 of the ROAC’s historic churches must be returned to the state; one year later, three
more churches in the Suzdal region were removed. Reportedly, the ROAC may be forced out of its Saint
Petersburg church (i.e. St.Elizabeth's, Ed.)."

http://www.uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2260