Russian priests urged to get guns
Published 12 April, 2008, 06:11
Police in at least one Russian region are advising priests to buy guns to protect themselves and churches from thieves in the area. The suggestion comes after icons worth thousands of dollars were stolen from churches.
During the latest raid in the Kostroma region, a gang of ten men believed to be organised criminals, blocked the nearby bridge, cut the electricity supply and phone lines and poisoned a guard dog before storming the church.
But what they hadn’t expected were the powers of a particularly brave priest, who’s lucky to be alive after being shot at when he confronted the mob.
The men though fled with eight religious icons worth about $US 300,000.
Larisa Barsukova from Kostroma police says the remoteness of churches is the main problem.
“Some churches are very far away in the countryside and it’s technically impossible to set up any security system. Several times the alarm hasn’t worked and there are no guards,” she explained.
Nevertheless most priests dismiss the arming idea as absurd.
“According to our religion, if a priest kills a man, he will be defrocked, because we cannot be criminals. So priests might buy a gun but they won’t be able to use it,” says Father Dmitry Igumin.
Father Dmitry relies on God a 24-hour surveillance system to keep his church and congregation safe – a choice favoured by the majority.
And while church officials admit there’s no easy solution to the crime wave, they say the answer must come from the state.
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