Belgium proposed to consider the issue of the Russian Orthodox Church staying on the territory of the country

Belgian media have proposed a public discussion on the presence of the Russian Orthodox Church on Belgian territory. A journalist of one of the publications accuses the Russian Orthodox Church of threatening national security and the Belgian government of still sponsoring the Russian Church. The media compared the “threats” coming from the Russian Orthodox Church to the problem of Islamization of Belgium and called to raise the issue of restricting the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country. The corresponding material was published on the EUTODAY website.

“Belgium sponsors a number of state-recognized religions, and Orthodoxy has been one of them since 1985. There are many Orthodox churches on the territory of Belgium, and the Russian Orthodox Church is one of them. The Russian Orthodox Church in Belgium (ROC/Belgium) is fully associated with the Moscow Patriarchate, which endorsed Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine and called his “special operation” a “holy war”,” — the publication says.

The author of the article points out that in many European countries the Russian Church has come under scrutiny and sometimes on the verge of being banned. In this regard, in his opinion, it would be good to assess public opinion in Belgium on this issue. He believes it is necessary to involve the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the process as well.

“The defrocking of the Russian Orthodox Church in Europe is a security issue.
In EU countries, the presence of Orthodox churches subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church/Moscow Patriarchate has raised national security concerns, as in a number of cases they have been suspected or accused of serving as relays of Putin’s propaganda or Russian espionage activities. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Sweden, and Ukraine have taken various measures to prevent or address security threats, including with the assistance of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In light of the security threats attributed to the Russian Orthodox Church/Moscow Patriarchate in an increasing number of European countries, the Belgian state prefers to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. Should it continue to fund the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgium, which is fully subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate and did not object to Kirill’s support for Putin’s war against Ukraine? However, public debate is badly needed,” — added the author.

We will remind, earlier we reported that the Senate Committee on security of the Czech Senate called on the Government of the country to initiate an inspection of the Orthodox Church of the Czech lands and Slovakia on the subject of cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church. The committee believes that the OCCLS, through its cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church, has fallen under the influence of Russian special services.