MOSCOW (ABP) – About 100 people picketed a district assembly building in Moscow May 17 because they said plans for a private Russian-American Christian college in a local neighborhood is a threat to the Russian Orthodox Church.
According to the Interfax news agency, the protest reflected anger among some members of the Orthodox Church over what they consider encroachment by other faiths.
The university, which has operated in Russia for eight years, is not affiliated with any church. Its faculty and students include Protestants, Catholics and Russian Orthodox, according to founder and president John Bernbaum. It received full accreditation for five years from the Russian Education Ministry in 2003.
The school has received permission from Moscow authorities to build the new campus, said Bernbaum, adding the university hopes to break ground this summer.
The protesters demanded that the project be stopped and that more Russian Orthodox churches be built in the neighborhood in northern Moscow, Interfax reported.