Russia Wants to Build Orthodox Church in Seoul

11-29-2009

The Russian Embassy has been asking for a piece of land in Seoul to open a Russian Orthodox Church, diplomatic sources say.

Furthermore, what Russia has in mind is the spot of the former Russian legation, where Emperor Gojong (1852-1919) took refuge for one year to escape the Japanese who were planning to assassinate him.

The place is now designated as the nation’s Historic Site 253.

Russian Orthodox is a dominant religion in Russia, as the number of believers accounts for 15 to 20 percent of the population.

There’s no Russian Orthodox Church currently open in Korea, and Russian residents in Seoul gather at an orthodox church in Mapo, northern Seoul.

The initial request was made by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Alexy II during President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to Russia in September last year.

President Lee is known to have said he’d consider it.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade followed up on the request by asking the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism if they would agree to the proposal ― both rejected it.

“Fundamentally, the request is against the Korean Constitution that states the separation of church and state,” said Kim Se-ra, an official at the ministry. Additionally, it isn’t in line with religious parity, she added.

“We have forwarded the response to the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church.”

The issue was raised again as a local daily newspaper reported two weeks ago that it had found a transcript in which former Russian Ambassador Gleb A. Ivashentsov again asked Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon about the plan during a meeting in July.

Kim said, “The former ambassador might not have been fully informed about Korea’s reply,” when he met with the mayor.

The ambassador was recently replaced by Konstantin V. Vnukov, who is now in Seoul.

Mikita Kharim, press attache at the embassy, refused to make an official comment, yet indicated that the new ambassador was likely to pursue the matter.

In addition, Kharim said, “Pretty much every major city around the world has a Russian Orthodox Church.”

Korea doesn’t seem like it will budge from its earlier position.

The ministry said all it could and would do is to assist in administrative procedure.

Donating the land, especially when it’s under conservation, or looking for a piece of land on behalf of the Russian embassy, is out of the question.

A ministry official said, if Russia insists, it could be a drawback for Korea-Russia relations, which will mark its 20th anniversary next year.

skim@koreatimes.co.kr

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