and Christian radio programs after expulsions of church leaders and an attack on a Catholic station.
Following the events, Pope John Paul II transferred to Poland a bishop from Russia, who was barred from re-entering that country as part of increased frictions between the Vatican and Moscow, BosNewsLife monitored Saturday, April 19.
The Voice of America (VOA) network quoted Vatican officials as saying that Bishop Jerzy Mazur was appointed as head of the Polish diocese of Elk after Russian authorities declared him persona non grata a year ago, on return from a trip to Poland.
Mazur, a native of Poland, had headed what is now the vast diocese covering Siberia and the Russian Far East since 1998.
SPY CHARGES
More changes are expected as several priests, protestant church leaders and foreign missionary workers have been expelled from Russia on charges ranging from "seeking to convert" Orthodox Christians to "spying" for Western interests, news reports said.
Similar reasons were reportedly given for a recent attack on Catholic radio station Dzveli Kalaki (Old City) in the neighbouring former Soviet republic of Georgia, leaving staff members struggling to re-start broadcasts this Easter season.
Officials at the Kutaisi based network told the Forum 18 News Service (F18News) that "axe-wielding men" destroyed the antenna and put it off the air.
ORTHODOX PRESSURE
Church analysts have linked the violence and pressure to concern among Orthodox Church leaders and politicians to lose influence because non-Orthodox groups and churches mushroomed in the region following the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Besides Catholics, Evangelical and Protestant Christians seem especially vulnerable to charges of "spying", human rights watchers say. F18News claims they include foreign missionaries of Protestant communities in the Kalmykia region, the Lord’s Love evangelical church and the Salvation Army.
Citing the FSB, the successor of the former secret service KGB, these groups have been attacked in local media as "western spies" who "frequently operate within various missionary organizations, hiding behind lofty charitable ideals," F18News said.
INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES
Commenting on efforts by the Salvation Army, Christian Missionary Alliance and Mission Aviation Fellowship to overturn entry bans, a newspaper said this "just goes to show how greatly intelligence agencies are interested in their presence in Kalmykia."
The Salvation Army was described by government representatives and media as "one of the most powerful totalitarian sects in the world" and was banned from holding events for children, F18News said, citing well informed sources.
Yet, not all active Christians give up hope as local authorities still seek aid from Protestants and Catholics to help needy people and to assist with anti-drug programmes, problems that increased after the collapse of Communism, more than a decade ago.
