Russia cathedral protests expose church role tensions

YEKATERINBURG, Russia: Thousands of people protested for a third straight day Wednesday plans for a new cathedral in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in a case exposing tensions over the growing authority of the Orthodox Church.

Demonstrators against the cathedral say they want to protect a valued leisure area in a city designed as an industrial hub. Demonstrators told AFP they were fighting to protect a valued leisure area in a city that was originally designed as an industrial hub. "This is our common space, it belongs to all the people of this city," said Alexei Mosin, a 62-year-old historian who took part in the protests."This is where people who live in the area can walk and it is free, where children ride bicycles, where we run and do yoga," another protester, 35-year-old Alyona Smyshlyaeva, told AFP.

While protests against planned new Orthodox churches are not uncommon in Russian cities, including the capital Moscow, they rarely lead to open clashes. "The church is seen as a branch of the authorities," said Andrei Desnitsky, an independent religion expert. In recent years Russia has seen an increase in religion taught in schools, church officials taking part in state celebrations and new controversial laws criminalising offending religious beliefs.

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