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Published by the
Associated Press,
August 20, 2003
Irate
Worshippers Lock Bishop in Church
August 20,
2003, (AP) -- Angry worshippers have locked a
Romanian Orthodox bishop in their church after he
came to remove a priest from his job who had
broken church rules by remarrying.
The Bishop of
Tomis, Teodosie, has declared a no-tolerance
policy on divorced and remarried priests.
He arrived at
the Black Sea village to remove the altar cloth [antimension]
after priest Vladimir Cazan refused to leave his
post.
Church rules
say that services cannot be held if there is no
cloth [antimension] covering the altar.
Cazan, 52, who
has been the parish priest since 1986, refused to
step down a week ago, claiming that - while
remarried - he and his new wife, a policewoman,
have not been "intimate".
Upon hearing
that the bishop had arrived, dozens of angry
worshippers surrounded the church. Accusing
Teodosie of removing holy objects, they locked the
bishop in.
He was freed
after he called police from his mobile phone.
Authorities arrived about half an hour later, he
said by telephone, and the situation calmed down.
"Every priest
must respect church laws," said Teodosie, who
stripped Cazan of his rights to officiate services
a week ago.
Last year, the
bishop fired the chief Orthodox priest in
Constanta for remarrying.
Although
priests are not allowed to divorce - or remarry -
some bishops have turned a blind eye to
transgressions.
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