Bundestag member Robin Wagener, a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, believes that law enforcement authorities should investigate the activities of the nuns of the St Elisabeth Convent in Minsk, who are suspected of raising funds for the war against Ukraine.
He said this in a comment to the newspaper Berliner Morgenpost, which published an article on the activities of the St Elisabeth Convent of the Russian Orthodox Church in Western European countries.
“A religious community must not serve as a cover for supporting war crimes and crimes against humanity. This would not only be a cynical abuse of religion, but also a criminal offence in Germany,” the lawmaker said.
According to Wagener, German law enforcement agencies must thoroughly investigate the activities of the church representatives and take appropriate measures.
The Berliner Morgenpost article states that this Orthodox convent also operates media outlets and a network of commercial enterprises, referring to what is described as activity in the shadow economy. In addition, the organization is suspected of using its income to support the Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Until recently, the nuns took part in fairs in cities across Germany, but now various institutions, including church bodies, are refusing to cooperate with the convent.
As previously reported by LF, the Church of Sweden officially recommended not inviting the nuns of the St Elisabeth Convent, citing its subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate under Patriarch Kirill Gundyayev, as well as alleged links between the convent and Russian military intelligence and public statements interpreted as justifying Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Earlier, in connection with the convent’s participation in a Christmas fair in Norway, the Belarusian association Razam in Norway stated that the convent operates within the orbit of the concept of the “Russian world” and supports the rhetoric of a so-called “holy war” against the West and Ukraine.
It was also previously reported that the St Elisabeth Convent in Minsk, whose nuns continue to sell their goods at fairs in European countries, raises funds for assault units made up of Russian prisoners.
