Russia Will Soon Return Property Its Communist Government Seized from Orthodox Church

The Russian government wants to return property it seized from the Orthodox Church -- Russia's dominant religion -- more than 90 years ago, the United Press International (UPI) website reports today.

The Economics Ministry has been working on a bill to return religious property to the church since 2000. But Andrei Sebentsov, secretary of the commission on religious organizations, said a meeting held on January 13, 2010 made considerable progress on the bill.

He said, "We agreed to remove all weak points in it by February."

Religious groups now use facilities owned by the government free of charge. The Economics Ministry sees their return to the church as a cost-saving measure.