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Europe
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Orthodox Church allowed to return debt in prayers

By | Associated Press
CORRECTS THE NUMBER OF THE VICTIMS- A Catholic offers prayers at an early morning mass to pay respect to the victims of the Nagasaki atomic bombing at the Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki, southern Japan Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015. Ceremony for the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing will start late this morning. The atomic bomb attack on this city that left more than 70,000 dead and hastened the end of World War II exactly 70 years ago.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

CORRECTS THE NUMBER OF THE VICTIMS- A Catholic offers prayers at an early morning mass to pay respect to the victims of the Nagasaki atomic bombing at the Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki, southern Japan Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015. Ceremony for the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing will start late this morning. The atomic bomb attack on this city that left more than 70,000 dead and hastened the end of World War II exactly 70 years ago.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) (The Associated Press)

A Russian regional court has ruled that an Orthodox Church diocese can repay part of an outstanding debt in prayers rather than money.

In a ruling that went viral Thursday, the Nizhegorodsky Regional Court said the local Russian Orthodox Church diocese can repay 258,000 rubles ($3,244) it owes for the installation of a boiler system — along with an additional 65,000 rubles ($817) in fines and legal fees — by praying for the health of the company that installed the system.

According to the court ruling, which was issued in October, the procedure cost 916,000 rubles ($11,561), of which the diocese originally paid approximately half. The diocese still owes an additional 200,000 rubles ($2,525) for the boiler system, which the court said should be paid in money.