The Ministry of Public Safety in Sverdlovsk Oblast declined to approve plans for a May 14 prayer meeting in support of the proposed construction of St. Catherine’s Cathedral in Yekaterinburg, Znak.com reported.

In Russia, public prayer meetings are considered ‘mass actions’ much like protests and therefore fall under the same legal requirements.

The Yekaterinburg Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church issued calls for a prayer meeting after protesters opposed to the cathedral’s construction clashed with bands of aggressive church supporters on Monday. URA.ru later wrote that the regional metropolitan decided to cancel the event without saying whether the decision was a reaction to the local government’s refusal. The eparchy then announced plans to hold a new prayer meeting “for peace” on May 16 at 7:00 PM.

Clashes in Yekaterinburg Standing against church construction in public space, Yekaterinburg protesters face beatings from opponents and pressure from police