Clergymen of all denominations, although in the category of the declassed, will not be ordered to leave the cities, in Soviet Russia’s purging process, if they can show that they are permanently attached to houses of worship of registered parishes, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was informed today by authoritative quarters.
The statement was made in response to an inquiry by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent in view of the fears of the rabbis that they would be expelled under the system of internal passports.
Under the internal passport system, all persons above the age of sixteen are required to register and to describe the nature of their activities. Unproductive elements are to be weeded out of the large centers and will be required to leave the cities within ten days after passports have been refused.
The Jews, who comprise a large percentage of the declassed elements, are entertaining grave fears on this score.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
