French govt. wants to close cemetery, cremate interred

(Atlas Obscura) - One of two major cemeteries in the city, the Cimetière de Liers is a Russian Orthodox cemetery on the Rue Leo Lagrange in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, département Essonne, France.

After a group of White Emigres settled in the area in what was originally an 18th-century farm, the local cemetery was converted into a Russian Orthodox cemetery. The Dormition Church, which serves the cemetery, was built between 1938 and 1939 by Albert Benois. Enlarged over the years, the cemetery now holds more than 10,000 Russian emigrants, including Nobel Prize winner Ivan Bunin. Other famous occupants include author Dmitry Merezhkovsky, painted Konstantin Somov, dancers Rudolf Nureyev and Serge Lifar, philosophy Nikolai Lossky, and filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky.

The cemetery has been the subject of some controversy over the years. Ever since the 1960s, municipal authorities have attempted to close the cemetery so that the grounds could be used for other public services. Currently, the site is not officially designated as a landmark so it has no legal protection. Some reports have noted that, in the event of a closure, the graves would be opened and the exhumed remains cremated. ROCOR is very explicit on this issue:

"The cremation of the bodies of the dead is contradictory to that which was established in the Christian Church from the very beginning. It also contradicts the content of the prayers contained in the Orthodox funeral rite which is based upon the burial of the dead as a fulfillment of the judgement passed by God over Adam: "Earth thou art, and unto earth thou shalt return" (Gen. 3:19). Only a few Saints are freed from this consequence of the fall of our foreparents. These Saints, through spiritual struggles of good deeds returned their very bodies to the original goodness, and as a result the Lord gives their remains (termed Holy Relics) incorruption and miraculous grace-filled powers. The cremation of departed Christians would deprive us of such a saving and consoling manifestation of God's mercy to us and to those righteous souls who reside in the Kingdom of Heaven...

"On the basis of the above facts, the Sobor of Bishops forbids the children of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad to burn the bodies of their departed in crematoria. Priests are obligated to explain to their flock the unchristian character of such a burial. They must not perform a church funeral service over those bodies who are designated for cremation. The names of such departed may be commemorated only at Proskomidia. Panikhidas may be served not earlier than the fortieth day after their death. If anyone, on their deathbed, is stubborn in their desire to be cremated, despite the council of his attending spiritual father—the priest must not give such a person Holy Communion because of such disobedience to the Church." - Decision of the Sobor of Bishops of The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad 1932

It's not just the estates of those buried in the cemetery that are trying to protect it. The cemetery has a vocal group attempting to save it because they consider it a beautiful space: The large Orthodox graves, remarkable for their wooden crosses, carved niches filled with candles and icons, and flower gardens surrounding them draw visitors from all over.