Priest Vladimir Shibayev has been trying unsuccessfully for some time to emigrate from the USSR with his wife Tatiana and two young sons. His repeated applications to the visa department, OVIR. have been frustrated because his mother-in-law, who opposes the plan to emigrate, refuses to produce the written consent demanded by OVIR

    Fr. Vladimir’s first parish was in Otradnoye, not far from Moscow. Young people were attracted to his church, and as a result he came under pressure from the authorities. After Pascha in 1984 he was transferred to a parish in Mozhaisk, about 100 kilometers west of Moscow. Fr. Vladimir suffers from poor health and has high blood pressure; his problems with the authorities have reportedly exacerbated this. He was hospitalized for several weeks, and then was given an invalid pension by the Church of no more than 100 rubles a month (less than half the average). Fr. Vladimir is 39. His presbytera, a teacher of French, formerly taught at Moscow University, but now makes a living through translations and working as a guide.      (KNS #279: 7/9/87)