‘Not a place of worship’: After two victories, Italy’s Supreme Court rules against evangelical church in Rome

Update 20 June 2024: After the sentence of the Supreme Court, the Breccia di Roma church has decided to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Quite unexpectedly, the Italian Supreme Court has decided to annul the two previous rulings in our favor and finally close the case. It ruled that our property is not a place of worship because, after purchasing it, no “structural changes” were made to make it so.  

The underlying reasoning went against the previous two courts which, on the contrary, had recognised the principle of religious liberty that the faith community determines the appropriateness of its places of worship.

Evidently, the Supreme Court still operates within a pattern of thought whereby places of worship must have “objective characteristics”, perhaps thinking of Roman Catholic churches with altars, statues, chapels, etc. 

It is clear that this is a grossly unfair and discriminatory ruling. It is ideological and prejudicial. As far as the Italian justice system is concerned, unfortunately this is the final ruling. Now we will have to pay court costs and back payments of commercial property taxes for 5-6 years (from the year our case first went to trial).

In addition, every year we will have to pay taxes on our property as if it were a business premises, even though we are a third sector religious association prohibited from making any profits, this also excluding us from any “business” related tax deductions.

Here we share some prayer requests:

1. There is clearly a spiritual battle going on. We know that where there is the progress of the gospel, there also rages a battle. We have confirmation that we are in the right place and doing the right thing: holding high the word of God in Rome and praying for a reformation according to the gospel. The Lord has already won and will win, and we are more determined than ever to move forward in God's work.

2. From the economic point of view, the ruling confronts us with the need to find 50,000 euros to pay the arrears. We know that God provides and we trust in Him.

3.  We are exploring possibilities for what to do now: an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and/or making “structural” changes in our property to then resubmit our request to be recognized as a place of worship. We need God’s wisdom to discern his will.

In all our disappointment, we thank the Lord for the privilege of serving him as the “breach” (Breccia) of the gospel in Rome. Thank you for the prayers.

Leonardo De Chirico and Clay Kannard, of Breccia di Roma evangelical church, in Rome, Italy.

To know more about this case, you can read further articles on several news websites: Evangelical Focus (English), Evangelicals Now (English), Christianity Today (English, French and Portuguese), World Magazine (English), Cvandaag and Reformatorisch Dagblad (Dutch), Loci Communes (Italian).