A Russian regional court has ruled that an Orthodox Church diocese can repay part of an outstanding debt in prayers rather than money.

Nizhegorodsky Regional Court said the local Russian Orthodox Church diocese can repay 258,000 rubles it owes for the installation of a boiler system - along with an additional 65,000 rubles in fines and legal fees - by praying for the health of the company that installed the system.

According to the court ruling, the installation cost 916,000 rubles, of which the diocese originally paid about half.

It still owes 200,000 rubles for the boiler system, which the court said should be paid in money.

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