The church court found that Alexei Uminsky had broken his oath and must be “released from priestly orders”. decisions It was given to Patriarch Kirill of the Church, who strongly supports Vladimir Putin.
As Reuters noted, the case of the rebel priest shows how the church suppresses domestic opponents of the war. It was mentioned in the verdict Alexei Uminsky refused to read “Prayer for Holy Russia”.which Kirill made obligatory during the service.
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“Behold, those willing to fight have taken up arms against Holy Russia, hoping to divide and destroy her united people,” reads the prayer. Its text was first delivered by Kirill on September 25, 2022, seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“Arise, O God, help your people and Give us victory by your power– it is said in the next fragment.
Russia. The Orthodox Church punishes clerics who oppose the war
Christianity Against War by Group Dozens of clergy were punished in Russiawho refused to read the prayer or They prayed for peace. Alexey Uminsky is currently the most famous clergyman who suffered from repressions.
the author For 30 years, he served as senior priest in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Moscow. He was suddenly released before the Orthodox Christmas. It was Uminsky who presided over Mikhail Gorbachev's funeral in 2022, but the priest was mostly known for his work in hospice for children and adults.
Uminsky clearly expressed his opposition to the war. In November 2022, he mentioned in an interview that The language of war “is not suitable for church liturgy”. He also urged the faithful to seek priests Pray for peace first, not for victory.
– Every victory is always a Pyrrhic victory in these wars… in modern wars, every victory Victory almost always equals self-destruction – said the priest.
A peaceful cleric was replaced by a pro-war one
Ksenia Luchenko, an expert of the Russian Orthodox Church, noted that the sentence imposed on Alexei Uminsky is unjustified. A prayer that was not read was not approved by the Holy Synod.
The priest himself did not comment on the verdict. The verdict was pronounced without his presence, as Uminsky did not appear at the hearing three times.
Some believers came to protect Uminsky. After he was fired, More than 11,000 people signed an open letter in support of this. Uminsk Holy Trinity Church He was replaced by Andrei Tkachev, a vocal advocate of the war.
