RUSSIAN CHURCH SUSPENDS PRIEST WHO OFFICIATED AT ALEXEI NAVALNY’S FUNERAL
A Russian Orthodox priest who presided over the funeral of Alexei Navalny in March has been suspended from clerical duties for three years.
The priest, Dmitry Safronov, is forbidden from giving blessings, wearing the frock and bearing the church’s priestly cross until 2027, the Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church said.
Father Safronov was also to be moved to another church in Moscow to perform the duties of a psalm-reader.
“At the end of the period of penance, based on feedback from the place of obedience, a decision will be made on the possibility of his further priestly service,” the diocese said in its statement.
The diocese did not give a reason for the punishment.
On March 26, Father Safronov officiated at a memorial service attended by thousands for Navalny, the former opposition leader who was President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic inside Russia.
Navalny died at the age of 47 in an Arctic penal colony in February.
Father Safronov was also among a group of priests who had urged Russian prison authorities to return Navalny’s body to his family.
He had also reportedly refused to recite a prayer for Russia’s victory in Ukraine – something other liberal priests have been expelled for.
Navalny spoke at various times of his religious faith and one of his last legal battles from inside prison was for the right to have a Bible and book of psalms in his cell.
“Most people are atheists, I myself was a militant atheist. But now I am a believer, and this helps me because everything becomes easier,” he said during a trial hearing in 2021. “I ponder less, have fewer dilemmas – there is a book [the Bible] that clearly states what needs to be done in each situation. It’s not always easy to follow, but generally speaking, I try.”
2024-04-24T09:54:40Z dg43tfdfdgfd