July 09, 2020

Priest Gone Wild


Priest Gone Wild
Judgement Day. The ecclesiastical court in Yekaterinburg. Donat Surokin, TASS

Father Sergei Romanov of Yekaterinburg went far beyond his clerical duties and is now facing the consequences.

The priest, who, before taking on his current role, was a policeman who spent 13 years in prison for murder, began making waves in April when he refused to stop services as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Father Sergei instead denounced the public health measures as a Western "satanic plot."

He later seized a convent with the help of a group of Cossacks, where he and his followers continued services, preaching their far-right brand of Orthodoxy. They were eventually removed.

Just last week, Father Sergei received a decision from the ecclesiastical court defrocking him, even though he was absent from the session.

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