Archpriest Alexii Uminsky, an anti-war activist, has been banned from ministry and removed from the rectorship of the Trinity Church in Moscow. He was also a defense witness in the trial for the liquidation of “International Memorial” and spoke in support of political prisoners. Archpriest Alexii Uminsky served as the funeral service for Boris Nemtsov and was the confessor of my friend Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
In his place, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, who supports the invasion of Ukraine, was appointed rector of the church. He became famous, for example, for his statement that Ukraine must be bombed with prayer: “No Grads without prayer. Each of these “cigars” you put in – and “Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy”.
Another shameful decision. But it doesn’t surprise me. Priests in Putin’s mafia state have their own role to play – to serve the forces of evil, to pump up hatred. They will be placed everywhere. And real priests, committed to humanism, are not needed by the ROC.
