Russian Orthodox Church suspends priest who prayed at Navalny's grave

A Russian Orthodox priest who led a memorial service last month at the grave of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been suspended from his clerical duties and ordered to serve three years of “penance.”

Dmitry Safronov prayed several times at Navalny's grave in Moscow and held a service on March 26 to mark 40 days since Navalny's death in an Arctic penal colony.

His suspension was announced by the Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, which said he would be demoted to the role of psalm reader.

No reason was stated for the punishment, the latest in a series the Church has imposed on priests deemed sympathetic to the opposition or not sufficiently supportive of Russia's war in Ukraine.

“At the end of the period of penance, based on feedback from the place of obedience, a decision will be made regarding the possibility of continuing his priestly service,” the diocese said.

Reuters was unable to contact Safronov.

A man who answered the phone at his Moscow church said all questions should be directed to the office of Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The funeral of Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's best-known internal critic, on March 1 brought tens of thousands of people to the streets – a rare event in Russia, where close to 20,000 people have been detained over the past two years for protesting. against war.

The Kremlin denied accusations by Navalny's supporters that it ordered him killed. His death certificate says he died of natural causes.

Speaking at the flower-filled grave on March 9, Safronov said Navalny had urged Russians not to give up.

“Evil can only be defeated by one thing, by good. If we try to defeat evil with evil, then we will multiply evil. Therefore, we will truly remember Alexei, we will remember his testament to us and we will pray for him and hope that he will pray for us at the throne of the Lord,” he said.