Moscow: A Russian Orthodox priest who conducted a memorial service last month at the grave of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been suspended from clerical duties and directed to undergo three years of “penance”.
Dmitry Safronov, known for his repeated prayers at Navalny’s Moscow grave, including a service on March 26 to commemorate 40 days since Navalny’s death in an Arctic penal colony, faces demotion to the role of psalm-reader, as announced by the Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The diocese did not provide a reason for the punishment, which is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Church against priests perceived as sympathetic to the opposition or insufficiently supportive of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. “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 stated.
Efforts to reach Safronov were unsuccessful. A representative from his Moscow church redirected inquiries to the office of Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Navalny’s funeral on March 1, attended by tens of thousands of people, marked a rare display of public dissent in Russia, where nearly 20,000 individuals have been detained over the past two years for protesting against the government. Despite accusations by Navalny’s supporters that the Kremlin was involved in his death, official reports attributed Navalny’s demise to natural causes.
During the March 9 service at Navalny’s grave, adorned with an abundance of flowers, Safronov emphasized Navalny’s call for perseverance. “Evil can be defeated only by one thing, by good. If we try to defeat evil with evil, then we multiply evil. So we will indeed remember Alexei, remember his testament to us and we will pray for him and hope he will pray for us at the throne of the Lord,” he stated.
