Russian Patriarch Kirill sanctioned priest Dimitriy Safronov for holding a funeral service at the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, writes Politiko.
Patriarch Kirill, whom the Brussels portal identifies as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, banned Sofronov from performing his duties for the next three years, demoting him and stripping him of his mantle and cross.
The media in Russia recalled that Safronov held a service for Navalny, attended the funeral with the opposition member’s family and then held a memorial service at his grave in March.
Safronov was also among the signatories of a letter addressed to the Russian authorities, who requested that Navalny’s body be handed over to his family, in order to bury him according to Christian tradition, since they refused to do so after his death in the penal colony.
According to the order of Cyril, the priest must now serve in another worm, under the supervision of the rest of the clergy, and after three years his fate will be decided on the basis of evaluations of how he behaved.
Alexei Navalny was 47 years old when he died in a penal colony in the Arctic Circle in February, and Western leaders openly blamed Putin and the Kremlin for his death, Politico recalls.
