Source: www.forum18.org
Date: April 17, 2025
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Victoria Arnold, Forum 18
Police in St Petersburg have prosecuted another Orthodox priest for
opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine from a religious perspective. On 1
April, a court fined Archbishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko a week's average
local wages for allegedly "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces in an
online video more than three years earlier. He now expects a second
accusation of "discreditation" and criminal prosecution, he told supporters
after his court hearing.
The 57-year-old Mikhnov-Vaytenko is Archbishop of the Apostolic Orthodox
Church (which is not part of the Moscow Patriarchate).
In the video he posted on his Telegram channel in March 2022, Archbishop
Grigory describes the Russian invasion of Ukraine as "unmotivated,
aggressive armed actions" and draws an analogy with the Biblical parable of
the Gadarene swine (see below).
Archbishop Grigory quoted in court Jesus' words "blessed are the
peacemakers", adding: "And the Church is obliged to voice precisely this
position" (see below).
Asked by Forum 18 for the reasons for Mikhnov-Vaytenko's conviction, a
court spokesperson said "He uploaded a video in which it was said that
Russia groundlessly invaded Ukraine. What other reasoning do you need?"
(see below).
St Petersburg police did not respond to Forum 18's questions as to why
expressing religious views on the war in Ukraine was considered
"discreditation" of the Armed Forces, and why it had opened an
administrative case three years after the video had appeared (see below).
Criminal cases are continuing against three other religious leaders who
have condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine on religious grounds and
criticised Russia's conduct of its war.
The trial of independent Christian preacher Eduard Charov for repeat
"discreditation" of the Armed Forces began in April at a military court in
Yekaterinburg (https://www.forum18.org/archi
also stands accused of "public calls to commit terrorist activities, public
justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism, using the internet"
for what his wife Inna called a "sarcastic comment" on another user's post
on the VKontakte social network.
Zen Buddhist leader Ilya Vasilyev is still on trial in Moscow
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
disseminating "false information" about the Russian Armed Forces "for
reasons of political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or
enmity, or for reasons of hatred or enmity against any social group". He
spent 15 days in solitary confinement from mid-February for allegedly not
walking with his hands behind his back in his detention centre. Vasilyev is
being prosecuted for an English-language Facebook post about Russian rocket
attacks on Ukrainian cities, which he made "solely out of religious
conviction", his lawyer told Forum 18.
Protestant pastor Nikolay Romanyuk remains under investigation
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
calls to implement activities directed against the security of the Russian
Federation, or to obstruct the exercise by government bodies and their
officials of their powers to ensure the security of the Russian
Federation", using the media, or internet. He is being investigated for
preaching a sermon in which he explicitly stated that, "on the basis of
Holy Scripture", Christians should not go to fight in Ukraine. A court
extended his pre-trial detention period for a third time on 15 April until
17 June.
Charges and punishments
Soon after Russia launched its renewed invasion of Ukraine in February
2022, Vladimir Putin introduced new offences in order to prosecute those
opposing the war for any reason, including on religious grounds.
These included – but were not limited to – Administrative Code Article
20.3.3 (https://www.forum18.org/archi
associated Criminal Code Article 280.3
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
2022 to punish alleged "discreditation" of the Armed Forces. Amendments to
the law on 25 March 2022 expanded the definition of this offence to include
"discreditation" of "the execution by state bodies of the Russian
Federation of their powers for the specified purposes", ie. protecting
Russian interests and "maintaining international peace and security".
The government has used a range of tactics
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
leaders into supporting the renewed invasion of Ukraine. These tactics
include warnings to senior and local religious leaders, and prosecuting and
fining religious believers and clergy who have publicly opposed the war.
Similar warnings and prosecutions have been used against many Russians who
express opposition to the war for any reason.
Since February 2022, courts have jailed two and fined three
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
for opposing Russia's war against Ukraine on religious grounds.
Investigators have also opened three criminal cases
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
have left Russia, and have placed them on the Federal Wanted List
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
One of those sentenced to imprisonment, Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov, who was
released in August 2024
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
He says he pleaded guilty only under pressure, and is now preparing a
cassational appeal against his conviction.
Many others who publicly or online protested against the war
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
the Administrative Code
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"offences" can lead to prosecution under the Criminal Code
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
possibility of jail terms.
Ever-increasing internet censorship has seen websites and materials blocked
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
content; opposition to Russia's war against Ukraine from a religious
perspective; material supporting LGBT+ people in religious communities;
Ukraine-based religious websites; social media of prosecuted individuals;
and news and NGO sites which include coverage of freedom of religion or
belief violations.
St Petersburg: Another priest fined
On 1 April 2025, St Petersburg's Nevsky District Court convicted Archbishop
Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko of "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces in a
video he had posted on Telegram more than three years before. Judge Anna
Volgina fined him 30,000 Roubles (a week's average local wages) under
Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 Part 1. He intends to appeal, he told
Forum 18 on 14 April.
After the court hearing, Archbishop Grigory commented to supporters
(https://en.zona.media/article
police to prosecute him again on a similar charge, since "without a second
charge, there is no criminal case". (This was a reference to Criminal Code
Article 280.3, which punishes "discrediting" the Armed Forces more than
once in a year.) His administrative prosecution, he added to Forum 18 on 14
April, was "not a surprise".
In the seven-and-a-half-minute video (https://t.me/turma_i_vera/947
Archbishop Grigory describes the Russian invasion of Ukraine as
"unmotivated, aggressive armed actions" and draws an analogy with the
Biblical parable of the Gadarene swine. Judge Volgina concluded that this
was "aimed at undermining confidence in the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation, at forming a negative attitude towards the special military
operation", according to the written decision, seen by Forum 18.
Forum 18 asked the St Petersburg court system press service on 10 April why
the judge had found the Archbishop guilty. "He uploaded a video in which it
was said that Russia groundlessly invaded Ukraine. What other reasoning do
you need?", spokesperson Darya Lebedeva responded.
Forum 18 also asked St Petersburg police on 10 April why expressing
religious views on the war in Ukraine was considered "discreditation" of
the Armed Forces, and why it had opened an administrative case three years
after the video had appeared. Forum 18 had received no response by the
middle of the working day in St Petersburg of 17 April.
Three-year-old video
Archbishop Grigory uploaded the video to his own Telegram channel, "Prison,
War and Faith" (https://t.me/turma_i_vera/), on 11 March 2022, shortly
after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to the
court decision, police in St Petersburg came across it on 20 February 2025.
The statute of limitations on offences under Administrative Code Article
20.3.3 is 90 calendar days. According to the Administrative Code, this
period is usually counted from the date the offence was committed, but if
the offence is considered to be "ongoing", it is counted from the date it
was detected. The Archbishop's lawyer argued in court that the statute of
limitations had long expired in his case. Nevertheless, the judge decided
that his alleged offence could be deemed "ongoing" because the video had
continued to be accessible for three years.
The court decision notes that the Archbishop said: "My Country, the Country
that I am accustomed to calling my Motherland, has started unmotivated,
aggressive, armed actions, has started a war against a neighbouring state
.. A person has no right, simply on the basis of geography, to accuse
another person of a criminal offence and say, I will kill you, and go to
kill, this is what the army of the Russian Federation is doing today, it is
striking at [public] squares, it is trying to destroy the resistance that
the courageous Ukrainian people are putting up .. We are going to have to
suffer, I do not doubt this for a second, we, I mean all citizens of the
Russian Federation, the most severe defeat in history, military, economic,
but most importantly moral, we will all bear responsibility .."
[capitalisation as in written decision].
In the video, Archbishop Grigory also draws an analogy between the Russian
invasion of Ukraine and the Biblical story of the Gadarene swine, in which
a herd of pigs, possessed by demons which Jesus has banished from a man,
rush over a cliff to their deaths.
"Let's be people. Let's not be like the pigs. What I am calling for is this
– don't be pigs, even if a demon comes to you. Let's stop. Let's not let
it in, because of course, that monstrous – I repeat, monstrous – face
of the beast, which looks at us from the abyss, it is in us too .. The herd
is destined to fall into the sea, the herd is destined to die.
Unfortunately it is so. The Lord allows this in order to free us from that
very demon, the name of which is Legion."
After noting that Russia will have to suffer defeat, the Archbishop says
that responsibility is on everyone "who has lived here all these years, no
matter what we did – protested or not, occupied ourselves with family
matters or went out to meetings. Regardless, it will lie with you, and
already today you bear responsibility for atonement for this guilt, for
ensuring that our country, our people, will rise from those ruins in which
they now lie, and so that we, or at least our grandchildren, can be
forgiven by people in other countries."
Archbishop Grigory concludes: "The last thing we see is the last element of
this agony, when the pig throws itself off the cliff into the sea. The
demon has already left. It is not actually possessing the man. The Lord
will not abandon those who open their hearts to him."
"Explaining that peace is better than war is my direct duty"
In court, Archbishop Grigory argued
(https://en.zona.media/article
Orthodox Church - any Christian church - strives to carry out a peacemaking
ministry both nationally and internationally.. The Church also opposes the
propaganda of war and violence, as well as various manifestations of hatred
capable of provoking fratricidal clashes. This is fundamentally important
because it reflects the meaning of what I am talking about in this
seven-minute video".
Archbishop Grigory quoted from the Bases of the Social Concept of the
Russian Orthodox Church (adopted in 2000) and the canon of Basil the Great
to argue that, in war, even a person carrying out orders to kill needs
"spiritual healing", and "there is no justification for murder", and that
therefore "it was essential for me to express precisely the Church's
attitude towards the ongoing events. To explain why in this case the use of
armed forces - regardless of the country - represents an extreme danger".
Judge Volgina rejected this argument, claiming that if the exercise of
rights and freedoms violates the rights and freedoms of others and such a
violation is "socially dangerous and unlawful", prosecution of the
perpetrator protects the public interest.
Archbishop Grigory denied intending to "discredit" the Armed Forces. "But
what I really would like to discredit - and will continue to do so as long
as, forgive me, I live - is the very idea of resolving interstate problems
by force, as well as the ailments of the state."
The Archbishop noted that he opposed all combat actions, regardless of who
carried them out, "based on the fact that - excuse me, one more quote from
Holy Scripture - 'blessed are the peacemakers'. And the Church is obliged
to voice precisely this position. This does not cancel our work with
members of the armed forces, with employees of the very same detention
centres, and with anyone else. You see, we do not turn anyone away.
"But explaining that peace is better than war is my direct duty."
Archbishop Grigory's lawyer argued that the parts of the video cited in the
police protocol had been taken out of their textual and religious context
and that the Archbishop had had no intention of "discrediting" the Armed
Forces.
Judge Volgina dismissed these arguments, however, concluding that "the fact
that the protocol contains only part of the text (one sixth of the full
text of the speech) does not affect the qualification of the [Archbishop's]
actions, since the statements contained in the protocol, including taking
into account the full text of the video message examined in the court
hearing, indicate [his] intention to discredit the use of the Armed Forces
.. there are no grounds to believe otherwise."
Judge Volgina added: "Public actions, including speeches and statements,
which deliberately carry a negative assessment of activities protecting the
interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens and maintaining
international peace and security, may, especially given their cumulative
effect, have a negative impact on the implementation of relevant measures
and decisions, reduce the decisiveness and effectiveness of the
implementation of assigned tasks by the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation and other state bodies [and] the motivation of military
personnel and other persons directly involved in this, and thereby in fact
– even without directly pursuing this very goal – assist forces that
oppose the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens."
Consistent opposition to Russia's war against Ukraine
Grigory Aleksandrovich Mikhnov-Vaytenko (born 3 September 1967) is an
Archbishop and, since March 2022, leader of the Apostolic Orthodox Church,
which was founded in 2000 by Gleb Yakunin (whom the Moscow Patriarchate had
defrocked and excommunicated after he published information on the
Soviet-era links between it and the KGB). It is not in communion with the
Moscow Patriarchate.
Archbishop Grigory has consistently opposed Russia's war against Ukraine
and helped Ukrainian refugees inside Russia. In July 2024, the Justice
Ministry named him a "foreign agent"
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
On 17 February 2024, police detained Archbishop Grigory on his way to
conduct a requiem service (panikhida) for opposition leader Aleksey
Navalny, who had died in prison the day before. He was taken ill at the
police station, and so the case against him (under Administrative Code
Article 20.2.2 Part 1, "Organisation of a mass presence of citizens in a
public place .. if [this] resulted in violation of public order or sanitary
norms") was delayed and eventually halted as time for prosecution had run
out. (END)
More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Russia
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
For background information see Forum 18's Russia religious freedom survey
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
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