MOSCOW — The Russian Orthodox Church on Friday defrocked a coronavirus-denying monk who has defied Kremlin lockdown orders and taken control of a monastery.
A church panel in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg ruled to defrock Father Sergiy, who has attracted nationwide attention by urging believers to disobey church leadership and defy church closures during the pandemic.
The monk didn’t show up at the session and dismissed the verdict. In a video posted by one of his supporters, he urged his backers to come to defend the Sredneuralsk women’s monastery where he has holed up since last month.
The church banned the …read more
Source:: National Newswatch
