COURT OF
EKATERINBURG
DIOCESE EXPELS SCHEMA MONK SERGIUS FROM CHURCH
Interfax-Religiia,
10
September 2020
The
court of the
Ekaterinburg diocese on Thursday adopted the decision to send a
recommendation
concerning expulsion from the church of schema monk Sergius
Romanov, who has
been stripped of his clerical status, Archpriest Nikolai Maleta,
chairman of
the court, told journalists.
"Today
the
decision was adopted to send a recommendation regarding
expulsion from the
church to the ruling bishop for confirmation" he said.
The
priest noted that
schema monk Sergius was given a chance to influence the
situation.
"Today
we
assembled for now the third time for a trial for which there was
no need, and
there was the hope and the desire that schma monk Sergius would
come and
explain or change his attitude and repent of his actions. But
what he said
earlier and by his actions and words he aggravated his sad and
dismal situation
as a church man," the chairman of the court said.
In his
turn, the head
of the diocesan Department for Relations of the Church with
Society and News
Media, Archpriest Maksim Miniailo, noted that Romanov has the
right to file an
appeal. However, to do this he must appear personally at the
session, the
priest added.
The
schema monk was
summoned to the court on 7 September as a defendant for
violation of the 28th
rule of the holy apostles, since he continued to perform
services while being
stripped of his clerical status. Nevertheless Sergius did not
appear in court
and therefore a second session was scheduled on his case for 9
September. He
again did not come to the court and the session was postponed to
10 September.
On the day of the trial, Sergius reported that "the continuing
incapacity
and heartache provoked by the news of the desecration of the
sacrament of the
Eucharist by the sanitary instructions" did not permit him to be
personally present at the session.
Earlier,
a video
recording of a speech by Father Sergius was circulated, where he
called the
pandemic of coronavirus a myth and urged insubordination to
church leadership
and to the authorities. Among other things, he cursed those who
close churches
during the pandemic and he warned about the creation of an
"electronic
camp of satan."
On 3
July the
diocesan court found Father Sergius guilty of violating his
monastic vows and
clerical oath and stripped him of his clerical rank. He did not
appear at two
of the three sessions on this matter. On 24 July the patriarch
confirmed the
decision of the diocesan court regarding stripping Romanov of
his clerical
rank. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 September 2020)
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