Putin ally punishes priest who performed Navalny memorial service

The head of the Russian Orthodox church has sanctioned a priest who conducted a memorial service for Alexei Navalny, the late Russian opposition leader and nemesis of President Vladimir Putin.

Patriarch Kirill — a close ally of Putin — banned Dimitry Safronov, the priest of the Moscow Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God, from his duties for three years, demoted him and stripped him of his robes and cross.

Even though Kirill’s order features no official reason for the harsh sanctions, several Russian opposition and pro-Kremlin media outlets reported that Safronov performed a memorial service for Navalny, was at the funeral together with the Navalny family and afterward conducted a memorial service at the anti-corruption activist’s grave in March.

Safronov also co-signed a letter to the Russian government asking to give Navalny’s body — which local authorities initially refused to release — to his family and let them bury the him in the Christian tradition. Before his death Navalny had publicly spoken about his faith on several occasions.

According to Kirill’s order, the priest now has to serve in another church in Moscow under the guidance of a superior, and after three years his future in the church will be decided based on his performance review.

Navalny was 47 when he died in a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle in February. Western leaders openly blamed the Kremlin and Putin for the death of his main political rival.