Moscow "priest" who believes sodomy is not a sin admitted to OCU

Yakov Krotov. Photo: screenshot of the video from the YouTube channel Dozhd'

Yakov Krotov, a Russian publicist, radio host, and "priest" living in Moscow, who had previously been a member of the schismatic organizations Apostolic Orthodox Church and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (renovated), became a clergyman in the Kherson diocese of the OCU. This was reported by rbc.ua with reference to Krotov's message on Facebook.

"I note that the period of my stay in the canonical vacuum, with a manumission letter and outside a particular diocese, is over," Krotov wrote in a publication that is currently unavailable for viewing. “I was admitted to the clergy of the Kherson Cathedral by Bishop Nicodemus, this is the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. I’m now living in the ‘daughter’ of the mother of Russian cities – well, it happened so ... For God, a thousand kilometers is half a mile. I was accepted personally, without any parish."

Expressing gratitude to the head of the Kharkiv-Poltava diocese of the UAOC, Igor Isichenko, who recently announced the merger of its structure with the UGCC, Krotov expressed hope that the "fate of other priests who were in the now liquidated Kharkiv-Poltava diocese will be better."

"Priest" Yakov Krotov, baptized in 1974 by the Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church Alexander Mene, was previously one of the organizers of the interfaith community, which united Orthodox and Catholics, after which he moved to the so-called "The Apostolic Orthodox Church". When the AOC allowed bishops to marry, he moved to the UAOC (renovated) under the leadership of Igor Isichenko.

Krotov is known for his statements in support of LGBT people. In particular, he stated that "gender does not determine anything", and maturity does not depend on the sex of the partners, nor does honesty or fidelity depend on it. Therefore, in essence, this (sexual orientation - Ed.) doesn't make a big difference in the spiritual life.

As reported by the UOJ, on November 16, 2020, the head of the Kharkiv-Poltava diocese of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Igor Isichenko, announced the merger of his structure with the UGCC.

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