RF releases priest Kurmoyarov convicted for spreading fakes about the army

Archpriest Ioann Kurmoyarov in the court room. Photo: SOTAvision

Priest Ioann Kurmoyarov, who was convicted for spreading false information about the Russian army, has been released in Russia, reports Meduza.

He served a three-year sentence for filming a video blog criticizing the authorities' actions in Ukraine. In court, he admitted his guilt for spreading false information and apologized to everyone "who might have been offended by his publications".

The prosecution requested a seven-year sentence for Kurmoyarov. According to SOTAvision, the theologian is accused of publishing videos on his YouTube channel "Virtual Orthodox Parish" where he discussed the actions of Russian military in Ukraine from a Christian perspective.

In particular, in the video "Who Will Be in Hell and Who in Heaven?" the priest claimed that from the Gospel's point of view, "those who initiated aggression will not be in heaven, no matter how hard they try".

As reported by the UOJ, Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov is a former cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He had previously been persecuted in Ukraine for "anti-Ukrainian activities," which led him to move to Russia in 2019. On 26 December 2021, Hieromonk Ioann (Kurmoyarov) was accepted into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in his current rank and was allowed to perform sacred rites.

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