In Russia, ROC priest detained over archived photo with Ukrainian flag

A ROC priest was sentenced to 15 days for an 11-year-old photo. Photo: Christians Against War

Fr. Nikolai Savchenko, a cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church in St. Petersburg, was detained by police over a 2014 photo in which he is seen holding a Ukrainian flag. The Telegram channel Christians Against War reported the incident, citing the priest’s own public statement.

“They took me straight from the church to the police station, where an administrative case was opened over a photo from May 1, 2014, where I’m holding a small Ukrainian flag with the inscription: ‘On Nevsky Prospect for peace with Ukraine.’ That was 11 years ago, at the very beginning of the shootings and the first victims,” wrote Fr. Nikolai.

According to him, law enforcement classified the display of the Ukrainian national flag in the archived photo as “demonstration of OUN symbols” (referring to the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists).

“There are no other charges. The court has already held a hearing, and I’ve been sentenced to 14 days of arrest. So I’ll be away for 14 days,” the priest wrote.

Earlier, the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported that a Greek Catholic parish in Omsk was closed due to an icon depicting Shukhevych and Bandera.

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