Patriarch Kirill awards priest for crawling through a pipe in Sudzha

Patriarch Kirill awarded Priest Alexei Skripkin. Photo: ROC's Press Service

On May 6, 2025, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church awarded Priest Alexei Skripkin with the Order of Dmitry Donskoy, First Class, for his participation in a military operation in Sudzha, during which a group of Russian soldiers crawled through a gas pipe to get behind Ukrainian Armed Forces lines. The awarding ceremony took place in the main church of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

"It was this humble priest who crawled through that terrifying pipe," Patriarch Kirill noted during the presentation of the award. "The risk was enormous, but the courage of this Orthodox priest, his love for the Fatherland, proved stronger than any fear. Therefore, it is both worthy and righteous that this high order of the ROC is bestowed upon Father Alexei, this presbyter."

The Order of Dmitry Donskoy was established in 2004 in anticipation of the 60th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the 625th anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo. It has three classes. The insignia of the First Class is represented by a gold-plated four-pointed cross.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a model of the gas pipe through which Russian soldiers conducted the military operation against the Ukrainian Armed Forces was installed near the Church on the Blood in Yekaterinburg.

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