Church suspends Russian priest who conducted memorial service for Navalny | Global News

A priest who oversaw a memorial for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been suspended for three years by the head of the country’s Orthodox Church. Dmitry Safronov held a memorial service by Navalny’s grave in Moscow on March 26 to mark 40 days since the politician’s death, an important ritual within Russian Orthodox tradition.

An order published on the Moscow diocese website publicly demoted Safronov from his position as a priest to that of a psalm-reader and stripped him of the right to give blessings or to wear a cassock for the next three years. He was also transferred to another church within the capital. No reason was given for the decision, which was signed by Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Navalny died suddenly on Feb 16 in the remote Arctic penal colony where he had been serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges widely seen as politically motivated. The cause of Navalny’s death remains unexplained, although the politician’s allies have blamed the Kremlin for his demise.

Safronov was among the clergymen who previously signed a public letter calling for Navalny’s remains to be returned to his family. The incident highlights the close relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the government, with the church supporting Putin’s initiatives, including the war in Ukraine.