Russia: Preacher faces trial for opposing war on Ukraine

Source: Release International

In Russia, an outspoken Christian preacher is facing trial for posting a question on social media. And in occupied Ukraine, a Christian woman could be jailed for up to ten years for remarks made in a prayer meeting.

Paul Robinson, CEO of Release International, which supports persecuted Christians around the world. said: "Both cases reflect the rising persecution of Christians in Russia and in Russian-occupied Ukraine. Christian leaders have been tortured, disappeared, and murdered for taking a Christian stand, in what looks worryingly like a return to the bad old days of Christian persecution under the Soviet Union."

'Would Jesus kill?'

Eduard Charov, a Russian preacher with Orthodox and Pentecostal roots, posted online the question: 'Would Jesus Christ have gone to kill in Ukraine?'

He is set to stand trial on charges of discrediting the Russian armed forces and is expecting a prison term. In the meantime, he has been forbidden from leaving his home district or from using the phone or the Internet.

Charov and his wife, Inna, run a shelter for the homeless. He posted his comment on social media in spring of 2023, according to Norway-based NGO Forum 18. Charov also faces other charges for comments on social media. He reportedly called President Putin the Antichrist.

He could face imprisonment of between five and seven years, or a fine of up to one million roubles. Charov, who is 53, is expected to appear in court later this month.

'Fear only God'

His wife, Inna, told the media: "You can sit it out, keep quiet, without attracting the attention of the authorities, but you will still answer to God. You should not fear the judgment of people, but of God."

Eduard Charov told the Russian media outlet Takiye Dela: "Most likely, it will all end with a prison term for me. I already have a suitcase packed at home. My wife will look after the [homeless] shelter in the meantime. And I will continue to help people in prison. There are people in need everywhere."

Another church leader, Ioann Kurmoyarov, has just been released from jail after completing a sentence for denouncing Russia's war in the Ukraine from a Christian perspective.

The 56-year-old was jailed for making YouTube videos criticising the "demonic spirituality" of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in its support for the invasion of Ukraine. Kurmoyarov stated: "Blessed are the peacemakers… those who have unleashed aggression will not be in heaven."

Ioann Kurmoyarov was imprisoned for more than four months for 'disseminating false information about the Russian armed forces'. He has been banned for two years from publishing further comments.

Church demolition

Elsewhere, in the Krasnodar region of Russia, the city administration has sought a court order to demolish an Orthodox Church whose Archbishop opposed the war in his sermons. The court refused.

In April this year, Archbishop Viktor Pivovarov was convicted and fined for repeatedly 'discrediting' the Russian armed forces.

"The use of the legal system to intimidate Christians reflects the growing pressure being brought to bear on church leaders in Russia considered to be rocking the boat," says Paul Robinson of Release International.

Russia tightened its laws after its invasion of Ukraine, to try to prevent all opposition against the war, including on religious grounds. Since then, church leaders have faced intimidation in the form of warnings, prosecution, and fines for any who publicly opposed Russia's war with Ukraine.

Occupied Ukraine

Even harsher measures have been taken against Christians who speak out in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine. Some church leaders have been tortured, killed, and disappeared.

In February, the body of a Ukrainian Orthodox priest was found in the streets of Kalanchak in Russian-occupied Kherson. He was 59-yr-old Stepan Podolchak. According to his bishop, Russian military forces had "tortured Fr Stephan to death."

And in November 2023, Pentecostal deacon Anatoly Prokopchuk and his 19-year-old son Aleksandr were kidnapped and shot in Kherson. Their mutilated bodies were found four days later in woodland.

On August 2, the Russian-controlled Crimean Supreme Court in Simferopol jailed a 41-year-old Ukrainian church leader for espionage charges.

Father Kostintyn Maksimov was sentenced to 14-years in a labour camp. It's believed he was opposed to moves to force his Ukrainian Orthodox Church to come under the umbrella of the pro-Moscow Russian Orthodox Church.

And on August 15, a Protestant woman from occupied Melitopol is due to stand trial for unpublished remarks made in a prayer meeting. The woman, known only as Olena, is currently being held in a prison in Donetsk. She faces up to ten years for spreading 'knowingly false information' about Russia's armed forces.

Persecution

Christianity has a long history in Ukraine. The church suffered extensive persecution under communism in the Soviet era. Orthodox Christianity is the largest religion in the country, while Protestants make up less than five per cent of the population.

Since independence, Ukraine enjoyed freedom of religion, but that is being eroded by conflict. The two separatist areas of Donetsk and Luhansk have seen a marked erosion of religious freedom since 2014.

The Norway-based human rights and religious freedom organisation Forum 18 has reported that Protestant churches have been made illegal and have been forced to close in those areas, along with any churches that are not part of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Ukraine has retaliated by putting pressure, including legal restrictions, on some churches in the country linked to the Moscow Orthodox Church, which has supported the war.

'State retaliation'

According to the latest report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom: '…state retaliation against those who spoke out against Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine using religious language or on moral grounds [has] continued at startling heights.

'In Russian-occupied territories [of Ukraine], de facto authorities banned religious groups, raided houses of worship, and disappeared religious leaders.

'In the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian authorities banned the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and closed Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Roman Catholic, and Baptist churches. At the end of the year, the whereabouts of several priests whom Russian forces had detained… remained unknown.'

Forum 18 reports that in February 2018 the Luhansk People's Republic passed a Religion Law that required every religious community to re-register with authorities. Since the passing of that law, registration has been refused for every Protestant, Baptist, and Pentecostal community.

According to Forum 18, secret police in those regions have raided places of worship, cutting off gas, water and electricity from all unregistered religious buildings.

Along with the enforced closure of churches, the Russian-backed authorities have also banned a number of Christian books.

UK-based Release International is supporting Christian workers in occupied and disputed areas of Ukraine following the Russian invasion. RI funding is being used to support vulnerable families and to help provide trauma healing retreats.

Release International is active in some 30 countries. It works through partners to prayerfully, pastorally, and practically support the families of Christian martyrs, prisoners of faith and their families. It also supports Christians suffering oppression and violence, and those forced to flee.