“Oathbreaking” of Archpriest Uminsky: the former rector of the Trinity Church in Khokhly is defrocked

He didn’t want to pray for “victory”

The church court defrocked the former rector of the Trinity Church in Khokhly, Archpriest Alexei Uminsky, “for perjury.” Uminsky did not personally appear at any of the three meetings. According to some reports, they could not even contact him. Therefore, the decision was made in his absence.

The report from the court of the Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church states: “Uminsky is subject to deportation from the priesthood for violating the priestly Oath (oath-breaking) – refusing to fulfill the Patriarchal blessing to read the prayer for Holy Rus’ at the Divine Liturgy.”

Patriarch Kirill read the prayer “On Holy Rus’” at the Alexander Nevsky Skete in September 2022. Here is the text that the dissident Uminsky did not deign to read: “Lord God of hosts, God of our salvation, look in mercy on Thy humble servants, hear and have mercy on us: behold, those who want to fight have taken up arms against Holy Rus’, eager to divide and destroy her one people. Arise, O God, to help Your people and grant us victory through Your power.”

This is not the first time that this prayer has become the subject of consideration in the Church Court. In February 2023, the cleric of the Church of St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle in Lublin, Priest John Kowal, was defrocked because he replaced the word “victory” with the word “peace” in this prayer.

The decision of the Church Court can come into force only after the approval of the Patriarch. And this may not be a quick thing. For example, in the case of Andrei Kuraev (recognized as a foreign agent), about two years passed between the court decision and its approval.