February 12, 2023

The Wages of Conscience


The Wages of Conscience

The editors of the religious website Holy Fire have called for the defrocking of 293 priests who last year signed a petition demanding an end to hostilities in Ukraine.

The site addressed its appeal to the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church and called the priests' petition "vile and treacherous," comparing it with "going over to the side of the Nazis" during the Second World War.

Father Ioann Burdin, former rector of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the village of Karabanovo, Kostroma Region, who signed the March 2022 petition, noticed the website posting and wrote about it on his Telegram channel:

I found myself listed as number 77. Curiously, I have always considered 7 to be my lucky number (it appears three times in my birthdate).
One other observation: there are 300 priests serving in the Kostroma metropolitanate. An interesting idea: with one swipe of the pen eliminate two dioceses – Kostromskaya and Galichskaya – from the priesthood. Very deep!
But, nothing tragic: seminaries are "still giving birth"

In March of last year, the same month as Burdin and others signed the petition, Burdin was fined for "discrediting the Russian armed forces" (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). The following month he left the service and created his own Telegram channel.

Other known cases in which priests have been removed from service due to disagreement with military operations:

  • The cleric of the Belgorod Cathedral, Fyodor Shumskikh, requested asylum in the United States due to his anti-war position. He left Russia after he was removed from his parish.
  • Rosfinmonitoring has included Kirov priest Dmitry Bayev on its list of terrorists because of his anti-war position. Since last spring he has been a defendant in a criminal case on "fakes about the Russian army" (clause “e” of part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). A deacon in the Church, Bayev published social media posts in support of Ukraine and its army.

Original source: 7x7

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955