ReportThe priest, who officiated at the parish of Karabanovo, 400 km from Moscow, had to leave his post after speaking out in favor of peace in Ukraine. In the village, some support him and others are aligned with the pro-Putin position of the Orthodox Church. A situation revealing the divisions that have fractured the country since the conflict and a practice of denunciation that is developing.
To see the peaceful church with whitewashed walls, surrounded by birches and firs, it is difficult to imagine the evil passions that were unleashed there, under the scintillating bulbs of the Orthodox building. The place was the scene of a denunciation. And not the least: that of the parish priest, Father Ioann Bourdine. Much more than a petty quarrel, this dark affair is indicative of the muted tensions that have run through Russia since the “special operation” launched by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine.
The equally peaceful village is called Karabanovo. Located in the Kostroma region, 400 kilometers from Moscow, it looks like thousands of others in the country: charming and in disrepair. Ruined roads, tsarist-era houses, wooden and nicely decorated, but with rickety foundations. Gas and Internet for the lucky ones. But not the slightest store to refuel. Karabanovo empties. And, when its inhabitants die, they are buried in the cemetery drowned in vegetation which adjoins the church. About ten houses are permanently inhabited, the others serve as dachas for the townspeople of Kostroma, 280,000 inhabitants, half an hour away by car.
Do not lie
The church bears the name of Veniamin Petrogradski, a cleric executed in 1922 by the Bolsheviks, and this choice, rare in Russia, is enough to understand that we are in a special place. We sometimes come from afar to follow the mass said by Father Ioann, 49, a religious with the manners of an intellectual who we know is capable of freedom vis-à-vis the very strict clergy of the Orthodox Church. On Sunday March 6, he returned from convalescence after being ill with Covid-19. It was therefore his first mass since February 24 and the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine.
“In 2008, when Russia invaded Georgia, I cried with shame. There, on February 24, I experienced stupor and then rage. » Father Ioann
Before beginning the office, the pope turns to the ten parishioners present and warns them: “God sees everything, I don’t want to lie to him and not lie to you. » He explains that, on a personal level, he will pray for peace in Ukraine. “So that God protects the Ukrainians who are victims of the invasion and so that hatred does not enter our hearts”, he adds.
“It was not a political appeal, not even a sermon, he explains a few weeks later, in Kostroma, where he lives. I wanted to be honest with my followers, not hide my feelings from them. In 2008, when Russia invaded Georgia, I cried with shame. There, on February 24, I experienced stupor and then rage. War is a sin, but this one, in addition to opposing Christians, is based on lies and is particularly unjust. »
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