Archbishop Viktor Pivovarov, the 86-year-old head of the Slavic and South Russian Orthodox Church, which distances itself from the Moscow Patriarchate, told RFE/RL on December 28 that police in the Krasnodar region had charged him with "repeatedly discrediting" Russia's armed forces that invaded Ukraine. The charge stemmed from an article signed by the archbishop condemning the war. The new charge came after Pivovarov in March was fined 40,000 rubles ($436) following a court decision that one of his sermons condemning the invasion "discredited" the military. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities, click here.
Orthodox Archbishop, 86, Charged With Discrediting Russian Army
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