Ioann Kurmoyarov has been a vocal critic of the war in Ukraine.
in March that criminalizes the distribution of"fake news" about the Russian military, with a punishment of up to 15 years in prison.
"I want to disappoint everyone who believes in this fake from a Christian point of view," Kurmoyarov said in the video uploaded to YouTube on March 12, adding that those who"unleash aggression won't be in heaven" and that"Ukraine did not attack Russia." Former Russian Orthodox priest Ioann Kurmoyarov was reportedly arrested for his criticism of the war. The above screen grab was taken from the YouTube video that got Kurmoyarov in trouble, in which he says Russian soldiers are going to hell.He said that everyone involved in the war"who wants to be in heaven must change their religion" to militant Islamism, in which there is the concept of a"holy war.", he said,"you are the aggressors who attacked and killed civilians.
Mediazona reported that a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, two hard drives, a cassock and two icons with a wooden cross were confiscated from Kurmoyarov's apartment pending a criminal investigation which could land him a jail term of up to 10 years. It is not the first time Kurmoyarov has been at odds with Russian authorities. Last year, he was reportedly defrocked after he demanded criminal charges be brought against Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for a new military cathedral outside Moscow that featured a mosaic of Putin, Shoigu, and another one with soldiers holding a portrait of former Soviet leader Josef Stalin.