Remember that the prayer for Holy Rus, with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill, is read daily during divine services in the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was previously reported that the priest John Koval changed the words of the prayer at his own discretion.
After the decision of the church court to deprive him of his rank, Koval appealed to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople with an “appeal” against this decision.
– For the lack of signs of repentance, expressed, in particular, in the presentation of an “appeal” to the Patriarch of Constantinople for the “restoration to the sacred rank”, which, at the time of presenting the “appeal”, was still in progress. against canon law and the law enforcement practice of the Russian Orthodox Church, they were not spewed, as well as lies to the hierarchy, I find no reason to apply economy (church leniency – Ed.) Regarding the decision of the Moscow Diocesan Court dated May 11, 2023, TASS cites the patriarchal decree.
It is specified that Ioann Koval is released from serving in the Church of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called in the Lublino metropolitan area and, according to the 25th Rule of the Holy Apostles, is deprived of his holy dignity.
Apostolic Canon 25 mentions perjury among the reasons for the “eruption of the sacred rite.” According to church practice, each ordained priest takes an oath, in which he promises to strictly follow the instructions of the hierarchy, including “without arbitrarily changing anything” in divine services and sacraments.
Vakhtang Kipshidze, Deputy Head of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media of the Moscow Patriarchate, discussing the case with Koval earlier, noted that if each priest modifies the prayer “to suit his own expectations, conditions, preferences policies, then the question of the unity of the church will be greatly aggravated.”
