Several burly men in black T-shirts surrounded the entrance of the monastery in the Sverdlovsk Ural region on Tuesday. Only pilgrims are allowed into the building. Not a member of the local church administration. Even journalists who were very interested in what was going on were not allowed inside. The security guard was also harassed by reporters standing in the parking lot. Servant journalist Character he even started getting into the car.

Russian media have referred to the mystery man as a Cossack. They may be veterans of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The man himself answered journalists’ questions that they were “parishioners”, “newbies” or “we live here”.

Local Orenburg Military Cossack Society stated that its members were not involved in the coup. He acknowledged, however, that several “individuals from the public Cossack society” assisted Father Sergei in carrying out the plan, as they had “personal ties” with the priest.

The mother’s superiors and other nuns left the convent voluntarily “to avoid unnecessary bickering that left Father Sergej vulnerable, and to give him a chance to recover.”

“Father Sergej completely dismissed the superior mother from the leadership (of the monastery),” commented one of the nuns about the departure of the diocese in Yekaterinburg on the 66.ru portal.

The controversial pastor doesn’t seem to want to leave anytime soon. “Patriarch Kirill should stop by,” he said. The Supreme Leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Sergei, has harshly criticized his stance on the coronavirus crisis.

The cleric, nicknamed the New Rasputin, came into conflict with church authorities in April when he began criticizing church closures because of the spread of the coronavirus. He accused church officials of serving the “antichrist” and participating in a monstrous plan to control the population using “special chips” implemented in future coronavirus vaccines.

The church responded by banning him from serving. On June 15, he summoned him to an ecclesiastical court for refusing medical treatment. The priest made confusing fiery statements during the trial and left again. The next makeover is scheduled to take place on June 26.

Church leaders condemned the priest’s actions. But for now they do not outline specific steps , how do they want to get the monastery back. According to the police, no law was broken and there was no need for them to intervene. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was not monitoring the situation at the monastery.

New Rasputin

The controversial pastor is a well-known figure on the Russian religious scene. He is called the new Rasputin because of his friendship with celebrities and politicians. Among his spiritual sheep are, for example, hockey forward Pavel Datsyuk or former head of state representative of the Republic of Crimea Natalya Poklonská, who is now an MP for the ruling United Russia party.

Father Sergej is the leader of the Tsar Nicholas II cult movement. Alexandrovich, who put his death at the hands of the Bolsheviks on a par with Christ’s crucifixion. The priest had ambitious plans to build the largest Orthodox church in the world before his death. The project’s investors were supposed to be the “spiritual children of father Sergey”, among whom there were also many Chinese.

The movement played no small part in the massive protests against the film Matilda, about the extramarital affair of Czar Nicholas II. with ballerinas. Their leading figure is Poklonská. The protests, which also hit several cinemas, forced Russia’s largest cinema chain to withdraw from the film’s release.

An ex-cop is building his own country

Father Sergej was originally a policeman. He got into a car accident, after which, according to supporters, he acquired special abilities. However, the police report paints a darker picture. Together with two other accomplices, Sergei took the man he later killed in the trunk of the car. He was sentenced to thirteen years in a penal colony for his actions. He later became a priest.

Reporter 66. ru. they discovered that the priest was building “his own Orthodox state” in the Urals. In the wastelands cut off from civilization in the taiga, there are several monasteries where supporters of the clergy take refuge secretly, unbeknownst to their family and friends.

Adherents put Father Sergius on the same level as Orthodox icons. He believes that he has the ability to exorcise demons and drive away any evil. They dared not do anything without his blessing and waited days for them to visit the monastery again. They don’t go anywhere on their own.