The Patriarchate of Constantinople reinstated the priest who prayed for peace

The Patriarchate of Constantinople reinstated the Moscow priest John Koval. Earlier, the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church deposed him because in his prayer Father John asked God not for the victory of the Russian troops, but for peace. The Patriarchate recognized the decision of the Russian Orthodox Church as non-canonical, that is, not in accordance with the laws of the Orthodox Church, and adopted for political, not church, reasons.

Father Ioann (Koval) was a cleric of the church of Andrew the First-Called in the Moscow district of Lublyno. In the “Prayer for Holy Russia”, which is read in all churches of the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with the war in Ukraine, the priest replaced the word “victory” with the word “peace”. Instead of the words “Arise, O God, to the aid of Your people and grant us victory with Your power,” he pronounced “Arise, O God, to the aid of Your people and grant us peace with Your power.”

The Deputy Chairman of the Diocesan Court of the Moscow Diocese, Archpriest Vladyslav Tsypin, confirmed to Pravmyr that the reason for Koval’s dismissal was precisely the change he made to the words of the prayer. According to Tsypin, the priest thus committed “perjury” by refusing to fulfill the orders of the clergy.

As indicated in the order of the Patriarchate, Father John will be accepted under the omophor (jurisdiction) of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

It is unknown whether he will be able to continue working in the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2018, the Russian Orthodox Church severed relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which is considered older than it in the church hierarchy, due to the fact that the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople began the process of granting autocephaly (independence) to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Patriarchate of Constantinople did not recognize this gap.