The Moscow Church Court decided to deprive the priest John Koval of the holy dignity of the clergyman of the Church of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called in Lublin for making unauthorized changes to the text of the prayer for Holy Russia. In this respect DEA News said Archbishop Vladislav Tsypin, deputy head of the capital’s Episcopal Court.
According to him, the decision of the Episcopal Court of the city will come into force after the approval of the ruling bishop (in Moscow, this is Patriarch Kirill). As Tsypin puts it, then the “opportunity to appeal to the general church court” remains.
Earlier, Patriarch of Moscow and All-Russian Kirill banned this priest from serving until the end of his cause. According to some media reports, Koval was barred from serving because he allegedly replaced the word “victory” with the word “peace” in a daily prayer to the Lord in all churches. For the glory of Holy Russia and God help her people.
Later, Vakhtang Kipshidze, deputy head of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media of the Russian Orthodox Church, said that this priest was suspended from services not because he directly changed the word, but because he changed the text of the prayer in this way. “victory” with the word “peace”.