The theologian, philosopher and widely read public intellectual Andrei Kuraev faced a stripping of sacred dignity. This action came as a decree from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’.
More than two years had elapsed since the Moscow Episcopal Court decided to liquidate his position and placed a moratorium on issuing any decree to that effect. The court showed no sign of remorse in its actions and did not halt what many saw as ongoing disruptive activity. A notice on the Moscow diocese website stated that Kuraev was expelled from holy dignity.
Kuraev later commented on LiveJournal that the decree was a fragment from a poem called Habakkuk in Pustozersk by Varlam Shalamov.
Our disagreement is not about spiritual matters. It is not about the age of books or the church’s views on the benefits of a chain. It is about freedom, the right to breathe, and the will to knit and decide what the Lord desires.
He also added that serving under the current Patriarch Kirill, a position he described as a self-made honor, is not a goal he seeks or considers necessary.
Kuraev noted he could not yet say whether he would pursue any appeal against the decision of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
Two years earlier, Kirill had prohibited Kuraev from serving in church life, and the Moscow Episcopal Court described the protodeacon as subject to deterioration. The sanctions followed Kuraev’s entry into LiveJournal after Archbishop Alexander Ageikin, rector of the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow, died from the coronavirus.
Kuraev wrote that in his memory the capable protopresbyter would be remembered as a careerist who failed to grow beyond VIP service.
Kirill deemed Kuraev’s remarks immoral and especially sarcastic. The court also found signs of blasphemy in Kuraev’s words. The protodeacon was not present at the Episcopal Court meeting, and he contends he was not allowed to learn the content of the accusation or defend himself. To implement the court decision, Kirill issued a decree but gave Kuraev time to correct it. The protodeacon claimed he wished to remain aligned with Christ’s Church yet could not clearly state what ties this Church has to the Moscow Patriarchate as a legal entity. In 2021, Kuraev attempted to appeal the decision, but without success.
In August 2022, Kuraev faced fines for a piece about discrediting the military. Court materials from the Nikulinsky Court indicate he published on his LiveJournal blog an article titled This is a Civil War, in which he described actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Russian Armed Forces during a period of armed conflict in Ukraine.
Kuraev is recognized as a philosopher of religion, a writer on Orthodox theology, and a prominent figure in social networks and media. He defended the Pussy Riot group after a performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 2012 and has frequently criticized church leadership since his expulsion from the Moscow Theological Academy in 2013. In 2008 he received the All-Russian Person of the Year award.
In a conversation with socialbites.ca, Kuraev expressed a calm stance regarding the patriarch’s decree and said he did not view it as a terrible disaster. He did not intend to appeal, nor did he seek to restore his protodeacon status.
As a philosopher, he reflected that one should not burden the future with every step of the past. It is important to leave something behind and avoid turning miles into a burden dragged forward. His mental state remained steady, his demeanor calm, and he did not plan revenge against Patriarch Kirill or his leadership. He affirmed there are no close relatives to act on his behalf, and he would not play the role of a Cassandra. He also suggested that the broader context matters and that renewing an old status is not his aim.
According to Kuraev, a philosopher should often be solitary, and this form of exile might suit him well. He described slipping into a vast, multimillion-dollar enterprise and slowly stepping away, perhaps finding that a fresh start suits a thinker again.
He also recalled a seemingly mystical moment after the Episcopal Court meeting in 2020 when a door opened for him at the exit of the Ecclesiastical Council Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and another door opened elsewhere. He believed this signaled a new path and urged finding that path without distraction.
Speaking with RBC, Kuraev stated that the conflict with the patriarch was not personal but rather ethical and theological in nature. The central question he posed was whether the patriarch could push the Sermon on the Mount aside with his own hand. Since 2011, he has questioned whether it is permissible for Christians to urge others to join the church and the faith without criticizing church life and beliefs. He emphasized that the debate was not about personal vendetta or revenge.
In an interview with Attention Media, Kuraev asserted that arguing with the Patriarch held little value and that a mutual understanding of Christianity did not exist. He recalled a remark attributed to Bukharin about the difficulty of arguing with Comrade Stalin, but he still believed in defending one’s own beliefs. The core issue, he argued, is whether the church should resort to violence to subdue itself, a question he regards as fundamentally important.
Thus, the dispute remains centered on ethics and Christian doctrine rather than personal grievance, reflecting divergent views on authority, conscience, and the path forward for the church and its followers.