Moscow, May 19, 2020
Bishop Ignaty of Kostomuksha (left, kosta.cerkov.ru), Bishop Ignaty of Armavir (right, obzor.io)
By decision of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, His Grace Bishop Ignaty of Armavir and Labinsk and His Grace Bishop Ignaty of Kostomuksha and Kem have been removed from the administration of their dioceses until the decision of the ecclesiastical court.
His Holiness’ decree refers to well-documented accusations against the hierarchs of “ecclesiastical offenses incompatible with the further administration of dioceses,” reports the official site of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Consideration of their cases has been transferred to the Higher Church Court.
The accusations against the hierarchs and whether they are connected with the sanitary and hygienic measures earlier adopted by the Russian Church are not specified.
His Grace Bishop Savva of Zelenograd, the Deputy Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate, also did not disclose the reason why the bishops were suspended when asked by RIA-Novosti. “The procedure of the ecclesiastical court is closed,” he said.
