Banned Russian priest stands by condemnation of 'brother killing brother' in Ukraine

Russian Orthodox priest Ioann Burdin, who was banned from conducting services for denouncing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which he called 'fratricidal' in a sermon to his parishioners and in comments on social media, walks in a field in Kostroma Region, Russia August 16, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer

KARABANOVO, Russia (Reuters) - For years until the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Father Ioann Burdin served as a priest in the Russian village of Karabanovo, 370 km (230 miles) northeast of Moscow. Now he is a convicted heretic, banned from conducting services and hounded from his parish.

In spring 2022, Burdin denounced the conflict in a sermon to his parishioners and in comments online, saying Christians could not just stand by "when a brother kills a brother".