Hegumen Timofey, on the evening of July 31, was driving a BMW Z4 sports car with diplomatic license plates drunk, and who committed a double car accident on Zatsepsky Val, was driving as a private person. The head of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies, Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, told us about this. More information about this accident: and.
But, despite the fact that Abbot Timofey was traveling as a private person, the Russian Orthodox Church promises to conduct its own investigation into this accident. And, since there will be an internal church investigation, then perhaps internal church punishments will follow.
Indeed, how are they punished in the Russian Orthodox Church?
For example, a parish priest who speaks against his bishop can easily be sent out of office, or even banned from serving. It is useless to go to a secular court in such a situation - with parish priests employment contracts is not concluded. And the internal church court of the Russian Orthodox Church will side with the bishop.
How are the guilty senior clergy punished in the Russian Orthodox Church? Let's see...

Metropolitan Mercury (Ivanov)

Igor Vladimirovich Ivanov (Mercury monk) was born on January 21, 1964.
In 1988 he took monastic vows, and in 1989 he was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon. In 1989, Mercury was ordained as a hieromonk, and he became a full-time priest of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Königsberg. Metropolitan Kirill (the future patriarch) there liked him.
In 2000, Mercury received the rank of bishop and was appointed administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in the USA.
Justifying his monastic name (Mercury is the god of trade in ancient Roman mythology), Mercury carries out a number of operations in the States. For example, like this:

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I remember publications in Russian media five years ago, which talked about commerce around miraculous icon Tikhvinskaya Mother of God in New York, where Bishop Mercury served as administrator of the patriarchal parishes in the United States. The icon was kept by the priest Orthodox Church in America in Chicago, where she was taken after World War II. Bishop Mercury convinced the old priest to temporarily give the icon to him, after which he posted an advertisement on the cathedral’s website: a prayer service for the miraculous woman costs only $100.
.....

Bishop Nikon (Mironov)

The Ekaterinburg Bishop Nikon, besides, of course, money-grubbing, had one more sin (remember, in the late 90s there was noisy story on this occasion).
From the article by Ulyana Skobeida “How His Eminence Nikon turned his flock away from God with the sin of Sodom” (“ TVNZ", No. 82 (22061), May 7, 1999):

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A twenty-five-year-old young man with a black eye is sitting in front of me. Sergei Mordovtsev was a servant in the Verkhoturye monastery.
“Our bishop,” Seryoga sticks out thumb, - such a girl! In terms of oral sex, no woman has ever satisfied me so much!
Not at all embarrassed, the guy tells how a certain hieromonk called him: “Can you please the bishop?” "In terms of?" - “Fuck him.” Seryoga did not suffer from chastity: “For money, no problem.”
.....

.....
I immediately went up to the Bishop’s chambers for a blessing from His Eminence, but when I entered the chambers I saw the Bishop in a drunken state, in shorts and priest Oleg Zatekin standing next to him.
Seeing me, Vladyka was embarrassed and Father Oleg immediately left his cell. I followed him out and headed to my cell. There I saw the Vladyka’s guest, but after changing clothes I returned to the Bishop, and he immediately told me: “Tikhon, I wanted to suck your brother’s dick, but he didn’t let me.”
These words struck me, but I had no choice but to accept it. After that, he ordered the guest to be called and told me to come. A table was organized at which Vladyka and the guest drank heavily, and the guest even vomited, after which I took him to sleep on my bed, in my cell, and then returned to the Bishop’s cell.
Vladyka was pretty drunk and I helped him undress, and he lay down in bed and said: “Tikhon, I really like your brother, let him love me, and I will be his wife.”
.....

It is clear that clergymen with sins are controlled and are entirely in the power of the patron. But such ministers distract parishioners from the church worse than any atheistic propaganda. In the 60s - 70s, one of the ways the Soviet government fought against religion was this: on prominent church positions, councils for religious affairs moved people who were morally flawed: money-grubbers. drunkards, womanizers... One gets the impression that the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church, even though the fight against religion is over, is now religiously following the instructions of the Soviet Councils for Religious Affairs...

Metropolitan of Rostov and Novocherkassk Mercury (Ivanov Igor Vladimirovich) repairs lawlessness and restores order as he pleases, appointing young undereducated twenty-year-old boys, whose priestly service experience is 2-6 months, to the positions of rectors of churches. Sretensky and Pokrovsky churches in the city of Rostov-on-Don are striking examples...

Ancient councils decreed that only persons with at least 30 years of age should be appointed priests, and only those with 25 years of age as deacons. In the Russian Church, the Vladimir (13th century) and Stoglav cathedrals established the age of 30 years for becoming a priest, and 28 years for becoming a deacon. In 1869, it was confirmed by a new decree of the Synod that “if possible” persons with at least 30 years of experience should be appointed to the priesthood, and to deacons - 25 years of age.

Believers are perplexed by the decision of Lord Mercury to remove from the post of rector of the temple the hegumen (a monk-priest who dedicated himself to serving God), who from scratch built a beautiful, large temple with donations from parishioners, decorated it, practically finished painting the temple, created a Sunday school, whose talented children take first place in Orthodox Olympiads, the choir is sung by super professionals with unique voices. The rector father (abbot Vsevolod) was engaged in the spiritual education of teachers, schoolchildren, doctors, convicts, helped the sick, and provided financial assistance to people in need of complex, expensive operations.

What can the newly-minted “priest” teach the parishioners? What to say to children in Sunday school who are so used to their spiritual father? It seems that the Lord did not think.

The Holy Intercession Church of the city of Rostov-on-Don, which is located in the largest cemetery in Europe, is a special place. Here people go on their last journey in life, find eternal peace, and need especially strong prayer.

Spiritual life should not become secular. Now in Rostov churches they even started selling water (20 rubles a bottle). It is impossible to turn churches into shopping complexes selling coffins, fences, and other things, in order to extract additional profit from believers for their own needs. The Lord said: “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves...”

Many parishioners throughout the city are dissatisfied with the Vladyka’s decision to remove Abbot Vsevolod (Ponich) from his post as rector, sending him out of office. Many people don’t want to come to the Holy Church anyway, seeing how the priests behave (they build palaces for themselves, buy expensive cars, or even behave completely inappropriately).

We must understand that there are priests who came to earn money (for palaces, cars, etc.), to profit from old women who bring a pretty penny to God, and there are spiritual fathers who came to enlighten, teach the commandments of God, and guide us on the true, righteous path.

Let us not despair, because there are still good shepherds! Let's not confuse good and evil, let's learn to separate the "wheat from the chaff"! Keep the Orthodox faith!

Graduated in 1981 high school.

From 1981 to 1982 - a nurse at a regional hospital.

From 1982 to 1989 - student at the Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute. Received the specialty of a pediatrician.

Since April 3, 1990 - rector of the Kazan Church in the village of Yantarny (Kaliningrad region).

Since January 13, 1991 - rector of the Seraphim Church in the city of Svetlogorsk (Kalingrad region).

On May 5, 1996 he was appointed rector of the building under construction cathedral Christ the Savior in Kaliningrad.

By the decree of the Patriarch and the Holy Synod of December 28, 1999, Abbot Mercury was determined to be Bishop of Zaraisk, vicar of the Moscow diocese, Administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in the USA.

On February 5, 2000, in the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow, Archimandrite Mercury was named Bishop of Zaraisk, Vicar of the Moscow Diocese.

On February 6, 2000, he was consecrated Bishop of Zaraisk, vicar of the Moscow Diocese, and appointed administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in the USA. The ordination, in the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow, was performed by: His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'; Metropolitans of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret (Vakhromeev), Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Krutitsky and Kolomna Juvenaly (Poyarkov), Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill (Gundyaev), Solnechnogorsk Sergius, Volokolamsk and Yuryev Pitirim; Archbishops of Pskov and Velikoluksky Eusebius, Tver and Kashinsky Victor; bishops Bronnitsky Tikhon, Baltic Panteleimon, Orekhovo-Zuevsky Alexy, Krasnogorsky Savva.

He graduated from the St. Petersburg Orthodox Theological Seminary and Academy as an external student.

On March 31, 2009, he was relieved of his duties as administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in the USA and appointed chairman of the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis.

Since April 2009 - rector of the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery in Moscow.

Awards

• Medal “1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'” (ROC, 2008)
• Certificate of the Synod of the Orthodox Church in America, 2005;
• Order “1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'” (UOC MP, 2008)
• Order of the Saint Prince Equal to the Apostles Vladimir, 1st degree (UOC MP, 2003)
• Order of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco (ROCOR, 2009)
• Certificate of the Synod of Bishops of the ROCOR (2009)
• 2 Orders of St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna II degree (Orthodox Church in America, 2003 and 2009)
• Order of the Holy Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow, II degree (ROC, 2006)
• Order of St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna II degree (ROC, 2003) - in consideration of missionary work and in connection with the 100th anniversary of St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral in New York

Proceedings

• Mercury (Ivanov), bishop. Works of the blessed one. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, as a liturgical source. St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Department of Church-Practical Disciplines, 2007 (PhD thesis)