Slavyansky City Court of Krasnodar Krai rejected the lawsuit filed by the local administration against Viktor Pivovarov, the prior of the Svyato-Pokrovsko-Tikhonovsky temple. The results of the June 18 hearing were published on the court’s website.
The press office of the Krasnodar Krai courts told '7x7' that officials demanded the demolition of the house used as a temple, claiming it was an unauthorized construction. The lawsuit was denied because the defendant provided a construction permit.
Viktor Pivovarov, an archbishop of the non-canonical Russian Orthodox Church, openly criticizes the war in Ukraine. In early April, the 86-year-old Pivovarov was fined 150,000 rubles for repeated discrediting of the army.
After this, the authorities demanded that the court oblige Pivovarov to demolish the Svyato-Pokrovsko-Tikhonovsky temple at his own expense. The church’s representatives linked this to the archbishop’s anti-war stance.
Officials elaborated that they had received a letter from the Investigative Committee, claiming that the temple was built on land designated for residential buildings, not religious objects. Law enforcers asserted that "a crime against the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the Russian Federation" was being committed in the church.