Sredneuralsky Convent in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Spreader of the Loaves”

Not far from Yekaterinburg is the Sredneuralsky Convent, which is characterized by its small age - only 20 years. It is named in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Spreader of the Loaves,” which shows that the Virgin Mary is a human helper in hard earthly labor.

The convent in Sredneuralsk was built by decision of the Holy Synod in 2005. Today there are 4 large temples, as well as many outbuildings. More than 300 nuns live in the monastery.

History of creation

The monastery was erected on the site of the former prison for prisoners “German Farm”. After the war, the land was owned by the Sredneuralskaya State District Power Plant and only then was it transferred to the Ekaterinburg diocese.

More about monastic monasteries:

• Belogorsky St. Nicholas Orthodox Missionary Monastery in the Perm Territory
• Convent of St. John of Rylsky on the Karpovka River in St. Petersburg
• Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

Initially, the farmstead was conceived as a men's farmstead, which developed well. In a short time, outbuildings were built here, animals and birds were brought in, and a garden was laid out. In 2002, permission was received to build a women's compound, which was supposed to become a shelter for single women.

Sredneuralsky Convent

It was this courtyard that began to be called in honor of the icon “The Spreader of the Loaves . Already in the fall of 2004, the consecration of the main temple took place, and the monastery for women began to operate in 2005. In the same year, a school was opened where orphans are educated and educated.

By the beginning of 2011, cell buildings, workshops and other 3 churches were built here. A dairy farm and a garden with a vegetable garden were actively developing. A residential building was built and a hospital for cancer patients was opened. The nuns care for the patients, and the priests talk to them, give them communion and confess before their death.

The school is a separate pride of the monastery - up to 50 orphans study here at a time, and the entire institution operates in the form of an external study at the school of Tsarevich Alexei in Yekaterinburg. Children receive regular secondary education, undergo state accreditation and receive licensed diplomas of secondary education.

Interesting! The monastery has its own spring, above which there is a bathhouse and a chapel. The monastery exists at the expense of its own economy and at the expense of pilgrims who donate to the temple. Father Sergius was appointed confessor here.

The Battle for the Monastery: the most concise and understandable history of the conflict between Father Sergius and the Russian Orthodox Church

On April 14, 2021, security forces and bailiffs raided the Sredneuralsky convent. They expelled from the territory the nuns and supporters of Father Sergius, who remained in the temple even after his arrest. The assault took place at the request of the city prosecutor, who, through the Verkhnyaya Pyshma court, demanded that the activities of the monastery be banned. The meeting is scheduled for May 11, and the eviction of all residents is an interim measure. This step can be called a victory for the Yekaterinburg diocese in the struggle for the temple and against Sergius, which began several years ago. We will briefly recall the chronicle of the confrontation.

Father Sergius (Nikolai Romanov) is the former schema-abbot of the Yekaterinburg diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. In Soviet times, the future priest served in the internal affairs bodies. In 1985, he was tried for theft of government property and an accident that led to the death of a person. During the trial, he confessed to murder during robbery with aggravating circumstances. As a result, Sergius received 13 years in prison and served his sentence until 1997. After leaving the colony, he entered the Moscow Theological Seminary and began his church career. Sergius became famous at the beginning of the 2000s, when he accepted the position of first abbot of the monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers in Ganina Yama and became the ideologist of the Tsar-worshipers movement within the Russian Orthodox Church. On December 25, 2001, Hierodeacon Sergius was ordained to the rank of presbyter by Archbishop Vikenty of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye. In 2002, construction began on a convent in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Control of the Loaves.” Sergius gained scandalous fame in 2018 after publishing videos of his sermons. From this moment we can begin the countdown of his confrontation with the diocese.

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Extremist sermons and the construction of the largest temple

March 2021. Sergius conducted a session of exorcising demons from parishioners at the Sredneuralsky convent. Trash content was made public to collect signatures against the processing of personal data. Later, the court recognized some of the videos as extremist. However, at that moment, the vicar of the Yekaterinburg diocese, Bishop Evgeniy (Kulberg) of Sredneuralsk, stated that the sessions of Father Sergius were a righteous matter: “When a person is operated on in a hospital, cut into pieces, and various procedures are performed on him, this is considered normal. Spiritually, everything is exactly the same.”

In 2021, registration began for the project to build the largest Orthodox cathedral in the world on the territory of the monastery. They wanted to use 3.5 hectares of former farm land for a church building. However, Metropolitan Kirill banned construction. The secretary of the Diocesan Council of the Yekaterinburg diocese, Veniamin Raynikov, would later state that the schism in the church, which resulted in the defrocking of Father Sergius, occurred precisely because the schema-abbot was forbidden to build a temple.

Coronavirus denial and defrocking

April 2021. A movement of Covid dissidents is forming in the Sredneuralsky convent. The Royal Cross movement published a sermon by Sergius in which he declares that the coronavirus pandemic does not exist. The next day, the Yekaterinburg diocese deprived Sergius of the right to preach and speak out in public space.

May 2021. Sergius again appeals to open churches and hold services during the pandemic. The next day, Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye publicly addressed Schema-Abbot Sergius. The preacher was forbidden to wear a pectoral cross, lead or take part in the liturgy, confess and become a monk. Two days later, Yekaterinburg resident Mikhail Tomatkin wrote an appeal addressed to the head of the Sverdlovsk Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a request to check the sermons of the founder of the Sredneuralsky Convent for extremism. Based on the results of the inspection, I found signs of extremism in the speeches of the Sverdlovsk schema-abbot.

June 2021. An administrative case was opened against Sergius due to the spread of fakes and he was fined 90 thousand rubles. At the same time, the schema-abbot told the church leadership that he would not leave the monastery of his own free will. Afterwards, a church trial took place, but Sergius ran away from the meeting, declaring that Metropolitan Kirill would have to take the monastery by storm.

On June 16, Metropolitan Kirill appointed a new cleric to the Sredneuralsky Convent. But Sergius’s supporters did not allow the priest into the monastery and, in fact, captured the monastery, placing Cossack patrols around the perimeter. After this, the police came to the temple, but did not reveal any violation of the law.

On June 26, representatives of the Yekaterinburg diocese once again ask Sergius to repent so that the latter is not excommunicated from the church. But the disgraced schema-abbot calls the Russian Orthodox Church “the main enemy of Russia” and does not appear at the church court. On the same day, Ksenia Sobchak arrived at the monastery with a film crew. The visit ended in a brawl. The journalist stated that corporal punishment is practiced in the monastery, and there have also been cases of sexual harassment. Previously, students had already told a 66.RU correspondent about such cases. After Sobchak’s intervention, the Yekaterinburg diocese became involved in clarifying the circumstances and methods of Sergius’ upbringing.

July 2021. The Ekaterinburg diocese stated that schema-abbot Sergius became a priest illegally, and the church court deprived him of his rank.

Excommunication from the Russian Orthodox Church and the first criminal case

However, Sergius refused to leave the monastery, stating that the land under it was leased and was not the property of the diocese, and the temple itself was built with donations. The Russian Orthodox Church denied these statements, but admitted that they had exhausted the legal possibilities of returning the monastery to their control.

September 2021. Schema-abbot Sergius (Romanov) was excommunicated from the Orthodox Church. The reason for this was the scandalous statements of Sergius and the fact that he continued to officiate without the rank.

October 2021. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case about the torture of children in the monastery.

The struggle for real estate and arrest

December 2021. The arbitration court decided that a construction and technical examination should be carried out at the monastery. The diocese decided to prove that the construction of the monastery was carried out by Abbess Varvara with the blessing and support of Metropolitans Vincent and Kirill. Any property, according to the charter of organizations within the Russian Orthodox Church, belongs to the Church and is managed by the dioceses. In February 2021, the court recognized the diocese's ownership of the monastery. And auditors calculated that the market value of the real estate, which is located on the territory of the Sredneuralsky Convent, is more than 1 billion rubles.

On the night of December 29, security forces stormed the Sredneuralsky monastery, and Sergius was detained. He was charged under Articles 110.1 (incitement to commit suicide or assistance in committing suicide), 148 (violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion) and 330 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (arbitrariness). He has been in custody for more than three months.

After the arrest, supporters of Father Sergius surrounded the monastery and barricaded the entrance. In February 2021, security forces again stormed the monastery. The searches were carried out to detain a priest who is suspected of a triple murder; he is now on the wanted list.

March 2021. Riot police officers came to search the secret hermitages of the Sredneuralsky convent. Later, security forces came to check the monastery itself. Supporters of Sergius reported that as a result, inspectors fined two nuns for not having passports of Russian citizens.

The last (for now) assault took place on the night of April 14. The bailiffs kicked out all the inhabitants of the monastery.

Temples and social work

Since the courtyard is relatively young, it is not distinguished by multiple churches. There are only four churches here, three of which are currently active.

The architectural ensemble of the monastery consists of:

• Church "Different of the Loaves" - it is located in a 4-story building on the third floor. There is an icon of the same name and some other relics;
• Temple of the Kazan Mother of God - it consists of several floors, on the first of which there is a refectory with rooms for monks, and on the second there is a hall for worship. This temple is characterized by its peculiarity - everyone enters it without shoes, expressing respect;
• a temple in honor of the icon “Protection of the Holy Mother of God”;
• Church of the Holy Trinity is a two-altar building, in which the upper part is consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity. The architectural ensemble of this temple is complemented by a 15-meter cross, which stands nearby and is dedicated to the innocently murdered members of the royal family.

Read about other Orthodox icons:

• "Iverskaya"
• "Igorevskaya"
• "Deliverer of Troubles"

In addition to architectural structures, the farmstead is also rich in outbuildings, since agriculture is developed here:

• milk farm;
• poultry farm;
• workshops;
• horse farm;
• Orchard;
• mill;
• boiler room;
• well.

This farmstead is famous for its dairy products and honey, which can be tasted in the refectory. In addition to the farm, there is a school, a house for 25 guests and a hospital for 20 people. There is a department for people with cancer so that they can spend their last days in peace, receive communion and make confession before death.

Sredneuralsky Convent (interior)

This farmstead is practically autonomous and can serve its needs independently. This was the reason that the monastery became a refuge for all those who found themselves in a difficult situation. Single mothers with children, refugees, old people and disabled people come here. They try to help everyone here as much as possible in word or deed. Many remain here.

The law is absurd. Security forces cleared the Sredneuralsky monastery of nuns

The anti-church lobby in the presidential administration, through the hands of the Yekaterinburg diocese, bailiffs and security forces, brought to the point of absurdity the seemingly intra-church conflict in the Sredneuralsky convent in honor of the icon of the Mother of God Spreader of the Loaves. Before the New Year, there, persons in the uniform of police and private security officers staged a night pogrom of the monastery, arresting, under a far-fetched pretext, the confessor of the monastery, the former schema-abbot Sergius (Romanov), who shortly before this, a church court had defrocked him for criticizing the Patriarch and the COVID-19 madness of the authorities. And tonight, the same people in masks and camouflage finally destroyed the monastery, driving hundreds of nuns, mostly elderly women, out onto the street. The special operation against the nuns was carried out according to all the rules of intimidation: militants in uniform and with identification documents from various security agencies arrived in 50 vehicles: paddy wagons, vehicles with the inscription “Rosguard”, “OMON”, etc.. It is strange that tanks and artillery support were not requested

The invaders arrived at the monastery at the beginning of six in the morning and created a coordination headquarters on the territory of the monastery. Then the loudspeaker announced the need to urgently leave the territory. No one was informed where the nuns were going to be taken. At 06:49, the bailiffs commented on what was happening in the monastery: the Verkhnyaya Pyshma court decided to immediately evict all residents from the monastery. The GUFSSP of Russia in the Sverdlovsk region received a non-property executive document of immediate execution, issued by the Verkhnepyshminsky city court, on the prohibition of the presence and residence of citizens on the territory of the Sredneuralsky convent complex in connection with “identified violations of the requirements of town planning legislation, sanitary and epidemiological legislation, fire safety, creating a real threat to the life and health of citizens located on the territory of the complex.” The court decision itself turned out to be even less clear than the purge. As supporters of the arrested father Sergius write, the court decision referred to in the FSSP does not exist in nature - the prosecutor’s application will be considered only on May 11 at 14:30.

At 07:12, the nuns and inhabitants of the monastery left the monastery territory with prayer. Large white buses were already waiting for them. They came out surrounded by fighters of the Russian Guard, who created a human chain, holding hands. Apparently, someone from the authorities was seriously afraid that the nuns were capable of organizing a massacre with riot police.

At 07:40 a cordon was set up along the perimeter of the monastery fence. Next, all the premises in the monastery were sealed by bailiffs, and officials and representatives of NGOs began to arrive at the scene. Thus, an employee of the Ministry of Public Security, Sergei Permyakov, pranced in front of journalists, talking about the fabulous conditions at the Treasure Island recreation center, where the nuns would be placed, and members of the Nika charitable foundation, who participated in the seizure of the temple of the Blessed One, arrived. Xenia of Petersburg in Yekaterinburg, from where Fr. Georgy (Busygin), the Minister of Social Policy of the Sverdlovsk Region Andrei Zlokazov and social workers, as well as the Deputy Minister of Public Security of the region Alexander Kleshnin, appeared in order to check whether the “rights and safety of citizens” were respected. The nuns themselves have very real fears that they will be scattered among orphanages.

By 11 o'clock in the afternoon, the monastery was almost completely cleared, the doors were sealed, and people were taken wherever they were. This was confirmed in the group “Pilgrims of the Sredneuralsky Convent”.

This is where the story of one of the most inconvenient authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church of the monastery, where they abandoned political correctness, agreement with sin and acceptance of the rules of the game of demons from the West, has ended for now. All that remained was bitterness and misunderstanding on the part of the believers, and the instructions of the now defrocked Father Sergius.

RIA Katyusha

Divine service

Today, on the territory of the courtyard there are only three churches, in whose services you can take part: “The Spreader of the Loaves”, the Kazan Church and the house church of the “Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary”.

Divine services take place:

• daily in the morning at 8:00 and in the evening at 15:30;
• on weekends and holidays morning prayer service at 6:30, all-night vigil at 8:30 and Divine Liturgy at 24:00.

Pilgrims can take part in any worship service they wish, and can also order a memorial service in any operating temple.

To the holy places of the Urals

The material presents the tour city Rezh

Brief history of the monastery

Back in 2002, Archbishop Vikenty of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye blessed Hieromonk Sergius (Romanova) to found a women’s courtyard with a social orientation at the monastery on Ganina Yama. That’s why the sisters still call themselves descendants of the royal nest. For the farmstead, land was identified near the city of Sredneuralsk, where a prisoner of war camp was located during the war years. That is why the locals called that place the German Farm. It was on the German farm in the spring of 2002 that the first construction began.

Monument to Tsar Nicholas II. The Sredneuralsky convent has many connections with the sovereign

The first workers from Ganina Pit and several trucks with timber arrived at the construction site of the future monastery on May 18, 2002. First of all, the builders put in order the gatehouse, in which 4 nuns moved in at the beginning of June. Together with two watchmen who lived in the tent, they became the first inhabitants of the compound.

Open altar of the icon of the Mother of God “Spreader of the Loaves”

Over the summer, log houses were erected for cells, a summer kitchen, a bathhouse, a vegetable garden was planted, and cattle were raised. In August, a temporary church in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God was equipped and consecrated in one of the log buildings. The number of sisters at this time grew to several dozen people. At the same time, construction began on the first permanent stone church, with which the entire monastery bears the same name. In September 2004, a large stone church, built in a modern architectural style, was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Spreader of the Bread.”

Temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Spreader of Bread” in the Sredneuralsky Monastery

In April 2005, on the site of the metochion, by decision of the Holy Synod, the Sredneuralsky Convent was established in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Contestant of the Loaves”.

In the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Spreader of the Loaves”.

In the Middle Urals, the monastery is well known for its active social service: the monastery supports and spiritually cares for the elderly, infirm and orphans, provides medical care to those in need, and educates and trains the younger generation.

Belfry at the Church of the Mother of God “Different of the Loaves” and “Sword of Repentance”

Another feature of the monastery is the endless stream of pilgrims. As a rule, these are people of extreme religious views who do not accept many of the innovations of worldly life. Probably each monastery has its own audience, and each pilgrim has his own or his favorite monasteries. So, for pilgrims with conservative ideas about life, the Sredneuralsky Monastery became a favorite monastery. These people talk about the special grace of the monastery space. On weekends, during services in the monastery church, there is nowhere for an apple to fall.

Sredneuralsky Monastery: temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

In a matter of years, the monastery turned into a real autonomous town with residential buildings, educational institutions, utility buildings and, of course, churches, most of which have an original appearance. Following the first temple, in 2007, a temple was consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which is distinguished not only by modern architecture, but also by its multi-domed structure. Just like the first monastery church, the Kazan Church has unusual proportions. This is due to the fact that the first floor of both churches is occupied by cells and a refectory.

Trinity Church of the Sredneuralsky Convent

In 2014, the Trinity Church was consecrated in the monastery, which was built based on ancient Russian architecture from the era of the formation of the Moscow kingdom. The temple is two-story. Entrance to the lower part of the temple is only for a limited circle of people. It is dedicated to the family of the last Russian Tsar and reproduces the interior of the basement of the house of engineer Ipatiev, where the royal family was shot. Next to the temple there is a huge Poklonny cross dedicated to the Romanovs.

Trinity Church and Worship Cross

Already in our time, in 2021, the construction of a huge bell tower with a clock mechanism, probably the tallest in the Middle Urals, and the large Annunciation Church next to it are nearing completion. They were built based on the Russian style of the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries in a modern architectural interpretation.

Annunciation Church and bell tower of the Sredneuralsky Monastery

Along the same line with them, in the same style, but more reminiscent of some kind of secular institution, for example a bank, another one is being built - the Intercession Church with cells on the first two floors. It is also distinguished by its enormous size. Locals said it would be a baptismal church.

A temple under construction on the territory of the Sredneuralsky convent

The historical part of the monastery is distinguished by well-groomed territory: tiled paths, decorative lanterns, lots and lots of greenery and flowers, sometimes exotic, monuments. For objective reasons, part of the territory looks like a construction site.

Annunciation Church of the Sredneuralsky Monastery

The best…

In general, one can say a lot about the Sredneuralsky Monastery as if it were the very best. Here, in the 21st century, the most ambitious construction took place in the entire Middle Urals. And in the Urals, only the Holy Trinity Convent of Mercy in Saraktash, Orenburg Region, can be compared to this scale. The main emotional feeling when seeing the monastery ensemble in the first minutes is surprise.

Sculpture of Jesus Christ on the central square of the Sredneuralsky Monastery

Perhaps in terms of its population, the Sredneuralsky Monastery is the most populous in the entire Middle Urals: hundreds of women and children, many pilgrims living here for a long time. Another invisible point: the monastery is an exponent of the most extreme views in Orthodoxy, which do not accept the changes taking place in society. Any issues, from problems of education and family to problems of digitalization of society, are proposed to be resolved from patriarchal positions.

Monastery paths

Center of schism?

In any large social system, including the church, there are always people with different views, sometimes polar ones. This leads to disputes, even conflicts, but a split is an exceptional phenomenon. In 2021, in connection with the harsh statements of the founder of the Sredneuralsky Monastery, Hieromonk Sergius (Romanov), against the clergy because of their position on the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian Church, for the first time in its modern history, seems to have come so close to a new schism.

Sredneuralsky Convent in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Spreader of the Loaves”

The fact is that progress has long been creating new fields for discussion among believers. But this time these problems came to light. Many believers with extremely patriarchal views found their leader in Father Sergius. There is sympathy for him on the part of many priests who do not speak publicly about this. This group may not be large, but it is very united, active and selflessly believes in its ideals. What will happen next, time will tell.

Sredneuralsky Convent: gates with a gate church

Address: convent in honor of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Spreader of the Loaves” 624070 Sverdlovsk region, Sredneuralsk, Severny proezd, 15.

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The rebellious abbot and the seizure of the monastery: what is happening near Yekaterinburg

Dramatic events unfolded in the Sredneuralsky convent, not far from Yekaterinburg. The monastery has been captured by the people of the disgraced schema-abbot, but the police have not yet taken forceful measures against the clergyman.

Who is schema-abbot Sergius

The conflict in church circles in the Urals, which began at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, escalated into open confrontation on June 16.
Schema-abbot Sergius, who sharply criticized the church leadership due to the ban on visiting churches during the period of self-isolation, was removed from ministry. But Sergius himself did not agree with this decision. Relying on the support of Cossacks who sympathized with him, the schema-abbot occupied the Sredneuralsky convent, expelling the abbess. The territory of the monastery was taken under protection by Cossacks loyal to Sergius. At the same time, representatives of the Ural Cossacks have already managed to declare their non-involvement in this strange situation.

Schema-abbot Sergius can safely be called one of the most unique Russian priests. He is 65 years old. In the distant Soviet past, a police officer served many years in prison. Then his name was Nikolai Romanov. After his release, he went into religion and made a good career in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Interestingly, at one time Sergius was the confessor of the recently deceased thief in law Timur Mirzoev (Timur Sverdlovsky) - a relative of another influential authority, also the late Aslan Usoyan (Ded Hassan). But it is unlikely that anything reprehensible can be found in this, since a priest must help any people who turn to him for spiritual support.

Natalya Poklonskaya and schema-abbot Sergius (Romanov)

Thus, Deputy Natalya Poklonskaya speaks very highly of Schema-Abbot Sergius. It is possible that they are united by a common enthusiastic attitude towards the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

The self-isolation regime led to an escalation of the conflict

Judging by his actions, Sergius is quite skeptical about the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The situation around the coronavirus pandemic has clearly demonstrated this. Sergius openly, in a video message, cursed everyone who called for the closure of churches during self-isolation. In addition, schema-abbot Sergius criticized digital personal identification and the collection of biometric data, calling this the path to a “satanic regime.” Gazeta.ru reports that the Center for Combating Extremism of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Sverdlovsk Region opened a criminal case against Father Sergius under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity.”

In the end, the leadership of the diocese banned Sergius from serving, but he did not obey this decision. Cleric Georgiy Viktorov, who was appointed to replace Sergius, was not allowed into the monastery. The schema-abbot himself flatly refuses to leave the monastery, although the diocesan authorities ordered him to stay in the St. John the Theological Monastery.

It is noteworthy that right now, after critical statements by schema-hegumen Sergius against the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church, they “suddenly remembered” that more than 30 years ago, layman Nikolai Romanov was convicted of a criminal offense and spent 13 years in prison. The crime he committed was called an obstacle to his ordination to the priesthood. But Sergius became a priest at the beginning of the 2000s, twenty years ago, and all this time, it turns out, his past did not bother anyone?

The Sredneuralsky women's monastery in honor of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Different of the Loaves", located 10 kilometers from Yekaterinburg, was founded by Sergius himself and built, first of all, with the help of his flock. Therefore, Sergius considers himself to have every right to be in the monastery, which, perhaps, would not have opened without his participation. Today the monastery has its own agricultural complex and workshops, that is, it can exist autonomously.

On June 17, the police arrived at the monastery. According to local media, the police arrived after reports of unrest in the monastery. However, further events developed rather unusually: as the head of the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Sverdlovsk Region, Colonel Valery Gorelykh, told reporters, an investigative team headed by the head of the regional department went to the indicated address, but information about the unrest was not confirmed. After this, the law enforcement officers left the monastery territory.

An official appeal from its press service was published on the official website of the Ekaterinburg diocese, which, in particular, states:

Today, the activities of the supernumerary clergyman of the Yekaterinburg diocese, schema-abbot Sergius (Romanov), who was banned from serving, are the subject of consideration by the diocesan church court, which has not yet made a final decision. According to church rules, a cleric accused of canonical violations must be given not only the opportunity to justify himself in the charges brought against him, but also time to review his errors and repent, which is the main goal of the church court.

It is still unclear how the situation will develop in the future. It is possible that sooner or later they will try to liberate the territory of the monastery by force, especially if the criminal case initiated against Schema-Abbot Sergius is given further progress.

It is also worth noting that the conflict around the Sredneuralsky convent and the position of schema-hegumen Sergius (Romanov) is a consequence of long-standing contradictions that exist between individual conservative clergy and the believers who support them, and the official line of the Russian Orthodox Church. At the center of this conflict are different points of view regarding the attitude of the church to the processes taking place in the life of the Russian state and society.

FSB and police arrived at a convent seized in the Urals

FSB officers and police arrived at a convent near Yekaterinburg, which was seized by schema-hegumen Sergius (Romanov), who was banned from serving. Two sources in law enforcement agencies reported this to the Ura.Ru portal.

According to them, the security forces want to talk with the Cossacks blocking the entrance to the religious community. “We sent FSB officers to communicate with the Cossacks to find out on what basis the monastery was blocked, who gave the order for this, why the work of the media and public activists is limited,” one of the sources said. Wherein

There are no conversations among law enforcement officers about unblocking the monastery by force, the media interlocutors added.

Let us note that the seizure of the Sredneuralsky convent in honor of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Spreader of the Loaves” occurred on June 16. The creator of this monastery, Sergius, himself, together with the Cossacks, burst into the community.

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Entrance to the territory of the Sredneuralsky convent in the Sverdlovsk region, seized by a former priest, June 17, 2021

Schema-abbot Sergius on the territory of the Sredneuralsky convent, June 17, 2020

A security guard at the entrance to the Sredneuralsky convent in the Sverdlovsk region, captured by a former priest, June 17, 2021

Schema-abbot Sergius

Schema-abbot Sergius in his monastery on the territory of the Sredneuralsky convent, June 17, 2021 You can view the full gallery in a separate report

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The scandal with the schema-abbot in the leading role began in the spring of this year, when the priest stated that he did not believe in the new type of coronavirus, and therefore refused to introduce epidemiological safety rules in the monastery.

“Serve as usual, without disinfection and wiping. How can Christ, the conqueror of death, transmit death? How can you get infected from a liar? Is this not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? <…> The vaccines will be chips, for the masses they will be fatal. First, after vaccination, there will be healing, people will admire the devilish love of the country’s leadership, doctors, and so on. But then comes torment and death. Not only physical, but also spiritual,” the schema-abbot addressed his co-religionists in his sermon, which was not canceled even amid the spread of COVID-19.

In conclusion, he cursed everyone who wants to close churches due to the pandemic. “I suggest that those suffering from senile insanity, the senile pandemic, spiritual leprosy, who propose self-isolation to Russians, forget God and forbid going to churches <…>.

I dare to assure you that as soon as this happens, the non-existent coronavirus epidemic in Russia will immediately end. Whoever encroaches on the closure of temples, may he and his entire family be cursed!” - the clergyman emphasized.

After this, the Center for Combating Extremism of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Sverdlovsk Region opened a case against Sergius under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity,” and Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye forbade him to leave the territory of the St. John the Theological Monastery and perform any sacraments, as well as public and private services, read the message from the press service of the city diocese.

The schema-abbot responded by displacing the abbess of the Sredneuralsky convent, Varvara (Krygina), by breaking into the monastery with the Cossacks. One of the residents of the monastery said that among the Cossacks there are those who took part in the confrontations on Lake Baltym, and also fought in the Lugansk and Donetsk republics, being a member of the Union of Donbass Volunteers, the portal Ura.ru reported.

Due to the capture of the religious community, the abbess, along with several nuns, left the monastery and took refuge in the Novo-Tikhvin Convent, a source reported to E1.ru.

Now Sergius does not allow either the new leadership appointed by the Yekaterinburg diocese or media representatives into the territory of the monastery - only parishioners and pilgrims can enter the territory.

“The situation around the monastery, as you know, is difficult, but thanks to us, the monastery continues to live an ordinary life. Services are going on, pilgrims are coming,” one of the Cossacks guarding the monastery told Ura.ru.

On June 15, the Church trial of Sergius was supposed to take place, but due to the unrelated speech of the cleric and his hasty departure, the meeting was postponed to June 26.

“Since schema abbot Sergius (Romanov), having read out a previously prepared text that had nothing to do with the essence of the charges brought against him, hastily left the meeting of the diocesan church court without answering questions on the merits, the next meeting of the diocesan church court will be held on June 26 of this year,” reads court statement.

Despite the hopes of the Diocesan Court for the schema-abbot’s repentance, immediately after the failed meeting, he published a video on social networks in which he accused the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church of betrayal:

“His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, the synod, the episcopate have no power over the church. The church is currently led by sanitary doctors and Rospotrebnadzor. I consider these actions of Patriarch Kirill, the Holy Synod and the episcopate to be a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and a betrayal of the faith.”

At the end of the video, the cleric said that he would not leave the monastery voluntarily. “I will not leave the house of the Mother of God anywhere. My conscience does not denounce me, my heart is calm. They, that is, the hierarchy, Metropolitan Kirill, will have to take the monastery by storm. You need to leave the Russian Orthodox Church as persecutors of the faith,” he emphasized.

Parishioners spoke about the schism in the monastery after the arrest of ex-schemamonk Sergius

Many parishioners became disillusioned with the former rector of the Sredneuralsky convent, ex-schemamonk Sergius (Nikolai Romanov), after his arrest. Ex-novice of the monastery Anastasia told Gazeta.Ru about this.

“A split occurred among the novices and those who went to pray at the monastery. Although before everyone simply deified Sergius. When he was arrested and the details of his activities and the actions he committed while already in the pre-trial detention center began to emerge, the veil fell off for many,” the girl explained.

According to Anastasia, those who remained faithful to the monk began to poison the “traitors.” On social networks they insult people who have turned their backs on Sergius and call them “minions of the devil.”

“I go to the monastery every Sunday. In appearance, everything is fine and wonderful there, nothing in particular has changed, but after the service, conflicts usually begin. They believe so much in the truthfulness of Sergius's beliefs that, frankly, everything becomes like a sect. Because of this, many turned away from him,” she said.

In turn, a pilgrim from Chelyabinsk, Ekaterina Provorotova, said that, together with hundreds of novices, she prays daily for the speedy release of the ex-rector.

“What they did to our monastery, to the house for lost souls and the guide to heaven, Sergius, cannot but tear our hearts. With our prayers we try to maintain the holiness that he brought to the monastery. And we demand that he be released,” said Gazeta.Ru’s interlocutor.

After the arrest, people at first did not want to visit the monastery, but after some time they decided that it was necessary to continue the teachings of Sergius. In addition, according to Provorotova, believers began to come to the monastery in large numbers.

“We have created several groups on social networks, where we share our opinions about what is happening and help people from other regions get to the monastery. We are ashamed that we could not save the priest.

Many believe that they are to blame for allowing the monastery to be captured. Everyone who now visits the monastery is one big family of Sergius, who prays and supports him immensely,” she said.

On February 18, his written statement was posted in one of the online public pages created by supporters of the ex-schema-hegumen Sergius - in it, the former priest said that he had refused to gain freedom of his own free will, Uralinformburo reports.

The document notes that the Public Monitoring Commission twice suggested that the disgraced holy father “betray the instructions of spiritual father Kirill Pavlov,” who was one of those who approved the ordination of Sergius. In addition, Romanov was allegedly demanded to repent before Patriarch Kirill and Metropolitan Evgeniy of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, to which he responded with a categorical refusal.

Also, according to the ex-schemamonk, he was offered exile to Mount Athos, the world’s largest center of Orthodox monasticism, located on the Greek peninsula of Aion Oros.

In the letter, Sergius thanked the lawyers Svetlana Gerasimova and Pavel Babikov, who have recently been criticized by some of Romanov’s followers.

Let us remember that the former clergyman’s problems began because of his videos on YouTube, in which sermons were mixed with criticism of the church and the authorities due to quarantine measures. The schemamonk also called on his devotees to “die for Russia.” After several fines for spreading fakes, he demanded that Vladimir Putin transfer presidential powers to him, and then locked himself in the monastery territory and refused to let representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church there.

In September 2021, the Russian Orthodox Church deprived Sergius of the rank of schema-abbot and excommunicated him. The reason was his disobedience to the will of the metropolitan.

On December 29, 2021, Romanov was detained during a night special operation on the territory of the monastery and was soon placed in a Moscow pre-trial detention center. The former priest is accused of arbitrariness, incitement to suicide and violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion.

Soon after his arrest, Sergius went on a dry hunger strike to protest his criminal prosecution, the capital’s Public Monitoring Commission reported.

“He only wets his lips with water, but doesn’t eat or drink. Sergius claims that he will starve until he dies, or until he is released from the pre-trial detention center, at least under house arrest,” commission member Eva Merkacheva noted to TASS. The ex-schemamonk observed a hunger strike from December 30 to January 15.