The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Chuch has suspended a priest who participated in services for the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Dmitry Safronov took part in Navalny’s funeral as well as presiding at the commemoration on March 26, the 40th day after his death – an important Russian Orthodox tradition.
An order published Tuesday on the Moscow Diocese website demoted Safronov from his position as priest to that of a psalm-reader and stripped him of the right to give blessings or wear a cassock for three years. He also was transferred to another church in the capital.
No reason was given for the decision, which was signed by Patriarch Kirill, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Navalny, 47, died Feb. 16 in the remote Arctic penal colony where he had been serving …