Displaying items by tag: Father Grigory

When the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church is the most vocal supporter of Moscow's conflict in Ukraine, calling the conflict ‘war’ can land you in jail; it takes courage to speak out. But Father Grigory has been doing that ever since the Kremlin first set its sights on Ukraine. Once a Russian Orthodox priest, he has now set out to prove that not every Russian stands behind Putin's acts of aggression. Grigory's number one priority is helping the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees trapped across Russia since February. His religious group, the Russian Apostolic Church, has assisted 7,000 refugees over the past eight months. He said, ‘In April our organisation and the St Petersburg parish opened a centre for helping refugees. Many refugees need different types of help. Some need tickets to leave Russia, some need clothes or various medicines. So we do all that we can do to help.’ Grigory is adamant that supporting an aggressive war goes against the tenets of true faith.