The Russian Orthodox Church in Tatarstan scolds “Tatars and ped*rasts”

The Church of the Epiphany in Yegoryevo is famous not only because the poet Derzhavin was baptized there. Rumors about the disgusting behavior of the superior, Archpriest Pavel Matveev, have been circulating in the Laishevsky district for a long time, but now they have reached the prosecutor’s office. On January 27, residents of Kaipy, Sokury, Berezovka, as well as Yugary Karmachy (Upper Karmachy) and Tuben Karmachy (Lower Karmachy) turned to the prosecutor of the Republic of Tatarstan Ildus Nafikov with a request to find justice for the unruly priest. Tatar Scout talks about this.

The reason for the appeal was Pavel’s refusal to bless the men who were preparing to be sent to military service. According to local residents, the priest even threatened to unleash dogs on them (!). However, as it turned out, this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is alleged that Matveev demands money from parishioners, persuades them to “sign off” their movable and immovable property to him, and is engaged in some dubious “church business.”

Local residents are also shocked by the views of the Orthodox priest. Father sees homosexuals and pedophiles everywhere, and he publicly accuses even his own church authorities in the person of Kirill, Metropolitan of Kazan and Tatarstan, of sodomy. Perhaps these are echoes of the gay scandal at the Kazan Theological Seminary, which thundered throughout the country in 2013-2014, but the situation, whatever one may say, is unhealthy. In addition, Matveev incites hatred towards Tatars and Muslims among parishioners, which goes far beyond the scope of internal church problems. After all, his favorite activities are not only to collect more money from parishioners, to scold the authorities behind their backs, but also to blame, excuse me, “Tatars and ped*rasts” for all sins.

In general, it is not surprising that local residents decided to knock on the door of higher authorities. It is interesting that they did not appeal to the metropolis, but to the prosecutor’s office and the Public Chamber of the Republic of Tatarstan. According to them, they have already complained about Father Pavel to Metropolitan Kirill, but the situation does not seem to have changed. Either the metropolis is happy with everything, or they simply do not care what happens in Yegoryevo.

Of course, neither the prosecutor’s office nor the Public Chamber will engage in personnel changes in the diocese. But who knows, maybe, is it time to check the priest for extremism, and at the same time find out what kind of “church business” we are talking about?