GRIGORIY OKHANOV, Russian Orthodox Church (St. Petersburg), currently priest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Antalya, Turkey)

Grigory Ohanov, former minister of the Russian Orthodox Church (St. Petersburg, Russia), is currently a priest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Antalya, Turkey).

Fr. Grigory Ohanov, formerly chairman of the Orthodox youth association Kerigma in St. Petersburg, gave an anti-war interview to the independent outlet Ochevidcy in 2022 while still serving in the ROC. Later, already as a priest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he also voiced his anti-war position in an interview with the portal Ne Moskva (1 November 2024).

In September 2025, during a short trip to St. Petersburg, Ohanov was notified about the initiation of administrative proceedings under Article 20.3.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (“Discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”).

At the Moscow Railway Station in St. Petersburg, plainclothes officers approached him, handed him a summons to appear at the police station, and recorded his personal data. The protocol was later drawn up without his signature, which itself violates procedural norms.

The case was initiated on the basis of a denunciation by a private individual connected to the Russian Orthodox Church. Case materials note that the “offense” was recorded in the office of an assistant prosecutor during the viewing of video interviews — meaning the alleged violation did not occur at the time of speaking, but only when authorities decided to “see” it retroactively.

The court hearing was held quickly and formally, in St. Petersburg at the place of his permanent registration. The priest himself was not present at the trial. The court imposed a fine of 30,000 rubles.