Cleric of the Andrew the First-Called church in Lyublino, Moscow.
He prayed for peace replacing the word ‘victory’ with the word ‘peace’ in the For Holy Rus prayer: Instead of «Arise, O God, to help Thy people, and give us victory by Thy power» he was saying: «Arise, O God, to help Thy people, and give us peace by Thy power.» The parishioners of his church who did not like it, reported the priest. The hierarchy regarded his actions as a manifestation of «unruliness». On 2 February, a decree on the dismissal of Rev. Koval from priestly ministry signed by Patriarch Kirill was published on the Moscow eparchy website.
On 11 May 2023, a session of the Moscow Diocesan Court was held, at which Rev. Ioann Koval was defrocked. The desicion must be approved by Patriarch Kirill in order to come into force. The canonical crimes imputed to the priest remain unknown.
