The abbot of the Moscow church of Elijah the Prophet, Abbot Timothy, was deprived of the right to perform church services by the decision of the highest clergy of the Moscow city diocese. This is a strict disciplinary sanction, equivalent, for example, as if a government official was released from his post.
At the end of July, Abbot Timofey, who was driving a two-seater BMW sports car, had an accident. His car, moving at high speed, crashed into a Volkswagen Touareg and a Toyota Corolla alternately. Only by a miracle there were no casualties. Significant material damage was caused. According to preliminary data, the priest was drunk.
This incident led to a new outburst of discussion about the moral character and lifestyle of some priests, who are by no means an example of humility and modesty, as commanded by Christ, thereby casting a shadow on the entire church. Especially when it became known that the ill-fated foreign car, driven by Abbot Timofey, had diplomatic numbers. In order to avoid the escalation of the scandal and accusations of connivance, the leadership of the Moscow City Diocese considered it necessary to remove the offending clergyman from conducting church services until the end of the investigation.
But soon a new emergency happened, even more scandalous and sad. In mid-August, a Mercedes-Benz Gelendwagen SUV, moving at high speed at night along Kutuzovsky Prospect in Moscow, ran into a group of workers who were repairing the road surface. From a terrible blow, two unfortunates died on the spot, another was seriously injured. The SUV driver tried to escape from the scene, thereby only aggravating his guilt. When he was detained, it turned out that Hieromonk Elijah (in the world - Semin) was driving. Besides, he was drunk. The news of this emergency shook society, once again giving rise to harsh criticism of the unworthy behavior of some members of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The leadership of the Moscow City Diocese also forbade this priest to hold church services until the end of the investigation. In addition, realizing that such incidents harm the authority of the entire church, it hastened to issue a statement condemning the behavior of the aforementioned priests. This statement also specifically indicated that persons guilty of criminal offenses must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law, and their clergy can in no way be considered as a mitigating circumstance.
