Last month,a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), under the omophorion of Metropolitan Agafangel, received threats of deportation if he did not leave the premises. The threats came from representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, writes Present Time.

The Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh is located in the town of Villa Ballester, near Buenos Aires. It belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia under the omophorion of Metropolitan Agathangel and has never been owned by the Moscow Patriarchate.

Early in the evening on Friday, September 13, the bell rang at the gates of the church, and the priest Father Alexander Smirnov, went to open it. He saw two men who asked to enter. “Many people want to see the church to pray, so I opened it,” the priest recalls. Footage from the external surveillance camera shows two men entering through the gate. According to Father Alexander, the unexpected guests warned him that more people, who had been waiting in a car, would join them. They told him that they all represented the Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate. There were a total of five visitors. They were recorded by an external surveillance camera (see image below). The first man to enter through the gate was dressed in a gray shirt and dark glasses, and Father Alexander recognized him as Andrey Andrushkevich, the son of Igor Andrushkevich, a well-known figure in the White Russian emigration in Argentina (1927-2021). Father and son had been parishioners of the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Villa Ballester for many years but began attending another parish under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate in the 2000s. According to the rector Smirnov, Andrushkevich was accompanied by a representative of the Argentine “National Registry of Cults” who did not speak Russian.

Later, he was joined by Bishop John of Caracas and South America (in the world Peter Berzin), representing the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia - Moscow Patriarchate (ROCOR MP), a regular attendee at official events of the Russian embassy in Buenos Aires, as well as another parishioner of the ROCOR MP, Alexey Popov (later identified in the video by other parishioners), and a young priest.

“Next time, we will come with the police”

“I explained to them that I had no connection with the Russian Orthodox Church, that I was appointed to the parish by Archbishop Gregory of São Paulo and South America, and they told me that there would be a new priest, some Boris. They promised to return on September 24,” recalls Father Alexander Smirnov. He refused to accept the document they tried to present to him. It was a memorandum letter from ROCOR MP to the director of the “National Registry of Cults” of Argentina, informing them that Father Boris Gladyshev had been appointed as the new priest of the church in Villa Ballester. At the same time, the letter does not mention or comment that this church, its former and current priests, as well as the majority of its parishioners, have always been against unification with the Russian Orthodox Church and have never submitted to the Patriarch of Moscow. (A copy of the letter is in the possession of Present Time). According to Father Alexander, one of the “guests” threatened him with deportation before leaving: “He said that if I did not comply, they would deport me from Argentina and that next time they would come with the police.”

Father Alexander himself contacted the police. They listened to him and advised him to call immediately if the “guests” returned. Major Argentine media published articles about what happened, with headlines like “A complaint has been filed that the Kremlin is trying to take over Argentine churches” and “They claim that threats and church seizures are being made to force the Russian Orthodox Church in Argentina to be loyal to Putin.”

On September 24, about thirty parishioners gathered at the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Villa Ballester to support the rector, Father Alexander, and to meet with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, but no one came to take the keys. Father Alexander believes that Bishop John and his associates did not like the Argentine media coverage, but he fears they will not abandon their intentions.

Reminder: In South America, all the churches of the old ROCOR refused to unite with the Moscow Patriarchate and remained faithful to their predecessors. All churches are under the omophorion of Metropolitan Agathangel of New York and Eastern America.

Reverend Father Sergius, pray to God for us and protect your church!