Anathematization in the latest practice of the Russian Orthodox Church

In the Russian Orthodox Church, anathematization was used three times over the last quarter century. Just two of these cases have been well studied (e.g. by the author) - those of the former Kyiv Metropolitan Filaret (Denisenko) and the former priest G. P. Yakunin who were excommunicated of from the Church by the Council of Bishops in 1997. At the same time, there is absolutely no research of the case of schema-hegumen Sergius (Romanov) deprived of his rank and excommunicated from the Church by the diocesan court of the Yekaterinburg diocese in 2020. In this regard, the topic chosen is relevant. The methodology used is that of legal and canonical analysis of documents. The novelty of the topic is attributable to the study of the case of schima-hegumen Sergius, to comparative analysis of the cases of anathematization of the latest time, as well as to generalization of church judicial practice in the cases considered, which may be of practical importance for improving the church regulatory basis and law enforcement practice. The conclusion is made that the imposed punishment corresponds to the offenses committed, despite of some shortcomings in the use of the canons. In general, from a procedural point of view, only the case of schima-hegumen Sergius was impeccable, while the 1997 trials had a number of problems. The article also discusses the issue of condemning schima-hegumen Sergius by a secular court, which allows comparing church and secular charges and imposed punishments. The article was written on the basis of a report delivered at the VIIth Barsov Readings (St. Petersburg Theological Academy, 08.12.2023).