On February 13, at night, Hieromonk Iakov Vorontsov, known for his anti-war stance and public criticism of the Russian Orthodox Church, was detained in Kazakhstan.
According to sources of journalist Daniiar Moldabekov, police officers came to the priest’s home during the night, conducted a search, and took Vorontsov to a temporary detention facility of the Almaty Police Department, the outlet Respublika reports.
The information about the detention was confirmed by lawyer Galym Nurpeisov.
“Yes, Iakov Vorontsov is currently in a temporary detention facility, and we are awaiting a hearing of the administrative court. Vorontsov is accused of non-medical consumption of narcotic substances. This is an administrative offense,” the lawyer said.
Iakov Vorontsov is a former hieromonk of the Astana and Almaty Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. He gained prominence in 2023 after criticizing Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, as well as the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 2024, Vorontsov was suspended from ministry and defrocked. A case was also opened against him under Article 141 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan, “incitement of social, national, tribal, racial, class, or religious discord, insult to national honor and dignity, or religious feelings of citizens.” The investigation was later terminated due to the absence of a criminal offense.
It is known that several years ago Vorontsov attempted to establish in Kazakhstan an Orthodox Church not subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate. He twice submitted documents to the Ministry of Justice for registration and was twice refused.
According to Fergana.news, the Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court of Almaty has recently accepted for consideration a lawsuit filed by Iakov Vorontsov against the city’s Department of Justice and the Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan seeking to declare unlawful the refusal of state registration of a religious association. The claimant also asks the court to compel the defendants to carry out the registration of the religious association.
