On June 4, 2024, the Ecclesiastical Court of the Yekaterinodar and Kuban Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church deprived Archpriest Andrei Another, rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Severny, Krasnodar, of the right to serve. The published document indicates the basis of the decision: "Every clergyman is prohibited by apostolic law from leaving his church and going to church service in another diocese." 

Fr. Andrew committed a kind of spiritual desertion, voluntarily leaving the church, of which he was the rector, his flock, leaving the diocese. To be precise, he fled abroad without even informing his superiors. 

The departure of the Other took place on February 19, 2024, and the diocesan authorities and the Church Court have been patiently waiting for almost half a year (!) for an explanation of this act from him, and indeed, at least some news. And only after making sure that neither he nor his explanations could be expected, the court issued its verdict.

On the eve of his departure, fr. Andrey spoke to the parishioners of his church, announcing his break with the Russian Orthodox Church, whose hierarchy, clergy and laity he accused of "heresy", the Russian leadership of an "aggressive and aggressive war", of "persecution and murder" of Alexei Navalny (listed in the register of extremists and terrorists). 

The performance of the protopresbyter became a real "bouquet" of offenses. It clearly shows the acts provided for in Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Public calls for extremist activities), Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (actions aimed at inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliating the dignity of a person or group of persons on the grounds of gender, race, nationality, language, origin, attitude to religion, and It is equal to belonging to any social group committed in public or using the mass media), art. 280.3. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens." 

The fugitive distributed his speech through social networks, entitled  like the "Suicidal sermon of the priest of the Russian Orthodox Church." The cunning of such a hype-oriented headline is obvious. First of all, he committed these criminal acts, already having in his pocket a document with a foreign visa and plane tickets. Drugai was well aware that they would not have time to open a criminal case against him before he left Russia. Secondly, in the same speech he declares that nothing else connects him with the Russian Orthodox Church. After that, it's quite strange to call yourself a "priest of the ROC."

Sources in the Yekaterinodar diocese indicate that by the end of 2023, the person involved was in good standing, was considered an executive and responsible priest, well maintained the temple entrusted to him, the priesthood was enough for them, he received encouragement.

Drugai himself claims that his roads with the ROC parted after February 22, 2024, when, after the start of the Special Operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the Moscow Patriarchate offered prayerful support to Russia, its people and leadership. 

Judas assured that he had never offered a prayer for Holy Russia, stating "that during the service he did not read the prayer works of Kirill Gundyaev (Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia)."

But even here, Archpriest Drugai lied to his soul. On October 2, 2022, 7 months after the start of its Andrey served Metropolitan Gregory of Yekaterinodar and Kuban in his church, and during the Divine Liturgy, a prayer for Holy Russia was offered on his knees. The one that my Friend allegedly never uttered. It is obvious that he had fulfilled this blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch before, but this episode is documented on the diocese's website. 

It should be noted that the ruling bishop would not have gone to serve at the parish of the frond father. 

That is, at least until October 2022, Fr. Andrey Drugai remained loyal to the priesthood and regularly carried out obedience. Despite the fact that the conflict in Ukraine had been going on for more than six months, pacifist thoughts did not bother him at all. 

Why is this important? Because it was not the beginning of HIS life that caused the rebirth and apostasy of this priest. His first step towards betrayal was the signing of a letter in defense of another renegade, former Archpriest Alexy Uminsky, who was defrocked on January 5, 2024. 

But unlike Uminsky, who could not be attributed in any way to church liberals and frontiers, he was always quite a systematic, if I may say so, clergyman. 

It is safe to say what caused his "transition". The Patriarchate of Constantinople (KP) has long and consciously not only supported, but also organized schisms in the Russian Orthodox Church. The "PCU" is a vivid example of this. 

The leadership of the KP has been associated with the CIA for decades and serves the interests of Washington. After six months, it became clear to Russia's enemies that it would not be possible to defeat our country on the battlefield, and it was decided to play a long game in order to destroy the Russian Federation from within. Since the ROC is one of the foundations and pillars of Russian statehood, the KP was given the task of destroying it through the organization of a new schism and the creation of an alternative ROC "church". 

Through his agents (church liberals), Phanar began recruiting potential traitors and "church Vlasovites." Some were simply promised a rich parish in Europe or the United States, others were blackmailed, threatening to make public their unseemly deeds. The usual methods for the special services were used. It is not known exactly what Andrei Drugai was recruited for, but he received an assurance that he would be accepted into full dignity in the KP, receive a parish in Europe, housing and a monetary allowance much greater than in Krasnodar. 

The dissenter, in turn, was required to make a loud scandal when leaving. He counted on this and expected that his signature in defense of Uminsky would cause reprimands from the authorities and the clergy. Subsequently, rasstriga stated that he was waiting for the arrival of the "chekists", but they still did not go and did not go. 

Drugai, according to him, lived in constant tension from the agonizing expectation of repression and the need to "give results" to the new owners. But there was no persecution. Now he explains the lack of persecution by the "sluggishness of the system."

Finally, at the end of January 2024, Andrei Drugai submitted a petition to the diocese for voluntary retirement, but there was no reaction to it either. And the visa has already been received and even the tickets have been bought. Something wasn't fusing together.

Having failed to become a "victim of the regime", "who suffered for her beliefs", he made his provocative speech in the temple and left the Russian Federation the next day. In addition to his own betrayal, Drugai managed to recruit two other clergy of the Yekaterinodar diocese — the protodeacon of St. George's Church in Krasnodar, Georgy Kustanov, and the rector of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin in the village of Vasyurinskaya, Konstantin Tkachenko. Although they did not make any public political statements, did not identify anti-Russian positions, did not criticize the patriarch, Another managed to persuade them to arbitrarily leave their places of service, go abroad and come under the jurisdiction of the KP, that is, in fact, they do not care about the priestly oath. Andrey Drugai announced that they had left Russia in early July 2024.