By Kostas Onisenko
The Archpriest of the Russian Church Dmitry Smirnov, who was hospitalized with coronavirus in September, fell asleep in the Lord at the age of 70.
Smirnov had served as head of the Russian Church’s Patriarchal Committee on Family, Maternal and Childhood Protection.
A few weeks ago, when his health condition deteriorated, he was honorably appointed head of the Committee on Family, Maternal and Childhood Protection. Sources in the Russian Church claim that the cause of his death was his chronic illness.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow expressed his condolences on the passing of the Russian Archpriest.
The priest was a very prominent figure in the Russian Church, due to his frequent appearances in the media and the -sometimes- sharp positions he expressed.
For example, in a public discussion, the priest compared women who live with men without being married to “free prostitutes” as the church considers sexual relations outside of marriage to be a sin.
He had explained that he wanted to draw society’s attention to this problem and protect women from the indecent behavior of men, aiming to reproach not women but men.