Russian authorities have arrested a pastor for preaching that Christians should not fight in the invasion against Ukraine “on the basis of Holy Scripture,” according to a recent report from the Norwegian human rights organization Forum 18.

Nikolay Romanyuk, senior pastor of the Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church in the Moscow area, was arrested last month. He faces up to 6 years in prison or a fine of up to approximately $9,300, equivalent to seven months’ average wage in Moscow, according to Forum 18.

Authorities claim a sermon Romanyuk delivered in 2022 publicly called for actions that went “against state security.” The pastor is the first religious figure to be accused and arrested for this specific charge under Criminal Code Article 280.4, Forum 18 reported.

He was arrested after authorities raided his and several other church members’ homes in October.  Forum 18 said that despite its efforts to reach out to Russian authorities, it is unclear which specific agencies carried out the raids and initiated the criminal case against Romanyuk.

Forum 18 reached out to the Federal Investigative Committee, the Moscow Region Investigative Committee and the Federal Security Service for explanations on how Romanyuk’s sermon posed a threat to state security. None of the organizations responded.

After his arrest, a judge ordered Romanyuk to be detained for two months while the case against him proceeds. Romanyuk attempted to appeal this on Nov. 12 but was unsuccessful, Forum 18 said. 

Romanyuk is currently being held at Investigation Prison No. 11 in Noginsk, located about 30 miles east of Moscow, according to Forum 18. It is unknown when Romanyuk’s case will have a trial. 

Romanyuk compares Ukraine invasion to sin

The investigation into the pastor centers on a sermon he gave two years ago. In his sermon, Romanyuk compared combat against Ukraine to drinking alcohol, according to Forum 18.

“When you are offered a hit, when you are offered a bottle of alcohol or you are given a summons to send you to combat — this is the same sin, and the same drug, and the same Satan,” Romanyuk said in the sermon, which Forum 18 translated from Russian. “Find me in the Old Testament even a hint that we could somehow participate. And it does not matter which tsar calls for this — (whether) the Ukrainian tsar, the American tsar, or our tsar calls for this. ... This is not our war.”

Romanyuk argued that based on the church’s doctrine, they are pacifists who should not participate in this conflict.

“It is our right to profess this on the basis of Holy Scripture,” he continued. “We do not bless those who go there (to war. Those) who are taken by force, we do not bless them, but we pray that they are rescued from there.”

This sermon was livestreamed and then uploaded to the church’s YouTube channel. Because it was shared on the internet, Russian authorities claimed the pastor’s message harmed state security publicly, Forum 18 said.

While the original video of the sermon has been deleted, other organizations have since reposted the video online.

Romanyuk’s church, Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church, is a registered religious organization with multiple sister communities across Moscow and the surrounding area. No other pastors from the church have been arrested, Forum 18 said.

Russian authorities raid church members’ homes

Romanyuk’s arrest occurred as part of a series of early morning armed raids on his several church members’ homes.

The raids were violent and took all day, according to Roman Zhukov, another pastor at Holy Trinity Church.

Soldiers broke into the homes and told residents to get on the floor, Zhukov said in a post on the social media site Telegram, that was translated by Forum 18. Some of the residents were required to lie on the floor for more than 12 hours while soldiers searched their homes.

Authorities entered some of the homes with “armored shields, in some cases breaking the door frames,” Zhukov said. They then seized digital devices, documents, bank cards and foreign-travel passports.

When authorities arrested Romanyuk, they told him to give a statement on camera. Romanyuk refused, and he was taken away for interrogation around 6 p.m., Forum 18 reported.  

A friend of Romanyuk, Ukrainian pastor Vladimir Franchuk, said the searches caused great trauma to Romanyuk’s family.

“The entire family has gone through great psychological trauma today, but such searches and arrests in modern Russia are predictable and expected — to our great regret,” Franchuk wrote in a blog post translated by Forum 18.

Franchuk continued, “Honorable and just people in Russia, believers and non-believers, suffer and will suffer for their position as an honest person, which is deeply and consistently based on Biblical truth and the Christian worldview.”

Other Russian religious figures faith prosecution

While Romanyuk is the first religious figure to be arrested under Criminal Code Article 280.4, other figures have faced similar accusations.

Ilya Vasilyev, the founder and director of the Moscow Zen Centre, will go on trial in December for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian Armed Forces “on grounds of hatred or enmity,” according to Forum 18.

He had posted about Russian rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities — content that authorities claim is false. Authorities allege he made the posts “solely out of religious conviction,” Forum 18 reported.

Another pastor, Eduard Charov, is currently on house arrest and awaiting a trial repeatedly “discrediting” the Russian armed forces and state bodies on social media, according to Forum 18.

The Russian government has “used a range of tactics to pressure religious leaders into supporting the renewed invasion of Ukraine,” Forum 18 reported. “These tactics include warnings to senior and local religious leaders and prosecuting and fining religious believers and clergy who have publicly opposed the war.”

This piece is republished with permission from The Roys Report.

Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.