On September 3, Russian pastor Nikolay Romanyuk, age 63, was sentenced to four years in a prison labor camp after being found guilty of making “public calls to implement activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation,” according to Forum 18. His conviction stemmed from a sermon delivered in September 2022, shortly after Russia announced partial mobilization for the war in Ukraine. From the pulpit of Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church near Moscow, Romanyuk declared that Christians, as pacifists, could not participate in state-sanctioned violence, regardless of who called for it. In his final court statement, he refused to retract his words, affirming that his sermon represented his personal convictions as a clergyman about the sanctity of human life.

Romanyuk’s daughter, Svetlana Zhukova, denounced the case as “fabricated,” arguing that her father was convicted solely for his opinion, which harmed no one. Forum 18 also reported that Romanyuk suffers from multiple health conditions—including hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, psoriasis, and spinal issues—that require life-sustaining medication. Despite his age and poor health, authorities imposed a lengthy sentence, and he had previously sustained injuries during interrogation. When questioned about the severity of the punishment, a court spokeswoman insisted that judges are not obligated to explain rulings outside of the narrow framework of procedural law, underscoring the lack of transparency in the case.

SOURCE: International Christian Concern