Sergei Chapnin
A Blog of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center of Fordham University
On January 13, 2025, Denis Popovich—a pious young Orthodox seminary graduate who had served as secretary and treasurer to one of Putin’s closest hierarchs—was walking to Sretensky Monastery in Moscow when police detained him. The charges were absurd: petty hooliganism, allegedly shouting and using obscene language. Anyone who knew this devout young man understood immediately that such behavior was inconceivable for him. Yet within six weeks, this administrative citation would transform into terrorism charges. A month after Popovich’s arrest, his friend Nikita Ivankovich—equally devout, equally innocent—was arrested in a coordinated operation. Both now face sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
One year later, both remain imprisoned in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo detention facility, their case a chilling demonstration of how Putin’s regime weaponizes the security apparatus against Orthodox believers who dare to question the war in Ukraine.
Their story reveals a carefully orchestrated persecution—one that implicates Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), anonymous Telegram channels affiliated with church officials, and raises profound questions about the Moscow Patriarchate’s complicity in political repression.