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Jailed in Fatal Road Crash, Russian Cleric Defrocked

© RIA Novosti . Владимир Астапкович / Go to the mediabankPavel Syomin (Hieromonk Ilya)
Pavel Syomin (Hieromonk Ilya) - Sputnik International
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The Russian Orthodox Church on Wednesday defrocked a monk and priest who the previous day was convicted of causing a car accident in which two people died.

MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Orthodox Church on Wednesday defrocked a monk and priest who the previous day was convicted of causing a car accident in which two people died.

The priest had been driving a luxury Mercedes G-Class SUV, which sells new in Moscow for upwards of $120,000. He was detained a day after the accident.

On Wednesday, the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Moscow ordered the defrocking, and the Church’s top cleric, Patriarch Kirill, gave his approval, a spokesman said.

Priest Pavel Syomin, ordained as Hieromonk Iliya, lost control of his Mercedes on August 15, 2012, and mowed down three workers on a roadside, killing two of them. On Tuesday he was found guilty of a severe violation of traffic rules, causing the death of two or more persons.

Prosecutors had sought a six-year sentence for Syomin, while the defense team requested two years in a minimum security prison.

 

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