An Old Believer priest opposed the inclusion of the “personal code” column in the passport

Archpriest Leonid Gusev, manager of the affairs of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, commenting on the draft law "On the Basic Documents Evidencing the Identity of a Citizen of the Russian Federation", which the State Duma has begun to consider, said that the Old Believers cannot accept the "personal code", since it is a prototype of the "seal of the Antichrist": "The personal code, TIN and similar numbers affect the individual, and this is already an attempt on the soul."

In addition, Prot. Leonid Gusev also spoke out against the presence of a machine readable entry in the passport. The priest is convinced that on every odd page of the passport there is the number 666, through which "there is a satanic influence on the subconscious of people."

Sources

• "KOMMERSANT POWER": Nationality on demand // Portal-credo.ru. 2003. November 8.