Schism in the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods

On August 2, the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods (SPB) decided to exclude from its membership the rector of the church of St. Nicholas on Bersenevka, hegumen Kirill (Sakharov). He is accused of attempting a coup in the organization. At the end of July, a message appeared on the Russian Idea website about the dismissal of Leonid Simonovich-Niksic, the chairman of the SPB, and the appointment of Valentin Lukyanik to this position. Presumably, the information was posted with the blessing of Abbot Kirill.

In turn, part of the St. Petersburg Union, which agreed with the change of leadership, announced an organizational disengagement from the Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers.

On August 7, with a statement in support of the position of Abbot Kirill (Sakharov) and Fr. Pavel (Povalyaev), the Russian National Union spoke. "It is they who have always personified and now personify the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods for us," the RONS said in a statement.

On August 9, during an extraordinary reporting and election conference of the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods, a clause was introduced into the charter of the organization to replace the chairman with two co-chairs. V. Lukiyanik and hegumen Kirill (Sakharov) were elected co-chairs by secret ballot. In addition, a new composition of the SPB Council was elected.

On August 12, L. Simonovich-Niksic made a statement about the incident. This document specifically states:

"In connection with the illegal removal of me from the post of chairman of the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods (SPB) of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, I consider it necessary to state the following:

I regard the actions of the former executive secretary and confessor of the SPB on my removal from the post of chairman of the SPB as an illegal coup, the main reason for which is the desire to seize power in the SPB. In all their statements and interviews, which are published almost daily and are written mainly by one person, the turnarounds constantly blurt out between the lines about the true motives of their actions.
I express my full approval of the decision of the legal Council of the St. Petersburg Union of August 2, 2007, the majority of whose members acted and acted under the conditions of the coup exactly as it is appropriate for Russian Orthodox people to act in such cases.
I consider illegal the holding of the "extraordinary reporting and election conference of the St. Petersburg Union" held on August 9, 2007, and the decisions adopted by its participants. Despite V.B. Lukyanik’s assertions that we were invited there, in fact, I was not invited to this conference, just as my deputies, most of the members of the legitimate Council of the SPB, as well as some supporters of the legitimate SPB were not invited. Moreover, Abbot Kirill (Sakharov) tried to hide from me the time and place of this conference.
I refute the message spread by the press service of the overthrowers, which states that I allegedly "entered" the so-called "renewed" composition of the Council of the St. Petersburg. If such an election took place, then, as I have already said, without my participation and, of course, without my knowledge and consent. I am not going to join this illegally elected "Council". As for the legitimate Council of the UPB, its composition, indeed, will soon be renewed, as well as the composition of the entire UPB."

Sources

Statement of the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods of the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with the attempted coup // Russian line. 2007. August 3.
Hegumen Kirill (Sakharov) expelled from the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods // Interfax-religion. 2007. 6 August.
Organizational demarcation took place between the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods and the Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers // Portal-Credo.ru. 2007. 6 August.
DOCUMENT: Statement of the Russian National Union in Support of the Community of the Church on Bersenevka // There. August 7. (With a link to the Russian Idea website.)
Hegumen Kirill (Sakharov) and Valentin Lukyanik elected co-chairmen of the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods // There. 10th of August.
Statement by the Chairman of the SPB Leonid Simonovich-Niksic // Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers. 2007. August 12.