Moscow priest John (Guaita) left Russia to serve in Spain. In 2019, he hid protesters in a church from riot police, and in 2022, he condemned the war

The priest of the Moscow Church of Cosmas and Damian on Stoleshnikov Lane, Hieromonk John (in the world Giovanni Guaita ),announced on Facebook that he is leaving Russia for Spain.

"I am publishing this post at the very moment when I am leaving for 'another foreign land' - in a few hours I will fly via Istanbul to Malaga. Perhaps Spain will soon become the main place of my ministry for some time," the priest wrote on the evening of February 7.

Hieromonk John will serve in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the city of Estepona in the province of Malaga. The church announced this in January. At that time, Hieromonk John, after media attention, said that "nobody punished me, I was not exiled anywhere."

The priest explained that in Italy, where he was born, he has a 95-year-old father, and some relatives are sick, so with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill, he often travels to Europe and serves in the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church. The priest noted that "for some time" he will serve in the church in Estepona, "and then we'll see." On the website of the Moscow diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Guaita is still listed as a cleric of the church in Shubin.

• Giovanni Guaita became widely known after protesters in Moscow in July 2019, demanding that independent candidates be allowed to run in the Moscow City Duma elections, took refuge from the police in the Church of Cosmas and Damian. At the time, Hieromonk John said that the clergy did “nothing special or special” because the church is always open, and “it is our duty to let everyone in.”
• Hieromonk John condemned the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine. In an interview with Katerina Gordeeva, which was released in October 2022, Guaita said: "I do not support, I condemn what has been happening in Ukraine over the past six months, I consider it a very big mistake." Answering the question of why he continues to live in Russia, he said: "As long as they tolerate me here, I myself do not intend to leave."