Court in Tver (Russia) defends an assailant, who stabbed an Orthodox priest with scissors
April 21, 2017 – Two courts in the Tver oblast have defended a self-proclaimed “Metropolitan” Oleg Zimayev of a breakaway religious group called “The Apostolic Orthodox Church”. The assailant; Oleg Zimayev, stabbed a priest from the Russian Orthodox Church in the head and arms with scissors in front of two witnesses.
The court documents report that the assailant has conducted two hits, aiming at the top of the head, causing an injury there as well as on the left wrist of the victim, Father Oleg Phillipov.
Father Oleg Phillipov has stated that the conflict between him and O. Zimayev has a long story, stemming from a long-standing disagreement between the Moscow Patriarchate and the “Apostolic Church”. The disagreement sharpened after a dispute in the cemetery near the Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) (MP), where a funeral service was conducted for one of the leaders of the unrecognized “Apostolic Church”.
A few days after the dispute, Oleg Zimayev entered directly into the Orthodox Church (MP), where the Rector is Father Oleg Phillipov. That is where the crime was committed.
According to Oleg Zimayev, his goal was to cut the hair of Father Phillipov. This explanation was accepted by two courts in the Tver region. They considered that the attack was done by accident without predetermined motive. As a result, Oleg Zimayev cannot be legally pursued.
The courts also refused to consider religious intolerance as a motive in the court case. They explained that the attack was done as a result of the dispute at the cemetery. They did not consider the long history of the dispute.
Oleg Zimayev argued that he could not have physically harmed a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, considering that they are a unified whole with the Apostolic Church. To back up his claim, he came to court dressed in the dress of a Metropolitan. The court accepted this argument as well.
At the moment, Oleg Zimayev is fully acquitted. The victim, Father Oleg Phillopov, is looking to appeal the case.
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