9/5/2025 Russia (International Christian Concern) — On Sept. 3, Nikolay Romanyuk, 63, was found guilty of making “Public calls to implement activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation,” according to Forum 18.  

Despite the Russian pastor’s age and health conditions, the court sentenced him to four years in a prison labor camp.  

“Yes, I gave a sermon in which I touched on military, albeit forced, murder,” Pastor Romanyuk said in a final statement before the court. “I do not retract what I said. I set forth my personal view and attitude towards the taking of a human life. This is my personal attitude as a clergyman. I do not retract my sermon.” 

Pastor Romanyuk gave his now-criminal sermon a week after Russia partially mobilized its forces against Ukraine in September 2022 at the Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church in a suburb of Moscow.  

From the pulpit, Romanyuk preached, “Find me in the Old Testament even a hint that we could somehow participate. And it does not matter which tsar calls for this — (whether) the Ukrainian tsar, the American tsar, or our tsar calls for this. It was written in our [church] doctrine that we are pacifists and cannot participate in this. It is our right to profess this on the basis of Holy Scripture.” 

Svetlana Zhukova, Pastor Romanyuk’s daughter, wrote on social media that, “The case is completely fabricated, motivated either by someone’s personal hatred or by a general mood. This is my personal opinion — although it’s probably not safe to say what you think. Imagine, Dad was convicted for his opinion, his position. There is no crime. Not a single person suffered from his actions. The state did not suffer at all.” 

In addition to injuries Pastor Romanyuk received during interrogation, he also suffers from “hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, psoriasis, and spinal problems” and “needs life-sustaining medication,” according to Forum 18.  

When asked why Pastor Romanyuk was given such a long sentence given his age and condition, a spokeswoman for the court said, “A judge is not obliged to give any explanations on the merits of cases considered or in progress, or to present them to anyone for review, except in cases and in the manner provided for by procedural law.” 

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