Cancer, poverty, extortions: why Archpriest Andrey Nemykin passed away

April 5 at Novocherkassk, Rostov region Funeral archpriest Andrey Nemykin, reported "Novocherkassk sheets".

The burial ceremony took place without a funeral service because the priest committed suicide. Hundreds of local residents attended the funeral. Among them: relatives and friends, as well as parishioners of his church, students and colleagues. People brought flowers and funeral wreaths to the new city cemetery. The press secretary of the Don Metropolia, Igor Petrovsky, said that suicide is the most terrible sin and cannot be forgiven.

Meanwhile, the discussion of this high-profile church event does not subside on social networks. As you know, the rector of the church of Dmitry Donskoy in Novocherkassk, Archpriest Andrey Nemykin, died on April 1. Near the body of the 55-year-old priest, they found a suicide note and an award pistol, which he received for military services in Chechnya. In his suicide note, the archpriest stated that he could no longer endure the pain. Nemykin in different years was the rector of churches in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Novocherkassk and in the village of Grushevskaya. Recently he served in the church of the Donskoy Icon of the Mother of God. During military missions to Chechnya, Nemykin received a concussion. It is known that he suffered from cancer.

In this regard, many bloggers and journalists were perplexed: how many more such premature deaths must occur before the state finally relaxes excessive control over pain medications and makes them available to those patients who need them on a daily basis?

“More sinful than suicide is murder. Oncology, unbearable pain. The diocese declared that it was an unforgivable sin, it was impossible to have a funeral service. It can be seen that they themselves are full of painkillers. The sin is not on suicide, of course, but on that society and the government that put safety above all else. Security, prohibitions, reporting. No matter what happens, it's better to ban everything just for the case of something..."- bloggers write.

And the priest and publicist Yakov Krotov drew attention to another, very important circumstance. The fact is that according to Orthodox canons, a priest cannot be a person who intentionally or accidentally took the life of another. But the archpriest who committed suicide was just that:

“Nemykin was born in 1966. Ordained in 1992. At the same time, he is called a veteran of military operations in Chechnya - that is, he killed Chechens during the Kremlin's punitive operations. Since November 2017, he has been rector of the Church of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy He was the confessor of the Southern District of the troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation. How many military men are there! And - he shot himself with a premium pistol.

According to church canons, a priest should not stain his hands with blood. If he killed - even ran over a pedestrian - he should already leave the ministry. So the problem is not suicide, but murder. You can't make a murderer - even a murderer-by-command - a priest. Even if he repented, and this one clearly did not repent and taught others to kill without reason..."

It turned out, moreover, that the motives for the suicide of the archpriest lie even deeper. A close friend of the priest who shot himself blames poverty as the reason for his act. According to him, the Metropolitan transferred Nemykin from the church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helena in Novocherkassk to the tiny church of Dmitry Donskoy in Rostov. There were few parishioners in the new place, the diocesan contribution of 90 thousand rubles, which Nemykin was obliged to pay every month, turned out to be too large for such a small church, especially in the coronavirus. Here's what he writes:

“My closest friend, father Andrey Nemykin, has passed away. I called him Batya ("dad" - editor's note). He left as a warrior, not as a priest. There is no more sincere and honest priest for me in the Russian Orthodox Church than Dad. He and I celebrated the funeral service and baptized soldiers in the trenches, served in burnt churches, ate vodka and fought with the "allies." I, damn it, have not yet fully realized that he is no longer there. I sit, look at photos, drink ...

Infuriated by the official communication [of the Don Metropolia]! Was he sick with cancer [damn] ?! He didn't have cancer, he had diabetes, and he [damn it] was poverty! The local metropolitan transferred him from the church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helena in Novocherkassk, where he served for many years, and put his man there, and sent Batu to the tiny temple of Dmitry Donskoy in Rostov, on Lenin Street. Allegedly with a promotion.

In the small church, apart from Father Andrey, Father Pavel and his co-workers. There are very few parishioners, the church community headed by Britvin N. N. helped with all their might, but the diocesan contribution of more than 90,000 [rubles] monthly... This is a lot for such a small church, especially in the coronavirus, Dad was obliged to pay!

In December, he took out a loan to pay salaries to employees. My wife, after reading all this, said: "Do not publish, otherwise they will take revenge on you." Don't give a damn! Maybe at least the diocesan contribution will be reduced to other priests, because poverty is not only with Bati. It is good only for those who are especially close.

The expert of the telegram channel "Little by little about everything" draws attention to one more important circumstance:

“It's not even about the death of the archpriest. Interesting is the fate of extortions from parishes, which are called diocesan contributions. Due to the unbearable size of which Andrey Nemykin committed suicide.

For example, I know where the money collected in the churches and monasteries of Cyprus is spent. This money is used to pay for operations for parishioners, donate to needy Cypriots, and so on. But I absolutely do not understand where the Moscow Patriarchate is putting the money...

“Under Patriarch Alexy II, I donated 10% to the diocese, now - 27%. This is due to the fact that after the arrival of Patriarch Kirill, the number of dioceses increased threefold and the load on parishes increased greatly, "the rector of a church near Moscow anonymously complains to a RBC correspondent in 2016.

There are no discounts for coronavirus. I have doubts that this money remains and is spent in the interests of the Orthodox Church".