Tikhon (Shevkunov), the hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church in Crimea, the so-called “Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea” was granted personal bodyguards in connection with the threats that have been coming in after his move to Crimea.
This is reported by Crimea.Realities with reference to the Russian mass media.
“For the first time in my life, I have people who help, as it turned out, with my security. For the first few days, I was completely free, and then suddenly some difficulties became clear, which led to the fact that I was put due to threats and other things under the protection of professionals… Thanks to them, everyone can go on doing their thing,” says Shevkunov.
At the same time, Tikhon did not specify who exactly voiced threats against him.
On November 11, Metropolitan Tikhon was appointed head of the Crimean Metropolis. Before that, he was the Metropolitan in Russia’s Pskov. Media often refer to Shevkunov as “Putin’s personal cleric”.
Experts believe Shevkunov is “one of the ideologues who shaped the image of the West as Russia and Orthodoxy’s foe”. Speaking about Russia’s incursion into Ukraine, Shevkunov adheres to the narratives of Russian propaganda, declaring that “we are fighting there with savage, terrible, infernal fascism, and Nazis.”
Shevkunov’s predecessor, 84-year-old Metropolitan Lazar (a native of the Kremenets district in Ukraine’s Ternopil region), who headed the local diocese for 31 years, was “sent to rest” by the decision of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church dated October 11, 2023.
It should be recalled that earlier, Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of the Russian Orthodox Church referred to his appointment to the occupied Crimea a trip to the “resorts of Kolyma” as if complaining about it. Theologian Kyrylo Hovorun also assured that the narratives spread by Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) is more dangerous than the straightforward propaganda by Patriarch Kirill. It is known that Shevkunov’s projects received RUB 20 billion from the Russian budget.
