Schema-Hegumen Gavriil (Vinogradov) has been removed from his position as head of the Sochi subsidiary of the Valaam Monastery and the attached skete, effective June 5, 2025, according to an announcement by the monastery’s press service on its Telegram channel.

The specific reasons for the priest’s removal have not been disclosed by the monastery.

The removal follows controversial remarks made by Schema-Hegumen Gavriil during a Sunday sermon in May, where he spoke about Muslims in Moscow, referring to Islam as “the wrong religion” and its believers as “an entire army.” He further suggested a hypothetical scenario where Muslims in Moscow might act violently if instructed by a religious leader.

These statements drew criticism, including from Apti Alaudinov, deputy head of the main military-political directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, who described the priest as a “moron who put on a cassock.” Alaudinov expressed his outrage that the priest had not apologized for his remarks and that no legal case had been initiated against him.

Gavriil’s most recent sermon was posted on his Telegram channel on June 6.