He Wasn’t Afraid: Rector of the Parish was Shot Dead after 14 Threats

Fr Daniil Sysoev (1974-2009)

Yesterday, St Thomas church in south Moscow was open so that people could pay their last respects to the rector of the parish, Fr Daniil Sysoev. On Thursday evening, an unidentified offender shot him dead right inside the church. According to the most common story circulating, religious hatred motivated his murder. Fr Daniil, well known for his uncompromising attitude towards Islam and sectarianism, repeatedly received threats.

The attack on 35-year-old Fr Daniil occurred at about 22.40 MSK (19.40 UTC 14.40 EST 11.40 PST) at St Thomas church on Moskvorechie Street, where he was rector. Evening services had ended, and only a few people remained in the church. According to eyewitnesses, a young man entered the church wearing a surgical mask, a fashion now adopted by many Muscovites. Taking out his gun, the unknown assailant went to one of those present and loudly asked (with a Caucasian accent), “Where’s Sysoev?” The priest was at the altar where he was receiving the confession of a parishioner, and when he heard the noise, he came out from behind the screen.

Directly, the intruder opened fire. He shot Fr Daniil in the neck, and shot Choir Director Vladimir Strelbitsky (who was standing next to him) in the head. The killer walked calmly over to the fallen men on the floor, and, once again, asked loudly, “Where’s Sysoev?” He then shot Fr Daniil in the head. Then, he turned on his heel, walked rapidly to the door, and disappeared.

Parishioners at the church carried the wounded men out to the street and hailed a passing ambulance, which took them to City Hospital No 12. Fr Daniel, without regaining consciousness, died two hours later. Mr Strelbitsky received an emergency operation, and, according to doctors, his life is out of danger.

According to preliminary data, police found four spent 9 mm cartridges and two deformed slugs in the church. Experts believe that the murderer used a semi-automatic Makarov pistol, as shown by the spent ammunition. Because the perp wore a mask, none of the witnesses could really describe his appearance. In this case, as it turned out, the church was not equipped with cameras.

Almost immediately, the SKP said that the most probable scenario is that it’s a murder motivated by religious hatred. Fr Daniil was active in missionary activities amongst Muslims, and, according to his associates, he was one of the most effective and active clergymen of the MP in this regard.

Eighteen months ago, he kicked off Orthodox missionary courses at his parish, and, later, initiated them in several other Russian cities. Repeatedly, Fr Daniil participated in religious debates with Muslims and published a booklet that strongly opposed many Islamic teachings. He opposed sectarianism just as strongly; he spoke against the pagan so-called Slavic Neo-Pagan movement.

As he said shortly before his death, Fr Daniil received death threats from Muslims by phone and e-mail at least 14 times. The first time it happened was about five years ago, after a public debate with Ali (Vyacheslav) Polosin, a former Orthodox priest who converted to Islam. The most recent death threat to Fr Daniil came in a phone call on 9 October from an unknown “defender of Islam” who promised to kill the priest if he continued to speak about Islam as he had been doing.

“I’m not afraid anymore. Five years ago, I was. Now, I’m just used to living under constant threat. After all, it’s not only the authorities and me, but, also, Muslims themselves, that attest to these threats. Everything’s in the hands of God. If that’s so, I’ll immediately go to heaven without tribulations. That’s great!” Fr Daniel wrote in his Internet blog on 9 October. In a recent interview, Fr Daniel explained that, a year ago, the FSB told him that they thwarted an attempt against his life, one that he himself didn’t know about.

Spokesmen of all religious faiths condemned the murder of Daniil Sysoev and it has stimulated a loud public outcry. “I strongly condemn the tragic death of Fr Daniil Sysoev at the hands of murderers. However, as long as the perpetrators are unknown, I ask everyone to refrain from any hasty accusations and harsh judgments against any other persons or groups”, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all the Russias said. “Fr Daniil was a zealous pastor, who laboured in the field of education and who gave himself to the service of God and mankind. Many Orthodox Christians flocked to him with love, seeking spiritual guidance, inspiration in the faith, and teaching on the right path to take in life”, said Vladimir Legoida, the Director of the Information Department of the MP.

“Islam or pious Muslims had nothing to do with this heinous crime. We believe that the murder of even only one person is the same as if you murdered all of mankind. We oppose all forms of terrorism and extremism; Islam condemns terrorism in the most absolute terms. On the behalf of the Muslim clergy, I wish to express my condolences to the Sysoev family and its friends, and to the members of the Russian Orthodox Church, in connection with this tragedy”, said Mufti Ravil Gainutdin, the Chairman of the Council of Muftis in Russia.

“We are outraged by the fact that this heinous crime occurred in the holy temple, and this abominable blasphemy casts a shadow over all honest people. There is nothing more ungodly than the murder of a priest in the temple, as there is no excuse for this crime, not in the eyes of the people, nor before the Almighty Creator. The fact that this premeditated murder occurred on a festival day, your birthday, indicates that it is a crime of provocation, a challenge for the Moscow Patriarchate, those who serve as priests, and all those who want to see the spiritual space of Russia free and who wish the recovery of the roots of its traditional beliefs”, Mufti Talgat Tazhduddin, President of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia (TsDUMR) wrote in a letter to Patriarch Kirill.

The ceremony of the Last Farewell for Daniil Sysoev happened yesterday at St Thomas church. Hundreds of people came to give him their last respects. His funeral begins today (Monday 23 November) at 10.00 MSK at the Ss Peter and Paul church in Yasenevo, where his father, Fr Aleksei Sysoev, serves as rector. Patriarch Kirill shall attend at least part of the ceremony. The burial of Fr Daniil, who left a wife and three small children, will be at Kuntsevo Cemetery.

23 November 2009

Anatoly Karavaev

Vremya Novostei (News Time)

As quoted in Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=print&div=10657

Editor’s Note:

People queued up outside St Thomas church to pay their last respects to Fr Daniil.

There has been much irresponsible talk by some so-called Orthodox pinning the blame for this crime on Muslims without any evidence to back their accusations. Let’s look at the bare facts. A young man wearing a dark jacket and jeans with a surgical mask over his face walked into St Thomas church. The mask caused no particular notice because many people are wearing them because of the present flu epidemic. He shouted, “Where’s Sysoev?” Fr Daniil came forward (probably from the area of the kliros, for reports say that he stepped out from behind a screen), and the perp fired quickly without aiming carefully. Then, the perp walked calmly to the fallen priest, asked, “Where’s Sysoev?” again, and fired another shot (a coup de grâce?). He then left the church rapidly, but, without hurry. No one knows anything further.

There is no indication of what faith the killer held, if any. We do know that witness reports indicate that he had a “Caucasian” accent… Chechens and Georgians have distinctive accents (often used by Russian humorists for comedic effect, by the way). The only things that we know definitively are that the killer wore a mask, that he used a Makarov PM pistol (due to ballistics tests run on the bullets found at the scene), that he appeared to be in his 20s, and that he wore dark clothing. He wasn’t agitated, he didn’t run off in a panic, and he didn’t fire wildly. It appeared to have happened in a flash. The whole incident, start to finish, took less than 30 seconds, I’d say. The people were stunned, and, by the time they recovered, he was gone. It’s now a week after the crime, and one notes that the police have announced nothing publicly.

This is not the way of it in a “normal” murder, according to an acquaintance of mine in the NY State Police. He says that murderers are usually family or friends of the victim, or they are criminals who kill in the commission of another crime. “Cold killings” are very, very rare, according to him, and I believe it. He also thinks that either the detectives are close to finding the killer or they have hit a roadblock. Look at the facts given above. There’s not much to go on, is there?

St Thomas church is near a metro stop on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line, Kantemirovskaya. It is also located in the midst of a residential area with apartment blocks all around, as is evident from photographs. The murder took place at a time when third-shift workers are out getting ready to go to work. Anyone dressed in a nondescript fashion, as was the killer, would go unnoticed, either on the street or on the metro platform. Kantemirovskaya station is only five stops from the Paveletskaya metro stop, which has connections to Paveletskaya railway station. This station has departures for both electrichka service to the suburbs and long-distance trains to the Volga region, the Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. It also has an express train that runs to Domodedovo Airport. In short, the killer could have gone a very long distance from Moscow in very short order. Add to this the fact that there are dumps for construction debris near the church (a handy place to chuck the gun, I would say); the cops have their work cut out for them.

So… do we have ANY solid information that a Muslim killed Fr Daniil? NONE. In fact, the above information leads one to believe that this was a pro hit. Cui bono? Who benefits, indeed! All those screaming for Muslim blood had best shut their mouths until solid facts emerge. As for those who won’t shut up (if you don’t like rude words, please, avert your eyes from the following sentence… there’s no other way of saying it, I’m afraid, excuse me)…

EAT SHIT AND DIE, YOU IGNORAMUSES.

(You may start reading, again. I apologise for the rudeness.)

It’s time for all decent folk of every background and faith (or, of no faith at all) to bury the dead, comfort the grieving, and aid the widow and her children. All others may most sincerely go to hell.

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Albany NY