Parishioners of a church in Slavyansk-on-Kuban reported the arrest of Viktor Pivovarov's assistant.

Armed, masked men stole monetary donations and documents from the church of Archbishop Viktor Pivovarov of the Russian Orthodox Church, after which they took his assistant, Ilya Sigida, with them. The latter's mother was informed that he was being detained in connection with a criminal case for discrediting the army.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in October 2024, Priest Viktor Pivovarov stopped holding services at the church in Slavyansk-on-Kuban because he was unable to get out of bed after a fractured femur. After the criminal prosecution for fake news about the army began, Pivovarov was stalked and threatened; his pursuer insulted the priest online and spread false messages about him.

About ten armed, masked men stormed the church around 3:00 PM on November 27. "There was no service that day, and I was passing by and saw masked men trying to force their way into the church. I saw them rush into the church, nearly tearing the door off its hinges. I don't know what they were doing there," local resident Sergey, a bystander to the incident, told the "Caucasian Knot."

The man attempted to enter the church courtyard, but one of the unidentified men closed the gate from the inside, declaring that entry to the church was prohibited because some events were taking place there. "It was very unpleasant to witness all the disgrace," the parishioner emphasized, citing Viktor Pivovarov's age and health.

Sergey also noted that the priest's assistant, Hieromonk Ion (Ilya Sigida), was escorted out of the house where the archbishop is staying with his hands clasped behind his back. He was forced into a car parked near the church and driven away in an unknown direction.

Another eyewitness, Valery, a parishioner who helps at the church, was inside when the masked men arrived. "I was scared. I thought it was some kind of criminal gang because they started turning everything upside down and, as it turned out, were looking for money. They emptied every last donation from the church's cash register and stuffed it into their pockets," he reported.

Valery also heard that the visitors were looking for the passports of Viktor Pivovarov and Ilya Sigida. The parishioner believes they found these documents and took them with them—later, after the unknown men left, he found the empty covers of the clergy's passports on the floor.

Parishioner Olga, who cares for Father Viktor, was also frightened by the visit of the unknown men. According to her, all the parishioners who witnessed the raid by security forces without explanation and the detention of Sigida were shocked by what happened.

“Father Victor felt ill after the attack by unknown assailants. I told them not to make the elderly man’s situation worse. After these words, one of the assailants called an ambulance. When the ambulance arrived, it turned out they were security forces. Father Victor was afraid of the ambulance the security forces called for him and refused their assistance. After signing the refusal papers, he remained in the church. We informed his mother, Tatyana, by phone that Hieromonk Jonah (Ilya Sigida) had been taken to an unknown location,” Olga told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Ilya Sigida’s mother, Tatiana, confirmed that she learned from parishioners about her son’s abduction. Conceiving it as a kidnapping, the woman went to the police. There, she was informed that her son had been taken to the Investigative Committee, where they planned to open a criminal case against him for his posts on the church clergy's website.

Tatyana objected to the security forces, claiming that her son hadn't posted on the website in a long time and that his last post was dated last year. They responded that the website contained "enough old articles" that could lead to Ilya Sigida being accused of discrediting the army.

"Then I countered that my son had already been tried for discretizing the army. They replied that he had been tried under an administrative charge, but would now be tried under a criminal one. They also told me that he should spend the night in police custody, but suggested that he might be released under house arrest," the mother of the detained Hieromonk Jonah told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The police at the Slavyansk-on-Kuban hotel where Hieromonk Ion was detained overnight declined to comment on his detention.

The Russian Orthodox Church (RosOC) is a religious association of non-canonical Orthodoxy of the Russian tradition, operating in Russia and the former USSR. It does not have Eucharistic communion (the ability to celebrate liturgies together) with the Moscow Patriarchate or any other local Orthodox Church, according to the Modern Russian Encyclopedia.