"I was very depressed by the severe prison sentences, but even more so by the mere thought that the Church could remain silent on this matter. The open letter turned this around. That is why I signed it.”
Fr Andrei Kordochkin speaks to me in a sunny courtyard of the parish where he has served for the past 15 years: St Mary Magdalene Russian Orthodox church in the north of Madrid. Around us dozens of parishioners socialise joyfully after the Divine Liturgy, over lunch with traditional Russian and Ukrainian dishes. The 41-year-old father of two, educated at Ampleforth and Oxford, is one of 182 Russian Orthodox clerics worldwide who signed an open letter to the Russian state authorities. It created a sensation.
