05-07-2025
‘Sheep do not judge their shepherd': Sermon after child abuse conviction shocks victims
A senior Sydney priest has warned his followers 'sheep do not judge their shepherd' in a sermon about his divided church after a veteran cleric was found guilty of child sexual abuse days earlier – shocking victims and experts.
Meanwhile, a document penned by the paedophile priest himself, which ordered followers 'when you are abused, be quiet', has been quietly removed after decades in a government registry.
Alexis Rosentool was found guilty on June 20 of child sexual abuse dating from the 1980s and 2000s, when he was a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) in Sydney.
The Herald revealed pro-Russian propagandist Simeon Boikov, aka Aussie Cossack, had collaborated with police to convince victims to speak up and bring down Rosentool.
The case unexpectedly landed Boikov in the Russian consulate, where he remains after 930 days, having fled there after being arrested for breaching a suppression order over Rosentool's name.
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Rosentool's conviction has divided the ROCOR church. Some maintain support for him, according to Archpriest Boris Ignatievsky of the Cabramatta church, where Rosentool once served.
'Sadly, this sorrowful event has split our diocesan community, those who are for the resolution and those against,' Ignatievsky told his congregation on Sunday.
Ignatievsky said members had 'succumbed to the sinful temptation' of judging others.
