Sweden suspected the Russian Orthodox Church of spying

The Swedish Intelligence Service (Sapo) believes that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) was used by the Kremlin on the territory of Sweden "as a platform for intelligence gathering". This is stated in a statement by the Swedish Agency for Grants to Religious Institutions.

The intelligence agency explained that representatives of the religious community were in contact with people who work for the Russian security and intelligence services.

Also, Sapo said, the Russian Orthodox Church received significant funding from the Russian state, and the actions of its representatives "can be considered support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine."

Following the intelligence warning, the Swedish Grants Agency decided to cut support for the ROC.

In addition, the church also does not fulfil the criteria of democracy, the Swedish authorities added.

The Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has been registered in Sweden since December 2005, which allows local parishes to receive state support. There are five parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Sweden: in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Umeå, Uppsala and Vesteros. In 2022, the ROC received about 200,000 kronor ($19,300) from the Swedish Grant Agency.