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People across Russia have reportedly died in horrific circumstances dubbed an ‘exorcism craze’ which has soared since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Russian Orthodox Church has recently warned against DIY exorcisms and cautioned casting out demons should only be carried out under the guidance of qualified priests.
A senior cleric is set to publish a set of rules for such rituals after children have been said to be whipped to death and gagged during the horrific ‘exorcisms’, writes The Times.
David Kazantsev, nine, died after his parents tortured him during the act carried out by a sect named the Disciples of Jesus Christ.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
He was gagged and in pain as adults held him down and whipped him to “drive out the demons”.
The tragedy, back in 2019, is one of the cases that is sweeping across the country.
Sect members reportedly prayed beside his body for two days trying to “resurrect” him, writes The Sun.
The body was then secretly buried in woodland by a lake in Ekaterinburg and was later found by police after the child’s aunt made a call to the authorities.
(Image: social media / east2west news)
Forensics said he died from asphyxia and whip marks were visible on his young body.
His father Ivan Kazantsev, 40, and female sect leader Zemfira Gainullina, 50, a former saleswoman were sentenced to compulsory medical treatment in February.
Dr Alexander Neveev, an expert on religious cults in Russia, said: “In this sect it was believed that sinfulness should be beaten out of children.
(Image: e1.ru / east2west news)
“It was necessary to fight the devil.
“When punishing a child, you should not pay attention to his or her suffering, because in hell, he or she will suffer even more.
“Of course, a person whose head is filled with such nonsense is simply not able to understand that a child should not be hurt.â€
In another case, Priest Ilia Semiletov, of the Orthodox Church, faced a religious court after ‘violently’ baptising a terrified toddler who he believed was possessed by the devil.
(Image: Getty Images/Robert Harding Worl)
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Worried parishioner Liliya Reznikova said the priest told her children had to be “broken” during the religious ritual as “Satan is sitting inside them”.
She added she was scared to speak out about the “nonsense”.
Then Female Shaman So Dyavor, also known as a witch doctor, performed an exorcism on a boy, 4, suffering from pneumonia in the eastern village of Sergeevka.
Dmitry Kazachuk’s parents asked for a “non-traditional cure” to his intractable illness.
Dyavor said the boy was possessed by Lucifer and ordered the parents out of the room, however, when they returned Dmitry was on the floor dead.
Exorcisms began popular in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
One of the most famous adherents was Sergei Romanov, a rebel monk who performed them across the country.
He was arrested last year for “inciting suicide” after he and his followers seized Sredneuralsk monastery in the Ural Mountains.
The former police officer was previously convicted of murder, robbery, and assault and served 13 years behind bars.
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