Publication Date: November 11, 2025, 02:28h.
Updated On: November 11, 2025, 02:28h.
- Trial for Russian Orthodox archbishop linked to poker activities.
- Archbishop Nestor leads the Church’s Western European branch.
- Church’s discipline reveals deeper issues regarding dissent over the Ukraine conflict.
The Russian Orthodox Church has removed a poker-playing archbishop from his leadership position in the Exarchate of Western Europe.
Although the Church hasn’t publicly stated the reason for Archbishop Nestor of Korsun’s dismissal, investigative reports from the independent Russian publication Novaya Gazeta suggest his dual life as a participant in the French poker scene has caused unrest among church leaders, especially Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Church in Russia.
The saying “never trust a poker player” seems to resonate with the Patriarch, who suspects Archbishop Nestor may be engaging in unsavory activities, according to Novaya Gazeta.
Poker Enthusiast
Since September 2023, the archbishop has been active in live poker tournaments primarily held in Paris, using his real name, Evgeny Sirotenko. As recorded in the Hendon Mob Database, he has reached seven final tables and earned $47,182 from playing low-to-medium buy-in events.
Photographic evidence has also surfaced showing him enjoying the game dressed in casual poker attire, as opposed to the traditional black cassock and tall, cylindrical kamilavka typically worn by someone in his ecclesiastical position.
In addition to losing his responsibilities overseeing church affairs in multiple European nations—including France, Great Britain, and Belgium—Sirotenko will also face an ecclesiastical trial. This trial will assess whether he should be defrocked for breaching Apostolic Canon 50 of the Laodicean Council, which forbids clergy from entering gambling establishments. It will also investigate if he diverted Church funds to support his poker pursuits, as alleged by Novaya Gazeta.
Dissenting Voice
Some speculate that the poker allegations could serve as a convenient cover to silence a vocal critic of the war in Ukraine.
In April 2022, both Sirotenko and Archbishop Francisco Javier Martínez issued a shared statement denouncing the war, urging “an end to violence and barbarism while listening to the voice of God, who denounces evil.”
This stance likely annoyed Patriarch Kirill, a longtime supporter of Vladimir Putin, who has characterized the war as a blessing and blamed the conflict on “gay parades.” He has labeled opponents in Ukraine as “evil forces” and praised Putin’s leadership as “a miracle from God.”
“He didn’t align with the Russian world,” Ksenia Luchenko, a journalist focused on the Church’s role in Russian affairs, commented on Telegram regarding Sirotenko’s situation.
“He failed to show adequate loyalty… He always championed his clergy over the patriarchate and defended their interests,” she added.