A prominent liberal priest faces expulsion from the Russian Orthodox Church for refusing to read out a prayer asking God to guide Russia to victory over Ukraine, Ednews reports via Reuters.

In a verdict published on Saturday, a church court said Aleksiy Uminsky should be "expelled from holy orders" for violating his priestly oath. The decision was forwarded for approval to Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian church who strongly backs President Vladimir Putin.

The case shows how the church is clamping down on internal dissent as it throws its support behind Putin and his "special military operation" in Ukraine, now nearing the end of its second year.

The church court said Uminsky had broken his oath by refusing to read the "Prayer for Holy Rus" - an archaic name for Russia - which Kirill has made compulsory at church services.

Dozens of Russian Orthodox priests have been punished for challenging the Church's line on the war - for example, by reading out prayers for peace instead of victory - according to Christians against War, an online group that has documented their cases.

Uminsky was the most prominent casualty so far. He had served for 30 years as senior priest at the Church of the Life-Giving Holy Trinity in Moscow before being abruptly fired this month, just before Orthodox Christmas, in a move that paved the way for Saturday's verdict. He was renowned for his hospice work for dying children and adults, and led the funeral for former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in 2022.