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Israeli police searches missing Russian Orthodox clergyman

Vassily Varlamov from Nizhny Novgorod went missing in Jerusalem on August 18

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

TEL AVIV, August 23 (Itar-Tass) - Israel’s police searches for a Russian Orthodox clergyman, Vassily Varlamov, who went missing in Jerusalem on August 18, a spokesman to Israel’s police told Itar-Tass.

Father Vassily, 47, “left the hotel and did not return. The search is complicated by the fact that he has no mobile phone or credit card”, the spokesman said.

The Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem said Vassily Varlamov had arrived in the Holy Land with his wife, Inna, and a 17-year-old daughter, Praskovya, as pilgrims. This was his first trip to Jerusalem.

On Thursday, August 22, pilgrims left the capital of Israel. The clergyman’s wife and the daughter are now staying in Jerusalem to continue the search.

The Russian Embassy in Israel told Itar-Tass that it watched the situation and maintained contacts with other structures.

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