Russian clerics have warned their citizens against visiting churches in Turkey after the Russian Orthodox Church’s decision to sever all relations with the Fener Greek Patriarchatein Istanbul.

“All [Orthodox] churches in Turkey, including the ones in Istanbul and Ankara, have been banned to our congregation. Our co-religionists will be sinning if they visit these churches that are controlled by Fener,” Russian cleric Igor Yerimchuk said.

Some 4.7 million Russian tourists visited Turkey last year and nearly 30,000 Russian citizens are residents of the country.

More: Russian Orthodox Church bans citizens from visiting churches in Turkey