MOSCOW, December 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Orthodox priest Andrei Nikolayev, his wife, and their three young children died from carbon monoxide poisoning when their home went up in flames, a deputy prosecutor of the Tver region said Tuesday.

The bodies of the family were found after their house in the Central Russian Tver Region burned down on the weekend in a presumed arson attack.

"There is no information pointing to violent death. They were poisoned with combustion products," Mikhail Sokolov said.

Earlier an emergencies worker told RIA Novosti that the bodies were found in unnatural poses, testifying to death by violence.

According to local media, the priest had received death threats from fellow villagers, many of them heavy drinkers, over his unwillingness to let them raid parish funds to fuel their drinking habits.