A priest has been stabbed to death in Chuvashia, less than two weeks after a clergyman was shot dead in the central Russian republic, local investigators said on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the local investigation committee said the body of a hieromonk of St. Michael the Archangel church with multiple knife wounds was discovered at his home in the city of Cheboksary.

The spokesman added that an investigation team was working at the scene of crime, while prosecutors opened a criminal case on murder charges.

On April 24, Father Anatoly, 46, was discovered dead with a gunshot wound at his church in Chuvashia's village of Yantikovo. Police later detained a 47-year-old man with a history of mental illness in connection with the murder.

In late 2009, two priests were shot dead in Moscow in matter of weeks.

The most notorious murder came in late November of 2009 when Priest Daniil Sysoyev was shot dead by a masked gunman in St. Thomas's Church in southern Moscow.

Sysoyev was known for his active missionary work in converting Muslims and people seeking to quit religious sects into Christianity. His assistant, Vladimir Strelbitsky, was badly wounded in the attack.

The murder stirred a wave of condemnation from religious groups in Russia, and demands for better security for the clergy.

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, May 5 (RIA Novosti)