MOSCOW — A Moscow appellate court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by three members of the punk group Pussy Riot who were jailed for hooliganism after they called for the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of President Vladimir V. Putin in a protest in a church last year.

Judge Ellada Bondarenko of the Moscow City Court reaffirmed a lower court’s conclusion that the musical protest, held in Moscow’s prominent Christ the Savior Cathedral in February 2012, was “motivated by religious hatred,” and denied a defense appeal to review the court proceedings.

The convictions of the three women, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, elicited international condemnation from rights groups and celebrity musicians.

Ms. Tolokonnikova and Ms. Alyokhina are serving two-year sentences in a penal colony. Ms. Samutsevich was released on appeal, and is serving a two-year suspended sentence.