By Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America
The picture below is Monk Varsanofy Turyansky in his casket. He was stabbed to death 23 August 2026 at the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk monastery by as yet unidentified attackers. Novice Hryhorii and a refugee Andrii Kyriienko were also severely injured. Monk Varsonofy’s final words are reported to have been, “Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ!.. I am a monk.” Take a good look at his face below. for he is a martyr who now stands before the very Throne of God. His blood cries out for justice.
Ukrainian “authorities” of the Zelensky regime have opened a criminal investigation into the murder. Which is somewhat comical, as those are the very authorities who are actively persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The attack occurred on the same day Zelensky was hosting a “prayer breakfast” from which the UOC was excluded. Robert Amsterdam, Founder and Managing Partner of Amsterdam & Partners, which serves as international counsel to UOC, explained the context surrounding this crime:
“Last weekend, Ukraine’s political leadership gathered for a Prayer Breakfast excluding the UOC, and on that same day, a monk of the UOC is murdered at one of the country’s great monasteries. The hypocrisy of the incumbent administration and its supporters is staggering. The murder of Monk Varsanofy is the horrifying consequence of an atmosphere they helped create.
Today should be a great national holiday. Ukraine’s independence has been defended at an extraordinary human cost, and Ukrainians have every right to celebrate their sovereignty and freedom. But it must not be hijacked by a government that invokes freedom before the world while itself undermining fundamental freedoms.
Prayer Breakfasts cannot provide cover for religious persecution. Those international political and religious leaders who participated in yesterday’s event must now ask themselves whether their presence is being used to legitimise precisely the conduct that the principles of religious freedom require them to oppose.”
The Zelensky regime has used force to seize UOC monasteries and churches. Bishops, monks, and clergy have been beaten, arrested, and even forcibly mobilized into the Army to serve as cannon fodder. Innocent laity, even elderly ladies, have been beaten and harassed for daring to worship at the same parishes they have attended their entire lives. The government even seeks to ban the entire operation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – a move condemned by the American Assembly of Orthodox Bishops.
Whether the murderers of Monk Martyr Varsanofy were operating under explicit instructions of the Zelensky regime is not known. It may never be known. Direct orders or not, the murderers carried out their unholy deeds in an environment of persecution intentionally created by the Zelensky regime. The blood of a martyred monk is on Zelensky’s hands.
But not just his hands. For Zelensky did not bring about the persecution of the UOC on his own. To make all of this bloody persecution possible required the active assistance of the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, and his henchmen at the top of the Greek Archdiocese of America (Archbishop Elpidophoros, high ranking clergy, and the rich, influential Archons). Without the cover provided by Constantinople, the world would have long ago turned on Zelensky for his crimes against the Body of Christ.
This is just one picture of Bartholomew with Zelensky. There are many more. No doubt more will be taken, should Jesus tarry. All smiles you see. Great friends. While monks die.
The support of Constantinople, rich Greeks, and the Greek Archdiocese for the regime in Kiev muddies the water just enough to keep Zelensky respectable. So respectable, in fact, that the Greek Archdiocese is giving Zelensky the “Beacon of Hope” award on 26 September 2026 in NYC at a swanky dinner. Sponsorships for the dinner go from $3,500 to $250,000, while individual seats are $1,500. Americans are suffering under record levels of inflation, while the rich and powerful gather in NYC to throw money at a tyrant whose government foments the murder of Orthodox monks.
Yeah, that will leave a mark. Not just in this world, but also in the next. The money paid by the ritzy sponsors and attendees is blood money. The blood of martyrs.
Tetyana is a Ukrainian citizen and long time source for our site who, following the martyrdom of Monk Varsanofy and the beating of another monk during the seizure of an UOC parish, wrote this scathing message to Patriarch Bartholomew:
DISRESPECTED Patriarch Bartholomew!
I would like to tell you that after the BLOODY SCHISM—in which you, “Your Holiness,” were a direct participant—it is unlikely that you will be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven. You are up to your neck in the BLOOD of the Orthodox faithful of the UOC and in all the lawlessness perpetrated by Zelensky, the SBU, the Ukrainian police, Ukrainian courts and media, the Ukrainian parliament, and their entire entourage in Ukraine. And what will you, Patriarch Bartholomew, say at the Judgment before God, before your soul—if it does not REPENT—descends into HELL? Here is important information regarding the lawlessness and inaction of the Ukrainian authorities, carried out with the support of Patriarch Bartholomew in Ukraine. ETERNAL SHAME UPON THEM ALL!
Indeed, what will Patriarch Bartholomew have to say to Jesus Christ at the Dread Judgment Seat? Further, what will all those attendees at this event have to say to Christ? Or the Archons who helped fund this event and who frequently justify the martyrdom of the UOC? What about the staff who put this event on? How will they give account? What will the American Orthodox priests and bishops in other jurisdictions, who are busy pretending this event isn’t happening, say before the face of Our Lord? (We do know of at least one exception.) Do they really believe Jesus Christ, Lord of All, will excuse their silence because speaking out would have been “impolite” or “interference” in the affairs of another jurisdiction?
But it’s not just them. It’s also us who are under judgement, not only for this event, but also for all of the horrific events funded by our American tax dollars. Yes, us. The rank and file Orthodox Faithful who pray, pay, and obey. This judgement is ours too. Why? Because we were told the truth about what is happening in Ukraine to our brother Orthodox Christians. Because we were told months ago about this event, which essentially puts the “Orthodox” stamp of approval on the monk murdering Zelensky and his corrupt, bloody regime.
And we Orthodox Christians in America have done way too little with that information.
Orthodox Reflections sponsored a petition allowing Orthodox Christians to denounce this blasphemous event. It was covered all over the world by Orthodox news outlets. We should have gotten hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of signatures. Each signature generated a protest email to the Greek Archdiocese, the Greek Orthodox Shrine sponsoring this abomination, the Archons whose money keeps the Greek Archdiocese in its lavish lifestyle, and the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops. It was an easy way for average Orthodox Christians to tell Constantinople, the world, and (most importantly) Jesus Christ that we condemn the persecution and murder of Orthodox Christians.
Unfortunately, we have gotten so far just over 1,545 signatures. The easiest possible way to disassociate from this travesty, and we could only bestir that small a number of Orthodox Christians to exercise it. In truth, the petition, and the criminal complaint filed by Michael Gianakos of Concerned Greek Orthodox Christians of New Jersey, should have been just the start of opposition to this obscene event. There should be protests in front of the Greek Archdiocese offices in New York. Protests in front of the Shrine. Copies of protest letters hand delivered to the Greek Archdiocese by angry mobs. Angry letters to the editor in every Orthodox publication. Orthodox Christians should be demanding that every Orthodox jurisdiction condemn this award, and the persecution enabled by Constantinople in Ukraine.
My fellow Orthodox in the West, particularly in America, for the sake of our own souls we have to do better than this. At a bare minimum, sign and share the petition. If you have a podcast channel or other platform, speak about this issue and encourage resistance as Tribulation Saints has done. If you have other avenues to speak out, do so. If you are in the Greek Archdiocese, then start to work to put your house in order before the Lord.
We Orthodox also have a chance to really make a difference. We are calling on all Orthodox Christians in the NYC area, or who can make it there, to gather on 9/26 for in-person protest of Zelensky at the event:
Location: Casa Cipriani, 10 South Street, New York NY 10004
Time: 6:30 p.m.
For those planning to attend, please read our guide to participation.
There are 312 Orthodox parishes within 100 miles of NYC:
Please organize yourselves at the small group and parish level to show up, hold signs, pray for peace, and tell the world that this award is completely anti-Christ. A few Orthodox Christians in protest has 100 times the impact of a petition drive, angry phone calls, protest emails, or even a criminal complaint. If we don’t show up, the organizers of this event will tell the entire world that they speak for Orthodoxy in giving their support to the Zelensky regime.
Please don’t just sit there on your phone or computer thinking that you have an option to “not get involved.” Because of your taxes, your membership in the Greek Archdiocese, and/or your Orthodox Christian Faith – you are involved whether you want to be or not.
“Involvement” is not the question.
The question is – what will you say to Jesus Christ when He asks you what you did for His persecuted Church in Ukraine.
“Nothing” is not an answer you want to give.
My dear friends from Orthodox Reflections!
We have One Judge—our Savior, the Lord – our God Jesus Christ.
And His Kingdom will have no end! And Ukraine has become a land stained with the BLOOD of martyrs for the Orthodox faith.
Patriarch Bartholomew and Zelensky, as well as all your close associates! Earthly life passes quickly, and then comes the ordeals of the soul and God’s judgment! Aren’t you afraid? Prepare for God’s judgment!
Here is important information. Please distribute it widely.
With love in Christ
Your sister in Christ and your Ukrainian friend
Tetyana Avramenko
_____________________________________________________________________________
https://spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/96119-two-murders-one-silence
Faith Protection
Two murders, one silence
28 September 14:52
Zelensky condemned the killing of a Catholic priest in Poland the very same day. A month earlier, a UOC monk was murdered at the Sviatohirsk Lavra – and the president has remained silent ever since.
On September 24, 2026, in the Polish city of Jarosław, a citizen of Ukraine, a former soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, attacked a convent of Benedictine sisters and killed a Catholic priest. That very evening, the crime was condemned by Volodymyr Zelensky.
Shortly afterward, the Ukrainian Embassy in Poland issued a statement of its own. Zelensky’s same-day condemnation and call for a thorough investigation were publicly reported.
And rightly so, one might think. When a citizen of your country commits such an atrocity abroad, the head of state should respond.
But there is another question.
A month earlier, on August 23, Monk Varsonofiy (Turianskyi) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was killed at the Sviatohirsk Lavra. He was killed on Ukrainian soil, behind Ukrainian army lines. Yet neither Zelensky, nor his Office, nor the Interior Ministry, nor the SBU has publicly responded to the killing to this day.
Why, then, does a Catholic priest murdered in Poland merit condolences from the Ukrainian president, while an Orthodox monk murdered in Ukraine does not?
Let us try to understand.
How Poland responded – and how Kyiv responded
First, let us recall what happened in Jarosław. At about 9:30 a.m., a 31-year-old Ukrainian entered the monastery grounds through open gates and began attacking people with a knife. Five people were injured, three of them Catholic priests. One of them later died in the hospital. The attacker was detained at the scene, and the mayor of Jarosław convened an emergency crisis team with the participation of the voivode the same day.
Contemporary reports confirm that one person was killed and four wounded in the attack. More details emerged later. The 31-year-old Ihor M. had previously served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and fought at the front. He reportedly held Ukrainian and German passports, as well as a Polish PESEL number allowing him to obtain temporary protection status.
Poland’s top officials responded almost immediately. Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote: “The Jarosław killer is in the hands of the Polish police. Investigative measures are underway. The perpetrator is a Ukrainian citizen. He will face the full severity of Polish law. I share the pain of the loved ones of the victims of this brutal attack.”
President Karol Nawrocki was even more forceful: “In the face of such acts, the state must be strong, act swiftly and relentlessly within the law… The task of the state is to ensure the safety of its citizens.”
One may have different views of Nawrocki’s tone, but his central point was clear: the state is responsible for people’s safety. When a priest is murdered in a monastery, it is a matter for the state, not merely for the police.
Zelensky responded to the killing in Poland that same day: “A horrific crime was committed at the Benedictine Sisters’ Abbey in Jarosław by a citizen of Ukraine. We are shocked by this evil… We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased.”
He continued: “The person responsible for this evil must be held fully accountable under the law. We expect a swift and thorough investigation into all the circumstances. It is painful that people are capable of such horrific crimes. Justice must prevail.”
The Ukrainian Embassy in Poland did not remain silent either: “We strongly condemn the brutal attack… We consider all manifestations of violence unacceptable. It is especially painful that such a tragedy occurred in a place that should be a sanctuary of prayer and mercy.” The diplomats stressed that “there can be no justification for violence or attacks against people.”
The following day, Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar was already telling journalists where the suspect was being held and what condition he was in. The Embassy’s public condemnation was also reported at the time.
It is not difficult to understand why Kyiv reacted so quickly. Poland is a key ally, relations are already complicated, and now the killer was a former Ukrainian serviceman – something Polish politicians were already highlighting. Silence would have carried too high a reputational cost for Ukraine.
The author’s contention is that the speed of the response reflected not only sympathy, but political calculation. UOC believers inside Ukraine, by contrast, have neither Poland’s Confederation party nor a Polish president capable of putting pressure on Bankova Street – and, in this view, there has consequently been no comparable response.
No one is criticizing Zelensky for what he said. Quite the opposite: those were the right words, spoken at the right time.
The question is why he could not find the same words for his own citizen – a UOC monk murdered at the Lavra.
The diplomats wrote that it was especially painful when tragedy struck “a place that should be a space of prayer and mercy.” They were speaking about a Polish monastery.
No Ukrainian official wrote anything comparable about the Sviatohirsk Lavra.
Sviatohirsk: a month of silence
At around 11 a.m. on August 23, a group of people attacked residents of the Sviatohirsk Lavra near St. Nicholas Church in the monastery’s upper grounds. Monk Varsonofiy (Turianskyi) died from a through-and-through gunshot wound to the head and neck. Monk Gregory was wounded, as was Andrii Kyriienko, who was living at the monastery.
The UOC reported the attack that same day, and the Lavra later said the forensic medical certificate identified a gunshot wound to the head and neck as the cause of Varsonofiy’s death. A criminal investigation remains underway.
Kyriienko spoke about the attack in the days that followed. According to his account, he was assaulted after responding “incorrectly” to the greeting “Glory to Ukraine!” with the words “Glory to God.” The article argues that the circumstances suggest Monk Varsonofiy paid with his life for similarly “incorrect” words.
Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) later put it this way: “That monk could easily have saved his life if he had obeyed his killers’ demand. But he did not. He answered as a Christian: glory belongs to God alone.”
Of course, the investigation into the Sviatohirsk killing formally continues. But already now we can say that the theory of a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group appears untenable. We can judge this from a statement by Andrii Biletskyi, commander of the 3rd Army Corps – a man hardly likely to be suspected of sympathy toward the UOC: “There has never been a Russian soldier in Sviatohirsk… The city of Sviatohirsk lies within the defensive sector of the 60th Mechanized Brigade of the 3rd Army Corps. It is a rear area of our corps.”
In other words, the monk was killed behind Ukrainian army lines, in territory controlled by the Ukrainian state.
In Jarosław, the killer was a former Ukrainian serviceman. In Sviatohirsk, the article says, a monk was killed by people in military clothing behind Ukrainian lines. The president spoke about the former soldier who committed a crime abroad on the very same day. About the people in uniform who killed a monk at home – not a word.
Can that simply be coincidence?
Former Ukrainian MP Ihor Mosiychuk put his interpretation of the Sviatohirsk killing bluntly: “It sends a signal to the military that nobody cares – you can do whatever you want.”
Where did the hatred come from?
It is hard to believe that Zelensky simply failed to notice a tragedy in a small frontline city. More likely, the problem lies elsewhere. To honestly condemn the Sviatohirsk murder would mean having to say where the atmosphere came from in which a man in a cassock could be killed outside a church.
And that is something the authorities clearly do not want to do. Because that atmosphere was years in the making. And it was created by people who were anything but marginal.
Let us remember Kvartal 95 – the studio Zelensky himself once founded and headed. In late 2022, presenters on its Bayraktar News program used obscene language to insult UOC clergy and read out a mock “price list”: “spit at an MP priest – 20 hryvnias”; “hit him on the left cheek and automatically on the right – 100 hryvnias.”
Some people found it funny.
But on January 2, 2023, a man burst into a UOC church in Vinnytsia and slashed the rector across the throat with a straight razor. Beneath the Kvartal video, one user later wrote: “His blood is on your hands too.”
Government officials also spoke out in sweeping terms. Oleksii Danilov, then secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said: “This institution [the UOC – Ed.] contained many representatives of the so-called intelligence community of the Russian Federation.”
Note the distinction: he was not speaking about specific individuals whose guilt had been established in court, but about the Church as an institution. When the official responsible for national security speaks this way during wartime, millions of believers can effectively find themselves branded without trial. The rhetoric was then picked up by lawmakers, “experts,” television “religious scholars,” and bloggers.
Gradually, it was reduced to three labels: “sect,” “Muscovites,” and “FSB in cassocks.”
A recent Kyiv FM broadcast offers a telling example. Journalist Bohdan Butkevych, appearing on the program Kyiv Speaks. War with activist Maryna Koval, discussed the question: “Is there a chance to ban the Russian Church in Ukraine?”
Speaking about UOC believers, he said: “I have my own score to settle with them – with that scum who pretend to be Christians even though they are not.”
Butkevych said the point of the broadcast was to determine whether it was possible to “cut off the head of this hydra.” He called the clergy “bastards in black cassocks.” By the end of the program, Butkevych said he would gladly serve as executioner at a trial of the UOC.
And this was not 2022, when emotions were running white-hot in the first weeks of the war. Butkevych said all this after the killing at the Lavra.
Such statements are nothing new for him. Back in 2014, appearing on Hromadske.TV, he spoke of “a certain category of people who simply need to be killed.”
Twelve years have passed. He is still on the air, and no state institution has publicly responded to those words.
Imagine for a moment that a journalist on Kyiv radio called OCU members, Catholics, Greek Catholics, Jews, or Muslims “scum” and volunteered to become their executioner. How long would it take for the National Council, prosecutors, or perhaps even the president himself to respond? Hardly more than a day.
But when such things are said about UOC Orthodox Christians, no one bats an eye.
Metropolitan Timotheos of Bostra of the Jerusalem Patriarchate put the danger this way: “When people are taught for years to see an enemy in their baptized brother, sooner or later someone will inevitably carry that idea to its ultimate conclusion.”
The Odesa Eparchy of the UOC put it more simply: “Words have consequences.”
And there is the answer to why the authorities remain silent about Sviatohirsk. If they seriously condemn the murder of Fr. Varsonofiy, they will have to admit that it has a prehistory.
And there are too many familiar faces in that prehistory – from former Kvartal colleagues to the former secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.
It is far easier to pretend nothing happened.
But when the head of state remains silent in a situation like this, that silence is still perceived as a signal.
The signal was understood correctly
Mosiychuk, as we have already noted, called this silence a “signal to the military.” Someone may argue with that. But what is happening in practice speaks for itself.
First – mobilization.
Reports appear almost daily of UOC priests being detained by Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) officers. At the same time, we have repeatedly stressed that the Church is not asking for any special privileges for its clergy. The issue is equal treatment and the fact that, under Church canons, a priest cannot take up arms – something DESS is perfectly well aware of.
Under the Geneva Conventions, military chaplains are considered noncombatants. Yet in Ukraine, UOC priests are sent to the front regardless of their clerical status or cassocks.
Second – the information environment.
Butkevych is not an exception. He simply says openly what others say in more veiled terms. When a capital-city radio station discusses how to “cut off the hydra’s head,” while the news routinely speaks of “Moscow priests,” a simple picture takes shape in people’s minds: these people are beyond the pale, and no one will stand up for them.
Bishop Job of Stuttgart warned about precisely this. He said that violence against a representative of a Church “that for many years in Ukraine has stood on the brink of a state ban” takes us “back to the days of early Christianity, when representatives of a religio illicita – a forbidden religion – could and should be destroyed for the good of society.”
And third – impunity.
Almost four years have passed since the attack in Vinnytsia. Throughout that time, attacks on UOC priests have become neither occasions for statements from the authorities nor high-profile court cases.
Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich), Chancellor of the UOC, asked: “Has someone really been given the right to kill with impunity simply because another person is of the ‘wrong faith’?”
More than a month later, there is still no answer from the state.
And that silence is understood perfectly well by everyone – including those carrying weapons.
What the authorities should remember
Ukraine’s authorities are very fond of talking about the country’s European choice and European values.
Well then, let us remember what those values say about freedom of conscience.
Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine guarantees everyone freedom of worldview and religion. Article 24 prohibits privileges or restrictions on grounds of religious belief. Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, ratified by Ukraine, protects the freedom to practice one’s religion. And the European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly stressed that the state must remain neutral and impartial toward different religious denominations and has no right to decide whose faith is “correct.”
And then there is the simplest point of all: the state exists to protect the lives of its citizens. All of its citizens – not just the ones it likes.
In the European Union, which Ukraine is so eager to join, people look not only at laws governing prosecutors and anti-corruption agencies. They also look at how a state protects minorities.
German CDU member Irina Volfson put it very clearly: “Freedom of religion and the protection of minorities must never depend on which religion a person belongs to.”
The picture is a strange one.
Gather together all the reactions to the tragedy in Sviatohirsk, and it turns out that some of the loudest demands for an investigation into the killing of a Ukrainian citizen on Ukrainian soil are coming from Europe.
Kyiv simply remains silent.
Instead of an afterword
So it appears that the Ukrainian state divides the dead into those whose deaths deserve acknowledgment and those whose deaths are better left unmentioned. And the dividing line is neither citizenship nor the place where the crime occurred.
It is church affiliation.
UOC believers will remember this.
They do not need to be told what war is. Many of them are fighting. Many are burying their sons. Many have lost their homes.
They do not need anyone to explain what it means to love Ukraine. They understand perfectly well. And they see everything – above all, the radically different responses to the same kind of crime.
The tragedy is that while the authorities remain silent, the Butkevychs keep talking.
And where the Butkevychs keep talking, sooner or later someone will once again pick up a weapon and walk to the gates of a monastery. And by then, he will no longer care which one.
___________________________________________________________________________
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWyuarg0Sb4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zjv-7T16b0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIMtMvr0jZg
Thank you very much for the petition!
Of course, I signed it.
The BLOOD of the Orthodox UOC is on the hands of Zelenskyy, his security forces, especially the SBU, the Ukrainian courts, the Ukrainian propagandists against the UOC, Ukrainian media Telemarathon, the OCU, Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian parliament, Patriarch Bartholomew, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Archons as well as to all those, who actively contributed to the persecution of the UOC in Ukraine!
I don’t live in the USA, but I hope there will be many protesters against this horrific, anti-Christian event awarding the BLOODY TYRANT Zelenskyy on September 26, 2026!
Shame on them all!
With love in Christ
God bless you!
Your sister in Christ and parishioner of the UOC
Tetyana Avramenko
Dear Readers and Friends of Orthodox Reflections:
Please pray all week.
Please share with your fellow parishioners, friends, and online networks the 9/26 NYC protest. We need a crowd.
Now is NOT the time to be quiet. The Zelensky protest is THE event to share your Orthodox Christian witness to America.
Be savvy. Beware of counter protesters and agents provocateurs.
Send photos and videos of activities to Orthodox Reflections.
Thank you,
Cassandra St. John
“Joseph Lipper” is Fedslop.
Thank you very much for this article, my dear Friends – Orthodox Reflections!
God bless you!!!
Thank you for telling the Truth to the whole world!!!!
With love in Christ!
A parishioner of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and your Ukrainian friend,
Tetyana Avramenko
Can you blame Zelensky for trying to defend Ukrainian borders against an invasion? l don’t think so.
Can you blame angry Ukrainians for not wanting a church in their neighborhood canonically linked to the country they are fighting against? That anger, while perhaps not justified, is at least understandable.
You are blaming Patriarch Bartholomew, but if the UOC doesn’t want the autocephaly he offered, then that’s their choice. Once churches are transferred to the OCU, the angry Ukrainians leave those churches alone. The Zelensky government isn’t even asking the UOC to become autocephalous. Rather, all they are asking is that the UOC publicly renounce all canonical ties to the Moscow Patriarchate. The UOC has stopped just short of doing that, and again, that’s their choice.
In answer to all your Fedslop rhetorical questions:
“UOJ-Germany visited Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) in Switzerland – a renowned Orthodox theologian, patristics scholar and author of books on prayer. The 86-year-old elder spoke candidly about the killing of a Sviatohirsk Lavra monk, whom he considers a martyr, the UOC’s faithfulness during years of persecution, and the fate of Metropolitan Arseniy. He also explained why he believes Patriarch Bartholomew acted under pressure over Ukraine and what, in his view, awaits those responsible for the schism before the judgment of history.
– What do you mean by the judgment of history?
– People often say that history is written by the victors. But that is only half true. Something else is also true and demonstrable: you can destroy as many documents as you like, but enough material will always remain to reconstruct the course of a conflict or any other events.
History will preserve everything the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has endured – the Church that all the Local Churches always recognized as the only canonical Church in Ukraine. Patriarch Bartholomew did as well.
– Why do you think his position changed?
– We know that Patriarch Bartholomew did not act of his own free will. I will tell you something that few people know.
I know from a reliable source that Patriarch Bartholomew told a Greek ambassador that if the Americans had not put such intense pressure on him, he would never have done it – he would never have split the Church.
Of course, all of this was done in order to weaken Russia. At that time, the Ukrainian Church was more closely connected with the Moscow Patriarchate than it is today. I mean purely in institutional terms.
That is precisely what disappoints me. Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens – also a worthy man – came under tremendous pressure as well and gave in.
But why did these men, our primates, not simply put their panagias on the table and say: “No, not with me. I do not want to stain my good name”? Personally, I cannot understand it.”
https://spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/95864-elder-gabriel-bunge-on-uoc-sviatohirsk-martyrdom-and-judgment-of-history
There is absolutely nothing the UOC can do or say that will stop the persecution. The tomos was not granted because it would benefit Ukraine, it was granted because the U.S. National Security State wanted it, and because it fit with Porshenko’s failed presidential campaign. Bartholomew was bullied, bribed, or a combination of both to grant it. We’ve known that for going on a decade now.
You need to repent of your evil. What your post essentially says is that killing monks and persecuting Orthodox Christians is fine if it is in line with PERCEIVED government national security objectives. Perceived by whom? Well by the Western Deep State and the Govt in Kiev. The government has investigated itself, and found that everything was done perfectly. Your attitude of acceptance is an attitude that threatens Orthodox in many places of the world, including the U.S. It is our sincere hope that you are a Fed plant, and not a real Orthodox Christian, because one hates to think a brother Christian is this deluded.
My dear friends from Orthodox Reflections!
Thank you very much for this comment, in which you explained everything so well to this person (Joseph Lipper) —who, presumably, is not a Christian. I have frequently encountered such comments attacking the UOC and me during broadcasts by Ukraine’s satanic, anti-Christian media—the “Telemarathon”—and by anti-Christian Ukrainian propagandists. These people HATE the UOC and support Zelensky, Poroshenko, and their inner circles, as well as Patriarch Bartholomew and the Patriarchate of Constantinople in their actions to cause a schism in Ukraine and intensify the persecution of the UOC. These were MALICIOUS comments to me, including threats to send the SBU to take me. I have been living with this since November 2022, fending off attacks on the UOC in the Ukrainian information space as best as I can, with God’s help. But there are so many of them. One of my YouTube channels has already been deleted! There are people living in Ukraine who are not Christians but are ready at any moment to tear the UOC apart! And for what? For the fact that the UOC prays for everyone and endures terrible, ILLEGAL persecution? For the fact that new martyrs and confessors for the faith in CHRIST are emerging within the UOC? Meanwhile, the satanists from the OCU—using Ukrainian security forces and acting on Zelensky’s orders—forcibly seize UOC churches, which then stand EMPTY. There are very few people who truly understand the essence of the persecution being waged against the canonical UOC in Ukraine!
May the Lord bless you all, dear brothers and sisters in Christ! But if God is with us, who can be against us?
With LOVE in CHRIST
Your sister in Christ, Tetyana.
As for you—eternal shame upon you! You are not a Christian! And you do not understand the essence of the issue regarding the persecution of the UOC! And it would take years to explain anything to you! May the Lord enlighten you regarding your religious misunderstanding, MALICE, AND HATRED toward the UOC!
DISRESPECTED Patriarch Bartholomew!
It is me, AVRAMENKO Tetyana, Ukrainian friend of ORTHODOX REFLECTIONS and I DO NOT RESPECT YOU!
I would like to tell you that after the BLOODY SCHISM—in which you, “Your Holiness,” were a direct participant—it is unlikely that you will be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven. You are up to your neck in the BLOOD of the Orthodox faithful of the UOC and in all the lawlessness perpetrated by Zelensky, the SBU, the Ukrainian police, Ukrainian courts and media, the Ukrainian parliament, and their entire entourage in Ukraine. And what will you, Patriarch Bartholomew, say at the Judgment before God, before your soul—if it does not REPENT—descends into HELL? Here is important information regarding the lawlessness and inaction of the Ukrainian authorities, carried out with the support of Patriarch Bartholomew in Ukraine. ETERNAL SHAME UPON THEM ALL!
https://spzh.eu/en/news/95221-a-monk-was-brutally-murdered-at-the-svyatogorsk-lavra-two-others-wounded
Monk brutally murdered, two others wounded at Sviatohirsk Lavra23 August 21:30
Unidentified assailants attacked members of the monastic brotherhood with a knife, leaving one dead and two seriously wounded.
On August 23, 2026, a group of unidentified assailants attacked the brotherhood of the UOC’s Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, monastery representatives told the UOJ.
The attack occurred at around 11:00 a.m. near St. Nicholas Church in the upper part of the monastery. Monk Varsonofiy was brutally stabbed to death, and his face was mutilated beyond recognition.
Monk Grigory, whose lung was punctured by a knife, and novice Andriy were also wounded. Both are in serious condition at a hospital in Kharkiv.
Investigative and operational measures are currently underway.
The UOJ will continue to follow developments.
The UOJ previously reported that a UOC archimandrite had been beaten during the seizure of a cathedral in Kremenchuk.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JvbqgD9d8IE
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vM8ACv4JsMY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1NjlFdEojI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v6f4JZrNk4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os-kRlnrJy4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJwdP1Mt2t0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGgeWDeMWNE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKAOAxfSB60
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKAOAxfSB60
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKAOAxfSB60
Another UOC monk was just killed by a Russian drone strike:
https://spzh.eu/en/news/95938-monk-killed-in-drone-strikes-on-uoc-monastery-of-kherson-eparchy
Will Patriarch Kirill have anything to say about that?
Probably not. He didn’t say anything at all about the four monks who were killed by Russian shelling in 2022 at the Sviatohirsk Lavra either:
https://orthochristian.com/146526.html
He should. If we were giving Putin or Patriarch Kirill an award in NYC, then we would oppose that too.
Please pray for them and everyone else involved.
We pray, O Lord our God, for all those who suffer from acts of war, especially for the victims in Ukraine. We pray for Thy peace and Thy mercy in the midst of the great suffering of Thy people. Vouchsafe to accept the prayers of The Church, so that by Thy goodness, peace may return to all peoples; hear us and have mercy. Lord have mercy (3)
We also pray, O Lord our God, to remember and have mercy on our Orthodox brothers and sisters in Russia and Ukraine who are involved in violent conflict. Remove from their midst all hostility, confusion and hatred. Lead everyone along the path of reconciliation and peace, we pray Thee, hear us and have mercy . Lord have mercy (3) – Recommended Petition of the Patriarchate in Antioch
Petition against Zelenski
https://orthodoxreflections.com/petition-against-honoring-of-zelensky-at-st-nicholas-in-new-york-dear-trustees/
Well said, Nicholas. When I signed the petition I requested updates, like this one. Thx. Though dismayed, I’m not surprised by the nominal response to the petition. At this low rate, they can get away with ignoring you, and will continue to do so … until they can’t. It’s the same sighing yawn (it’s not affecting me) of indifference among way too many Catholics that only energizes their woke pope. Activism is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep up the pressure. Consider lawyering up, distributing the petition on social media, hold a press conference, organize a rally despite the tiny numbers.
Sir:
Lovely Cassandra & Stalwart Nicholas have shouldered the weight of this campaign every day for the past nine weeks. It is yours and others turns to step up. If you can’t attend the protest, pray and repent all week.
Thank you for this article.
Reportedly, there are 1.64 million Orthodox Christians in America. How many will meet 9/26 in NYC to protest the tyrant Zelensky on behalf of their persecuted Ukrainian brethren?
Not because they love to protest, but because they love the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
While I have zero interest in defending Zelensky, I find no basis for protesting against him either. Did the early church stage protests against their persecution?
Christians were persecuted by the Jews first and by the Romans later. St. Paul’s letter to the Romans actually argues against protesting. Instead, he refers to the pagan Roman authorities as “God’s ministers”. He writes:
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.”
I hear what you are saying, but in this case the protest would be in effort to show church leadership that parishioners have a problem with bestowing an award on said persecutor.
Joseph Lipper: I already responded to this comment on Helleniscope. You are free to stay home if you don’t want to protest. It is curious that you are discouraging others, however. Why do you care?
The early Christians also did not have 24/7 screens, indoor plumbing, telecommunications, or paid vacations. Should the Orthodox just stay home and watch a movie?
CSJ, next Saturday at 6:30pm, I plan to be at Vigil in church praying. That’s what Orthodox Christians typically do. I suppose Protestants usually skip Vigil. Anybody here skipping Vigil for this protest?
The Orthodox Christians, any who show up to protest, should pray. Prayers would be most effective.
They will also be joining an Archbishop, multiple other clergy, and Archons who are not in a formal vespers either. Those hierarchs and esteemed Orthodox leaders will be in a massively expensive restaurant tossing money at Zelensky.
Perhaps you should contact all of those hierarchs and encourage them to skip this event and lead vespers instead? That would be great advice. If they were doing their actual jobs, this controversy would not even exist.
I signed the petition not to be against Zelensky because nobody knows how long would be his shelf life before the Elite will change their plans with him. After his end, he will be welcomed in the Sheol but, without festivities and donations from benevolent Greeks.
My deep grievance is with the Greek Church, from Greece, and this branch here in the U. S., and all because of historical reasons. After the fall of Constantinople, the Mount Athos was almost destroyed by pirates and Venetians. The Romanian kings have donated the money for the monasteries to be rebuilt , one by one. I have a book on this topic written by an historian. In addition to that aspect, the whole Church of Greece was kept in existence from 1453 to 1821 with the Romanian money paid to the Turks. The declaration for the independence of Greece from Turkish dominance, in 1821, was proclaimed in Romania first by Alexander Ypsilanti, and after by the Greeks that in Kalavrita. So, what they have done recently, in this century, to respect their history and freedom?
I appreciate the fact that a picture of a martyr saint was inserted. The news are in general sanitized, and usually show only a place where abominable facts have happened. It is hard to think that what happened over there, can also happen here. We do not know what the future brings to us the faithful Orthodox, but, for sure, may be a preview.
You should help the faithful Greeks figure out how to hold their hierarchs accountable and save their Church.
As a faithful and loving follower of Orthodox Reflections, as well as a devoted Orthodox Christian , I appreciate all your efforts informing us all of this heinous award ceremony. I am sickened by the persecution of the monks in Ukraine, I signed the petition twice and shared with the faithful at St Nicholas Orthodox church in MT. In Christ, Bless you for all your efforts . Mary
Thank you for your support.
Very well explained Nicholas. Although I signed the Petition and asked my Orthodox network to do so, I felt that many just didn’t want to get involved. I think they fear potential targeting by the 3-letter agencies. I will not be in the country on the date of the protest, otherwise, I would have attended. I constantly ask Christ to give me the strength and discernment to do my part to call out the evils – as I see them. In this case, I see a lot of evil in our US Archbishop and our Ecumenical Patriarch… to the point that I have called them “anti-Christs”. I hope I am wrong and may God forgive me for doing so … but, these two hierarchs, in particular, seem to be more interested in courting powerful men and pursuing lavish lifestyles rather than Christ.
“many just didn’t want to get involved”
—>”Please don’t just sit there on your phone or computer thinking that you have an option to “not get involved.” Because of your taxes, your membership in the Greek Archdiocese, and/or your Orthodox Christian Faith – you are involved whether you want to be or not.”
I know self-proclaimed “Orthobros” who recently drove more than 1,000 miles for a secular Proud Boys event. They have fantasies about saving the world — and also are male chauvinists.
Now, an actual, honest-to-god tyrant who is persecuting Christ’s Church is about to be dropped into their laps on American soil — and where are they? Will any of them bestir themselves to protest Zelensky?
Meanwhile, guess who has been on the excrementitious Zelensky Dinner beat every day for the past nine weeks, writing, editing, commenting, writing more, emailing, agitating, beating the drum, and mostly being ignored?
A woman.
-Cassandra St. John, @Cassandra2796 on X
Good job. One correction: The individual seats start at $1,500, as you say; but the next tier up, the so-called ‘Bearer of Light,’ is $3,500 (not $5,000).
Good point. That is why God gave us the edit feature. And confession.