The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by Metropolitan Onuphry, has been under severe persecution for all of 2023. Canonical Orthodox Christians face a war to the East, and a campaign of church seizures, church closures, arrests, beatings, and trials all around them. Orthodox Reflections has covered the tragedy here, here, and here.
To get a current perspective on the ongoing persecution, below are links to a few videos from Victoria Kokhanovska, lawyer and a defender of the UOC. Victoria has been illegally detained, assaulted by police, and now finds herself on house arrest with an ankle monitor. Despite all this abuse, she continues to tell the truth about the sufferings of Orthodox Christians.
Parishioners, priests, hierarchs, and monks of the UOC all feel unprotected as citizens. Daily, Ukrainian authorities and security forces act against them in violation of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. In the videos below, Victoria explains the evidence for the current persecution and its illegality. For non-Ukrainian speakers, please turn on the English subtitles.
Video 1 – Introduction to the Ukrainian government’s persecution of Orthodox Christians.
Video 2 – Political framework of the Christian persecution in Ukraine.
Video 3 – Victoria gives a personal account of some of the tragic events around the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
More videos can be found at this link posted by a Ukrainian reader of Orthodox Reflections. For those less familiar with the current persecution of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, we recommend this short video in English as an introduction.
By the way, none of this is happening in secret. The Ukrainian Government is quite proud of its efforts to rid the country of canonical Orthodoxy:
On 13 June 2023, an MP of the People’s Servant faction, Oleh Dunda, promised that there will be no UOC in Ukraine by the end of the summer.
On the “Espresso TV” channel, the lawmaker said that relevant decisions and bills which would make it impossible for the UOC to exist in Ukraine will be adopted and voted on in the summer.
According to Dunda, the UOC will no longer exist in Ukraine within a year. He believes that “this will become a fait accompli and these remnants of the Russian sectarian religion in the form of the UOC MP may remain only in the form of the so-called catacomb Church”.
Dunda is sure that “most likely, even in this form they will not be in Ukraine. There will be some small sect of parishioners – about 50-100 thousand, but they will also disappear”.
“This is already an irreversible and historical issue and will have been finished by the end of the year. I think that in the summer the relevant decisions will be taken and the bills will be voted – and there will be no UOC officially in our state,” stressed the MP.
For those confused over who the “good guys” and “bad guys” are in Ukraine, let us ask a simple question. When, since Pentecost, have the historical “good guys” been the ones driving Christians underground into the “catacombs”?
This is horrible, and blame for all this lies as much on us Americans as on the Ukrainian Government. The persecution in Ukraine is an example of our American tax dollars at work. The Kiev government is completely financially and militarily dependent on our aid. Therefore, Americans have a responsibility to both fight this demonic injustice and to spread awareness of it. Granted, our efforts are hampered by the opposition of our own government, the lack of a free press, and the support of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Greek Archdiocese as well) for its unholy child, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which spearheads the persecution. Nevertheless, even given those obstacles, it is to our shame (hopefully not eternal) that we have not done more to help our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.
Fortunately, as with any tragic situation, God can and will bring forth blessings. In a recent interview, Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou made a bold declaration, “The UOC is persecuted to make new Saints.” Among those saints will be new martyrs. Do you realize how that can change the world?
Christianity is estimated to be the world’s most persecuted religion. Globally, hundreds of millions of Christians face varying levels of violence and discrimination. 1 in 5 Christians are persecuted in Africa and 2 in 5 Christians are persecuted in Asia. Christian persecution is usually greatest in areas considered to be “remote” in terms of Western media attention. Lack of coverage leads to the suffering of Christians being largely ignored. Consequently, Christian martyrdom is usually seen by comfortable Western Christians and secularists as a thing of the past – something from Roman or Soviet times, but certainly not a concern today.
In contrast to much of the Christian persecution in the world, what is happening to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is taking place in the middle of Europe, during a war that will doubtless be a major issue in the 2024 US Presidential election. No matter how hard the media try to cover up the persecution, the truth will be increasingly known. How will the examples of the new Saints and Martyrs of Ukraine impact the world?
More than you think, and in ways few can scarcely imagine.
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Christ is Worth Suffering and Death
Most Christian Churches in the US are all about ease and comfort. On any given Sunday, millions pour through lobbies full of percolating coffee to sit in air conditioned luxury and watch a musical performance followed by a motivational speech. These people consider sacrifice to be losing an hour of sleep once a year because of Daylight Savings Time. Christ is a hobby, not the ever-present Lord of their lives. Church is someplace they go to have a good time and show how respectable they are. Not because they are seeking a union with the Everlasting God.
But let’s not pick on just the megachurch Evangelicals. Roman Catholics are just as bad. Only a minority of them even believe that Christ is really present in the Eucharist. Liturgical abuses in the Roman Catholic Church are so common, we scarcely notice them anymore. The spiritual life within the Roman Church is in a pitiful state.
We Orthodox can’t pat ourselves on the back too much, either. Far, far too many Orthodox are more “cultural” than they are “religious”. Our best known hierarch in the US, Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Archdiocese, is also the one most closely associated with ecumenism and modernism. His cringe-worthy actions are frequently used by apologists for other Christian denominations (sometimes even by Muslims) as examples of why Orthodoxy is not the True Faith. Our failure to eradicate the “Woke” poison, spreading through parts of our Church and society, led Abbot Tryphon to put out this video calling for us to stop what he termed the “The Luciferian Lockstep”.
On all sides, Christianity in the US exudes flabbiness, softness, inauthenticity. The government says to wear masks, close churches, stop kissing icons, limit attendance when open, change communion, and we all meekly comply. Some of our own Orthodox bishops bring shame and discredit on the Faith, and we quietly go about our business as if nothing is happening.
Muslims in the West make fun of us as having no faith, since we have so easily abandoned traditional morality to modern degradation. A growing number of Pagans call Christians weak, sniveling, losers who follow a “dead god” that was unable to save Himself. The Christian Faith once vanquished paganism from whole continents. Demon-filled shamans trembled in the presence of our saints. Now their spiritual descendants mock us as cowards.
The Woke, and practitioners of various other political religions, call Christians “privileged” in the West. They are aware that this is untrue, but the charge scores good rhetorical points for them. The secularists know that Western Christians usually have no spines. We don’t want to get into any trouble. We are “nice people” who want to go along and get along. Respectable people don’t cause problems. Respectable people follow the rules. Didn’t Paul say that in Romans, or something like it? Plus, good Christians need their jobs to keep their comfortable, middle class lives intact. Getting fired for making a stand, going to jail, or getting on an FBI watchlist are not on the average American Christian’s to-do list.
No wonder the Christian Faith is dismissed as irrelevant. Even those of us who profess to follow Christ are too afraid to stand up for Him. Why should anyone else take Him seriously?
Into this vacuum comes the Orthodox Christians of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. We have only begun to tell their story. They face a bitter war in the East of their country. Many of them are in uniform fighting that war. Orthodox Ukrainians face deep privation living in a physically and economically shattered nation. At the same time, their own government, violent mobs, and even the power of the United States are all arrayed against them and their Church. Facing such odds, how many of us would outright surrender?
Not the Ukrainian Orthodox though. They are not backing down.
The monks of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, amid attempts by officials to expel them from the monastery, continue many hours of Lenten services, follows from the video sent to RIA Novosti by eyewitnesses pic.twitter.com/0XvCABVKIx
— Patriarch Hermogenes (@Germogen_Moscow) March 29, 2023
These followers of Christ stand up to beatings. To police assaults. To unjust arrests. To their churches being closed. To their churches being seized. To the mocking and scourging of mobs. They are spit upon. Women are raped. Priests and bishops are attacked on the streets. Scoffers conduct blasphemous mockeries of Christian rites. Christians are gassed in Church. Christians are disappeared. They are arrested. They are slandered. Their rights, and even their very citizenship, are denied.
Up against the Gates of Hell, the faithful of the UOC do not abandon their Churches. They do not abandon their Faith. They do not abandon Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom belongs all honor and worship. Each day, no matter what is thrown at them, they stand. For while good Christians do strive to follow the secular law, they cannot yield when that law goes against God.
To unbelievers and nominal Christians, the examples of our modern Ukrainian Saints and Martyrs will be a shock. Who are these people that face such suffering voluntarily? What is this Faith that motivates them? Who is this Christ for Whom they will lay down their freedoms, even their very lives? Perhaps the Orthodox Church is the 1st Century Church after all?
At some level, everyone (Christian and non-Christian alike) realizes the power of Martyrdom. Martyrdom purifies and strengthens the Church. Martyrdom inspires. Modern martyrdom is so needed, that Pope Francis (heading a spiritually dead church short on martyrs, monastics, and faithful priests) added 21 Coptic martyrs to Roman Martyrology. If you can’t grow your own, why not borrow someone else’s?
When the story of what is happening in Ukraine is fully known, the demons will tremble and Orthodox parishes around the world will be flooded with inquirers. This is the True Faith Once Delivered to the Apostles. This is Apostolic boldness. This is the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
An Example to the Orthodox
The Faithful of the UOC could lie to themselves. They could join the “official” church (OCU) and pretend they are still Orthodox Christians. That is what the Ecumenical Patriarch wants them to do. That is what Archbishop Elpidophoros wants them to do. That is what Joe Biden and Zelenskyy want them to do. Shut up, do what we say, and all your problems are over.
If given a plausible way to still be an “Orthodox Christian” and avoid persecution, how many of us Americans would say, “Sign me up”? The examples of the Christians of the UOC are not just for the benefit of unbelievers and nominal Christians. Their authentic witness for Christ is also essential for us Orthodox.
Not just for the Orthodox laity, either. Our hierarchs did not cover themselves with glory during the “pandemic”, nor in many other controversies in which they have largely stayed silent. Ukrainian Orthodox hierarchs openly pray during war, in the middle of a flood caused by a bombed dam, while assaulted by hostile mobs, standing all night to stave off the seizure of holy churches… Those are the actions of the Successors to the Apostles. After watching the UOC stand so tall for Christ, it will be hard for most of us in the West (Orthodox hierarchs and laity alike) to ever again submit quietly to the dictates of petty government bureaucrats, NGOs, and Woke corporations.
Meanwhile a Metropolitan with the Ukrianian Orthodox Church is praying and brought an icon of the Mother of God to the flooded Kherson region.
— Live Not by Lies (@Dana35300026) June 6, 2023
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children… pic.twitter.com/S81EShsUyA
Exposing the Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
The foundation for the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was laid by the Ecumenical Patriarch, who granted official recognition to a political movement masquerading as an Orthodox Church. His All-Holiness was encouraged in this by the US Deep State, which wanted the new OCU to bolster the post-coup Ukrainian regime in Kiev. Orthodox Reflections covered a lot of the background to this lamentable series of events in this article on 8 Lies Told by Enemies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Various hierarchs, priests, and academics have been working to undermine Orthodoxy for years. Much of their work has been done either in the background (often in lightly read academic publications and relatively obscure conferences), or in a manner that allows for “plausible deniability”. For example, officiating a service in an Episcopal Church boldly emblazoned with a Gay Pride flag, while loudly proclaiming there is nothing to see here but Christian love. Or baptizing the children of a same-sex couple, born of surrogate mothers, while claiming it was all about the salvation of the children. Or publishing a “Social Ethos” document that contains almost as many Woke, Globalist bromides as it does legitimate Orthodox teaching, while accusing critics of not having a sufficient Orthodox mindset to understand it.
But the UOC persecution changes things. The wolves can’t hide among the sheep. They are being flushed out in the open, as they have no choice but to publicly defend what the Kiev government and its “church” are doing to innocent Christians. The whole world is watching. The Orthodox hierarchs are finally speaking out. In response, the Patriarch of Constantinople feels compelled to issue vague threats in support of the schismatic OCU that he created:
“Any attempt to challenge the Autocephaly of the Church of Ukraine undermines inter-Orthodox peace and hinders cooperation and common witness of the Orthodox Churches,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said at the beginning of his speech.
The tragic suffering of the UOC has had a clarifying effect on Orthodoxy throughout the world. Those supporting her persecution are also, almost exclusively, the same Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing that support undermining the Orthodox Faith by pursuing ecumenism and modernism. Through their actions, they will increasingly expose themselves for the anti-Christian hypocrites they truly are.
Against these false teachers will be arrayed the testimony of the new Saints and Martyrs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It will be a very uneven battle.
God will fashion the suffering of the Orthodox Christians of the UOC into Gifts of the Holy Spirit that will enlighten the world.
-Donald W. Jones, financial consultant and lifetime member of the Orthodox Church in America
We Demand an End to Christian Persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
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Dear Representatives of the International Community!
Please help our Ukrainian Orthodox Church!
The times of persecution of the first Christians who were under the Roman Emperor Nero (who now became President Zelensky with his environment) have returned to Ukraine.
Zelensky is a new Ukrainian “Emperor” – NEW CRUEL UKRAINIAN NERO!!!!
Please watch all these videos and read all these articles about the horrific persecution and abuse of the Orthodox UOC in Ukraine.
Please pay special attention to the horrific behavior of the Ukrainian police and the representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine (SS U)!!!!!!!!
The priest was again beaten by OCU -Raiders and his face was filled with blood!!!
The Raiders of the OCU capture the churches of the canonical UOC. They even use a bulldozer for it !!! And then these UOC churches stand empty !!! In these captured churches, people no longer pray to God at this difficult time for Ukraine !!!
Orthodox Christians of the UOC – cry and ask you for help !!
Please distribute these scary videos everywhere – so that all people in all countries of the world can see how the Orthodox Christians of the UOC in Ukraine are persecuted!
There is no freedom of religion in Ukraine!!!
But what exists in Ukraine now? The terrible bloody persecution of the Orthodox UOC !!!
Patriarch Bartholomew! What did your BLOODY TOMOS do in Ukraine ????!!!!
How much pain and suffering did your BLOODY CRUEL TOMOS bring to the Orthodox Christians of the UOC in Ukraine?!!!!!!
To watch these videos in English, please turn on English subtitles on YouTube.
Thank you for all you do to protect the UOC!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Best regards
Your sister in Christ
Tetyana Avramenko
________________________________________________________________________
Door of Kazan Church of UOC in Ladyzhyn broken by OCU raiders
The rector of the church and two men were beaten, their hands twisted, and they were driven out of the church without outerwear; women were pulled out through the altar.
(Двері Казанського храму УПЦ у Ладижині рейдери ПЦУ виламали бульдозером.
Настоятеля Ладижинського Казанського храму та двох парафіян-чоловіків побили, заламали їм руки та вивели на вулицю без верхнього одягу, жінок витягли з церкви через вівтар.)
https://spzh.news/en/news/77904-door-of-kazan-church-of-uoc-in-ladyzhyn-broken-by-ocu-raiders
https://spzh.news/en/news/77915-ocu-priests-unable-to-cross-correctly-disgraced-at-uoc-church-in-ladyzhyn
In Ladyzhyn, the rector brutally beaten, the temple seized
The Kazan church was raided with the help of a bulldozer.
https://spzh.news/en/news/77898-in-ladyzhyn-the-rector-brutally-beaten-the-temple-seized
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfXTQQNijCY
In Volyn village of Pishcha, OCU supporters raid Kazan Church of UOC
https://spzh.news/en/news/77932-in-volyn-village-of-pishcha-ocu-supporters-raid-kazan-church-of-uoc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2Qi50J19YU&t=10s
Law enforcers intimidate Lavra monks with questions of converting to OCU
(Силовики в Лаврі кошмарять монахів запитаннями про перехід до ПЦУ, – ЗМІ)
https://spzh.news/en/news/77917-law-enforcers-intimidate-lavra-monks-with-questions-of-converting-to-ocu
Despite frosty weather, UOC believers come to Lavra for prayer standing
According to Archpriest Pavel Kyrylov, praying at the walls of the Lavra on such cold days is “a kind of exam, a test of our faith and love for God”.
(Незважаючи на мороз, віряни УПЦ прийшли до Лаври на молитовне стояння
За словами протоієрея Павла Кирилова, молитва біля стін Лаври в такі холодні дні – «це своєрідний іспит, випробування нашої віри і любові до Бога»)
https://spzh.news/en/news/77914-despite-frosty-weather-uoc-believers-come-to-lavra-for-prayer-standing
__________________________________________________________________________
Шановні Представники Міжнародної Спільноти!
Будь ласка, допоможіть нашій Українській Православній Церкві!
В Україну повернулися часи гоніння перших християн, які були при римському імператорі Нероні (яким зараз став Президент Зеленський з його оточенням).
Зеленский – це новий український “Імператор” – НОВИЙ УКРАЇНСЬКИЙ ЖОРСТОКИЙ НЕРОН!
Будь ласка, подивіться всі ці відео та прочитайте ці всі статті щодо ЖАХЛИВОГО ГОНІННЯ ТА ЗНУЩАННЯ НАД ПРАВОСЛАВНИМИ УПЦ В УКРАЇНІ.
Будь ласка, зверніть особливу увагу на жахливу поведінку української поліції та представників Служби Безпеки України (СБУ)!!!
СВЯЩЕННИКА УПЦ ЗНОВУ ПОБИЛИ ПЦУ-РЕЙДЕРИ!! У НЬОГО ЛИЦЕ ЗАЛИТЕ КРОВ’Ю!!!
РЕЙДЕРИ ПЦУ ЗАХОПЛЮЮТЬ ХРАМИ КАНОНІЧНОЇ УПЦ. ВОНИ НАВІТЬ ВИКОРИСТОВУЮТЬ БУЛЬДОЗЕР ДЛЯ ЦЬОГО!!! І ЦІ ХРАМИ ПОТІМ СТОЯТЬ ПУСТИМИ!!! В ЦИХ ЗАХОПЛЕНИХ ЦЕРКВАХ ЛЮДИ БІЛЬШЕ НЕ МОЛЯТЬСЯ БОГУ В ЦЕЙ ВАЖКИЙ ДЛЯ УКРАЇНИ ЧАС!!
ПРАВОСЛАВНІ УПЦ – ПЛАЧУТЬ І ПРОСЯТЬ ВАС ПРО ДОПОМОГУ!!!
БУДЬ ЛАСКА, РОЗПОВСЮДЬТЕ ЦІ СТРАШНІ ВІДЕО СКРІЗЬ – ЩОБ ВСІ ЛЮДИ У ВСІХ КРАЇНАХ СВІТУ ЗМОГЛИ ПОБАЧИТИ ЯК ГОНЯТЬ ПРАВОСЛАВНИХ ХРИСТИЯН УПЦ В УКРАЇНІ! В УКРАЇНІ НЕ ІСНУЄ СВОБОДИ ВІРОСПОВІДАННЯ!! АЛЕ ЩО ІСНУЄ ЗАРАЗ В УКРАЇНІ? ГОНІННЯ ПРАВОСЛАВНИХ УПЦ!!!
ПАТРІАРХ ВАРФОЛОМІЙ! ЩО НАРОБИВ ТВІЙ КРИВАВИЙ ТОМОС В УКРАЇНІ???? СКІЛЬКИ БОЛЮ І СТРАЖДАНЬ ТВІЙ КРИВАВИЙ ЖОРСТОКИЙ ТОМОС ПРИНІС ПРАВОСЛАВНИМ УПЦ В УКРАЇНІ????
Для перегляду цих відео англійською мовою, будь ласка, увімкніть англійські субтитри в ютуб.
Я дякую вам за все, що ви робите для захисту УПЦ!
З Різдвом Христовим та Новим Роком!
З повагою,
Ваша сестра у Христі
Тетяна Авраменко
____________________________________________________________________________
Дорогие Представители Международного Сообщества!
Пожалуйста, помогите нашей Украинской Православной Церкви!
Времена преследования первых христиан, которые были при римском императоре Нероне (в которого превратился Президент Зеленский со своим окружением), возвратились в Украину.
Зеленский это – новый украинский “Император” – Новый Украинский Жестокий Нерон!
Пожалуйста, посмотрите все эти видео и прочитайте все эти статьи об ужасных ГОНЕНИЯХ И ИЗДЕВАТЕЛЬСТВАХ над православными УПЦ в Украине.
Пожалуйста, обратите особое внимание на ужасное поведение украинской полиции и представителей Службы Безопасности Украины (СБУ)!!!
Священник УПЦ снова был избит рейдерами ПЦУ, его лицо – В КРОВИ!!.
Рейдеры ПЦУ захватывают храмы канонической УПЦ. Они даже используют бульдозер для этого !!! И эти храмы затем стоят пустыми !!! В этих захваченных церквях люди больше не молятся Богу в это трудное время для Украины !!!
Православные УПЦ – плачут и просят вас о помощи!!!
Пожалуйста, распространите эти страшные видео везде – чтобы все люди во всех странах мира могли видеть, как ГОНЯТ православных христиан УПЦ в Украине!
В Украине нет свободы вероисповедания!!!
А что сейчас существует в Украине? Преследование православных УПЦ !!!
Патриарх Варфоломей! Что натворил твой кровавый ТОМОС в Украине ???? Сколько боли и страданий твой кровавый жестокий ТОМОС принес православным УПЦ в Украине?
Чтобы просмотреть эти видео на английском языке, пожалуйста, включите английские субтитры в YouTube.
Я благодарю вас за все, что вы делаете, чтобы защитить УПЦ!
С Рождеством Христовым и Новым Годом!
С уважением,
Ваша сестра во Христе
Татьяна Авраменко
So, why is this persecution so intensified in the Ukraine? What does it not reach the levels elsewhere?
The answer is simple: the Ukraine has become the nexus for many different, but connected evils. Money laundering, child/sex/human trafficking, and the list goes on.
The evil men running the Ukraine must keep a lid on the authentic Orthodox Church, because….she is the only real threat to evil in that region. If the Church there could ever get off her heels and into forward motion, all the mess would be exposed; the principalities and powers of the air (and NATO) would have to withdraw. Of course, the EP is out to destroy the true Church there, that’s what he is paid to do.
By keeping the world distracted by the continued warring, it provides an effect cloaking device for all the foreign interests that use Ukraine for a human trafficking depot. By stamping out the salt and light, they can then take full control and continue with the world wide evil trafficking of all types.
Interestingly, many Americans—heterodox in particular—know the real, but hidden score. Probably better than Orthodox Christians under faux-bishops:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/K69UBn9z1lEw/
Is Russia under martial law? Can anybody with connections verify?
We’d say that you definitely have found real bishops in Ukraine:
https://spzh.news/en/news/74469-uoc-bishop-authorities-are-annoyed-at-his-beatitude-smiling-no-matter-what
Archbishop Victor said that the authorities on the sidelines cannot understand why, despite the pressure, the Primate of the UOC does not lose heart.
State agents of the highest echelons of power of Ukraine are annoyed by the fact that despite the enormous pressure on the UOC, His Beatitude Onuphry keeps smiling through thick and thin, Archbishop Victor, the ruling Khmelnytsky bishop, told in a video interview with Pravoslavny Visnyk.
“We constantly press them, but he smiles. How come?” the archbishop conveyed the impressions of the officials. At the same time, he noted that deep inner feelings are hidden behind the outward smile, lovingly addressed to believers.
“We know that His Beatitude relies on God in everything and that he leads a profound spiritual life. His spiritual life is the foundation for all his words and actions. He will never say, ‘I lead the Church.’ No, but ‘Christ leads the Church.’ But he always prays that through him, Christ will give the right decisions that will benefit the Orthodox faithful of Ukraine,” the archbishop said.
According to him, that is why the Lord has now given us such a Primate, who is a spiritual core. “So that we could pass through those stormy waves that hit us from different sides, holding on to Christ through our Primate. So that we become stronger, become more perfect,” said the bishop.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that according to Metropolitan Onuphry, the right life is when you glorify God, rather than yourself.
It is facinating how one man can stand in the way of so much evil and live to do it again tomorrow. We all can walk in that same protection by taking a stand. In God’s providence, it seems the haven of safety is to throw caution to the wind and make a stand come hell or high water. Courage is defined as “stepping ever so close to danger in order to stay safe” (G. K. Chesterton–paraphrased). When the laity of some American jurisdictions learn this lesson, the foolishness will stop over night. You will never change what you tolerate or–in the case of Met. Onuphry– protect your own by caving to evil. No doubt, many within his trust take heart and have forged the same backbone; hard to find in the west, but our turn may be coming soon.
This is war with Church of Christ . They don’t want Christian traditions in Ukraine.
Incredible statement to make on the same site that demanded no one condemn Kirill even as he made war against his fellow Christians and drove them out as refugees. His constant justifications of the invasion, his praise of the Russian military after the Bucha massacre, his support for the drafting of Russian civilians into the war, not to mention his numerous other more controversial faults…..that’s not enough to condemn him. But those evil Ukrainians lashing out in fear of being wiped off the Earth (a defeat this blog has claimed was inevitable on multiple occasions), they’re the true bad guys.
This article has nothing to do with Patriarch Kirill. The Faithful of the UOC are Ukrainians who are living under Ukrainian rule. They have no ties to Moscow They are Faithful, canonical, Orthodox Christians living in their own homeland under a Ukrainian synod headed by a Ukrainian Metropolitan.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/the-ukrainian-orthodox-church-suffers-with-christ/
Nothing Russia does or does not do can justify the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Nothing Patriarch Kirill does or does not do can justify the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Your comment is one we are used to dealing with. It is a combination of “if you don’t condemn Russia you can’t speak about the persecution of the UOC as you are a hypocrite” and “the UOC deserves it”.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/8-reasons-why-global-orthodox-hierarchs-back-the-uoc-without-condemning-russia/
So nothing new here in your comment. You know that the Ukrainian Government persecuting Ukrainian citizens belonging to the canonical Church is unjust and that their suffering is martyrdom. There is no way to justify such monstrous acts, so you seek to redirect the conversation to backhandedly labeling us as a hypocrites (as if that would matter) and switching the focus to the ROC. It has not worked, and won’t work.
No one has justified the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. I don’t think they should persecute anyone, but I have zero power over their actions. I’m only speaking to you and your consistent hypocrisy. Of course this article has “nothing to do” with Kirill, the only articles you’ve posted about Kirill are those defending him and telling us not to criticize him, even as he has cheered on actions 100x worse than anything the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has done.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the canonical Church in Ukraine under persecution. We are not going to debate Patriarch Kirill or any Russian actions on this article. If you want to know why, then read this one:
Commenting on this article and demanding a discussion of Patriarch Kirill and the ROC is doing the same thing – trying to redirect from the main issue presented here.
This is not about Russia or about Patriarch Kirill. This is about Metropolitan Onuphry and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the fact that US Tax money supports Christian persecution. If you want to argue about Patriarch Kirill, then please go to one of the articles in which we discuss Patriarch Kirill and post a comment there. We will answer it. But here, we are not going to let you ruin the focus of this article by getting into a different topic.
This one was really controversial, so feel free to comment here: https://orthodoxreflections.com/6-reasons-to-stop-before-you-criticize-patriarch-kirill-of-moscow-and-the-russian-orthodox-church/
Now on a different note, what those of us who are Americans have zero control over is what Russia does. Russia and the ROC do not care. We are American citizens, whose government is committed to a war to the last Ukrainian that features Christian persecution funded by our tax dollars. We say no to all that, and instead call for a cease fire followed by negotiations and an end to Christian persecution. Continuing to fund this war is madness and not in the interests of the US, the World, or the Church. While we have no control over Russia, our own government cannot find any leverage even after all the sanctions, perhaps we can exert some influence over our own. Particularly as it has been confirmed that a peace deal back in March 2022 was scuttled under US pressure. None of this had to happen. This could have been done over a year ago, but for NATO’s desire to hurt Russia through Ukraine.
Дай Бог чтобы все уже поскорее закончилось.
Как жаль что ни русские ни украинцы не понимают, что их просто столкнули лбами.
Dear Helen!
Please read my last comment with the video in youtube concerning the “conversation” of the Ukrainian policewoman with Kokhanovskaya. It’s terrible !!! Please, if you can, forward this video to other people who you think may need it. Victoria also left her mobile phone number Viber and Whatsup (Viber Whatsup mobile number +380978002108.). May the Lord bless you! Your sister in Christ. Tetyana
https://orthodoxreflections.com/we-demand-an-end-to-the-silence-over-the-persecution-of-the-ukrainian-orthodox-church/#comment-5220
It will be sad, ironic, and bewildering if Wagner Group, with all their horrific atrocities and enormous bias towards Russia, has realized who the true aggressor was before the partisans on this site did.
Mercenaries have no place in any military organization. Russia just amply demonstrated that. Even if there was no Coup in 2014 sponsored by the West, even if there had been no ongoing war against the Donbas, even if Kiev and the West had not broken Minsk I & II after negotiating in bad faith, even if there was no February 2022 escalation on Ukraine’s side that led the Donbas Republics to scream for help, even if Russia was totally at fault for everything – that still could never justify the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by its own government. A fact that you surely understand, but do not want to acknowledge.
You have not had ONE post mentioning Wagner in this site’s history. I’m the only one who has ever brought them up, and you won’t even say their name unless you’re responding to me. All these posts about Ukraine’s Nazis, Ukraine’s aggression, Ukraine’s persecution, but not a single post about the Nazi mercenaries that “faithful Orthodox leader” Putin was sending in to slaughter Orthodox believers.
I think persecuting anyone, from any church, is wrong. I have zero difficulty saying that. No one in the Ukrainian government or church should be harming a single believer except for the imprisonment of those actively involved in assisting the invasion. So you’re lying when you say I don’t want to acknowledge that.
But what you won’t acknowledge is that Russia invaded Ukraine, and bears full responsibility for that. What you won’t acknowledge is that Ukraine has been defending themselves the entire time. You have to be blind not to see that. But that’s human nature, and if you haven’t figured out who the aggressor is by now, it’s really unlikely that you’re ever going to. Too much of your ego is wrapped up in it.
Wagner was a PMC and not funded by the US or NATO. Had this war never begun, Wagner would never have been a factor in Ukraine. Wagner and all mercs are a very, very bad idea, which is why Wagner will not survive this meltdown of its leader. Soldiers who fight for money are scum, which is why they do not enjoy Geneva Convention protections. The same applies to Azov, which is an ideological militia. They are also scum. But they are among the scum the US finances with my money. They conduct all kinds of atrocities, and that is on us because we pay for it and enable it. Their terror since 2014 was a direct factor in bringing this war about. They should also be liquidated, along with all other Ukrainian militia units, as part of a general peace deal.
If that’s how you feel, then we are all on the same side of the issue of the persecution of the UOC.
We have answered this multiple times in many different ways in many different articles. This is one of the latest. This war was 100% provoked by NATO and the post-coup government in Kiev.
2. The War Was Not Unprovoked
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine is constantly referred to as “unprovoked”. It is a talking point repeated by everyone from journalists to government officials to the Patriarch of Constantinople. But is it true? Is Ukraine the innocent victim of unprovoked Russian aggression?
Not hardly. The US and NATO are responsible for this war. One of the primary events leading to this war was the 2014 coup, which the West supported and enabled to succeed. The excerpt below is from an eyewitness account of the events surrounding the so-called “Maidan”:
The US funded and supported far-right Ukrainian nationalists in overthrowing the democratically elected government of Ukraine. Prior to this war, everyone knew Ukraine was full of unsavory, Nazi extremists. Most of the world, including Orthodox hierarchs outside of the West, still knows it.
In April 2014, the ruling Ukrainian junta launched a military campaign against the largely Russian-speaking Donbas region over their rejection of the coup. Among other reasons, the Russian speakers there were angry that the Russian language and Russian culture had been brutally mocked and oppressed by the Western-supported radicals in Kiev. Over the next eight years of war, thousands died and hundreds of thousands became refugees.
Despite two agreements, Minsk I & II, the war never ended. Zelenskyy was elected on a peace platform. Still the war did not end. We now know that the Western powers were never negotiating in good faith and never intended for Ukraine to keep to any agreement. The West was only buying time to arm Ukraine sufficiently for its army to fully destroy the Donbas republics, founded in 2014 by Russian-speaking Ukrainians as a measure to protect themselves.
Jacques Baud is a former colonel of the General Staff, ex-member of the Swiss strategic intelligence, and a specialist on Eastern countries. He described the run up to the current war between Russia and Ukraine in this article:
Baud also provided this explanation of the bigger picture causes of the war:
A victim of Ukrainian shelling during the Donabas War (years prior to the Russian Invasion) stands in the ruins of her home.
For more perspective on how the Ukraine War was provoked, we recommend reading an article from Code Pink, the US anti-war organization, which published all the times senior U.S. diplomats, journalists, academics and secretaries of defense spoke about the United State’s involvement in provoking Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Here is an example from that article, Ambassador Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell:
Citizens of NATO member nations comprise the most heavily propagandized population on the planet. Many average Westerners do not know any of this history. The word “unprovoked” gets used so often in connection to the Russian invasion, with no counter narrative, that they simply accept its truth at face value. The Westerners who have heard this history frequently deny the truth of it. They claim the coup was a spontaneous uprising, that Russia provoked the war in the Donbas, that Russia kept the Minsk agreements from being honored, and that nothing out-of-the-ordinary was happening in February 2022. The fact that the increased shelling and troop movements leading up to the invasion were witnessed and reported by observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE as noted above) is dismissed as lies or as of no importance.
Many Orthodox hierarchs, however, are familiar with the true history leading up to this war. Especially for important Orthodox hierarchs from outside the West, this war may be awful (all are), it may be unjustified (God will judge), but it is definitely not unprovoked. Did we mention that wars are complicated? So most Orthodox hierarchs will focus on praying for peace and on condemning Christian persecution, which is always an unambiguous moral evil.
Haha! You’re a total clown if you haven’t figured out that the US is THE bad player on the global stage. Try getting a clue.
USA has done numerous horrific things on the global stage, and I am 100% against the American military. That doesn’t change the fact that you have to have stabbed pencils through your eyes to not see that Russia started this war.
Sad to see the same people shouting “no justification for wrongdoing!” still doing everything they can to justify Russia starting and pushing a war that will soon reach 100,000 deaths and that has displaced tens of millions of people. At any moment, Russia could end this war if they wanted. At ANY moment. Putin is supposedly a faithful orthodox believer, Kirill is supposedly a faithful Orthodox patriarch, but according to this site we’re not even allowed to criticize him while he supports the destruction of millions of lives. Then over and over again are these “But Ukraine!” posts.
The US national security complex has absolutely done horrific things. So why do you believe those same people now?
Your numbers are probably way too low. Ukraine alone has lost hundreds of thousands of dead and many, many hundreds of thousands severely wounded. Ukraine has no economy left. US tax payers even pay govt salaries. The property damage is into the billions in the poorest country in Europe. The population is down into the low 20 millions at best, with millions never to return. The counter offensive has now ended in total failure. The country and the people do not need any more punishment. There will be no Ukrainian victory. Peace negotiations must happen immediately to end this war and prevent further loss of life.
Russia can’t, actually. The proximate cause for the start of the military operation in Feb 2022 was the increase in shelling and mobilization of forces on the Ukrainian side for a massive attack on Lugansk and Donetsk. This was after 8 years of continuous shelling and other attacks. These territories are Russian, and were added to the Ukrainian SSR by Lenin and other Soviet leaders. Russia cannot leave these people undefended, and so will not withdraw. Not now, not ever. Until a peace settlement is reached that will protect these territories (which are now considered Russia proper), then the war will not end. Further, Ukraine must agree to never join NATO, never host NATO military basis, and must walk back the disastrous statement by Zelenskyy prior to the war that Ukraine would consider getting nukes again. These were probably the outlines of the peace agreement from March 2022 in Istanbul which the West forced Zelenskyy to scuttle. Now we add the persecution of the UOC to the situation, which must also be dealt with (preferably by negotiation and not military conquest).
So no, this is not a simple matter of Russia marching home. American diplomats once understood how to view the world through the eyes of their adversaries and so get good, lasting agreements. Our diplomats now bluster as cover for bombing people. It is a sad decline.
This is a secular war for secular aims. Russia tried to avoid this war via the Minsk I & Minsk II process. The West admits it was never negotiating in good faith. Putin can be a Satanist for all we care. This was not an unprovoked war, and the Russian War aims, as stated repeatedly, are reasonable. Negotiation is possible to end this killing, but the West would rather send Ukrainians into a meat grinder. Focusing on Putin and Patriarch Kirill is an attempt to redirect the conversation from the persecution of the UOC, which our government forces us to fund.
If you want to debate any potential “religious” side of this war, then we suggest you comment on this article:
https://orthodoxreflections.com/is-russia-really-fighting-a-holy-war-in-ukraine/
or this one
https://orthodoxreflections.com/the-war-in-ukraine-is-not-about-religion/
“These territories are Russian, and were added to the Ukrainian SSR by Lenin and other Soviet leaders. Russia cannot leave these people undefended, and so will not withdraw. Not now, not ever.”
And we see the true insanity that determines your position, with all the other nonsense and misinformation a smokescreen. No wonder you keep getting so much wrong when this is your starting point.
You are challenging historical facts now? On what basis? The Eastern Provinces were Russian-speaking, and were attached by Lenin. Crimea was Russian speaking and attached by Khrushchev. The Western provinces were taken away from Poland after WWII, and a slice of Germany was given to Poland as compensation. On what basis are you challenging the history of this?
Or, are you challenging that after the 2014 Maidan Coup that the Kievan Government conducted an 8 year war against the Donbas? A war that kept going despite Russia’s best efforts in Minsk I & II to end it? Efforts we now know were in vain, as the West never planned to negotiate in good faith? Or perhaps you are questioning that in February 2022 the Donbas Republics appealed to Russia for military aid as the Ukrainian forces were massing for an all-out attack?
Facts are smokescreens, right? The war needs to end. Now. Peace is the only answer.
Shouldn’t waste my time with a person unwilling to see basic facts, but hey, I just like easy wins.
OR Staff wrote out all of those facts to you, and you completely ignore them. LOL.
Russia tried diplomacy for eight years and got nowhere. That’s because the US (the rulers of Ukraine) was never going to allow diplomacy to work. That’s why the US wouldn’t allow Ukraine to abide by the Minsk accords. That’s why the US would never allow negotiations to get anywhere. The US war in Ukraine is one of the largest transfers of wealth (from the proletariat class to the ruling lizard class) in the history of the world.
But keep on playing make believe.
So I guess you literally don’t care that the Ukrainian govt bombed the Donbass for EIGHT years and slaughtered innocent people there?
You don’t care that literal nazis are fighting on the side of Ukraine. Read up on Stepan Bandera and get back with me.
You are a wildly ignorant person.
The Holy Orthodox Faith is built from the ground up for spiritual warfare. What we have inherited from our fathers is the complete arsenal to take any territory no matter how infested with demons it is. Yet, the problem is with us, not what we have been given. Keeping it between the four walls of the temple, incarcerates the power to deliver. Jesus’ ministry was in the streets, He as in the streets the walking, talking Temple of the Holy Spirit, the “Anointed One”. You are too.
When I first became Orthodox, I tried to explain this to the priest, and he gave it the cold shoulder. Before any evangelism can take place, the spirits and powers of the air must first be bound up because they blind the eyes of the minds of those in captivity. Jesus was clear:
And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house (Mark 3:27).
Take note of the video in this post! Taking the icon of the Holy Mother to a location and resonating (chanting) changes the spiritual atmosphere in that area, which will in time manifest in the natural bringing peace. All dominion—good or evil—is territorial by nature. Remember when? Remember when Orthodox congregations did public processions. That drives out the evil, and cleanses the land preventing bad men from getting the upper hand.
Our problem is we have been on the defense and not the offence. The early Church was never on the defense, but always on the offence; we are far too lazy. While we cling to our Faith as life preserver, it is much more than that. It is the arsenal to put the enemy to flight.
Do you want to change your neighborhood so others can receive the Gospel? Simply walk around praying, chanting, resonating the angels to activate them. Michael kicks devil-butt all day long, but he stands idle until you engage him with resonating.
This here former Protestant, Yeah, I pray to angels, a lot!
So, here ya go, this is it: the occult knows how to summon demons with chanting, words, resonating, and some stuff I will not mention calling on them to do their bidding. With the rite words, it works—some of our clergy actually can do this (I won’t mention names). But, that is the antitype of the architype which is summoning angels by resonating them to you, your aid.
How do you summon angels? First of all, you must know what they respond to, what gets their attention, what will gather them like bees to the hive. When they hear their anthem, they get motivated, activated, and get to work.
Here is the universal song that gets the attention of angels—it is what angels sing all day long, all night long everywhere they go. It is their anthem! Because it is the core of their purpose for existence, its why God made them.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13-4)
This is their resonating modus operandi. Their first purpose is to glorify God, and then their mission is to bring peace to the earth and—get this—execute God’s good will toward Man includes kicking demon-butt from pillar to post to establish the Peace of God that rules in our hearts .
All of the tones, each is for a specific purpose. They are not random harmonics (this I know by revelation, but have no clue which is for what, for that you would need to consult a savey choir director and just look at the verbiage associated).
Here are the simple steps to victory over demonic attack via the angelic host.
1. Elevate: sing—preferably out loud—whatever praise to God seems natural—whatever comes out of your spirit; Holy Spirit will guide— to elevate into the heavenlies where the angels dwell. I sing, “The Lord reigns in all the earth” over and over and over. Do so as long as is needed to get above whatever is paining your mind at the moment.[1] When sensing elevation, go to step 2.
2. Sing out, the angel’s anthem as seen at the nativity. Do that for a while, and you may even sense their presence coming to your aid. By resonating their anthem, you get their attention real fast, because you have addressed them on their wave length, you have tuned your spirit transmitter to their channel, you are singing their native tongue, their song bringing them into agreement with you according to the Holy Covenant they also operate by.
3. Sing out in words to smite your enemies—demons—that afflict whether it be a direct spiritual assault, or sickness, or whatever. When couching it in Holy Writ, it is all the more powerful as the angels respond primarily to the words of the Covenant as they are in that same covenant and work according to the Everlasting Covenant.
If you are experiencing any kind of depression, oppression, supercharged fear, do this and watch what happens.
Note: whenever you are struck with an unusual fear, instantaneous or prolonged, that is demons trying to gain access every time (something bad may be about to happen if they get access). Fear is faith in reverse and opens the door to demons to access you.
If you do this non-stop, in time the angels will just like being around you and set up their tents and just hang out. “The angels of the Lord encamp around those that fear Him.” This becomes a barrier to demons: see Elisha.
While there are intricacies to using these “keys to the kingdom”, you have to start somewhere and over time you will go from crawling to walking to running.
[1] As a male, in the priesthood of my maleness, I sing in the deepest voice possible, sometimes it resonates (tickles) in the TESTicles (the emblems of TESTaments Old & New, proclaiming the TESTamony of God. Boosts TESTosterone—I bet. For a woman, she would want to go high but not screech or be stressed. If you are experienced in the choir, use the tones.
My morning devotions look like this:
Standing facing east: Using the Western Rite Book of Common Prayer I got at St Mark’s in Denver, I recite the office of Morning Prayer—but not all of it. I start with the general confession (p3) and use the layman’s absolution[1]—not the priest’s (bottom p4). The plug ins, I leave out but sometimes do the Scripture readings (yeah, I lazy). The canticles are somewhat pick and choose, but I usually combine some that are labeled “or”. Instead of the Apostles Creed, I insert the Nicene (from the St Tihkon book) because it was the only creed codified by universal endorsement.
I love the BCP because it was written in native English, the Greek and Russian translations are verbally clumsy by comparison, something is always lost in the translation. If you will note all the “collects” (collected prayers) follow a poetic pattern of addressing God in terms connected to the need/s, then stating the request/s, then a thanksgiving or expression of veneration to answered prayer, again in terms of the need: this structure is pure genius. The pattern is seen in the Lord ’s Prayer and other prayers. A “key of the kingdom” is always a certain way of doing things that unlocks what is locked up or locks up what needs to be locked up.
After the morning office, I recite PS. 91 KJV with pronouns change to the personal…”I dwell in the secret place of the almighty…I abide under the shadow…I My etc.
Then I recite Ephesians 6:10-8, again with all the pronouns to I. “I am strong in the Lord…etc.
Then I recite 2 Timothy 1: 7 over 5 times. “For God has not give us (me) a spirit of fear, but of POWER and of LOVE and of a Sound mind.” Reciting this has made me bold as a lion.
Then, still facing east, I proclaim a territorial blessing in ever expanding fashion: “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I bless this house, this property and this city (really small town). Then pivot to the left to face North and say it again. Then pivot to the west—repeat. Then to the south—repeat. I do this circuit three times to make 3 x 4 = 12 the number of completeness. This repetition creates a “threefold cord” of protection 360 degrees which cannot be broken, but I have to do it every day. When I don’t weird stuff happens.
All the while I have a stick of incense burning. Always worship with fire, candle, incest whatever.
Then I make some coffee and continue to do resonating to stay elevated for a while. Check email, etc. Though out the day, I will have a spell of resonating, “The Lord reigns in all the earth”! When any chore seems not to be going well, I stop and start resonating again, “The Lord reigns in all the earth!” over my situation. Then it works.
Somedays I have extended hours of Hesychia, where I wrestle my thought life back under control casting down imaginations. When I hit the sweet spot of silence, the breathing automatically changes. But this may take hours of wrestling elevating the heart, and focusing the mind upward to God shielding from any distraction. After extended Hesychia in a few hours sometimes there is a rush of joy, but not always but hiding strength emerges. My youth is restored like the eagles, the formula for extending youthfulness (take heed ladies).
There is not an Orthodox church within a hundred twenty miles; I have to do somethings for myself.
Please share what works for you.
[1] Yes, in Western Rite, laymen can pray absolution over their family and themselves. The venue is irrelevant, temple or home.
Why do you refer to Abbot Tryphon as Fr. Tryphon former Abbot of a Monastery?
***”Our failure to eradicate the “Woke” poison, spreading through parts of our Church and society, led Fr Tryphon (a former Abbot of a Monastery) to call for us to Stop The Luciferian Lockstep. “***
He is STILL the Abbot of All Merciful Savior Monastery on Vashon Island in Washington State. He has not been removed or stepped down. He is far from Woke and has spoken in defense of the UOC and its persecution. What are you trying to say here?
The author was trying to say that he stepped down a year ago, according to his own videos, which now identify him as Fr Tryphon. His health forced him to step down, as he explained on his YouTube channel. You seem to be misreading that statement. Our current inability to eradicate woke caused Fr / Abbot Tryphon to call attention to our need to break the Luciferin Lockstep. The author was calling attention to the video in a positive way. This wasn’t criticism of Fr Tryphon, it was citing him.
Forgive me, but I follow Abbot Tryphon and as of today’s posts he still goes by Abbot Tryphon and if you go to the Monastery’s website he is still pictured and referred to as Abbot Tryphon. See the attached photo.
It’s a little confusing. So in this video Abbot Tryphon talks about stepping down:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QlKDiQX5yM
And his YouTube channel is listed under “Fr. Tryphon”. We can just edit the article. No disrespect was ever intended to Abbot Tryphon.
Even if he Has stepped down from administering the monastery, he is still ‘Abbot’ Tryphon, as that is his monastic-clerical rank, not just an administrative role. When a bishop steps down or retires, likewise his rank does not change. A single monastery may have several priest-monks in the rank of abbot, though only one will be the ruler of the monastery and head of the brotherhood.
Thanks, we updated the article to keep his rank intact.