By Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America
Globally, it is estimated that more than 365 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. That is 1 in 7 of all Christians. In 2023, an estimated 5,621 Christians were killed just for being followers of Christ. An average of 13 Christian martyrs per day. The same year, 14,766 churches and Christian properties were attacked. Nigerian Christians bear the heaviest burden, but over the past couple of years, Orthodox Christians in Ukraine and the Middle East have seen their lives become increasingly difficult and dangerous.
In Ukraine, the Zelensky regime has coordinated the intelligence services, police, militant thugs, and the courts to try and completely eradicate the existence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian authorities are responsible for raiding and seizing churches and monasteries, launching twenty-three baseless criminal cases against UOC clergy, and imposing sanctions on several members of the clergy in Crimea and the Donbas. Clergy and laity alike have been beaten, arrested, shot, and locked out of their own houses of worship. The Ukrainian Government even took control of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine’s holiest site and the seat of the UOC. In August of 2024, Zelensky went so far as to sign into law Bill 8371 “On Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Activities of Religious Organizations” (better known as the “Law Banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church”) which, supporters and critics alike, acknowledge could be used to completely shut down the Ukrainian Orthodox Church:
This creates legal grounds to prosecute and dissolve parishes and dioceses of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate solely because of their canonical communion with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), even though the Council of the UOC proclaimed the “full autonomy and independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church” on May 27, 2022. The law does not directly mandate the dissolution of the UOC, but only because it does not exist as a single legal entity under Ukrainian law; only its components (dioceses, parishes, monasteries and educational institutions) are legally recognized. Their future will be decided in nine months through court proceedings initiated by state bodies for religious expertise.
President Trump bears a heavy, heavy responsibility for the ongoing persecution in Ukraine. Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was instrumental in creating the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”. This fake church, created with the enthusiastic assistance of U.S. asset Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, was literally adopted by the Zelensky Government as a state church, even though doing so violated Ukraine’s constitution, European law, and modern Western practice. It is the existence of this political abomination that justifies and facilitates the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The birth of the OCU as a result of Trump’s Ukrainian policy, as executed by Mike Pompeo, was explained in The American Conservative article entitled Zelensky vs. the Ukrainian Orthodox Church:
The State Department and politicians of both parties carried out work to promote the new church. Two months before the creation of the OCU in 2018, Filaret and Epifaniy met in the United States with Joe Biden, who declared his gratitude for their work. State Department Ambassador for Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and special representative for Ukraine Ambassador Kurt Volker declared their support for this project.
Immediately after its creation, the OCU received its first official congratulations from the State Department and the U.S. Embassy. At the same time, Ambassador Brownback and the U.S. ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt—who was also ambassador to Ukraine from 2013 to 2016—visited church leaders and Mount Athos to urge them to recognize the OCU. Both Ambassador Volker and Secretary Pompeo met with Epifaniy many times. All facts indicate that the promotion of the OCU was part of U.S. policy in Ukraine.
So, has Trump learned his lesson on Ukraine? Is the incoming President going to support freedom for the persecuted Christians in Ukraine, even though their suffering is directly linked to his own former policies?
Maybe.
Unlike Biden or Harris, under whom no hope would exist, Trump has at least staffed his incoming administration with individuals who have expressed sympathy for the plight of the Orthodox Church. Prior to the election, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance spoke out about the persecution of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine. Ukrainian prisoners of conscience wrote to Vance (among other lawmakers). Vance highlighted those letters when speaking against Christian persecution on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Click here to see a video covering the letters and some of Vance’s Senate speech.
As a presidential candidate, Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy decried the atrocities committed against innocent Armenians by Azerbaijan and the banning of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Zelensky Regime.
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to be Director of National Intelligence, took to her Instagram account back in 2023 to denounce Zelensky’s descent into authoritarianism, including his attempt at the time to outlaw the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The closest media persona to Donald Trump is Tucker Carlson. Carlson has brought up the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church multiple times, even challenging former Vice President Mike Pence on the subject during an interview.
Here’s part of the Carlson / Pence exchange below:
“I’m confused on this question. It’s very clear that the Zelenskyy government has arrested priests for having views they disagree with. That’s not consistent with religious liberty, it’s an attack on it and we’re funding it. And I’m just wondering how, and I don’t mean to be disrespectful at all, but I sincerely wonder how a Christian leader could support the arrest of Christian leaders for having different views,” Carlson began.
“The problem is that you don’t accept my answer,” an exasperated Pence responded. “I just told you I asked a religious leader in Kyiv if it was happening. You asked me if I raised the issue and I did. I also raised it with the Ukrainians and I was told that there are religious leaders who are working with the Russian military who is murdering people by the thousands.
“No, you spoke to one person who’s clearly on one side of it and there are many, many news reports that are not disputed by anybody that clergy are being arrested in Ukraine and I’m merely saying I might not agree with it, I’m not Russian Orthodox, but you can’t arrest clergy for having different views. Period,” Carlson said.
Had Mike Pence been elected president, or any of the other “establishment” candidates, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would have little hope. However, Pence didn’t win. The incoming president is Donald J Trump, and his victory has given the people and hierarchy of the UOC at least some hope for an end to the persecution. Metropolitan Agafangel of Odesa of Izmail, permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, has published a letter written to President-elect Donald Trump in which His Eminence expresses his prayerful aspirations for a better future:
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which I represent, is the largest religious institution in Ukraine. We have got with great joy the news of your election as one of the most distinguished statesmen of the United States. At all Ukrainian holy sites, we pray for your health and your esteemed wife, Melania.
We believe that with your election as President of the great nation of the United States, peace will come not only to the long-suffering land of Ukraine but to the entire world. We also believe it will improve the treatment of the suffering millions within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which today endures great trials and tribulations while remaining steadfast in its devotion to its people and the Ukrainian State. Our Church clearly understands that peace is a blessing, while war is a grave evil. We hope the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will rise again and, as before, continue its timeless mission alongside other denominations within Ukraine, fostering interfaith and civilians’ peace for the good of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian State. In unity lies our strength!
I sincerely believe and hold good hope that, through dialogue, we can resolve issues related to harmonious interaction and a cooperative model of lawful relations between our State and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which takes its rightful place in the public life of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church comprises millions of Ukrainian citizens, filling our churches today and yearning for victory and a just peace. Thus, the voice of the Church must be heard, and its faithful has the right, guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine, to protect rights and freedoms.
Metropolitan Agafangel. Photo: Odesa Eparchy Facebook page
From His Eminence’s lips to God’s ears! We can only pray that the people around President Trump will keep this issue at the forefront of the policy agenda.
There are some additional pragmatic reasons to think the second Trump Administration will do things differently than Trump I and the outgoing Biden fiasco. President Trump has committed himself to ending the war in Ukraine, though the details of how he will accomplish that remain extremely vague. Regardless of the final details of any peace deal, however, Russia is almost certain to demand an end to what Russian officials have called the “satanic” crackdown on the UOC. As the grinding war of attrition shifts more and more decisively towards Russian victory, freedom for the UOC could easily be a price Kiev is willing to pay to maintain any kind of independence. Even if radicals in Kiev were to insist on continuing to persecute the UOC, given Trump’s desire to pivot away from confronting Russia and towards focusing on the “China threat”, the U.S. is unlikely to tolerate losing a peace deal over it.
In addition, the persecution of the UOC is extremely unpopular on the global stage, and not supported by most Americans who are knowledgeable of the situation. The vast majority of Orthodox Christians around the world still recognize the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, under her saintly ruling primate Metropolitan Onuphry, as the true canonical Orthodox Church on the territory of Ukraine. Multiple international organizations have explicitly condemned the persecution, including the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the World Council of Churches. Orthodox Reflections was able to gather almost 6,000 signatures on a petition condemning the persecution and demanding its immediate cessation. (To see the list of signatures, please click here. To sign the petition, click here. To read the petition verbiage, click here.)
The world knows that Ukraine is wholly dependent on U.S. financial and military support. The persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, therefore, could not be happening without at least tacit U.S. approval. Supporting continued Christian persecution would generate headaches the Trump II team neither wants nor needs.
So for Ukraine, there are valid reasons to hope that a second Trump Administration may significantly improve the lives of Orthodox Christians.
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But what about the Middle East, particularly Syria?
The new “rulers” in Damascus are very concerning, not just for Christians, but for all minorities (religious and otherwise). The militants who toppled the regime of dictator Bashar Assad in Syria are “al-Qaeda and ISIS hiding who they really are” and their rule “will be a disaster for Christians,” predicted Jeff King, the president of International Christian Concern (ICC), in remarks to Breitbart News.
The new man in charge in Damascus, Mohammed al-Jolani, fought against the U.S. in Iraq. He was head of the al-Nusrah Front (an offshoot of al-Qaeda) and merged it with other organizations to create the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Al-Jolani once worked directly under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the now deceased ISIS “caliph.” Recently al-Jolani, with the help of Western media and Intelligence services (same thing really), has been undergoing an extensive public relations makeover. He now wears suits, wants to be referred to by his real name of Ahmed al-Sharaa, and insists in recent interviews he does not intend to persecute any minority groups in Syria.
However, there are more than a few who doubt the sincerity of his pledge to respect minority rights. The U.S. Department of State designated him, as leader of the al-Nusrah Front in 2013, a “global terrorist”. At the time, the U.S. State Department said, “He has stated in videos that his ultimate goal is the overthrow of the Syrian regime and the institution of Islamist shari’a law throughout the country. Under al-Jolani’s leadership, al-Nusrah Front has carried out multiple suicide attacks throughout Syria.”
So a man who has been designated a global terrorist (including having a bounty on his head), leading an organization cobbled together through merging known Islamic terror groups, is now running the show in Damascus. What could go wrong?
But, all that is being swept under the rug as Western nations now queue up to aid HTS. Even though no one has cancelled the $10 million bounty on his head, or rescinded his “global terrorist” designation, Western officials are posing for pictures with him in Damascus as they seek influence in the new Syria. This is hardly surprising. Going back to at least the 70’s, Western governments have been remarkably comfortable working with, funding, and training Islamic terror groups. Cozying up to a murderous, Islamist terrorist seems remarkably on brand.
Put a wanted terrorist in a suit, and suddenly he is a diversity-loving statesmen!
Our Western penchant for funding and training Islamic militants never works out well for the Christians in the Middle East. One just needs examine the absolute destruction of the Assyrian Christian community in Iraq to understand what the Syrian Christians (and other minorities) are likely to face in the coming days. Reports indicate that murder, looting, and desecration have already started.
Assaults and murders of individual Christians have been reported. The Iraqi Christian Foundation, a charity campaigning for Middle Eastern Christians, claimed on 10 December that jihadis had driven through Christian neighborhoods in Damascus “waiving the ISIS flag, shooting bullets, and trying to intimidate the ancient Syrian Christian community.” There is also footage circulating that allegedly shows Islamists firing in the air to celebrate their recent takeover of Krak des Chevaliers, an 11th-century Crusader castle located in the Valley of the Christians (Wadi al-Nasara), an overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian area close to the Lebanese border. Churches have been attacked. According to a video published on 11 December, militants of HTS desecrated the Greek Orthodox Church of Holy Sophia in the town of Suqaylabiyah in Syria’s Hama province. The same church was attacked by militants using drones during its opening just a year ago. One wonders if any more Christian Churches will ever be built in Syria, and whether the historic Churches currently there will even survive?
So all this looks like it could be the beginnings of a very bad time. A bad time that Western powers seem anxious, at least at this initial stage, to white wash and ignore.
Besides the so-called Syrian rebel groups (many of whose militants are not Syrian or even Arab, but recruited mercenaries from as far away as China), there is real concern over Turkey’s role in the region. Turkey appears to have been a primary force behind the fall of the Assad Regime, and is currently occupying parts of Northern Syria.
Since WWII, there has been so much focus on the Jewish “Holocaust”, that Westerners have completely forgotten that modern genocide was actually pioneered by the Turks. They were so good at it, it is said that Hitler himself drew inspiration from their example. At the conclusion of his Obersalzberg Speech on 22 August 1939, Adolf Hitler reportedly said, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
The Turks are not guilty, by the way, of just one genocide of Christians. The Turks are guilty of multiple:
- Between 1915 and 1916, the Turks bathed in the blood of somewhere between 664,000 and possibly as many as 1.2 million Armenians.
- Between 1914 and 1923, Turkish mass slaughters and forced deportations may have killed as many as 900,000 Orthodox Greeks.
- Between 250,000 and 500,000 Assyrian Christians were massacred over the same timeframe.
Those are just the Christian victims. The Kurds have long wanted an independent state, and have fought hard at times to bring one about by carving it out of Turkish territory. The Turks have punished their failure to win independence with extreme brutality. The British consul at Trebizond, during one Kurdish uprising in the 1920’s, spoke of brutal and indiscriminate acts of violence committed by Turkish forces. The diplomat and eyewitness explicitly compared Turkish behavior to the 1915 Armenian genocide. “Thousands of Kurds,” he wrote, “including women and children, were slain; others, mostly children, were thrown into the Euphrates; while thousands of others in less hostile areas, who had first been deprived of their cattle and other belongings, were deported to vilayets (provinces) in Central Anatolia. It is now stated that the Kurdish question no longer exists in Turkey.”
Turkey is an ally of the United States through NATO. An ally that not only occupies parts of Northern Syria, but is also using its air power to back Syrian rebel attacks on Kurdish forces who are actually also U.S. allies.
As Americans, is this really the kind of ally we want? Is this the kind of ally that our government would be willing to stand up to in order to demand protection for Christians and other Syrian minorities? One has to seriously doubt it. Given the obsession our National Security State has with opposing Russia, Iran, and BRICs while backing Israel (with whom Turkish President Erdogan seems quite comfortable, despite periodic tough, but meaningless, rhetoric), it is difficult to see the U.S. doing anything to reign in Turkish excesses in the region.
But Turkey is not the only foreign actor posing a threat in Syria. Israel has seized the opportunity afforded by the fall of Assad to occupy huge swaths of Syrian territory. Pursuant to a well-known expansionist agenda, the Israeli military took control of Mount Hermon, which abuts the Golan Heights and lies within what had been a buffer zone previously separating Israeli and Syrian troops. At the same time Israeli troops were claiming control over Syrian territory estimated to be twice the size of Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that the Golan Heights (formerly Syrian territory seized in 1967) will be a part of the State of Israel “for eternity.” This was followed shortly by an announcement that the Netanyahu Government plans to double the Israeli population there.
The Israeli Government has said that the occupation of Syrian territory is a “temporary measure”. That is difficult to believe. The current Israeli Government is comprised of the most radically messianic extremists to ever control the Zionist State. Given the commitment of so many religiously conservative Jews to the idea of occupying all the lands of “Greater Israel”, it is not difficult to foresee Israeli troops not only continuing their occupation indefinitely, but also expanding it.
Over the years, prominent Israeli rabbis, now openly affiliated with the Netanyahu Government, have publicly debated whether Jewish power is sufficiently established that all the Christian churches of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and nearby areas can finally be destroyed. After that, the entire Holy Land can be completely cleansed of all traces of its Christian contamination.
Do we really trust the Israelis to rule over more Christians? Do we trust the U.S. Government to protect the Christians in Syria, when it has failed to protect the Christians in East Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank, and even within Israel proper?
Israel has also shown, since the fall of Assad, a complete disregard for human life of any kind in Syria. Following the collapse of the Syrian government, Israel conducted about 480 strikes across the country. Most of the Israeli attacks have targeted Syrian military and scientific facilities such as weapons and ammunition depots, aircraft squadrons, radar installations, signal stations, and scientific research centers. However, such wanton attacks, including within major population centers such as Damascus, can’t help but claim civilian casualties.
The U.S. has excused this massive assault on Syria as Israeli self-defense to prevent Assad’s weapons from getting into the hands of “terrorists”. Terrorists that Israeli, Turkish, and Western support put in power. Terrorists who have curiously done nothing to oppose Israeli occupation, or defend against Israeli attacks. Strange behavior for radical jihadists, don’t you think?
A Massive Explosion seen in Northwestern Syria near y the City of Tartus, following an Israeli Strike against a Munitions Depot; with the Explosion reported to have been so large, that it measured as a 3.0 Magnitude Earthquake on nearby Seismic Sensors.
Right now, the situation in Syria is complete chaos. There is every reason to believe that Israel intends to stoke that chaos. Israel is openly musing about breaking up Syria, and additional surrounding Middle Eastern states, into small, mutually antagonistic, easily controlled mini-states:
Now, twenty years later, we have a chance to learn from our mistakes. Instead of thinking big and seeking to preserve Syria in the hope that it will evolve into a multiethnic democracy, we have the opportunity to think small: to support those peoples oppressed by colonial masters who seek self-determination in smaller states and enclaves defined by their community allegiances, reflecting their values, customs, and traditions.
If one of those smaller states was a stable, defensible, and internationally supported homeland for Christians, then this might not be such a bad idea. Such a positive outcome, however, is rather unlikely. More likely is splitting Christians among areas controlled by mutually antagonistic larger ethnicities. Such a “divide and conqueror” policy guarantees perpetual violence, resulting in more persecution, deaths and leading to yet another mass exodus of surviving Christians from the region.
While the Syrian crisis came to a head under Joe Biden, the current mess is at least partially Donald Trump’s fault. The U.S. military has occupied Syrian sovereign territory since 2014, preventing Damascus from accessing its own oil and wheat fields. This was a deliberate strategy to starve the Syrian Government of the revenue necessary to rebuild, grow the economy, and defend itself. In fact, President Donald Trump boasted in 2020: “They say, ‘He left troops in Syria’. You know what I did? I left troops to take the oil. I took the oil. The only troops I have are taking the oil. They’re protecting the oil. I took over the oil”. Trump also expanded sanctions against Syria. In March 2022, statista.com reported Syria was the world’s third most sanctioned country.
Now that our regime change policy has finally succeeded, a policy in which he participated, soon-to-be President Trump has said that Syria “is not our fight”. Not our fight, even though we continue to occupy Syria’s oil fields. Not our fight, even though the new rulers in Damascus are officially considered terrorists by the U.S. Government. Not our fight, even though our support was critical to HTS gaining power.
Not our fight, even though the Christians in the area, not to mention other minorities, are in imminent danger. A fact that Vice President elect J.D. Vance has publicly acknowledged.
Maybe it isn’t our fight, even though we are massively at fault for the current crisis. Maybe we should withdraw our military forces and come home, especially as Israel seems determined to drag us into a war with Iran. But simply because we choose not to fight, does that makes us powerless?
Hardly. The U.S. is about to start funding HTS in Damascus, if we aren’t already. The U.S. contributes billions of dollars to Israel each year. Financial aid without which the Zionist regime could not survive. Turkey is very much reliant on its alliance with the U.S. These facts provide leverage that could be used to demand safety for Syrian minorities in general, and Christians in specific.
Will Trump use any of that leverage to protect Christians in Syria? Doubtful. Trump is creating the most pro-Zionist regime in U.S. history. Not only did Trump win in 2024 with massive Zionist financial support, but his successful coalition depended heavily on Zionist Christian Dispensationalist votes. Trump also has deep personal, business, and family ties to Israel and Zionism. I find it difficult to see Trump, or any member of his administration, making the protection of Christians a centerpiece of Middle Eastern policy.
What eventually happens to the Christian communities in the Middle East, including in Syria, will most likely be decided in Tel Aviv and not Washington. Is there a chance Trump would grow a spine over really blatant slaughter / persecution? Perhaps, but that is largely up to what the U.S. population is willing to tolerate. Past experience indicates our tolerance for the persecution and slaughter of foreign Christians borders on the infinite.
While Trump may deliver a better situation for Christians in Ukraine, there is no real reason to count on him to improve the situation in the Middle East. In fact, the incoming administration may even make things worse. Right now, for those of us who care about our Brethren in Christ in the Middle East, prayer is our best option.
https://spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/89097-cases-of-metropolitan-arseniy-and-mindich-a-tale-of-two-justices
Metropolitan Arseniy and “Mindichgate”: A Tale of Two Justices
18 November 2025
When corrupt officials are granted bail, but a bishop remains behind bars, the world should be asking: for whom does the law in Ukraine actually work?
On 18 November 2025, another court hearing is scheduled for His Eminence Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk to consider a change of pre-trial restraint. In simple terms – judges once again have the opportunity to release him from unlawful detention. At the time of publication, the outcome of the hearing is unknown, but given the current reality, hopes for the bishop’s release are slim.
On 28 October 2025, after a year and a half behind bars, Metropolitan Arseniy was finally granted release on bail of 1.5 million hryvnias. Yet this decision turned into a tragic parody of justice: he was released for literally a few minutes – only to be immediately rearrested on new charges. The court then sent him back to detention, but this time “without the right to post bail.”
It is worth recalling that the bishop is being kept in extremely harsh conditions. The cells in the detention center are freezing. Moreover, he is severely ill and urgently needs heart surgery. He has no access to adequate medical care or even the necessary medication – a dangerous situation for someone with chronic illnesses and rapidly deteriorating health. During one recent hearing, his blood pressure spiked to 200/110, and hospitalization was required. Yet the court demanded that he be returned to his cell, refusing any form of bail.
Even if this were about a serious criminal, such treatment could hardly be called humane. All the more so when it concerns a clergyman who has committed no crime and who has spent years serving the Ukrainian people.
The humanitarian mission of Sviatohirsk LavraThroughout the war, Sviatohirsk Lavra has played a vital humanitarian role – and not in words, but in real, tangible assistance.
The monastery has become a place where thousands of refugees and war-affected civilians receive food, essentials and, for hundreds, shelter and safety.
In just the past several months alone, the Lavra has received hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid from various UOC eparchies. This help is indispensable – the Lavra has long become a haven for displaced people from all across Donbas. The monastery shelters refugees, provides them with housing and food, and supports volunteers whose work is centered around the Lavra.
All of this is concrete aid to the suffering people of Ukraine – people abandoned by the state and left on the brink of survival. And such help is especially precious during wartime.
“Mindichgate”To fully understand the contrast, one must grasp the scale of the corruption scheme uncovered by law enforcement – the scheme investigators named “Operation Midas.” It is directly linked to the state enterprise Energoatom and to one of President Zelensky’s closest associates, Timur Mindich.
According to NABU and SAPO, the mechanics of the scheme were straightforward:
• Contractors seeking to work with Energoatom were required to pay 10–15% kickbacks. Those who refused were threatened with blocked payments or removal from the supplier list.
• Procurement and staffing were controlled not by official Energoatom managers but by shadow figures – insiders with no formal positions who ran the business through a “back office.”
• Money flowed through a sophisticated network of cash, foreign accounts, cryptocurrency and offshore structures.
• Part of the scheme operated abroad, including transactions linked to the United States, Moscow and other jurisdictions.
• NABU described the group as a “high-level criminal organization” with serious influence over a strategic enterprise and the national energy sector.
According to investigators, the criminal network stole at least 100 million dollars – and likely far more, as NABU hinted. And this entire scheme operated under martial law, which gave the perpetrators even more opportunity.
Even the most indifferent observer understands what this means: members of this group, who enriched themselves on money meant for protecting ordinary citizens, are nothing short of marauders. Accordingly, they should be punished with the full severity of the law.
But as we will see – reality is quite different.
Bail and the release of the suspectsOn 13 November 2025, the High Anti-Corruption Court granted bail to two members of Mindich’s “back office”:
Lesia Ustymenko (bail of 25 million UAH) and Liudmyla Zorina (bail of 12 million UAH).
Almost immediately, a company with a charter capital of just 1,000 hryvnias (20 dollars) appeared and posted the 37 million hryvnias required. As a result, Ustymenko and Zorina walked free within twenty-four hours.
Formally, they face restrictions – electronic bracelets, a ban on leaving the country, and a prohibition on leaving Kyiv region without permission. But the key point is: they are free.
People implicated in massive wartime looting can now live comfortably and prepare their defense. This starkly illustrates that Ukrainian justice easily releases those involved in major corruption schemes, yet keeps a clergyman – a man who has dedicated his life to helping people – behind bars for years.
The striking contrastWe are not exaggerating; we are stating the obvious: comparing Metropolitan Arseniy’s case and the Mindich case reveals the moral choices Ukraine’s state and judicial system are making.
Metropolitan Arseniy remains in pre-trial detention, denied bail, while those who stole millions enjoy freedom under minimal supervision and can prepare their defense.
Meanwhile, Sviatohirsk Lavra continues to be a refuge for the displaced – a center of mercy in a region abandoned by the state. Even as the government turns its back on people, the Lavra continues to help them. The corruption group, by contrast, drained resources from the state, likely depriving Ukrainians of the most basic necessities – light and heat.
This is why the contrast between these two cases, these two approaches, speaks louder about the moral character of “statesmen” than any thousand words ever could.
Freedom of religion?Today’s Ukraine is a country where one can easily end up behind bars simply for preaching or for performing the duties of a priest. Being a believer is dangerous – not only physically, but legally. Belonging to the Church is now a real reason for persecution. Such developments should ring alarm bells among our “Western partners.”
Likewise, we – ordinary believers – cannot remain passive. In addition to prayer, we must organize and support the legal defense of the Church, thoroughly publicize all violations of our rights and freedoms. We must defend ourselves – trusting in God’s help and acting within the law.
Because when an Orthodox hierarch who has devoted his life to serving God and people is imprisoned, while corrupt officials walk free, then remaining silent is as much a crime as covering for those who steal from their own nation.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/z4gyWuAkKcs
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s24h6Zt1K4A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTCztmPEAVk&t=15s
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t9qMF8AnL5M
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LKBGgmjQmeE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ti9_PRGbXc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEYV1zPaK7Q&t=3s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvcN2TM0MVw&t=5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXfW5oqD8Zs
https://spzh.eu/en/news/89021-novynskyi-zelensky-has-no-moral-right-to-remain-president
https://spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/88895-when-conscience-of-nation-is-put-on-pause-or-why-the-righteous-must-suffer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ6WV2oNOCg
https://spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/89034-zelensky-style-sanctions-mindich-case-vs-uoj-case
Zelensky-style sanctions: “Mindich case” vs. “UOJ case”
13 November 2025
10 years of sanctions for journalists for criticizing the authorities and 3 years for corrupt officials for stealing millions. A story about who and how is punished in modern Ukraine.
At the end of October 2025, an event occurred in Ukraine that cannot but alarm everyone who values freedom of speech and religion. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree imposing sanctions against journalists and editors of the Union of Orthodox Journalists and the “First Cossack” project.
These people are neither officials, oligarchs, nor corrupt individuals. Their only “crime” is covering events surrounding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Previously, criminal cases had already been initiated against them on charges of treason with the threat of life imprisonment. Now, sanctions for 10 years have followed: asset seizure, a ban on any financial operations, movement within Ukraine, use of phones, and more.
And literally a few days after this, the world was shocked by the largest corruption scandal in Ukraine in recent years. The figures in this scandal included not only ministers of the country’s top leadership but also Zelensky’s closest friends from “Kvartal 95”. These people were stealing money intended for the energy sector, and possibly Ukraine’s defense capability. The NABU showed bundles of dollars found during searches, still sealed in American banks. There is no doubt that this is money the country received as aid from Western partners.
On November 13, Zelensky imposed sanctions against the corrupt individuals who, according to the investigation, stole more than 100 million dollars. Logic suggests: the theft of hundreds of millions during wartime is a real crime against the country. Unlike journalists who simply wrote the truth about the Church.
However, the sanctions against the corruptionists turned out to be purely symbolic. What is happening?
Sanctions against journalists: freedom of speech under threat
On October 31, 2025, Zelensky enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on personal sanctions against individuals related to the activities of the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ) and the resource “First Cossack”.
Considering that this punishment was applied to people whose only crime was to show how the authorities violate freedom of speech and the rights of believers in Ukraine, it can be called unprecedented.
In particular, the sanctions include:
blocking of accounts and assets;a ban on media distribution in Ukraine;termination of electronic communication services (phone and Internet);restriction of trade operations;blocking of UOJ websites and social networks.Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is instructed to inform the European Union and the USA about these measures so that they “take an example” and introduce similar restrictions.
In other words, journalists who defend the canonical Church have been officially equated by the Ukrainian authorities with high-level enemies of the state, and it has been declared that their activities pose a threat to national security. None of them surrendered the positions of the Armed Forces, committed fraud on “humanitarian aid”, or demanded kickbacks for making decisions. All their “weapons” are a computer, camera, and phone. All the materials they published and continue to publish are in open access (to this day), and anyone can visit the UOJ website or social networks to personally see the full extent of their “crimes”. Believe me, you will not find anything more seditious than reasoned criticism of the OCU there.
Who is stealing millions?Meanwhile, a scandal is unfolding in Kyiv, already dubbed “Mindichgate” in the media.
According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Zelensky’s close friend and associate, Timur Mindich, co-owner of the “Kvartal 95” studio, is accused of leading a corruption scheme in the energy sector. The scheme included kickbacks of up to 15% from contracts of the largest state enterprise “Energoatom”.
We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars – money that was supposed to go to modernize energy and strengthen the country’s defense capability during the war.
Along with Mindich, businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman, also close to the presidential circle, is involved in the investigation. Both, according to press reports, were warned and managed to leave Ukraine before the searches began. At the same time, ministers of justice, energy, a former deputy prime minister, and possibly other high-ranking officials may be involved in the scheme.
The Ukrainian government proposed imposing sanctions against Mindich and Tsukerman for ten years. However, by Zelensky’s decree, these sanctions were approved for only three years.
It is also interesting that in the sanction document, Mindich and Tsukerman are listed as citizens of Israel, not Ukraine. In other words, Zelensky imposes sanctions against citizens of another state. And this hides a special cynicism. For several reasons:
1. Just two days ago, the head of the State Border Service stated that Mindich officially left Ukraine, “because he has three children under the age of 18”. But if he is a citizen of Israel, why does he need children to leave? He could easily leave with an Israeli passport. And here – one of two things: either the border service does not know which passport Mindich used to leave, or Ukrainians are being misled.
2. If sanctions are imposed on “Israeli citizen Mindich”, then which Mindich falls under the restrictions – the Ukrainian businessman or some Israeli with an identical surname?
3. Most importantly, the imposition of sanctions against Israeli citizens Mindich and Tsukerman allows Ukrainian citizens Mindich and Tsukerman (against whom sanctions were not imposed) to freely dispose of property, accounts, and assets in Ukraine.
That is, in relation to the UOJ, measures of a complete ban for 10 years were applied. But in relation to Mindich and Tsukerman, sanctions were imposed for three years, and as citizens of Ukraine, they are practically not restricted in anything.
And this despite the fact that the motive for imposing sanctions against the UOJ boils down to unproven and vague accusations of “propaganda”, ties with the UOC, and possible ties with Russia (which do not exist). While the corruptionits are accused of embezzling funds from Ukraine’s allies and laundering money on a particularly large scale. A separate “cherry on top” is a phrase said by one of the accused and contained in the case materials: “Two million (dollars?) went to Moscow”.
That is why this situation looks extremely cynical.
How is “Kvartal 95” different from the UOC?Despite all this, Mindich and Zelensky are connected by many years of joint work in “Kvartal 95” – a comedy project from which the career of the current President began.
When the scandal broke out, the “Kvartal” studio hastened to declare that Mindich (despite the fact that he actually owns the project), “has a legal connection with the Studio, but does not participate in its activities and does not influence the content or decision of the team”.
Agree, in these words one cannot help but notice a certain irony of fate. Because similar words, about “canonical connection” (not even legal), and lack of influence, have been repeated for many years by representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the context of relations with the ROC.
However, when it comes to the Church, Zelensky and his entourage constantly claim the opposite. UOC believers are accused of “ties with Moscow”, on the basis of which monasteries are closed, monks are expelled, and sanctions are imposed on journalists. And only when it comes to the president’s personal friends does a completely different logic suddenly appear: “Yes, there is a legal connection, but we are not responsible”.
It is clear that if the accusations made against the UOC were voiced against “Kvartal”, then “Kvartal 95” would have to be closed, and sanctions would have to be imposed against all its participants. Just as the Parliament of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers, and, most importantly, the NSDC – three representatives of which, led by Umarov, are featured on the “Mindich tapes” – should be dissolved.
Probably just because “it’s different”.
Conclusions
It is clear to everyone that the sanctions against journalists defending the UOC look like a tool of political revenge. While the sanctions against the corrupt from Zelensky’s entourage are a crude imitation of justice.
At the same time, the first category consists of people who write about faith and the Church and avoid politics until politics begins to interfere in Church affairs. The second category includes those who profit from the war, from the tears and suffering of the Ukrainian people.
But only the first group has been declared a threat to national security.
For anyone who sincerely believes in democratic values and human rights, the situation should be clear: in a country that proudly calls itself the “outpost of democracy”, the journalists are punished for telling the truth, while the corrupt are protected. Apparently, words are feared more than missiles. And that’s no surprise. The words of Christ are quite applicable to the Ukrainian authorities: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25)
Let us remind the Ukrainian authorities, who claim to be striving toward Europe: freedom of religion and freedom of the press are not mere declarations for the West – they are the foundations of civilization. Their violation cannot go without consequences. “For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed.”
The UOJ journalists have committed no crimes – they have defended the Church of millions of Ukrainians. Yet they are subjected to the harshest sanctions. Meanwhile, officials who steal during wartime and commit lawlessness remain practically untouchable.
This is the true scale of the gap between Ukraine’s declarations of democracy and its actual practice.
https://spzh.eu/en/news/88878-met-arseniy-in-hospital-the-doctor-was-told-if-you-admit-him-youre-fired
4 November 2025
Metropolitan Arseniy: In hospital, the doctor was told, “If you admit him, you’re fired” Metropolitan Arseniy has revealed why he was denied hospitalization after suffering a hypertensive crisis.
On November 3, the Sobornyi District Court ruled to keep Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk in custody for 38 days, despite the hierarch’s critical health condition and the willingness of ten members of parliament to stand surety for him. On the fifth day of hearings concerning pre-trial detention, Judge Olha Konoplenko decided that the bishop would remain in custody in the pre-trial detention center until December 10, 2025, without the possibility of bail.
Around 2 p.m. during the court session, Metropolitan Arseniy’s condition sharply worsened. Paramedics recorded a blood pressure of 200 over 110 – a life-threatening level. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
“I had never had such high blood pressure before,” the hierarch later said. “God is my witness – for the sake of my flock who came to support me, I held on as long as I could and tried not to show how bad I felt. Today I felt worse than ever in my life.”
At the hospital, doctors gave him a hot injection, set up an IV drip, and administered a sedative. They recorded his details and told him that he would need to undergo lab tests in the morning – in other words, he was to be hospitalized. However, something unprecedented happened next.
“They told the doctor about me: ‘If you hospitalize him, you’re already fired,’” Metropolitan Arseniy recounted. “He was running down the corridor shouting: ‘Why do I need this? Get him out of here immediately!’”
The hierarch was wheeled out of the hospital on a stretcher to the car door. Despite receiving IV treatment and injections, his blood pressure was still 180 over 100, with a pulse of 128 beats per minute.
“They discharged me as ‘stable,’ and said I should be taken back to court,” the metropolitan noted.
Metropolitan Arseniy was brought to the courtroom at 5 p.m. Faithful and clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church came to support him, including Metropolitan Luka of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol.
Before the verdict was announced, the archpastor addressed the judge: “Let me live a little longer with the Ukrainian people, for whose sake I have lived and still live. I am flesh of the flesh and blood of the blood of the Ukrainian people. I, unworthy as I am, have the honor of being the spiritual shepherd of this nation.”
The hierarch pleaded to be released on surety or bail so that he could undergo treatment, saying he would not survive another term in pre-trial detention.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Arseniy had once again been placed behind bars.
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https://spzh.eu/en/news/88882-prosecutor-generals-office-explains-why-metropolitan-arseniy-was-jailed
4 November 2025
Prosecutor General’s Office explains why Metropolitan Arseniy was jailedThe press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office stated that Metropolitan Arseniy was arrested “for crimes against peace.”
The Office of the Prosecutor General has announced the charges under which the court again sent Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk behind bars. In its statement, the press service said that he was arrested “for crimes against peace.”
“Investigators established that in May and June 2022, the suspect, during public speeches, denied Russia’s armed aggression and accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine of the deaths of clergy and a nun, as well as the destruction of church buildings,” the statement reads. No specific examples of the metropolitan’s speeches were provided.
The Prosecutor General’s Office noted that the charges against the hierarch were brought under Parts 1 and 3 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: “justification, recognition as lawful, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and glorification of its participants.”
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Arseniy had again been placed behind bars.
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https://spzh.eu/en/news/88850-authorities-allow-metropolitan-arseniy-to-hold-his-first-service-in-15-years
Authorities allow Metropolitan Arseniy to hold his first service in 1.5 years The Metropolitan of Sviatohirsk served a memorial service for his spiritual father, Bishop Alipiy, ahead of another court hearing. On Sunday, November 2, 2025, Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk celebrated his first service in a year and a half of confinement. In Dnipro’s St. Seraphim Church, the abbot of Sviatohirsk Lavra held a memorial service for his spiritual mentor – Schema-Archbishop Alipiy (Pohrebniak), who reposed four years earlier, on November 2, 2021. The day before, the defense attorneys had agreed with the judge that the next hearing on the preventive measure would begin no earlier than 12:00, since Sunday morning is when believers attend church. However, it was later learned that the session had been scheduled for 10:00, preventing the hierarch from serving the Divine Liturgy. Before the memorial service, Metropolitan Arseniy addressed the faithful with his first archpastoral word since his imprisonment. He shared his memories of the ever-memorable Bishop Alipiy, calling him a man of spiritual discernment and foresight. The Metropolitan recalled one incident when a woman came to Bishop Alipiy with seemingly insoluble problems. “I was then a young hieromonk and wondered: ‘This really is a hopeless situation! What will Vladyka say?’” Metropolitan Arseniy recounted. “Vladyka listened and then calmly said: ‘Well, my dear, in your case we will turn to the most reliable and proven experience – to prayer.’ Only a man of prayer could say such words, whose own prayer bore real fruit in people’s lives,” the hierarch noted. He also spoke about the traditional Orthodox attitude toward prayer for the departed, quoting old priests: “It’s interesting to pray for the reposed – you pray for them, and you feel their prayer in return.” “That’s why on parental Saturdays the churches used to be filled to the brim. It wasn’t just about remembrance – it was a spiritual communion between us, who came to the church, and our departed relatives, who at that moment were praying for us,” the Metropolitan explained. He recalled that in his native village, even people who had survived war and famine, having lost loved ones, always filled the churches on parental Saturdays: “They were all hard-working country folk, but on those days the temples were as crowded as on Pascha.” At the end of the service, Metropolitan Arseniy asked everyone to pray for the ever-memorable Schema-Archbishop Alipiy. Concelebrating with him were the parish rector, Archpriest Oleksandr, Hieromonk Ioann, and other clergy. This memorial service became a testimony that even under the harshest circumstances, Metropolitan Arseniy remains faithful to his pastoral calling. Recall that on October 28, 2025, after a year and a half in pre-trial detention, Metropolitan Arseniy was released on bail but was immediately rearrested. Since October 30, daily hearings have been held in Dnipro’s Sobornyi District Court on the choice of preventive measure in a second criminal case against him (under Article 436-2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code). The prosecution insists that the hierarch be returned to custody. His lawyers argue that further detention would endanger the life of the seriously ill hierarch and are asking the court to choose an alternative preventive measure. Earlier, bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church appealed to President Zelensky, asking him to assist in securing Metropolitan Arseniy’s release.
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August 28, 2025
Dear Representatives of the International Community and Orthodox Reflections!
Dear Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance!
Thank you for all your good deeds for the Glory of the Lord!
Please help the cruelly persecuted church in Ukraine – our UOC! Our priests are being mobilized and sent to the front. And each of them has 5 children! But they cannot take up arms! The procession to the Pochayiv Lavra recently ended! The SBU, the police on the instructions of the Ukrainian authorities (Zelensky), prevented (obstructed) believers UOC from going on the procession. The TCC tried to mobilize our believers and priests when they were making the procession and had already arrived on August 25, 2025 at the Pochayiv Lavra. The Ukrainian authorities HATE our Church, the UOC! They continue to mock our believers and hierarchs!
Our Beatitude Myropolitan Onufriy was deprived of Ukrainian citizenship!
The Commission of the Ministry of Culture, as well as the employees of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Reserve, are conducting an incomprehensible “inventory” of the Holy Relics of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
They are committing BLASPHEMY and blasphemous manipulations with the Holy Relics. They have thrown out the Reliquaries from the Lavra Caves! They have sent their veterinarians from the Ministry of Culture to do blasphemous manipulations with the Relics of the Saints!
Denis Lapin, a Ukrainian Orthodox journalist, talks about it especially a lot in his broadcasts “Denis at the Microphone”. I have inserted his photo. Please, support the “Denis at the Microphone” channel as much as you can.
This channel is in dire need of financial support.
http://www.youtube.com/@Dennisspeaking
dennislapin.com/support
https://paypal.me/supportDennisUA
Our Orthodox YouTube channels, the Union of Orthodox Journalists, and our Victoria Kokhanovskaya also talk about this. Please, read the articles of the Union of Orthodox Journalists, turn on English subtitles and watch the video about the terrible persecution of the UOC, the blasphemy and desecration of the Holy Relics of the Lavra, as well as the FORCED mobilization of UOC priests.
I have inserted links to these videos and articles
God bless you!
With love in Christ!
Your Ukrainian friend and your sister in Christ.
Tetyana Avramenko
https://spzh.eu/en/news/87880-greek-media-ukrainian-authorities-obstructed-uoc-pilgrimage-to-pochaiv
https://spzh.eu/ru/news/87880-vlasti-ukrainy-prepjatstvovali-krestnomu-khodu-upts-v-pochaev-smi-hretsii
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https://spzh.eu/en/news/87756-in-lavra-reserve-staff-carrying-out-manipulations-with-saints-relics-
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Greek media: Ukrainian authorities obstructed UOC pilgrimage to Pochaiv
August 28, 2025 Author: News
Greek media reported on thousands of UOC faithful who walked more than 200 km to the Dormition feast in Pochaiv despite pressure from the authorities.
https://spzh.eu/en/news/87880-greek-media-ukrainian-authorities-obstructed-uoc-pilgrimage-to-pochaiv
On August 28, 2025, the leading Greek Orthodox outlet Romfea published an article on the traditional pilgrimage of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from Kamianets-Podilskyi to the Pochaiv Lavra, which concluded on August 25. According to the report, Ukrainian authorities and security services attempted to obstruct the pilgrimage. The publication noted that every year thousands of UOC faithful walk more than 200 kilometers in order to celebrate the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos on August 28. In 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and police had already tried to disrupt the procession by blocking roads and forbidding overnight stays for the pilgrims. Despite this, more than 20,000 people participated in last year’s pilgrimage. “This year as well, as photographs and videos show, participation was no less massive. In the Pochaiv Lavra, pilgrims were met by hundreds of believers who knelt before icons and crosses. It should be noted that, as in the previous year, the authorities attempted to hinder the litany,” Romfea reported. The article also highlighted that particular pressure was directed against men of conscription age and clergy. On August 25, local authorities forcibly mobilized UOC clerics who had arrived in Pochaiv together with the pilgrims. In particular, Protopriest Bohdan Matveyev of the Kremenchuk Eparchy, a father of five children, one of whom is already serving at the front, was conscripted. He was sent to a training camp in Rivne, while his wife appealed for prayerful and legal support. Earlier, the UOJ reported that media outlets had covered the detention by the Territorial Recruitment Center of a driver transporting pilgrims from Pochaiv.
Dear Representatives of Orthodox Reflections!
Dear Representatives of the International Community!
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Christ is risen!
God bless you!
First of all, I want to thank you for all your articles, for your support and protection of Orthodoxy, for all your great work for the glory of God and for your support and protection of our persecuted UOC!
I would like to express my special gratitude to Mr. Tucker Carlson for all his huge work for the glory of God! For the fact that he is not silent, but he speaks a lot about the persecution of the UOC in Ukraine!
After May 20, 2025, the Law on ban of the UOC entered into force completely and the satanic authorities of Ukraine, together with their surroundings, Goebbels media, SBU (SSU) and the ukrainian police strengthened the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church! Demon- satanist-persecutor of UOC – Zelensky, together with the SBU (SSU), incredibly strengthened the persecution of our UOC. All of them do not consider members of the UOC for people.
The UOC is more persecuted, they mock the UOC, they spit on the UOC, as people-demons once spat in the Face of Jesus Christ. Our hierarchs of the UOC are sitting either in a pre-trial detention center or under house arrest … OCU raiders are still capturing the temples of the UOC. And the terrible devilish performances and events take place in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra
My heart is flooded with blood, my heart is crying, I feel very wounded … But I believe in Christ, that He will help us to go through this difficult time of persecution. I want to pay your special attention to one fact. But I will quote it with emotions. It concerns the main persecutors of the UOC – the SBU (SSU) demons. … I will also leave links to the corresponding videos.
What a horror !!! What a shame !! Please listen and watch this video in which the main persecutor of the UOC-demon Neron Zelensky rewards the SBU(SSU) employees (persecutors and tormentors of our Orthodox hierarchs, monks, priests, deacons and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC)) on the day of the “holiday” of the SBU-SSU (March 25, 2025). And to the head of the SBU (SSU) Vasily Malyuk, whom you also can see in this video, satanist Neron Zelensky appropriated (by decree № 299/2025 dated May 8, 2025) – the title of Hero of Ukraine with the presentation of the Order of the Golden Star to Malyuk !!!
This is horror, injustice and eternal shame on them !! And for what merits did the satanist Nero Zelensky present awards and the high ranks to these satanists of the SBU(SSU) and their boss – Vasily Malyuk ???? For their brutal interrogations and tortures of our clergy and believers of the UOC in the cellars of the SBU? For their persecutions and terrible repression of 7 million believers of the UOC? For violation of human rights, the Constitution of Ukraine, the norms of international law and the lawlessness that Malyuk and all his subordinates of the SBU (SSU) create in relation to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) ?? For this persecution of our UOC they have such honors ?? And will all these orders, gold stars, high titles of the SBU (SSU) and head of the SBU(SSU) Malyuk help them in HELL? I don’t think so … And what will they say at the Court before God? Probably, they will tell how they tormented and persecuted the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of which our God Jesus Christ is the Head…
Please disseminate this information.
To watch these videos with English subtitles, please turn on English subtitles in YouTube
God bless you!
With Love in Christ
Your sister in Christ and your Ukrainian friend
Tetyana Avramenko
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Mount Athos monks condemn desecration of relics in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra
04 April, 2025
Athonite monks issue a strong protest against the desecration of relics and demand a response from Constantinople.
A group of monks from Mount Athos has published a statement on the “UOJ on Athos” website, expressing their firm opposition to the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, who have initiated a scientific examination of the holy relics in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
The Athonite monks report that on 28 March 2025, a commission from the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, comprising anatomists, biologists, and veterinarians, accompanied by law enforcement officers, entered the Caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The aim of the commission was “to determine the historical and scientific value of the relics of the Holy Fathers of the Caves by taking samples for DNA testing”.
“Regrettably, these actions by the Ukrainian authorities concerning the relics of the Venerable Fathers of the Caves remind us of the ‘deeds and days’ of the Soviet atheist regime,” the Athonite monks emphasize.
“Would it be acceptable for the heretical Vatican if the Italian authorities undertook similar measures to examine the relics of the Holy Apostles Peter, Andrew the First-Called, Saint John Chrysostom, and other saints? By analogy, would the Holy Community of Mount Athos tolerate intervention by the Greek state to study samples of holy relics from the sacred monasteries of the Athonite State?” the monks ask.
The statement includes a theological justification for the veneration of relics: “The Orthodox Church considers holy relics to be vessels of Divine Grace. St Gregory Palamas explains that just as Christ’s divinity did not abandon His human body during His three-day burial and Resurrection, so too the Grace of the Holy Spirit does not leave the bodies of the saints after their biological death. Therefore, we kiss the holy relics with reverence to receive the Grace of the Holy Spirit that dwells in them.”
The Athonite monks are demanding a response from senior Church authorities: “We especially await an assessment from the fourteen Orthodox Churches, beginning with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is no longer possible to pretend that nothing tragic is occurring in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its holy sites.”
They also call upon the Holy Kinot of Mount Athos – the highest administrative body of the Holy Mountain – to issue an official statement, as was done previously in response to a blasphemous art exhibition at the National Gallery of Greece.
“How, and more importantly, why should the scientific value of holy relics be determined? Are these actions not being carried out to test how Orthodox Christians around the world will react to yet another deliberate act of blasphemy?” the Athonite monks conclude.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that a metropolitan of the Bulgarian Church had condemned the desecration of Lavra relics.
https://spzh.eu/en/news/85717-mount-athos-monks-condemn-desecration-of-relics-in-the-kyiv-pechersk-lavra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfOhhLgWwsE&t=3s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe0iREgd4DI&t=372s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wujPD_qFfn8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTklwnpJjUk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClD9N-xLOvs&t=1s
https://spzh.eu/en/news/85728-amsterdam-disturbing-the-relics-of-kyiv-lavra-saints-is-complete-blasphemy
https://spzh.eu/en/news/85716-metropolitan-of-bulgarian-church-condemns-desecration-of-lavra-relics-
28 March, 2025
Govt’s blasphemy at Lavra: Why are anatomists and vets studying holy relics?The authorities have seized the Lavra Caves. Veterinarians, anatomists, and biologists will “study” the relics of the Venerable Fathers. Could the authorities have slapped in believers’ faces any more openly?
On March 28, 2025, a commission from the Ministry of Culture arrived at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, accompanied by police. Early in the morning, while the city was still asleep, several vehicles with law enforcement officers entered the monastery grounds – some of them carrying angle grinders. They cut and replaced the locks on the doors leading to the Near Caves and proceeded inside. Soon after, the same fate befell the Far Caves. This marked the effective state seizure of one of the most revered Orthodox shrines in the world – the relics of the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves.
Since 2023, when the government announced it was “reclaiming” the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, officials had taken over several buildings where the monastic community lived, though the caves had remained untouched. As of August 10, 2023, the faithful had been barred from entering the monastery grounds, but it was still possible to visit the relics of the Pechersk saints as part of paid excursions. The keys to the caves remained with the monks, who continued to care for the relics – changing vestments with prayer and maintaining order.
Now, all of that has changed.
The cave raid operation was led by Oleksandr Ovchar, the deputy director of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve and a member of the Ministry of Culture commission. An operation began to check the “presence of the remains of saints in the tombs of the Near and Far Caves”, as well as to determine the “historical and scientific value of the remains of the saints”.
It was with such wording that the order of the Minister of Culture Nikolai Tochitsky dated March 5, 2025, was issued to create the corresponding commission.
According to the document, information regarding the work and findings of the commission will be classified. However, judging by the list of commission members, it’s not hard to guess what exactly they intend to do with the relics. The commission includes 25 individuals, and some of their specializations are particularly telling.
Among them:
E. Appelkhans – Head of the Department of Anatomy at Odesa National Medical University; President of the Scientific Society of Anatomists, Histologists, Embryologists, and Topographic Anatomists of Ukraine.N. Bolela – Researcher in the Department of Biological Studies at the National Research and Restoration Center.Yu. Huminskyi – Professor of Human Anatomy at Vinnytsia National University; member of the Pirogov Commission on re-embalming the body of Mykola Pirogov.O. Melnyk – Head of the Department of Vertebrate Biomorphology; Doctor of Veterinary Sciences; also a member of the Pirogov Commission.H. Tkach – Doctor of Medical Sciences; another member of the Pirogov Commission.In other words, those “working” with the relics include doctors, anatomists, embalming experts, and even veterinarians. It’s hard to believe they’re simply there to verify the presence of relics in the reliquaries. Their professional backgrounds suggest they were brought in to carry out medical and scientific experiments on the remains – collecting tissue samples and conducting various procedures.
But how ethical is this in relation to the Church and the feelings of believers? Any Christian in the world, regardless of denomination, would likely call this by one word only – blasphemy.
Let us imagine a few hypothetical scenarios and try to model how Ukrainian and global society might react:
The Ministry of Culture nationalizes the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov and creates a commission to examine his remains. Several police units arrive in Uman, exhume the body, and anatomists, biologists, and veterinarians begin their research.
The Italian government, with the Vatican’s approval, issues a decree to form a commission to examine the relics of the apostles Peter and Andrew, Saint John Chrysostom, and Popes Gregory the Great, Leo the Great, and John Paul II. Police with specialized equipment arrive at St. Peter’s Basilica, dismantle the altar and columns, and the commission collects “samples” for analysis.
Saudi Arabia announces it will study the remains of the Prophet Muhammad. Police detachments with bulldozers and excavators arrive at Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina and dismantle the Prophet’s tomb. Biologists, anatomists, and veterinarians retrieve the remains and begin scientific investigation.
We sincerely apologize to anyone offended by these imagined scenarios. But what is happening today in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is precisely the same – an act of cynical, demonstrative blasphemy. Every nation has its deeply venerated sanctuaries. That is why democratic countries have strict laws protecting religious freedom and faith.
At the same time, in states where the Church is separate from the government, the authorities have no right to meddle with shrines. The relics of the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves are venerated as evidence of their life of prayer – so intense that God granted them incorruptible bodies. Nowhere else in the world is there such a number of incorrupt saints. Their relics are of unquestionable value – but a spiritual value for Christians, not a material one for the state.
To the authorities, the relics of Saint Anthony of the Caves are no different from the bones of any of his contemporaries. And yet, police squads don’t dig up graves in public cemeteries. So what is the real purpose of medical experiments on the relics of saints – relics that have been honored for centuries by our people and pilgrims from around the world?
We’ve seen this before – not long ago.
The commissions of the Bolsheviks and Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture: What’s the difference?After the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917, the monastic community at the Lavra continued to exist as a cooperative. But in 1926, the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR issued a decree declaring the former Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra a historical and cultural state reserve and transforming it into an “All-Ukrainian Museum Complex”.
What happened to the relics back then is exactly what is happening now. Professor Ivan Nikodymov, who served as legal counsel to the Lavra in the 1920s–1940s, wrote in his book Memories of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra:
It’s clear why the USSR commissars needed their “research” – they were trying to prove that God does not exist, and that relics were a hoax meant to deceive the gullible public.
But today, the situation appears to be entirely different. The Ministry of Culture isn’t promoting atheism; on the contrary, the authorities are actively promoting the OCU (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) and investing great effort in securing its presence at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
How to organize a “monastic forum” while planning to “inventory” holy relicsJust before the caves were seized, the management of the Lavra reserve, along with several OCU representatives, held a “monastic forum” focused on “rethinking the role of monasticism in the modern world, seeking new forms of ministry,” and discussing “the future of monastic life in Ukraine.” The forum was initiated by the head of the reserve, Maksym Ostapenko, and a reserve staff member who also serves as the “abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the OCU,” Avraamy Lotysh.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture has spent months in court attempting to evict 200 monks of the UOC from the Lavra – monks who have lived and prayed there since its reopening in 1988.
It’s utterly incomprehensible how anyone can force monks out of their monastery and then speak seriously about “the future of monastic life in Ukraine.”
Even more baffling is the OCU’s silence regarding the blasphemy being carried out by the Ministry of Culture against the relics of the Venerable Pechersk Fathers. Lotysh, being a reserve employee, surely knew about these plans in advance.
How can a clergyman calmly accept the idea that anatomists and veterinarians will “study” the incorrupt bodies of saints – treating them as biological specimens – is difficult to understand. Then again, perhaps it’s small wonder, given that Lotysh and his colleagues have greenlighted cooking shows, dance performances, and rock concerts at the Lavra.
DESS and the Bolsheviks: An invisible connectionThere is another, less obvious aspect to this shameful story. One of the members of the Ministry of Culture’s commission for the “study of the historical and scientific value of saintly remains” is a close associate of Viktor Yelensky – namely, Vyacheslav Horshkov, head of the religious affairs department of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS). In other words, this commission is being overseen by the government’s official religious agency.
This leads us to recall the background of DESS’s head. Today, Viktor Yelensky presents himself as a model Ukrainian patriot, denouncing Soviet crimes and claiming to champion democratic values and religious freedom.
But 35 years ago, he held very different views he was one of the most active voices in Leninist atheist propaganda.
In some of his past writings – such as Jewish Clericalism and Zionism – Yelensky described Jews as a “bourgeois threat” to the USSR. In others, he praised how comfortably Protestants lived under Soviet rule. Perhaps his most striking work was “Implementation of the Decree on the Separation of Church and State in the Early Years of Socialist Construction in the Ukrainian SSR.”
There, Yelensky praised Lenin’s policies for their effectiveness in dismantling and robbing the Church, claiming that even believers supported them:
“Party organizations and the Soviets, in implementing Lenin’s decree on the separation of Church and State, relied on the anticlerical movement of the working masses, who, in most cases, welcomed the decree. Even the clergy, by 1921, were forced to admit that the Ukrainian Orthodox population viewed the separation of Church and State with sympathy.”
As for the resistance of clergy and believers to the closure of churches and seizure of religious property, Yelenskyi portrayed it as anti-people and anti-Soviet:
“The clergy particularly resisted the confiscation of church land and property. The fight against the seizure of church valuables most clearly revealed the anti-popular character of the leadership of Russian Orthodoxy… Church leaders developed a broad program of resistance to Lenin’s decree, which aligned entirely with counterrevolutionary plans to overthrow Soviet power.”
Sound familiar? Today, when the state seizes and robs the Church, it’s framed as virtuous. But if clergy or believers oppose it – they are accused of “seeking to overthrow the government.” The only difference is the name of the regime doing the oppressing. Back then, it was the USSR. Today, it’s Ukraine.
Yelensky now publicly supports the OCU. His main argument? The Dumenko-led structure is “pro-government.” But he used exactly the same justification during the “Leninist” period to praise the Renovationist schismatics:
“The Renovationists tried to save the Church by revising its political and social orientation and establishing normal relations with Soviet power.”
But does any of this mean the current DESS head is a believer or sympathizer of the Orthodox faith? Not at all.
In one of his works, Yelensky lays out his personal creed:
“We, atheists, believe that the scientific-materialist worldview liberates a person’s essential forces, enabling them to perceive the world accurately and navigate it properly.”
Conclusions
The seizure of the Near and Far Caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, followed by the “research” into the “historical and scientific value of the saintly remains” of the Pechersk Fathers, is blatant blasphemy by Ukrainian authorities – not just against believers of the UOC, but against the entire Orthodox Church. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a sacred site for the whole Orthodox world; nowhere else is there such a concentration of incorrupt saints’ relics.
What the Ukrainian government is doing with the relics of the Venerable Pechersk Fathers is almost a carbon copy of Soviet atheist policies. The forceful seizure of the caves, the offensive language in official decrees, the methods used for the “research” – all of it shows that the Ministry of Culture and the State Service for Ethnopolitics are the direct heirs of Soviet commissars. We see absolutely no difference.
The OCU’s silent acquiescence to these actions is further evidence of the non-ecclesiastical nature of this structure. Orthodox Christians cannot remain indifferent to such desecration of great saints. Orthodox Christians know that the Holy Spirit, which sanctifies the saints during their lifetime, remains present not only in their souls but also in their bodies – and does not depart from them after death.
All democratic nations and international institutions that value religious freedom must take a stand. What is happening in Ukraine is not a victory of a “good” Church over a “bad” one – it is the triumph of atheism.
But above all, we await the response of the Local Orthodox Churches, led by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is no longer possible to pretend that nothing alarming is happening to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its sacred treasures.
https://spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/85618-govts-blasphemy-at-lavra-why-anatomists-and-vets-study-holy-relics
https://spzh.eu/en/news/85616-the-commission-from-the-ministry-of-culture-arrived-with-the-police-to-inventory-the-relics-in-the-lavra
https://spzh.eu/en/news/85628-the-reverend-pechersk-will-soon-speak-their-word-the-hierarch-of-the-uoc
https://spzh.eu/en/news/85623-veterinarian-on-relics-commission-revealed-to-hold-awards-from-ocu
https://spzh.eu/en/news/85619-greek-theologian-appeals-to-church-primates-over-blasphemy-at-the-lavra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkT8yS4RIQg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wujPD_qFfn8
12 March, 2025
Former CIA officer: U.S. paid Phanar $20 million for the creation of OCU
A former counterterrorism officer claimed that Hillary Clinton offered Patriarch Bartholomew money for the creation of the OCU, which he agreed to.
March 12, 2025 – Former CIA officer John Kiriakou claimed in an interview with American blogger Julian Dorey that Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople had received money for establishing the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).
While discussing corruption schemes in Ukraine, Kiriakou also touched on religious matters. According to him, Hillary Clinton, while serving as U.S. Secretary of State, asked Patriarch Bartholomew to declare the Ukrainian Church autocephalous so that it “would no longer be subject to the whims of the Russian Patriarch.”
He stated that the head of Phanar initially did not consider it a good idea, since this issue is the prerogative of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“And Hillary supposedly said, ‘Would $20 million help make a decision? Well, the Greek Orthodox Church is under the thumb of neo-Ottoman Turks.’ So he said, ‘Yes, we could use the $20 million.’ She then said, ‘We have to give it to you through Ukrainian banks.’ ‘That’s fine,’” Kiriakou recounted, referring to an alleged conversation between Clinton and Patriarch Bartholomew.
According to Kiriakou, “The State Department wires $20 million, probably through USAID, to some Ukrainian bank. The Ukrainians do whatever it is they usually do behind closed doors in Ukrainian banks, and they send $15 million to the Patriarch.”
“He then says, ‘Wait a minute, where’s the other five? It was supposed to be $20 million, where’s the five?’ And the State Department replies, ‘Oh, we don’t know anything about that. All we know is that we paid. So now you must declare the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,’” Kiriakou continued, stressing that this “immediately caused a near-war situation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
According to Wikipedia, John Kiriakou was an intelligence analyst and operations officer in the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, as well as a senior investigator for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
It will be recalled that the OCU was established in 2018, while Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013.
As previously reported by the UOJ, immediately after the creation of the OCU, Patriarch Bartholomew stated that he had not taken any money for it, receiving only chocolates from Petro Poroshenko.
https://spzh.eu/en/news/85373-former-cia-officer-us-paid-phanar-20-million-for-the-creation-of-ocu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK-0SvDJrEY&t=6s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDUFTQdZZJU
March 18, 2025
Rector of the confiscated UOC church in Cherkassy: There will be no more prayer here
The priest is sure that the OCU representatives are not going to serve in the church from which the believers were expelled.
Archpriest Vyacheslav Klimenko, rector of the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Burning Bush” in Cherkassy, which the OCU representatives took away from the believers on March 18, 2025, commented on the situation. As the Telegram channel “Dozor” writes, the priest served in this shrine for 20 years, and now, together with the believers, he is forced to leave. “We have to leave. And this place remains empty. Empty. It will be empty for them. There will be no more prayer here. Not for the academy… No prayer. It will simply stand here as an emptiness,”- father Vyacheslav shares.
He is sure that the raiders will not serve in this temple. “They will simply do their job, close it, and it will stand like that. But this will be on their own conscience,” the UOC clergyman adds.
As UOJ wrote, on March 18, 2025, representatives of the OCU, together with the police, came to the UOC temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Burning Bush” in Cherkassy, presenting falsified documents for the parish. Orthodox Christians who prayed in this church from its foundation were only allowed to take their utensils and things.
https://spzh.eu/ru/news/85488-nastojatel-otobrannoho-khrama-upts-v-cherkassakh-zdes-bolshe-ne-budet-molitvy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCgYEQbOiec&t=3s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9XPtMF7emo
Dear Representatives of the International Community!
Dear Representatives of Orthodox Reflections!
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Thank you for supporting and protecting our long-suffering UOC!
God bless you!
Please turn on English subtitles and listen to Ukrainian Orthodox journalist Denis Lapin, who constantly talks about the PERSECUTION of the UOC in Ukraine on his channel “Denis at the Microphone”. And he is also persecuted. Several very important videos were DELETED from Denis Lapin’s channel by the Ukrainian devilish government. And our anti-Christian media were involved in it. satanism of the antichrist Zelensky’s government is developing in Ukraine!!!!
Denis’s video is called “THE CROSS FELL FROM THE TEMPLE OF ALL SAINTS OF THE KIEV-PECHERSK LAVRA! WHAT THE LORD SAYS TO ALL THE PERSECUTORS OF THE CHURCH!!”
(“КРЕСТ УПАЛ С ХРАМА ВСЕХ СВЯТЫХ КИЕВО-ПЕЧЕРСКОЙ ЛАВРЫ! ЧТО ГОСПОДЬ ГОВОРИТ ВСЕМ ГОНИТЕЛЯМ ЦЕРКВИ!!”)
Please, spread this very important information as much as possible!
You can watch it at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faoI7vvHKI4&t=1s
Го́споди, Иису́се Христе́, Сы́не Бо́жий, поми́луй нас грешных!
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners!
With love in Christ!
GOD BLESS YOU!!!
Your sister in Christ, a believer of the UOC and your Ukrainian friend
Tetyana Avramenko
Dear Representatives of Orthodox Reflections and the International Community!
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Thank you for all that you do to protect ORTHODOXY!
Thank you for supporting and protecting our long-suffering UOC.
God bless you!
Please watch and distribute these important video messages of Orthodox journalist Denis Lapin – one of the greatest defenders of the UOC. Please watch and distribute his video messages. He does a lot of good deeds for the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But our ukrainian satanic government through our slanderous and lying Goebbels-media, well-paid pro-government lying journalists is trying to PERSECUTE him.
Our Ukrainian GOEBBELS-medias (in the person of the anti-Christian journalists, such as Alla Mazur (she especially hates the UOC), Kateryna Soliar (who dismissively called the UOC in an interview with the traitor of the UOC – the schismatic OCU “Metropolitan” Oleksandr Drabynko – “a cancerous tumor”), Nataliia Moseichuk (she, together with the Head of the SBU Vasyl Malyuk – conducted an interview and they mockingly called our priests of the UOC – “moles in cassocks”), as well as MANY other “honest” Ukrainian journalists (shame on the Ukrainian nation for such godless journalists)), for money, INCENTIVE HATRED AND HOSTILITY TOWARDS THE UOC among unchurched Ukrainians and, in my opinion, are RELIGIOUS CRIMINALS!!!!!.
Please watch the video of Denis Lapin, which is called:
“Срочно!!! Они хотят закрыть рот каждому, кто говорит правду о Церкви, цензура от канала 1+1”
(“Urgent!!! They want to shut the mouth of everyone who speaks the truth about the Church, censorship from channel 1+1”).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87KfdEXIQpA
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Please also watch other important videos with evidence of the PERSECUTION of the UOC:
________________________________________________________________________
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87KfdEXIQpA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8sZnQC2fv0&t=128s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCjB9kP6lek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBXBri8Ivbo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud41UimyMho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7zikCqstfQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmvSXKejas0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSVfPYcc9Tk
https://spzh.eu/ru/zashhita-very/26714-boeviki-v-ryasakh-ocherednaya-lozh-tsn-o-tserkvi
_______________________________________________________________________
With Love in Christ!
May God bless and help you!
Your sister in Christ and your Ukrainian friend
Tetyana Avramenko
UOC announces number of parishioners at Cathedral assembly in Chernivtsi
A total of 4,506 parishioners participated in the assembly, reaffirming their loyalty to the UOC.
On February 16, 2025, 4,506 parishioners participated in the assembly of the religious community of the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Chernivtsi, according to the press service of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Diocese on Telegram.
“For four hours, registration for the general assembly of the religious community continued inside the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Chernivtsi. After a joint prayer and the chanting of an akathist before the Pochaiv Icon of the Mother of God, a collective vote was held. 4,506 members of the religious community voted to remain within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the leadership of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry,” the press service stated.
It was also emphasized that during the voting, “unknown individuals at Roman Hryshchuk’s rally, posing as a fake community of the cathedral, voted for a transition to the OCU.”
Previously, the UOJ reported that the Holy Spirit Cathedral community in Chernivtsi had reaffirmed its loyalty to the UOC.
_______________________________________________________________________
Chernivtsi ‘European Solidarity’ announces exit from ‘Moscow Patriarchate’
Members of Poroshenko’s Party in Chernivtsi announce participation in UOC cathedral religious community assembly.
Members of Poroshenko’s ‘European Solidarity’ party in Chernivtsi announced their departure from two religious communities of the ‘Moscow Patriarchate Church’ and stated that they are no longer parishioners. This was reported in a post on the official Facebook page of European Solidarity – Chernivtsi.
“Today, the religious communities of the two largest churches in Chernivtsi voted to join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. These are the Holy Spirit Cathedral and St. Nicholas Church. Our European Solidarity team also participated in the voting and the joint prayer service,” the statement said.
When asked in the comments if any ‘European Solidarity’ members attend these Chernivtsi churches every Sunday, the head of the party’s secretariat, Vitalii Yaremchuk, referred to the UOC as the ‘Moscow Church’ and indicated that they do not attend.
The European Solidarity page also published a congratulatory message from Petro Poroshenko, in which he stated that “until now, Bukovyna was a stronghold of the ROC,” and that “the transition of the cathedral itself indicates an important shift in the consciousness of Orthodox Ukrainians.” Poroshenko did not clarify whether he himself had left the ‘ROC,’ following the example of his Chernivtsi party colleagues.
Previously, the UOJ reported that signatures for the ‘transfer’ of churches to the OCU in Chernivtsi were collected deceitfully.
https://spzh.eu/en/news/84995-uoc-announces-number-of-parishioners-at-cathedral-assembly-in-chernivtsi
https://spzh.eu/en/news/84998-chernivtsi-european-solidarity-announces-exit-from-moscow-patriarchate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfYBsjMucuU&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZvpSSee5Vk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehxuGdU7ynU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZA2mwL8hQc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctR4NAFDgJw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGKo9hDMxKw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4dbsUIpQMc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1z4GtJVqvc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z915bTQCRSo
March 8, 2024
A hard post by Alexey Arestovych about abortions: “For me, there can be no compromises on abortions. Limitations of human choice: freedom of choice of a woman and freedom of choice of a child to be born. Abortions are a deep vice of our society.
The thing is that I am a religious person. For me, abortion is the murder of children. I cannot react to it as some kind of sage who is floating somewhere in the clouds and is known for his calmness, irony, and so on. For me, this is the murder of children, nothing more, nothing less”.
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8 марта 2024 года
Жесткий пост Алексея Арестовича про аборты: “Для меня компромиссов по абортам быть не может. Ограниченность человеческого выбора: свобода выбора женщины и свобода выбора ребенка на рождение. Аборты – глубокий порок нашего общества. Дело в том, что я же человек верующий. Для меня аборт – это убийство детей. Я не могу на него реагировать как некий мудрец, который парит где-то там в облаках и известен своим спокойствием, ироничностью и так далее. Для меня это убийство детей, не больше, ни меньше”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88rX5T0IbY4&t=651s
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YaZfxWlvhic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii4vQJ6GFBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEBBF4-b9vs
Faith Protection
https://spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/84354-prayers-as-toilet-paper-the-critical-mass-of-sacrilege
Prayers as toilet paper: the critical mass of sacrilege
31 January,2025
The incidence of blatant sacrilege by OCU supporters has multiplied to such an extent that it is time to draw conclusions. Both for Ukraine and the Phanar.
Throughout the years of existence of non-canonical denominations in Ukraine, in all contacts and negotiations about possible reunification, representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) insisted on one condition – the repentance of those outside the Church. After all, without repentance, reunification with the Church is impossible. Opponents of the UOC, in response, claimed that these were just idle “wishes” from the UOC, an attempt to humiliate the opponent and excuses aimed at covering up the unwillingness to unite. In dealings with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, UOC representatives also repeatedly explained: both the Gospel, the teachings of the Church Fathers, and the entire history of the Church testify that without repentance, salvation is impossible, and so is reunification with the Church of Christ: “He who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber…” (John 10:1).
In this context, the gate is repentance. Whoever does not enter by it but tries to sneak in another way is a thief and a robber. Ignoring this has always led to bad consequences. But the Phanariots did not heed this simple truth and wanted to drag representatives of schismatic denominations “in some other way”. If repentance changes a person, cleansing them from sin, then the absence of repentance results in a person remaining as they were, infected by sin. And this sin will inevitably come to the surface.
This is exactly what we see today in the actions of OCU supporters. It has been written many times that true believers, Christ’s followers, cannot seize other people’s churches and property, as the supporters of the OCU do. But there is another phenomenon that clearly demonstrates the true face of the OCU. This is the sacrilegious attitude towards sacred objects, texts and images. Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents; they have accumulated enough for us to draw conclusions.
Wiping with liturgical instructions?
At the end of January 2025, priest Georgiy Izay of the UOC published on his Facebook page a video showing how representatives of the OCU use the UOC’s liturgical instructions, with the order of services in Church Slavonic, as toilet paper.
Texts with prayers, including the name of Christ, the Mother of God and the saints, half-used for corresponding manipulations, are hanging in the toilet near the Trinity Church of the OCU in the village of Krekhaiv, Chernihiv region. Scraps of liturgical texts in Church Slavonic are also lying on the floor near the hole with waste.
Readers will likely ask: how did the OCU get the UOC’s liturgical instructions? The answer is simple – this church used to belong to the UOC community. Father Georgiy Izay, along with the faithful, built this church and decorated it. But one day, the supporters of the OCU took the church for themselves, along with everything inside. And now they have decided “to put it to good use”.
After this news was published on the UOJ website, the press service of the Chernihiv Eparchy of the OCU issued an official statement, denying any involvement in the incident: the toilet is not ours, the Instructions are not ours, and in general, it’s all a provocation aimed at discrediting us. However, these are poor excuses as no matter what toilet the liturgical instructions ended up in, they were taken from the church administered by the OCU. Especially since these texts are in Church Slavonic, which usually causes strong dislike among OCU supporters. This is also evident from the following example.
Is the Bible rubbish?
On 22 April 2023, OCU activists seized the Intercession Church in the village of Trebukhiv, Boryspil Eparchy, cutting off the doors with an angle grinder.
One of the invaders, Yaroslav Bondarenko, started to rummage through the candle box, pulling out Bibles and prayer books and showing them to the camera.
He said the following: “Here’s some rubbish we found. I think we’ll give this book to Bohdana (Drach, a member of the Brovary City Council – Ed.), she’ll utilize it.” He also referred to the prayer books with the Communion liturgy as rubbish. These books featured an image of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, this didn’t bother the OCU supporter – he promised to throw the prayer books in the bin. “Here, the girls found some Katsapian manuals. Complete rubbish, too,” he said. He didn’t even realise how sacrilegious his words and actions were. He posted all of these videos on his Facebook page.
The Bible and the Holy Fathers to the rubbish dump?
On 6 October 2024, a group of raiders from the OCU seized the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos Church of the UOC in the village of Novosilky, Kyiv region. Afterward, for an entire week, they took out icons, the Psalter, the Bible, the Gospel, prayer and spiritual books and threw them all onto a heap of rubbish. When the priest of the UOC community, deprived of its church and robbed, asked if he could at least take something, the OCU representatives cynically called a rubbish truck, loaded the icons and books along with the waste into it and drove them away
The Bible, the Word of God, remains the Word of God, no matter what language it is printed in, no matter what country it is published in. An icon remains an icon, no matter where it is made or in what temple it is located. Any believing person understands this very well, no matter what denomination he/she belongs to. But the OCU supporters do not want to understand this.
An altar with the Holy Gifts thrown onto the street?
Here’s another example. On 1 March 2019, OCU raiders seized the Intercession Church in the village of Kurozvany, Hoshcha district, Rivne region.
After that, the UOC community adapted a private house for worship, where they set up an altar and gathered everything necessary for the Liturgy. But on 12 April 2019, OCU activists raided this house, broke down the doors and threw the altar with the seven-branched candlestick and the Holy Gifts onto the street.
“Such was the fate of crosses, vestments and church vessels. The OCU supporters treated sacred items, intended for Eucharistic service, as if they were just ordinary furniture or dishes. This can only mean one thing: they simply have no understanding of the sacred or the holy, no religious consciousness. These people committed acts after which one should not even go, but simply run to confession. But they clearly didn’t see it that way.
Such examples could be continued, and there are plenty more. There are even more latent cases that didn’t make it into the news feeds. But it’s time to draw conclusions.
Conclusions
On 27th January 2025, at the very moment when OCU supporters were wiping their behinds with sacred texts, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, declared that the Tomos for the OCU “healed divisions and wounds of centuries”. And regarding the OCU, he said: “The development and maturity of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine demonstrate how solidarity and unity work in practice, not just in theory.”
Despite the brutal seizures of churches, violence, the violation of basic human rights and sacrilege against sacred things, the head of the Phanar continues to voice the narrative that his actions in Ukraine to create the OCU have led to untold blessings, unified everyone and healed “divisions and wounds of centuries”. The glaring discrepancy between these words and reality has already become obvious to everyone.
The question is not why Patriarch Bartholomew is so persistent. That’s clear. In his view, the Patriarchate of Constantinople cannot be wrong in principle, and to admit otherwise would be to tarnish the dignity of the “Throne of Constantine”. The question is: how did it come to this? Why are the people he has favoured and accepted into communion doing such things? Why are they committing sacrilegious acts and blatant lawlessness? Where did “His All-Holiness” make a mistake?
If we look at how the communists treated church relics, we’ll notice similarities to our times. Communist Party activists also threw Bibles in the trash, burnt icons, used them to line the floors of pigsties, and threw altars and iconostases into the street. But they didn’t hide their unbelief in God, their hostility towards Christ. At least they were honest about it.
Now, we see similar actions. But here, the people committing such sacrilege and desecration of sacred things call themselves Orthodox Christians. They are convinced that faith in Christ and desecrating Christ go hand in hand. That throwing a Bible printed in Russian into the trash is a good deed. That wiping themselves with liturgical instructions written in “Moscow” Church Slavonic is akin to a victory over the enemy. And Patriarch Bartholomew, instead of pointing out the inadmissibility of such actions (and thereby guiding them onto the path of truth), on the contrary, affirms them in this unworthy state and praises them as good, developed and mature. Ultimately, it turns out as the prophet Isaiah wrote: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).
Therefore, we must start by calling things by their proper names, not deceive ourselves, and not lull our conscience with the tales that everything became wonderful in Ukraine after the Tomos. We must call sacrilege – sacrilege, and blasphemy – blasphemy. And then will come the understanding that, without repenting of all this, one cannot enter the Church and become a true Christian.
https://spzh.eu/en/news/84293-in-an-ocu-church-in-krekhaiv-prayers-are-used-as-toilet-paper-video
https://spzh.eu/en/news/83135-in-novosilky-ocu-activists-dispose-of-icons-from-a-seized-church-as-trash
https://spzh.eu/en/news/83073-unknown-individuals-vandalize-uoc-community-house-in-novosilky-again
https://spzh.eu/en/news/73422-ocu-activist-who-seized-church-in-trebukhiv-calls-bible-rubbish
https://spzh.eu/ua/news/73406-u-trebukhovi-rejderi-ptsu-zakhopili-khram-upts
https://spzh.eu/en/news/84317-four-criminal-cases-opened-against-uoc-believers-over-cherkasy-clashes
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/98_Q2sbJuh8
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/J-Pn53drxJU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZU49-1Gyy4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2NvsmiY9rs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYl14PCC-Yk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7cWvrc25Y8
Prayers as toilet paper: a critical mass of blasphemy
January 31, 2025
Cases of outright blasphemy by OCU supporters have multiplied so much that it is time to draw conclusions. Both in Ukraine and in the Phanar.
In all the years of the existence of non-canonical denominations in Ukraine, in all contacts and negotiations on possible unification, representatives of the UOC insisted on one condition – the repentance of those outside the Church. After all, without repentance, reunification with the Church is impossible. Opponents of the UOC responded by claiming that these are all empty “wants” on the part of the UOC, a desire to humiliate the opponent, excuses designed to cover up the unwillingness to unite. In contacts with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, representatives of the UOC have also repeatedly explained: both the Gospel, and the patristic teaching, and the entire history of the Church testify: without repentance, salvation is impossible, and reunification with the Church of Christ is impossible: “Whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber…” (John 10:1).
In this context, the door is repentance. Whoever does not enter by it, but tries to get in some other way, is a thief and a robber. Ignoring this has always led and leads to bad consequences. But the Phanariots did not heed this simple truth and wanted to drag representatives of schismatic denominations “otherwise.” If repentance changes a person, cleanses him of sin, then the absence of repentance leads to the fact that a person remains the same as he was, infected with sin. And this sin still breaks out.
This is exactly what we see today in the actions of the supporters of the OCU. It has been written many times that true believers, followers of Christ, cannot seize other people’s churches and other people’s property, as the OCU supporters do. But there is another phenomenon that clearly demonstrates the true face of the OCU.
This is a blasphemous attitude towards sacred objects, texts and images. Unfortunately, these are not isolated cases; there are already enough of them to draw conclusions.
Wiping our asses with Liturgical Instructions?
At the end of January 2025, the UOC priest Georgy Izay published a video on his Facebook page showing OCU representatives using UOC Liturgical Instructions with the sequence of services in Church Slavonic as toilet paper. Texts with prayers, the name of Christ, the Mother of God and saints, half-used for the corresponding manipulations, hang in the toilet near the Trinity Church of the OCU in the village of Krekhaevo, Chernihiv region. Scraps of liturgical texts in Church Slavonic are also lying on the floor near the sewage hole. Readers are probably wondering: where did the OCU get the UOC Liturgical Instructions from? The answer is simple – this temple used to belong to the UOC community. Father Georgy Izai, together with the believers, built this temple and decorated it. But one “fine” day, OCU supporters appropriated this temple for themselves. With everything that was inside. And now they have decided to use it “for its intended purpose.”
After the publication of this news on the UOPZh website, the press service of the Chernihiv diocese of the OCU made an official statement denying its involvement in the incident: the toilet is not ours, and the Instructions are not ours, and in general this is all a provocation with the aim of discrediting. However, these excuses look pathetic, because no matter what toilet the Liturgical Instructions end up in, they were taken from the temple in which the OCU is in charge. Moreover, these are texts in Church Slavonic, which usually causes strong rejection among OCU supporters. The following example also testifies to this.
The Bible is trash?
On April 22, 2023, OCU activists seized the Pokrovsky Church in the village of Trebukhov in the Boryspil Diocese, cutting off the doors with a grinder.
One of the invaders, Yaroslav Bondarenko, began rummaging through the candle box, taking out and showing the Bible and prayer books on camera.
At the same time, he said the following words: “We found trash here. I think we will give this book to Bohdana (Drach, a deputy of the Brovary City Council. – Ed.), she will dispose of it.” He also called prayer books with the sequence for Communion trash. They have an image of the Lord Jesus Christ on them. But this did not bother the OCU supporter – he promised to throw the prayer books in the trash bin. “The girls found katsap manuals here. “Also complete garbage,” the activist said. At the same time, he did not even understand how blasphemous his words and actions were. He posted all these videos on his Facebook page.
The Bible and the Holy Fathers in the trash?
On October 6, 2024, a group of raiders from the OCU seized the Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God of the UOC in the village of Novosilki in the Kyiv region. After that, for a whole week they took icons, the Psalter, the Bible, the Gospel, prayer books, spiritual books from the church and threw it all on a garbage heap. When the rector of the UOC community deprived of its church and robbed asked to allow him to take at least something, the OCU representatives cynically called a garbage truck, loaded icons and books into it along with real garbage, and took it away.
The Bible, the Word of God, remains the Word of God, no matter what language it is printed in, no matter what country it is published in. An icon remains an icon, no matter where it is made or what church it is in. Any believer understands this perfectly well, no matter what confession he belongs to. But the supporters of the OCU do not want to understand this.
The Throne with the Holy Gifts on the Street?
Here is another slightly earlier example. On March 1, 2019, OCU raiders seized the Holy Protection Church in the village of Kurozvany, Goshchansky district, Rivne region.
After this, the UOC community adapted a private house for worship, where they built an Throne and collected the necessary things for the Liturgy. And already on April 12, 2019, OCU activists raided this house, broke down the doors and threw the Throne with the seven-branched candlestick and the Holy Gifts on the street.
The same fate befell the crosses, vestments and church utensils. The OCU supporters treated the sacred objects intended for the Eucharistic service as simple furniture or dishes. This can only mean one thing: they simply have no concept of the sacred, the holy, they simply have no religious consciousness. These people committed acts after which you should not even go, but simply run to confession. But they clearly did not think so.
We can continue to cite such examples, there are enough of them. There are even more latent cases that did not make it into the news feeds. But it is time to move on to conclusions.
Conclusions
On January 27, 2025, at the very time when the OCU supporters were wiping their aphedron with sacred texts, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, said that the Tomos of the OCU “healed the wounds and disagreements of centuries.” And about the OCU he said: “The development and maturity of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine demonstrate how solidarity and unity work in practice, and not just in theory.”
Despite the brutal seizures of churches, violence, trampling on basic human rights and blasphemy against holy sites, the head of the Phanar continues to broadcast the narrative that his actions in Ukraine to create the OCU have led to untold good, united everyone and healed “the disagreements and wounds of centuries.” The blatant discrepancy between these words and reality has already become obvious to everyone.
And the question is not why Patriarch Bartholomew is so stubborn. This is understandable. In his opinion, the Patriarchate of Constantinople cannot be wrong in principle, to admit the opposite means to lower the dignity of the “throne of Constantine.” The question is, why did this happen? Why do people whom he has blessed and accepted into communion do such things? Why do they commit blasphemous acts, commit obvious lawlessness? Where did “His All-Holiness” make a mistake?
If we look at what the communists did with the church relics, we will notice similarities with our times. Communist Party activists also threw Bibles in the trash, burned icons, covered the floors of pigsties with them, threw altars and iconostases into the street. But they did not hide their disbelief in God, their hostility towards Christ. At least for them it was all honest.
Now we see the same actions. But at the same time, people who commit similar blasphemies and desecrations of relics call themselves Orthodox Christians. They are convinced that faith in Christ and desecration of Christ are perfectly compatible. That throwing the Gospel printed in Russian into the trash is a good deed. That wiping your ass with the Liturgy instructions written in “Moscow” Church Slavonic is akin to victory over the enemy. And Patriarch Bartholomew, instead of pointing out to them the inadmissibility of this (and thereby setting them on the path of truth), on the contrary, affirms them in this unworthy state and tells them how good, developed and mature they are. As a result, it turns out as the prophet Isaiah wrote: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).
Therefore, to begin with, we need to call everything by its proper name, not deceive ourselves and not lull our conscience with fairy tales about how everything became wonderful in Ukraine after the Tomos. We need to call blasphemy blasphemy, and sacrilege sacrilege. And then comes the understanding that without repentance for all this, it is impossible to enter the Church and become a true Christian.
https://spzh.eu/ru/zashhita-very/84354-kriticheskaja-massa-koshchunstva
https://spzh.eu/en/news/84293-in-an-ocu-church-in-krekhaiv-prayers-are-used-as-toilet-paper-video
https://spzh.eu/en/news/83135-in-novosilky-ocu-activists-dispose-of-icons-from-a-seized-church-as-trash
https://spzh.eu/en/news/83073-unknown-individuals-vandalize-uoc-community-house-in-novosilky-again
https://spzh.eu/en/news/73422-ocu-activist-who-seized-church-in-trebukhiv-calls-bible-rubbish
https://spzh.eu/ua/news/73406-u-trebukhovi-rejderi-ptsu-zakhopili-khram-upts
https://spzh.eu/en/news/84317-four-criminal-cases-opened-against-uoc-believers-over-cherkasy-clashes
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/98_Q2sbJuh8
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/J-Pn53drxJU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZU49-1Gyy4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2NvsmiY9rs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYl14PCC-Yk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7cWvrc25Y8
Arestovych: You can’t trample 6.5 million people for loyalty to the Church
10 October 2023 15:31
Oleksiy Arestovych stated that the UOC is 6.5 million parishioners, many of whom defend Ukraine at the front, giving their lives for it.
Oleksiy Arestovych, former advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine, has stated that it is unacceptable to trample the faith of millions of believers in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), including the soldiers who are parishioners of the UOC and who sacrifice their lives on the frontlines to defend Ukraine. He made these remarks during a broadcast on his YouTube channel.
Arestovych emphasized that it is not permissible to target the 6.5 million people who are part of the UOC, which includes soldiers who are members of the UOC and are giving their lives to defend Ukraine, along with their mothers, relatives, and all who belong to this Church, whether by family tradition or personal choice.
He also reminded that the leadership of the UOC condemned the Russian invasion in its early hours. Arestovych asked whether it is reasonable to consider banning 6 million or even 3 million people. He emphasized that these individuals are not terrorists or involved in subversive activities, as they are sacrificing their lives on the frontlines.
“I remind you that Onufriy condemned the Russian invasion at 7 am, when it was completely unclear whether in 24 hours he would answer to the Russian paratroopers who would come and question him,” Arestovych noted.
Arestovych called for support and assistance to the processes within the Church, rather than attempting to destroy their faith. His statements came in response to concerns and criticisms regarding recent actions targeting the UOC by Ukrainian authorities. He highlighted the need for a more thoughtful and inclusive approach to address these issues.
As reported by the UOJ, Arestovych also mentioned that influential figures in the United States consider attacks on the UOC by Ukrainian authorities as unacceptable.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Arestovych about repressions against UOC: Do we want to be idiots?
15 January 2023 09:22
Arestovych called the repressions against the UOC “primitive political technology of the split.”
Speaking about the repressions against the UOC in an interview with the “There are Rumors” YouTube channel, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the Office of the President, criticized the actions of the authorities against the believers of the UOC.
“Have you seen the headlines on Fox News when the SBU entered the Kyiv-Pechersk and other Lavras: ‘Zelensky declared war on Christianity’? Fox News is the main channel for the Republicans. Are these headlines good for Ukraine? Judging by the processes that are taking place there (in the UOC – Ed.), we need to win over to our side those who are for us and put severe pressure on those who are against Ukraine. Will we instead put pressure on all 6 million believers who go to this Church and who cannot say a word of Russian? They just go there because their grandparents would go there. Are they hence all enemies and agents?!” Arestovich said.
The adviser to the OP added that such political technology unequivocally harms the state.
“Do we seek a normal power or do we want to be idiots for the sake of a primitive splintering technology? This is political technology, not cultural policy. Everything is very simple: either we act like reasonable people or like idiots. So far we are acting like idiots,” he summed up.
https://spzh.eu/en/news/76389-arestovych-you-cant-trample-65-million-people-for-loyalty-to-the-church
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuAeZ1R7Wqo&t=11s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8pabKLcEdY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gvEo6cEGyY
https://spzh.eu/en/news/84000-14-sriminal-sases-initiated-against-cherkasy-cathedral-seizure-perpetrators
12 January, 2025
14 сriminal сases initiated against Cherkasy cathedral seizure perpetrators
The police are delaying the investigation and attempting to reclassify the cases under lesser charges.Fourteen criminal cases have been initiated against the gang that carried out a violent attack during the seizure of the UOC Cathedral in Cherkasy, reported Archpriest Heorhiy Pohranichny, head of the legal department of the Cherkasy Diocese, to First Cossack.
At the same time, according to the legal expert, the police are deliberately delaying the investigation and attempting to reclassify the cases to lesser charges.
“It is unacceptable to classify injuries such as a broken femur of a hieromonk, or the injuries of a deacon who ‘luckily’ lost six teeth, as minor hooliganism. These injuries include fractured ankles and ribs, yet they are currently being classified as minor,” said the priest. He also noted the shooting incident involving OCU activist Davyd Pshenychny, who fired a traumatic weapon at the cathedral cashier Maria Preshchakova, who narrowly avoided losing her eye.
“As for individuals with moderate and severe injuries, such as fractured ankles, broken ribs, and lost teeth, they are undergoing rehabilitation. For the hieromonk, the situation is particularly serious due to his advanced age. A broken femur at such an age is extremely difficult to heal, and he is still undergoing preparatory procedures for a complex surgery,” said Father Heorhiy. Additionally, dozens of people suffered eye burns from tear gas during the incident.
The legal expert emphasized that diocesan lawyers provided police with video evidence of the brawl, clearly showing the involvement of OCU chaplains, including Nazariy Zasadskiy. However, law enforcement officials have neither included them as suspects nor participants in the criminal cases.
Father Heorhiy also noted that the police are trying to reclassify the case under Article 296 of the Criminal Code – minor hooliganism – while diocesan lawyers believe the actions of the perpetrators should be qualified as robbery, if not more serious offenses.
“Despite everything, the police are trying to split these cases into multiple, fragmented parts, rather than consolidating them into a single investigation. They likely hope that the complainants will eventually withdraw their statements, despite already having victim status in the case,” said the legal expert.
Regarding attempts by the authorities and the OCU to legalize the cathedral seizure, Father Heorhiy called the situation absurd.
He stated that the authorities attributed the cathedral to a so-called “Nativity of Christ” community, which they “re-registered.” According to him, this fictitious parish, along with others used by authorities in similar cases, exists only on paper, with no known real activity.
The UOC priest stressed that “the St. Michael’s Cathedral never belonged to a parish; it was under the direct management of the Cherkasy Eparchy. Therefore, re-registering it as such is legally impossible.”
“In order to seize the cathedral, one must first remove its rightful owner. The rightful owner is the administration of the Cherkasy Eparchy. Legally transferring the property to the city’s ownership through a council session or similar means is impossible. It requires proving that the rightful owner no longer exists or has disappeared without responding to public invitations. However, this will not happen because the clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Cherkasy remain present. They are here, visible, and daily demonstrate their faith,” stated Father Heorhiy.
He added that local authorities are now putting on a show of active management around the cathedral, trying to justify the seizure.
“As for the new ‘owners,’ we see them trying to exploit whatever is available. Some items are already being removed, including construction materials, which is being documented. The city council is also pretending to show concern for the park by cutting down trees and installing benches – something it ignored for years. It is clear this is all a demonstration meant to reduce tensions and distract with other factors,” the priest concluded.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the UN is awaiting a response from Ukrainian authorities regarding the seizure of the UOC cathedral in Cherkasy.
15 November 2022
Poroshenko Channel Propagandist Calls on Authorities to Ban UOC in Ukraine
Journalist Yanina Sokolova proposes recognizing the UOC as an accomplice of a terrorist state. Yanina Sokolova, an employee of Poroshenko’s “5 Channel”, appealed to the country’s leadership with a proposal to ban the UOC in Ukraine. According to Sokolova, the reason for her appeal was a video from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, in which pilgrims sing the song “Song of the Most Holy Mother of God”, which includes the words “Mother Rus’ is awakening”.
As another justification, Sokolova stated that the UOC allegedly “financially supports the enemy”: “More than once, requests for money for the existence of such churches resulted in the fact that money from these churches was allocated for weapons.” “I still don’t understand why this hasn’t been done yet, what is it: an unwillingness to anger the enemy or to cause some kind of dissonance within society,” said journalist Yanina Sokolova.
She called for the UOC to cease to exist as an “unsafe religious organization that threatens the territorial integrity of the country” and to recognize the Church as an accomplice of a terrorist state. “And I want to tell the Moscow priests only one thing: go to Moscow!” the “5 Channel” employee concluded her speech. Earlier, the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported that a member of parliament from the “EU” demanded that the monks be forcibly expelled from the Lavra and handed over to the OCU.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxqI6TA6DnY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2JRDafG3H8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P22_4Kp-ihY&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-ir9HaQFQ4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrRP_dA6-L8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D04TIpf4FYU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTKCPIOuBoI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWoMzcvfqXs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdF9aIAKHC4&t=4s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSjdj1oRic8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqvcEkLH2Mc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxHgnoQuI18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRKm2uPUHzQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWAxNmr7GIo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsie7P0nOhM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxX5ZW-OjYk&t=6s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWN2iGy1jtE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMrtIWqFCC8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9_bBb54xT4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEj5ZXRcxa0