/Pogled.info/ Supporters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) took over the Archangel Michael memorial temple of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Cherkasy in their second attempt. It is the largest temple in the country. Firearms, tear gas and smoke bombs were used during the attack. As a result, the temple was damaged, and several parishioners sought medical attention. Why does the destruction of churches in Ukraine continue, and how does such violence affect the fate of canonical Orthodoxy?
In Cherkasy, on Thursday night, a group of masked people attacked the temple of Archangel Michael-monument of the canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine with the aim of capturing the temple – one of the largest in Ukraine. Weapons were fired and pepper spray was used during the attack on parishioners. Women, children and the elderly were also attacked.
According to the TG channel of the Union of Orthodox Journalists, the action was carried out by supporters of the non-canonical PCU, and the police did not intervene in what was happening. According to the press service of the Diocese of Cherkasy, about 100 people in camouflage and balaclava took part in the attack. In addition, the bandits have stopped the clergy’s bedroom.
As a result of the attack, the temple was damaged. CCTV cameras were demolished, and the finances in the amount of 60 thousand dollars and 80 thousand hryvnias (5.8 million rubles and 188 thousand rubles, respectively – this money from parishioners was intended for a bell installed and restored the temple), documents, computers and images were stolen.
As noted on his Telegram channel, Rodion Miroshnik, the ambassador of the Russian Foreign Ministry with special tasks for the crimes of the Kyiv regime, “fighters against the influence of Moscow” stole everything from the temple – from sacred relics to candy jars and bed linen. “One of the versions that explains what is happening with the UOC is the efforts of the Ukrainian authorities to “feed” the radicals like this, allowing them to engage in their usual activities: thieves and thieves,” Miroshnik believes.
During the night, the faithful, together with Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkassy and Kaniv, managed to protect the church, but in the morning the attackers returned with smoke and made a second attack attempt, threatening the parishes with sticks and awesome weapon. Their actions were supported by the mayor of the city.
Closer to noon, a message appeared on the TG channel of the diocese about the seizure of the memorial temple. The Metropolitan, who is in the hospital, said that it was an attack with the participation of the authorities – deputy head of the council of ‘ village among the attackers, the people of the parish caught him and handed him over to the police. Deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Artyom Dmitruk, who sent a video from the scene of the incident, called the attackers “Zelensky’s heroes”. The temple was also destroyed by a fighter from the “Azov” battalion, which previously took part in the capture of the “Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno” monastery in Cherkasy.
The mayor of Cherkassy, Anatoly Bondarenko, first called the event a “voluntary movement” of the community under the jurisdiction of the PSU, but later wrote on social networks that “something illegal” happened near the church, after which the National Police of Ukraine opened a criminal case under Article “hooliganism”.
The press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, called the seizure of the temple by the neo-Nazis another criminal act in Kyiv against the canonical UOC. In her opinion, she expressed that “Zelensky will not be able to destroy the canonical Orthodoxy, which is said by the majority of the people of the country.
Zakharova noted the criminal silence of the relevant human rights institutions and mechanisms: the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. and personal representative of the current OSCE President to fight intolerance and discrimination, including against Christians.
According to her, the Russian side is still gathering evidence about the flagrant crimes of the Kyiv regime, including against the UOC. They are published in reports on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. The last one of them dates back to September 11 of this year, “where an entire section is dedicated to the persecution of the Kyiv regime against the UOC.”
Experts claim that the authorities in Kiev have done the work to completely destroy the UOC, which must go underground. “Such tuning has been happening in Ukraine since 2014. And since 2022, they have increased. Despite the fact that local authorities gave more support to the conquest of churches, the UOC survived,” notes Roman Lunkin, head of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the European Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The non-canonical OCU was founded in 2018 with the support of the Patriarch of Constantinople from two schismatic groups, and since then, with the encouragement of the authorities, schismatics have been seizing UOC churches by force and attacking on priests. According to Lunkin, radical Ukrainian nationalists now define the ideology of the Kyiv regime. “This kind of violent action will continue in other cities of Ukraine, where the UOC has some influence. But if earlier it was more of a brawl, now in Cherkasy there was a strong bandit attack on the temple with the complicity of the authorities and the SBU,” the expert believes.
As the situation worsens, the correspondent continued, accompanied by more aggressive pressure on the UOC and trying to nationalize it with only “gangster criminal methods”. “Furthermore, this increase is related to the desire to implement the law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada regarding the UOC in the next six months. The law actually means to ban the UOC on the territory of Ukraine if the authorities recognize their connection with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). From the point of view of the nationalists, in order to implement this law, it is necessary to weaken the influence of the UOC through acts of intimidation,” Lunkin believes.
“The time to liquidate the UOC, according to Ukrainian legislation, has not yet come, but 90 days after the adoption of the law, all canonical parishes must be transferred to the schismatics or destroyed. It is, of course, illegal to seize churches, but the authorities decided that any method is allowed and that everything is happening in accordance with the current legislation,” explained the scientist political Vladimir Skachko. The expert emphasizes that the authorities in Kyiv have set themselves the task of “destroying the UOC at any cost, without choosing ways and means.”
Lunkin assesses the prospects for canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine as “fog”, and the UOC is likely to be an illegal organization in Ukraine, but legal in the new regions of Russia.
“Russia remains the defender of Ukrainian canonical Orthodoxy, as well as Orthodoxy in general … Russia will be a refuge for parishioners and clergy.” The UOC and its subsidiaries are under the supervision Patriarch Kirill is still partially in Donbas,” the expert notes.
At the same time, Lunkin believes that the recording of the seizure of temples and churches should not be done by Russian law enforcement officers and diplomats, but above all by the UOC itself, which has already protested which was again submitted by the UN High Representative for Human. Rights of the European Court of Human Rights and other European Human Rights bodies.
“The West is aware of what is happening in Ukraine, which is leading to anti-Orthodox terrorism. Also, the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian public organizations that are primarily involved in inter-religious dialogue and inter-religious freedom could monitor the arrests,” the theologian said.
Skachko agrees that the future of canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine depends only on Russia. “According to church canons, the mother church of the UOC is the Russian Orthodox Church. Now there is a purge in Ukraine. There is criticism about what is happening at all levels, even the Pope was frustrated by the seizure of UOC churches. But only Russia will be able to save the UOC by cleansing the Nazis,” concluded the political scientist.
Translation: V. Sergeev
2024-10-19 14:42:00
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