Persecution of Ukrainian Orthodox Church Continues: SBU Raids Target UOC Clergy and Parishioners While Armed Forces of Ukraine Shell Orthodox Church and Civilian Buildings in Donetsk
Parliamentary Committee supports ban of UOC while Ukraine military strikes target Orthodox Church and residential properties in Donetsk.
Ukraine Parliamentary Committee Supports Ban on UOC
The New Voice of Ukraine reports the Parliamentary committee “backs banning the Russian branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
This is incorrect, as there is no “Russian branch” of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
UOC and The Ecclesial Crisis in Ukraine
The secular and western media routinely fail to provide more context to the history of the Orthodox Church, such as how no one Patriarch has the authority to make decisions for the entire church or that the Patriarch of Constantinople declared Keiv to be subject to the Patraiche of Moscow in the 17th century. This decision secured the autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarch.
Metr. Nikiforos discusses the fundamental canonical, ecclesial, and spiritual context of the Ukraine schism in his book The Ecclesial Crisis in Ukraine (available at Holy Trinity Publications for $5.99). Below is a short video summary of the book, via Holy Trinity Publications:
The Patriarchal and Synodical Act of 1686, issued by Patriarche Dionysius IV of Constantinople, declared “that the Most Holy Eparchy of Kiev be subject to the Most Holy Patriarchal Throne of the great and God-fearing city of Muscovy (Metr. Nikiforos, The Ecclesial Crisis in Ukraine, p. 2).
“Additionally, to avoid misinterpretation, the Russian Church also refers to a surviving letter from Ecumenical Patriarch Dionysius IV to the czars of Russia, Ivan, and Peter Alekseyevich, in which he explicitly states who has the right to administer the holy Metropolis of Kiev. In this letter to the czar of Muscovy, along with granting the patriarch of Moscow the right to consecrate the metropolitan of Kiev, he also grants him jurisdiction over the Metropolis of Kiev. In this letter, Patriarch Dionysius IV writes, among other things: “It is hereby granted that the holy Eparchy of Kiev be subject to the Most Holy Patriarchal Throne of the Holy and God-saved city of Muscovy… and they must recognize the Patriarch of Moscovy as their elder and head, s they are consecrated by him (Metr. Nikiforos, p. 3-4).”
An overview of how Kiev/Kyiv Metropolitian came under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1686:
Metr. Nikiforos states “that none of the three basic conditions for granting autocephaly were met in the case of Ukraine:”
Metr. Nikiforos’ conclusion outlines the major reasons why it was improper for Patriarch Bartholomew to grant autocephaly to schismatic groups that were under the jurisdiction of another Patriarch.
The SBU Raids UOC Holy Sites (Again)
CNN confirmed Ukraine’s SBU raided several UOC Churches on December 14th, 2022:
Interfax reported that the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church “received over 70 orders banning its activity from the Ukrainian authorities.”
The SBU conducted searches at UOC Churches and properties in nine regions of Ukraine on/around December 14, 2022 (Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Rivne, Volyn, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Lviv, Zhytomyr, and Kherson regions):
Photos of the SBU raid of the Lavra Caves Monastery on November 22, 2022:
Ukraine Military Strikes Church and Civilian Targets in Donetsk
According to the mayor of Donestk, The Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out the “most massive strike’ on the occupied Donetsk region since 2014.”
Video of damage to the Svyato Peobtazhensky Cathedral in Donetsk:
Video of damage from Armed Forces of Ukraine strikes targeting residential and civilian buildings and neighborhoods:
Met. Luke, who references the above video in the following post:
