Protesters Engage in Pagan Rituals at the Lavra as Persecution Continues and Zelensky Gifts Blasphemous Artwork to the Pope
Pagan Provocation at Lavra
Since the end of March, Ukrainian Orthodox Christians have gathered at the Pechersk Lavra Caves, a Holy Site that includes a monastery and seminary. This week, protesters, some of whom are pagans and others supporters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (Constantinople MP), staged a ritual in which they used black candles and pretended to bury Patriache of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
From the Union of Orthodox Journalists:
An individual in a yellow robe wore a pagan medallion during the ceremony:
The protesters do a mock funeral of Pat. Kirill, with a man in a yellow robe and pagan jewelry reading parts of the ritual:
Videos and pictures of the pagan ritual:
There is a male in military clothing and a red beret in the background as participants yell and shout:
The protesters performed a kit in which they mocked a Ukrainian Christian woman who kneeled in prayer as provocateurs mocked and danced to music:
A video of the ritual with English subtitles:
The Vinnystia Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church commented on the pagan ritual (English subtitles):
The Union of Orthodox Journalists provided a detailed analysis of the pagan ritual performed by protesters and OCU supporters on May 17, 2023:
The OCU condemened the ritual, which upset some of the protesters and particpants:
Persecution Continues
UOC Parish Damaged in Shelling
In Severendonestk, the Church was damaged by shelling
Metropolitan Theodosy of Cherkasy, UOC, will be tried for "creating a website based on templates from the ROC" and "spreading appeals that violate the equality of citizens:"
UOC Met. Theo commented on the criminal charges he faces, as well as issues related to attacks against The Church (English subtitles):
Clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are denied the right to serve as military chaplains:
After their temple in Boyarka was seized on May 6th by raiders (which included men dressed in military clothing), Ukrainian Orthodox Christians held services outdoor on May
Despite the constant threats of violence and persecution, Ukrainian Orthodox Christians continue to carry their cross, as demonstrated by the attendence at the Exaltation of St. Iov, Igumen Pochaivskyi (UOC, Vinnytsia Diocese):
Zelensky Gifts Blasphemous Artwork to the Pope
President Zelensky recently visited the Vatican on May 13, 2023 and met with the Pope. One of the gifts Zelensky gave to the Vatican included a blasphemous piece of artwork by the Ukrainian artist Oleksii Revika:
The artwork is visible at the end of this short video from Vatican News:
Ukrainian artist Oleksii Revika described the artwork as follows:
Examples of Revika’s artwork (via his public Facebook and Instagram profiles) include propaganda pieces that have been present at protesters targeting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and used to vandalize UOC parishes. Several pieces of art overtly mock The Mother of God, such as a depiction of The Theotokos with a skill-like face holding missiles, and characters of Orthodox Christians in a style that is overtly reminiscent of political propaganda by atheist regimes (including the USSR).
Here are examples of anti-religious propaganda in the USSR, the first of which resembles Revika’s artwork:
Additional examples of anti-religious propaganda in the early USSR:
Revika shared an image mocking Pope Francis:
Additional posts and artwork from Revika include a rendition of the famous USSR “worker with a pickaxe” propaganda:
Fascist Mussolini likewise used a pickaxe for propaganda:
Other artwork shared by Revika includes a blasphemous image of The Theotokos (Mother of God) with a skill face holding missiles:
In the background, you can see Revika’s Soviet-style pickaxe piece hanging above a piece of art which is inspired by an Orthodox icon (Saint George slaying a dragon):
The gallery Revika visited has an entire display dedicated to nationalist political themes:
A piece of art that Revika shared is based on a claim that Russia stole Ukrainian toilets during the conflict in Ukraine, which is an example of how Revika is using art as a medium to spread propaganda:
Revika released a line of art dedicated to memorializing Russian war crimes, which is another example of Revika’s art serving political propaganda purposes:
A piece of art Revika shared entitled “The Virus of Tolerance:”