Kopytov, Ukraine, September 3, 2019
spzh.news
Nationalist activists of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU) have attacked another bishop of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.
At least two hierarchs have been assaulted now. His Grace Bishop (now Metropolitan) Barsanuphius of Vinnitsa and Bar was assaulted in March, and pious parishioners defended him from another physical assault in April.
And on Sunday, September 1, another group of activists kicked His Grace Bishop Pimen of Dubno, vicar of the Diocese of Rivne, out of the church in the village of Kopytov, his native village. He was there visiting his parents, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
The Church of St. John the Theologian was seized by the anti-Church activists on April 11, during which they beat the rector Archpriest Igor Vlasyuk and his parishioners, threatening the priest to leave the village the next day. The canonical community was forced to celebrate its patronal feast on the street near the church in May.
“This is already the fifth month that the church I went to as a child belongs to the supporters of the OCU,” Bp. Pimen said. “It is forbidden for me and other believers who are attached to the church in their souls to go inside.”
“So I decided to approach their ‘priest,’ who now lives in the village, and ask to go inside. He kindly agreed and took me to the church, but the activists who live nearby saw it and came and started kicking me to get me to leave and insulting me. My subdeacon partially got it on camera,” His Grace explained.
The activists behaved very roughly and inappropriately and even their “priest” could not calm them down, Bp. Pimen noted. The verbal sparring lasted for 20 minutes, after which the schismatics called to other villages for assistance.
“I had no intention of creating a conflict; I simply went to the church. I believe I have the right. I tried to talk, to demonstrate it, but all in vain: I had to leave the church, no matter how it rent my soul. While leaving, I saw from the car some guys on bikes from the neighboring village who had probably come to kick out the ‘Moscow priest.’ I recalled the words of the Gospel: Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do,” His Grace recalled, demonstrating how a true Orthodox Christian behaves.
