Sumy, Ukraine, May 19, 2020
Photo: portal-pravoslavie.sumy.ua
On October 22, 2015, Anatoly Pavlovich Borisenko, a parishioner of the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Sumy, Ukraine, was severely beaten on the territory of the church by a drunken National Guard soldier.
Borisenko fell into a coma and never came out. Nearly five years later, on the night of May 13-14, he reposed in the Lord, reports the press service of the Sumy Diocese.
In October 2015, Pavel Myasischev, a soldier of the Ukrainian National Guard, climbed over the fence of the cathedral in a drunken state, and armed with a knife, attacked Borisenko, a parishioner and head of security for the cathedral. The detained soldier initially denied any involvement but later confessed everything. Two criminal proceedings were opened—for causing intentional grievous bodily harm and the illegal carrying of weapons—though the detainee was eventually released from the pre-trial detention center.
The funeral for Anatoly Borisenko was served by the Dean of the Sumy District, Archpriest Nikolai Smakouz. “The Sumy Diocese expresses its sympathy and regret to the relatives and friends of the deceased. We call for the prayerful remembrance of the servant of God Anatoly. May the all-merciful Lord grant His newly-reposed servant rest in the Kingdom of Heaven!” reads a message of condolence from His Eminence Metropolitan Evlogy of Sumy.
The attacker, Myasischev, also took part in the provocations of anti-Church radicals on the feast of the Holy Protection when services were celebrated at a ruined church. Photos demonstrated that he was, in fact, the central figure. However, Myasischev never went to jail, the Diocesan press service emphasizes.
