Yasinya, Transcarpathia Province, Ukraine, May 3, 2022
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Increased attacks and persecution against the Orthodox Church continued across Ukraine over the weekend, leaving behind several innocent victims, including women and children.
On Friday, April 29, radicals attacked Orthodox believers holding a procession in the village of Yasinya in the Transcarpathia Province. The men struck and knocked down two women, one of whom was knocked out.
In March, the Yasinya village council appealed to President Zelensky and the Verkhovna Rada and the Prime Minister for a complete ban on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
They also broke crosses and Church banners and threw eggs at the parishioners. All of this happened in the presence of and with the tacit approval of “priests” of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
The procession was organized by Orthodox faithful who wanted to go throughout the entire province in the wake of Pascha, offering prayers for peace. They arrived at Yasinya on the fourth day, where an angry crowd of schismatics was waiting for them.
“They blocked our way, started throwing eggs at us, beat us with sticks, and the priests of the OCU were standing behind them, looking at all this and smiling,” says parishioner Maria Stanko.
After one woman was knocked out with a cross, the police were called, and they organized a safe corridor for the canonical parishioners to leave.
“The OCU has proved itself. They broke crosses, smashed icons, beat women and children. Christ was beaten on Friday with sticks... They also beat us, threw eggs at us and spat on us. We’ve suffered at least a little for Christ today, and we’re happy,” writes Maria, adding that the faithful will remain in the canonical Church, ready to “die a martyr’s death for God.”
Having examined video material from the incident, the police have opened a criminal investigation.
The next day, schismatics tried to seize the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the same village. They broke down the doors and entered the church, but the police arrived and were able to drive the radicals out.
And on Sunday, May 1, a group of radicals gathered near the Church of St. Vladimir in Lvov to disrupt the Divine Liturgy.
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The schismatics attempted to provoke the faithful and shouted threats at them. Shouts of “You pray to Satan!” can be heard in the relevant video footage:
The Orthodox parishioners were forced to call the police to deal with the radicals.
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