Zaporozhye, Zaporozhye Province, Ukraine, May 13, 2024
Photo: spzh.live
Ukrainian authorities are going after His Eminence Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye again.
Criminal proceedings were opened against him in August, for “inciting religious enmity,” which is the same charge the state brings against any hierarch it targets for not joining the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.” And before that, he was placed under sanctions by his own state in December 2022.
But this time, authorities are enforcing a measure of restraint against Met. Luke, one of the most respected hierarchs of the canonical UOC.
On May 1, Holy Wednesday, representatives of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) conducted searches at the Metropolitan’s residence and the diocesan administration, and also the residences of a number of clerics, the diocesan secretary, Archpriest Gennady Elin, wrote.
Following the searches, the SBU officially informed Met. Luke of suspicion for “provoking and inciting religious hatred in Ukraine” through his homilies and his messages on Telegram. The Security Service has yet to bring such charges against the OCU representatives who stage violent church takeovers.
In a homily after the search, Met. Luke said that when he opened the door, he sprinkled the SBU representatives with holy water, causing one of them to scream: “Get out of here with your satanism!”
They also interrogated him about why he didn’t obey Patriarch Bartholomew and join the OCU, to which Met. Luke replied that he couldn’t lead his flock into the abyss.
He emphasized that he is being attacked for an ecclesiastical position, not for anything political, as he prays for Ukraine and its authorities and army at every service.
On May 7, Bright Tuesday, a court ordered Met. Luke to wear an ankle bracelet and to be placed under nighttime house arrest for two months.
On Saturday, May 11, His Eminence reported that he was obligated by court decision to stop posting on his lekar.zp Telegram channel. The Metropolitan writes:
My conscience is clear before God and you, I’m not ashamed to look each of you in the eye, and as for what is said and written about me—let those who do so answer for it, and it will not be before those who trust their information, but first and foremost, before their own conscience and God. Remember one thing—hell reigns, but it does not last forever!...
Due to the fact that provocations are possible against me, I officially declare that any information that appears on this channel after this publication and before the final court decision will have nothing to do with me!
Instead, Met. Luke will share his “thoughts about the life of the Church, about life in this world mired in evil, and how to distinguish the sinful from the righteous, for the sake of saving priceless and immortal souls” on a new channel, at https://t.me/lekarzpmluka.
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