Cherkasy, Cherkasy Province, Ukraine, October 18, 2024
Photo: spzh.live
The anti-Orthodox schismatics and nationalists of the “Orthodox Church in Ukraine” (OCU), founded by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, finally managed to violently seize the Archangel Michael Cathedral in Cherkasy after several attempts.
Dozens of people were injured in two attacks by armed men yesterday, and the local hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Theodosy of Cherkasy, whose generally poor health has been exacerbated by the state’s persecution against him, was treated at the hospital.
An attempt in late September was thwarted when the faithful came out to defend the church, and the same happened early yesterday morning when approximately 100 camouflaged and masked men forcibly broke into the church during a nighttime Liturgy, breaking windows and doors, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists, with reference to the Cherkasy Herald.
The attackers threw the faithful out of the church and took their phones. They also surrounded the diocesan clergy home, frightening the priests’ young children.
The raiders also opened fire on parishioners with a gas pistol inside the church.
However, Orthodox residents of Cherkasy managed, in the end, to defend their cathedral.
In a video address, Met. Theodosy called on his Orthodox flock to protect the church “from bandits who didn’t build them, who don’t know how to pray, but can only steal, beat, and report to their overseas spiritual master.” He also called on Patriarch Bartholomew to give attention to the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
One of the invaders was identified as OCU “priest” Nazary Zasansky, who earlier led the violent seizure of the Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery in Cherkasy, and who is the “victim” in the state’s bogus case against Met. Theodosy for the alleged crimes of supporting Russia in the war and inciting religious enmity.
Later in the day, the OCU radicals returned to the cathedral and began attacking parishioners again. They sprayed them with tear gas and hit Met. Theodosy over the head.
The videos below show the violence and hatred of the invaders and their disdain for the house of God:
This time, the godless attackers managed to overtake the church. In another video address, the Metropolitan emphasized that there is no grace with the schismatics:
We tried to protect our cathedral from bandits. Unfortunately, there’s no defense against force. Therefore, our church has been captured illegally. Of course, we’ll try to seek justice in the courts, but knowing how things are decided now, exclusively by political expediency, there’s little hope.
Divine grace leaves the cathedral with us. The protection and help of Archangel Michael and the Venerable Martyr Makary leave the cathedral with us. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. And it will be filled with grace again when we, the faithful, return there, and this will certainly happen. Do not doubt, we will definitely return to our cathedral.
It was later discovered that the bandits also robbed the cathedral, taking:
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documents
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computer equipment
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$60,000 and 80,000 hryvnia ($1,940) that parishioners had collected for church restoration
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two episcopal Panagias with relics
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crosses and other Church utensils
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Church books and literature
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icons
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food and clothing
Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhie commented on the violent siezure on his Telegram channel:
Today, footage of the so-called “voluntary transition” of the community of the Cherkasy cathedral to another structure calling itself Orthodox flew all around the world.
Gunmen burst onto the territory of the Archangel Michael Cathedral in Cherkasy. The faithful were again poisoned with tear gas, many of them received corneal burns from a poisonous substance, Metropolitan Theodosy was hit on the head, gunshots were heard. Such is the frenzied craving for “prayer” among people calling themselves Orthodox. Those who voted for the transition will go to beat up the parishioners of other churches, and the Archangel Michael Cathedral, like other seized churches, will stand empty.
Those who wage war against God lose all hope of salvation. And for what? To prove their strength, to defeat old men and women, to enter a church for half an hour where they never went before and won’t go again? We can’t pray to God to grant our people victory and simultaneously deprive those same people of their holy sites. The mayor of the city openly calls for the seizure of churches. Only enemies of the state can act like this.
I was recently interviewed by an Athonite monk who decided to become a blogger. He wanted to understand Ukrainian Orthodoxy and figure out who’s right and who’s to blame. But it seems he simply can’t figure out the correct solution to this problem. I want to know how to figure out which is a stinking corpse and which a living man—isn’t the smell and the decomposition enough? Do I need some other certificates, testimonies, additional medical tests? Of course, you can pay to get a certificate saying a corpse is alive, but will that help him? Are malice, hatred, beatings, and theft not enough to understand who’s who? Or is grace, by decision of some church functionary, now obliged to abide in those who commit sacrilege, who blaspheme, and live satanically?
The scenes of violence and vandalism that we witnessed today are direct evidence of the deadness of that organization that claims to be recognized by the entire Church.
Altogether, 26 people, including Met. Theodosy had to receive medical care.
Later that day, dozens of fake OCU priests arrived to hold a “service” in the cathedral.
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