Photo: romfea.gr
Supporters of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” have been violently seizing Orthodox churches ever since that structure’s creation in 2018.
On October 17, one of the bloodiest takeovers took place in Cherkasy, when the schismatics seized the Archangel Michael Cathedral and violently attacked His Eminence Metropolitan Theodosy, as well as Orthodox clergy and parishioners. The sad incident has also become one of the most publicized. The hierarch had to be treated in the hospital after the attack.
Met. Theodosy is also a personal target of the state’s persecution campaign against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. There are multiple charges against him, all stemming from his statements in defense of canonical Orthodoxy, and he has been held under some form of detention or house arrest for two years now.
Yesterday, the popular Greek Orthodox outlet Romfea published an interview with the Metropolitan, in which he speaks about the bloody seizure and makes an appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and all Orthodox hierarchs.
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Asked about his health after the seizure of the cathedral, Met. Theodosy notes that he suffered a concussion and eye and skin burns, but is now feeling better.
He adds: “According to criminologists who analyzed the attack footage, when the supporter of the OCU struck me on the head with a baseball bat, it was a clear attempt at premeditated murder.”
Fortunately, his klobuk softened the blow enough that he only suffered a concussion, he says, giving thanks to God.
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Speaking more about the attack, His Eminence noted that the OCU supporters attacked not only him, but also priests, monastics, and laymen.
The attackers, full of “malice and hatred,” broke the arms, legs, and ribs of faithful church members, knocked out priests’ teeth, and shot at people with air guns inside the church while deploying tear gas. The entire assault was captured on security cameras.
Following the seizure, the schismatic “bishop” in Cherkasy, Ivan Yaremenko, took possession of the cathedral and the Metropolitan'’ personal items, even posting videos of himself in the Metropolitan’s office while ransacking his library. The attack shocked not only local residents but people throughout Ukraine and worldwide.
Meanwhile, the canonical Cherkasy Diocese still holds all the legal paperwork proving that it is the legal owner of the land on which the cathedral sits.
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Asked about the ecclesiastical situation in Ukraine in general, Met. Theodosy emphasizes that the situation is dire, with state authorities using their security services and the OCU to conduct widespread persecutions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The OCU is “a faithful servant of the current Authorities and the beneficiary of the persecutions against our Church,” the faithful hierarch notes.
Clergy are being beaten and arrested, while churches are being confiscated throughout the country. The faithful face persecution at work, and their children face humiliation at school. Sacred churches are being demolished in Kiev and Lvov, with others under threat.
The Metropolitan compares this to the persecutions during the Soviet era, when the “Living Church” helped the Bolsheviks undermine the Orthodox Church. While the severity varies by region, these conditions persist throughout Ukraine today.
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Asked about the consequences of the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s granting of “autocephaly” to the so-called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” His Eminence notes that there were no benefits, only devastating damage.
The 2019 tomos has brought nothing but suffering to Ukraine's faithful. It has allowed “a real monster to enter” Orthodox Christianity—an entity that, while wearing ecclesiastical garments, has little in common with Christianity beyond its external appearance, the Cherkasy hierarch explains.
This organization, the OCU, now works to exterminate the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, he continues, using every tool of state power without hesitation. Most alarming is that this spiritual infection, cloaked in the legitimacy of the 2019 tomos, threatens not just Ukraine’s Orthodox Church but risks corrupting Universal Orthodoxy as a whole, Met. Theodosy believes.
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Asked what message he would send to the primates and hierarchs of the Local Orthodox Churches, Met. Theodosy first addresses Pat. Bartholomew of Constantinople, saying, “I would like to ask him to receive my words without bitterness and distress.”
While respecting his position, Met. Theodosy affirms that the Patriarch has made a grave error in Ukraine. This error now affects not just Ukraine but risks creating “a schism similar to that of 1054.”
The central issue is that Ukrainian schismatics should not have been accepted into the Orthodox Church “without repentance and without valid ordinations.” Many Orthodox hierarchs will never accept these individuals or their successors as legitimate bishops. Additionally, attempting to separate the Orthodox Church of Rus’ by invalidating a centuries-old document was misguided [referring to Constantinople’s arbitrary cancelation of a 1686 decree transferring the Kiev Metropolis to the Patriarcahte of Moscow—Ed.], as “paper is dead, soulless, while the body of the Church is alive and bleeds when people try to tear it apart.”
The situation in Ukraine has become dire, the Metropolitan emphasizes. “Today, hostilities are taking place here, and bloody persecutions against the Church have been unleashed.” Under current conditions, people risk losing “not only church property but also freedom, health, and sometimes life itself” merely for acknowledging spiritual ties to the Russian Orthodox Church.
A resolution to this crisis cannot be found until the war ends and the Church is freed from state repression. Any attempt to resolve it now would be “equivalent to plundering during wartime.”
His Eminence proposes that the most viable solution would be for Pat. Bartholomew to temporarily suspend the tomos issued to the OCU and implement “a universal moratorium regarding concelebration and common communion of the Orthodox pious clergy with this religious structure.” This would help reduce tensions between Local Churches and restore Eucharistic communion, Met. Theodosy states.
The ultimate resolution of the OCU issue should wait until after the war ends, when it can be addressed properly through either “a Synaxis of all commonly recognized Local Orthodox Churches, or even a Pan-Orthodox Council.” Any such gathering must follow Orthodox canonical tradition and exclude groups whose Apostolic Succession remains unrecognized, His Eminence states.
“This action is within your authority and could help prevent further division while reducing the persecution of Christians in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian hierarch tells the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Met. Theodosy also expresses gratitude to Orthodox hierarchs worldwide for their prayers and support following the October 17 events in Cherkasy. He notes that their messages of comfort, whether public or private, were deeply meaningful. Through their support, he says, “the Lord allowed me to tangibly feel the synodality and catholicity of our Holy Orthodox Church throughout the world!” On behalf of Ukraine's Orthodox faithful, he requests continued prayers, affirming that they maintain hope that through the intercessions of the Theotokos, they will persevere through these trials.
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Finally, asked about the criminal prosecutions against him, Met. Theodosy reports facing five criminal prosecutions and four ongoing trials in Cherkasy and Kiev courts, stemming from his public defense of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
According to him, clergy of the OCU file complaints with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and subsequently take possession of seized churches in his diocese.
Under house arrest for two years—now only during nighttime hours—he notes the SBU has tried three times to place him in pre-trial detention. Despite ongoing investigations, the Metropolitan maintains his spiritual perspective, stating: “Glory to God for all things!”
