Cherkasy, Cherkasy Province, Ukraine, May 7, 2025
Photo: spzh.eu
Another Orthodox church has been seized by godless schismatics with the help of the police and the local mayor in Cherkasy, where perhaps the most violent and bloody church takeover in all of Ukraine took place in October.
Yesterday, May 6, local authorities and clerics of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” entered St. Andrew’s Church and began taking inventory while police officers prevented the Orthodox faithful from entering, reports the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Information-Education Department.
His Eminence Metropolitan Theodosy, who was physically attacked in the bloody seizure in October and who is a personal target of the anti-Orthodox Ukrainian authorities, arrived on the scene and spoke with Mayor Anatoly Bondarenko, who was directly involved in the seizure.
The mayor attempted to claim that the parish community had voted to leave the Orthodox Church and join the schismatics, but he was unable to present any evidence of such a vote or any names of those who voted. All the parishioners who were present proclaimed their loyalty to Christ in the Orthodox Church.
Met. Theodosy discussing with Mayor Bondarenko. Photo: spzh.eu
Further, Met. Theodosy explained that his predecessor, His Eminence Metropolitan Sophrony, had built the church on land allocated to the diocese, and thus there is no question of legal ownership.
The secular Bonarenko tried to dictate how the faithful pray: “You’ll pray freely only when you pray in Ukrainian, for a united Ukraine and for our country. Not for Patriarch Kirill.” The mayor thus showed his ignorance, because the UOC hasn’t commemorated Patriarch Kirill since May 2022, and prays for Ukraine in every service.
Met. Theodosy explained that Slavonic is the Church’s heritage: “We pray like our great grandfathers, grandfathers, fathers. We pray and will continue to pray in Church Slavonic.”
“Finish seminary, come to the priesthood, and then we’ll talk as equals,” the Metropolitan said. “But for now, secular people in suits aren’t going to tell us Church people what language to pray in.”
In the end, the Orthodox clergy and faithful were forced to leave the church, taking the antimens and a particle of the relics of St. Panteleimon with them.
“With prayer and with tears in their eyes, parishioners received the reliquary with this particle of the relics, which was passed through the gates, locked by the police, and we left the church,” Met. Theodosy said.
“Now the church is being guarded by the police, who are carrying out a criminal order, violating the constitution and the law on the national police,” he said, reminding the police that they’re not bound to follow illegal orders.
“We’re not complaining that God allows this to happen to us, because the entire Ukrainian people are suffering. Everyone is experiencing hardship. And everyone is waiting for all of this to end, for peace and freedom to return to the country, and for faithful people to return to their churches. This will certainly happen,” said the hierarch.
As always, the UOC faithful prayed peacefully as the schismatics and authorities carried out their lawlessness:
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