Zaporizhia Diocese Refutes the so-called Rejection of the Office for the Dead ATO Soldiers

In the newscast of the “TSN - News" of October 2, 2015, in the news " Nameless heroes of the tragedy at Ilovaysk are buried in Kyiv " journalists of the notorious channel "1 +1" misinformed the audience. They said that at Kushugumsk cemetery “the common memorial service for the nameless soldiers who died in ATO was ministered by representatives of all religious denominations, except for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate".

In this regard, Zaporizhia diocese issued a flat denial of the disinformation and expressed much aggrievance over cynicism shown by the journalists of the channel" 1 + 1 " in covering the last commemoration service for the defenders of the Motherland. On the day of the burial of fallen soldiers Zaporizhia clergy of the UOC held two memorial services: before the burial a full funeral rite was served, and after it - a dead-office, which was attended by journalists, officials, volunteers and military men.

However, “the common memorial service” of representatives of different religious confessions mentioned by the reporters cannot be called a true religious rite, as it was a selection of prayers and hymns read at a funeral service, which generally lasted 5 minutes. The commemoration didn’t go without provocative actions on behalf of the local authorities. In the invitation to the event, which was sent at the end of the working day before the occasion, the head of the Department for Cultural Affairs, Nationalities and Religions noted that it would begin at 9:00 a.m., October 2, and would consist of two parts: the first would be a memorial service held by the UOC clergy and the second – a funeral service administered by representatives of other confessions. Despite this, the course of events was changed by someone, and the clergy of Zaporizhia Diocese of the UOC-MP served a funeral service after the "common memorial service", which was attended by all the same journalists, officials, volunteers and military men.

The head of Zaporizhia Diocese, Archbishop of Zaporizhia and Melitopol Luke stresses that such actions of Zaporizhia regional authorities and the channel "1 + 1" incite hostility among Ukrainians, contribute to deepening of polarization of the society, provoke further bloodshed of Ukrainian sons and daughters because the country is torn apart by "wolves in sheep's clothing " both inside and outside it.

Source: official site of the UOC, Zaporizhia diocese

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