Wounded in the Head: another Lie of the Kiev Patriarchate Priests Exposed

On August 26, on his Facebook page, a certain Pavel Podobed posted "breaking news" about "a sexton of the UOC", who allegedly committed an assault on a priest of the Kiev Patriarchate. This "sensation" was picked up by several sites, using almost the same text and photos: "In Korsun, Cherkassy region, a sexton of the local church belonging to the UOC - MP, Mikhail Lysenko, attacked with a knife Rostislav Bylo, a priest of the UOC-KP." The latter said that wounds on his head, supposedly made with a knife, constitute "evidence" of the assault of the sexton.

Such sites like apostrophe.com.u a, pohlyad.com, lb.ua, novostiua.net and others without bothering to check the facts and the information, for example, at the doctor’s or with the police, published doubtful material aimed at inciting sectarian division.

In order to refute the obvious lie, it was enough for the journalists to communicate with an allegedly "attacking" parishioner of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who was not even a church minister, and verify the information on the nature of the injure got by the KP priest, Rostislav Bylo.

And here a true sensation immerged. As it was investigated by Anatoly Shariy, the priest of the KP was not a victim, but an initiator of a drunken brawl, during which he, being intoxicated, together with his co-believers on the patriarchate, attacked the parishioner of the UOC. The latter decided not to inflate the scandal and slander on Facebook.

But the cleric of the KP apparently decided to use his "wounds", received apparently from falling on broken glass, as evidence of an attack of a local parishioner of the church, presented to the media as a priest of the UOC. So, on a drunken head, such "sensations" are born, fanning aggression against the confession unwanted by the Kyiv Patriarchate. 

Obedience to Patriarch and bishop: ROC's new ordination questionnaire

The Synod-approved ordination questionnaire requires clergy to "obey the Patriarch in all things." How does this square with Church canons and the ROC's own position on primacy?

A political commissar’s vocabulary: Three interviews with Epifaniy Dumenko

In just six days, the OCU leader managed to call an end to church seizures “capitulation,” describe Lavra monks as “hired hands,” and portray the U.S. vice president as a victim of propaganda.

The Council of Crete: a decade of unity in name only

Constantinople marked the anniversary of the Council of Crete with a theological conference in France. They spoke about the unity of Orthodoxy, although over the past years there has noticeably been less of it.

Yelensky’s plan: Why is DESS demanding what the UOC has already done?

DESS is demanding that the UOC take steps it has already taken, while offering no assurance that further demands will not follow. What is behind Yelensky’s ultimatum?

Why OCU hierarchy lacks canonical ordination: what Local Churches say

The OCU head refuses to address invalidity of his ordinations. But almost all Local Churches speak of it – even those that recognized the OCU.

Why nation-first advocates do not call for peace

Ukraine’s population is declining by nearly one million people a year, and experts are warning of the nation’s demographic extinction. Yet the leaders of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) continue to call for war and mobilization.