Baranovka: Chronicles of the failed assault on UOC temple
An assault on the Church of the UOC of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Baranovka
On March 10, 2019, in the town of Baranovka, Zhitomir region, extraordinary events took place. Despite the fact that the large community of the UOC church unanimously expressed its loyalty to the UOC led by His Beatitude Onufriy, the local authorities organized another, territorially “patriotic” community, which includes town residents but not a single parishioner.
These people were provoked to storm and seize the temple.
On Forgiveness Sunday, the Radical Party deputy Oleg Kovalsky convened a town’s meeting (“veche”) on the main square, in which he called upon those gathered to take over the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. As a result, the crowd, fueled with “correct” incitement, rushed to the temple. Parishioners were beaten, dragged from the porch and thrown out of the church fence. At that time, about 150 parishioners locked inside after the Sunday Liturgy, many were with their children.
Though the raiders cut the doors with a grinder, they did not manage to break in. Late in the evening, the ruling bishop of the Zhitomir Eparchy, Metropolitan Nikodim, came to support his flock. The doors were welded back, the parishioners withstood the assault.
Read also
How the authorities are trying to destroy UOC abroad
Ukrainian communities across Europe are being accused of espionage and “Russian influence.” The evidence? Holding church services, helping refugees, working with children, and singing Ukrainian Christmas carols.
Should the Church be "with the people" or with God?
The authorities do not need patriots – they need the obedient. Why attempts to prove loyalty do not stop the persecution, and how this ended for the Church in the 20th century.
The implications of recognizing Pochaiv Lavra's "affiliation"
DESS has recognized the Pochaiv Lavra as affiliated with the ROC on the grounds that the Lavra belongs to the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC. This is a step toward banning the monastery. But it is also a template that will be applied further.
Forgiving one's enemies: betrayal, foolishness, or faithfulness to Christ?
War is a moment of truth. It places people in circumstances where obeying Christ's commandments becomes especially difficult. Yet it is precisely in such moments that it becomes clear who truly belongs to Christ – and who does not.
Avraamiy and the void: Why the OCU dismissed its "abbot of the Lavra"
The OCU’s “abbot of the Lavra” began building direct ties with Ukraine’s top leadership – and was promptly dismissed.
Pantheon instead of monastery: For whom Lavra’s Far Caves were “opened”?
The authorities have ceremonially “opened” the Far Caves that they themselves closed three years ago. Is monastic life returning? No. A very different future is being prepared for the Lavra.