Met. Varsonofii tells Athos monks about the persecution of UOC believers

Metropolitan Varsonofii (Stoliar) of Vinnitsa and Bar. Photo: facebook.com/varsonofii

On September 7, 2019, during a pilgrimage trip to Mount Athos, Metropolitan Varsonofy (Stoliar) of Vinnitsa and Bar visited the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, as reported on Facebook.

Vladyka Varsonofii told the brethren about the violation of the rights of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the seizure of churches by representatives of the OCU in the Vinnitsa region.

“After the service, I talked with the hegumen and brotherhood of the Panteleimon Monastery. I told them about my eparchy, the seizures of churches that took place this year, the illegal refusal to register me as the head of the eparchy, and other pressure on the UOC believers, as well as the sincere faith of the flock of Podolye, who did not support the new church structure and remained faithful to the UOC.

In turn, Father Eulogius (the hegumen of the monastery, Archimandrite Eulogius (Ivanov) - Ed.) And the brothers supported me and said that they were praying for peace in Ukraine and the flock of the Vinnitsa eparchy,” wrote the bishop.

He said that he climbed to the top of the Holy Mountain, where he offered prayers for Ukraine: "I prayed on the top of Mount Athos, where the Church of the Transfiguration is located, about peace in our country, about the flock of the Vinnitsa Eparchy, about the return of seized cathedrals and the eparchy."

We recall that earlier as part of a pilgrimage trip, a group of the Odessa Eparchy of the UOC, led by the Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail, visited the Vatoped Monastery on Mount Athos. The hierarch of the UOC offered prayers for peace in Ukraine before the shrines of the monastery – the Holy Girdle of Our Lady, the icons of Our Lady Vimatarissa or Ktitorissa, Our Lady Antiphonitria, Our Lady Pantanassa, the head of St. John Chrysostom.

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