Bushcha: OCU followers fire away evil spirit at the "consecration" of water
Hunters at the "consecration" of water in Bushcha. Photo: Facebook
The water "consecration" on the day of the Holy Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Bushcha community of the OCU in the Zdolbuniv district, Rivne region, was accompanied by single shots from hunting rifles. The corresponding video with 15 hunters shooting at the same time, was posted on Facebook and Instagram by local activists.
It turns out that this spectacular tradition has been respected in Bushcha since ancient times. As local resident Nikolai Uzhvin wrote on his page, people believe that in this way they drive away evil spirits.
“This is an ancient custom, especially in forest villages. In such a way, evil spirits are driven away. You can find this in the works of Ukrainian ethnographers,” he said.
According to the stories of Bushcha residents, it was local hunters who were the main initiators of the seizure of the temple.
As reported earlier, the community of the UOC of the village of Bushcha built a new church instead of the one taken over by OCU supporters in March 2019 with the assistance of the head of the local district state administration.
Read also
Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilos blesses Jordan waters
The head of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem led the Theophany celebrations in the Holy Land.
His Beatitude explains the significance of Theophany for man's salvation
The Primate of the UOC spoke about Theophany and how this Gospel event shapes a Christian’s life.
Thousands of Odesa residents take part in UOC Eparchy’s Theophany celebrations
On the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Odesa Eparchy organized a series of events so that anyone who wished could take part in the blessing of water and in common prayer.
Hierarch of Constantinople: Russian Church has declared total war on us
The Metropolitan of Chalcedon called the Russian Church “a propaganda mechanism.”
Son of Chernihiv Eparchy UOC сleric killed in action
The son of a cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the serviceman Heorhii Koptyl, has been killed.
Khmelnytskyi RMA declares U.S. Congress-mentioned “transfer” to OCU legal
An official of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Military Administration said she has no grounds not to re-register a UOC community in the village of Kuzmin as belonging to the OCU.