“Aydar” detained battalion commander's wife accuses Pat. Bartholomew

Detained Sergey Melnichuk. Photo: Sergey Melnichuk's Facebook page

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople may stand behind the detention of Sergey Melnichuk, which occurred on the border of Greece and Bulgaria on March 1, 2020. The wife of the battalion commander Mila Melnichuk said this in a comment to Strana.ua publication.

“I have several versions,” the detainee’s wife said. “First, this provocation was staged by Bartholomew himself (Patriarch of Constantinople – Ed.), because they started calling me with proposals so that the New Church (OCU – Ed.) will be engaged in the peacemaking process. Greece really wants to act as a peacemaker before the Norman format.”

Also, according to Mila Melnichuk, the detention of her husband may be initiated by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Arsen Avakov, or Russia.

“This is a framed-up situation. But this is an absurd situation, because we haven’t been listed anywhere in Interpol <...> A faked-up case. Now my husband is talking with the consul, and they are waiting for a decision of the prosecutor, but I was told that this procedure could take several years,” she added.

As reported by the UOJ, previously the Greek theologian Panagiotis Katramados called Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople the “captive of the Turks and the USA”, explaining the consequences of his anti-canonical actions in Ukraine for Greece.

Read also

Court keeps Metropolitan Arseniy in pre-trial detention

Defenders of the UOC hierarch have filed an appeal against the court's decision.

U.S. political analyst: Bishop Budde is a 'tool of Satan'

Political analyst Mark Steyn blasted Episcopal Bishop Budde’s stance on families with gay, lesbian, and transgender children.

Archbishop Anastasios of Albania laid to rest in Tirana

The Primate of the Albanian Church was laid to rest in the crypt beneath the Resurrection Cathedral.

UOJ opens its branch in Albania

The new European organization Union of Orthodox Journalists has opened a branch in Albania.

In Bukovyna, UOC believers appeal to Vance on the eve of OCU’s church raid

The parish also invited a UN monitoring group and an OSCE human rights officer.

Abducted by military commissars, archimandrite reveals TRC detention details

The abbot of the monastery in Babai described the conditions in which clergymen are held in the military recruitment center.