Metropolitan of Cherkasy charged with another criminal article

Metropolitan Theodosy of Cherkasy. Photo: cherkasy.church.ua

The investigation may hand over suspicion to Metropolitan Theodosy of Cherkasy and Kaniv under Art. 436, part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in the near future. The hierarch stated this during a sermon published by the press service of the diocese on YouTube.

“The article about political unreliability is proven with the following fact. On the website of the Cherkasy diocese, they somewhere below found a link to the website of the Moscow Patriarchate. Yet, it is impossible to go to the website of the patriarchy by this link because all the sites that are located in the Russian Federation are blocked. However, there was such a fact, which means that Metropolitan Theodosy is a collaborator, a separatist, and falls under Article 436, part 2,” the bishop says ironically. “Because the previous Article 161 is crumbling in their hands. They tell me that I may soon be handed a suspicion under this article and face up to 8 years in prison with confiscation of property.”

At the same time, Metropolitan Theodosy categorically disagrees with any accusations against him.

“Those who know me not only from Cherkasy, but also from Kyiv and throughout my life, know that I am a fundamentally apolitical person. All my priestly ministry – I have been serving as a bishop for 12 years, and even before that I was a priest in Kyiv for 12 years – I basically instructed myself and all the clergy subordinate to me, the priests in this way: no politics within the walls of the Church. The Church should unite, not divide,” he said.

As reported by the UOJ, the SBU declared suspicion to Metropolitan Theodosy of Cherkasy under Art. 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

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