SBU reports suspicion to abbot of UOC monastery in Izium Eparchy

A preventive measure being considered now. Photo: facebook.com/SecurSerUkraine

The SBU reported suspicion to the abbot of the monastery in the Izium Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under Part 3, Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (justification of the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine using the media). The SBU press service said that a preventive measure is being considered now and that the cleric is facing up to 8 years in prison.

The SBU said that the vicar "consecrated the Russian military during the occupation of Izium".

"During the temporary occupation of the region, he voluntarily supported the Russian invaders and by his own example urged other local residents to do so. The man publicly stated that the local religious community was subordinate exclusively to the Russian ROC. He also wrote a letter to an aide to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow asking him to send 'humanitarian aid' to the occupied part of the region," the report said.

"He repeatedly spoke in front of cameras of Kremlin propagandists who were visiting then-occupied Izium. In his comments, the offender discredited Ukrainian defenders, denied the facts of Russian aggression and glorified the annihilated Rashists," the SBU added.

As reported, the SBU promised that Ukraine would have a "Ukrainian Сhurch".

Read also

U.S. House of Representatives passes ban on sex-change surgeries for minors

The lower house of Congress supported an initiative limiting medical interventions that could have irreversible consequences for the health of minors.

Armenian Church to appeal to international bodies over government pressure

The decision was made by the Supreme Spiritual Council in Etchmiadzin against the backdrop of criminal cases, pressure on the clergy, and the state's attempts to interfere in church life.

Pashinyan's supporters attempt to storm Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia

The confrontation around the Armenian Apostolic Church intensified after rebellious hierarchs called for the Catholicos's resignation and attempted to exert forceful pressure in Etchmiadzin.

Persecuted community of Maliatyntsi celebrates first patronal feast after seizure

In Bukovyna, the faithful of the St. Nicholas community in the village of Maliatyntsi celebrated the Feast Day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra in Lycia for the first time after the church seizure.

European authorities downplay scale of Christian persecution, report says

Human rights defenders reported an increase in attacks on believers in the EU and pointed out that official statistics do not reflect the real level of anti-Christian hostility.

Mukachevo Eparchy bishops congratulate orphaned children on St Nicholas Day

Metropolitan Theodore and Bishop Hilarion visited the “New Family” children’s shelter in Uzhhorod.