Hierarch of Cherkasy on SBU threats: Lord leads us to joy through trials

Metropolitan Feodosiy of Cherkasy. Photo: the Cherkasy Eparchy website

On October 6, 2023, Metropolitan Feodosiy of Cherkasy, in a video address posted on the eparchy's YouTube channel, commented on the new suspicion presented by the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) and the demands of the law enforcement officers to place him in custody.

The hierarch stated that early in the morning on October 5, a group of SBU officers forcibly entered his home and conducted another search, during which they confiscated his phone and computer.

According to him, the SBU handed him the suspicion "immediately, as it was prepared in advance". The Metropolitan noted: "All the victims and witnesses are once again clergy of the OCU (Orthodox Church of Ukraine), not only from Cherkasy but also from Kyiv."

Metropolitan Feodosiy claimed that the SBU is accusing him of "criticizing security services and local authorities and revealing how we exposed the mechanisms of raiding Orthodox churches in Ukraine today, spoke about how the security service put pressure on the clergy, trying to force through illegal autocephaly, thus finally shattering our Church."

"It feels like any criticism in our country is completely prohibited by law and falls under the Criminal Code. Moreover, the destruction of the UOC should happen silently. It (UOC – Ed.) should just be silent, be silent and fall apart. This scenario seems to be the most suitable. In general, for the sake of curiosity, take a look on the Internet and read the press release regarding the suspicion in another criminal case presented to me and the search in my house. In some sense, this press release is a masterpiece. You could insert it without change into one of George Orwell's novels. The result of initiating this criminal case – they are asking the court to place me in custody, in other words - to imprison me," said the hierarch.

He asserts that "there are no grounds whatsoever for pretrial detention, moreover, it is illegal, as Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the first part of which is attributed to me, does not imply such a preventive measure as detention."

"How did it come to this at all?" the Metropolitan wonders. "Many of us today are asking ourselves this question. How have we become so accustomed to the theatre of the absurd happening around us that we easily take it at face value when black is called white and white is called black? How have we come to such a life, how have we reached such a state?"

"Despite the insane chaos happening around us, the Lord preserves not only His Church but also each of us individually. The Lord guides this world and never stops counting every hair that falls from our heads. And right now, through these trials, through these persecutions, the Lord is doing something great and good with us. Many already feel it in their hearts. As always, the Lord wants to give us something greater and better. Not only what we have, but even more than we can imagine. But we must be ready for it. New wine is not poured into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and everything will be lost. The fermentation in the Church that is happening now can be compared to the preparation of new wine…."

"When we are given time and life circumstances to prepare for pouring into new wineskins, we must perceive these circumstances precisely as such, not by complaining but by perfecting our soul. Everything new and better is still ahead. And there are no joys without sorrows. Before great joys, the Lord prepares people with great sorrows. Let today's sorrows be a preparation and a threshold to the joy that the Lord will certainly send us," concluded the hierarch.

As reported, the SBU threatens the Metropolitan of Cherkasy with prison.

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