Police open a case against provocateurs who rioted near Lavra
Anti-church "activists" near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: a video screenshot of the Telegram channel "Kozak 1".
On the evening of 13 October 2023, the Pechersk District Police Department, after a two-week delay, complied with the court decision and opened criminal proceedings on the fact of obstruction of the UOC worship service near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on 18 September, reports the Lavra’s lawyer Archpriest Nikita Chekman on his Telegram channel.
"The Pechersk police has finally executed the court ruling!” he wrote. “A pre-trial investigation has been launched. We hope it will be effective, and all those who commit offences will be held accountable!"
An extract from the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations shows that the police department received the decision of the Pechersk Court to open the case only on 12 October, although the court sent it as early as 29 September.
Criminal proceedings were opened under Part 1 of Article 180 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal obstruction of a religious rite, which disrupted or threatened to disrupt a religious rite). Provocateurs who committed this offence face imprisonment for up to two years.
As earlier reported, lawyers of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra filed 10 statements to the Pechersk Police Department about the illegal actions of "activists", which can be qualified under part 1 of article 180 of the Criminal Code. Law enforcers ignored all the complaints. The lawyers appealed each fact of police inaction in court. To date, judges ordered the police to open four criminal proceedings under Article 180 and one more - on the fact of a teargas attack on a parishioner of the UOC.
Read also
Greek priest: Sad to see Orthodox Christians fighting each other in Ukraine
Fr. Georgios Katsaounis recalled the historical ties between the Russian and Ukrainian peoples and criticized the Greek Prime Minister’s statement about a “war with Russia.”
Anglican Archbishop: Ban on women's priesthood in RCC is an injustice
After her visit to the pontiff, Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally touched on the topic of women's priesthood in the RCC in an interview and called the ban on it "an injustice."
Greek priest on Pope's visit to Phanar: faith must not be sold
Archpriest Georgios Katsaounis warned that in the modern ecumenical dialogue there are serious risks of diluting Orthodox dogmas.
Greek priest: The principle of papal supremacy in Catholicism is a disease
Archpriest Georgios Katsaounis stated that Western Christianity suffers from the principle of one person's supremacy, and called this a spiritual illness.
In Egypt, Coptic blogger sentenced to 5 years for videos about Christianity
A Coptic blogger was sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor under a blasphemy law for publishing a video about Christianity.
Patriarchate of Georgia denies ROC influence on election of patriarch
Archpriest Andria Jagmaidze stated that rumors about pressure from the Russian Orthodox Church on Patriarch Ilia regarding the selection of a locum tenens are false.