"Activists" near Lavra desecrate icons, police refuse to open the case
"Magician Veliar" committing sacrilege near the walls of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: screenshot from the Telegram channel "Pershy Kozatsky"
On December 1, 2023, during the service of the UOC near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, anti-church "activist" Bohdan Oryshchenko, who calls himself "Mag Veliar," with the support of a group of like-minded people, tore and trampled icons of Orthodox saints and the portrait of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine. The video of the incident was published by the Telegram channel "Pershy Kozatsky".
The "activists" loudly insulted the holy saints, the Primate, clergy, and parishioners of the UOC, cursed the believers, and spread slander about the Church.
The police officers present at the scene did not prevent the commission of the crime, and when the believers tried to save the icons and the photo of His Beatitude Metropolitan, the police demanded that they return them to the "activists."
Lawyer Dmytro Tsvetov, representing the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, filed a statement with the Pechersk District Police Department in Kyiv about the commission of a criminal offense by "activists," provided for in part 3 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (incitement to religious enmity and hatred, insult to the feelings of citizens based on their religious beliefs, combined with deception, committed by an organized group). The lawyer attached a video recording of Oryshchenko's criminal actions and his accomplices to the statement. However, the police officers did not react within the legal deadline.
For this reason, Dmytro Tsvetov appealed to the Pechersk District Court with a complaint about the inaction of the police.
As reported by the UOJ, on May 17, 2023, "activists," led by Bohdan Oryshchenko, performed a blasphemous rite of "burying the UOC" near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
The UOJ also reported that as of November 27, 2023, the Pechersk District Police Department ignored all 16 statements by Lavra lawyers about provocateurs' offenses near the monastery. The court ordered the police to open 10 criminal cases, but they opened only two.
Read also
OCU activist admits breaking into UOC church in Sloviansk
Oleksandr Onyshchenko said that the OCU held its first "service" at the Seraphim Church, which had previously been broken into by forcing the locks and doors.
Archimandrite Ioustinos, longtime keeper of Jacob's Well, dies in Jordan
Archimandrite Ioustinos (Mamallos), the keeper of Jacob's Well in Nablus, has died after a prolonged illness.
Pilgrim group from Kyiv Theological Seminary visits Mount Athos
KTS students are making a pilgrimage to the holy sites of Romania, Greece, Mount Athos and Italy.
UOC cathedral celebrates its patronal feast in Ternopil
The service in the cathedral of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia was led by Metropolitan Serhii of Ternopil, concelebrated by four hierarchs.
MinCulture marks centenary of Soviet-era reserve at Lavra's Refectory Church
Representatives of the Ministry of Culture presented awards to the Reserve's employees on the occasion of the anniversary at the Refectory Church of the Lavra.
Conference to mark 1700th anniversary of Christianity adoption held in Georgia
In Georgia, representatives of the Church and the state noted the defining role of Christianity in the country's cultural development.