UOC priest charged for his sermon in Zhytomyr region

The accused priest from the Zhytomyr Eparchy. Photo: Prosecutor's Office

A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been charged with denying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, according to the press service of the Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to the investigation, the priest allegedly spread pro-Russian narratives during a service in the church of a neighboring community in the Berdychiv district. In April 2022, during his pre-Easter sermons, he allegedly convinced parishioners that the president of the Russian Federation had not initiated a full-scale armed invasion of Ukraine. The prosecutor's office also claims that the priest claimed that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow had not blessed the war, instead calling the events a punishment for human sins.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Zhytomyr region.

As the UOJ reported, the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra is suspected of covertly leaking the locations of Ukrainian Armed Forces positions.

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.