The poor no longer receive meals after OCU seized cathedral in Cherkasy

Sisters of Mercy used to come to the cathedral every Sunday to prepare meals for several hundred destitute people. Photo: Cherkasy Eparchy

Yesterday, Sunday, October 20, for the first time in several years, no charitable meals were provided to the poor, needy, and displaced people at the Cherkasy Cathedral, according to the press service of the UOC's Cherkasy Eparchy.

It was reported that after the OCU forcibly seized the Archangel Michael Cathedral in Cherkasy on October 17, the hot meals for the poor and needy stopped.

"Our Sisters of Mercy would come to the cathedral every Sunday to prepare hearty homemade meals for several hundred destitute people," the statement read. "Yesterday, no one was distributing hot meals at the cathedral, no one was offering spiritual support or taking the time for these people. After all, they need so little – just some attention and a bit of warmth."

The diocese speculates, "They didn’t seize the cathedral to carry out an Orthodox mission or show Christian love."

"Their motives are clearly reflected in their actions. We all know what disappeared within the first few hours of the 'new believers' taking over. How much goodness and mercy have departed the cathedral grounds along with the genuine believers..." the press service added.

Previously, the UOJ wrote the articale "The Cherkasy Cathedral has been seized – what’s next?"

Read also

OCU explains why beggars are driven away from St. Michael’s Cathedral

A cleric of Dumenko’s structure admitted that beggars are not tolerated at the OCU’s main monastery because of their “high incomes” and the desire not to damage the site’s image before foreign tourists.

UOC Chancellor: Venerable Anthony founded a monastery, not a reserve

Metropolitan Anthony said that the attempt to turn the Lavra into a state preserve is, in essence, an attempt to lock living Orthodoxy behind a door.

Dumenko discusses countering hostile influence in spiritual life with PO head

The heads of the OCU and the Presidential Office touched on state-church relations and “spiritual security” in wartime.

Albanian Primate speaks about ways to resolve OCU problem

Archbishop John is convinced: disagreements between Moscow and Constantinople can only be overcome through love and dialogue, but not through choosing "sides".

National Memory Institute and SBU open exhibition on UGCC liquidation

An exhibition on the repression of the Uniates has opened in the capital, while state officials search for historical parallels with the present day.

OCU "priest" “allows” parishioners to use priest’s cassock for sex games

Ruslan Usmedinsky said that using a priest’s cassock as a prop for role-playing games can strengthen relationships between couples.