What was Cherkasy Cathedral seized for? Concerts?
A concert at the Cherkasy Cathedral. Photo: KozakTv1
Not long ago, this church, where the relics of the Holy Martyr Macarius of Ovruch rest, echoed with prayer, and the number of worshippers was so great that there was hardly room to stand. Now, Ukraine's largest cathedral is almost empty, and attracting people requires spectacles.
Let us recall the slogans under which both the Cherkasy Cathedral and many other churches were seized from the UOC and transferred to the OCU. We were told that these holy sites would finally be freed from “Moscow captivity” and returned to the “true” Ukrainian faithful. That prayers in the "proper" Ukrainian language would replace those in "Russian" Church Slavonic.
There is another important aspect to this situation. When government officials turned the Refectory Church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra into a venue for a culinary show, followed by folk songs and dancing, even some members of the OCU admitted it was too much and said so publicly. But back then, they blamed the authorities, who legally own the Lavra.э
However, the Cherkasy Cathedral is a different story. Officials have no ties to this church. It was not "returned to the state" – this was outright raiding: taken from the UOC and handed over to the OCU. Control now lies not with the authorities but with Epifaniy Dumenko’s associates. Yet what’s happening there is no different from what’s occurring in the "state-owned" Lavra or other "returned" shrines.
And as one watches this unfold, a single question lingers: What was it all for? Is this why you staged a smash-up in the Cherkasy Cathedral? Is this why you shot at parishioners, beat the metropolitan, and once again "glorified" Ukraine worldwide?
Even Filaret, with all his eccentricities, never thought of hosting concerts in St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral. Perhaps he was stopped by the thought of the relics of the Great Martyr Barbara. The new "owners" of the Cherkasy Cathedral, however, seem not restrained by anything.
Read also
From sanctuary to storage: how seized UOC churches are being repurposed
In Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, members of the OCU are reportedly using the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands – seized from the UOC – as a storage site for clothing.
Why can a thief who stole from AFU walk out of SIZO, while Vladyka Arseniy cannot?
A man who stole food from soldiers in wartime is allowed the privilege of freedom, while a hierarch who fed hundreds of destitute refugees in the Lavra is denied even the possibility.
“There are no people persecuted for their religious beliefs in the USSR”
One of the most disgraceful phenomena in the life of Ukraine’s present-day religious community is its complicity in justifying the crackdown on the UOC.
Why people heroize those who beat TRC
Why does the head of the UGCC publicly call for war until victory, while quietly hiding draft-dodging workers in temples? Why do OCU bloggers delete posts supporting the TRC due to massive hate?
On the long-awaited statements by Oleksandr Usyk
Oleksandr Usyk has declared that he is ready to become president. The only question is – whom does he now see as his voters?
Two weeks of OCU’s “brotherhood” talk to UOC: Any fruits yet?
So this is what the OCU’s “dialogue” looks like. One hand signs “appeals” about brotherhood – the other blesses people with angle grinders.