Candles-Bullets Cycle
NSDC meeting. Photo: NSDC website
At the latest meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), the head of the State Financial Monitoring Service, F. Pronin, claimed that UOC churches across the country are financed from Russia. He said this was uncovered through an SBU investigation. No actual evidence was presented, but as we know, when it comes to church matters, the SBU simply 'cannot be wrong' – so let’s take their word for it.
Yet, let’s recall something else. Not long ago, we were assured that the financial situation in the UOC was exactly the opposite – that Ukrainian priests were sending money earned from Ukrainian parishioners to Moscow. The "metropolitan" of the OCU, Zinkevych, even claimed that candles bought in UOC churches funded the production of bullets in Russia, which were then used to kill Ukrainian soldiers.
So what does this mean now? Are these "Moscow candles" now being turned into Ukrainian bullets for Russian soldiers? Should this be considered a betrayal or a victory?
All jokes aside, the government's methods of fighting the UOC are becoming increasingly pathetic and strained.
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.