In Chernivtsi, drunken "novices" of the OCU in cassocks collect donations

A video was published on the Internet with drunken men in priestly vestments, who collected donations in Chernivtsi, posing as novices from the village of Stara Zhadova, the birthplace of the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, where a “monastery” of schismatics is being built, the Chernivtsi-Bukovina Diocese of the UOC reports on its Facebook page.

The video shows that the vestments the “novices of the OCU” are wearing are on inside out and over the jacket. “There are several questions. Where did they get the robes? Are they church thieves or was it given to them by one of the dishonorable clergy, or is there really a monastery in Stara Zhadova?” the diocese notes.

Further, one of the men speaks about the abbot of the monastery "Ivan Konstantinovich". As noted in the diocese, in Stara Zhadova village, Chernivtsi region, a “monastery” of the Chernivtsi-Kitsman diocese of the OCU is really being built. “In the state register, the head of this organization, oddly enough, is listed as a person named Ivan Konstantinovich,” the diocese said.

It is noted that the believers of the UOC in Stara Zhadova suffer from encroachments on the church building and illegal re-registration of the religious community in favor of the OCU, and now on top of that, here are these schismatic “novices”.

“Poor Stara Zhadova. That’s the last thing we need! This village has been suffering from encroachments on the church building and illegal re-registration of the religious community of the canonical Church for almost three years. To make matters worse, there is even the OCU monastery with a bad reputation. This is the birthplace of the head of the OCU, Epiphany," the Ukrainian Orthodox Church stated in the Chernivtsi diocese.

In this regard, the diocese calls on the faithful to be vigilant and ask donation collectors outside churches and monasteries for a written blessing from Metropolitan Meletiy of Chernivtsi and Bukovina, who is the only one in the diocese to authorize such an activity.

As the UOJ reported, the OCU will “consecrate” Theophany water online.

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