“I’m not a batiushka!”: Video from Easter blessing goes viral online
A clergyman claimed that "batyushkas are all abroad." Photo: Screenshot from Nazarienko’s YouTube channel
The video, uploaded by Nazariy Yeremenko on YouTube, has already gained over 2 million views. In the clip, a woman with an Easter basket approaches a man in liturgical vestments and asks him to bless her paska, addressing him as batiushka (a traditional Orthodox term for a priest, used in particular by the UOC and the ROC). The man refuses, citing the way she addressed him.
“I won’t do it, because I’m not a batiushka. I’m a priest, a father. All the batiushkas are abroad,” he says.
The location and the confession of the “not-a-batiushka” remain unknown. It is assumed he may be a representative of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) or the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Dumenko had declared the practice of kissing a priest’s hand to be a servile Russian tradition.
Read also
In Brussels, UCCRO members speak about anti-UOC actions of authorities
UCCRO members justified the state's actions against the UOC, calling them “protection of freedom of religion”.
Priest to authorities: You destroyed Lavra not physically but spiritually long ago
The cleric believes that the authorities are merely creating the illusion of caring for the Ukrainian shrine, exploiting the tragedy for their own PR.
Attempted seizure of UOC church taking place in Odessa
In the Odessa diocese, unknown individuals are attempting to break into the Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky.
Muezzin calls Muslims to prayer for first time in Canadian city
In Canada's Regina, a mosque broadcast the adhan through powerful loudspeakers for the first time, despite the city's prohibition on excessive noise.
Patriarch Bartholomew: Our Church will remain in Istanbul forever
The head of the Constantinople Church met with journalists at the Phanar and spoke about the reopening of the Halki Seminary, war, and the role of the media.
UCCRO delegation in Brussels calls for Ukraine’s accession to EU
During meetings with European experts in Belgium, UCCRO representatives spoke in favor of Ukraine’s swift European integration.