Footage shows OCU clergy bringing thugs to seize UOC Cathedral in Chernivtsi

Clergy of the OCU bring militants to seize the cathedral in Chernivtsi. Photo: UOJ

The UOJ has obtained surveillance footage from the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Chernivtsi, dated June 17, showing that the men who brutally assaulted UOC priests, stole the church’s donation box, and seized the cathedral for several hours were brought to the site by two OCU clerics: Ivan Chokaliuk, assistant to the Chernivtsi OCU “bishop,” and Vasyl Kapriyan, a cleric of the OCU’s Cathedral in Chernivtsi.

The footage clearly shows that the attackers – who beat UOC priests, stole the church’s donation box, and occupied the cathedral for several hours – were brought to the site by two OCU clerics: Ivan Chokaliuk, assistant to the Chernivtsi OCU “bishop,” and Vasyl Kapriyan, a cleric from the OCU's Serbian Cathedral in Chernivtsi.

In the video, a Mercedes minibus pulls into the cathedral grounds. Chokaliuk and Kapriyan exit the vehicle, and the latter opens the rear doors to let out about a dozen men – the same group later seen violently assaulting clergy and parishioners and looting the church.

After the attackers forcibly expelled UOC clergy, staff, and faithful from the cathedral, they allowed Chokaliuk and Kapriyan inside. The OCU clerics then actively participated in the lawlessness. In particular, Vasyl Kapriyan is captured on video destroying a surveillance camera in the sacristan’s room.

This footage completely refutes the public claims made by Bodoriak during a briefing on the cathedral takeover, in which he insisted that the OCU had no connection to the perpetrators and didn’t know who the attackers were. The video shows the OCU clergy and the thugs acting as a coordinated team.

As a reminder, Bodoriak had stated that he “did not know” who assaulted the UOC clergy and assured reporters that they “were not OCU parishioners or faithful.”

As the UOJ previously reported, OCU militants brutally beat Fr. Roman Forosta during the seizure. He was hospitalized with severe head injuries, fractured ribs, and suspected internal trauma. Another UOC priest, Fr. Vitaliy Honcharuk, was also badly beaten, suffering a concussion and a broken nose. The assailants stole 60,000 UAH from the church donation box. The thugs had initially infiltrated the cathedral posing as disabled persons.

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