Priest laments loss of parishioners after joining OCU
Orest Drahinda and Roman Hryshchuk. Photo: Hryshchuk's Facebook
Former UOC priest Orest Drahinda complained in an interview with the YouTube channel Viche that after he joined the OCU, his parishioners did not follow him.
“When I took the step I did, probably one fifth, maybe even fewer people accepted it, who went with me,” Drahinda said. He maintains, however, that he had “quite a lot of authority” in the parish.
The former priest explains the parishioners’ position as being due to “social bonds.”
“If a man wants to [switch], his wife won’t let him. If both the husband and wife want to, their relatives will be offended at them, and they don’t want to ruin those ties,” Drahinda shared.
According to him, some people urge him to repent and return to the Church, but he sees no need to do so.
“My answer is this: I can repent of sins that I recognize as sins. But here I don’t see any sin,” Drahinda emphasized.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Drahinda said he had joined the OCU to avoid beatings and bloodshed.
Read also
"Parishioners" brought to Lavra by buses on Epifaniy's name day, media
People from different regions were brought in an organized manner to the "service" of the head of the OCU at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Yermak consults fortune teller before important appointments, prosecutor says
Private correspondence with a fortune teller was found with the former head of the President's Office, in which he coordinated personnel decisions.
SBU searches home of Metropolitan Longin’s daughter
Law enforcement officers detained the hierarch's son-in-law, who has many children, and refused to allow a lawyer to participate in investigative actions at the family's private home.
Vienna hosts regional congress of Ukrainian Orthodox youth
Youth from seven European countries discussed the spiritual foundations of democracy and prayed for peace in Ukraine before a particle of the Life-Giving Cross.
Persecuted UOC community in Zadubrivka celebrates patronal feast
The faithful celebrated the Liturgy in a house church and held a water-blessing service at the site where a new church in honor of Venerable Amphilochius of Pochaiv is being built.
Thousands of faithful gather at Pochaiv Lavra for feast of St Amphilochius
The pilgrimage to the relics of Venerable Amphilochius of Pochaiv on his feast day is a long-standing tradition of the UOC.