OCU activists accuse UOC of being pro-Russian due to the word "Orthodox"

Myhhailo Bohuniak. Photo: the website of the Blessed Hetman Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny brotherhood of the OCU

In Zakarpattia, the website of the Blessed Hetman Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny brotherhood of the OCU published an article accusing the UOC of being pro-Russian due to the inscription "We are Orthodox" on the sweater of a person whom the brotherhood identified as a cleric of the Khust Eparchy.

"This inscription, which at first glance has a religious tone, in the context of the current Russian-Ukrainian war acquires a clear politico-ideological connotation," the brotherhood assured.

According to the authors, "the phrase 'We are Orthodox' is actively used in the rhetoric of the ROC as part of the 'Russian world' concept, where Orthodoxy is interpreted not only as a religious affiliation but as the basis of a supranational, imperial identity aimed at undermining the sovereignty of other states."

"That is why such slogans, publicly demonstrated by a UOC priest, can be seen as a form of legitimizing Russian aggression at an ideological level," the text states.

The Khust Eparchy of the UOC responded to the publication, stating that there is no and never has been a clergyman named Mykhailo Bohuniak (as mentioned in the brotherhood's text) among the clergy of the eparchy.

As can be determined from open sources, Mykhailo Bohuniak is a student of the Odessa Seminary from Zakarpattia. On his pullover, in addition to the phrase "We are Orthodox," there is also the tag "Good unites".

The brotherhood Blessed Hetman Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny brotherhood was created with the blessing of the Mukachevo "hierarch" of the OCU, Viktor Bed'. Its head, Serhiy Tanchuk, is also the head of the Resurrection community of the UAOC in Uzhhorod, created on Bed's initiative in 2017. For some reason, it has not yet been re-registered in the OCU.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that, according to Bed', Zelensky is an interim president who became the head of state by chance.

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