Who terrifies the authorities more: A murderous shepherd or a righteous one?
Metropolitan Arseniy in an ambulance. Photo: Sviatohirsk Lavra
On November 3, the Dnipro court once again returned Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk to the pre-trial detention center. According to the statement of the Prosecutor General’s Office, it was “for crimes against peace.” More precisely – for a “wrong” sermon.
The hierarch was thrown behind bars without the right to bail, despite having already spent a year and a half in prison for nothing. Despite suffering from serious health problems – on the very day of the hearing, an ambulance had to take him to the hospital.
That same day, November 3, in Truskavets, a Uniate (UGCC) priest, Volodymyr Luzhetsky, killed a man in a drunk-driving accident. Like Metropolitan Arseniy, Luzhetsky was placed in pre-trial detention. But there is a nuance – he can walk free as soon as he pays bail: 242,000 hryvnias.
And so what do we have?
A clergyman of one confession, who during deadly shelling never abandoned the Lavra and cared for hundreds of refugees, sits behind bars under absurd accusations. He has been prescribed urgent heart surgery – but he cannot leave the detention center.
A clergyman of another confession has killed a man – yet he can walk free at any moment for six thousand dollars.
We by no means wish Luzhetsky harm; prison is always a terrible thing.
But the contrast in how the authorities treat them is simply too striking to ignore.
Read also
On the church raid in Odesa
The OCU’s church raids have long been remarkable for their sheer absurdity.
Zelensky's revoked order: What kind of heroes should Ukrainians have?
In recent years, the Ukrainian authorities have sought to present members of the OUN-UPA as heroes for all Ukrainians.
Religious processions banned – gay parades allowed
The authorities “respect rights, freedom, and human dignity” for many: Jews, pop and rock music fans, and now homosexuals. But Orthodox Christians are not among them.
Lavra's Dormition Cathedral and the money
While the construction of the entire cathedral cost approximately $12.5–13 million, more than $11.1 million is now being sought for its restoration. And that is only the “starting” figure.
Strike on the Lavra: what will the consequences be?
No one is saying that a strike on the Lavra, the portion of the Mother of God, is a level of absurdity beyond all limits – that after destroying hundreds of Orthodox churches, the war has now reached the very heart of our Orthodoxy.
Zelensky and the strike on the Lavra: grief for export?
If Russia’s strike on the Dormition Cathedral is, in Zelensky’s words, “barbarism,” then what should we call the Ukrainian authorities’ destruction of UOC churches? Is that not barbarism? Or is that somehow “different”?