MP criticizes destruction of Icon of Christ Not Made by Hands in Baranivka

The mural in Baranivka, painted over in 2016. Photo: UOJ

Oleksiy Honcharenko, an MP from “European Solidarity,” has suddenly expressed concern over the destruction of a mural in Baranivka, Zhytomyr region, which activists painted over back in 2016.

“In Zhytomyr region, an image of Jesus Christ was painted over for allegedly hinting at the ‘Russian world’. Activists painted over the image of Jesus Christ, created in 2016 by artists on the wall of a former traffic police post in Baranivka, Zhytomyr region. Participants of the action regarded the depiction of His face as a manifestation of separatism,” Honcharenko wrote on his social media pages.

According to him, “Jesus Christ is not ‘Russian’ and does not support separatism.”

“We can put an end to this madness already. Ukraine is a Christian country. Images of Christ on our streets are normal, commendable, and desirable,” the MP wrote.

It should be recalled that in 2022 Honcharenko submitted parliamentary inquiries and created a petition demanding the expulsion of the UOC from the Kyiv-Pechersk, Pochaiv, and Sviatohirsk Lavras. Later, the MP called the UOC “evil that must disappear from Ukraine forever, together with all the FSB creatures in cassocks.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in Baranivka the image of Jesus Christ was painted over for “separatism” and alleged association with the “Russian world.”

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