Priest reveals last words of murdered Sviatohirsk Lavra monk

Monk Varsonofiy (Turianskyi). Photo: Sviatohirsk Lavra

On Sunday, August 22, 2026, Sviatohirsk Lavra monk Varsonofiy received the Holy Mysteries of Christ and then went up the stairs with the brethren to call his mother. Archpriest Yevhen Hreitsar, a Kharkiv Eparchy priest who knew the slain monk, shared the details.

Father Yevhen said that during the service, three doves flew into the church, prompting the monk to say, “The Lord does not abandon us.” A short time later, the attack took place, ending tragically for Monk Varsonofiy.

The priest believes that anti-Ukrainian Orthodox Church propaganda bears responsibility for what happened, despite the fact that the Church has always suffered alongside its people and called for peace. He described what is happening as an act of confession of the faith and martyrdom, adding that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church of Christ.

Asked how Orthodox Christians should respond to such situations, Archpriest Yevhen said: “Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.”

As the UOJ reported, the Sviatohirsk Lavra has bid farewell to the murdered Monk Varsonofiy.

The attack that claimed Monk Varsonofiy’s life took place on August 23 near St. Nicholas Church at the Lavra. According to the medical death certificate issued by the Sloviansk branch of the Donetsk Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination, Father Varsonofiy died from a through-and-through gunshot wound to the head and neck, with damage to the skull bones. The brethren found the monk lying in a pool of blood on a landing of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius staircase. His last words were: “Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ!.. I am a monk.”

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