UOC priest charged for his sermon in Zhytomyr region
The accused priest from the Zhytomyr Eparchy. Photo: Prosecutor's Office
A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been charged with denying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, according to the press service of the Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor's Office.
According to the investigation, the priest allegedly spread pro-Russian narratives during a service in the church of a neighboring community in the Berdychiv district. In April 2022, during his pre-Easter sermons, he allegedly convinced parishioners that the president of the Russian Federation had not initiated a full-scale armed invasion of Ukraine. The prosecutor's office also claims that the priest claimed that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow had not blessed the war, instead calling the events a punishment for human sins.
The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Zhytomyr region.
As the UOJ reported, the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra is suspected of covertly leaking the locations of Ukrainian Armed Forces positions.
Read also
Media: Abp. of Cyprus blackmails Patr. Bartholomew with Onuphry mention
Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus says that, if Patriarch Bartholomew does not punish Metropolitan Tychikos, he will commemorate Metropolitan Onuphry, according to Fr. Evangelos Papanikolaou.
WCC Demands 'Protection' for St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai
The WCC also passed resolutions on the Armenian Genocide and the terrorist attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus.
Russian Orthodox Church Provides Aid to Earthquake Victims
Volunteers from the Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka Diocese are providing food and aid at the Holy Trinity Cathedral’s humanitarian warehouse to support residents affected by a powerful 8.7-magnitude earthquake in Kamchatka.
Serbian Patriarch Slams 'Undemocratic' Ruling Against Republika Srpska Leader
Patrarch Porfirije condemned the verdict as "unlawful and undemocratic." He is a vocal supporter of autonomy for Bosnian Serbs.
World's Most Premature Baby Celebrates First Birthday
Iowa NICU defies “impossible” odds to save boy born at 21 weeks.