Beaten priest in Chernivtsi to Bartholomew: Our blood is on your conscience

UOC priest Vitaliy Honcharuk, beaten by OCU militants. Photo: UOJ's Ukrainian branch (SPZh)

CHERNIVTSI — Fr. Vitaliy Honcharuk, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Chernivtsi who was beaten by Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) militants, recorded a video message to Patriarch Bartholomew from his hospital room. The footage shows the priest’s bloodied face, with a cut brow and broken nose. The video was shared with the Union of Orthodox Journalists Ukrainian branch (SPZh) for publication.

Commenting on footage showing himself and another UOC cleric, Fr. Roman, standing near the cathedral fence with bloodied faces after being assaulted by hired OCU attackers, Fr. Vitaliy pointed to the man who beat him and said to Patriarch Bartholomew:

“Do you recognize your spiritual child? A child of that church led by Epifaniy – to whom you gave the Tomos and whom you recognized as a bishop equal among you?”

The priest stated that in Bukovyna, OCU representatives have already seized around 30 churches, and on the day the video was recorded, they came to take “the spiritual heart” – the main cathedral. According to him, about 50 people arrived and “brutally beat priests and faithful.”

“This blood has been flowing ever since the Orthodox Church of Ukraine received the Tomos. Blood flows through Bukovina, blood flows across all Ukraine. And this blood is on your hands – because of the Tomos, which you supposedly granted out of love to resolve the situation, but which only led to more aggression, to more bloodshed,” the priest said.

“You know this, and your inaction shows that all of this is happening with your silent consent. There is still a chance that you are not being properly informed about the hundreds of similar acts of banditry, raids, and beatings carried out under the OCU flag. I hope you will hear this and see this. What happens next will weigh on your conscience. Come to Chernivtsi, and we will tell you and show you – a thousand voices of the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will testify to how much evil your spiritual children have done in our Bukovynian Eparchy,” the priest said, ending with a wish that the Lord preserve the Patriarch’s health.

Earlier, UOJ reported that in Chernivtsi, OCU militants attempted to seize the UOC cathedral and brutally beat priests, two of whom were hospitalized.

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