1) Since Phanar is the supreme arbiter of the OCU, even if he deals with everything that happens there – the hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church
Our comment
The head of the DECR ROC Metropolitan Ilarion (Alfeev) commented on the trick of the representative of the OCU in the Dnipropetrovsk region, who, during the event in honor of the Constitution Day of Ukraine, from the stage in the hall said, “Glory to Ukraine, Russia! “. Let us remind you that such a reaction of the schismatist was caused by the presence of priests of the canonical UOC in the hall. Perhaps it may seem to someone that such behavior of representatives of the Ukrainian split is not worth attention, however, in our opinion, this is not so. These antics should be “shouted” at every corner, especially relaying information about this to other Local Churches. Let the representatives of world Orthodoxy look at whom Patriarch Bartholmey took under his wing and with whom he is now forcing everyone around him to cooperate, breaking Orthodoxy through the knee. Indeed, as we have repeatedly reported, such cases are far from isolated. For example, more recently, one of these – the chaplain of the OCU Sergei Dmitriev, on the air of the TV channel of the former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, burst into profanity in pure Russian against dissidents.
2) You prohibit our chaplains – do not take our guys into the army, – the speaker of the UOC
Our comment
The deputy head of the DECR UOC Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich (https://t.me/MykolayDanylevych) raised an important topic. Indeed, today, the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are subjected to all kinds of discrimination precisely on the basis of religious principles. It is paradoxical that this is happening in a country where the UOC is the most numerous confession in all respects. The restriction of the rights of believers in our Church testifies to the insufficient realization of the quantitative potential that the UOC has. We must learn, and most importantly, want to, defend our rights by any means, demonstrating our quantitative superiority. In modern Ukrainian realities, there is nothing reprehensible in this. And there is no need to be afraid to do it centrally. We have nothing to be ashamed of! We hope that the upcoming All-Ukrainian Religious Procession on the Day of Remembrance of Prince Volodymyr will be able to demonstrate to everyone that the UOC is not only a religious organization, but also a huge number of Ukrainian citizens who must be reckoned with.
3) The “opposition” in Georgia erupted in “revelations” about the GOC because of its support for traditional values
Our comment
We wrote in the last digest that the Georgian Church will need to prepare for media, and not only, attacks. Obviously, in promoting new dubious “values”, the liberals have already identified their main enemy. And even the fact that the death of the Georgian opposition journalist Lekso Lashkarava, which, in fact, aggravated the crisis in Georgia, was caused, according to the official version of the investigation, due to completely different reasons, will not stop anyone now. The Georgian Church has become a target and a principal rival of the Georgian opposition and of all those “rosy” prospects that the latter offer to Georgians. It is possible that they will move from threats to actions, but this will happen on the sly, as, for example, on July 11, when unknown persons robbed and desecrated the Church of St. George in the village of Khashmi (Kakheti). However, in our opinion, the GOC needs to remain adamant in its position and calm to new challenges. If the Georgian Church stands, Georgia will stand too! By the way, the condolences expressed by Patriarch Elijah II to the mother and relatives of Lekso Lashkarava is a very balanced and correct step.
Our comment
We fully agree with the comment by Vladimir Legoyda on this topic. Moreover, it is very important to note that the Primate of the Church of Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostom, is already openly threatening those bishops (), who disagree with his opinion on the recognition of the OCU. It is worth recalling that this decision was made not through synodal consideration, but personally. Thus, at the same time it is interesting and alarming how the crisis that has developed in the KiPTs will end. Surely one thing is clear – the actions of Patriarch Bartholomew bring harm not only to the Russian, but also to other Local Churches. This becomes more and more evident every day.
5) The Synod of the EOC decided that the hierarchs who did not recognize the OCU would “testify” in August
Our comment
In continuation of the previous news, it is also worth noting that in the Church of Greece the issue of “punishment” of bishops who did not recognize the OCU smoothly passed into the stage of “procrastination”. Although earlier the head of the EOC was inclined to follow in the footsteps of his brother from Cyprus, now the categorical attitude towards dissent has become less assertive. How can we not recall the hypothesis about the “weather vane” policy of the EOC, expressed not so long ago by colleagues from the Pravblog telegram channel. Archbishop Jerome is really very “slow” in a hurry in such matters. For example, for several years of the existence of the OCU, he never served Epiphany or any other representative of the Ukrainian schism.
6) The bank ordered polls on the OCU for the “picture” of Phanar, – social networks
Our comment
The interest of the Office of the President of Ukraine in contact with Phanar has already been reported on several occasions. But the fact that Bartholomew’s participation in the “Crimean Platform” is expected in the OPU raises several questions. First, if the information is confirmed, will the Primate of the UOC be invited to this event? Secondly, if such an invitation already exists, does the OPU understand that joint participation even in secular events is unacceptable for the UOC, which is spelled out in the relevant decisions of the Synod? Thirdly, if there is such an understanding, isn’t the invitation of Patriarch Bartholomew to the “Crimean Platform” another and deliberate provocation against the UOC? In any case, the visit of the head of the Phanar to Ukraine is a comprehensive provocation directed against the canonical Church and one must be ready for this.
7) Zorya forgot how his organization cooperated with the Russian authorities in Crimea
Our comment
Evstratiy Zora can be endlessly reminded of the cooperation of the OCU in Crimea with the Russian authorities. For example, it can be recalled that the hierarch of the OCU in Crimea, Kliment Kushch, received Russian citizenship at the beginning of 2015. Or how the same representative of the OCU in Crimea registered several enterprisesunder Russian law, who are engaged in retail trade in the premises of the diocesan administration of the Crimean diocese of the OCU. It seems that this list will not be complete if we do not recall here the diocese of the OCU, which is located on the territory of Russia (Noginsk, Moscow region). So, the Speaker of the OCU should pay more attention to the information space associated with its structure, and not complain about how the activities of his organization are covered media resources that protect the interests of the UOC.
