Bishop Nikita: Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy of UOC being destroyed

Bishop Nikita (Storozhuk) of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia. Photo: a video screenshot form the Youtube channel "1Kozaktv".

On December 21, 2022, the newly appointed Bishop Nikita (Storozhuk) of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia shared his first impressions of the UOC in the Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy, which has been under severe persecution for several years. The video is posted on the Youtube channel "1Kozaktv".

"The destruction of the Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy is underway, which may have been ordered from above, from the centre," said Bishop Nikita.

According to him, there is only one functioning church of the UOC in the entire eparchy – the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ. Some clergymen from time to time secretly conduct services at home.

In all, there are 29 parishes in the eparchy and three monasteries, of which two have already been closed.

"The Dukonia Monastery will no longer be restored because everything has been destroyed there... But let us believe in a miracle, that one day the lamp of monastic life will be lit there. In the Transfiguration Monastery of Uhornyky, there are still settlers, and the Intercession Monastery in Tustan is closed," said Bishop Nikita.

He called the faithful of the UOC Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy "true warriors of Christ who fear nothing". "I think they will stand to the end... These are real people, they show not only love for each other, but the most important thing for Christians – their true love for God," Vladyka said about the parishioners of the canonical Church.

Vladyka stressed that such people inspire him. He remembered how frightened he was at first, when, after appeals by Mayor Martsynkiv, provocateurs tried to disrupt a service in the Ivano-Frankivsk Cathedral of the UOC.

"It was actually scary. I came with human fear, but the fear of God won because I saw a considerable number of Orthodox believers who drove out the thugs who tried to disrupt the service. This pleasantly inspired me to work together with my faithful – we will try to continue going on the difficult and thorny path to salvation," said the Bishop.

Bishop Nikita said that local authorities and the media do not respond to violations of the rights of UOC believers: "During my short stay here, I have not seen from the local authorities any understanding. Neither from the police, nor from the Security Service of Ukraine, nor from other state services".

As reported, Bishop Nikita's lawyer sued the media for defamation.

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