OCU cleric: Why it is unacceptable to demolish temples and rejoice at it

Icon of the Savior at the site of the demolition of the Tithe Church. Photo: t.me/save_Lavra

"What kind of Christians are you? You are just pagans," the clergyman of the OCU, Yaroslav Yasenets, commented on the demolition of the Tithe (Desiatynny) Monastery and explained why destroying temples and rejoicing at this is unacceptable. He recorded a video message after his post on Facebook, which caused a stormy backlash from supporters of the church demolition in Kyiv.

He addressed people who associate themselves with the OCU with another explanation, noting that first and foremost, they should understand that they have destroyed a place where liturgy was performed.

"I remind you that the OCU recognizes all sacraments of the UOC and even the ROC. Until 2022 (while the war began in 2014), the Moscow Patriarch was commemorated in our metropolitan service among all other primates of local churches," he wrote earlier.

In his address, the clergyman added: "For us, the UOC temple is just as sacred; it is a temple where the highest Mystery is performed – the Liturgy, beyond which there is nothing in the world. Therefore, those who rejoice in the destruction of this temple and say that it is a 'Moscow nest' are not church people at all, but 'atheists of the Kyiv Patriarchate', as they once called themselves. They are the ones who need not a church but a socio-political organization of a religious type with ritual decoration and charitable functions… What kind of Christians are you? You are just pagans."

According to him, that is why "as long as there are real sacraments being performed in the church, no matter what patriarchate it belongs to, those people should have nothing to do with it."

He also commented on the situation with other Orthodox shrines. He believes that the modern authorities act in the best traditions of Bolshevism, seeking to turn the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra into a museum: "They do not understand at all what monasticism is, how it is organized, and what it is needed for. They really act like Bolsheviks… The Lavra must remain a monastery."

According to him, the situation is similar with St. Sophia Cathedral, the Cyril Church, and the Church of the Savior on Berestove, which, after being seized by the Bolsheviks, were never returned to the believers.

The representative of the OCU says that he cannot support the authority under which Orthodox churches are being destroyed and monasteries are being closed. He warned that with such an attitude towards religious issues, a similar fate awaits both the OCU and the UGCC, recalling the history of the Renovationism schism within the Russian Church in the early 20th century.

"This structure was very advantageous to the Bolsheviks. For some time, it was in favor and enjoyed this favor. The Bolsheviks likewise seized shrines from the Orthodox Church and handed them over to the renovationists. But this game did not last long. As soon as the renovationists ceased to be useful to the Bolshevik authorities, they were immediately banned, dispersed, many of them destroyed, shot, and imprisoned. Our zealous patriots, who are dedicated to the OCU and the Greek Catholic Church (because, unfortunately, Greek Catholics also rejoiced at the destruction of this temple of our Orthodox faith), do not understand that as soon as we cease to be useful to this authority, once we 'play our parts on orders from the top', they will deal with us in the same way. They will expel us from the Lavra, which was handed over to the OCU, just as easily as they expelled the UOC. Our temples will also be demolished and destroyed in a way it has been done with the Tithe Monastery," he warned.

As reported by the UOJ, the UOC hierarch stated that the demolition of the existing memorial temple of the Tithe Monastery in Kyiv is not just a tragic event in the history of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Ukraine as a state. The authorities again violated the civil rights of the UOC faithful and offended the religious feelings of millions of believers in Ukraine.

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