Luka, Why Are You Crying?

This is positively heartbreaking.

Comments

  1. Anonymous II says
    • “Ukrainian church to ban prayers in Russian”

      Or rather in Church Slavonic?

      • This story breaks my heart.

        I wonder if “Metropolitan” Epiphony will return his Patriarch Athenagoras Human Rights Award now?

        • No. He won’t.

        • Anonymous II says

          MAN PAINFULLY DIES AFTER ATTACKING PRIEST AND CROSS DURING CHURCH SEIZURE

          One man from the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” tragically died during a church seizure in the Kiev Province on Saturday.

          The seizure of the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the village of Lipovets was organized by Deputy Mayor of the city of Karaglyk Ivan Semtsov, and he thus bears responsibility for the death of Volodymyr Natykach, reports the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

          According to multiple eyewitness testimonies, Natykach was violently attacking the local dean, Fr. Andrei Olenin, trying to drag him along the ground by his cross, when he suddenly fell over and died soon after.

          The local rector, Archpriest Vasily, gave a written statement to the police, explaining that no one even touched Natykach—he simply fell over. The priest also emphasized that not even the man’s death was able stop Deputy Mayor Semtsov from his violence against the church.

          Fr. Vasily wrote:

          As a result of the described conflict, male persons knocked me to the ground and dragged me by the chain that my Orthodox cross was hanging on. They demanded that I no longer celebrate the Divine services and that I went to live somewhere besides the village of Lipovets. The police officers who were on the scene did nothing to prevent this banditry. Later, Mr. Vladimir Ivanovich NATYKACH, shouting threats that he would hang us, began to drag the dean of Mironovka, Priest Andrei Olenin, by the cross, which was in his hands, after which V.I. Natykach fell on the asphalt and died in convulsions. No one even touched the deceased in any way.”

          The Union of Journalists has published testimony about the attack and disturbing videos of Natykach convulsing on the ground before he died.

          See: https://orthochristian.com/152998.html

          • George Michalopulos says

            As we Greeks would say: “kala na pathei!” (“couldn’t happen to a nicer guy”).

        • This is very sad.

  2. Steve Turley goes inside the new St Nicholas,
    which replaces the one lost on 9/11
    https://rumble.com/v2heo80-i-witnessed-an-amazing-miracle-in-new-york-city.html

    • Michael Bauman says

      Archeo-triumphalist if you ask me. Being Greek, I bet they trumpet the acceptance of the first transOrthodox whatever.
      It is not a triumph of beauty.

    • Dr. Steve is good at ad lib., but I wonder whether he would shower the shrine with such florid praise if he knew the rest of the story about the over-time, over-budget construction, and the corruption endemic to GOARCH and the Patriarchate of Istanbul.

      Regardless, the thing still looks like the cooling tower on a nuclear power plant to me…or a Himalayan salt grinder, perhaps…

  3. Another group of laity, this time of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, speaking out against the atrocities committed against the UOC:

    https://www.romfea.gr/ekklisies-ts/ekklisia-tis-oukranias/56158-orthodoksoi-voylgaroi-min-ginoume-synenoxoi-me-tin-siopi-gia-tin-ekklisia-stin-oukrania

    On Sunday, April 9, 2023, the popular Bulgarian news website, “Glasove” , published an appeal in defense of the persecuted Orthodox of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the title “Genocide of Orthodox, Ukrainian terrorism and the silence of the non-Orthodox”.

    The publication states that in Ukraine, Churches are “removed from the OEO and handed over to blasphemous schismatics”, “church property is confiscated, churches are set on fire and demolished by excavators in the presence of police guards”, “Monks and seminarians of the Kiev Lavra are permanently deported from the Lavra”, while “the authorities call the relics of the saints of Kiev museum exhibits that must be inventoried”.

    According to the authors of the appeal, “Ukrainian President V. Zelensky shows complete disrespect to Metropolitan Onufrio and the members of the OEO Holy Synod, forcing them to stand outside his door for two hours without receiving them.”

    They also point out that “Metropolitan Pavlos, Abbot of the Kyiv Lavra, was sentenced to two months of house arrest and was forced, as a dangerous criminal, to wear an electronic bracelet on his leg. The Metropolitan’s guilt is that he is Orthodox and refuses to surrender voluntarily the Lavra to the dissident Banderides. The Kiev authorities openly desecrate the holy places”.

    The publication closes with an appeal to the Bulgarian Orthodox: “Brothers and sisters, even if we remain silent, we will become complicit. Do not remain silent so that the crosses in our churches do not blacken and blacken our God-guarding Bulgaria. You are invited to join your voice with the appeal for the defense of Orthodoxy in Ukraine – sign the petition ( HERE )

    The resolution of the Orthodox Bulgarians in support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is also mentioned on the website ( https://bnr.bg/radiobulgaria/post/101806894/ ) of the Bulgarian National Radio.

    Appeal to the Church of Bulgaria

    At the same time, in an open letter to Bulgarian Patriarch Neophytos and members of the Holy Synod, Orthodox Bulgarians across the country call on the Church of Bulgaria to speak out in defense of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church against the persecution of the clergy and believers.

    The authors insist that the Church of Bulgaria with its spiritual authority appeal to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, as an Orthodox Christian, as well as to all politicians, diplomats, non-governmental organizations and structures of the national and European community for immediate aid.