Bratislava, Slovakia, May 24, 2024
Photo: First Cossack
A protest rally in support of the persecuted Ukrainian Orthodox Church was held outside the Ukrainian Embassy in the Slovakian capital earlier this month.
The demonstration was organized by Ukrainian refugees and immigrants who are parishioners of the Cathedrals of Sts. Rastislav and Nicholas, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists with reference to the First Cossack channel.
The event was also supported by priests and laity of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, which recognizes only the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.
The defenders of the UOC emphasized:
We call on the leadership of foreign countries to oblige Vladimir Zelensky and all opponents of Orthodoxy in the Ukrainian leadership to stop the persecution of the UOC and stop inciting inter-confessional hostility, and to return to the UOC the Kiev Caves Lavra and all the holy sites seized by nationalists and schismatics.
They recalled the election promises of President Zelensky not to interfere in religious matters and called for the release of His Eminence UOC bishop-abbot faces years in prison for sermon mentioning roadblocks, monastic brotherhood respondsThe Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) detained His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny of Svyatogorsk, the abbot of the Holy Dormition-Svyatogorsk Lavra, yesterday. According to a court ruling, he is to be held in a pre-trial detention center for 60 days without the possibility of bail.
“>Metropolitan Arseny of Svyatogorsk and Security Service raids offices of Orthodox journalists and lawyersOne of the four men detained is the rector of a church in the capital.”>journalists who are being unjustly detained.
In the video on the Union of Orthodox Journalists, the faithful sing Christ is Risen and make various speeches in support of the UOC. One man also holds a poster with a picture of His Eminence Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny after he was Persecuted Metropolitan Longin attacked at home, has to undergo surgery”This happened on the night of January 22, 2024. Someone knocked on the door three times, and when I opened it, I was struck and knocked unconscious.”
“>physically assaulted in his own home.
His Eminence Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro also Metropolitan of Montenegro in support of persecuted Ukrainian Metropolitan-Abbot of Svyatogorsk LavraThe Serbian hierarch is himself no stranger to state persecution.
“>came out in support of the unjustly detained Met. Arseny this week. Another Serbian hierarch, His Grace Bishop Gerasim of the Gornji Karlovac Diocese in Croatia, published an open letter Persecuted Ukrainian hierarchs are confessors of the Orthodox faith—Serbian hierarch’s open letterHis Grace Bishop Gerasim of the Gornji Karlovac Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia published an open letter in support of the UOC and its persecuted hierarchs on Wednesday, May 15.”>last week in defense of all the persecuted hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and faithful of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
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