Ukrainian military are pressuring Donbas Orthodox Christians – Metropolitan Onufry

The men insulted the priest, asked how much money he was sending to Moscow, and accused him of assisting bandits. The men also searched the priest's residence and demanded that he leave the territory of Ukraine within two days and give them the documents for the church along with a contract for the entire church property, the report says.
Natalya Mihailova | 05 August 2014
Moscow, August 4, Interfax - Metropolitan Onufry of Chernovtsy and Bukovina, the locum tenens of the Kiev Metropolia, has accused the Ukrainian military of pressuring Orthodox Christians in Donbass.
Ukrainian military are pressuring Donbas Orthodox Christians – Metropolitan Onufry

“I have to state violations of the rights and freedoms of believers and interference in the work of parishes of the Donetsk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the militant contingent in eastern Ukraine,” the metropolitan said in his address to Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko released by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church press service.

Metropolitan Onufry asked the president to “personally intervene in this situation and do everything possible to prevent such actions by the military from occurring again.”

He said that Metropolitan Hilarion of Donetsk and Mariupol had reported to him violations of believers’ rights and freedoms and interference in the work of the parishes of the Donetsk Diocese.

Specifically, he mentioned an incident that occurred in the village of Krasnoarmeyskoye, Donetsk Region, on July 30, when a car carrying armed men arrived at the residence of Igor Sergienko, the father superior of the Church of Alexander Nevsky. The men insulted the priest, asked how much money he was sending to Moscow, and accused him of assisting bandits. The men also searched the priest’s residence and demanded that he leave the territory of Ukraine within two days and give them the documents for the church along with a contract for the entire church property, the report says.

Metropolitan Onufry said a similar thing happened to Archpriest Yevgeny Podgorny, dean of the Amvrosiyevka District, on July 30. The military who inspected his car at a checkpoint began insulting him and made ungrounded accusations against him, saying he financed the Donetsk People’s Republic.

“Archpriest Yevgeny Podgorny was taken behind the checkpoint, his hands were bound and he was thrown on the ground. They began beating him on the chest and lower back with a gun and kicked him on the head, making him admit that he was a spotter for the enemy. They also made other ungrounded accusations,” the document says.

Metropolitan Onufry said the attackers had belittled the priest and tried to make him take off his cross. When he refused, the military tore the cross from him, fired shots at his head and “continued torturing him and putting psychological pressure on him.” Then they put a bag on his head and put him into a pit, searched his residence, took his money and car, and accused his 16-year-old son of assisting bandits, threatening to kill him. Archpriest Yevgeny was released after his flock and clergymen intervened in the situation.

Since you are here…

…we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong.

Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable.

For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir.

If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life's purpose, family and society.

Related articles
Patriarch Kirill: “50 Orthodox Churches Recently…

Fifty churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have recently been taken over in Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill…

Shelling damages a diocesan building in…

Blast and missile pieces damaged the fence, the glazing, the front doors, and the facade, press…

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill sends messages…

“The Minsk agreements stopped the escalation of the conflict, raising hopes for the complete cease-fire between…