Destruction of the UOC as a technology for the destruction of Ukraine
On the Day of Unity, Zelenskyy said – no unity, no independence. However, the authorities are destroying the UOC with millions of people. Nobody sees contradictions?
One of the most important theses of the authorities, the OCU and the so-called "patriots" about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is that it allegedly belongs to Moscow. The UOC is deliberately called the "Moscow Patriarchate", and even the "Russian Church". The purpose of this is obvious – to cast the UOC as an enemy and to arouse hatred of Ukrainians towards this denomination.
To fuel this hatred, "patriots" and the authorities often accuse the UOC of performing worship in Russian. Often this is done to justify seizures, as was the case, for example, with the temple of Job of Pochaiv in Drohobych.
All this despite the fact that the UOC has never used and does not use Russian for services. Church Slavonic – yes, Ukrainian – yes, Romanian – yes. But not Russian. Unlike the structure of Serhiy Dumenko.
Let's take a look at the "worship" of the "bishop" of the OCU in the cathedral of liberated Kherson. You will be surprised, but almost the entire service led by the OCU Bishop of Kherson Damian Zamoraiv is done in Russian. Moreover, Damian commemorates Epifaniy as a great master, i.e. clearly according to the Moscow tradition.
Have we heard about the Security Service of Ukraine visiting Damian Zamoraiv on such an occasion? Maybe there are angry denunciations from the authorities and the media in the propaganda of the "Russian world"? Never heard of. Moreover, in the same way, they served in Russian here a year ago, two years ago, and even earlier. TSN, 5 channel and Quarter 95 are silent about this, but at the same time busy inciting hatred against the UOC with might and main.
Anyway, if someone wants to serve in the OCU in Russian, let them serve, there is nothing wrong with that. There is something wrong with hypocrisy and lies – with Dumenko, the authorities and the media playing a game of destruction against the believers of the UOC, who are simply denied their right to be Ukrainians and belong to the Ukrainian Church. They are called Russians, collaborators, Muscovites and others.
Mykhailo Podoliak, Spokesperson of the President's Office: "We've got a network of propaganda influence."
Serhiy Dumenko, head of the OCU: "The clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate are openly working for Russia."
The Lavra shrines were taken away from the believers and given to Dumenko precisely because the OCU is a “Ukrainian and patriotic church”, while the UOC is allegedly “Moscow” and hostile.
Mykhailo Podoliak: “The Moscow Church means Moscow's control over other people. Do we need it? No. We have our own local church."
That is, a Ukrainian would go to his church for years, prayed to God, and suddenly became an enemy, a second-class man, as the Nazis said, Untermensch. Despite the fact that he has the same Ukrainian passport, he pays taxes to the country and even defends Ukraine at the front. Despite the fact that the UOC, most of all confessions, helps both the army and the IDPs. Only financial assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine is approaching a million dollars. How so?
On January 22, the Day of Unity was celebrated in Ukraine. The President spoke touching and very correct words about unity: “My Ukraine. Our Ukraine. United because strong. Strong because united."
And while Zelenskyy is talking about the unity of all Ukrainians, a huge part of them are being persecuted, discriminated, and their shrines are taken away brazenly and cynically. Doesn't anyone see a contradiction here, doesn't see a problem? What kind of catholicity, what kind of unity are we talking about?
Archpriest Mykolai Danylevych, Deputy Head of the DECR, says bluntly that there is a huge difference between pathos and reality in the country.
Archpriest Mykolai Danylevych: “Does everything that happens around our Church, all these attempts to ban it, defame it, does this contribute to unity and catholicity? This is a rhetorical question. Therefore, the Day of Unity is a reminder that for 364 days, we say one thing, and one day a year, we must say that we are one. Well, where are we together? We want to be united. And, you know, as one of the spokespersons of the Church, I have been tired over the years, especially since 2014, of proving that I am Ukrainian, that I am the same citizen. That we are suffering in the same way, that we are at war. That my brother, maybe someone read about it, is a defender of ‘Azovstal’ and Mariupol. And not only mine.
You see, you constantly have to prove that you are not a camel. This is wrong. They are striking us out, they want to erase us from Ukrainian society altogether. It even comes to the point that we are associated with the Russians. ‘Here, the Upper Lavra was taken away, but Russians still remained in the Lower Lavra,’ they write. They are pushing those Overton windows. Yet, what kind of Russian am I? Well, I said once, ten, twenty, thirty times that I am a Ukrainian, that we are the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Nope, they say we are Muscovites. And it's done on purpose. Does it promote unity? Certainly not. Today the President made an excellent address. By the way, he said that if real unity is not achieved, then independence will be lost. Therefore, I am now speaking not only as a priest, but as a citizen who worries about the fate of the Church. It seems to me that if I understand this, am I the only ‘smart’ one? Don't other people also understand this?"
Of course, everyone understands this. But the agenda in the country now is such that it is not trendy to talk about it. Instead, the trend is jingoism set by Poroshenko.
Arestovych says without reservation that the practice of dividing Ukrainians is Poroshenko's political technology, and it is very unreasonable for the country.
Oleksiy Arestovych, ex-spokesperson of the head of the President’s Office: “The Piedmontese ideology on the flying colors of a particular political force (we will not point fingers at the author of the “army-language-faith” triangle), is a political technology and part of cultural policy, which lies in the fact that some Ukrainians are ‘bad’, worse than others. And they must either be re-educated or thrown out of the country.”
In turn, the use of this technology against the believers of the UOC, their persecution is the tactics of idiots.
Oleksiy Arestovych: “Shall we indiscriminately cast 6 million Orthodox of our citizens as ‘Russian agents’ and bastards who go there (to the UOC – Ed.)? Despite the fact that there are people there who can’t even speak a word in Russian. Are all these people therefore enemies, all agents of Russia? Yet, do we want to be a normal state, or do we want to be idiots for the sake of a very primitive split technology? For it's technology, it's not even cultural policy. Everything is very simple: either we act like reasonable people or like idiots. So far we’ve been acting like idiots."
And it's hard not to agree with Arestovych. But what's the bottom line? Repressions against millions of believers of the UOC is an obvious political technology, where one group of people is being persecuted for certain purposes. Beneficiaries of this political technology, started by Poroshenko, are obvious – these are the OCU and the Uniates. They are already now, like jackals, dividing the property of the UOC. Dumenko laid hands on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, and both the OCU and UGCC are going into combat for the Pochaiv Lavra.
Serhiy Dumenko, head of the OCU: “Now we will gain a foothold in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, and then, of course, the question of the Pochaiv Lavra will arise.”
Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the UGCC: "Those who will decide who to grant permission to worship should take into account that the Pochaiv Lavra is historically related to our Church."
Anyway, how will this end for the country? Even if all its temples and shrines are taken away from the UOC, what should be done with people?
Father Mykolai Danylevych: “Supposedly, God willing, we will win, but at the same time the Church will be outlawed and driven into underground. People will be scattered. Is this really unity? It will be a conflict for decades.”
Here are Arestovych's words about the country's attitude towards Russian-speaking Ukrainians. The believers of the UOC are being made the same outcasts in Ukraine. What can this lead to?
Oleksiy Arestovych: “He takes out his Ukrainian passport, remembers his cousin who died near Bakhmut, being a Russian-speaking soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and says: fuck it, this country, with such attitudes. Because Ukraine treats its own citizens like complete assholes. That's it. But if we are reasonable people, we will change this policy. And if we don’t..."
Everyone realizes that the OCU and the Uniates are now trying to crack down on the “competitor” and strip it of its property under the guise of war, with the authorities supporting this tack. But how will it affect Ukrainian society, for which they verbally worry so much?
The persecution of millions of Ukrainians under no circumstances can make Ukraine stronger, it will only weaken it. This is what elementary logic says. This is also mentioned in the Gospel. “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:25).
The Church of Christ can be outlawed and driven underground. But She cannot be destroyed, She will live in any circumstances, history has shown us. But what will happen to a country that exterminates the Church and breaks millions of its citizens over a knee is a big question.
