Metropolitan Feodosiy addressed the judges before the beginning of the session

Metropolitan Feodosiy of Cherkasy and Kanev addressed the judges before the start of the trial. The Metropolitan began by saying that he considered the charges against him fabricated and that “this trial is taking place within the framework of the current persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in our country, and the Cherkasy diocese in particular”.

The Metropolitan stressed that “today the attention is drawn to this trial not only by the citizens of Ukraine, but also by the international community”: “I am regularly approached with words of support and with requests for comments on the current situation by clergymen of the local Orthodox Churches from all over the world and journalists specializing in legal and religious issues from Greece, Serbia, the United States of America and other countries”.

The hierarch said that with the permission of the Court, all materials of the trial will be translated into the languages of international communication and will be provided for familiarization to all interested journalists and international human rights activists.

According to the Lord, the charges brought by the SSU against him are “completely artificially fabricated and falsified”. He described the two articles of the Criminal Code under which he is accused.

“The first and more serious – article 436/2 (parts 2 and 3) for the fact that I allegedly gave orders to publish on the official website of the Cherkassy diocese materials of extremist nature. But I never gave such orders and never intended to do so. This statement is completely false and in no way corresponds to reality. And the prosecution does not have, and in principle cannot have any facts, any evidence to prove otherwise,” the Metropolitan said.

The second article under which the charges are brought is part 1 of article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and it concerns deliberate actions aimed at inciting national, racial or religious enmity and hatred, at humiliation of national honor and dignity, or insulting the feelings of citizens in connection with their religious beliefs.

Metropolitan Feodosiy noted the raiding of the OCU and cited as an example the situation with the UOC priest Yevgeniy Buratsky, who was also present in the courtroom: “Here, for example, in this hall is present a priest of many children, Yevgeniy Burkatsky, who three weeks ago, together with the religious community, was expelled from the Sretensky temple in an illegal way, by raiding legal concepts and documents, Father Yevgeniy himself, along with his seven children and wife, was expelled from the parish house by these very people who are now sitting in front of us in military uniform and pretending to be victims in this trial.

The hierarch emphasized that all the anti-church laws being prepared, all the accusations and violation of the rights of the UOC believers “are carried out contrary to the Constitution, contrary to international legal principles, contrary to common sense”.

According to the bishop, representatives of the OCU are also interested in this case, “because practically all ‘victims’ and ‘witnesses’ in this process are ‘clergymen’ of the OCU”.

“We see now these “clergymen” of the OCU in front of us in the Courtroom. Today they will accuse me as an Orthodox bishop under the above articles of the Criminal Code. But at the same time they do not want to be publicly identified in the Court as “clergymen”. That is why they are without cassocks today. The clerics of the OCU do not want their “Judas sin” to be perceived as a “Judas sin” by our society and the whole Orthodox world, which is watching the process. That is why they do not wear clothes corresponding to their position in the OCU – cassocks and crosses – to the sessions of the Court. They come to court hearings in military uniforms, they disguise themselves in the uniform of chaplains,” the Metropolitan said.

The bishop also added that he is actually being tried for his “position as a hierarch of the Church”, i.e. for his defense of the canonical system, for his rejection of schism and for his position as a supporter of Church unity.

At the end of the address, the bishop declared his right not to express his personal point of view on any public, ideological and political issues, and if the discussion concerns the official position of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, “the defense side will cite official documents of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as answers”.