In Cherkasy, UOC believers defend cathedral seized by OCU supporters at night

On the night of October 17, 2024, in Cherkasy, supporters of the OCU, with the support of local authorities, made another attempt to seize the Archangel Michael Cathedral of the Cherkasy Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Armed raiders, taking advantage of the curfew, freely entered the church and diocesan premises at night, but with the onset of morning, the head of the Cherkasy Diocese of the UOC, Metropolitan Theodosius, the clergy and parishioners of the cathedral gathered and defended the shrine, expelling the invaders. This is reported by the Telegram channel Raskolam.net, publishing a video of the event.

It is reported that on October 17 at about 3:00, unknown people in camouflage uniforms and balaclavas, in the amount of about 100 people, taking advantage of the ban on movement in the city during the curfew, freely entered the territory and premises of the Cathedral of Cherkasy and the Cherkasy Diocesan Administration. The seizure of the cathedral and the diocesan administration was immediately reported to Metropolitan Theodosius, the head of the Cherkasy diocese of the UOC, and to the clergy and parishioners of the cathedral, who came out to defend the shrine in the morning.

As a result of the provocations organized by the raiders, a clash broke out in the Archangel Michael Cathedral of the UOC. The invaders threw furniture at people, used gas canisters and even pistols. However, Metropolitan Theodosius, priests and parishioners managed to drive the raiders out of the church and from the territory.

After a preliminary inspection of the church and the diocesan premises, it turned out that icons were stolen from the cathedral, and money in the amount of about 60 thousand dollars, which the faithful had been collecting for restoration work in the church, was stolen from the diocesan treasury.

In addition, the believers identified one of the attackers on the church, who turned out to be the notorious chaplain of the OCU Nazariy Zasansky, who is a witness in court cases against Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv on the side of the prosecution. Zasansky, by the way, is known for initiating the seizure of the UOC nunnery in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary a year earlier. According to Metropolitan Theodosius, a deputy of the local city council was also one of the initiators of the event.

As of now, the believers have managed to completely expel the raiders from the Archangel Michael Cathedral of the UOC, but there are risks of a new raider attack.