Autocephaly of the OCU has brought enormous harm": Metropolitan Theodosius in an interview with Romfea

The popular Greek church publication Romfea.gr has published an extensive interview with the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv. In the interview, the UOC bishop spoke about the events related to the seizure of the Archangel Michael Cathedral of the UOC in Cherkasy and the general situation in which the Church found itself as a result of the creation of the OCU. The interview was published on the website Romfea.gr.

“Today, both the Cherkasy Cathedral and the complex of buildings of the diocesan administration with all their contents are the property of our diocese as a legal entity with the relevant documents of ownership. We also have a state document confirming the ownership of the land on which our church complex is built. But it’s not just about all this! What struck and frightened us the most was the anger and hatred, the inhumanity with which the representatives of the OCU beat not only me, but also our priests, monks and laity. OCU supporters broke the arms, legs, and ribs of believers, threw them to the ground, beat them with pieces of broken benches and even church banners. They knocked out the teeth of priests and shot believers with airguns right in the temple of God, while spraying tear gas at them. All of this was invariably accompanied by swearing and blasphemy, and all of this was recorded by video surveillance cameras. These events caused shock and horror not only among the residents of Cherkasy, but also among a large number of people both in Ukraine and around the world. The “clergy” of the OCU were involved in this banditry as direct organizers. Their leader in Cherkasy, OCU “Metropolitan” Ivan Yaremenko, immediately after the violent seizure, publicly posed in my office, having seized my library. He committed this obscene act and then posted a video that went viral on the Internet. Now Yaremenko is “working” in the seized cathedral, using my vestments, my personal pastoral rods and other church paraphernalia”, – said Metropolitan Theodosius.

The hierarch emphasized that Patriarch Bartholomew’s granting of the Tomos of autocephaly to Ukrainian schismatics only aggravated the religious conflict in Ukraine. The Metropolitan believes that if the persecution of the UOC is not stopped, this problem will spread to other Local Churches.

“We cannot talk about the benefits (of granting autocephaly to the OCU – ed.), we can only talk about the enormous harm. In 2019, the granting of the so-called autocephaly brought a sea of tears, pain and suffering to the church life of Ukraine for believers. In one fell swoop, a real monster was let into the structure of universal Orthodoxy, the so-called “Autocephalous Church of Ukraine,” which has little in common with Christianity, except for its outer shell and external formulas. This monster is now trying to destroy the Orthodox Church in our country. Maliciously and ruthlessly, using all the tools of the state apparatus, not hesitating in the slightest. But the worst thing is that, despite all this, they are hiding behind church vestments and the Tomos of autocephaly of 2019, and this is terrible! This horror should not go unnoticed because it is a spiritual infection! After the OCU completes its work in Ukraine, it will begin to undermine our entire Orthodox family, that is, the system of Universal Orthodoxy. And it has already begun!”,– the bishop added.