“Instead of repentance – a loaf of bread”: OCU outraged by Metropolitan Theodosius’s visit to Rivne Region

The Rivne Eparchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) published a statement accusing Metropolitan Theodosius (Snihyriov) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in connection with his pastoral visit to the town of Kvasyliv in Rivne Region. In the text, the Metropolitan is described as “one of the symbols of spiritual collaboration,” and his presence in Ukraine is called “an event that wounds the conscience.” The statement was posted on the official page of the Rivne Eparchy of the OCU.

“Instead of repentance — a loaf of bread,” the OCU representatives write in protest. The document calls Metropolitan Theodosius a “conductor of the Russian world” and accuses him of remaining silent about the war, although no factual evidence or examples of any “support for the aggressor” are presented. Lacking arguments, the authors claim that the very fact of the Metropolitan’s visit is supposedly “a threat,” “a manipulation,” and even “poison wrapped in ritual.”

“And this figure appears in Rivne Region — a land that gives birth to Defenders, where almost every village has a cross for a fallen soldier, where every church prays for Victory. He appears — with the blessing of Archbishop Pimen (UOC MP), and without a single word of repentance, without even a hint of awareness of the criminal role of the Moscow church in this war. Instead — weddings, memorial services, meetings ‘on a high spiritual level,’ and warm press-release rhetoric worthy of Soviet newspapers: ‘spoke with relatives, remembered the elder.’ But where are the words of truth? Where is even one admission of guilt? Where is the sorrow for Ukrainian children killed by bombs blessed by his spiritual fathers?” — the statement reads.

In its final paragraph, the OCU seeks to contrast itself with the UOC, emphasizing its role “where soldiers are buried, where people pray in trenches, where a mother’s heart breaks — but not her faith.” At the same time, the UOC clergy are labeled “servants of Moscow,” who “freely tour around Ukraine,” which the OCU claims shows that “our spiritual security has been breached.”

Earlier, it was reported that the head of the OCU in Rivne Region, Illarion Protsyk, addressed the clergy and faithful of the UOC in the region, calling on them to leave the UOC’s jurisdiction and “join” the OCU. This appeal was based on conclusions from the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, which declared the existence of “signs of affiliation” between the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolis and the Russian Orthodox Church.