Stuttgart bishop: Killing at Sviatohirsk shocked entire Orthodox world

The Stuttgart bishop issued a statement on the killing at Sviatohirsk. Photo: UOJ in Germany

Bishop Job of Stuttgart, vicar of the German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), issued a statement to UOJ in Germany on the killing of Monk Varsonofiy at the Sviatohirsk Lavra. According to the hierarch, what happened came as a shock not only to the Lavra brotherhood but to the entire Orthodox world.

“The new ordeal that has befallen the Lavra brotherhood has shaken not only them and us, but the entire Orthodox world. We see how many representatives of the Orthodox Churches have responded with pain to what happened,” Bishop Job wrote.

The hierarch noted that the ROCOR German Diocese regularly sends humanitarian aid to the Sviatohirsk Lavra, where numerous refugees are being cared for – and for this reason, the diocese feels the tragedy at the monastery as its own pain.

Bishop Job recalled the account of the wounded novice Andriy, who said that on August 23, men in military uniform appeared at the monastery and demanded that the monks give “glory to Ukraine.” They refused, stressing that they give glory only to God. Father Varsonofiy was shot in the head and stabbed, while Monk Grigoriy and Novice Andriy also suffered stab wounds. When the brethren found Father Varsonofiy after the attack, he managed to say, “I am a monk. Glory to our Lord Jesus Christ!” – the last words he ever spoke.

The bishop called Monk Varsonofiy a martyr in the true sense of the word – a witness (martys) to the truth of Christ – and cited the saying that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians.

“And the truth of Christ abides forever and ever: the gates of hell shall never prevail against the Church!” the hierarch concluded, referring to the words of the Gospel (Matt. 16:18).

As reported, on August 23, 2026, residents of the UOC’s Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra were attacked. Monk Varsonofiy (Vasiliy Turyansky in the world) was killed, while Monk Grigoriy and Novice Andriy were seriously wounded. According to the victims’ testimony, the attackers were wearing military uniforms. The circumstances of the attack are being investigated by the military prosecutor’s office. On August 25, the Lavra held the funeral service for the slain monk.

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