<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" version="2.0"><channel><title>News and articles UOJ</title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/</link><description>Articles and news about Orthodoxy, UOC and Christianity</description><language>en</language><lastBuildDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 21:12:15 +0300</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://dev.spzh.eu/en/rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Kamianske Eparchy commemorates New Martyr Ioann Mohylevsky]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95585-the-kamianske-diocese-honored-the-memory-of-new-martyr-john-of-mohyliv</link><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:02:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On September 4, 2026, a memorial service was celebrated at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the village of Mohyliv, Dnipropetrovsk region, for the locally venerated new martyr of the Kamianske Eparchy – Priest Ioann Mohylevsky, who was killed during the godless persecutions of the twentieth century, reports the eparchy's press service.
The service, held by the blessing of Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kamianske and Tsarychanka, was led by the Dean of the Tsarychanka Deanery, Archpriest Viktor Bryliuk, co-served by the clergy of the eparchy.
During the Liturgy, the clergy and faithful prayed for peace in Ukraine, the soldiers, the authorities and the people. After the service, a a memorial service was held for the ever-memorable Father Ioann.

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Metropolitan Volodymyr blesses cross and domes for UOC church in Kamianske
    

Priest-Martyr Ioann Mohylevsky (1873–1918) was an Orthodox priest numbered among the locally venerated saints of the Kamianske Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He carried out his pastoral ministry in the Katerynoslav region (now Dnipropetrovsk region) and was a relative of the well-known hierarch Saint Nicholas (Mohylevsky). In 1918, during the Bolshevik terror, Father Ioann accepted a martyr's death for the faith. By a decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church dated April 3, 2019, he was glorified among the saints; an iconographic image and liturgical texts were approved for him, though his solemn liturgical glorification has not yet taken place.
As the UOJ reported, UOC priests served a funeral service for those killed in the missile strike on Dnipro.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95585-the-kamianske-diocese-honored-the-memory-of-new-martyr-john-of-mohyliv</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/85_main.jpg" length="97497" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Israeli airports detain Hasidic draft evaders on their way to Uman]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95584-hasidic-draft-evaders-detained-at-israeli-airports-on-their-way-to-uman</link><description><![CDATA[Military police are arresting Hasidic conscripts directly in terminals as they attempt to fly to Uman for the Rosh Hashanah holiday.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 19:32:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Israeli military police are detaining Hasidic draft evaders who are attempting to fly to Uman for the annual pilgrimage to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, reports the Israelinfo portal.
Over the past two weeks, dozens of Hasidim subject to military conscription have been detained while attempting to leave the country; some of them tried to bypass checks through the Taba checkpoint in order to travel to Egypt and then reach Ukraine via Europe. Draft evaders detained at Ben Gurion Airport are handed over to the Population and Immigration Authority after confirmation of active draft notices.
Ahead of the mass departure of tens of thousands of pilgrims, the Israel Airports Authority distributed leaflets in Hebrew and Yiddish in synagogues and ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods warning of the risks. 

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        US State Dept warns Americans against pilgrimage to Uman for Rosh Hashanah
    

According to the Emes portal, around 40 Hasidim are currently held in Military Prison No. 10 specifically for attempting to leave the country in defiance of the draft. Attorneys Aaron Rubinstein and Yosi Heshin, representing the detainees, stated that their clients are prepared to provide guarantees and post bail for their return, but have not been given this opportunity. 
As the UOJ reported, the safety of the Hasidic pilgrimage to Uman is under the personal supervision of the president.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95584-hasidic-draft-evaders-detained-at-israeli-airports-on-their-way-to-uman</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/84_main.jpg" length="69781" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Protestant chaplain calls killing of Sviatohirsk monk "self-defense"]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95583-protestant-chaplain-called-the-killing-of-a-monk-in-svyatogorsk-self-defense</link><description><![CDATA[Pastor Oleh Lebedynsky stated that the killing of monk Varsonofiy was "self-defense" by AFU servicemen.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 19:10:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Protestant chaplain Oleh Lebedinsky called the killing of a monk of the Sviatohirsk Lavra the result of "self-defense" by AFU servicemen. The chaplain wrote about this on Facebook, while commenting on a post by 1kozaktv.

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Metropolitan Theodosiy: Monk’s murder is a manifestation of satanic hatred
    

The post stated that, as a result of an attack on the monks of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, one monk was killed and two others sustained serious injuries. Lebedynsky openly supported the attackers, stating that every AFU serviceman is "holier" than the slain monk, whom he described as a "draft dodger who was waiting for Russian troops to come."
"I consider an attack on AFU soldiers to be an attack on me personally. Anyone who opposes the Ukrainian army should be imprisoned or exchanged for Ukrainian soldiers. Glory to Jesus Christ and the Ukrainian Armed Forces! Every AFU soldier is holier than this draft dodger, who was hiding in the monastery and waiting for the Ruscists,” Lebedynsky wrote.

As the UOJ reported, lawyer Robert Amsterdam demanded an independent investigation into the killing of the monk at the Sviatohirsk Lavra. The attack on the monastery in the Donetsk region drew condemnation from representatives of Local Orthodox Churches and other denominations, as well as from people around the world.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95583-protestant-chaplain-called-the-killing-of-a-monk-in-svyatogorsk-self-defense</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/83_main.jpg" length="79826" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Portrait of the “сonscience of the nation”]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/mysli-vsluh/95582-portrait-of-the-sonscience-of-the-tation</link><description><![CDATA[Shevchuk waxes eloquent about the uniqueness of the Ukrainian nation and the value of human life – while supporting the sweeping mobilization that is grinding that very nation down.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 18:55:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Thoughts Aloud</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[








Sviatoslav Shevchuk has issued a statement saying that his organization condemns draft dodgers. According to him, the UGCC “constantly explains that evading mobilization means failing to fulfill one’s civic duty.”
There is so much to admire in those words.
First, there is the fact that while Shevchuk condemns draft dodgers, he hides them himself. Not all of them, of course – only the ones useful to him. Two years ago, during a live broadcast, he accidentally admitted – unaware that his microphone was on – that he was shielding workers from mobilization. In other words, the UGCC hides its own draft dodgers while ordinary Ukrainians are sent off to “fulfill their civic duty.”
Second, Shevchuk has consistently opposed negotiations over Ukraine and supported continuing the hostilities in order to “stop the aggressor.” Trump’s peace plan is merely “so-called” in his eyes. Meanwhile, he urges Ukrainians to “once again find the strength within themselves” to resist the enemy and not to fear an “apocalyptic scenario” this winter.
At the same time, the UGCC head is perfectly well aware of Ukraine’s catastrophic demographic situation. He knows that the nation is effectively dying out and that, according to analysts’ projections, it could cease to exist within just 50 years.
None of this appears to trouble Shevchuk greatly.
His answer to the demographic catastrophe is to integrate migrants into Ukrainian society.
He believes Ukraine is now building a new kind of political nation – one that is not “only for ethnic Ukrainians,” but embraces everyone “who is ready to build together a free, united, and independent Ukrainian state.”
Put it all together, and the picture looks like this.
Sviatoslav Shevchuk waxes eloquent about the uniqueness of the Ukrainian nation and the value of human life. At the same time, he supports sweeping mobilization that is grinding that very nation down – because the nation consists precisely of the Ukrainians who are being killed and left maimed.
Yet the UGCC head apparently sees no insurmountable problem here, since they can all be replaced by migrants willing to “build together a free, united, and independent Ukrainian state.”
Quite the creative plan.
Still, there is some genuinely good news.
Most UGCC faithful are abroad.
No need to hide them from mobilization – or replace them with migrants.
Many within the UGCC call Sviatoslav Shevchuk the “conscience of the nation.”
They just never specify which nation.








]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/mysli-vsluh/95582-portrait-of-the-sonscience-of-the-tation</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/82_main.webp" length="37876" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[RCC cardinal: Silence over murder at Sviatohirsk Lavra unacceptable]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95581-rcc-cardinal-silence-over-murder-at-sviatohirsk-lavra-unacceptable</link><description><![CDATA[The Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade expressed his condolences to the Sviatohirsk Lavra brotherhood and called for an investigation into the crime.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 16:47:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Cardinal Ladislav Nemet, Archbishop of Belgrade of the Roman Catholic Church, condemned the murder of monk Varsonofiy at the Sviatohirsk Lavra in a message to the Serbian editorial office of the UOJ.

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Greek priest condemns attack on Sviatohirsk Lavra
    

The cardinal expressed his condolences to the brotherhood of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, its abbot, Metropolitan Arseniy, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, calling the attack on the monks a grave sin and a crime against God. Ladislav Nemet called on civil society not to remain silent in the face of this tragedy.

With deep pain and grief, I received the news of the tragic events at the Sviatohirsk Lavra, where Monk Varsonofiy (Turyansky) lost his life and his fellow monks suffered severe injuries. I join the Church’s prayer for the repose of the murdered monk’s soul and for the swift and complete recovery of the wounded.
Every human life is sacred because it is created in the image of God, and violence against monks who have chosen the path of prayer and service to God constitutes a grave sin and a crime deserving the strongest condemnation, regardless of who the perpetrators are or what motives drove them.
I express my deepest condolences to the brotherhood of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy, and the entire Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which for years has endured severe trials amid the suffering of its people in the war. I pray for peace in Ukraine and for strength for all those who, like the monks of this Lavra, remain faithful to their calling and provide shelter to those suffering despite the danger to their own lives.
I expect the competent police and prosecutorial authorities to urgently and thoroughly investigate all the circumstances of this crime, and for the perpetrators to be found and punished in accordance with the law. Silence in the face of such a crime must not be the response of a civilized society.
May the Lord receive the soul of the murdered Monk Varsonofiy into His heavenly Kingdom, and may He grant comfort and peace to all who mourn him.
With brotherly love and prayer,Cardinal Ladislav Nemet,Archbishop of Belgrade

As the UOJ reported, a former RCC priest who converted to Orthodoxy condemned the murder in Sviatohirsk.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95581-rcc-cardinal-silence-over-murder-at-sviatohirsk-lavra-unacceptable</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/81_main.png" length="588509" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[UGCC head: Our task is to derussify Ukrainians' souls]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95580-ugcc-head-our-task-is-to-derussify-ukrainians-souls</link><description><![CDATA[Sviatoslav Shevchuk considers a simple ban on the UOC to be of little effectiveness.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 16:19:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Head of the UGCC Sviatoslav Shevchuk stated in an interview with LB.ua the need to derussify the souls of Ukrainians.

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        1946 revisited: The UGCC’s suppression anniversary and today's UOC crisis
    

In a conversation with the journalist, Shevchuk expressed his opinion on the struggle against the UOC and its influence on Ukrainians. "What do we need to do now? Derussify and, I would say, de-Moscowify the conscience and souls of many Ukrainians."
In Shevchuk's opinion, state authorities are wrong to engage in discussions about the liquidation of religious structures. The head of the UGCC believes that in addition to banning the Church, the authorities must influence the minds of Ukrainians.
"It is not enough to simply liquidate some structure. It is not enough to ban something. We must understand that a great struggle is underway for the hearts, minds, and souls of Ukrainians." He emphasized that government bans will not succeed without changing the consciousness of believers.
The UOJ previously reported that a UGCC cleric called UOC parishioners "zombified" and illiterate.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95580-ugcc-head-our-task-is-to-derussify-ukrainians-souls</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/80_main.png" length="442246" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Phanar Archons support decision to award Zelensky with prize]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95579-phanar-archons-support-decision-to-award-zelensky-with-prize</link><description><![CDATA[The Archons of Constantinople expressed solidarity with Volodymyr Zelensky.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:59:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Archons of Constantinople supported the decision of the Greek parish of Saint Nicholas in New York to award Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with the "Beacon of Hope" prize.

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Archons: Russian Church patriarch attacked privileges of our patriarchate
    

Representatives of the Phanar called Zelensky a defender of religious freedom. In their statement, the national commander of the order, Anthony Limberakis, highly praised Kyiv's church policy. "President Zelensky is waging a fierce struggle not only for political independence but also for the spiritual liberation of the Ukrainian people from the unlawful omophorion of the Moscow Patriarchate," the Archons declared.
Members of the organization also responded to criticism directed at Zelensky regarding the persecution of the UOC. The authors of the address rejected all accusations against the Ukrainian authorities. In the opinion of the Archons, the arrests of clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are exclusively military in nature.
The Archons expressed full solidarity with the Ukrainian people and the President of Ukraine, adding that Zelensky is truly a beacon of hope. They concluded their address with the word "Axios!" ("Worthy!").
As the UOJ reported, NY's Phanar church community was urged to cancel the dinner in honor of Zelensky.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95579-phanar-archons-support-decision-to-award-zelensky-with-prize</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/79_main.png" length="263636" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ex RCC priest who converted to Orthodoxy condemns murder in Sviatohirsk]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95577-ex-rcc-priest-who-converted-to-orthodoxy-condemns-murder-in-sviatohirsk</link><description><![CDATA[Former Roman Catholic cleric Marko Princ condemned the media silence over the murder of a monk at the Sviatohirsk Lavra.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:49:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Former Catholic priest Marko Princ condemned the murder of Monk Varsonofiy at the Sviatohirsk Lavra and expressed his deep condolences to UOC believers, reports the UOJ in Serbia.
"Unfortunately, this news was not reported at all in Croatia; almost all media completely ignored it... News from the religious, church life of Ukraine is extremely rare and, worst of all, extremely biased," said Marco Princ.

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Metropolitan Luke: Events around UOC has signs of genocide
    

The author of the Orthodox blog noted that the situation affected him personally as an Orthodox Croatian. He acknowledged that being "between a rock and a hard place" in one's own country because of faith is very difficult. "Monk Varsonofiy perished, becoming a victim of hatred toward the Church... In moments when every person would instinctively seek shelter, a weapon, protection, call for help, or try to negotiate with the attackers, he thought only of the glory of Christ."
Princ also pointed out that, before his death, the monk did not even ask Christ to protect him. At that fateful moment, he completely forgot about himself and his own survival. "Thus monk Varsonofiy wrote with his blood a sermon of the Gospel for our time... Christ called us to dedicate our lives to Him, for whoever dedicates his life to Him will remain with Him in eternity and in unity."
The former RCC cleric recalled that the blood of martyrs is the seed of new Christians. In his view, when a country has people for whom the glory of God is more important than their own lives, then that country has a future in the eyes of God. "Whatever politics and geopolitics may say about the fate of Ukraine, God will bless the country in which even in today's materialistic times... people are born who, in the face of death itself, say only one thing: Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ!" Princ concluded.
As the UOJ reported, a hierarch of the Jerusalem Church supported the Sviatohirsk Lavra brotherhood.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95577-ex-rcc-priest-who-converted-to-orthodoxy-condemns-murder-in-sviatohirsk</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/77_main.png" length="659779" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Shevchuk condemns Ukrainians evading mobilization]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95575-shevchuk-condemns-ukrainians-evading-mobilization</link><description><![CDATA[The head of the UGCC called draft evasion a failure to fulfill civic duty, although he had previously admitted to hiding workers of his cathedral from the TRC.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:17:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The head of the UGCC Sviatoslav Shevchuk stated that draft evasion is a failure to fulfill civic duty. He said this in an interview with the outlet "Livyi Bereh" ("Left Bank").
The journalist asked the head of the Uniates how the Church interprets draft evasion against the backdrop of a personnel shortage in the army, and whether the actions of draft evaders constitute a sin. Shevchuk replied that he "does not want to condemn anyone a priori," but immediately passed judgment on such people.
"We support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and constantly explain that draft evasion is a failure to fulfill one's civic duty," he said.
According to Shevchuk, the UGCC would like the TRC not to have to use force against Ukrainians but for draftee to go to the front voluntarily.
"We want our men and women, without pressure but by the call of their own conscience, love for the Homeland, and the duty to defend it, to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the head of the UGCC added.
He also mentioned that the Uniate structure has received quotas for chaplaincy positions in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the Border Guard, and is gradually distributing them among its priests. At the same time, a priest himself, according to Shevchuk, "cannot take up arms," and therefore "must hold a different line of defense."

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        On statements that all videos of TRC mobilization are fake
    

As the UOJ reported, Shevchuk admitted to hiding men working for the UGCC from mobilization. During a live broadcast, a fragment of which was later cut from the recording, he complained to OCU "hierarch" Oleksandr Drabynko about a shortage of craftsmen for completing the iconostasis and said: "We even hide some of them here with us. They live here and we feed them as well."]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95575-shevchuk-condemns-ukrainians-evading-mobilization</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/75_main.png" length="418944" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The mystery of the midnight struggle in a rocky gorge]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/95576-the-mystery-of-the-midnight-struggle-in-a-rocky-gorge</link><description><![CDATA[The patriarch stood alone in the face of mortal danger. Then a mysterious Wrestler emerged from the darkness to give him a new name – and leave him with a mark he would carry for the rest of his life.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:13:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Man and Church</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The mountain stream of Jabbok cuts through the rocky gorges of modern-day Jordan before rushing toward the Jordan River. Today it is known as the Zarqa. It was here, on the ancient frontier of Bashan, that one of the most gripping scenes in the Old Testament unfolded.
Patriarch Jacob takes a desperate step. Under cover of night, he sends both his wives, his maidservants, his eleven sons, and what remains of his household across the ford. Everything he had labored for during twenty years with his uncle Laban is now on the far bank.
Ahead is Esau.
The same Esau who once swore to kill Jacob for taking his birthright – and who is now advancing toward him at the head of four hundred armed men.
After sending his family across, Jacob goes back. He is utterly alone on the cold, stony riverbank. The patriarch needs to pray. He needs to turn to the Creator with what seems like certain death before him.
But instead of a quiet encounter with God, a Stranger steps out of the darkness.
And the struggle begins.
A brutal wrestling match that lasts until the first light of dawn.
Wet gravel grinds beneath their feet. Heavy mist hangs over the river. In the silence of the gorge, there is nothing to hear but broken breathing and the crunch of stone underfoot.
A struggle in the night dust – and the echo of ancient words
In this tiny patch of ground, the Hebrew text of the Old Testament weaves together an entire web of sounds. The patriarch’s name is Yaakov – a name linked to the word for “heel,” and by association to one who outwits or supplants. The river is Yabbok. And the verb used for the struggle is vayye’avek.

All three words are built around a strikingly similar consonantal pattern. The man’s name, the name of the mountain stream, and the wrestling itself merge into a single verbal tapestry.

The ancient root avak is directly connected with “dust.” Even the sound of the verb seems to evoke dust swirling up from the ground. This is no distant or ceremonial contest. It is a close, physical struggle – two opponents locked together, grinding the earth beneath them and raising clouds of dust.
Who was this Stranger?
The Russian Synodal translation uses the restrained word “Someone.” The Church Slavonic Bible says “a man.” The Prophet Hosea writes: “In his strength he strove with God. He strove with the Angel and prevailed” (Hos. 12:3–4).
Orthodox theology gives this passage a profound Christological interpretation. Many Fathers of the Church – St. John Chrysostom, Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus, St. Justin Martyr, and St. Athanasius the Great – see the encounter as an Old Testament theophany of Christ: an appearance of the Son of God before His earthly Incarnation.
Blessed Augustine, by contrast, tends to see it as an angelic appearance.
Scripture itself preserves the sacred mystery.
Why would God “let Jacob win” – and why give him a new name?
The struggle continues until daybreak. And when the One wrestling with Jacob sees that he will not give up, He touches Jacob’s hip and dislocates it.
Yet even with his joint wrenched out of place, Jacob refuses to let go. He says: “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”
Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus asks the obvious question: why would Almighty God enter into a night struggle and allow Himself to be held by a man? His answer is simple and profound: God yielded voluntarily.
The Lord Himself was strengthening Jacob, who was terrified of his brother. By allowing Jacob to “prevail,” God was, in effect, telling him: if you have stood your ground in a struggle with Me, why should you now fear a mortal man?
St. John Chrysostom adds that Jacob entered that night having already cleansed his heart of hostility. The struggle became a trial of faith – one that burned away the final remnants of fear.

That night, the patriarch receives a new name. When the Wrestler asks his name, he answers with the old one: Jacob – the supplanter, the cunning one. And then comes the reply: “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and shall prevail over men.”

Many Holy Fathers interpret Israel as “one who wrestles with God.”
St. John Chrysostom also points to another meaning: “one who has seen God.”
Jacob himself names the place Peniel – “the face of God” – and says in awe: “I have seen God face to face, and my life has been preserved.”
The mark on his thigh – and the kosher butcher’s shop
The sun was rising as Jacob passed Peniel. He went forward to meet Esau limping heavily on his injured leg.
Why would God wound His chosen servant?
Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus gives a strikingly precise explanation: the limp was given so that Jacob would not wake in the morning and dismiss what had happened as a dream or an illusion. The pain became proof that the encounter had been real.
St. Ambrose of Milan sees even more in the injured thigh: a prophetic sign. The wounded joint, he says, foreshadowed the future Cross of the Savior, who according to the flesh would descend from Jacob’s line.
The biblical text also records a practical custom still observed among Jews today: “Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the sinew that is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the sinew” (Gen. 32:32).

The command concerning the sciatic nerve – gid hanasheh – remains one of the most ancient traditions of Jewish kashrut. Removing this nerve from an animal carcass requires considerable skill from a butcher. Centuries later, in kosher butcher shops across the world, trained meat cutters still carefully remove it.

The astonishing story of Jacob’s night struggle tells us something essential: no one encounters God and remains unchanged.
That encounter strips the hero of his trust in his own cleverness.
It leaves scars that cannot be forgotten.
It gives him a new name.
And it sends him forward with the strength to face whatever comes next.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/95576-the-mystery-of-the-midnight-struggle-in-a-rocky-gorge</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/76_main.jpg" length="166517" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dechurching Ukraine: When everything is allowed and nothing is required]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/95563-de-churching-ukraine-when-everything-is-permitted-and-nothing-is-forbidden</link><description><![CDATA[Fasting is unnecessary, chastity is excessive, monasticism is ridiculous, and a UOC priest is an enemy of the people. Where is all this taking Ukrainians’ religious consciousness?]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:49:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Faith Protection</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[In any religious organization, there will always be clergy who behave disgracefully. In itself, that proves nothing. What does prove something is the reaction – or lack of reaction – to such behavior. More precisely, the absence of any reaction at all. That is why this article is not about the actions of isolated individuals, but about the fact that no one seems to regard those actions as a problem: not the people responsible, not their audience, and not the Church leadership.
The purpose of this article is not simply to catalogue ugly episodes involving OCU clergy. It is to answer a broader question: what is actually happening to religious consciousness in Ukraine? And what does the OCU have to do with it? Quite a lot.
We are watching a church structure that has effectively merged with the state steadily lose its ability to keep people rooted in the faith, leading society toward dechurching and, ultimately, paganism. That is the argument we will attempt to demonstrate.
First, one important clarification. Every episode described below comes from video material posted publicly by the people involved themselves. None was obtained through hidden-camera footage, ripped out of context by hostile critics, or reconstructed from eyewitness accounts. They filmed it themselves, edited it themselves, and posted it themselves – expecting their audience to approve. Some of the other examples come from television interviews and on-air comments – again, public statements prepared in advance.
That distinction matters: this is not compromising material. It is self-presentation.
Don’t want to fast? Then don’t
Well-known OCU “priest”-blogger Oleksiy Filiuk, who has amassed an audience in the millions, tells viewers that there is no need to fast. By his logic, fasting is something for people who have time on their hands and do not work.
“Look at all these fasters suddenly appearing... Eat boiled sausage. Just don’t eat each other’s livers. We’re working,” he tells his viewers during the Dormition Fast.
And this was no slip of the tongue. It is a consistent position. During Great Lent, Filiuk likewise urged people to eat sausage rather than indulge in “fanaticism.”

 
            
    
     

OCU cleric A. Filiuk urges people to eat sausage during the fast.
Photo: screenshot from Filiuk's Instagram page


What is more, the OCU cleric does not merely tell people not to observe the fast – he discredits fasting itself. According to him, fasting was invented by Russians: “Eat. Cook yourself dairy food. There’s no sin in it. They came up with all these diets – it’s all from the Mokshans,” he says, using a derogatory term for Russians.
The claim that fasting originated in Russia collapses under the slightest scrutiny. The Forty-Day Fast, as well as weekly fast days, are documented in historical sources long before either the Moscow Patriarchate or Moscow itself existed. The Didache, a Christian text dating to the turn of the first and second centuries, already prescribes fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays.
It is hard to believe Filiuk does not know this. But to his multimillion-strong audience, he says something else – precisely what they want to hear.
Fasting, after all, is a small act of spiritual struggle. A strict fast – Great Lent or the Dormition Fast – can be a very tangible one. Many people find it difficult. And then along comes a pastor who gives permission: “Don’t be fanatical. Don’t want to fast? Then don’t.”
Everyone wins. The viewers get a “kind, modern priest.” Filiuk gets new admirers.
Want sex before marriage? No problem
OCU clergy offer Ukrainians the same principle when it comes to relations between men and women.
In August 2026, OCU “priest” Ruslan Usmedynskyi appeared on stand-up comedian Dmytro Tiutiun’s show “Not a Serious Conversation” and declared that sex before marriage is not a sin.
Asked directly by the comedian, “Why is sex before marriage a sin?”, Usmedynskyi replied that it was not: the OCU, he said, does not prohibit anything but can merely make recommendations.
“It’s not a sin,” he said, prompting delight from Tiutiun and the audience, who clearly had not expected such an answer. “Our Orthodox Church never forbids people anything at all.”
In a previous episode of the same program, the OCU cleric said that using a cassock as a prop in sexual role-playing can strengthen a couple’s relationship: “If you love him, buy him a cassock and fantasize – all the more so because it strengthens your family.”
In another segment of the interview, he described how, when he sprinkles people with holy water, some women get water in their mouths and spit it out. To such women, Usmedynskyi says: “Don’t spit it out!”
The “priest’s” final remark sent the host into fits of laughter – he clearly heard a very specific innuendo.
As with Filiuk’s “abolition” of fasting, what we have here is the image of the “good priest” who forbids people nothing and even indulges in vulgar jokes – and is therefore perceived by his audience as “one of us.”
The same category includes a video by OCU cleric Artem Fakhrutdinov, who said that a young man choosing a monastery should go exclusively to a women’s convent.
“A guy wants to enter a monastery and doesn’t know which one? Only a women’s monastery. Only a women’s one – don’t even think about it. What is there to do in a men’s monastery? Only a women’s one. Oh, that’s where all the beauty of God’s creation is,” the “priest” says.
Crude jokes about nuns and women’s monasteries have long been a staple of secular comedy. But how can a man who calls himself a priest speak like this?
And again, Fakhrutdinov’s words, like Usmedynskyi’s, were not an unfortunate joke that accidentally slipped out. This was a video that was recorded, edited, and prepared for publication. At every stage, there was an opportunity to abandon this kind of “creative” material.
Yet the OCU clerics apparently decided that it was perfectly appropriate coming from a man in a cassock.
People like it – so why not?
Want to seize a church from an “enemy of the people”? Follow an OCU pastor’s example
“Priest” Serhiy Yanchuk personally cut the locks off the UOC Church of St. Paraskeva in the village of Cherniavka, Zhytomyr Region.
Usually, OCU clergy leave the “dirty work” of church seizures to others – and often try to prevent anyone from filming it by blocking cameras or knocking phones out of people’s hands.
This case was different. Yanchuk happily posed for the photographer of a local newspaper. Here he is drilling through a lock. Here he is cutting it with an angle grinder. Here he is smashing it with a hammer.

 
            
    
     

OCU cleric Yanchuk cuts the lock on a UOC church on camera.
Photo: Newspaper "Visti" — Pulyny/Chervonoarmiysk


Let us stress the key point once again: this is not a parishioner, an activist, or an outsider. This is a man “in holy orders.”
Why does he allow himself to act this way? Because he regards the UOC rector who served in this church for many years as an “enemy of the people” – someone whose hand he would not even shake.
What are OCU parishioners supposed to do when they watch their pastor behave like this?
Naturally, they copy him.
Murder as a joke
In June 2025, after an attempt to seize the UOC Holy Spirit Cathedral in Chernivtsi failed, OCU “priest” Roman Hryshchuk effectively called for the killing of the believers who had defended their shrine.
He posted a clip from the film World War Z showing an army mowing down a crowd of zombies with machine guns, and wrote:
“In brief, this is what happened yesterday in Chernivtsi near the Holy Spirit Cathedral. We are still treating this Moscow Patriarchate sect with tolerance. It should be like this video.”
Hryshchuk also replaced the film’s original soundtrack with a speech in which Metropolitan Meletiy thanked the parishioners who had defended the cathedral. In other words, there could be no doubt about exactly whom he was suggesting should be killed.
Some time later, OCU propagandist E. Akopov from Kharkiv published a staged sketch in which he supposedly stuffs the body of a UOC priest who had refused to serve in Ukrainian into the trunk of a car.


The author presumably considers it a joke. But given what is happening to UOC clergy, the joke is more than a little strained.
The same applies to another example.
On Threads, military medic Uliana Kashchii recounted a conversation with her father about a UOC priest wounded in the war.
“Dad, imagine this – I got a wounded man brought in, a Moscow Patriarchate priest. He says theirs is the only true faith,” Kashchii wrote.
According to her, her father advised her to “finish him off.”
In the comments, the medic said it was merely humor: the priest remained alive and received the necessary medical care.
Nevertheless, as with Akopov, one cannot help recalling that every joke contains only a share of joking – the rest is truth. The harassment of the UOC by the authorities and society has brought us to a point where the idea of killing its clergy is treated calmly and even approvingly.
The murder at the Sviatohirsk Lavra
On August 23, 2026, unidentified attackers killed Monk Varsonofiy and wounded two other men.
According to novice Andriy, who suffered stab wounds, three men in uniform demanded the “correct” response to the greeting “Glory to Ukraine!” before the attack. When they heard the reply, “Glory to our Lord God. Save and preserve,” they attacked.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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The investigation has not been completed, and we will not prejudge its conclusions.
But the environment in which such a crime became possible is plain to see. Roman Hryshchuk’s call for killing, Akopov’s “comedic” murder, Kashchii’s “joke” about “finishing off” a wounded UOC priest – all of this helped create, over the years, an atmosphere in which the murder of a monk ceased to seem unthinkable.
These are the consequences of a policy of inciting hatred against UOC believers and clergy – a policy in which OCU leaders and clerics have played a highly active role.
There is also a feedback loop at work: the more actively OCU representatives participate in incitement, the stronger the demand among part of society for criticism and even reprisals against “Moscow priests.” And the louder that demand becomes, the more readily it is serviced from the pulpit.
What do all these cases have in common?
If we sum up the episodes involving the public activities of OCU clergy described above, several things stand out.

They are brazenly public. OCU clergy do not hide what they are doing – and judging by the lack of consequences, they have little reason to. In none of the cases above was there any canonical penalty, public distancing by Church leadership, or even a routine statement that “this is a private opinion.” The silence of the OCU leadership is not neutrality here – it is a form of consent. All the more so because almost everyone featured in this article has repeatedly received awards personally from Dumenko rather than reprimands.
The direction is consistently toward stripping away the sacred. Fasting is unnecessary. Monasticism is ridiculous. Chastity before marriage is excessive. A UOC priest is an acceptable target for violence. Not one of these examples moves in the opposite direction.
The overriding impulse is to please the audience and give it what it wants. Reduce all of the examples above to a single formula, and this is what remains: food, sexual instinct, and the appetite for violence. Wherever the Church calls its children to restraint and self-limitation, the OCU offers complete “freedom” to indulge desire.

 

Fasting is hard? Don’t be fanatical – eat some sausage and meat.
Hormones raging? Don’t restrain yourself – sex before marriage is not a sin.
Want to enter a monastery? Pick a women’s convent – that’s where the “beauty of creation” is.
Don’t like “Moscow priests”? They are enemies of the people and deserve to die.

 
But what happens to the spiritual life of those who listen to pastors like these?
Imagine a teacher who tells students not to waste time on textbooks but to relax on social media instead. A doctor who prescribes alcohol and fatty food instead of a strict diet. A coach whose only advice is to lie on the couch and eat cake.
All three would be loved.
None would help.
Today, the OCU is a structure religious in form but secular in substance. Its pastors do not lead people to Christ. Instead, they adapt themselves to the demands of secular society – in pursuit of an approving nod from an official or a like on social media.
Nothing more is required to dismantle a people’s religious consciousness. All that is needed is to keep reshaping the faith into whatever people happen to want from it.
We can see the results of this process in many examples in the West, where churches actively support LGBT causes, turn churches into restaurants or gyms, or even hand them over for use as mosques. Membership in such denominations is rapidly declining. People are, quite literally, voting with their feet.
Today, the state needs a “proper church” – a structure that supports those in power. Tomorrow, that need may disappear. And then it may turn out that such a church has nothing left with which to hold on to people.
A religion that demands nothing is of no use to society either. It is indistinguishable from a social club – and there is no shortage of social clubs without it.
What people will seek instead is a real Church – one that asks something of them. A Church that leads them along the real road: through fasting, self-restraint, and spiritual growth.
The same road along which it led generations of their ancestors.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/95563-de-churching-ukraine-when-everything-is-permitted-and-nothing-is-forbidden</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/63_main.jpg" length="126342" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[US State Dept warns Americans against pilgrimage to Uman for Rosh Hashanah]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95574-us-state-dept-warns-americans-against-pilgrimage-to-uman-for-rosh-hashanah</link><description><![CDATA[Washington warns US citizens against pilgrimage to Uman amid hostilities.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:45:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The US State Department recommends that US citizens refrain from traveling to Uman during Rosh Hashanah. The corresponding warning was published by the US Embassy in Ukraine.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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The State Department maintains its highest, Level 4 travel advisory for the entire country. The traditional pilgrimage of Jews to the grave of Hasidic rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman during Rosh Hashanah poses serious risks to visitors’ lives. The State Department points to regular airstrikes on residential buildings and religious sites, as well as an insufficient number of bomb shelters in Uman to accommodate all the expected pilgrims.
The State Department also specifically warns men who hold dual US and Ukrainian citizenship. Ukraine has a ban on leaving the country for men aged 23 to 60. As a result, US citizens may face forced mobilization into the Ukrainian army without being able to leave the region, the State Department warns.
As the UOJ reported, a DESS expert briefed the US State Department on religious freedom in Ukraine.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95574-us-state-dept-warns-americans-against-pilgrimage-to-uman-for-rosh-hashanah</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/74_main.webp" length="36794" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Zaporizhzhia authorities plan to rename Borysohlibska Str. after OUN figure]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95573-zaporizhzhia-authorities-plan-to-rename-borysohlibska-str-after-oun-figure</link><description><![CDATA[Zaporizhzhia authorities have launched a survey on renaming a street after an OUN figure.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:19:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Zaporizhzhia City Council announced plans to rename Borysohlibska Street in the Shevchenkivskyi District of Zaporizhzhia after OUN figure Yurii Kurylo.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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The district administration is conducting an electronic survey of residents until September 25, 2026. One of the first proposed new names was that of OUN figure Yurii Kurylo. The proposal was submitted to the district administration by local resident Mariia Topchii.
Yurii Kurylo, son of one of the leaders of the Melitopol underground of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Illarion Kurylo-Krymchak, headed the OUN youth cell in the village of Voznesenka during World War II, which distributed agitation literature and conducted propaganda among young people. In 1945, a Soviet tribunal sentenced him to ten years of hard labor and five years in camps. After his release, he lived in the settlement of Mokryanka, where there is Borysohlibska Street now.
As the UOJ reported, in Volhynia, the OCU consecrated a memorial sign to a UPA commander.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95573-zaporizhzhia-authorities-plan-to-rename-borysohlibska-str-after-oun-figure</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/73_main.webp" length="44750" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dumenko discusses cooperation with Islamic countries with Mufti]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95572-dumenko-discusses-cooperation-with-islamic-countries-with-mufti</link><description><![CDATA[Dumenko agreed with Ukraine’s Grand Mufti on joint steps to engage with Muslim countries.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:37:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The head of the OCU Epifaniy Dumenko held a meeting with the Supreme Mufti of Ukraine Sheikh Ahmed Tamim, discussing engagement with Muslim countries in support of Ukraine, reports the OCU press service.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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During the meeting, the parties discussed in detail the military strikes on religious buildings in the country. The interlocutors also addressed issues of spiritual and psychological assistance to citizens during the period of military conflict.
Particular attention was paid by the participants of the dialogue to the international activities of Ukrainian religious leaders. They outlined steps to strengthen work abroad in support of Ukraine. In particular, the interlocutors planned joint actions with representatives of Islamic countries.
As the UOJ reported, OCU clergy visited a mosque in Kharkiv on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95572-dumenko-discusses-cooperation-with-islamic-countries-with-mufti</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/72_main.png" length="472275" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[UOC priest to UGCC cleric: What Christian are you to frighten with SBU?]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95569-uoc-priest-to-ugcc-cleric-what-christian-are-you-to-frighten-with-sbu</link><description><![CDATA[A UOC priest explained the reasons behind Greek Catholics' fear of Orthodoxy.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 11:37:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[A clergyman of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Vasyl Balan, rebuked UGCC cleric Justyn Boyko for malice and incitement of hostility against the UOC.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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The dispute was prompted by the recent visit of Metropolitan Filaret of Lviv and Halych to the opening of a center for wounded soldiers, at the invitation of Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi. Following this, UGCC cleric Justyn Boyko called the Orthodox bishop's participation "a betrayal of Lviv" and demanded that the Security Service of Ukraine launch an investigation. "Moscow has entered Lviv through the front door," the Uniate cleric declared.
Archpriest Vasyl directly asked the Uniate cleric: "What kind of Christian are you if you threaten people with the security forces?" According to the Orthodox priest, a true pastor is obliged to pray to God for people and to ask the Lord to correct their mistakes. "But you are showing that malice and hatred live within you, and that you take pleasure in the suffering of your neighbors," the priest noted.
As an example of such an attitude, the UOC priest cited the demolition of Orthodox churches using excavators in Lviv and the Ivano-Frankivsk region. He also pointed to the hypocrisy of the Uniates, who are building their own church in Kyiv despite protests from six thousand local residents, while themselves opposing the presence of the Orthodox Church in the west of the country.
Father Vasyl also mentioned a video of a UGCC service held in honor of the anniversary of Pope John Paul II's visit. During this service, one of the Uniate bishops drank water from a bottle in the middle of the Liturgy, before Communion.
"According to Church rule, only an infirm person may do such a thing. Even small children receive Communion fasting from the age of three. By your attitude toward the Liturgy, you show why you fear Orthodoxy in Western Ukraine," the priest concluded. In Father Vasyl's view, such disregard for the rules causes Uniates to feel fear before Orthodox believers.
As the UOJ reported, a scandal erupted in Lviv over the invitation of a UOC hierarch to the opening of a medical center.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95569-uoc-priest-to-ugcc-cleric-what-christian-are-you-to-frighten-with-sbu</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/69_main.png" length="412957" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Greek priest condemns attack on Sviatohirsk Lavra]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95568-greek-priest-condemns-attack-on-sviatohirsk-lavra</link><description><![CDATA[Archpriest Georgios Katsaounis expressed his condolences following the killing of a monk and the wounding of two novices.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 10:37:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Archpriest Georgios Katsaounis, a clergyman of the Orthodox Church of Greece, condemned the tragic attack on the Sviatohirsk Lavra in Ukraine, reports the UOJ in Greece.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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In his statement, Father Georgios expressed deep sorrow over the killing of a monk of the monastery and the serious injury of two other novices. The priest of the Church of Greece stressed that the Church must not be turned into a battleground for conflicts. However, various confrontations and divisions are now wounding the body of the Church and testing the unity of the faithful. The priest offered prayers for the repose of the slain monk, the speedy recovery of the wounded, and the restoration of peace in Ukrainian lands.

    
With deep sorrow I learned of the brutal attack that took place at Sviatohirsk Lavra in Ukraine, which tragically resulted in the death of a monk and injuries to two other people.
I have previously expressed my deep sorrow and concern over the fact that the Church of Christ, rather than being a place of unity, peace, and reconciliation, has become the focus of confrontations and divisions that wound the body of the Church and test the unity of the faithful.
The Church cannot and must not be turned into a battleground. Her mission is to unite, reconcile, heal wounds, and bring to every person the message of Christ’s love and peace.
We pray fervently for the repose of the soul of the monk who lost his life, for the speedy recovery of the injured, and for peace to come to the long-suffering land of Ukraine.
We hope and pray that this tragic event will be the last to occur as a result of this painful conflict, and that peace, wisdom, reconciliation, and brotherly love in Christ will prevail over every confrontation and division.
Archpriest Georgios Katsounis


As the UOJ reported, a Bulgarian priest expressed support for the UOC following the killing of a monk in Sviatohirsk.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95568-greek-priest-condemns-attack-on-sviatohirsk-lavra</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/68_main.png" length="468315" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Metropolitan Luke: Events around UOC has signs of genocide]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95567-metropolitan-luke-what-is-happening-around-uoc-has-signs-of-genocide</link><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 10:20:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia stated in an interview with Oleksandr Shelest that the pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church falls under the signs of genocide enshrined in the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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"Recently I came across the definition of genocide. And there the definition of genocide is the destruction on national, ethnic or religious grounds. And so if one looks – are we not now witnessing genocide?" said the hierarch, commenting on the murder of a monk at the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra.
He recalled that the Convention defines five forms of such actions, and the first of them is the killing of members of the group.
"Why are we being killed? We can recall the year 2015. God's servant Anatoliy was beaten in Sumy, in the Transfiguration Cathedral, at night. We can recall the assassination attempt in Vinnytsia on a priest – thank God, help arrived in time, but the priest was slashed across the neck with a knife,” the Metropolitan said.
The hierarch also mentioned the situation in Cherkasy, where a man with a gun threatened Metropolitan Theodosiy.
"Yes, this is still an isolated case, one cannot yet speak of open genocide, but are these not the preconditions for genocide?" the bishop noted.
The archbishop identified the second criterion as the infliction of serious bodily or mental harm, pointing to what happens during church seizures.
"I remember: Bishop Nikita was standing outside when they approached him, shouted, 'Moscow priest!' and beat him. What is that? This is the result of impunity and of an already established – not emerging, but established – goal of destroying the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” he said.
Metropolitan Luke identified the third sign as the deliberate creation of living conditions intended to bring about the physical destruction of the group.
"People are already being fired simply for being parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Again, Cherkasy is an example of this. People are bullied for being parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In Lviv, people are being harassed, with people following them to their apartments. What is this? How should it be defined?" the hierarch said.
The two remaining criteria – measures intended to prevent births and the forcible transfer of children – the hierarch did not yet apply to Ukrainian realities but posed the question: "What kind of childbearing is possible under such conditions?"
"This Convention defined five criteria of genocide, but three of them we already see," Metropolitan Luka concluded.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Polish Church called the murder of the Sviatohirsk Lavra monk a tragedy.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95567-metropolitan-luke-what-is-happening-around-uoc-has-signs-of-genocide</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/67_main.png" length="708694" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Phanar exarch in Lithuania discusses refugee support with Ukraine ambassador]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95564-phanar-exarch-in-lithuania-discusses-refugee-support-with-ukrainian-ambassador</link><description><![CDATA[The Patriarchal Exarch of Constantinople conveyed greetings from the Ecumenical Patriarch to Ukrainian diplomats.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 19:45:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Bishop Panaretos of Tamasos, Patriarchal Exarch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Lithuania, met with Ukrainian Ambassador Olga Nikitchenko. The two discussed the situation in Ukraine and assistance for refugees at the Ukrainian Embassy in Vilnius, Orthodoxia News Agency reports.
The Phanar hierarch conveyed Patriarch Bartholomew’s warm wishes and blessing to the Ukrainian people. The greetings were extended on the occasion of Ukraine’s Independence Day, which had been celebrated shortly before the meeting.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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The participants discussed the current situation in Ukraine, the consequences of the hostilities, and the resulting humanitarian and pastoral needs. The bishop and ambassador paid particular attention to support for Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania. They also discussed the religious needs of believers currently living in the country.
As the UOJ reported, Lithuania’s prime minister said the Phanar Exarchate serves as a source of support for Ukrainians in the country.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95564-phanar-exarch-in-lithuania-discusses-refugee-support-with-ukrainian-ambassador</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/64_main.png" length="509760" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[A 16th-century Lviv detective]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/istorija-i-kulytrua/95561-a-16th-century-lviv-detective</link><description><![CDATA[Lviv craftsmen pooled their money to ransom a printing press, went to war with their own bishop, and created the finest school in Eastern Europe.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 19:28:00 +0300</pubDate><category>History and Culture</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[​At the end of the 16th century, Lviv’s Orthodox population was excluded from civic life. The Catholic city magistrate confined Orthodox laypeople to a narrow enclave on Ruska Street, restricted their rights, and systematically pushed them out of the craft guilds. The local nobility preferred to integrate into the Polish system, while the church hierarchy was mired in legal disputes over property.
The initiative for resistance was taken up by people without famous surnames or noble coats of arms. Ordinary merchants, shoemakers, and saddle-makers decided to establish their own organization.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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​Among them were the Rohatynets brothers, master saddlers. They had developed a unique saddle design with deer-bone ornamentation, yet the local guild long refused to recognize their rights, until the city council intervened in March 1586. These men were accustomed to fighting their way through courts, guild prohibitions, and social exclusion.
​In 1583, the first printer Ivan Fedorov died in Lviv. His property and printing equipment ended up in the hands of his creditors because of his debts. The magistrate expected Cyrillic type to disappear from the city forever. But the townspeople raised the enormous sum of 1,500 złoty for the time and bought back Fedorov’s printing equipment. The brothers purchased a stone townhouse on Ruska Street for 1,300 złoty and established the headquarters of the resistance there.
​Princes and wealthy noblemen such as Adam Kisiel or Lavrentiy Drevynsky would join the brotherhood much later, once the organization had already gained considerable influence. Its foundation was laid entirely with money from the townspeople.
​War with their own bishop
​The main opponent of the Lviv craftsmen in the early days was not Polish officials but their own Orthodox hierarch. Bishop Gideon (Balaban) of Lviv saw the independent organization of laypeople as a threat to his feudal authority.
​The conflict quickly moved beyond theological debate. In 1585, on the bishop's orders, the son of the first printer — Ivan Drukarevych — was thrown into a pit and starved to death. In 1589, Bishop Gedeon (Balaban) resorted to outright force. The bishop's servants raided the brotherhood's school, dispersed the students, and ransacked the printing house. The head of the printing operation, the monk Myna, was shackled by the bishop's servants, dragged through the streets, and thrown into an underground prison.

​Realizing they could find no protection at the local level, the townspeople appealed directly to the Eastern Patriarchs.

On January 1, 1586, Patriarch Joachim V of Antioch issued a letter of blessing to the brotherhood. The document explicitly recorded the goal of the Lviv townspeople: "With God’s help, the Lviv burghers wish to establish a school to educate Christian children of every social estate... They have also purchased a printing press for printing in the Slavic and Greek languages, needed for the same school."
In 1588 and 1589, Patriarch Jeremias II of Constantinople confirmed the organization’s rights. In 1592, he exerted pressure on the ecclesiastical hierarchy and granted the Dormition Church stavropegial status, placing the brotherhood outside the authority of Bishop Gideon. Only in 1592, when the school had already been operating for six years, did King Sigismund III, following the petition of Prince Konstanty Ostrogski, grant the institution official status as a school of the liberal arts.
​A partisan gymnasium for orphans and widows
​The school founded by the craftsmen differed fundamentally from the Jesuit colleges in its social accessibility. Its charter declared that education should be open to people of every social estate: "whether of the clergy, or of princely, noble, or gentry families, or of the common people, even down to poor widows." Orphans and children from impoverished families studied free of charge. Wealthier families were charged between 6 and 12 groszy per quarter, which covered only a small portion of the expenses. The rest was financed from the common treasury.

​Strict requirements were imposed on teachers. A teacher (didaskal) was required to be "pious, wise, humble-minded, meek, temperate, not a drunkard, not a fornicator, not avaricious, not a lover of money."

​A strict language regime operated within the school. The charter required students to completely abandon the vernacular dialect within the walls of the institution: "That they shall not speak among themselves in the common tongue, but only in Slavonic and Greek."
​The educational process was structured according to a three-level system — from the alphabet and the Book of Hours to grammar, rhetoric, logic, and arithmetic. Senior students ("spudei") served as tutors for younger ones. The school was led by the foremost intellectuals of the era: the Greek Archbishop St. Arsenios of Elasson, Stefan Zyzaniy, and, in 1604, Ivan Boretsky, who would later become Metropolitan Job of Kyiv.
​Double accountability for elders
​The economic foundation of the entire system was a treasury known as the "kruzhka" ("mug") or "skrynka" ("chest"). Its keys were held by elected key-bearers, and financial accounts were reviewed at general assemblies with the participation of auditors.
​The brotherhood members created the first mutual aid fund in the region. From the common budget, money was disbursed to impoverished brotherhood members, medical treatment was paid for, and a hospital for the elderly was maintained. The charter prescribed the mandatory participation of all brotherhood members in the burial of a deceased brother.

​At the same time, strict discipline operated within the organization. For disciplinary violations or financial misconduct, an ordinary member was subject to standard punishment. But if an elder committed an offense, he was punished two or three times more severely "for the sake of honor." A leadership position conferred no privileges, but increased one's accountability before the community.

​Over the course of two centuries, the Brotherhood’s printing press published around 200 titles, including the Adelfotes grammar and large print runs of primers that circulated from Moldavia to Lithuania. The typefaces and printing blocks used by Ivan Fedorov survived the fires of 1616 and 1628 and remained in use by publishers until the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The Lviv Brotherhood demonstrated that in times of crisis for public institutions, the Church survives not through the patronage of authorities or wealthy benefactors, but through grassroots self-organization by people willing to risk their property and freedom to preserve their identity.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/istorija-i-kulytrua/95561-a-16th-century-lviv-detective</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/61_main.jpg" length="163674" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[DESS gives Pochaiv Lavra another 60 days to break with UOC Kyiv Metropolia]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95562-dess-gives-pochaiv-lavra-another-60-days-to-break-with-uoc-kyiv-metropolia</link><description><![CDATA[Yelensky said DESS extended the deadline for compliance following a request from Pochaiv Lavra’s lawyers.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 19:24:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On September 3, 2026, DESS head Viktor Yelensky announced that Pochaiv Lavra had been given an additional 60 days to comply with an order requiring it to break ties with the UOC Kyiv Metropolia. This was reported by Ukrinform.
The monastery’s lawyers filed a petition asking for more time to fulfill all the requirements. The law on protecting the constitutional order allows officials to grant such a request when there are valid reasons.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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The state agency is requiring the monastery to meet two main conditions. First, the Lavra must withdraw from the UOC Kyiv Metropolia. Second, the monastery’s abbot, Metropolitan Volodymyr, must withdraw from the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Officials also require the hierarch to state, either in writing or orally, his disagreement with his appointment to ROC governing bodies.
“The request to extend the deadline for complying with the order states that the abbot of Pochaiv Lavra does not have the authority to make the decision to withdraw from the Metropolia on his own. Under the religious organization’s charter, this requires convening the Spiritual Council of Pochaiv Lavra, which accordingly requires more time,” Yelensky said.
The DESS head also said the lawyers need additional time to provide an accurate translation of Russian-language documents that officials attached as evidence of ties with Moscow.
“In 60 days, we expect them either to comply with this order or, if they do not comply and the Spiritual Council of Pochaiv Lavra adopts a different decision, then this religious organization will be recognized as affiliated with the ROC, which is banned in Ukraine, and a lawsuit will immediately be filed with the court seeking the termination of this religious organization,” Yelensky warned.
On July 22, 2026, DESS announced that it had found signs of Pochaiv Lavra’s ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. On July 27, the agency issued the monastery an order requiring it to sever relations with the UOC Kyiv Metropolia within 30 days.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Tetiana Tsaruk, head of the Rivne branch of the Myriany [Laity - Ed.] public union, called DESS’s demand that Pochaiv Lavra withdraw from the Kyiv Metropolia “madness,” saying that instead of interfering in Church affairs, officials should pray for peace in the Ukrainian land.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95562-dess-gives-pochaiv-lavra-another-60-days-to-break-with-uoc-kyiv-metropolia</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/62_main.png" length="387547" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dumenko discusses demographic crisis with Ukraine’s education minister]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95557-dumenko-discusses-demographic-crisis-with-ukraines-education-minister</link><description><![CDATA[The OCU stressed the need to preserve Ukraine’s human potential.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 18:30:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[OCU head Epifaniy Dumenko met with Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science Andriy Butenko and head of the State Education Quality Service Ruslan Hurak to discuss the need to preserve the country’s human potential. This was reported by the OCU press service.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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The participants discussed in detail the challenges facing education amid ongoing hostilities and constant air strikes. Particular attention was given to the situation of Ukrainian young people living abroad. The officials discussed the development of online education projects aimed at maintaining young emigrants’ national and spiritual ties with their homeland.
The participants also discussed the country’s difficult demographic situation. They emphasized the need for joint efforts to preserve Ukraine’s human potential. According to the OCU, citizens are the state’s greatest asset, and refugees therefore require particular attention.
As the UOJ reported, an analyst predicted that the Ukrainian nation could disappear within 50 years.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95557-dumenko-discusses-demographic-crisis-with-ukraines-education-minister</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/57_main.png" length="555409" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[His Beatitude leads patronal feast at Kyiv church in Darnytsia district]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95556-his-beatitude-leads-patronal-feast-at-kyiv-church-in-darnytsia-district</link><description><![CDATA[During the festive service marking the church’s patronal feast, the UOC Primate ordained a deacon.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:51:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the patronal feast of the Church of the Light-Painted Icon of the Mother of God in Kyiv’s Darnytsia district. This was reported by the UOC Information and Education Department.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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Concelebrating with the Primate were Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshhorod and Chornobyl, Archbishop Sylvester of Bilohorodka, Archbishop Ambrose of Zghurivka, Bishop Mark of Borodianka, as well as local clergy and visiting clergy. After the Gospel reading, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry delivered a sermon to the parishioners.
During the Liturgy, clergy and laypeople offered prayers for peace in the Ukrainian land. The faithful asked God to deliver the country from the enemy, grant wisdom to the authorities, give courage to the soldiers, free those in captivity, and heal the sick.
During the festive service, the Primate ordained Serhiy Dovhyi to the diaconate. The new cleric will continue his diaconal ministry at the church.
The service concluded with a rite of glorification before the revered icon of the Mother of God. After the dismissal, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry congratulated the parishioners and blessed the faithful.
As the UOJ reported, the UOC Primate previously presided over the rite of glorification of Blessed Olga of Kyiv’s Florovsky Convent.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95556-his-beatitude-leads-patronal-feast-at-kyiv-church-in-darnytsia-district</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/56_main.png" length="725240" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mtskheta street named after late Patriarch Ilia II]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95555-mtskheta-street-named-after-late-patriarch-ilia-ii</link><description><![CDATA[The municipal council’s decision was an exception to the legal rules governing the naming of geographic features.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:29:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Members of the Mtskheta Municipal Council renamed Military Street in honor of the late Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, making an exception to Georgia’s existing legislation. This was reported by UOJ in Georgia.
Under Georgian law, geographic features may be named after public figures only 20 years after their death. However, municipal deputies discussed the issue on April 15, and on July 14 received special approval from a government commission.
On August 31, 2026, the document was signed by acting council chairman Giorgi Kvakhadze. The resolution took effect immediately upon signing.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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The street forms part of the historic Military Road running through the city. It is home to the district court, a medical center, banks, and other commercial institutions.
The authorities said the decision reflects deep respect for the late Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church, his many years of service, and his historic contribution.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote about why Patriarch Ilia was so deeply loved by the Georgian people.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95555-mtskheta-street-named-after-late-patriarch-ilia-ii</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/55_main.png" length="603351" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[UGCC head backs integration of migrants into Ukrainian society]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95550-ugcc-head-backs-integration-of-migrants-into-ukrainian-society</link><description><![CDATA[Shevchuk says Ukraine is building a new type of political nation – one that is not “only for ethnic Ukrainians,” but is open to everyone willing to help build the Ukrainian state.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 16:33:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[UGCC head Sviatoslav Shevchuk has spoken in favor of integrating migrants into Ukrainian society as a way to avert a demographic catastrophe. He made the remarks to representatives of the Demography and Migration program at the Frontier Institute.

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Analyst predicts Ukrainian nation could disappear within 50 years
    

Commenting on attracting migrants as a response to the demographic crisis, Shevchuk said Ukraine is building a new type of political nation – one that is not “only for ethnic Ukrainians,” but welcomes everyone ready to help build a free, united, and independent Ukrainian state.
The UGCC head also warned of the risk of assimilation facing Ukrainians who have emigrated and of the lack of incentives for them to return to Ukraine. “There must be a policy of reintegrating those people,” Shevchuk stressed.
According to him, the demographic crisis cannot be overcome by putting pressure on Ukrainians. Instead, conditions must be created in which people have confidence in the future and the courage to have children.
“For us, the question of victory is not only a question of borders, not only of territories. It is a question of life,” the UGCC head said.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Ukraine’s social policy minister had cited the country’s population figures.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95550-ugcc-head-backs-integration-of-migrants-into-ukrainian-society</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/50_main.jpg" length="48700" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ukrainians can now get divorced online]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95553-ukrainians-can-now-get-divorced-online</link><description><![CDATA[Spouses who have no minor children together will be able to file for divorce online by mutual consent.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 15:55:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation has launched a new divorce service in the government’s Diia app. The new feature allows spouses who have no minor children together to complete the divorce process entirely online.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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To dissolve the marriage, both spouses must consent. One spouse submits an application through the mobile app, and the other receives a request to confirm it. The system gives them exactly 12 hours to respond. The husband and wife then sign the document electronically through Diia.
The state registration of the divorce takes exactly 30 days. During that period, the spouses may withdraw their application. On the scheduled date, a state registrar holds a mandatory video conference with the couple.
The service costs UAH 2,872. The fee includes delivery of two paper divorce certificates via Ukrposhta. If there are property disputes, the former spouses must divide the property separately, either by mutual agreement or through the courts.
The traditional divorce procedure involving an in-person visit to civil registration offices will also remain available.
As the UOJ reported, Ukrainians were previously greeted on Halloween in Diia with fake draft notices.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95553-ukrainians-can-now-get-divorced-online</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/53_main.png" length="157098" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Zaporizhzhia City Council hands seized UOC church to OCU]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95545-zaporizhzhia-city-council-hands-seized-uoc-church-to-ocu</link><description><![CDATA[The 136-square-meter church was given to Dumenko’s structure for a token rent of just one hryvnia.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 15:22:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[In Zaporizhzhia, the City Council has handed over to the OCU a hospital church taken from the UOC. City authorities gave representatives of Dumenko’s structure the 136-square-meter parish premises for a symbolic rent of one hryvnia. This was reported by ZaBor.
The church is located on the grounds of the former City Hospital No. 10 at 25 Shevchenko Boulevard. The building is currently on the balance sheet of the City Emergency and Urgent Care Hospital. City Council deputies allocated the premises to the OCU without holding an auction.

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
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Since 2006, the building had been used by a community of the UOC Zaporizhzhia Eparchy. Parishioners of the canonical Church prayed within its walls for nearly 20 years. However, in 2023, City Council deputies voted to terminate relations between the Zaporizhzhia City Territorial Community and the UOC. The decision provided for the termination of municipal property lease agreements with parishes of the UOC Zaporizhzhia Eparchy.
As the UOJ reported, the Zaporizhzhia authorities previously announced plans to demolish a UOC hospital church.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95545-zaporizhzhia-city-council-hands-seized-uoc-church-to-ocu</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/45_main.png" length="679663" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The spirit of Antichrist within the Church]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/95484-the-spirit-of-antichrist-within-the-church-enclosure</link><description><![CDATA[Those who appeared righteous crucified Christ without ever seeing themselves as villains. The same mechanism is at work today – within the Church itself.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:59:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Man and Church</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[In theological and eschatological discussions, the coming of the Antichrist is often linked to external factors: geopolitical upheavals, globalization, technological advances, or the moral collapse of secular society. But this perspective misses the deepest spiritual nerve of the problem.
The coming of the “man of sin” is not simply an act of violence imposed on humanity from without. It is an answer to an inner demand. And that demand is ripening simultaneously in two places: in a world that lives by the spirit of this age, and within the Church itself – in the souls of churchgoers and, above all, the clergy. When these two currents converge at a single point, then the one whom Holy Scripture calls the Antichrist will appear in the world.
Let us begin with the Church, because there is nothing surprising about Christ being replaced by the spirit of the world among people who are far from God. This has always happened.

A world that lives by its own laws naturally moves toward apostasy. The real tragedy begins when that process infects the Body of Christ from within.

There is nothing new about this either: history offers countless examples. What earlier ages lacked, however, were the technological and information tools capable of spreading the problems arising within Church institutions on such an enormous scale – and magnifying them in the process.
Holy Scripture gives us an unshakable promise: “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). Yet we must understand that the Church in its earthly, historical dimension consists of actual human beings. And when the majority of those who represent the earthly Church – those called to be the “salt of the earth” – make an inner substitution, something catastrophic happens.
The greatest danger is that the substitution happens almost imperceptibly. It is like leprosy: the nerves are damaged, there is no pain, yet the body is being destroyed ever more deeply. No one renounces God. Quite the opposite – spiritual life is destroyed under the most respectable, “churchly,” and “pious” of pretexts.
This happens when the ideology of “symphony” with the state is gradually placed above the purity of the Gospel; when social, humanitarian, and cultural activity becomes the chief measure of a parish’s or eparchy’s “success”; when entanglement with the political agenda displaces the Eucharistic center of Church life. And when worldliness reaches the point where prayer and the inner spiritual life no longer come first, the Church loses the spirit of Christ and becomes akin to the spirit of Antichrist – even before the Antichrist himself physically appears.
How does this manifest itself?
Replacing Christ with “traditional values” and militarist ideology
In the official vocabulary of recent years, the very Name of Christ and the Gospel have increasingly been pushed aside by abstractions: traditional values, the language of dignity, civilizational codes, the defense of geopolitical interests.
One can defend “values” while remaining utterly alien to the spirit of Christ – without love for one’s enemies, without meekness, without mercy. The values of state ideology are placed above the Truth proclaimed by the Gospel.
Replacing prayer and repentance with “sacred” patriotism and “social outreach”
Specialized sports commissions, hyperactivity in mass culture, relentless church construction – all of this is proclaimed as a mission to the modern world. Yet its primary purpose is to serve the interests of the state.
The aesthetics of bureaucracy and cultural officialdom displace the spiritual struggle for sobriety and vigilance. Fasting, prayer, and walking the path of the Holy Fathers are replaced by collective ideological activity aligned with the state agenda.
It was no accident that St. Ignatius pointed to the Old Testament Church. Having taken the path of outward legalism, lost the spirit of the prophets, and replaced living communion with God with the expectation of a mighty earthly King who would subjugate the pagan nations, the Pharisees and chief priests committed the most terrible act of lawlessness in history – they crucified the Fulfillment of the Law Himself.
The righteous of the Old Testament were not villains in the ordinary sense. They were defending their temple, their nation, their traditional institutions, and their political security: “If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation” (John 11:48).
But their spirit had become so distorted that when the true God stood before them, they crucified Him.
Today, we can see disturbing parallels with that tragedy.
The expectation of an earthly kingdom. As the Old Testament Church approached its twilight, it lived in intense expectation of an earthly king and liberator – a ruler who would establish the national greatness of Israel and crush its external enemies.
In recent history, a similar shift can be seen in some Churches: the proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven gives way to a merger with state power. Trust is placed not in the power of the Holy Spirit, but in administrative leverage, political influence, and the military might of the state.
The triumph of form over spirit. The spiritual degeneration of the Old Testament system manifested itself in the spirit of the Law being completely displaced by outward rites, sacrifices, and the formal status of righteousness that came from belonging to the chosen people.
In contemporary Church life, the same pattern appears when the fundamental commandments of love, mercy, and peace are replaced by the legal and institutional defense of the “legitimate interests of the organization.” The call of the Gospel is drowned out by the laws of the state, while outward piety becomes more important than inner transformation.

Accepting the Antichrist is not an unfortunate mistake born of ignorance, nor is it the result of inadequate theological education. It is the ultimate, pathological distortion of human freedom.

When a churchgoer becomes accustomed to replacing what is essential – repentance, prayer, and keeping the commandments – with what is secondary: the Church’s status in society, patriotic ideology, culture, or sports, his spiritual vision begins to atrophy.
He loses his “sense of Christ.”
The terrifying truth of modern institutional life is that this worldly condition becomes so comfortable to the carnal mind that the Church majority can no longer – and no longer wants to – cast off the substitution by its own strength.
The system begins defending the counterfeit as though it were the truth, branding every call to evangelical purity as out of touch with the times, as “betrayal,” or even as “heresy.”
This is precisely why the eschatological end of history requires direct and extraordinary divine intervention. Humanity – and first and foremost the ecclesiastical environment, the salt that has lost its savor and perverted the gift of freedom – will reach a point beyond which correction and rebirth through human strength alone will no longer be possible.

The Antichrist will come when a spirit corresponding to him has taken shape within the Church itself – the spirit of earthly power, outward righteousness, and the substitution of the spiritual with the merely human.

Recent history shows that it is entirely possible to build churches, organize sports events and youth forums, and wield enormous influence within the state – while at the same time rushing headlong toward the coming of the Antichrist, preparing human souls to embrace his spirit.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/95484-the-spirit-of-antichrist-within-the-church-enclosure</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/954/84_main.webp" length="110790" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[His Beatitude: The devil uses sorrows to destroy the image of God in man]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95537-his-beatitude-the-devil-uses-sorrows-to-destroy-the-image-of-god-in-man</link><description><![CDATA[The UOC Primate recounted the story of the Light-Painted Icon of the Mother of God and called on believers to preserve their spiritual purity.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:58:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, delivered a sermon to the faithful on the feast day of the Light-Painted Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, calling on his flock to preserve the image of God within themselves amid sorrows and trials.
In his sermon, His Beatitude gave a detailed account of the history of this remarkable icon. During the difficult years of the 20th century, the monks of St. Panteleimon Monastery distributed bread to the poor every week. Because of a severe shortage of food, the brethren decided to hold the charitable distribution one last time.

    
        
            
        
    
    
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During the event, one of the monks took several photographs. When the film was developed, the monks saw a majestic Woman dressed in black. She appeared to be walking through the air above tongues of flame and receiving alms together with the poor. The people present did not see the Most Holy Virgin with their physical eyes, but the camera captured Her presence. The Greek word “photography” means “writing with light,” which is why the new image became known as the Light-Painted Icon.
“The Mother of God helps us both materially and spiritually. If a person carefully watches his life and his spiritual condition – that is, if he works on himself – he will often see the miracles taking place around him through the prayers of the Most Holy Mother of God,” the Primate emphasized.
His Beatitude noted that a generous person acquires the ability both to give and to receive the great gifts of the Creator. A miser, by contrast, loses his spiritual sight and closes his heart. According to the Archpastor, a person’s earthly life is filled with various temptations. “Sorrows, illnesses, and other trials have a purpose. They seek to damage in a person that divine image which the Creator gave us when He created us.”
According to His Beatitude, this great image consists of love, patience, mutual respect, and purity. “Through sorrows, the enemy of mankind seeks to disfigure people’s spiritual beauty,” the Primate added. “But the Mother of God offers up prayers for us and calls us to turn to God in repentance. Then no one will be able to defile the beautiful image of God within us.”

As the UOJ reported, His Beatitude explained how humility differs from weakness.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95537-his-beatitude-the-devil-uses-sorrows-to-destroy-the-image-of-god-in-man</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/37_main.png" length="615166" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Analyst predicts Ukrainian nation could disappear within 50 years]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95536-analyst-predicts-ukrainian-nation-could-disappear-within-50-years</link><description><![CDATA[Oleksii Kushch said Ukraine is already facing a demographic catastrophe.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:58:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The sharp deterioration of Ukraine’s demographic situation could lead to the disappearance of the nation within the next 50 years, Ukrainian analyst Oleksii Kushch said in a post on his Telegram channel.
He noted that about 240,000 children entered first grade in the current 2026/2027 school year, compared with more than 434,000 in the 2013/2014 school year. Over the same period, the fertility rate fell from 1.51 to 0.9. According to the analyst’s calculations, under the demographic conditions of 2013/2014, a new generation of about 13 million people could have produced more than 10 million children over 30 years, whereas under the current trend, a generation of 7 million will have fewer than 3 million children.
Kushch said that if current trends continue, the number of births will decline exponentially, and in just two generations the Ukrainian nation will effectively cease to exist. He stressed that the demographic crisis should become a priority for the country’s political elites rather than being approached on the principle that “there will be enough people for our lifetime.”

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        “It’s a catastrophe”: Social Policy Minister reveals Ukraine’s population figures
    

As the UOJ reported, experts have also previously warned of a critical decline in Ukraine’s birth rate and described preserving the family as a matter of national security. According to statistics from recent years, deaths in the country outnumber births four to one, while restoring Ukraine’s population to its 2022 level would require every Ukrainian woman to have eight children.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95536-analyst-predicts-ukrainian-nation-could-disappear-within-50-years</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/36_main.webp" length="13984" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[DESS launches probe into Balta Eparchy’s alleged ties to Russia]]></title><link>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95535-dess-launches-probe-into-balta-eparchys-alleged-ties-to-russia</link><description><![CDATA[DESS will investigate whether the Balta Eparchy has ties to a foreign religious organization banned in Ukraine.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:05:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has launched a review of the Balta Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to determine whether it is affiliated with Moscow.
DESS head Viktor Yelensky signed the relevant order on September 2, 2026. According to the document, a special investigative group will begin its work on September 4.

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        DESS files lawsuit against UOC Rovenky Eparchy
    

DESS plans to examine whether the Balta Eparchy’s administration shows signs of ties to a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine under Ukrainian law. Officials say they will thoroughly examine any evidence of foreign influence and present the group’s final findings.
As the UOJ reported, the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy responded to DESS’s statement that it had found ties between the eparchy and the ROC.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://dev.spzh.eu/en/news/95535-dess-launches-probe-into-balta-eparchys-alleged-ties-to-russia</guid><enclosure url="https://dev.spzh.eu/img/article/955/35_main.png" length="661482" type="image/jpeg"/></item></channel></rss>
