<?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://spzh.eu/</link><description>Articles and news about Orthodoxy, UOC and Christianity</description><language>en</language><lastBuildDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 19:39:09 +0300</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://spzh.eu/en/rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Parable of the Talents: When courage triumphs over fear]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/95902-the-parable-of-the-talents-the-victory-of-boldness-over-fear</link><description><![CDATA[The Parable of the Talents reveals a fundamental choice facing every person: either we boldly multiply the gifts entrusted to us or bury our own lives in a trap of fear and anxiety.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 17:41:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Man and Church</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[At first glance, the Parable of the Talents may seem like an everyday drama about money and investment. In reality, however, it unfolds into a philosophical and theological revelation about human nature, freedom, fear and responsibility. The parable addresses some of life’s most fundamental questions: Why are we given life at all, and what are we supposed to do with it?To grasp the full force of the story, we need to strip the word “talent” of the romantic associations it acquired much later. Today, when we hear the word, we think of a gift for poetry, an ear for music or an aptitude for mathematics. But to Jesus’ listeners, a talent was something very concrete. It was one of the largest units of weight and money in the ancient world, equivalent to roughly 30 kilograms of silver. A single talent represented about 20 years’ wages for a laborer.So when the master of an estate, before leaving on a long journey, gives his servants five talents, two talents and one talent, he is not handing them a little spending money. He is entrusting them with an enormous fortune. Even the servant who receives only one talent is given wealth that an ordinary person would have to work half a lifetime to earn.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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It is also significant how the master distributes his wealth: “to each according to his ability.” There is no mechanical equality here, but neither is there injustice. The master knows perfectly well what each of his servants is capable of. What follows is a psychological and spiritual dividing line.The servant who receives one talent buries it in the ground. This may seem strange to us, but by the standards of the ancient Near East, his behavior was extremely prudent. Burying money was considered one of the safest ways to protect it: if robbers broke into the house, they would not find the treasure. Under the legal norms of the time, a person who buried property entrusted to him could be absolved of liability if it was nevertheless stolen. From the standpoint of law and security, this servant acted impeccably.And that is precisely why the master’s harsh condemnation would have shocked the parable’s first listeners. Christ directly rejects the morality of passive caution – the attitude of “better safe than sorry” – and demands a willingness to take risks.The astronomical capital of divine trustIn theological terms, a talent is far more than an ability to write poetry or run a business. It symbolizes divine grace, existence itself, time, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and God’s trust in man.
    
        Significantly, the talents are given before the servants have done anything useful at all. It is an unconditional act of generosity and love on the part of the Giver. Man does not create the original good himself – he receives it as a gift and becomes not its owner, but its steward, guardian and cultivator.
    
The first two servants demonstrate what theology calls synergy – cooperation between God and man. Grace does not turn a person into a passive recipient. It does not abolish human will. On the contrary, it kindles it, demanding wholehearted engagement and boldness. Multiplying the talents here is not about commercial profit or capitalism. It is about spiritual growth – the ability to bring more love, light and meaning into the world than were there before you.The third servant, however, makes a fatal mistake. He sees the gift not as an expression of trust but as a dangerous burden that must be disposed of as quickly as possible and eventually returned exactly as it was received. He freezes grace, isolating it from the world.The anatomy of one’s own personal hellThe master’s return is a metaphor for the Last Judgment and the Second Coming. And here we encounter something remarkable: the master praises the first and second servants in exactly the same words. One is rewarded for multiplying five talents, the other for multiplying two. The verdict is identical: “Enter into the joy of your lord.”
    
        The tragedy of the third servant, meanwhile, is essentially a vivid anatomy of hell.
    
The outer darkness into which he is cast appears not so much as an external punishment as the consequence of his own choice. He had already distanced himself from the master by constructing in his mind a terrifying, tyrannical image of him: “I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown.” He projected his own fears and grievances onto God, created a cruel god for himself and ultimately became imprisoned in his own sense of righteousness and isolation.From the standpoint of ancient metaphysics, all life is a continuous movement from potentiality to actuality, from possibility to realization. A talent buried in the ground remains nothing more than dead potential. It does nothing, produces nothing and remains an ordinary piece of metal. The first two servants transform potential into real action – they enrich existence. The third chooses decline and nothingness.In the spiritual life, it is impossible to stand still and simply “preserve” what one has. If you are not moving forward, you inevitably begin to slide backward. The failure to increase love and meaning becomes a loss at the very level of being.The trap of total, illusory securityThis parable is a powerful manifesto on overcoming fear. The third servant is paralyzed by anxiety. He is so afraid of taking a wrong step, making a mistake, failing or disappointing someone that he decides to do nothing at all. It is what Jean-Paul Sartre called “bad faith” – an attempt to flee from one’s own freedom, refuse to choose and shift responsibility onto others or onto “circumstances beyond one’s control.”The first two servants venture into the open sea of risk. Any commercial enterprise in the ancient world carried the possibility of robbery, shipwreck or ruin. Yet they accept the challenge because they understand that real life exists only where there is courage to step into the unknown.The third servant chooses absolute security instead. In trying to protect himself from possible failure, he kills action itself and chooses a symbolic death even before the master returns.
    
        Modern philosophies of the gift contain an important idea: a gift truly becomes a gift only when it sets in motion a chain of reciprocity and creativity.
    
If a person receives a gift suspiciously, seeing it as a hidden trap or obligation, the gift turns into poison. The third servant sees the talent not as a sign of his master’s love and trust but as evidence that could eventually be used against him. He returns it with the words, “There you have what is yours.” It is a gesture of profound resentment, alienation and refusal to enter into relationship.In essence, the parable presents us with two fundamentally different ways of relating to reality, to God and to ourselves.The first is the way of trust and creativity. A person sees the world and his own life as a realm of possibilities, with God as a loving Father and co-creator. Such a person is not afraid of making mistakes because he knows that the very impulse to act, the movement of the heart and will, has value. Time becomes a precious resource – an opportunity to create, love and transform the world around him. The result of such a life is joy, fullness and profound participation in God’s design for the world.The second is the way of fear. A person looks at reality from inside a bunker. God appears to him as a stern, demanding and fault-finding supervisor waiting for an opportunity to catch him making a mistake. The primary goal of life becomes not creating something new but minimizing losses and finding excuses for one’s own passivity. Time is experienced as a burdensome wait, while every gift becomes a heavy responsibility. The result is barrenness, self-isolation, deep inner bitterness and the feeling that life has passed you by.The law of continual spiritual growthAt the very end of the parable come words that often trouble readers because they seem paradoxical and even harsh: “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”Yet there is no injustice here. This is not a sentence but a statement of a law of human spiritual life.
    
        Every system – whether the mind, the body or the soul – follows the same principle: what is not used withers and atrophies. If a person does not exercise his muscles, they weaken. If he does not cultivate his mind, his thinking deteriorates. If he closes his heart to love and refuses to risk giving warmth to others, his capacity for love eventually withers at the root.
    
A person who actively uses what has been entrusted to him – knowledge, emotions, strength and time – grows richer, deeper and stronger with each passing day. More is “given” to him. But the person who locks his life away in a chest out of fear eventually loses even the small spark of life he once possessed.The Parable of the Talents reminds us that the greatest sin is the sin of an unlived life – refusing to become the person you were created to be and refusing to share with your Creator the joy of creation.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/95902-the-parable-of-the-talents-the-victory-of-boldness-over-fear</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/959/2_main.jpg" length="126660" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Theology of worn-out shoes]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/istorija-i-kulytrua/95901-theology-of-worn-out-shoes</link><description><![CDATA[A painting of a pair of old shoes in a Dutch museum preserves the memory of an ordinary working person and a life of hard labor.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 17:27:00 +0300</pubDate><category>History and Culture</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[In one of the spacious galleries of an Amsterdam museum hangs a painting depicting two old shoes on the floor. Their laces are knotted, their toes worn to a pale sheen, and their soles caked with dried mud. Vincent van Gogh painted the work in Paris in the summer of 1886, transforming an ordinary article of clothing into a poignant testament to the hardships of human life.Creativity amid rain-soaked streetsThe artist bought the pair at a flea market for a modest price. François Gauzi, who studied alongside Van Gogh at a Paris studio, recalled that the shoes looked quite ordinary – clumsy but clean, carefully polished by their previous owner. But the artist had no use for such neatness.One afternoon, a downpour began. Van Gogh put on his newly purchased shoes and set off on a long walk along the city walls. Sticky mud worked its way into the leather, soaked the seams and lodged in the creases. The walk gave the shoes a character of their own. In this way, the observant artist was able to capture the kind of wear that comes from hard labor.The scuffed leather preserves the memory of every step taken by its owner. Strangely enough, the absence of the person himself creates a remarkable sense of presence. The shoes have been taken off and left by the door, yet their owner seems to have stepped outside for only a moment. The texture of the canvas conveys the roughness of the material so convincingly that the viewer can almost smell the dampness and sweat of a weary laborer.A painterly memory of the minesA closer look at the battered leather takes the viewer far from the French capital, to the impoverished Belgian mining region of the Borinage. Several years before painting his Paris series, the young Van Gogh lived among local miners and descended deep into the gloomy pits where men spent their days laboring in utter darkness. He gave money to the sick, read the Gospel to illiterate workers and tried to seek justice from local authorities, only to lose his position because of what was considered excessive compassion.In painting scenes of peasant life, Van Gogh drew on these earlier experiences. In a letter to his brother, he reflected on a canvas depicting potato eaters, explaining that the toil-worn hands reaching for their humble meal were the same hands that had dug the damp earth. There was, in his eyes, a meaningful connection between painful calluses and a piece of bread.
    
        The still life with shoes continues this idea. It testifies that bread honestly earned comes at the price of feet worn raw.
    
The world of the miners left a deep mark on the artist’s soul. Descending some 700 meters underground, hearing the creak of wooden supports, breathing suffocating mine gas and living with the constant threat of a cave-in shaped his particular understanding of physical labor. Van Gogh knew how to portray the struggle for survival. Every day, a person confronts the elements, descending into the depths of the earth with a pick and a lamp. His shoes bear the brunt of that struggle. Every scratch in the leather is a scar left by underground rock. Every crease bears the imprint of a knee bent double by toil. Looking at Van Gogh’s paintings, the viewer sees casts of human lives exhausted beneath an unbearable burden.Philosophical debates before the canvasDecades later, the humble pair of shoes became the subject of an intellectual debate. A German philosopher saw in the painting a dialogue between a peasant woman and the wounded earth. An art historian challenged him, arguing that the shoes belonged to the painter himself rather than to an imagined woman working the land.
    
        The intellectuals debated the material object while leaving aside what mattered most. In the image of the shoes, the viewer encounters the figure of an ordinary person who has spent a lifetime in grueling labor and yet remained invisible to an unjust history.
    
The canvas invites the viewer to imagine the life of the person who might have worn these battered shoes. But the painting also has a theological dimension. The Creator looks upon worn and weary human lives with the same attentiveness with which the artist studied the sticky mud on the shoes. The Creator’s mercy is directed toward those who have worn their feet bloody while faithfully fulfilling their earthly calling. The battered leather becomes a symbol of suffering transformed. Human labor, however difficult and unnoticed it may seem, finds recognition in eternity, where it is not earthly titles that matter, but the measure of the sweat shed in one’s daily work.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/istorija-i-kulytrua/95901-theology-of-worn-out-shoes</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/959/1_main.jpg" length="141947" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Pochaiv Lavra refutes media lies about monastery's brotherhood and shrines]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95900-pochaiv-lavra-refutes-media-lies-about-monasterys-brotherhood-and-shrines</link><description><![CDATA[The Pochaiv Lavra provided a detailed explanation of the situation regarding the status of speakers, the inventory, and construction work on the cathedral facade.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 17:17:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra issued an official refutation of inaccurate media publications, pointing to the distortion of information about the monastery's brotherhood and the procedures for auditing the monastery's property.Representatives of the monastery drew attention to publications in which data about the status of certain individuals had been distorted. Journalists presented the statements of random people as the position of the Pochaiv Lavra. A pilgrim from the Ternopil region named Maria was referred to in the publications as a "resident of Pochaiv," while Hieromonk Sebastian, who had come to the monastery as a pilgrim from Odesa, was called a "Pochaiv Lavra monk." The monastery emphasized that the status of a pilgrim does not make a person a resident of the monastery and does not give him the right to speak on behalf of the entire brotherhood.Commenting on reports about the "disappearance of icons," the monastery representatives explained that the absence of any item during a particular inventory does not automatically indicate theft. Establishing the truth requires examining transfer and acceptance records, the legal status of the property, and the conditions of its storage.At the same time, the monastery confirmed its full readiness for a legal investigation into the fate of each item and pointed to its lawful right to distinguish between state property and the property of the religious community itself.The Lavra representatives described the accusations of "resistance" to state authorities as a distortion of the legal discussion. The monastery recalled that in June 2024, a commission from the Ministry of Culture, the reserve, and the fire service was granted unimpeded access to all facilities, as recorded in the inspectors' final report dated June 29, 2024. Filing legal appeals, petitions, and defending lawful rights within the legal framework does not constitute opposition to the state.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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The Lavra also responded to claims about allegedly "illegal" work on the facade of the Dormition Cathedral. The protective measures were carried out due to the technical condition of the structures, deep cracks, and the risk of the monument's destruction. The monastery noted that the mere fact of registering criminal proceedings does not establish anyone's guilt, and that the monastery is prepared to provide all necessary documentation to the competent authorities."We ask only one thing: do not substitute established facts with assumptions, do not attribute the words of random visitors to the Lavra, and do not declare a person or religious organization guilty before the legally prescribed procedures have been completed," the Pochaiv Lavra reps stated.The monastery emphasized that their primary calling remains monastic life, prayer, and the preservation of shrines. "Disputed matters must be resolved not in the language of hostility, but in the language of facts, law, and mutual respect," the monastery concluded.Previously, the UOJ reported that four cases against the UOC are being heard in Ternopil region courts.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95900-pochaiv-lavra-refutes-media-lies-about-monasterys-brotherhood-and-shrines</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/959/0_main.jpg" length="99777" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Voznesensk Eparchy cleric banned from ministry after joining OCU]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95899-voznesensk-eparchy-cleric-banned-from-ministry-after-joining-ocu</link><description><![CDATA[Metropolitan Alexiy suspended the rector of the Pervomaisk parish from pastoral duties after he joined the OCU.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 16:44:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The ruling bishop of the Voznesensk Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Alexiy, relieved Archpriest Roman Mykhailiuk, rector of St. Michael’s Church in the city of Pervomaisk, of all his duties and banned him from priestly ministry.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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The decree cites as grounds for the disciplinary action a violation of the priestly oath, conduct unbecoming of a clergyman, and entering into a second marriage while holding holy orders.The cleric has been banned from priestly ministry and relieved of all obediences on the basis of the 26th Canon of the Holy Apostles and the 6th Canon of the Council in Trullo.The day before, cleric Roman Mykhailiuk held a meeting in Pervomaisk and, together with the community, joined the OCU. According to the cleric himself, the eparchy leadership issued the ban only after the community's vote had taken place.As the UOJ reported, a cleric who joined the OCU was banned from ministry in the Mukachevo Eparchy.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95899-voznesensk-eparchy-cleric-banned-from-ministry-after-joining-ocu</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/99_main.jpg" length="99871" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[MEP smashes UPA monument with sledgehammer in Poland]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95898-mep-smashes-upa-monument-in-poland-with-sledgehammer</link><description><![CDATA[Grzegorz Braun called the monument to UPA soldiers an insult to the memory of the victims of the genocide of Poles.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 15:43:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Polish MEP Grzegorz Braun published a video in which he and his associates destroy a stone obelisk with a heavy tool at the burial site of UPA fighters near the village of Lisky.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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The incident occurred in the Białystok tract on the territory of the Dołhobyczów commune in Hrubieszów County. In the released footage, the politician and those accompanying him are striking the memorial, cracking and damaging the granite structure.The memorial marker is located above the grave of 41 UPA fighters who died in February 1946 in a battle with an NKVD unit. In 2019, a granite stone was installed at the burial site with an engraved coat of arms of Ukraine and a list of the names of the deceased."The obelisk, which insults the memory of the victims of the Ukrainian genocide of Poles, must be immediately dismantled with professional tools after the crime of Banderism has been documented!" Grzegorz Braun wrote in a comment.Previously, this obelisk had already been damaged: a few weeks earlier, unknown persons painted over it and cut out the decorative arch.As the UOJ reported, the head of the UGCC held a memorial service at the reburial site of Konovalets.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95898-mep-smashes-upa-monument-in-poland-with-sledgehammer</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/98_main.jpg" length="105356" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Metropolitan Vissarion of Ovruch reposes in the Lord]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95897-metropolitan-vissarion-of-ovruch-reposes-in-the-lord</link><description><![CDATA[The hierarch of the Ovruch Eparchy of the UOC passed away in his 73rd year of life after a prolonged illness.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 15:19:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On September 18, 2026, in Ovruch, Metropolitan Vissarion (Stretovych), the ruling bishop of the Ovruch Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), passed away after a prolonged illness. His repose was announced by the UOC press service.Metropolitan Vissarion (secular name Vasyl Stretovych) was born on December 4, 1953, in the village of Poliana in the Korosten district, Zhytomyr region. In 1983, he graduated from the Theological Academy, took monastic vows at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and was ordained as a deacon and priest.In 1992, the Holy Synod of the UOC elected Hegumen Vissarion as Bishop of Korosten, vicar of the Zhytomyr Eparchy. A year later, the independent Ovruch Eparchy was established, which he headed with the title of Ovruch and Korosten.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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In 2000, the bishop was elevated to the rank of archbishop, and in 2010 — to the rank of metropolitan. During his ministry in Polissya, three monasteries were opened, hundreds of parishes were established, and numerous churches were consecrated.In 2023, the SBU and the National Police referred the case of Metropolitan Vissarion of Ovruch to court on charges of "inciting national and religious hatred." The security services claimed that Metropolitan Vissarion had allegedly "personally prepared texts of leaflets and brochures for several years in which he insulted the religious feelings of Ukrainians."As the UOJ reported, Metropolitan Vissarion was hospitalized in critical condition last year.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95897-metropolitan-vissarion-of-ovruch-reposes-in-the-lord</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/97_main.jpg" length="22270" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Court of Appeal upholds 2-year prison sentence for UOC metropolitan]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95896-court-of-appeal-upholds-2-year-prison-sentence-for-uoc-metropolitan</link><description><![CDATA[The court upheld the ruling in the case of Metropolitan Anthony, granting 3 months to appeal to the cassation instance.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:30:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal left unchanged the verdict against Metropolitan Anthony (Fialko) of Makariv, confirming the 2-year sentence of imprisonment, reports "Left Bank".
    
        
            
        
    
    
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The judicial panel upheld both the primary sentence, replacing it with a two-year probationary period, and the additional restriction in the form of prohibition to hold leadership positions in religious administrations and eparchies for a period of two years. At the same time, the defense retains the right to appeal the verdict through cassation proceedings within three months.Earlier, in May 2026, the Khmelnytskyi City District Court found the 79-year-old bishop guilty of "inciting religious hatred" and "restricting the rights of citizens on religious grounds". The grounds for opening the criminal case were published video recordings of a 2022 sermon calling to defend the church from supporters of transferring the community to the OCU.During the court proceedings, Metropolitan Anthony did not plead guilty, explaining that due to the passage of time he does not remember all the circumstances of that church service, but emphasized that he had always called upon people for peace and harmony. In turn, a defense witness, the assistant to the rector of the church, confirmed in court that the bishop's words were directed exclusively at protecting the Church from the encroachments of offenders, and not against believers of other denominations.As the UOJ reported, an expert found no incitement of hatred in Metropolitan Theodosiy's statements.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95896-court-of-appeal-upholds-2-year-prison-sentence-for-uoc-metropolitan</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/96_main.jpg" length="72854" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reserve head: Pochaiv Transfiguration Cathedral is a monster, it spoils everything]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95895-reserve-head-pochaiv-transfiguration-cathedral-is-a-monster-it-spoils-everything</link><description><![CDATA[The head of the Kremenets-Pochaiv Reserve stated that the Transfiguration Cathedral spoils the Pochaiv Lavra ensemble.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:19:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The director of the Kremenets-Pochaiv State Historical and Architectural Reserve Vasyl Ilchyshyn called the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Pochaev Lavra a "monster," stating that it spoils the appearance of the monastery, reports hromadske."It is altogether illegal, let's start with that — it was built illegally from start to finish. There is only a preliminary approval, but we have never seen a full construction permit. It spoils the overall picture. There is a dominant structure — the Dormition Cathedral. Even the Trinity Cathedral built nearby has already damaged the complex; it does not fit into the architectural ensemble. And now behind it they are building yet another monster, which spoils everything entirely," Ilchyshyn said indignantly.He also lamented that the Transfiguration Cathedral "pulls the attention" of pilgrims: "Outsiders who come here don't know what is a landmark and what is not. They go straight there (to the Transfiguration Cathedral — Ed.), because it is beautiful, it is shiny, covered in mosaics, enormous."Блок - по темі («Наместник» Почаева от ПЦУ: В Лавру ехать опасаюсь, я там непрошенный гость)Earlier, the Pochaiv Lavra stated that the inventory being conducted by the Ministry of Culture commission is unlawful, and that part of the church property was never transferred to the monastery by the state. The monastery emphasized that the state "built nothing" on the territory of the Lavra, and described what is happening as "hybrid alienation and confiscation."As the UOJ reported, on July 27, 2026, DESS issued the Pochaiv Lavra a directive to confirm within 30 days that it had severed ties with the ROC and withdrawn from the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC. If the order is not complied with, the agency intends to file a lawsuit seeking to terminate the monastery’s activities. In addition, the Ministry of Culture and the Prosecutor’s Office are preparing documents to terminate the lease agreement for the Lavra’s buildings, which was concluded for 49 years, until 2052.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95895-reserve-head-pochaiv-transfiguration-cathedral-is-a-monster-it-spoils-everything</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/95_main.jpg" length="92517" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[UCCRO discusses problems of community registration with Minister of Justice]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95891-uccro-discusses-problems-of-community-registration-with-minister-of-justice</link><description><![CDATA[UCCRO members urged officials not to allow new bureaucratic barriers for religious organizations.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Representatives of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) met in Kyiv with Ukraine's Minister of Justice Denys Maslov and discussed the difficulties of state registration of religious organizations under wartime conditions.The talks were held at the premises of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. The meeting participants reviewed current issues concerning the activities of religious communities during hostilities and agreed to strengthen cooperation in the penitentiary sphere.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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Representatives of the Council of Churches informed the minister about the problems communities face during state registration. Due to hostilities, certain religious organizations have no access to the necessary documents or state registrars. The parties agreed to collect specific cases by region, work through each situation in detail, and identify possible solutions.The meeting participants also touched on the topic of preparing amendments to current legislation. The UCCRO members emphasized the need to take into account the specifics of the religious field, so that new regulations would not create additional barriers but would provide clear and effective mechanisms for the activities of religious organizations.Previously, the UOJ reported that the UCCRO complained to DESS about the shortage of state registrars for communities.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95891-uccro-discusses-problems-of-community-registration-with-minister-of-justice</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/91_main.jpg" length="65314" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[OCU "hierarch": Until the political will changes, we will not get Pochaiv]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95890-ocu-hierarch-until-the-political-will-changes-we-will-not-get-pochaiv</link><description><![CDATA[OCU "Metropolitan" Pysyk believes that the DESS order regarding the Pochaiv Lavra will be blocked in the courts, and without a change in political will and the judicial system, the Lavra will not be transferred to the OCU.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 12:46:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[OCU "Metropolitan" Nestor Pysyk, whom Dumenko appointed "abbot" of the Pochaev Lavra in March 2023, stated that he pessimistically assesses the possibility of his structure entering the monastery, reports hromadske.Responding to the question of whether he has realistic expectations from the DESS directive, the OCU "hierarch" said that a quick result should not be expected.
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        OCU rep awaits authorities to expel UOC monks from Pochaiv Holy Spirit Skete
    
"I think everything will get bogged down in the courts, somewhere at some level of our judicial system it will be blocked, and the decision will either be overturned, or sent back for a new review, or blocked," he said.According to him, "I do not see any major changes – in practical terms, so that real processes actually get underway – in the near future.""Until the political will in the country changes or something shifts in the judicial system, there will be no movement here," Pysyk complained.At the same time, he admitted that his own title of "abbot" of the Pochaiv Lavra is currently "simply a declaration of intent," and that believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will defend the monastery."The Moscow Patriarchate will fight to the very end and use every means at its disposal to defend its position," said the OCU representative, adding that "whoever controls the Pochaiv Lavra controls all of western Ukraine."Let us recall that the OCU created a structure called "Pochaiv Monastery," appointing Pysyk as its head.As the UOJ reported, on July 27, 2026, DESS issued the Pochaiv Lavra an order to confirm within 30 days that it has severed ties with the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95890-ocu-hierarch-until-the-political-will-changes-we-will-not-get-pochaiv</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/90_main.jpg" length="61487" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Four cases against UOC being heard in Ternopil region courts]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95887-four-cases-against-uoc-being-heard-in-ternopil-region-courts</link><description><![CDATA[Courts are considering cases on the seizure of a land plot from the Pochaiv Lavra, the buildings of the Holy Spirit Skete, and two ancient churches.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:50:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Ternopil Regional Prosecutor's Office announced that four lawsuits concerning religious organizations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are being heard in courts in Ternopil and Kyiv, reports the head of the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor's Office, Vitaliy Panchenko, in a comment to "Ukrinform".Vitaliy Panchenko stated that the court proceedings concern the return of property to state ownership and the seizure of land plots. Three lawsuits were initiated by the Prosecutor's Office, while in the fourth case, prosecutors joined the proceedings on the side of the Ternopil Regional Military Administration."Four cases concerning religious organizations of the UOC in Ternopil region are before the courts," said Vitaliy Panchenko. "They concern two matters specifically: the return of property to state ownership, and the recovery of land plots from unlawful possession."
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Civic movement calls on SBU to tighten oversight of Pochaiv Lavra
    
Under the first lawsuit, the Prosecutor's Office seeks to strip the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra of the right to use a land plot of 12.3912 hectares on which the monastery complex is located. The office demands that the decision of the Pochaiv City Council be declared invalid and that the state registration of the communal property right and the right of use by the UOC community be annulled.The second proceeding is based on a lawsuit by the Ternopil Regional Military Administration with the participation of the Prosecutor's Office, demanding that the religious structures of the 18th-century Pochaiv Holy Spirit Skete be transferred from the Pochaiv Lavra's possession to the state.Two more lawsuits aim to annul the decisions of the state registrar regarding the registration of ownership rights to UOC religious communities and to transfer to the state two architectural monuments of national significance: the All Saints Church of 1773 in the cemetery of the city of Pochaiv, and the Intercession Church with a bell tower in the village of Stary Pochaiv in the Kremenets district.Earlier, the UOJ reported that DESS gave the Pochaiv Lavra another 60 days to break ties with the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95887-four-cases-against-uoc-being-heard-in-ternopil-region-courts</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/87_main.jpg" length="92000" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Yarova authorities liquidate UOC community over priest's trial, media]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95886-yarova-authorities-liquidate-uoc-community-over-priests-trial-media</link><description><![CDATA[A court terminated the activities of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God parish in the frontline town of Yarova following the conviction of its rector, who had been exchanged to Russia back in 2023.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:33:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On September 15, 2026, a panel of judges of the Sixth Appellate Administrative Court ruled to terminate the activities of the religious Orthodox community of the "Kazan Icon of the Mother of God" parish of the Horlivka Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Yarova, Lyman City Community, Donetsk region, reported LB.ua on September 16.According to the outlet, the ruling was based on Security Service of Ukraine materials concerning the parish rector's involvement in collaborative activities. The case involves Archpriest Mykola Zirka, whom the Industrialnyi District Court of Dnipro found guilty of collaborationism and sentenced to seven years in prison with confiscation of property.At the same time, the priest has not been at the parish for more than three years: in February 2023, he was handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange.The reasoning behind the ruling, as presented by LB.ua, amounts to the conclusion that the conviction of a representative of a religious organization is in itself grounds for the judicial termination of that organization's activities. Thus, the sentencing of one individual led to the liquidation of a community to which dozens and hundreds of believers belong.The editor-in-chief of the outlet, Sonya Koshkina, described the court's decision in her Telegram channel as a precedent that "is a practical application of the legislation on religious organizations associated with the Russian Orthodox Church."Koshkina did not specify which particular provision of the law allows an entire community to be liquidated on the basis of one priest's conviction. "They can, when they want to. Wonderful, very good," Koshkina wrote.
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        The collapse of the “Moscow priest and boy in bed” story
    
Yarova itself today barely exists as a settlement, with many buildings destroyed. The village was occupied in 2022, liberated in September of the same year, and has since remained in an active combat zone. In September 2026, the command of the 3rd Army Corps reported that the village had been cleared of the enemy during Operation "Vivaldi."The Kazan church itself, as seen in the latest footage from Yarova, remains intact for now, but there is no information indicating that services can be held there.Previously, the UOJ reported that Ukraine exchanged UOC priest Mykola Zirka for military personnel.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95886-yarova-authorities-liquidate-uoc-community-over-priests-trial-media</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/86_main.jpg" length="96164" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[In Volyn, TRC officers beat and take UOC priest to training ground]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95882-in-volyn-trc-officers-beat-and-take-uoc-priest-to-training-ground</link><description><![CDATA[TRC officers beat a UOC priest, sent him to a military medical commission, and then took him to a training ground.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:08:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[








On September 14, in Volodymyr, Volyn Region, TRC officers beat and took away the rector of the UOC Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Mykulychi, Archpriest Oleksandr Tarasiuk, reports Pershyi Kozatskyi.
According to eyewitnesses, the attack occurred at around 12:30 near the Smykovsky market. It is claimed that the clergyman was beaten by a group of officers from the Volodymyr District TCC and SP.

    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        TRC detains dean of Oleksandriia Eparchy
    

After that, Archpriest Oleksandr was forcibly brought to the military commissariat building and directed to undergo a military medical commission.
According to available information, after the commission the UOC cleric was taken to a training ground in Volodymyr. Sources claim that due to the beatings he received, he is in serious condition.
Previously, The UOJ reported that the TRC abducted a deacon of the UOC cathedral in Volodymyr.









]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95882-in-volyn-trc-officers-beat-and-take-uoc-priest-to-training-ground</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/82_main.png" length="599169" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bar association condemns radicals' pressure on UOC lawyer]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95881-bar-association-condemns-radicals-pressure-on-uoc-lawyer</link><description><![CDATA[Members of the Bar Association of Ukraine recorded the fact of pressure on the UOC's defense attorney.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:50:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Committee for the Protection of Lawyers' Rights of the National Bar Association of Ukraine stated that there are signs of psychological pressure and interference in the work of lawyer Nikita Chekman, who represents the interests of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in court, reports Archpriest Nikita Chekman on his Telegram channel.
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Lawyers continue accepting statements in defense of Kyiv Metropolis in court
    
The incident occurred on August 26, 2026, in the building of the Northern Appellate Commercial Court during the lawyer's performance of his professional duties. Before the court hearing began, a radical named David Pshenichnyi approached the attorney, publicly calling him "a lawyer of the Russian church" and displaying a paper object resembling a Russian passport with the lawyer's photograph and personal data. At the same time, another person was conducting targeted video recording of the events.The NBAU Committee examined the provided video recording of the incident and confirmed the fact of unlawful actions against the lawyer. Committee members established the presence of demonstrative psychological and reputational pressure directly related to the performance of professional duties in defending the UOC monastery.The relevant committee recalled that Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Bar and Legal Practice" categorically prohibits identifying a lawyer with his client. The country's legislation guarantees the protection of a lawyer's rights and does not allow the transfer of the views, beliefs, or legal status of the represented organization onto the defense attorney.The NBAU sent official appeals to the National Police authorities to verify the progress of the investigation into the complaint filed by lawyer Nikita Chekman and to check compliance with the requirements of Article 214 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.In addition, the investigating judge of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv granted Nikita Chekman's complaint regarding the inaction of law enforcement officers and obliged them to enter information about the offense into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations.The lawyer of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery expressed gratitude to the relevant committee for its principled response to the provocation committed. "The protection of legal practice serves as a guarantee that every lawyer will be able to perform their professional duties without pressure, persecution, or attempts to influence their legal position through the status or beliefs of the client," Nikita Chekman emphasized.Previously, the UOJ reported that a lawyer spoke about threats against UOC defenders in court.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95881-bar-association-condemns-radicals-pressure-on-uoc-lawyer</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/81_main.jpg" length="84223" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The mysterious “bridegroom of blood” in the Book of Exodus]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/95878-the-mysterious-bridegroom-of-blood-in-the-book-of-exodus</link><description><![CDATA[An overnight stop turns into a deadly threat for Israel’s leader. Deliverance comes by a woman’s hand and a flint knife.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Man and Church</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[​A dusty caravan makes its way west across the scorching desert, leaving Jethro’s pastures behind. At God’s command, Moses is returning to Egypt, a wooden staff clutched in his hand. Long years of exile lie behind him; ahead awaits the great exodus of his people from slavery. The evening sun quickly sinks below the horizon, plunging the road into darkness. The caravan stops for the night and sets up a temporary camp beneath the open sky.Nothing suggests that danger is near. His wife Zipporah settles the weary children down to sleep, while the animals chew on thorny desert plants. But as the camp sinks into deep sleep, a strange darkness closes in around the prophet. The Bible describes the moment this way: “At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met him [Moses – Ed.] and sought to kill him” (Ex. 4:24).The Book of Exodus breaks off at this terrifying moment without explaining the reason for God’s sudden wrath. The prophet who had only recently spoken with God at the burning bush suddenly finds himself facing the Creator’s displeasure.Disputes in the Midianite tentWhy does the Lord’s wrath fall upon the patriarch precisely during the journey? The answer lies in the details of his family life.St. Ephrem the Syrian points to a longstanding conflict within the family. Having married the daughter of a Midianite priest, Moses found himself caught between two different worlds. When children were born to them, a dispute over faith arose in the young family. Moses insisted on fulfilling the covenant given to Abraham and circumcising his sons according to the law of his ancestors. Zipporah resisted, defending the customs of her own people.Eventually, the couple reached a fragile compromise. One boy was circumcised, while the other was left uncircumcised, yielding to the pleas of his mother and her relatives.
    
        For years, this compromise may have seemed like an insignificant detail amid the bustle of nomadic life. But just before Moses entered Egypt, it became clear that disregarding God’s covenant would not go unanswered.
    
Jewish tradition offers a more practical explanation. At the first stop in the wilderness, Moses intended to circumcise his eldest son but first turned his attention to arranging the night’s lodging and postponed the important task. The delay brought divine punishment.The differences among ancient translations of this passage are also revealing. The Greek Septuagint softens the horror of the scene by saying that the angel of the Lord met Moses. The ancient Hebrew text speaks directly of the divine presence. Even early translators sensed the profound difficulty of this biblical passage.A sudden deliveranceThe night camp becomes the scene of a spiritual struggle. Moses is paralyzed by an unknown force, and life is rapidly draining from his body. Zipporah immediately realizes the true cause of what is happening.
    
        ​She does not lose her composure in the face of death. She grabs a sharp flint knife – an archaic implement underscoring the antiquity of the rite – and circumcises her son herself.
    
Drops of the child’s blood fall onto the dry ground. Zipporah approaches her dying husband and casts the severed foreskin at his feet, uttering the strange words: “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me” (Ex. 4:25).St. Gregory of Nyssa sees profound symbolic meaning in her action. Zipporah the Midianite represents human wisdom from outside the faith, which must be purified of the defilement of error by entering into the divine covenant. The leader of Israel is saved by the hands of a foreign woman who has come to recognize the greatness of his law.The mysterious “bridegroom of blood”Immediately afterward, the threat recedes, but the key phrase is repeated: “A bridegroom of blood – because of the circumcision” (Ex. 4:26). What did these words mean in the language of ancient nomadic peoples?Commentators offer two very different answers. The first interpretation sees the phrase as the language of redemption. Zipporah calls her husband this because the blood that was shed redeemed the head of the family from the wrath of the Creator. One life is saved at the price of another’s blood.The second interpretation has its roots in Midianite tribal customs. The expression may have referred to an ancient rite establishing bonds of blood kinship and protection. By performing the circumcision, Zipporah in a sense renewed her husband’s bond with her people, bringing him within the protection of the tribe in the face of an unknown danger.
    
        ​St. Augustine compares this episode with the long process of a person’s growth in faith, in which the movement of the soul comes first and is then followed by the visible sign of the covenant.
    
Moses’ journey continues. In the morning, the caravan will once again head west, toward the banks of the Nile. The prophet will walk on, leaning on his staff, carrying with him the lesson of that terrifying night that changed his life forever.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/95878-the-mysterious-bridegroom-of-blood-in-the-book-of-exodus</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/78_main.jpg" length="130884" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The theologian's weariness with the capital's intrigues]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/95877-the-theologians-exhaustion-from-capital-intrigues</link><description><![CDATA[When we imagine that saints never grew weary of Church infighting, we should remember Bishop Gregory’s years in the capital – a chronicle of profound burnout.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 23:50:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Man and Church</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[We often think of burnout as an affliction of our hectic age, brought on by deadlines and constant stress. We imagine that people of earlier centuries somehow possessed an ironclad defense against despondency. Especially when their work was for the Church, when they were defending the faith or carrying the lofty burden of episcopal ministry...We look at icons, majestic churches and the writings of the Fathers – and picture unshakable heroes who never doubted, never wept at night from hurt and never wanted to abandon everything halfway through.
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        A conversation with a great theologian about doubt
    
But open the pages of Church history, and there stands St. Gregory the Theologian – a man who desperately sought to escape human malice.Hot debates about GodIn the late 370s, the capital of the Byzantine Empire was at boiling point. St. Gregory of Nyssa remarked caustically that in the streets, marketplaces and crossroads, every former laborer had suddenly imagined himself a professor of theology, while servants who had escaped slavery lectured passersby on the incomprehensibility of the Divine essence. Everyone argued. Everyone denounced everyone else. And into this seething cauldron of ideological warfare came a frail man from the provinces to lead a tiny community.All the city’s major churches were controlled by his opponents. Bishop Gregory had no cathedral with gilded domes. He began his ministry in an ordinary room in a relative’s villa, converted into a house church. He called this tiny sanctuary “Anastasia,” hoping that from here a crushed Orthodoxy would begin to rise again.But his hopes were shattered within the first year. On Holy Saturday, a crowd of opponents burst into the church during the Sacrament of Baptism. Monks and enraged townspeople hurled stones at the bishop. He was marched through the streets to the local authorities like a criminal. The threat of physical violence hung over him every day.A triumph like the capture of a cityTime passed. The situation changed, Emperor Theodosius sided with the Orthodox, and the day came when St. Gregory was solemnly escorted into the magnificent Hagia Sophia. The streets were filled with enormous crowds. Soldiers stood in rows, holding back the press of people.How did the bishop himself describe this moment of triumph in his autobiographical poem? He compared the solemn procession to the capture of a city by an enemy. The crowd roared, and the streets resembled a besieged stronghold. Even at the height of his recognition, when the emperor personally handed him the keys to the immense cathedral, the pastor’s soul knew no peace. Everywhere there was commotion, tears and shouting. The air was so charged with tension that it seemed there would never be peace.This inner strain reached its breaking point at the Second Ecumenical Council. Intrigue behind his back, the ambitions of delegates, constant accusations whispered behind the scenes and attempts to remove him from his see finally broke the great teacher of the Church.In our mind’s eye, we approach him – exhausted, gaunt, stooped beneath the weight of the episcopal omophorion.– Vladyka, we say, quietly approaching him during a break in the Council’s proceedings, couldn’t you have endured it for the sake of the common cause? The emperor is on your side, the people are rejoicing, and victory is behind you. Why abandon everything at the height of your glory?The saint raises his weary eyes, filled with nothing but immeasurable pain.
    
        – What glory? he replies. You think an episcopal throne is a consolation? I was brought here not to pray, but to be torn apart. Everyone around me speaks of the Trinity, yet in their eyes I see only a thirst for power. Every bishop pulls in his own direction, divides up sees and weaves intrigues. I came to save the faith from heresy and found myself caught in a web of human malice. Is this why Christ went to the Cross?
    
– But you were president of the Council... You could have put things in order.– Order? the saint smiles bitterly. At the Council they accused me of violating ancient canons, as though I had arbitrarily transferred myself from one see to another. The same people who shouted “Hosanna” yesterday demand my expulsion today. I am tired of proving the obvious. I did not rejoice when I ascended the throne, and now I step down from it willingly.“I bow to Councils from afar”In June 381, Bishop Gregory delivered his farewell address before the Fathers of the Council. It is the speech of a man voluntarily laying down the heavy burden of authority. He told the assembled bishops that the question of his own position was secondary. He asked only one thing of them: to remember his humble labors for the sake of the Holy Trinity.He left. He returned to his native Nazianzus and later withdrew to the quiet family estate at Arianzus. He no longer attended noisy Church gatherings.
    
        In his letters to friends, he wrote a remarkable line: “I bow to councils and conferences from afar, since I have experienced much evil from them.” It was a deliberate setting of boundaries for the sake of self-preservation.
    
There, far from the clamor of the capital, amid silence and physical frailty, he wrote theological works and a detailed autobiography. His retreat from Church turmoil, it turns out, was not a defeat, but the only way for him to remain faithful to Christ without losing love along the way.We are often afraid to admit to ourselves that we are tired of endless struggle. We think that leaving a position or walking away from an argument means showing weakness. But sometimes the highest form of wisdom is knowing when to withdraw to a place where we can finally hear the voice of God, no longer drowned out by the shouting of the crowd.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/95877-the-theologians-exhaustion-from-capital-intrigues</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/77_main.jpg" length="124019" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Swiss elder: UOC brethren remain faithful to Christ even unto death]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95875-swiss-elder-uoc-brethren-remain-faithful-to-christ-even-unto-death</link><description><![CDATA[The Swiss theologian called the faithfulness of UOC believers a golden page in Church history.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:41:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Renowned Orthodox theologian and patristics scholar Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) said he was deeply impressed by the courage of Ukrainian Orthodox Church believers who remain faithful under the most difficult circumstances.
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Bulgarian clergy and laity call on Holy Synod to defend UOC
    
The 86-year-old elder, who lives at the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Cross in Roveredo, Switzerland, spoke to UOJ-Germany about the steadfastness of UOC believers in the face of persecution.“I am deeply impressed by the steadfastness of our brothers, who remain faithful under the most difficult circumstances, even unto death – literally unto death,” Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel said.The theologian noted that believers could easily escape attacks or gain numerous advantages by renouncing their allegiance, but instead choose to respond as Christians and endure suffering.“The faithfulness shown by its [the UOC’s – Ed.] clergy and laity is one of the golden pages of Church history,” the Swiss patristics scholar said. “They remain faithful to their faith and to the canonical Church.”The elder cited examples of steadfastness among UOC clergy and faithful, including the attack on Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny.“They are prepared to endure beatings, as Vladyka Longin did. I had never before seen anyone with such enormous bruises around both eyes. I did not even know such a thing was possible.”Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel devoted particular attention to the fate of Metropolitan Arseny, abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra. The theologian recalled that the hierarch had rebuilt the monastery practically from scratch, first becoming its abbot and later a metropolitan.“He endured two years in prison and did not allow himself to be broken,” Elder Gabriel said of Metropolitan Arseny. “Yet he is a very humble and peace-loving man. Eventually, he was transferred to house arrest – probably out of fear that he might die in prison.”Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel added that he was proud to belong to the same Church as such faithful ascetics and bowed with deep respect before their faithfulness.As the UOJ previously reported, the Bishops’ Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church spoke out in defense of the UOC.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95875-swiss-elder-uoc-brethren-remain-faithful-to-christ-even-unto-death</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/75_main.jpg" length="91078" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[UOC church consecrated in Dunaiske, Odesa Eparchy]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95874-uoc-church-consecrated-in-dunaiske-odesa-eparchy</link><description><![CDATA[Archbishop Sergiy of Bolhrad performed the rite of consecration of the UOC church.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:05:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Archbishop Sergiy of Bolhrad performed the rite of consecration of the UOC Church of the “Unburnt Bush” Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Dunaiske, Izmail District, Odesa Region, the Odesa Eparchy reports.
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        New altar consecrated at Horodylovo monastery in Zakarpattia
    
With the blessing of Metropolitan Agafangel of Odesa and Izmail, the hierarch led the consecration of the newly built church. The event became an important and joyful occasion for the clergy and faithful of the Izmail District, who gathered for common prayer.Those attending the celebration expressed hope that the new church would become a place of sincere prayer, spiritual support and unity under the protection of the Most Holy Theotokos.As the UOJ reported, Metropolitan Nikodim of Zhytomyr consecrated a new UOC church in the village of Datsky.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95874-uoc-church-consecrated-in-dunaiske-odesa-eparchy</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/74_main.jpg" length="127254" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Nizhyn Eparchy marks anniversary of uncovering of St. Joasaph’s relics]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95872-nizhyn-eparchy-marks-anniversary-of-uncovering-of-st-joasaphs-relics</link><description><![CDATA[UOC hierarchs celebrated a festal service at the cathedral where the future St. Joasaph was baptized.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 18:24:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The 115th anniversary of the uncovering of the relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod was celebrated at the Transfiguration Cathedral in Pryluky, Chernihiv Region.
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Odesa marks feast of uncovering of St. Gabriel of Athos’ relics
    
Metropolitan Klyment of Nizhyn and Pryluky led the festal service at the cathedral. Concelebrating with the ruling hierarch were KDAiS Rector Archbishop Sylvester of Bilohorodka, Archbishop Theodosiy of Ladan, Eparchy Secretary Archpriest Valeriy Dashko, Cathedral Rector Archpriest Mykola Kotelenets, and visiting clergy.Following the Gospel reading, KDAiS lecturer Hieromonk Joasaph (Myronov) delivered the sermon. The hierarchs and clergy offered prayers for peace in Ukraine, deliverance from the enemy, the well-being of those who have lost their homes, and blessings upon benefactors providing assistance.After the prayer behind the ambo, Metropolitan Clement congratulated the rector, clergy and faithful on the feast day of St. Joasaph of Belgorod. In response, Archbishop Sylvester thanked the head of the Nizhyn Eparchy for the invitation and the opportunity to pray together.Following the Liturgy, the clergy and faithful held a cross procession to the monument to St. Joasaph, where they performed a rite of glorification and offered a prayer to the saint. At the conclusion of the celebration, the hierarchs and clergy served a memorial litia for fallen soldiers.The history of the Transfiguration Church is closely connected with the earthly life of St. Joasaph. The future saint was born on September 8, 1705, in Pryluky to the devout Horlenko family. It was at the Transfiguration Church that he was baptized and given the name Joakim.As the UOJ reported, the UOC marked the anniversary of the uncovering of the relics of Venerable Eutropia of Kherson.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95872-nizhyn-eparchy-marks-anniversary-of-uncovering-of-st-joasaphs-relics</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/72_main.jpg" length="106417" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[TRC officers abduct UOC cathedral deacon in Volodymyr]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95871-trc-officers-abduct-uoc-cathedral-deacon-in-volodymyr</link><description><![CDATA[The TRC forcibly mobilized UOC Deacon Oleh Rudnychok without checking his documents.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:53:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Officers of the Volyn Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) abducted Oleh Rudnychok, a deacon of the UOC Dormition Cathedral in Volodymyr, directly from his workplace, according to the First Cossack Telegram channel.
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Mobilization of priests is real genocide, says Metropolitan Theodosiy
    
Officers of the Volyn Regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center forcibly made Father Oleh get into a minibus. The recruitment officers did not check any of the UOC cleric’s documents. They then took him to the Volyn Regional TRC and Social Support Center to undergo a military medical examination.The UOJ Telegram channel has published a guide providing a step-by-step procedure for what to do during the first three hours following an unlawful mobilization.As the UOJ previously reported, TRC officers detained a dean of the Oleksandriia Eparchy.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95871-trc-officers-abduct-uoc-cathedral-deacon-in-volodymyr</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/71_main.jpg" length="68795" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Elder Gabriel: US pressured Patriarch Bartholomew to intervene in UOC affairs]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95869-elder-gabriel-us-pressured-patriarch-bartholomew-to-intervene-in-uoc-affairs</link><description><![CDATA[The Swiss schema-archimandrite revealed details of what he says was external pressure on the Ecumenical Patriarch’s decisions.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 16:43:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Renowned Orthodox theologian Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) said that the head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate intervened in Church affairs in Ukraine under direct pressure from the U.S. government.The 86-year-old elder, who lives at a monastery in Roveredo, Switzerland, shared details he said had become known to him. According to Gabriel, Patriarch Bartholomew acknowledged the real reasons behind his decisions in a private conversation with a Greek ambassador.“I know from a reliable source that Patriarch Bartholomew told a Greek ambassador that if the Americans had not put such intense pressure on him, he would never have done it – he would never have split the Church,” Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel said.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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He added that some other primates of Local Churches had also yielded to similarly intense pressure.“Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens also came under tremendous pressure and gave in. But why did these men, our primates, not simply put their panagias on the table and say, ‘No, not with me. I do not want to stain my good name’? Personally, I cannot understand it.”Elder Gabriel particularly emphasized what he described as the gravity of the canonical offense committed by those responsible for the schism.“A bishop or patriarch who has caused a schism in the Church, whatever the reasons, cannot wash away that sin even with his own blood,” Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel said. “That is what the Holy Fathers teach.”The Swiss patristics scholar expressed regret over what he described as the lack of repentance among those responsible and said that such actions would inevitably fail the judgment of history.As the UOJ reported, a U.S. State Department official discussed religious freedom in Ukraine with an exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95869-elder-gabriel-us-pressured-patriarch-bartholomew-to-intervene-in-uoc-affairs</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/69_main.jpg" length="79170" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Romanian Patriarch discusses situation in Ukraine with U.S. State Dept ambassador]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95867-romanian-patriarch-discusses-situation-in-ukraine-with-us-state-dept-ambassador</link><description><![CDATA[Patriarch Daniel reminded State Department representatives of Romania’s efforts to welcome and assist large numbers of Ukrainian refugees.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:43:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Patriarch Daniel of Romania received U.S. State Department Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Riley Barnes in Bucharest, with the situation in Ukraine among the topics discussed, Orthodoxia News Agency reports.The meeting between the primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the U.S. diplomatic delegation took place at the Patriarchal Residence. U.S. Ambassador to Romania Darryl Nirenberg, as well as representatives of the State Department and the U.S. Embassy, also attended the talks.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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        Constantinople Archbishop in U.S. urges Romanian Patriarch to recognize OCU
    
During the meeting, Patriarch Daniel spoke of the Romanian Church’s constant prayers for peace throughout the world and for a just resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. His Beatitude also recalled Romania’s reception of large numbers of Ukrainian refugees, who have received material and spiritual assistance from Romanian clergy and faithful.The head of the Romanian Patriarchate briefed the guests on guarantees of religious freedom in the country. He emphasized the special role of the Romanian Orthodox Church as a contributor to social peace and an important part of the nation’s history.U.S. diplomat Riley Barnes expressed admiration for the deep faith and traditions of the Romanian people. The State Department representative noted the complex geopolitical and religious situation in the world, including the military conflict in Romania’s neighboring Ukraine.At the conclusion of the meeting, Patriarch Daniel emphasized the importance of responsible freedom, the protection of human dignity, solidarity and interreligious dialogue.As the UOJ previously reported, the Romanian Patriarch called U.S. President Donald Trump a defender and promoter of Christian values.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95867-romanian-patriarch-discusses-situation-in-ukraine-with-us-state-dept-ambassador</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/67_main.jpg" length="89703" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[UOC church in Tysovets marks 135th anniversary of consecration]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95866-uoc-church-in-tysovets-marks-135th-anniversary-of-consecration</link><description><![CDATA[Metropolitan Meletiy led the festal Liturgy marking the 135th anniversary of the church’s consecration in Tysovets.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:13:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The community of the Church of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki in the village of Tysovets, Chernivtsi Eparchy, celebrated the 135th anniversary of the church’s consecration. On the day of the Church New Year and the commemoration of St. Simeon the Stylite, Metropolitan Meletiy of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna led the festal service in the Storozhynets Deanery, according to the Facebook page of the faithful of the UOC’s Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Eparchy.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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Concelebrating the Liturgy with the ruling hierarch were Bishop Nikita of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia, Eparchy Secretary Archpriest Dymytrii Shcherban, district dean Archpriest Vasyl Kovalchuk, and local clergy.The hierarchs and clergy offered special prayers for peace in Ukraine, protection from the enemy, the well-being of those who have lost their homes, and blessings upon benefactors. The participants also held a memorial service for the departed rectors of St. Demetrius Church.Following the service, the clergy and faithful held a cross procession around the church, with readings from the Gospel and the sprinkling of holy water. Metropolitan Meletiy delivered a sermon and congratulated the rector, Archpriest Sviatoslav Knyhnytskyi, on the 135th anniversary of the church’s consecration and the 45th anniversary of his priestly ordination, presenting him with an episcopal certificate.In response, the rector thanked the hierarchs, clergy and faithful for their joint prayer.As the UOJ reported, the 100th anniversary of the repose of Venerable Martyr Rafaila was prayerfully commemorated in Chyhyryn.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95866-uoc-church-in-tysovets-marks-135th-anniversary-of-consecration</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/66_main.jpg" length="130114" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Swiss elder: Murdered Sviatohirsk Lavra monk should be glorified as martyr]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95865-swiss-elder-murdered-sviatohirsk-lavra-monk-should-be-glorified-as-martyr</link><description><![CDATA[Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) said Monk Varsonofy’s death was a true act of martyrdom for the faith.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:43:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Renowned Orthodox theologian Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) said that Monk Varsonofiy, who was killed during an attack at the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, gave his life for Christ and is a true martyr.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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The prominent Swiss patristics scholar, who lives at the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Cross in Roveredo, commented on the tragic death of the Sviatohirsk Lavra monk for the UOJ-Germany editorial office, noting that the attack was connected with the broader situation surrounding the entire UOC.“I must say that this concerns not only the murdered monk, but also the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a whole, with which we feel a deep personal bond.”Elder Gabriel said he was deeply impressed by the courage and steadfastness of the brethren who remain faithful even unto death. According to him, Monk Varsonofy’s faithfulness is an example for everyone: he could easily have saved his own life by complying with the attackers’ demands, but instead chose to answer them as a Christian – glory belongs to God alone.“Personally, I believe that the murdered monk is a martyr and should be glorified among the martyrs,” Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel said. “He gave his life for Christ.”The theologian expressed his profound respect for the deceased monk’s sacrifice and said he was proud to belong to the same Church as such faithful ascetics.According to the archimandrite, the leaven of the Gospel continues to work today just as it did in the first centuries of Christianity. It continues to produce martyrs – witnesses to the faith.“For a martyr is a witness, one who bears witness to faith in God and His Messiah. We must follow his example and cherish his memory. We must not allow all of this to once again disappear into the Internet beneath the enormous amount of rubbish already there.”
On August 23, 2026, unidentified assailants attacked members of the Sviatohirsk Lavra brotherhood. Monk Varsonofy was killed by a through-and-through gunshot wound to the head and neck that damaged the bones of the skull, while Monk Hryhorii and novice Andrii sustained serious injuries.As the UOJ reported, the killing of the Sviatohirsk Lavra monk was mentioned in an OIDAC report.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95865-swiss-elder-murdered-sviatohirsk-lavra-monk-should-be-glorified-as-martyr</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/65_main.jpg" length="71931" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Elder Gabriel (Bunge) on UOC, Sviatohirsk martyrdom and judgment of history]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/95864-elder-gabriel-bunge-on-uoc-sviatohirsk-martyrdom-and-judgment-of-history</link><description><![CDATA[A candid interview with the Swiss elder about the killing at the Sviatohirsk Lavra, Patriarch Bartholomew’s alleged admission, holiness and betrayal.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:44:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Faith Protection</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[UOJ-Germany visited Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) in Switzerland – a renowned Orthodox theologian, patristics scholar and author of books on prayer. The 86-year-old elder spoke candidly about the killing of a Sviatohirsk Lavra monk, whom he considers a martyr, the UOC’s faithfulness during years of persecution, and the fate of Metropolitan Arseniy. He also explained why he believes Patriarch Bartholomew acted under pressure over Ukraine and what, in his view, awaits those responsible for the schism before the judgment of history.Roveredo. A small village in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, not far from Lugano. Here, at the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Cross, Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel (Bunge) has lived for more than 40 years. A renowned Orthodox theologian and author of books on prayer and monastic life, he receives visitors from around the world who come seeking spiritual guidance.
  

 
 

The conversation with the well-known Swiss elder was remarkably open and candid – with no attempt to choose convenient wording or avoid difficult subjects. We are publishing the interview as closely as possible to Father Gabriel’s own words. At the end, he smiled and told the UOJ correspondent: “Well, who or what should I be afraid of? I’m already 86 years old.”On August 23, 2026, a group of unidentified individuals attacked members of the brotherhood of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra. The tragedy shocked the Orthodox world. According to one of the survivors, the attackers were wearing military uniforms and demanded a response to the slogan “Glory to Ukraine!” Monk Varsonofiy was killed, while Monk Gregory and novice Andrii were seriously wounded. The last words of Father Varsonofiy heard by the brethren were: “Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ! ... I am a monk.”– How did you learn about the tragedy at the Sviatohirsk Lavra?
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        What is known about the murder at Sviatohirsk Lavra
    
– We learned about it through social media. We also saw photographs, including those of the murdered monk, who, as I was told, had been stabbed.I have never visited the Sviatohirsk Lavra myself. I only made it as far as Pochaiv. But Father Eusebius [the elder’s assistant – Ed.] knows the monastery personally.And I must say that this concerns not only the murdered monk, but the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a whole, with which we feel a deep personal bond through our personal acquaintances and friendships.I am deeply impressed by the steadfastness of our brothers, who remain faithful under the most difficult circumstances, even unto death – literally unto death. After all, this monk could easily have saved his life if he had complied with his killers’ demand. But he did not.He answered as a Christian: glory belongs to God alone. I am deeply moved by this, and I must say that I am proud to be a member of this Church myself.After all, it is one Church. The precise organizational form of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is, so to speak, not my concern.– How do you view what is happening to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church?– The persecution has been going on for many years – it began back in 2014.The faithfulness shown by its clergy and laity is one of the golden pages of Church history. You know that I am a historian, and I always look at events from a historical perspective. Whether the people themselves fully realize the significance of what is happening, I cannot say.They remain faithful to their faith and to the canonical Church, even though renouncing it would bring them many advantages. Instead, they are prepared to endure beatings, as Vladyka Longin [Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny – Ed.] did.I had never before seen anyone with such enormous bruises around both eyes. I did not even know such a thing was possible. I have visited his monastery, although Vladyka himself was not there at the time.
    
        
            
        
    
    
        On this topic
        Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny assaulted
    
I also think of poor Vladyka Arseniy [Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk – Ed.], who is so dear to me and who rebuilt the Sviatohirsk Lavra practically from scratch. All of this is documented – there is plenty of material online. First he became abbot of the restored monastery, and later a metropolitan.He endured two years in prison and did not allow himself to be broken. Yet he is a very humble and peace-loving man. Eventually, he was transferred to house arrest – probably out of fear that he might die in prison. And that, of course, would have looked very bad.I know where he is now. And I can only imagine what this man went through when he saw the photographs and learned that one of his monks had been murdered.I still remember what Vladyka was like – not despairing or despondent, but deeply grief-stricken – when he had to conduct the funeral of a monk who was killed when a shell accidentally struck the monastery. I can still see it before my eyes. He served the funeral himself – in tears.And now this. Back then it was an accident; no one did it deliberately. But now a monk has been deliberately and brutally murdered. It is terrible.– Do you consider the murdered Monk Varsonofiy a martyr?– As I already told you in our private conversation, I do not know whether those who are doing all this believe in God. It is not for me to judge. But they do not believe in the judgment of history.Someday all of this will come to an end.
    
        Personally, I consider the murdered monk a martyr and believe he should be glorified in the rank of martyrs. He gave his life for Christ.
    
Many people have also told me that His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry will be glorified among the saints after his repose. I know him personally and hold him in very high esteem. But history will be written later.– What do you mean by the judgment of history?– People often say that history is written by the victors. But that is only half true. Something else is also true and demonstrable: you can destroy as many documents as you like, but enough material will always remain to reconstruct the course of a conflict or any other events.History will preserve everything the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has endured – the Church that all the Local Churches always recognized as the only canonical Church in Ukraine. Patriarch Bartholomew did as well.– Why do you think his position changed?– We know that Patriarch Bartholomew did not act of his own free will. I will tell you something that few people know.
    
        I know from a reliable source that Patriarch Bartholomew told a Greek ambassador that if the Americans had not put such intense pressure on him, he would never have done it – he would never have split the Church.
    
I know from a reliable source that Patriarch Bartholomew told a Greek ambassador that if the Americans had not put such intense pressure on him, he would never have done it – he would never have split the Church.Of course, all of this was done in order to weaken Russia. At that time, the Ukrainian Church was more closely connected with the Moscow Patriarchate than it is today. I mean purely in institutional terms.That is precisely what disappoints me. Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens – also a worthy man – came under tremendous pressure as well and gave in.But why did these men, our primates, not simply put their panagias on the table and say: “No, not with me. I do not want to stain my good name”? Personally, I cannot understand it.
    
        A bishop or patriarch who has caused a schism in the Church, whatever the reasons, cannot wash away that sin even with his own blood. That is what the Holy Fathers teach. Not even with his own blood. It is terrifying. The very thought fills me with horror. In the chapters of Church history that will deal with our time, all of this has already been written.
    
If only the Patriarch had repented ... But no. I have known him personally since we were young, so his actions do not surprise me. All of this is infinitely sad.Thank God, it is not our task to judge our brothers: Christ alone is the Judge of all. I do not know by what measure I could judge all this fairly, and I thank God that it is not my task.As a theologian and historian, however, I cannot help asking: do these people really not understand that they will not withstand the judgment of history – and therefore the judgment of all humanity?I would not want my name associated with anything like this. We have two thousand years of Church history behind us, and we know very well how history ultimately judged this or that patriarch, this or that pope.And so, once again, with the deepest respect and reverence, I bow before this faithfulness unto death – the faithfulness of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/zashhita-very/95864-elder-gabriel-bunge-on-uoc-sviatohirsk-martyrdom-and-judgment-of-history</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/64_main.jpg" length="126241" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[“Flexibility and friendship”: Pope approves note on interreligious dialogue]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95860-flexibility-and-friendship-pope-approves-new-document-on-interreligious-dialogue</link><description><![CDATA[The new Holy See document calls for replacing hostility in interreligious relations with greater engagement and cooperation with people of other faiths.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:53:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Vatican has released a joint document by three dicasteries calling for a “new ethic of dialogue” and greater cooperation with representatives of other religions, EWTN News reports.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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The document, titled “A Journey of Hope: Sixty Years of Interreligious Dialogue and Fraternity in the Light of the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate,” was approved by Pope Leo XIV on June 22, 2026. It was prepared by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.“In stark contrast to those rigid attitudes that seek to resolve conflicts by force, it is time to promote a new ethic of dialogue.” The document’s authors propose fostering a culture of “complexity, flexibility, and friendship.” The faithful and religious leaders are urged not to fear or keep their distance from the "other believer" – another civilization, another way of thinking – but "dare the encounter.”The Vatican stressed that genuine dialogue requires a fundamental shift in mindset – “abandoning the logic of defensiveness, hostility, or conquest in order to adopt an attitude that is open, benevolent, and courageous.”The document calls for moving beyond declarations about the importance of dialogue and putting it into practice, beginning with religious education. To this end, the Vatican proposes updating curricula at seminaries and theological institutes to give seminarians greater knowledge of other religions, the history of interreligious relations, and geopolitical developments.As the UOJ reported, the Pope earlier called on Christians and Muslims to work together to “revive humanity.”
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95860-flexibility-and-friendship-pope-approves-new-document-on-interreligious-dialogue</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/60_main.jpg" length="62550" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ostapenko reports 18 judicial recusals in 3-year Lavra case]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95859-ostapenko-reports-18-judicial-recusals-in-3-year-lavra-case</link><description><![CDATA[The reserve’s director reported 18 judicial recusals over three years of proceedings concerning the termination of the lease agreement with the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and criticized the work of the judicial system.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:30:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Director General of the National Reserve "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra" Maksym Ostapenko publicly complained about the work of Ukraine's judicial system, stating that over three years of proceedings in the case concerning the termination of the lease agreement with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, approximately 18 judges had been replaced after declaring recusals or being recused following motions by the parties. He made the remarks in an interview with "Shelter"."Over three years, if I am not mistaken, we have had about 18 judges who declared recusals and self-recusals. That is, we understand that, unfortunately, the judicial system – I will express my personal point of view – continues to operate within the framework of the rule of law," he complained.In effect, the reserve’s director acknowledged that the judicial system operates within the law, giving the parties to a case the legal right to request a judge’s recusal when there are doubts about the judge’s impartiality. However, he described this adherence to procedural rules as a "problem," arguing that during wartime, courts should be guided not by the letter of the law but by some kind of “spirit,” and should defend the Constitution as he himself understands it.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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Such statements were not made for the first time: previously Ostapenko had already allowed for a forceful scenario for resolving the issue with the Lavra, and now he is effectively calling into question the expediency of the existing judicial guarantees for the party challenging the termination of the lease agreement.As the UOJ reported, Ostapenko had previously stated that if it were not for the Soviet reserve, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra would not have existed.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95859-ostapenko-reports-18-judicial-recusals-in-3-year-lavra-case</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/59_main.jpg" length="62618" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Patriarch Bartholomew gets UK honorary degree for environmental advocacy]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95858-patriarch-bartholomew-gets-uk-honorary-degree-for-environmental-advocacy</link><description><![CDATA[The University of Chichester awarded the Patriarch of Constantinople an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree for his contributions to environmental advocacy and inter-Christian dialogue.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 16 Sep 2026 20:47:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Chichester in the UK. According to the University of Chichester, the honor recognized his environmental advocacy as well as his contributions to theological scholarship and inter-Christian and interfaith dialogue.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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The primate of the Church of Constantinople received the honor during a week-long visit to the UK. The university said it recognized the Patriarch’s longstanding efforts to strengthen relations among Christian traditions and foster dialogue between different religious communities, as well as his advocacy for religious freedom and human dignity.The university placed particular emphasis on the Patriarch’s environmental work. It described the head of the Phanar as a leading voice on environmental issues, human rights, and religious freedom who is known worldwide as the “Green Patriarch.” Through international conferences, partnerships with scientists, and public advocacy, the university said, he has helped draw greater attention to the connection between faith and environmental responsibility.As the UOJ previously reported, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople arrived in London on September 14, 2026, for a meeting with King Charles III of the United Kingdom, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95858-patriarch-bartholomew-gets-uk-honorary-degree-for-environmental-advocacy</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/58_main.jpg" length="68918" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Met. Anthony urges believers to make prostrations for UOC persecutors]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95857-met-anthony-urges-believers-to-make-prostrations-for-uoc-persecutors</link><description><![CDATA[The UOC Chancellor appealed to the faithful to pray for the softening of the hearts of the Church's opponents.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 16 Sep 2026 20:30:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, the UOC Chancellor, called on the believers of his eparchy to daily make three prostrations with a prayer for the softening of the hearts of those who oppose the Church. The hierarch made this appeal in a post on his Facebook page, marking the beginning of the church new year.
    
        
            
        
    
    
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        DESS finds signs of ROC affiliation in UOC Boryspil Eparchy
    
The occasion for the appeal was the decision of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), which on September 9 announced signs of the Boryspil Eparchy's affiliation with a foreign religious organization whose activities are banned in Ukraine.In his address, Metropolitan Anthony wrote: "Dear hierarchs, fathers, brothers and sisters! I call on the faithful children of the Boryspil Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to daily make three prostrations with a prayer for the pacification of the evil hearts of all those who are hostile to the Church of Christ. May the Lord grant them understanding, peace and repentance, and grant us steadfastness in faith, patience, love and spiritual courage."The hierarch emphasized that the Church, which confesses the God of love, cannot respond to hostility with hostility: "Our task is to preserve the peace of Christ, not to repay evil with evil, to pray for those who oppose the Church, and to remain faithful to Christ."Metropolitan Anthony noted that the state has powers established by law, but has no right to determine what a person should believe: "The history of the Church shows: unlawful decrees are revised, officials change, ideological trends disappear, while Christ remains — 'the same yesterday and today and forever' (Hebrews 13:8).”He urged his flock not to give in to fear or panic: "Even if today regulations are being drafted and decisions are being made against the Church, and officials believe they can determine the boundaries of human faith, there is nevertheless a limit that no earthly authority can cross – the mystery of the human heart, where a person encounters God."The abbots and abbesses of monasteries, as well as the rectors of all churches of the Boryspil Eparchy, are instructed to read the appeal after the Divine Liturgy on September 20.As the UOJ reported, Metropolitan Anthony criticized the DESS order regarding the Boryspil Eparchy.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/95857-met-anthony-urges-believers-to-make-prostrations-for-uoc-persecutors</guid><enclosure url="https://spzh.eu/img/article/958/57_main.jpg" length="70079" type="image/jpeg"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Can we judge those who joined the OCU from the military commissariat?]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/mysli-vsluh/95855-can-we-judge-those-who-joined-the-ocu-from-the-military-recruitment-office</link><description><![CDATA[There are many known cases where priests and deacons of the UOC, detained by TRC officers, were offered a simple way to secure their release – to switch to the OCU. Most refused.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 16 Sep 2026 19:40:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Thoughts Aloud</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[In Zakarpattia, Archimandrite Seraphim (Rastvorov), a cleric of the Rakoshyno Intercession Monastery, decided to join the OCU and submitted a petition to the local "bishop" Viktor Bed'. The latter accepted the petition. In response, Metropolitan Theodor of Mukachevo suspended Fr. Seraphim from ministry.The situation might seem unremarkable: voluntary transfers to the OCU, while rare, do occur. However, there is a nuance. Shortly before this, Archimandrite Seraphim had been mobilized, and at the TCC he was offered a simple way to avoid the front line: either the front, or the OCU. The priest chose the OCU.In July 2026, another transfer occurred under similar circumstances. Archimandrite Epiphany (Rudenko), rector of the Intercession Church of the UOC in the village of Khmelna, Cherkasy Region, joined Dumenko’s structure. He made the decision while at the military recruitment office. That is, he defected to the OCU simply to be released.There are many cases in which UOC priests and deacons detained by TRC officers were offered a simple way to secure their release – to switch to the OCU. Most refused. But this raises the question: can those who were unable to refuse be condemned?The choice UOC clergy are being forced to make today is terrible: renounce their Church or remain faithful to it and risk losing their health, or even their lives. At the same time, almost all of them have families and children who could be left without a father.One thing can be said with certainty: in a state where clergy are confronted with such a choice, there can be no talk of any freedom of religion whatsoever.
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