APPEAL of the clergy, monks and nuns, ecclesiastics and laity of the Cherkasy Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, to the state authorities of Ukraine and to the Cherkasy court

APPEAL

of the clergy, monks and nuns, ecclesiastics and laity

 of the Cherkasy Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

 to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi,

 to the state authorities of Ukraine and to the Cherkasy court

 in connection with the prosecution of Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv, the head of the Cherkasy Eparchy 

Christ is in our midst! 

These words should have sounded strong and powerful to our long-suffering Ukrainian people today. But, unfortunately, the powers that be have taken the dangerous path of dividing our people into right and wrong, friends and foes, “patriots” and “non-patriots”. And, as it was in the past, so it is in modern times, the Church of Christ has become the biggest “not ours” and “stranger”. For us, as believers, this is not surprising. For so was also said two thousand years ago:” If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you . If ye were of the world , the world would love his own ” (John 15.18-19). And not only was this said, but the Church has experienced all the hatred and persecution of this world during her earthly existence. And it has survived !

 Today the Church is not experiencing something new, but only the old that has not yet been forgotten. Many of the senior clergy remember well the time when, if one was a believer, then you would be persecuted, humiliated, tried, and locked up in psychiatric hospitals. Today, the same methods are being used again: deception, lies, denunciation, and prosecution.

In connection with the session of the “newest Sanhedrin” – of the trial of Metropolitan Theodosius, the head of the Cherkasy and Kaniv Eparchy , we, the clergy, monks and nuns, ecclesiastics and laity of the Cherkasy Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, consider it necessary to express our position on this.

The clergy, abbesses and nuns of the monasteries, ecclesiastics and laity are united with their ruling hierarch , Metropolitan Theodosius. We consider the prosecution to be an attempt by the authorities to put pressure on the believers of the Cherkasy eparchy , on many faithful flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and an attempt to intimidate them. We consider the testimony of informers and so-called “evidence” to be far-fetched and absolutely unfounded.

 We perceive this trial of the Metropolitan as a trial of all of us, the thousands of people in the Cherkasy region.

And when you judge our hierarch, then you judge us!

If you want to imprison him, prepare dungeons for us as well!

We have one heart and one mouth in praising God, firmness of faith, and loyalty to the Church. In our diversity as human beings, we preserve God’s commanded love and unity among ourselves. In all trials, the believers of the Cherkasy region will stand with their archpastor.

But remember: the more you persecute the Church of Christ, the stronger it shall be, the more lies, insults, slander you inflict on the Church, the purer and holier it will rise. Today we, believers, are strengthened by the words of the Saviour of the world: ” In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world ”   (John 16:33). And our victory is that we are persecuted, judged, ridiculed, and we pray for those who do this. They beat us, spit on us, curse us – and we bless them. They come to us at night with searches, with grinders, crowbars, and stones in order to steal our churches, our shrines, but you cannot take our souls. You can ban us, but you cannot steal our faith from our hearts.

We appeal to you, Mr President ! Give the order to immediately stop the artificially fabricated criminal case against Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv and release our archpastor from arrest ! The fact that an innocent man is being persecuted on the basis of denunciations by “people with crowbars and grinders” is obvious today not only in Ukraine but throughout the Orthodox world !

We also appeal to the judges of this trial: no matter how much pressure that you are put under from “above” and “below”, do not make false and criminal decisions ! It is better for you to lose your position and job than to lose eternal life and incur the wrath of God. If you imprison a hierarch of God under pressure from politicians, neither your descendants nor history itself will forgive you.

Deans of the districts of the Cherkasy Eparchy:

 Korsun-Shevchenkivsky District, Archpriest Ioann Nalapko,

 Archpriest Ioann Zhyhalo of the Hrodyshche District,

 Smelyansky District, Archpriest Heorhiy Pohranychnyi

 Kamianske District, Archpriest Heorhii Pohranichnyi,

 Shpolyanskyi District, Archpriest Volodymyr Skrypnychuk,

 and the Kaniv District, Archpriest Heorhiy Pochtovyi ;

Abbesses of the monasteries of the Cherkasy eparchy :

 Pokrovskyi Krasnohirskyi, Hegumenia Arsenia with her sisters,

 Holy Trinity Motronynskyi , Hegumenia Hilaria with her sisters,

 Transfiguration of the Holy Trinity Monastery of Motronyno, Hegumenia Hilaria with her sisters, and

Steblivsky Transfiguration, Hegumenia Manefa and her sisters,

 St Nicholas of Lebedynske, Hegumenia Nicola and her sisters,

 Melnyky Village Monastic Community, Nun Oleksandra and her sisters;

Clergy and laity of the Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC

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