Metropolitan Vladimir Sabodan of Kiev and all the Ukraine (1935- ), the canonical First Hierarch of the Ukraine. Pray for him, his path is hard and his enemies are many. He is a hero, never forget that!
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Members of the so-called “Patriarchate of Kiev” “fraudulently seized the buildings and property” of the canonical Orthodox parish of St Paraskeva in the village of Gudyma in Sumy Oblast in the Ukraine, the local diocese reported. Schismatics took over the church-building, taking advantage of “the protection of the power of the state”, as well as exploiting the fact that the parish warden of St Paraskeva changed his allegiance to the “Patriarchate of Kiev”, the report noted. Bishop Evlogy of Sumy and Akhtyrsky appealed to Nikolai Lavrik, the president of the oblast administration, protesting the “continuing predatory actions of the pseudo-church group calling itself the so-called ‘Patriarchate of Kiev’, and the silence of state agencies, which is considered by many people as support and endorsement of lawlessness”.
“Please, I ask you to openly state the position of the state administration in the oblast in relation to seizures of Orthodox churches in Khruzhevke, Lipovoi Doline, Yunakovke, Romney, and Gudyma. Please, I ask you to stop the violence against the Orthodox in Sumy Oblast, the only one in the Ukraine where Orthodox sacred sites are still being seized”, a letter of Vladyki Evlogy said. Recently, schismatics and Ukrainian nationalist organisations demanded that the procurator investigate Bishop Evlogy in connection with his appearance at Sumy State University, speaking on the topic of church schism in the country. The bishop was summoned for interrogation, during which he stated that he didn’t make any insults in his speech, but he did say that the “Patriarchate of Kiev” lacked grace and wasn’t recognised by any of the Local Orthodox Churches. After learning of the bishop’s interrogation, hundreds of Orthodox believers in the city of Sumy came that same day to the building of the office of the procurator with posters that read, “Our Patriarch – Kirill, Our Metropolitan – Vladimir, Our Bishop – Evlogy”, “Orthodox Sumy Supports Vladyki Evlogy”, “Vladyki! We’re with You!”, “No to the Philaret Schism!”, and “Today – Interrogation, Tomorrow – Shooting?”
20 February 2009
Interfax-Religion
http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=28952
Editor’s Note:
Unfortunately, many people in the West are unaware of the real situation in the Ukraine due to the loud antics of the Galician Uniate diaspora. As I’ve stated previously, the situation in the diaspora is opposite that in the homeland. In the rodina, the Galicians are a small and backward minority, cut off from the mainstream of Russian culture (in contrast, the Carpatho-Russians are loyal and steadfast to the idea of Great Russia). In the diaspora, they are the largest group, largely because their homeland was so poor, so, there was no opportunity for them at home (due to their being cut off from their true homeland in Russia, being under Hapsburg misrule). Ergo, they’re the largest single group in the American and Canadian diasporas.
85 percent of the Orthodox believers in the Ukraine are under the MP. That is, only 15 percent are in the so-called “Patriarchate of Kiev” and the “Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church“, both of which are considered graceless and without standing by all other Local Churches. Uniates are less than 10 percent of the Ukrainian population, being concentrated in Galicia and Bukovina (both regions misruled by the Hapsburgs in the past, by the way). The schismatics and Uniates are the last supporters of the Orangies, and the government tries to make trouble for the canonical Church.
If you’re an Orthodox Christian, you’re morally bound to support the brave stand of the canonical Church in the Ukraine, the UOC/MP. You’re obliged to stand behind and pray for its heroic First Hierarch, Vladimir Sabodan, Metropolitan of Kiev and all the Ukraine. You have a duty to resist both schismatics and Uniate proselytisers. Our brothers and sisters in the Ukraine are fighting both schism and Uniatism. They deserve our help and our prayers. Remember 1612! We have to summon forth the spirit of Minin and Pozharsky, and put the usurpers and the papists on the run. Never forget that we have an Orthodox faith to practise today because our ancestors stood tall and fought back, no matter what the cost. They saved us from Rome and from Protestantism, and we should never, ever, forget that. We have an obligation to follow their example. God willing, we shall.
BMD
