Metropolitan of Corfu Stands with Persecuted UOC Parish Facing Church Seizure
Metropolitan Nektarios offers prayers and public support as the last canonical parish in a Ukrainian town faces threat from schismatics.
CHERKASY — His Eminence Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu, of the Orthodox Church of Greece, has voiced strong and immediate support for a persecuted Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) parish in Cherkasy, whose church now faces imminent seizure by representatives of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).
The parish of the Church of the Nativity of Christ and St. Spyridon, which earlier received a relic of St. Spyridon from the Corfu hierarch, appealed to him on June 15, describing rising pressure and threats following the violent takeover of the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel. Now the last functioning canonical Orthodox church in Cherkasy, the parish reported that OCU “Metropolitan” Ivan Yaremenko has declared his intent to seize their church, as well.
In a heartfelt reply, Metropolitan Nektarios expressed “undivided support” and called their struggle a “modern crusade,” writing: “You are living through a Golgotha, but don’t forget that Resurrection always follows.” He also called for solidarity from other Greek hierarchs and prayed that St. Spyridon would shield the parish from violence and desecration.
Despite having to hold three services each Sunday to accommodate parishioners, the community remains steadfast, even as surrounding churches seized by the OCU reportedly stand empty.
The full letter sent to Metropolitan Nektarios by parishioners, along with his reply, are below. They were originally published by OrthoChristian.com.
Your Eminence, dear and beloved Vladyka Nektarios!
First of all, with humility and reverence, once again from a pure heart we express to Your Eminence our deep gratitude for that great gift of love and spiritual support which you bestowed upon our suffering parish—the holy shoe of God’s servant, St. Spyridon of Tremithus. This blessed gift, which arrived in our city and our church of St. Spyridon during days of sorrow and trials, became a source of great comfort for us, strengthening our faith and hope in God’s providence.
After the violent seizure of the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel in Cherkasy, we daily pray with reverence before this sacred treasure, asking St. Spyridon for intercession for our canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and for our holy Metropolis of Cherkasy.
At the same time, with pain in our hearts, we are compelled to inform Your Eminence that now even our own church of St. Spyridon of Tremithus, in which the relic you transmitted resides, has found itself under threat of violent seizure by representatives of the OCU. Their leader in Cherkasy, “Metropolitan” Ivan Yaremenko, openly declares his intention to take away from us our last refuge—the last functioning canonical Orthodox church in the city.
This would be a heavy blow for all faithful children of the long-suffering canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Cherkasy. Today, due to the absence of churches in our city, believers of the canonical Church on Sundays can’t even fit at once in our church of St. Spyridon. Therefore, on Sundays and feast days, the clergy celebrate three (!) Divine Liturgies in turn in our church, so that all who wish may receive Holy Communion. Meanwhile, the cathedral and other churches seized by OCU representatives stand empty, as people naturally stopped attending them.
In this extremely difficult situation, we humbly ask you, dear Vladyka, to raise your holy prayers to the throne of the Lord and call upon the Heavenly intercession of St. Spyridon, so that the Lord may strengthen us in trials, preserve our church from desecration, and grant the Cherkasy flock peace and faithfulness to the canonical Church of Christ.
We also ask you, dear to our hearts Vladyka, if you consider it possible, to facilitate ecclesiastical and public support for our community, including before the hierarchs of the Greek world, among whom is His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. For the OCU clergy who threaten us today and attempt to finally deprive us of Orthodox life in Cherkasy are under the canonical jurisdiction of Patriarch Bartholomew and would be compelled to fulfill his blessing to cease their lawlessness, should such follow.
We believe that your voice, like the voice of St. Spyridon, can reach the hearts of those upon whom today depends the possibility of stopping the lawlessness and injustice of OCU representatives who beat us, rob us, and deprive us of our holy places.
Reply from Metropolitan Nektarios:
My beloved fathers and brothers, my beloved children,
With deep emotion, with paternal affection and with pain in my heart, I read your open letter, which is the result of the persecutions and injustice you suffer.
Your words aren’t simply letters on paper with some signatures; they are drops from your tears and blood, which are shed silently, but before the throne of God they resonate as the cry of the righteous.
I embrace you all, young and old, clergy and laity, with all the paternal love and compassion of my heart.
Accept my undivided support, my unwavering backing, but above all my unceasing prayer for each one of you personally.
The path you walk is nothing other than a modern crusade, and in this crusade you carry the Cross of our Lord with silence, with courage, with prayer, and with great patience.
You are living through a Golgotha, but after Golgotha, don’t forget that Resurrection always follows. Don’t forget also that in all this you’re not alone.
In Corfu, on the blessed island of St. Spyridon, we pray together with you. We don’t forget you; we don’t abandon you.
Our saint, whose venerable shoe you have as a relic and witness of unity, is your invisible protector. He is the one who walks beside you and covers your church with his blessing.
May he, through his intercessions, protect your home, your beautiful church, from those who plot against your peace and plan seizures and desecrations.
I pray from the depths for the health of all those who were injured in the violent incidents; for your priests, who become symbols of sacrificial love; for every suffering soul who endures injustice with dignity and prayer, and I wish sincerely and wholeheartedly swift recovery, both physical and spiritual.
May our Lord, through the intercessions of the holy Wonderworker Spyridon, mobilize all those who must, bless you, strengthen you, support you, give you patience and bring to your country the much-desired peace!
Previously, an editorial from UOJ described the escalation of pressure against the UOC, as authorities are reportedly pursuing a new strategy to suppress its clergy: drafting them en masse into the military.
