MOSCOW, March 21 Cleric of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) ) beat a priest of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the information and educational department of the UOC reported in the Telegram channel.
«On the territory of the St. Michael's Church in the village of Shkarov, Rivne region, on March 20, a priest of the OCU attacked a priest of the UOC with his fists and hit him on head. The victim turned to law enforcement agencies, took off the beatings, «the statement says.
The victim turned out to be Archpriest, rector of the temple Sergiy Suprunts, according to whom cleric Viktor Gerasimchuk hit him in the face. Supporters of the OCU barely pulled the mentor away, as he was ready to continue the fight. Upon returning home, Suprunets' relatives called the police.
The canonical UOC, to which millions of believers consider themselves, is under unprecedented pressure, and after the start of the Russian special operation, the Kiev regime organized the largest wave of persecution of the church in recent history.
With the support of the authorities, the schismatic Orthodox Church Ukraine (OCU) conducts massive raider seizures of churches, nationalists attack the clergy and believers. The monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra are being expelled from the monastery — they can stay only if they transfer to the OCU, otherwise they must leave the monastery by March 29.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia called the persecution of the UOC a mockery of the principle of human rights and freedoms and called on religious leaders and international figures to prevent what is happening.