Russian Occupation Church: How Priests of the Russian Orthodox Church help the Kremlin in the occupied territories and bless the war
The Russian Church is an instrument of occupation. Priests of the Russian Orthodox Church brainwise to people in the occupied territories, call military aggression “sacred” and justify the atrocities of Russian soldiers. They sanctify the missiles that kill Ukrainian children and women while the occupiers are repressing Ukrainian priests.
Repression against the Ukrainian clergy
First comes the Russian army, bringing destruction and death, and Russian priests follow Russian soldiers. They go to Ukrainian churches in the occupied territories and immediately burn spiritual literature in the Ukrainian language. Also, the FSB comes to Russian soldiers and begin repression against Ukrainian priests.
In 2022, Russian occupiers entered the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region. They disperse rallies, where Ukrainian priests and believers of different confessions pray to the sounds of shooting.
Prayer in Ukrainian is for Russians already a reason to hide a person by bar. Ukrainian clergymen of different faiths - the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), the Greek Catholic, Protestant churches were thrown into the dungeons.
Priests of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Ivan Levitsky and Bogdan Heleta prayed for peace in the center of Berdyansk in the Zaporizhzhia region. The Russians seized them and held them in prison for more than a year. Ukraine managed to free them thanks to international pressure on the Kremlin. Ukrainian priests have endured torture, bullying and beatings from warders.
“They walked and electrocuted even during meals right in the dining room. It was like a routine. There were seven of us in a double cell. It was in the basement and the water flowed from the walls. We slept on the floor. But the hardest thing was to hear screams and agony because of the door of torture,” recalls the priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Bogdan Heleta.
Even in prisons, priests were forbidden to pray in the Ukrainian language.
“We have been forbidden to read the gospel. They said that we can not gather people around us, because not only we will suffer, but all who are next to us, ”says Bogdan Heleta.
In prison, the Russians also threw priests of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
“I’ve been there for more than three and a half days without sleep, food and water. I was tortured with hunger, sleep deprivation and beaten with stun guns. He also hit his head against the wall. The officer asked me, “What is your name?” I say, “I am Archpriest Vasily Virozub.” And he hits me with a butt and says, “You don’t have a name here. And your god is not here,” recalls the priest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Vasyl Virozub.
Prison was not yet the worst punishment. In 2024, in the village of Kalanchak, Kherson region, Russians broke into the house of the priest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Stepan Podolchak, forcibly took him away and killed him. Before his execution, he was forced to move to the Moscow Patriarchate, but Father Stepan refused. He said he wouldn't change people and the oath.
Refused to help the occupiers and priest of the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine Alexander Bogomaz. Its temple and flocks are located in Melitopol. The Russians came to his home and threatened him with prison, and representatives of the FSB offered cooperation.
“They said I would reveal the secret of confession. And also, so that I move to the Moscow Patriarchate. Of course, I refused,” says the priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Alexander Bogomaz.
Father Alexander was more fortunate than many other priests - he was not thrown behind bars, but deported.
“The door was knocked out in masks. I went out to them on the street myself, raised my hands up. Turned the whole house, courtyard and church. I thought I'd be taken to Berdyansk in prison. But you see, God disposed of otherwise. I was interrogated for half a day, then put in the car and taken to Vasilyevka. We took fingerprints and then I crossed the gray zone on foot,” recalls Father Alexander.
The Metropolitan of the Donetsk and Mariupol Orthodox Church of Ukraine also threatened Serbia. He was also forced to leave his temple in the occupied territory. To him, as to other priests of the OCU, the Russians tried to apply the method of “carrot and carrot”.
“In the occupied territories, there was pressure on priests – intimidation and threats. They spoke to renounce the Ukrainian Church publicly on camera. They demanded to say that the Ukrainian language is the language of Satan. Promised privileges and service in the Cathedral. Some priests were even offered 20-30 thousand dollars. But no one of our priests went to this!”, – says Metropolitan Sergiy of Donetsk and Mariupol.
Only some representatives of the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate agreed to serve the occupiers.
“They are pressured and forced to go into direct subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate. There is, one might say, the annexation of dioceses, the paraphies, the communities of this church. They are subordinated directly to the Moscow Patriarchate, ”explains the scholar-theologian and publicist Kirill Govorun.
The Ukrainian Church is banned
The Ukrainian Church is actually banned in the occupied territories. Priests who refused to cooperate with the occupiers were either killed, either in prison or deported, and their churches were sealed and their entrance is prohibited. And in Crimea, the Russians simply dismantled the Church of the Cross - the last of those on the peninsula that belonged to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. But more often the temples are confiscated and given to the Russian Orthodox Church. This is the case with the temple of Bishop Sergius.
“The new priest held a prayer service and told people that now the church belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church. “If you want to be confessed, communed, then you must renounce your father Sergius.” This priest says: “Now I will read the prayer of repentance and you must repent and renounce.” And people need to renounce their church, those priests who baptized their children, crowned them. And as I was told by friends, 90% of people just lowered their heads and did not renounce. There were only some people, but I don’t judge them. It is not known how they were pressed and how they were processed,” says Vladyka Sergius.
They also take temples from Protestants. Thus, the building of the Christian Church “Word of Life” was hung with photos of Russian war criminals.
“They sawed down a cross and put a monument to the Zaporozhets car instead. This is the level of their culture and the level of their spiritual bonds. Our building is now used to promote the so-called Putin culture. Police live in other temple buildings. Some are used as warehouses. One temple was given to the communal service that deals with sewers, ”says Mikhail Brittyyn, pastor of the church of evangelical Christians, .
Desecrate the invaders and temples of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in the occupied territories.
“For example, in the Novoazovsky district there was a beautiful Holy Transfiguration Cathedral. When the representatives of the “Russian world” came there, they destroyed the iconostasis, all took out into the street and burned them. And a morgue was made from the temple, where their killed soldiers were taken, ”says Metropolitan Sergiy of Donetsk and Mariupol and Mariupol.
Russia completely destroyed the freedom of religion in the occupied territories. Putin’s goal is to keep the church in power, and the total domination of the Russian Orthodox Church. Therefore, not only Ukrainian priests, but also parishioners, are persecuted. Even praying in Ukrainian is forbidden for people to pray. The traditional greeting “Glory to Jesus Christ” and the answer “Glory to the Mostuary of God” was also banned.
“It is forbidden to pray for Ukraine. And it is forbidden to pray for people who left the occupied territories. They are called “traitors,” says Pastor Mikhail Britsyn.
ROC as an instrument of occupation
With the help of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Kremlin is trying to consolidate its power in the occupied territories.
“Priests from Russia come there. This is the standard state policy of the Russian Federation. They send teachers, officials and, of course, send priests. And these priests help the Russian occupation authorities, ”explains Oleg Okhredko, an analyst at the Almenda Center for Civic Education..
The priests of the Russian Orthodox Church accompany the protégants of the Kremlin, praise them, calling them “power from God.” They call on people to obey the collaborators and echo what the Moscow Patriarch Kirill says. Russian priests inspire the flock that it is necessary to be submissive to the Kremlin and pray for Putin, as the patriarch does.
Kirill overshadows himself with a cross every time he utters Putin’s name, as if it were something sacred. And he remembers Putin more often than Jesus.
“There is a brainwashing through the church. Quasi-religious ideology is being implanted. Yes, it uses a church dictionary, but is not a normative Orthodox religion. This is a political religion that is necessary in order to plant the ideas of Russian propaganda among the population, including in the occupied territories, ”explains the scholar-theologic and publicist Kirill Govorun.
Pettyrs from the ROC preach not evangelical truths, but the ideology of the “Russian world” – distort history and claim that Ukraine should not exist at all. People are hammered into the head that they must become part of Russia. And the main thing that people demand from the occupied territories are “unanimity” and “obedience”.
“Primorion should think exactly as they are told and do not have their own opinion. So the priests of the ROC transform the consciousness of people - you must think as the authorities point out. And it's very dangerous. When a person comes to church, he opens his consciousness to a priest - trusts him, opens his soul. A person is guided not to think critically and to perceive everything as an absolute truth. So the Russian Orthodox Church can easily reformat the consciousness of believers, ”says religious scholar Oksana Gorkusha..
At the same time, the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church do not shy away to tell the flock of nonsense.
“The Soviet water disinfection system in Ukraine was replaced by some American chemicals and trace elements, and through the tap water everything is easier to mix certain trace elements and bring the human psyche into the imbalance,” said Artemy Vladimirov, a priest of the ROC.
That is why, according to the priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, Ukrainians consider themselves Ukrainians, not Russians. And he calls Ukrainian identity poison. But in fact, poison is propaganda that Russian priests sow in the occupied territories. They say that Ukrainians should be hated. Priests of the ROC call themselves Christians and reach the point where they claim: in hatred and murder, there is no sin.
Russian Priests Call for Hate
The ROC educates this hatred in the parishioners. And such a church in its current form has little in common with Christianity. The priests of the Russian Orthodox Church glorify aggression against Ukraine, and the “Russian People’s Council” under the leadership of the Moscow Patriarch Kirill officially adopted a document in which he proclaimed the so-called SVO “sacred war”. Sounds like a jihad of the Taliban or ISIS.
Russian priests sanctify weapons directly in the churches, which are then Putin’s soldiers killed by Ukrainians. They go to sanctify even missiles, which then fly to the peaceful cities of Ukraine and from which civilians, including women and children, die. At the same time, ministers of imperial worship are urging people in the occupied territories to pray for Russian soldiers.
“Every service in Mariupol ends with a prayer for the Russian host. Therefore, this is a means of one hundred percent propaganda, ”says the head of the Center for the Study of the Occupation .
Naturally, the clergy of the ROC in the occupied territories call for the help of the Putin army, and even better - to join its ranks. They themselves go to the front line with the main call - to die without hesitation.
It is necessary to give life in the “meat assaults”, where soldiers are thrown without armored vehicles, air cover and with a chance to survive, almost equal zero. But that is the purpose of the Russian priest is to convince the soldier to execute any order.
The fact that soldiers are obliged to sacrifice themselves tirelessly repeats and the Primate of this, cultivating death, of the Church of Cyril, in the world - Mr. Gundyaev. This pseudo-Orthodox, pseudo-priest war, Cyril praises in the temple of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation against the background of icons in bloody tones. This temple is called black and it is little like a Christian shrine - created in the militaristic style, everywhere depicts weapons. Here, every meter glorifies the war of Russian generals and here endlessly calls to destroy enemies.
Residents of Russia and the occupied territories are already preparing for new wars.
“From Vladivostok to Kaliningrad. Let's hope that Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine will join us in the near future. Georgia is on the way. And what will happen to the Baltic States - you can guess themselves, ”said the priest of the Russian Orthodox Church Artemy Vladimirov.
Priests who are truly Christians cannot say that. Patriarch Kirill replaced Christianity with the ideology of the “Russian world”.
“The Church is one of the main ragors of this ideology. It is imposed on Ukrainians in the occupied territory, but this ideology is inherently fascist - it is not much different from the ideology in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. This “religion” only looks like a religion, but has little to do with Christianity. The result is rivers of blood. The result of this political religion is the policy of annihilation and genocide,” says the scholar-theologian Kirill Govorun.
The Russian Orthodox Church is part of the state propaganda machine of the Russian Federation. It extends its tentacles in the occupied territories, especially the most vulnerable, children and adolescents. Their worldview has not yet been formed and the ROC seeks to take possession of their minds. Thus, in all schools introduced the subject “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture”, and it is often taught by churchmen.
“We are spreading Russian ideas that there is supposedly one people. They are trying to destroy the Ukrainian identity and turn children into cogs of the Russian state, ”says Oleg Okhredko, an analyst at the Almenda Center for Civic Education.
In the occupied Berdyansk, an Orthodox gymnasium was even opened, where ideological pumping with dogmas of the “Russian world” is conducted in all lessons. This was insisted by the Moscow Patriarch Kirill.
Outside of school, the Russian Orthodox Church is also trying to keep a young flock under control - it organized a children's movement in the occupied territories, something like a pioneer. It is called “The Brotherhood of Orthodox Pathfinders.” Their motto is “Be ready. I’m always ready for God, for Russia.”
“In addition to ideological and religious pumping of children, children are also taught to handle weapons. They are taken to camps where they are engaged in military affairs. And these weapons can then be turned against Ukraine. What the priests are talking about,” says Oleg Ohrreko.
Some priests of the ROC themselves take up arms and urge children to take an example from them.
“This leads to the fact that children have a psyche. They are starting to think that war is not bad. The priest, contrary to the commandment “don’t kill”, actually blesses murder. For the child's psyche, all this is very harmful and then it is very difficult to fix, "- explains Oleg Ohredko, an analyst at the Almenda Center for Civil Education.
The monopoly of the ROC based on the bayonets of the occupiers is a real problem for adults, especially for church Ukrainians. What should they do when you need to baptize a child, to bury the deceased in a Christian way, get married or go to communion, how did they do it all their lives? They are forced to go to the Russian Orthodox Church, because there is no alternative.
“People have no choice, they do not have the ability to realize their religious needs in another way. Therefore, they are forced to go to those churches that exist, ”says Peter Andryushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation.
Clandestine services
Nevertheless, many Ukrainians who are in the occupation realize that the ROC has little in common with faith in Christ and his sermon about love for one’s neighbor. That's why they're praying at home. They gather each other to perform divine services, and some - through messengers, they keep video with their priests who had to leave. They, at least remotely, hold the liturgy. And some Ukrainian priests, decriminal of danger, remain in the occupied territories.
“There are also clergymen on the territory of the temporarily occupied areas, which clandestinely perform worship. They gather the community so that no one knows about it,” says the primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine ЕпифанийEpiphanius.
The situation is increasingly reminiscent of the catacomb church with all the risks and threats that follow. The Russians are now trying to track down Ukrainian priests. If possible, they are arrested and killed, and at best - deported.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine asks its clergy to leave the occupied territories.
“Human life is a value and we do not want to endanger our clergymen. But there are priests who decide for themselves to stay. They are loyal to their community and are even ready to suffer,” says the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Epiphanius.
Ukrainian priests risk freedom and life, because they are hunted. The priests of the imperial church act in the occupied territories as agents of the Russian special services. This is reported by the Center for National Resistance of Ukraine. Representatives of the ROC collect data on patriotic parishioners and then transfer them to the punitive authorities.
The Russian Orthodox Church, as for hundreds of years of history, remains an instrument of occupation and genocide. Putin does not just catch the territory – he needs to poison the souls of the people who live there, and the easiest way to do it with the help of the ROC. After all, the scheme has already been worked out - with the use of this church, the Kremlin managed to fool a lot of Russians.
But with Ukrainians it is more difficult to do. Many people in the occupied territories do not want to change God into an idol called the “Russian world” and beat bows in the black temples of the war. They will never exchange true Christianity for pseudo-Christian Russian Nazism.
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