Video emerges of Moscow Patriarchate priest denied entry

The first video recordings surfaced on the Internet on
Jan. 13 of a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate being
physically blocked from entering his church. Parishioners of St. Michael’s
Orthodox Church in the village of Vorsiv in the Zhytomyr region voted at a
parish meeting to join the newly created Orthodox Church of Ukraine, reported
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Yet the church’s Moscow Patriarchate clergy
opposed the move, reportedly claiming that those who came to block their entry
are not members of the parish and don’t have the right to prevent their entry.
Those aligned with the Moscow Patriarchate conducted their Sunday Divine
Liturgy outside the church, RFE/RL reported.

The same day, Ukrainian President Poroshenko said that
he defends the religious rights of Ukrainian citizens to remain with the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate. “If someone wants to maintain
holy unity with the Russian church, that’s their choice. It’s not a problem if
they can accept that they are attending a Moscow church when Moscow is killing
Ukrainians. As president and guarantor of the Constitution, I can defend their
choice,” he said while attending a Divine Liturgy at the Holy Transfiguration
Cathedral in his political base of Vinnytsia. The cathedral’s leadership was
among the first Moscow Patriarchate churches to heed the president’s call to join
the newly created church.

Recall, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox
Christian Church granted on Jan. 6 canonical recognition
to the newly created Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Currently, the Orthodox Church
of Ukraine has canonical status and doesn’t recognize it for the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, and vice versa. Parliament voted in late
December to require the Moscow Patriarchate to change its name
to the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which it refuses to do. The conflict
in Ukraine has divided the Orthodox Christian world between those churches
aligned with the Constantinople patriarchate, and those aligned with Moscow.

Zenon Zawada: The video
image of a priest being blocked from his church is powerful, certain to stir
the emotions of Ukrainians who both favor and oppose the Jan. 6 establishment
of the canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Those affected will either more
strongly support Poroshenko, or the Russian-oriented forces. Moreover, the
Russian media are certain to exploit them, particularly when they involve
aggressive people with nationalist symbols, promoting the narrative of “hostile
pogroms” being perpetrated in Ukraine. More videos will likely surface
throughout the current presidential election campaign, including physical
altercations between parishioners (which has been occurring for as long as
Ukraine has been independent).

As we’ve reported, the president’s main political
enemy in these presidential elections is Yulia Tymoshenko, who will certainly
work to dismantle the political and business dominance of the current elites
(as represented by Poroshenko) should she become president. She has avoided
cultural issues in her campaign and has focused on economics, a strategy that
is working so far.

So even religious conflicts that bolster support
for Ukraine’s Russian-oriented forces work to Poroshenko’s advantage since
there is ample evidence that he has forged a political-business alliance with
them (particularly Yuriy Boyko and Viktor Medvedchuk of the Oppositon Platform,
as well as Rinat Akhmetov and Oleksandr Vilkul of the Opposition Bloc). This is
the phony opposition to the Ukrainian oligarchy, while the real opposition is
Tymoshenko (though the wisdom of her policies is a separate matter).