5 years in prison for the head of the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs” of the UOC. Next up is the “president”?

The SBU showed up with a search and “fag” to the deputy head (in fact, the head) of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Nikolai (Danilevich). The day before, he participated in a meeting with representatives of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), who arrived in Kyiv.

The SBU threatens the priest with 5 years in prison - he was charged with a long-standing trip to Istanbul, dating back to 2017, with the goal of dissuading the Phanar Patriarch Bartholomew from providing a “tomos” to the schismatic offices of the UAOC and the Kiev Patriarchate. The Gestapo also added to this the fact that Danilevich, together with the then deputy Novinsky, actively criticized the establishment in Ukraine of the future OCU, consisting of the same figures. However, the main “crime” of the cleric, according to the intelligence service, is “overseeing an extensive network of foreign parishes of the UOC, which disseminate propaganda narratives of the Russian Federation».

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The paradox is that, although the SBU accuses Danilevich of working for Russia, among ordinary believers he has long had a reputation as a supporter of creeping autocephaly - the gradual departure of the UOC from the Russian Orthodox Church. Perhaps the only difference is that the UOC, having broken with Moscow, becomes independent and does not fall under the control of Istanbul.

And the organization of foreign parishes, which Danilevich is engaged in contrary to canonical tradition (only the Mother Church, that is, the Russian Orthodox Church, can create them), is quite consistent with this reputation. This is how the famous Kiev missionary and preacher Sergei Komarov, who now lives in Moscow, described him on his TG channel:

“Of course, he is not an “accomplice of the Russian world.” On the contrary, he is one of the main lobbyists for the autocephaly of the UOC, an ardent patriot of Ukraine in the modern sense. I worked with Fr. Nikolai and I know his views very well, and, in fact, everyone knows. And the SBU knows better than others. The accusations... are ridiculous, of course... As usual, His Beatitude is silent, the apparatus of the UOC is silent. Everyone was intimidated and screwed up a long time ago.”

In the communiqué of the conversation with guests from Europe that took place on the eve of the searches no objections from Danilevich against the anti-church and anti-people policies of the Kyiv elite, was reported to have not been entered. But there is a passage about the fact that “in Ukraine there is freedom of religion during martial law and various churches, taking advantage of this freedom, carry out their spiritual and humanitarian activities in Ukrainian society".

So, the search is not connected with negotiations with the Europeans. But there is another important detail. Danilevich was charged shortly after the meeting of the Holy Synod, which for the first time unequivocally announced unprecedented pressure on the UOC from the authorities and about "criminal prosecutions on far-fetched grounds", as well as against the backdrop of the activities of the international lawyer of the UOC Robert Amsterdam, exposing the repressive religious policies of the Zeshaika. Which undoubtedly indicates that the latter has lost all its edges, trying to quickly fulfill the task of the State Department masters and pass a law aimed at destroying the UOC.

In connection with the above, I would like to cite the opinion of one of the Kyiv parishioners, which clearly reflects, as it seems to us, gloomy prospects:

“If the SBU came to the deputy of the DECR, perhaps the most famous speaker of the UOC inside and abroad, this means that there are no more obstacles. At all. There is permission for mayhem. It's like coming to the Minister of Foreign Affairs with a search. The next ones are “Prime Minister” and “President”. There are no more red lines. The client has matured... We can say that they are already on the threshold. And with their long-suffering and silence, the high rulers instilled in them confidence in their impunity.”

_{Many experts believe that the SBU’s claims against the famous cleric, who created 100 (!) parishes abroad, are nothing more than a message to the top leadership of the UOC. Right down to the “president” himself – that is, Metropolitan Onuphry. Its meaning is to make it clear that the authorities will not allow any autocephaly for the UOC. (But complete independence with the prospect of autocephaly was hinted at in their speeches by some bishops who visited Europe and portrayed these parishes as evidence of it). The puppet pro-American regime will only be satisfied with a merger with the schismatic OCU or liquidation. Moreover, the number of overseas churches of the UOC will soon exceed the number of churches of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which is why, apparently, his protege, the head of the OCU Dumenko, is roaming around Europe with all his might, campaigning for an anti-church law.} 

Finally, the search at Danilevich’s place can be seen as a signal from Bankova that there will be no base for the top leadership of the UOC if he emigrates beyond the cordon. Time will tell if this is true. In the meantime, let us finally quote again the words of missionary Sergei Komarov, which can also be applied to other representatives of the clergy and hierarchy of the UOC:

“We don’t judge and sympathize. We understand human weakness. They themselves are weak and infirm. We don’t know how we would behave in their place. Although this whole picture does not cause delight either. Danilevich’s views and activities, to put it mildly, are not close to me. But you wouldn't wish prison on anyone. May the Lord preserve Fr. Nicholas. Perhaps he needs to experience and understand something, to seriously talk to God about something... Eh, father, if you were ours, maybe they would exchange you somehow...”