Believers with the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine intend to go on a “cross procession” during Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s visit to Kyiv to chant slogans including “Our Patriarch is Kirill.”
This is evidenced by a survey posted on one of the Telegram channels affiliated with the ROCinU.
In particular, the ROCinU faithful were asked: how do you want to meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew when he arrives in Ukraine.
Most of the respondents answered that a procession was needed “to the location where Patriarch Bartholomew will be”, and that the crowd should chant “Our patriarch is Kirill!”
It turns out that Russian aggression against Ukraine, blessed and supported by Moscow Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev), is less of a threat to ROCinU believers than the visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who broke the chains of Ukrainian Orthodoxy’s dependence on Russia. This suggests that the majority of ROCinU believers, according to the opinion poll, support Putin’s policy of occupying Crimea and the propaganda concept of “one people.”
Telegram channel admins have turned to Volodymyr Zelensky in their post, asking to take into account the opinion of the Myriany NGO (a front nonprofit the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine has been using to promote its political agenda).
We also ask the relevant law enforcement and security services, as well as the country’s leadership, to look into the pro-Russian efforts by the said NGO and its handlers, the ROC in Ukraine. They seem to have managed to brainwash people so much they don’t consider their religious organization part of the ROC, while at the same time openly and confidently saying that their patriarch is in Moscow, the capital of the aggressor power.
At the same time, the ROCinU is sending contradicting orders to their faithful. One decision-making center paid those taking part in a rally for drawing posters saying “We did not call you, Bartholomew” for money; while the other center, on the contrary, is seeking to meet with Patriarch Bartholomew. Isn’t that a personality split for the part of the Moscow Patriarchate?
