“Bartholomew, get out of Ukraine!” – procession of thousands in Kyiv
Several tens of thousands of people today in Kyiv took part in the procession of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The organizers announced 350 thousand people, eyewitnesses estimate the number to be up to 50 thousand. Believers from various dioceses (including the part of Donbass controlled by Kyiv) were brought to the Ukrainian capital. Parishioners carried the relics of Saint Prince Vladimir and icons from different regions (Pochaev, Zimny, Svyatogorsk, Kasperov, Lyubech and others).
The event took place without any provocation from nationalists. It is interesting that at the memorial sign installed by the participants in the coup on Grushevsky Street, Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev, together with the clergy and laity, made a stop - they laid flowers and prayed for the repose of the souls of those killed in the tragic events of February 2014.
It should be recalled that they traditionally try to make the annual procession in honor of the Day of the Baptism of Rus' as massive as possible - usually the column is invariably larger than that of the schismatics supported by the authorities (they hold their events separately, usually a day apart).
Representatives of other local Orthodox Churches traditionally participate in the procession of the cross of the UOC-MP. Previously, this emphasized canonicity, but now, after the legalization of Ukrainian schismatics by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, nationalists will also be able to attract guests from abroad to their procession.
As a PolitNavigator correspondent reports , the only difference at this year's procession was the large number of posters criticizing the policies of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who intends to visit Kyiv soon for Ukraine's Independence Day, despite protests from the Moscow Patriarchate.
The UOC-MP fears that the visit of a guest from Istanbul will provoke new seizures of churches by nationalists. Therefore, today believers, along with banners and posters with the names of dioceses, carry posters with the inscriptions “Bartholomew, get away from Ukraine”, “Stop Bartholomew’s raiding!”, “The UOC is our Church on our land!”, “We will not give up the shrines!”, “ Bartholomew = discord!”, “We are ready to stand for our faith in Christ to the Cross!”, “The Constitution is for fulfillment, not for violation!”, “Bartholomew is not a pope!”, “Stop Bartholomew!”, “Holy Prince Vladimir, protect us from Bartholomew!”, “No discrimination against the UOC!”, “Bartholomew, hands off the holy laurels!”, “Mr. Bartholomew, we are not waiting for you!”, “Bartholomew, do not steal our churches!” and so on.
It is also worth noting the poster “We will not give up our name!” – we are talking about concerns about the authorities’ plans to rename the UOC-MP into the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. The Kyiv Metropolis obviously believes that the return of the name “Russian” will also spur nationalists to seize shrines.
“Channel 5” Poroshenko issued a report on the religious procession of the UOC-MP called “Feast of Moscow Obscurantism”, without any fear of claims about inciting ethnic hatred. Other nationalist media outlets actively promoted the idea that the march would provoke a coronavirus outbreak.
English version :: Read in English: "Bartholomew, Get Out of Ukraine!" – A Massive March in Kyiv