SOLDIERS DEMAND KNOWLEDGE OF "OUR FATHER" IN UKRAINIAN BY UPTsMP PRIESTS WISHING TO ENTER ATO ZONE
Religiia v Ukraine, 7 November 2014
Archpriest Zakhary Kerstiuk, a priest of the UPTs (Moscow patriarchate), who delivers humanitarian aid under the aegis of the mission Compassion without Borders to cities liberated during the conduct of the Antiterrorist Operation [ATO] in the east of Ukraine, described the impediments he faces on his travels, a correspondent of the portal Religiia v Ukraine reports.
"The guys in the checkpoints in the ATO zone have a new trick," the priest writes on 6 November in Facebook. "They check all 'Moscow priests' for their knowledge of the 'Our Father' in the Ukrainian language. The soldiers approach this question quite seriously. If you do not recite they do not let you pass and they force you to learn it right there at the checkpoint and only then do they let you pass. The company commander was very surprised when I recite the 'Our Father' for him the first time. He said that he finally has met a genuine, Ukrainian, Moscow priest and patriot of Ukraine. In confirmation of what he said we provided the boys at this checkpoint new, warm boots, thermal underwear, socks, down jackets, and food. This completely 'slay them.' We are continuing to destroy the stereotypes of the bad 'Moscow church'"
It should be noted that this incident coincided with the events slated for the Day of Ukrainian Literature and Language, which is celebrated on 9 November. Since the beginning of this week, event have been conducted in cities and districts of the Donetsk province that are aimed at popularizing Ukrainian culture—contests of experts in the Ukrainian language, meetings with writers and linguists, exhibits in libraries, academic conferences, round tables, cultural and artistic festivals, and the like.
We recall that divine liturgies in the Ukrainian language were sanctioned by the Holy Synod of UPTsMP back in the last century, although in practice they were not welcomed in the Kiev metropolia and were mainly scattered about the western dioceses of Ukraine. Thus, more than 25% of parishes in the Volyn diocese of UPTsMP conduct services in Ukrainian or in blended languages.
On 16 September, Archpriest Zakhary Kerstiuk described another interesting episode that happened to him during a humanitarian mission: "Checkpoint of the Right Sector. The column was stopped. Came out, showed all documents. Checked the first vehicle. A man approaches with a stern look. Turns out to be the commander and he looks at me and asks: 'Which patriarchate are you from? Kiev or Moscow?' And he sees. Alongside them are another 10 persons with weapons in their hands. I do not say that I did not expect such a question. I expected it. They often ask them at the checkpoints. But the reaction to the correct answer is not always clear. So he is somewhat embarrassed and confused. I answer: 'What's the problem. We have all the documents and permits for traveling in the ATO.' I do not know why, but the words and phrases have stayed in my head a long time. The commander responded to my reply: 'Are you Filaretites or UPTs?' Such a phrasing of the question caught me even more off guard. I did not expect such a formulation from a Right Sector commander. Of course I told him that I was a UPTs priest. He handed his weapon to a soldier, took off his helmet, drew closer to me, and asked for a blessing. About 12 persons did the same thing. It turned out he was a profound believer and parishioner of UPTs. He said that he tried to form his own company with these guys. My conversation with UPTs parishioners who are members of Right Sector turned out very interesting." (tr. by PDS, posted 9 November 2014)