RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


Orthodox resent Ukrainian national symbol

UPTs PRIEST ANGERED BY UKRAINIAN FLAG AT SOLDIER'S FUNERAL IN SLAVIANSK

Religiia v Ukraine, 17 December 2014

 

A priest in an Orthodox church of UPTs (Moscow patriarchate) in Slaviansk demanded that a Ukrainian flag be removed during a memorial service for a soldier who died in the Donetsk airport, Religiia v Ukraine reports with a reference to Crime.in.ua.

 

"A fighter of the Zhitomir 95th Airmobile Brigade was being buried in our cemetery in Slaviansk. There was a civil memorial in the square and then they went to the cemetery. In the cemetery is a small church of the Moscow patriarchate. . . . My daughter had a Ukrainian flag draped on her shoulders," Igor Senchenko, a public activist and volunteer, described for "OstroVu."

 

He said that at first this incident bothered one of the women in the church. "She said right away: 'Take the flags away from here.' Then the batyushka joined in: 'Take this propaganda away.' I said to them: 'Wait, this is not propaganda. We are in Ukraine. This is my daughter and she has a Ukrainian flag—not an American or Russia. 'This is propaganda; take it away. The chevrons are okay; let them stay,'" Senchenko relayed the dialogue with the priest.

 

Because the incident arose at a burial, people did not want to raise a commotion, but they were very upset. The 16-year-old girl removed the flag from her shoulders and held it in her hands during the memorial service.

 

The press service of the Donetsk provincial state administration reported that a civil memorial service was held in Slaviansk for 28-year-old A. Remeniuk, a soldier of the 95th Airmobile Brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine, who died heroically on 8 December in a battle with illegal armed formations while defending the Donetsk international airport. Relatives, colleagues, fighters of other armed subdivisions, workers of the city council, and residents of the city accompanied the fighter from 95-OAMB on his final journey. Upon the conclusion of the memorial service, a funeral march was conducted. The fighter was buried in the northern cemetery of the city. (tr. by PDS, posted 18 December 2014)


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