UPTsMP METROPOLITAN OF ODESSA TO PTsU PRIEST: "IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR YOU, JUDAS, NOT TO HAVE BEEN CONCEIVED IN MOTHER'S WOMB
Religiia v Ukraine, 28 January 2019
The website of the Odessa diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UPTsMP) reports that in the township of Sarata the rector of the church of the Protection, Archpriest Vladislav Shiman, "for fear of the Jews," "slid into schism," that is, he transferred into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Metropolitan Agafangel, the ruling bishop and a member of the Holy Synod of the UPTsMP, considers that it would have been better for this priest not to have been born, Religiia v Ukraine reports, referring to Ahilla.ru.
The diocese published an ukase in which the priest is accused not only of schism, violation of the priest's oath, and lying under oath, but also of "participation in political adventure, bullshit, and hypocrisy."
The bishop, Metropolitan of Odessa and Izmail Agafangel, threatens the priest with heavenly chastisement: "If you venture in such a condition to perform a liturgy, then the bread will not be transformed into the body of Christ nor the wine into the blood of Christ, and you will remain under the bishop's curse until the Second Coming."
If the priest were not yet sufficiently frightened, then a quotation from a stikhera [hymn] of Great Thursday is cited: "It would be better for you, Judas, not to have been conceived in your mother's womb; better for you, traitor, not to have been born." "About which this ukase is given to you."
A special feature of the order is also that it is written in Ukrainian. Usually internal documents in the Odessa diocese of the UPTsMP are in the Russian language. (tr. by PDS, posted 28 January 2019)
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