FAKE NEWS: Ukraine forbids Orthodox Christians from attending the Easter Vigil

FAKE NEWS: Ukraine forbids Orthodox Christians from attending the Easter Vigil
© EPA-EFE/SERGEY DOLZHENKO   |   Ukrainians paint eggs during the Easter Eggs Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, 30 April 2024.

Kyiv is using the war against Russia to forbid citizens from coming to church on Easter ad to attack Orthodox traditional values, pro-Kremlin propaganda writes.

Ukrainian authorities encourage “schismatic” Christmas and boycott Orthodox Easter

NEWS: Schismatics are calling on the inhabitants of the Zaporizhzhia region to boycott Easter celebrations. Bishop Fotiy, the head of the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, urged parishioners not to come to churches for the Easter Vigil. The announcement was posted by the Regional Military Administration.

The bishop motivated his decision invoking security reasons, arguing that staying at home is the best way to ensure people’s health and security.

At the same time, last Christmas, which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church moved to December 25 in line with Western tradition, people were not advised to stay at home, and the same happened with the Roman-Catholic Easter in April.

“I lost all my family in the war, and everyone I hold dear is at church. What am I supposed to do?”, one comment reads.

“An amateur theatre company is staging a cheap performance, and lest it should embarrass itself, it has taken refuge in small online platforms”, other citizens write.

NARRATIVE: Ukraine is undermining Orthodox values and forbids citizens from taking part in the Easter Vigil.

BACKGROUND: In 2019, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople signed the tomos that officially recognized the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is subordinated to the Moscow Patriarchate, refused to participate in the process of establishing a united church. As a result, there are two Orthodox churches operating in Ukraine: the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, canonically affiliated to the Moscow Patriarchate. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine has the largest number of places of worship in the central and western regions of the country, being poorly represented in the east and south.

Being much more flexible and in closer to the authorities since the start of the war, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine accepted the gradual transition to the revised Julian calendar and the celebration of Christmas on December 25, instead of January 7. The Russian media uses every opportunity, including military developments, to discredit the Ukrainian churches that have switched to the new calendar or to describe Ukrainian authorities as institutions that speak out against Christian values, while Moscow is forced to come to the defense of the oppressed parishioners. Church affairs have been central to Russian war propaganda. The new Orthodox church is labeled schismatic, sometimes satanic.

PURPOSE: To manipulate public opinion regarding security on the frontline, to stimulate societal distrust in the Ukrainian authorities and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Russia bombs Zaporizhzhia hundreds of times a day, while the Church cannot take responsibility for the security of parishioners for Saturday’s Easter Vigil

WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: In fact, neither the Ukrainian authorities nor the Orthodox Church of Ukraine forbade parishioners to participate in the Easter Vigil and do not speak against Christian values. The article published in the Russian media misquotes a statement by Bishop Fotiy from Zaporizhzhia, who expressed concern about the deterioration of the situation in the southeast of Ukraine and the intensification of Russian bombings. For this reason, the bishop claims that the Church cannot guarantee the security of parishioners for the Saturday night Easter Vigil and cannot take responsibility if Orthodox Christians take part in that religious service in large numbers. Therefore, the inhabitants of the Zaporizhzhia region are urged to stay at home and watch the Easter Vigil online.

Russian propaganda cites the pages of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, accusing the authorities of supporting the “schismatics” and their initiative. The pro-Kremlin media overlooks the fact that Zaporizhzhia is a constant target for Russian attacks – on April 29 alone, the region was attacked 254 times. In the context of intensifying shelling from Russian armed forces, the message urging to Ukrainians to be careful and advising them not to risk their lives during mass events, which are prohibited under martial law, is one of concern to all citizens.

Security risks caused by Russia's war against Ukraine are presented as actions designed to undermine Orthodox values.

The Russian media also accuses the Church and the authorities of not forbidding parishioners to come to Christmas celebrations, observed according to the new calendar, or to Catholic Easter religious services, describing Kyiv as an enemy of Orthodox traditions. In actual fact, the comparison is false, because most Orthodox churches that have switched to the new calendar are not in the east and south of the country (in the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, etc.), but actually in the west. At the same time, the security context was much more stable in the Zaporizhzhia region in December 2023, around Christmas, compared to the current period, after the loss of the village of Avdiivka to the Russians. There is only one Catholic church in Zaporizhzhia, therefore saying that Ukrainian authorities of encouraging and supporting other denominations to the detriment of the Orthodox is an invalid accusation.

Russian propaganda cites people who are disgruntled with the message of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, although neither the YouTube channel nor the Facebook page cited by the pro-Kremlin publication contains any such comment.

  • Publication / Media:
    UKRAINA.RU
  • Date of publication:
    30/04/2024
  • Target audience:
    The Russian-speaking population in Russia and in Russian-held territories of Ukraine
  • Amplification:
    SMI.TODEY, LV.SPUTNIKNEWS.RU, ZP-NEWS.RU, the Telegram channels of Russian media outlets
  • Political affiliation:
    The Kremlin
  • Key narrative:
    Ukraine undermines Orthodox values and forbids citizens from attending the Easter Vigil
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