Manuals from Moscow, Russian citizenship and military IDs found during search in Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Diocese

This was announced by the SBU, Espreso reports.

“As a result of investigative actions, law enforcement officers discovered documents confirming the presence of Russian citizenship in the leadership of diocesan structures. Correspondence of diocesan leaders with their Moscow curators was also exposed, in which they receive "manuals" regarding the "peculiarities" of holding church liturgies after a full-scale invasion,” SBU said.

According to the special service, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church were tasked with disinformation about the socio-political situation in Ukraine and the situation at the front. In particular, the UOC priests were required to deny the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, to talk about the alleged oppression of the "Moscow Church", etc.

In addition, the SBU also found warehouses on the territory of the diocese with wholesale batches of pro-Kremlin literature that praises the aggressor country and calls for support for the occupying Russian forces. 

“During the inspection of the computers of the diocese's leadership, photocopies of the identity cards of Russian soldiers who took part in hostilities against the Ukrainian troops were found. Among such documents is the identity card of the "hero of Russia", signed by the Russian Minister of Defense for the "seizure of Crimea" in 2014,” the department noted.

Investigators opened criminal proceedings for treason (Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code). Currently, procedural actions are ongoing.

Earlier, the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reported on its Facebook page that the SBU was conducting searches.

“The information circulating on the Internet about the seizure of the St. Nicholas Church and the diocesan administration by armed men is unreliable. There are no representatives of external religious organizations on the territory of the diocese. This is not a takeover,” the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church clarified.

Photo: SBU in the Chernivtsi region