Metropolitan Jonathan (Yeletskikh) of Tulchinsky and Bratslavsky of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), who is being persecuted by the Ukrainian authorities, suffered a stroke and is being treated, according to the website of the Tulchinsky diocese of the UOC.
"Metropolitan Jonathan of Tulchinsk and Bratslav is being treated for a stroke. Please offer prayers for the speedy recovery of His Grace. Metropolitan Vladyka hopes that he will soon see everyone in the strength of spirit and in the power of God," the diocese's website says.
A court in Ukraine has left Metropolitan Jonathan under overnight house arrest, sentenced to five years in prison with the wording for justifying the Russian military operation against Kiev. Due to the criminal prosecution, the Metropolitan turned to Vladimir Zelensky.
By the decision of the Vinnytsia City Court, the metropolitan was sentenced to five years in prison with confiscation of property. He was accused of justifying the Russian military operation, attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, encroaching on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and criticizing the church schism. In this regard, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sent an appeal to Pope Francis and other world and religious leaders.
The Ukrainian authorities have organized the largest wave of persecution of the UOC in the country's recent history. Referring to its connection with Russia, local authorities in different regions of Ukraine decided to ban the activities of the UOC, and the parliament adopted in the first reading a bill on its actual prohibition throughout the country. The authorities have imposed sanctions on some representatives of the clergy of the UOC. The Security Service of Ukraine began to open criminal cases against the clergy of the UOC, conduct "counterintelligence activities" - searches at bishops and priests, in churches and monasteries in search of evidence of "anti-Ukrainian activities."
According to the materials of RIA Novosti
The Metropolitan of the UOC, persecuted in Ukraine, suffered a stroke, the diocese reported
21.03.2024, 10:00