Posted on 01/22/2014 9:34:41 AM PST by FormerLib
Yesterday morning, monks from the Kiev-Caves Lavra Fr. Gabriel, Fr. Melchisedek, and Fr. Ephraim stood on Grushevsky Street in Kiev with a cross and icons, between the demonstrators and the Ukrainian special police force “Berkut”, and stopped the conflict. They entered the arena as peace-makers, and not in support of one side or the other.
Although they were invited to join the “people”, the fathers only prayed and sang the Paschal troparion: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life,” wrote the Ramensky deanery of Moscow on its facebook page. The conflict ceased.
(Excerpt) Read more at pravoslavie.ru ...
Save Thy people, O Lord,
and bless Thine inheritance.
Grant victory to Thy Church over her enemies,
and protect Thy people by Thy Holy Cross!
What were the protestors protesting about?
The weather.
They are demanding the Global Warming they were promised.
(I have no idea what they were protesting)
According to the BBC, they are protesting the Ukrainian government’s rejection of a treaty to join the European Union.
There were clashes between the protesters and riot police again as the government ordered the protesters to be removed from the streets. Some of the protesters were forced into vans and taken away. The city hall, where hundreds of protesters were camping out, was assaulted but the police did not invade it. All of this was between 2:00 and 8:00 am Ukrainian time. President Yanukovich has been advised by several top officials of different countries (including the USA) that the use of force against these protesters is not acceptable, but he refuses to listen and chooses to use force on them anyway.
Here is the Kyiv Post, an english web site where you can read the events that have happened.
I'm not in a dangerous place, as I'm living 500 miles from the capital city. There have been only peaceful rallies here in western Ukraine. Thank you for your prayers!
A couple days ago, she sent this:
Violence has broken out again between the protesters and the police again. It looks pretty terrible on the video. Please pray for the peace to be restored!
That second link is a lot of video. Clicking along the time line will show speeches being made and lines of protestors and such.
Things are real edgy in Ukraine right now. Some of the Oligarchs support the West. Many from the industrialized eastern portion support Russia. Ukraine is caught between the EU and Russia. Neither has the best interests of Ukrainians in mind.
Maybe. It might also be a ploy. The monastery is in the hands of the pro-Moscovite party Kievan Patriarchate. Thus, this might be nothing but a ploy of some sort. I would be more likely to think it was really about peace if the monks involved were loyal to a pro-Ukrainian patriarchate.
What the protestors are trying to stop is the handing over of the Ukraine to Russia. Joining the EU was considered by many Ukrainians to be insurance against any future Moscow take over of Ukraine. Now those Ukrainians believe they will see their country - under its current leadership - slowly put their homeland into a Russian orbit of control. Back to the bad old days in other words.
Things have been heading on this direction for years: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8503177.stm
Everybody there knows what is really going on:
And guess who the pro-Moscow party is most party is most worried about? http://www.news.va/en/news/major-archbishop-sviatoslav-ugcc-will-remain-faith
that is one awesome picture
those priests (cleric?) have some brass ones!
“Courage of your convictions.”
Standing between two hostile groups to prevent violence? Yep.
Talking smack about people you don’t like on an Internet forum? Not so much.
AXIOS, AXIOS, AXIOS!!!!!!!!!
“Talking smack about people you don’t like on an Internet forum?”
You seem to be the only one talking smack here.
Don’t feed the trolls. Answering him only eggs him on — his chief joy in life seems to be being rude to Orthodox FReepers.
Some people go through life with a chip on their shoulders. I do feel sorry for them.
All the monks and priests stand facing the screaming banshees.
All the monks and priests that we can see in this photo, yes.
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