"Stop the Russian Federation's desire to liberate you!" Governor of the Odessa diocese of the OCU addressed the parishioners of the UOC-MP after the Odessa terror attack

The manager of the Odessa diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Archbishop Afanasiy (Shkurupiy) of Odessa and Balti, has addressed parishioners of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate after Russia's massive attack on Odessa. He urged them to "stop" Russia's desire to "liberate" Ukrainians.

Athanasius' appeal was publicized by the Odessa diocese of the OCU. The archbishop, in particular, recalled that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill Gundyaev, has called the war "sacred" since the beginning of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation, declared that the occupiers are liberating Orthodoxy from "schismatics" and blessed the Russian army for murder, terrorism, child abuse and destruction of shrines.

"With his blessing, missiles, bombs and mines fall on our towns and villages. And tonight your patriarch blessed to liberate you from the cathedral", - noted Athanasius.

He also expressed hope that in many of the supporters of the UOC-MP "still warms the light of the Ukrainian".

"Until today in your temples you have been extolling prayers for the Moscow patriarch, their church, the Moscow authorities and army, and along with your prayers to the Almighty God you have been raising requests to kill your compatriots. It is time to stop," the clergyman emphasized.

Athanasius urged the parishioners of the UOC-MP to stop being afraid and make a willful decision, because Ukraine has an Orthodox canonical Church, whose embrace is always open to each of them.

"Stop Russia's desire to liberate you from the churches you have built, your homes from your parents, your children, and ultimately from yourselves. Our Church is waiting for each of you. May the Almighty Lord help you to make the right decision," the archbishop urged.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

- On the night of July 23, Russia attacked Odessa with Kh-22 cruise missiles, Kalibers, Onyx, Iskander-K and Iskander-M ballistic missiles. More than 20 people were injured, one was killed.

- The historic center of the city, which is under UNESCO protection, received colossal destruction. The Transfiguration Cathedral, the House of Scientists, famous courtyards and residential buildings were badly damaged.

- The Odessa diocese of the UOC-MP called the missile attack on the Transfiguration Cathedral a terrorist attack and emphasized that the shrine had nothing to do with military facilities. At the same time, the Lavra said that not everything is unambiguous and "God's will is done".

- Russian propagandist Olga Skabeeva issued that the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral was allegedly hit by the AFU, while the Russian Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry blamed Ukrainian air defense for the destruction of the church.

- Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko confirmed that the cathedral was hit by a Russian missile and not by air defense systems, as Moscow claims.

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