Posted on 02/20/2022 9:06:20 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Donetsk region The prayer marathon in Donetsk turned into severe trials for many of its participants. Exclusive The prayer marathon in Donetsk turned out to be a difficult ordeal for many of its participants
Recently in Ukraine, the book of public figure, volunteer and clergyman Sergey Kosyak "Donbass, which you didn't know" was republished in Ukrainian. In his interview with the Tribune, he told us about an unusual public action that formed the basis of this book. It was based on a Prayer marathon.
The prayer marathon, which started in Donetsk on February 25, 2014 and lasted 158 days in an open mode, and then went underground in Donetsk, but continued in the peaceful territories of the Donetsk region, was attended by believers and clergy of almost all denominations, except the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Every day people came to Constitution Square to the bridge over the Kalmius River (it passes in the middle of Donetsk), to pray for the unity of Ukraine. For many ideological inspirers and participants of this marathon, it turned into persecution and captivity.
– The Prayer Marathon tent was located 400 meters from the central square of the city, where by that time exclusively pro-Russian rallies were already taking place– - recalls the ideological inspirer of this action, the pastor of the evangelical church "Assembly of God" Sergey Kosyak.
Sergey Kosyak with his eldest son Ilya
– And already in May 2014, the participants of the prayer marathon were subjected to constant aggression from the occupiers – the tent itself was dumped into the river, the sound equipment was damaged, the participants were shot with traumatic pistols, they were beaten, taken "to the basement".
Photo courtesy of Sergey Kosyak
Illegal seizures and beatings were subjected to:
On May 23, 2014, Sergei Kosyak was tortured in the Donetsk Regional State Administration building seized by militants
Serhiy Kulbaka On July 4, 2014, a priest of the Greek Catholic Church, secretary of the interfaith "Council of Churches and Religious Organizations of Donetsk region" Father Tikhon (in the world – Serhiy Kulbaka), now lives in a peaceful territory. He spent 12 days in captivity.
Sergey Kulbaka, photo from the Facebook page
Alexander Khomchenko On August 4, 2014, the pastor of the Protestant church "The Word of Life" was captured.
Alexander Khomchenko, photo by Sergey Kosyak
He was taken to Makeyevka, kept in a building with a sign "NKVD DNR" (People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR - the central body of the USSR state administration for combating crime and maintaining public order in 1934 - 1946 - auth.), tortured, taken to execution. He himself saw and heard the executions of prisoners and saw pits filled with the corpses of Ukrainian prisoners, as he told in his interviews. He was released on August 9. Khomchenko became a military chaplain, on February 14, 2018, he died at the age of 60
Both Father Tikhon and Alexander Khomchenko were held by the Russian military, who introduced themselves as the "Russian Orthodox Army" (RPA). Father Tikhon in his interviews claims that he was interrogated by Russian special services at some point his medication was taken away from him, and he was on the verge of death.
The participants of the prayer marathon took an active part in rescuing people from captivity (taking them out of the city) and from captivity (the clergy, in their memoirs about the beginning of hostilities in the Donbass, write that they had to either negotiate the release of prisoners or pay a ransom for them to the militants - auth.), and then secretly take the liberated people out of the city – not only the participants of the prayer marathon, but also other peaceful patriots of Ukraine. They also actively joined the movement to evacuate people from the war zone and humanitarian aid to those who could not leave the danger zone.
Igor Kozlovsky, a scholar of religious studies, was captured already in occupied Donetsk on January 27, 2017, and read an interview with him at the link.
The Donetsk experience of peaceful interfaith public prayer for peace and territorial unity of the country has not been repeated in Ukraine.
Photo by Sergey Kosyak
Ukrainian patriotically minded clergymen have been captured in the combat zone in the Donbas more than once.
A shot of the basement of the torture chamber in Druzhkovka
In the liberated city of Druzhkovka on Donetichne, a museum was even created in the building where a torture chamber was set up during the occupation.
Unfortunately, in some cases, the occupiers did not leave their prisoners alive.
The material was prepared within the framework of the Ukrainian-Lithuanian project "Incentive for independent journalism in the regions of Ukraine"
The only thing that can be believed out of that part of the world is what you see with your own eyes.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)
I prayed & lived these events with those that suffered in 2014. The clergy held a daily prayer prayer vigil in Donetsk ministering to both sides as well as the “little green men” from Russia.
These ministers brought tried to evacuate people to find roads that were still accessible. thring medical to the thu the bombings. They also did not forsake frail and infirmed that could not understand what was happening and would not leave. They brought and continue to bring food, clothung and medical supplies for those that remain. Their credo is “Doing good together.”
I do not know. But perhaps, articles of these still remain in the Free Republic archives
This is a good example of the kind of propaganda spread in Ukraine with the purpose of creating ethnic and religious hatred.
This “independent journalism” uses extreme selectivity to create a false narrative, that one side are absolute victims and bambis, and the other are uniquely evil. No mention whatsoever of systematic abuses by Ukrainian military units against civilians, because it doesn’t fit the narrative they wish to present. No mention of Orthodox priests being brutalized, for same reason.
I have been to Donbas multiple times and seen the refugees with my own eyes.
I can tell you something the western press will never tell you, that Ukrainian military units systematically did war crimes on the eastern Ukrainian people.
Ethnic cleansing and torture on ethnic Russians. This was not the regular army, it was volunteer units like the Aidar and Azov battalions. The Ukrainian government knew and did nothing to stop it.
Look at this report by the OSCE, a european government organization.
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/e/7/233896.pdf
“War crimes of the armed forces
and security forces of Ukraine:
torture and inhumane treatment “
It is full of many victim testimonies.
Or look at this from amnesty international about Aidar:
“Ukraine: Abuses and war crimes by the Aidar Volunteer Battalion in the north Luhansk region”
The US congress pulled funding for the Azov battalion in 2017, the same year as the events covered in this story.
Russian citizens in OSCE SMM may be helping locate targets for shelling in the Donbas
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.