Father Oleksandr Bogomaz, the Greek Catholic priest expelled by the Russians – Facebook/Bogomaz
His will be a Christmas “in exile”as he himself defines it. Far from the land of Melitopol, which he never wanted to leave. “It’s awful not being able to be next to my congregation today to celebrate Salvatore’s birth,” she sighed Father Oleksandr Bogomaz. Arrested by Russian occupying forces after a sham verdict and then expelled. His mistakes? Being a young Greek Catholic priest and not wanting to become a Russian citizen in the eastern Ukrainian city from where the Kremlin military controls two-thirds of the Zaporizhia region. Father Bogomaz was one of the last three Catholic priests left in the Russian-held part of the oblast engaged in community service together. All were expelled a few weeks after January 7, the day on which the major Christian denominations celebrate Christ’s birth according to the Julian calendar.
A Christmas without people of their own for the three pastors who were deported by the Moscow secret services as “inciters of interreligious hostility” and deported to the last checkpoint. politics of the process; politics condemns it: imprisonment. and a clandestine Christmas celebration for parishes in an area corresponding to Slovenia, which, without priests, seems to go back at least half a century to the time of the Soviet Union and the “underground” church, which was the only possible way out of the pincers of terror. No celebrations. Perhaps not even a gathering in churches because of the risk of raids or denunciations. Maybe just the fair, which can be followed via the internet, indoors and protected from prying eyes.
The nativity scene in a catholic church in Kyiv – Gambassi
“After the pseudo-referendum at the end of September for the annexation of the region, the climate has become increasingly difficult – says Father Bogomaz –. Masked men with assault rifles broke into the vicarage seven times. The last flash was on December 1st when they again forced me to take a Russian passport. But they also informed me that the Catholic Church had been banned by the local authorities and that I would be fired.” Someone claims it was in retaliation after the raids by Ukrainian secret agents on the monasteries and eparchies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church associated with the Moscow Patriarchate and suspected of collaboration. The fact is that the priest refused to go. “They broke into the building, stole the community car and everything they wanted.” And he found himself locked in a room. “The interrogation was very difficult. I’ve also received death threats. I lay down on the ground several times and cried. I asked God to give me the strength to resist». And help came from heaven. “I don’t know why the Lord saved me,” he whispers. Released, yes, but immediately removed from the city, which is the “gateway to Crimea” for the two warring countries.
A corner where Oleksandr’s roots sink. The 33-year-old, who has been a priest for six years, originally comes from the village of Nizhny Sirogozy, halfway between Melitopol and Kherson. Lands that Putin is determined to control at all costs. As in the port city of Berdyansk, quoted by the head of the Greek Catholic Church, Grand Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, when he wanted the newly released Father Bogomaz at his side in the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Kyiv. He kissed his hands and returned to report the illegal arrest of two priests from Berdyansk, Father Ivan Levytskyi and Father Bohdana Geleta, who were detained for almost two months and “tortured without mercy to extract confessions to crimes they did not commit”, Shevchuk took over. They risk being accused of terrorism because the occupation authorities claim they found “explosives and extremist literature” in the church.
Father Oleksandr Bogomaz, the Greek Catholic priest expelled by the Russians – Facebook/Bogomaz
“The patriarch has always supported me – says the priest -. When the Russians attacked us, the archbishop told me that if I decided to seek refuge elsewhere, nobody would judge me.” Father Oleksandr touches the wooden cross hanging from his neck. «I admit that I had a moment of failure. However, when I saw my people at the Sunday liturgy, I overcame all doubts and stayed.” Nine months crew lived with the cassock. «Before the invasion, Melitopol had 160,000 inhabitants, now it is not 50,000. The days are marked by misery, fear and oppression». As in the dark years of the USSR. “You’re afraid to express yourself. The complaints multiply. The homes of the expelled were confiscated and assigned to those who were brought here from Russia to change the physiognomy of the city”. Church life was turned upside down. “We have become a field hospital, the Pope would say, helping the elderly, taking the sick to the hospital, distributing food parcels. In the first four months of the conflict we faced a dramatic food crisis but were able to deliver 10,000 packages of essentials. But after the vote for the annexation, everything stopped because the entrances through which the loads passed were blocked».
An attack in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol – Ansa
Father Oleksandr looks up. “The occupation changed my priestly ministry. When we experience drama, the Word of God and the sacraments are true sources of hope. People ask for it, they want it. He must touch that the Lord is the Comforter. And the Holy Spirit has turned parishes into big families where everyone is close together.” Father Bogomaz is always there with his heart and mind in the city to be conquered. “I don’t intend to survive, I intend to live. If I cannot stay in Melitopol, I will stop at the place closest to my people: Zaporizhia». Still under the bombs. And with his face like a priest boy.