Українською читайте тут.
And now let’s all guess together which country’s church these journalists support.
The answer to this question is already embedded in how our “colleagues,” who call themselves the SPZh (Union of Orthodox Journalists), position themselves. On their website, they write: “SPZh was created in 2014 amid the church-political crisis in Ukraine, when the Orthodox community found itself under pressure and in conflict with the authorities.”
The headlines these journalists come up with promise stories about defending the faith or the insidious plans of various “schismatics.” And, quite predictably, they also bring up military enlistment offices—because of course they do. They also ask their audience: “Will the UOC-KP disappear after Filaret’s death?”
The website (and YouTube channel) has been blocked in Ukraine, which members of the organization interpret as an attack on their freedom. They are supported in this view by Russian media, which are also outraged by such “arbitrariness.”
And now, on the eve of this, comedian and host of the YouTube show “Not a Serious Conversation,” Dmytro Tiutiun, announced that there will be no second part of the conversation with priest Ruslan Usmedynskyi. This clearly caused dissatisfaction among his audience. No wonder—this video featuring Mr. Ruslan (also known as Father Roman) was released a month ago and became one of the most popular on the channel:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f5P3vG6x3fA?si=g4qWH2HvgjEnevHE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
In the show “Not a Serious Conversation,” Dmytro speaks with people from different professions and, among other things, asks what irritates them. Your Antonina really appreciates both the host’s friendliness and his sharpness, so I sincerely recommend watching the program if you haven’t already. As you may have noticed, I’m not exactly the type to praise someone easily, so just go and watch it.
So, Ruslan Usmedynskyi was extremely well received by everyone. Apparently, also because this kind of image of a priest has long been in demand: youthful, good-looking, joking, playing video games. He talks about faith and God in a fairly tolerant way, doesn’t impose anything, and definitely wouldn’t scold parishioners for wearing “the wrong” clothes. He himself says that a cassock is uncomfortable, and outside of work he dresses casually, “in sportswear.”
And one more interesting point. Ruslan lives in Berezan, Kyiv region, and says that out of 11 churches in his community, only his belongs to the Ukrainian Church. Everything else is the so-called Moscow Patriarchate. And even his own is just a chapel, because the priest’s church is still only in the planning stage.
Dmytro didn’t manage to ask even half of his questions, so he invited Ruslan to come again. Ruslan agreed. But then Dmytro announced that there would be no second episode:
“The thing is that our beloved representatives of the UOC-MP, after the episode, started using fragments of the conversation to discredit the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. These clips are taken out of context and are directly aimed at damaging Ruslan’s reputation and ministry, which I really don’t want for him. Ruslan serves people and does not want to get involved in these political wars.
Especially considering that, in general, some of the points from the episode were perceived negatively by parts of the religious community (which was actually expected). The last thing I want is for people to lose their jobs because of my show, so for now, we have decided to pause the filming of the second episode. Maybe in the future the situation will change, and the conversation will take place, but for now it is like this.
Why this so-called UOC-MP crap still exists in Ukraine, I honestly don’t understand. Maybe you can explain it to me?”
Dmytro shows a screenshot from the SPZh website like this:
Caption on screenshot: The Orthodox Church of Ukraine “allowed” parishioners to use the priest's cassock for sex games.
Actually, Father Roman, in my opinion, did not say anything unacceptable, although he touched on a rather unconventional topic. He said that he receives messages with sexual insinuations. And he notes that some women, it turns out, have such a fantasy—sex with a priest. He does not like such proposals and, half-jokingly, said that if you have such a fetish, then buy your husband a cassock and enjoy it. Here is the excerpt:
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@usmedinski19/video/7614089592077143304" data-video-id="7614089592077143304" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;" > <section> <a target="_blank" title="@usmedinski19" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@usmedinski19?refer=embed">@usmedinski19</a> @Дмитро Тютюн <a title="священник" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/%D1%81%D0%B2%D1%8F%D1%89%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA?refer=embed">#священник</a> <a title="березань" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%8C?refer=embed">#Березань</a> <a title="пцу" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/%D0%BF%D1%86%D1%83?refer=embed">#пцу</a> <a title="молодь" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%8C?refer=embed">#молодь</a> <a title="несерйознарозмова" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B9%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0?refer=embed">#несерйознарозмова</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ оригінальний аудіозапис - Священник Роман" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/оригінальний-аудіозапис-7614089633298828040?refer=embed">♬ оригінальний аудіозапис - Священник Роман</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
So, as you understand, the SPZh text was quite manipulative. And now they have written that Dmytro canceled the show “due to negative public reaction,” whereas in the comments, “the public” was mostly disappointed by the cancellation.
But here’s what interests me in this situation: can texts from an openly pro-Russian and even blocked website really damage the image of a Ukrainian priest?
Dmytro Tiutiun also writes that “in general, some points from the episode were received negatively by parts of the religious community.” And this was indeed predictable, because, as I said, our guest behaved and spoke much more freely than priests usually do.
But this is exactly why he appealed to the audience. At the same time, his vibe probably didn’t land well with more conservative circles. But I’ll say this here as a classic representative of the “atheists of the Kyiv Patriarchate”: how is the popularization of the Ukrainian Church among young people supposed to happen at all?
Because there is clearly demand for it — just recently, the entire Threads and Instagram were flooded with photos and reels from Easter services. People were showing off their Easter breads, outfits, and even how their dogs were being blessed. Who is going to talk to them? Another Father Roman? The one with “depravity and cabbage rolls”? Antonina has already written about him — you’ll understand everything about the cabbage rolls there.
Or maybe young people should be lectured by Hieromonk Justin Boyko of the UGCC? With all due respect to the UGCC, Father Justin’s speeches on social media are more likely to be perceived as “holy cringe” than as holy guidance. You can also read about him here.
So honestly, I really regret that attacks from a pro-Russian website prevented Father Roman from coming on the show again. I hope he changes his mind.
Screenshots: YouTube channel “Dmytro Tiutiun”
