Protest Zelensky!! Next Saturday 9/26, Outside Casa Cipriani, 10 Water St. NYC

By Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America

The picture below is Monk Varsanofy Turyansky in his casket. He was stabbed to death 23 August 2026 at the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk monastery by as yet unidentified attackers. Novice Hryhorii and a refugee Andrii Kyriienko were also severely injured. Monk Varsonofy’s final words are reported to have been, “Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ!.. I am a monk.” Take a good look at his face below. for he is a martyr who now stands before the very Throne of God. His blood cries out for justice.

Ukrainian “authorities” of the Zelensky regime have opened a criminal investigation into the murder. Which is somewhat comical, as those are the very authorities who are actively persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The attack occurred on the same day Zelensky was hosting a “prayer breakfast” from which the UOC was excluded. Robert Amsterdam, Founder and Managing Partner of Amsterdam & Partners, which serves as international counsel to UOC, explained the context surrounding this crime:

“Last weekend, Ukraine’s political leadership gathered for a Prayer Breakfast excluding the UOC, and on that same day, a monk of the UOC is murdered at one of the country’s great monasteries. The hypocrisy of the incumbent administration and its supporters is staggering. The murder of Monk Varsanofy is the horrifying consequence of an atmosphere they helped create.

Today should be a great national holiday. Ukraine’s independence has been defended at an extraordinary human cost, and Ukrainians have every right to celebrate their sovereignty and freedom. But it must not be hijacked by a government that invokes freedom before the world while itself undermining fundamental freedoms.

Prayer Breakfasts cannot provide cover for religious persecution. Those international political and religious leaders who participated in yesterday’s event must now ask themselves whether their presence is being used to legitimise precisely the conduct that the principles of religious freedom require them to oppose.”

The Zelensky regime has used force to seize UOC monasteries and churches. Bishops, monks, and clergy have been beaten, arrested, and even forcibly mobilized into the Army to serve as cannon fodder. Innocent laity, even elderly ladies, have been beaten and harassed for daring to worship at the same parishes they have attended their entire lives. The government even seeks to ban the entire operation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – a move condemned by the American Assembly of Orthodox Bishops.

Whether the murderers of Monk Martyr Varsanofy were operating under explicit instructions of the Zelensky regime is not known. It may never be known. Direct orders or not, the murderers carried out their unholy deeds in an environment of persecution intentionally created by the Zelensky regime. The blood of a martyred monk is on Zelensky’s hands.

But not just his hands. For Zelensky did not bring about the persecution of the UOC on his own. To make all of this bloody persecution possible required the active assistance of the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, and his henchmen at the top of the Greek Archdiocese of America (Archbishop Elpidophoros, high ranking clergy, and the rich, influential Archons). Without the cover provided by Constantinople, the world would have long ago turned on Zelensky for his crimes against the Body of Christ.

This is just one picture of Bartholomew with Zelensky. There are many more. No doubt more will be taken, should Jesus tarry. All smiles you see. Great friends. While monks die.

The support of Constantinople, rich Greeks, and the Greek Archdiocese for the regime in Kiev muddies the water just enough to keep Zelensky respectable. So respectable, in fact, that the Greek Archdiocese is giving Zelensky the “Beacon of Hope” award on 26 September 2026 in NYC at a swanky dinner. Sponsorships for the dinner go from $3,500 to $250,000, while individual seats are $1,500. Americans are suffering under record levels of inflation, while the rich and powerful gather in NYC to throw money at a tyrant whose government foments the murder of Orthodox monks.

Yeah, that will leave a mark. Not just in this world, but also in the next. The money paid by the ritzy sponsors and attendees is blood money. The blood of martyrs.

Tetyana is a Ukrainian citizen and long time source for our site who, following the martyrdom of Monk Varsanofy and the beating of another monk during the seizure of an UOC parish, wrote this scathing message to Patriarch Bartholomew:

DISRESPECTED Patriarch Bartholomew!
I would like to tell you that after the BLOODY SCHISM—in which you, “Your Holiness,” were a direct participant—it is unlikely that you will be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven. You are up to your neck in the BLOOD of the Orthodox faithful of the UOC and in all the lawlessness perpetrated by Zelensky, the SBU, the Ukrainian police, Ukrainian courts and media, the Ukrainian parliament, and their entire entourage in Ukraine. And what will you, Patriarch Bartholomew, say at the Judgment before God, before your soul—if it does not REPENT—descends into HELL? Here is important information regarding the lawlessness and inaction of the Ukrainian authorities, carried out with the support of Patriarch Bartholomew in Ukraine. ETERNAL SHAME UPON THEM ALL!

Indeed, what will Patriarch Bartholomew have to say to Jesus Christ at the Dread Judgment Seat? Further, what will all those attendees at this event have to say to Christ? Or the Archons who helped fund this event and who frequently justify the martyrdom of the UOC? What about the staff who put this event on? How will they give account? What will the American Orthodox priests and bishops in other jurisdictions, who are busy pretending this event isn’t happening, say before the face of Our Lord? (We do know of at least one exception.)  Do they really believe Jesus Christ, Lord of All, will excuse their silence because speaking out would have been “impolite” or “interference” in the affairs of another jurisdiction?

But it’s not just them. It’s also us who are under judgement, not only for this event, but also for all of the horrific events funded by our American tax dollars. Yes, us. The rank and file Orthodox Faithful who pray, pay, and obey. This judgement is ours too. Why? Because we were told the truth about what is happening in Ukraine to our brother Orthodox Christians. Because we were told months ago about this event, which essentially puts the “Orthodox” stamp of approval on the monk murdering Zelensky and his corrupt, bloody regime.

And we Orthodox Christians in America have done way too little with that information.

Orthodox Reflections sponsored a petition allowing Orthodox Christians to denounce this blasphemous event. It was covered all over the world by Orthodox news outlets. We should have gotten hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of signatures. Each signature generated a protest email to the Greek Archdiocese, the Greek Orthodox Shrine sponsoring this abomination, the Archons whose money keeps the Greek Archdiocese in its lavish lifestyle, and the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops. It was an easy way for average Orthodox Christians to tell Constantinople, the world, and (most importantly) Jesus Christ that we condemn the persecution and murder of Orthodox Christians.

Unfortunately, we have gotten so far just over 1,545 signatures. The easiest possible way to disassociate from this travesty, and we could only bestir that small a number of Orthodox Christians to exercise it. In truth, the petition, and the criminal complaint filed by Michael Gianakos of Concerned Greek Orthodox Christians of New Jersey, should have been just the start of opposition to this obscene event. There should be protests in front of the Greek Archdiocese offices in New York. Protests in front of the Shrine. Copies of protest letters hand delivered to the Greek Archdiocese by angry mobs. Angry letters to the editor in every Orthodox publication. Orthodox Christians should be demanding that every Orthodox jurisdiction condemn this award, and the persecution enabled by Constantinople in Ukraine.

My fellow Orthodox in the West, particularly in America, for the sake of our own souls we have to do better than this. At a bare minimum, sign and share the petition. If you have a podcast channel or other platform, speak about this issue and encourage resistance as Tribulation Saints has done. If you have other avenues to speak out, do so. If you are in the Greek Archdiocese, then start to work to put your house in order before the Lord.

We Orthodox also have a chance to really make a difference. We are calling on all Orthodox Christians in the NYC area, or who can make it there, to gather on 9/26 for in-person protest of Zelensky at the event:

Location: Casa Cipriani, 10 South Street, New York NY 10004
Time: 6:30 p.m.

There are 312 Orthodox parishes within 100 miles of NYC:

https://www.assemblyofbishops.org/directories/parishes/?radius=100&search_address=New%20York%20City&search_coordinates=(40.7127753%2C%20-74.0059728)&search_error=OK&searchType=proximity

Please organize yourselves at the small group and parish level to show up, hold signs, pray for peace, and tell the world that this award is completely anti-Christ. A few Orthodox Christians in protest has 100 times the impact of a petition drive, angry phone calls, protest emails, or even a criminal complaint. If we don’t show up, the organizers of this event will tell the entire world that they speak for Orthodoxy in giving their support to the Zelensky regime. 

Please don’t just sit there on your phone or computer thinking that you have an option to “not get involved.” Because of your taxes, your membership in the Greek Archdiocese, and/or your Orthodox Christian Faith – you are involved whether you want to be or not.

“Involvement” is not the question.

The question is – what will you say to Jesus Christ when He asks you what you did for His persecuted Church in Ukraine.

“Nothing” is not an answer you want to give.