On January 30, Orthodoxy in the Ukraine published this interview with the monks from Desyatina Monastery in Kiev, who stood between the police and the protesters in late January, stopping the violence for at least a few days through their prayer and example.
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Next Sunday, February 9, we will be commemorating all those who suffered during times of persecution for the Christian faith, and also the Synaxis of New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.
Each New Martyr was faced with a choice: life, or faith? To live to deep old age, knowing neither sleep nor peace due to a seared conscience, or to die with a peaceful heart, having remained true to Christ and nation? It was precisely conscience and faith in the Most High that moved people to stand before the barrel of a rifle, or to freeze on a Stalinist camp bunk.
But have you ever thought that there are potential new martyrs living among us today? You ride with them in the subway, stand in lines with them, and don’t even guess that these people might give their lives for you tomorrow.
We spent some time with Hieromonk Melchizedeck (Gordenko) and monk Gabriel (Kairasov), who on the night of February 20, stood risking their lives on Grushevsky Street [in Kiev] between the police and the demonstrators, and in this way stopped the bloodshed for entire days.
—Tell us, fathers, what made you to go out to the street that day?
Fr. Melchisedek: Once a long time ago I saw a photograph from Serbia, in which one priest was standing between the police and the demonstrators. I was filled with admiration for him—one man with a cross in his hands was able to stop a thousand people on one side, and a thousand on the other!
Our Desyatina Monastery is located very close to the epicenter of these events—even at night in the church we could hear fireworks, shouting from megaphones, and the noise of crowds. When I heard that on Grushevsky Street explosions were causing people to lose their arms, legs, and eyes, I understood that I should be there, so that I would not later be ashamed of myself. For some reason I remembered the example of a priest in Georgia, who ran out with a bench in his hands to route the gay parade. That man saw lawlessness in the streets and did not try to hide or wait it out in the church, but went out to make his position clear to the laity, and to inspire them by his example.
—As far as I understand it, you had agreed upon a plan?
Fr. Melchisedek: No, we had no sort of plan. Early in the morning, Fr. Ephraim, Fr. Gabriel, and I prayed together, and after asking a blessing, we went out to the Maidan. None of us had even the slightest wavering or doubt. There was no plan. There was a goal—to do at least something to stop the violence.
—And how did the demonstrators react to the appearance there of men in vestments?
Fr. Melchisedek: We were realistic about the fact that it is no longer possible to stop the police or demonstrators, and therefore we were ready to stand under the flying bullets and stones. But when people saw priests in front of them, standing between them and the police cordon, it was as if they had been dashed with boiling water. They calmed down almost immediately. A moment of something like a blessed reasonableness came over them...
Fr. Gabriel: The people standing there came up to us and said, “As long as you stand here, we will not throw any stones at the police.” This really inspired us all… We were able to restrain people until nightfall—only then did Molotov cocktails start flying at the police. But even in that moment, many of the demonstrators ran over to the police cordon and shouted to their comrades to cease their aggression. Some of these young fellows even climbed onto the roof of a burnt-out bus in order to pull out the protesters, thus placing themselves in the path of danger.
—Did you understand that you were risking your lives? After all, Molotov cocktails and grenades were blowing up around you…
Fr. Gabriel: When we were standing between the crowd of protesters and the police behind their shields, and all around us grenades were popping and cocktails were ripping, a hot bottle landed about five meters from me. But it did not explode… Fire was burning all around us, bottles were crashing and machinery was rumbling, but for some reason this cocktail did not explode. It would have scorched me and everyone around me in a moment, but it only hit the ground and fizzled out. Then I felt that the Lord was protecting us…
Later, however, people started using us as human shields—demonstrators walked up to us and threw stones and bottles with flammable mixtures from behind our backs. At that moment I felt a terrible bitterness for these people, whom we were calling to make peace, but who were nevertheless thirsting for blood. I felt that demons were mocking these human souls, inciting them to rage, and dulling their good sense.
—At what moment did you understand that it was time for you to leave the demonstration site?
Fr. Melchisedek: We were not alone there—there were laypeople standing next to us, both men and women. We were watching attentively, so that no one would throw stones and bottles at them—after all, we essentially bore responsibility for them at that moment. Therefore, when the situation came to a head, we decided to step back in order to guard those who stood with us shoulder-to-shoulder.
Some have spoken of provocations and aggression from the crowd, others, about the cruelty and brutality of the police. I cannot say anything of the kind. We did not want to find the guilty party; we wanted to make peace between both sides.
—Some are inclined to emphasize the cruelty of the police, while others blame the demonstrators for everything. What is your opinion, as eye-witnesses?
Fr. Gabriel: At the moment the passions were escalating, a man ran from out of the crowd. Disregarding the cold, he was bare to the waist. The man shouted to the crowd and the police to stop, and then fell to his knees and began to pray fervently. But the police jumped at him, took him by the feet and dragged him to the cars… I tried to stop them, but in vain. I was sincerely sorry for that man—it seemed to me that God’s grace was visiting him at that moment.
It is not right to bet in this situation on one side or the other. We saw cruelty from both camps—each of them was sick in their own way.
—At that moment, people of all different religious confessions were gathered in the center of town. Did you have any confrontations with them?
Fr. Melchisedek: During those hours that we spent at the Maidan, people from all different confessions came there: Greek-Catholics, clergy from the “Kiev Patriarchate” and the Catholic Church; and what is the most amazing of all—Buddhists!
Fr. Gabriel: Even a Jew came up to me in his kippah, and standing next to me, started praying. I listened to him and was amazed: he was praying Orthodox prayers with us!
Fr. Melchisedek: To me a young man came up, introduced himself as Seryezha, and asked me whether we accept heretics. “Heretics in what sense?” I asked. “I am a Baptist,” Seryezha smiled. “Of course we accept them. Come on over!”
This place was the borderline of peace, and there could be no talk of “acceptance” or “non-acceptance”…
—That is, the common woe united all those who can’t find a common language during peaceful times?
Fr. Gabriel: There was no division between confessions or ideology. This was not the time for that. When a mother sees a tree falling over the sandbox, won’t only grab her own child—she’ll pick up someone else’s as well, be he the neighbor’s or a street kid. At that moment, we were all related.
And do you know what is most amazing? People started calling us from Kiev and other cities—both laypeople and clergy—saying that they wanted to stand with us shoulder-to-shoulder when we go out there again. Literally just a few days ago, a man who had been standing in the barricades at that moment came to our church, and said that he no longer wants to stand there, now he wants to pray.
Many protesters who saw us there said the same thing. They had thought that a stone is the weightiest thing there could possibly be. But when they saw us, they recognized that compared to certain spiritual things, a stone is lighter than a feather.
—You risked your lives, standing there in those minutes. Tell us, did you remember the New Martyrs then, and were you inspired by their example?
Fr. Gabriel: Do you know, when we went to the Maidan, I began to pray silently. And among all the other saints whom I was asking for help, some of the first who came to mind were the Georgian martyrs Shalva, Bidzina, and Elisbara. These were three princes who stirred an uprising in Georgia against the Islamic oppression. Having gathered two thousand warriors under their banners, they defeated the army of the Persian shah, which numbered 10,000 strong. But when hundreds of women and children were taken captive by the shah, the princes surrendered without a second thought. The captives were released, but the princes were executed. Their martyrdom consisted in their living and fighting for the people’s sake, and they were ready to die in order to save innocent lives.
I also recalled the example of one Russian commander who fought in Chechnya—his name was kept secret, but the mujahedin announced a price on his head. When the Chechens took several peaceful citizens captive, he unhesitatingly gave himself up in exchange for the captives’ freedom. He was brutally murdered, but the captives survived…
Who are the New Martyrs? What can we call the feeling that guides them? I would call it “ordinary patriotism”.
Orthodoxy in the Ukraine
Translation by OrthoChristian.com
