On May 16, Deacon Basil Akhvlediai published a video, which allegedly depicts how Ukrainians celebrated Easter at the Ukrainian Cathedral of the Mother of God. In the video, we see people wearing Roman military uniforms, holding shields and spears, entering the temple. At the end of the video, they drop their weapons and run. According to the comments, Facebook users think that the footage was taken in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, while deacon Basil Akhvlediani denies that the performance took place in a Catholic church.
Deacon Basil Akhvlediani disseminates the video without context. The performance was in fact held on Easter, in a church located in Ukraine, although the video was shot in the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.
The video shared by deacon Basil Akhvlediani is taken from Tik-Tok and the name of the user who posted the footage is visible – Andrii Yanishin. The video on his Tik-Tok account was published on May 5 and, according to his explanation, depicts the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God, which is located in the village of Peremozhne, Ukraine. According to the author, the footage was taken on Easter.
The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God, located in the village of Peremozhne, Lviv region, is under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. Accordingly, the footage was not shot in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In response to the question posed in the comments, the author also confirms that the church belongs to the Greek-Catholic Church of Ukraine.
On his Facebook page, Andrii Yanishnik has also published other videos depicting similar performances. The videos are dated 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023 so the said performance is staged in the church every year on Easter and it is part of the tradition.
The author of the videos also explains the meaning behind the Easter holiday performance. As he writes, the people dressed in military uniform represent the soldiers who guarded Christ’s tomb and fled after his resurrection.
“Myth Detector” has verified the a number of video manipulations related to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Read more in the articles:
- BACKSTORY AND ORIGIN OF THE VIRAL VIDEO SHOWING A THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A CHURCH IN UKRAINE
- A SATANIC RITUAL OR AN OLD UKRAINIAN SONG ABOUT THE EMERGENCE OF HEAVEN AND EARTH?
- VIDEOMANIPULATION DISSEMINATED IN CONNECTION WITH THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF UKRAINE
- THE VIDEO OF THE DANCING PRIEST WAS NOT FILMED IN THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
- ANOTHER VIDEOMANIPULATION ABOUT THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF UKRAINE
About the Source
False information spread by deacon Basil Akhvlediani has been debunked by “Myth Detector” a number of times in the past.
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