Category Religion

Manipulation: “Portrait of Petliura Hangs Instead of Icon” in UOCC Church | StopFake

Representatives of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. Andrew in Toronto have denied claims that a portrait of Symon Petliura hangs in the sanctuary or that the Ukrainian historical figure is being honoured as a "saint". The portrait of Petliura is in a parish hall, not on the altar, and is therefore not an icon. Furthermore, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (UOCC) is an independent church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and is not a parish of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

Read MoreManipulation: “Portrait of Petliura Hangs Instead of Icon” in UOCC Church | StopFake

Fake: Head of Ukrainian Orthodox Church Claims Pope Died for Supporting Russia | StopFake

On the contrary, Metropolitan Epiphanius expressed his sincere condolences on the Pope's death, noting that Pope Francis had dedicated his life to serving God, spreading the Christian faith and launching numerous humanitarian initiatives to help those in need.

Read MoreFake: Head of Ukrainian Orthodox Church Claims Pope Died for Supporting Russia | StopFake

Fake: Ukrainian Orthodox Churches Celebrate Halloween

Halloween was not celebrated in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine temples. In the original video, the choir performs the church song How Beautiful is Your Temple, Mother of God, and not the song dedicated to evil spirits holiday. In addition, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church publicly condemns any celebration of Halloween.

Read MoreFake: Ukrainian Orthodox Churches Celebrate Halloween

FACT CHECK: No, Orthodox Relics From Kyiv Will Not Be Auctioned In France On October 1 | Check Your Fact

A post shared on Facebook purports Orthodox relics from Kyiv, Ukraine are set to be auctioned at the Osenat Auction House in France on Oct. 1.

Verdict: False
An Oct. 1 auction listed on Osenat's website focuses on "The Interiors of Versailles," not Orthodox relics from Kyiv, as the post suggests. An Osenat spokesperson denied the claim's validity in an email to Reuters.

Read MoreFACT CHECK: No, Orthodox Relics From Kyiv Will Not Be Auctioned In France On October 1 | Check Your Fact

Posts falsely claim Ukraine cathedral destruction was staged

Social media posts claim footage of people easily removing debris from a Ukrainian cathedral after a Russian air strike proves the attack was faked. This is false; AFP and other news outlets covered the destruction, and the original video appears to show a woman carrying pieces of lightweight insulation.

Read MorePosts falsely claim Ukraine cathedral destruction was staged

Fake: Wikipedia Article Shows Kyiv Knew in Advance Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral Strike

Information about the destruction of the Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral
appeared in the Wikipedia article about the church shortly after it became
clear which buildings were damaged by the Russian attack on Odesa during
the night of July 23. Ukrainian Wikipedia administrator Anatoliy Lutsyuk
explains that the editing history of Wikipedia uses UTC time, which
currently is three hours ahead of Kyiv time.

Read MoreFake: Wikipedia Article Shows Kyiv Knew in Advance Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral Strike

Fake: Pope Francis Calls on Ukraine to Dismiss Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Abbot

Russian media and Telegram channels' claims that the Pope has allegedly called on Ukrainian authorities to dismiss the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra abbot is baseless. As of today, none of the Vatican's official resources have published anything about this.

Read MoreFake: Pope Francis Calls on Ukraine to Dismiss Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Abbot