Bishop Irinej's "Peaceful" Facade Crumbles: Chaos, Intimidation, and Cries at St. Sava Cathedral, Parma The Lie Bishop Irinej is Telling the Holy Synod

Tonight, while I write this, Fr. Dragoslav Kosić's children are trying to sleep after watching strangers break into their home through the basement and change the locks. The stress of the invasion caused their mother - Protinica - to collapse unconscious. 911 was called. She's now in the hospital. When a parishioner who witnessed this asked police why they were taking the intruders' side, an officer told him to "shut the fuck up."

Tomorrow, Bishop Irinej will tell the Holy Synod in Belgrade that everything at St. Sava Cathedral is "peaceful and calm."

Let me tell you what "peaceful" actually looks like.

December 5, 2025: The Night They Invaded the Priest's Home

It started in the evening. Fr. Dragoslav heard noise in the basement. Before he could react, individuals claiming authority under the Bishop's December 1 "decisions" had entered through the lower level. They announced they were changing the locks on his residence.

Protinica, Fr. Dragoslav's wife, was home with the children. As the confrontation escalated, the stress caused her to collapse unconscious. 911 was called. Paramedics arrived. She was taken to the hospital. The children watched their mother carried out on a stretcher.

And still, the lock change continued.

Parishioners who came to support them tried to stop the illegal eviction. When officers arrived, they didn't ask for a court order authorizing the action. They didn't check whether these individuals had legal authority under Ohio law. They simply stood by and facilitated the lock change - even as an ambulance was taking the priest's wife to the hospital.

When a parishioner asked why police weren't being neutral in what is clearly a disputed matter, one officer's response was direct: "Shut the fuck up."

The locks were changed. The intruders left with their new keys. Fr. Dragoslav's children went to bed terrified, their mother in the hospital after collapsing from the trauma of watching strangers invade their home.

This happened tonight. December 5, 2025.

This is Bishop Irinej's "peace and calm."

Follow the Money and You Will Find the Bishop

Before we go further, let's be clear about what this is really about. It's not about church administration or canonical procedures or difficult parishioners. It's about money. Specifically, it's about $1.8 million in parish assets that Bishop Irinej's financially failing Diocese desperately needs.

St. Sava Cathedral in Parma holds approximately $1.6 million in a Merrill Lynch account and over $220,000 in PNC Bank. The parish is debt-free and financially stable. Meanwhile, the Diocese teeters on the edge of bankruptcy.

The Diocese is, in the assessment of those who know its finances, "one hair from financial bankruptcy."

So where does a bankrupt Diocese get money? It targets wealthy parishes.

In 2019-2020, Bishop Irinej employed these exact tactics at St. Sava Cathedral in New York City, which had over $8 million in reconstruction funds and valuable Manhattan air rights. He removed the priest and Board who questioned "excessive and undocumented charges." He imposed a trusteeship. The parish fought back. When Patriarch Irinej intervened in 2019, the Bishop was forced to back down. But when the Patriarch lay dying of COVID in November 2020, the Bishop struck again - removing the priest "without notice and without cause" on the very day the Patriarch was on his deathbed.

Now it's Parma's turn. Different parish, same playbook, same desperate need for money.

The "trustees" the Bishop appointed on December 1 are not there to serve this parish. They are there to serve two purposes: give the Bishop access to our $1.8 million, and create the illusion for Belgrade that everything is functioning normally. They are puppets with a dual mission - financial and theatrical.

The Criminal Enterprise Disguised as Church Administration

Let's trace the escalation, because this isn't a sudden crisis. It's a methodical operation.

November 16: Dragan Knežević destroys $4,000 worth of Cathedral security cameras. Video evidence exists. Criminal complaint filed. Police take no action. The Bishop's response? Protect the perpetrator and appoint his family members - daughter as Secretary, son-in-law as trustee.

November 18: The same Dragan Knežević, accompanied by Monk Sava, steals the antimins - the sacred altar cloth - along with other church property. Again, video evidence. Again, criminal complaint. Again, no arrests. The Diocese protects him.

November 30: Dragan Obrenic assaults Nina Marković, the unanimously elected President. Witnesses present. Criminal complaint filed. No arrest. The Bishop's response? Appoint him "Trustee President" the very next day.

December 5 - morning: The Cathedral locks are changed. Cost: $542.50, documented on invoice. The individual who ordered it? Someone named "Dragan."

December 5 - evening: The priest's home invaded through the basement. Locks changed while his wife collapses and is hospitalized and his children cry. Police facilitate it. Officer curses at the parishioner.

This is not church administration spiraling out of control. This is systematic criminal activity, escalating methodically toward a single goal: complete control of parish property and assets before the Holy Synod or courts can intervene.

The Ones They Banned

Several parishioners have been officially "forbidden" from coming to church property. Not through church trial. Not through canonical procedure. Just banned. Their offense? Speaking the truth. Witnessing the crimes. Supporting the elected Board. Refusing to be silent.

Orthodox Christians who were baptized in this Cathedral, married here, raised their children here, buried their parents here - now prohibited from stepping on church grounds. For the crime of bearing witness.

Because witnesses are dangerous when you're trying to claim everything is "peaceful and normal."

Ban the witnesses. Terrorize the priest's family. Change all the locks. Then tell the Holy Synod that the situation is "resolved" and the parish is "functioning normally."

What the Holy Synod Needs to Know

Your Holiness, when Bishop Irinej reports on St. Sava Cathedral in Parma, he will present you with a narrative of successful conflict resolution. He will describe the "temporary trusteeship" as a necessary intervention that has restored peace and proper governance. He will characterize the resisting parishioners as a troublesome minority that has been appropriately managed.

Here is what his report will not include:

The Diocese is approaching bankruptcy while the parish holds $1.8 million in assets. He employed identical tactics in New York City in 2019-2020, targeting that parish's $8+ million reconstruction fund. The "trustees" he appointed include an assailant who attacked the elected President, and family members of individuals who destroyed parish property and stole sacred items on video. One hundred parishioners stand outside the Cathedral every Sunday while ten to fifteen sit inside with the imposed priest. Tonight, his appointees invaded the priest's residence, causing the priest's wife to be hospitalized, terrorizing his children and changing the locks, with police facilitating the illegal eviction.

He will tell you this is peace. This is what peace looks like when you ban the witnesses, terrorize the families, and appoint criminals to silence opposition through fear.

The Real Disturbance

Every Sunday since November 2, when the Bishop removed Fr. Dragoslav, approximately one hundred parishioners gather outside St. Sava Cathedral. They pray. They stand witness. They protect their spiritual home. They commit no violence. They destroy no property. They simply refuse to accept that criminals appointed through unsigned documents have legitimate authority over their church.

Inside the Cathedral, ten to fifteen people worship.

The Bishop calls the hundred outside the "disturbance." He points to them as evidence of the crisis that justified his intervention. But consider: who is actually disturbing the peace? The hundred praying peacefully outside, or the appointed assailant claiming authority inside? The witnesses standing vigil, or the camera-destroyer whose daughter and son-in-law are appointed to the "Trustee Board"? The elected leaders locked out, or the criminals given keys?

NEDOSTOJAN - Unworthy

The Serbian word is clear and damning: NEDOSTOJAN. Unworthy.

Bishop Irinej has demonstrated himself unworthy of his office. Not through a single mistake or error in judgment, but through a documented pattern of systematic abuse. He has targeted wealthy parishes while his own Diocese crumbles under debt. He has violated the Church Constitution he swore to uphold. He has appointed criminals to positions of authority while removing those who dare question financial irregularities. He has terrorized families and invaded homes. He has lied to church authorities about the situation he has created.

Tonight, the stress of watching strangers invade her home and change the locks caused Protinica to collapse unconscious. Her children watched paramedics carry their mother out on a stretcher. She's now in the hospital. And the lock change continued anyway - police standing by, officer cursing at a parishioner who dared question the proceedings. This happened under this Bishop's authority, by people claiming his authorization, in pursuit of goals that serve his failing Diocese's financial interests.

He serves mammon, not God. He wields his office as a weapon for financial gain rather than a sacred trust for pastoral care. He has proven himself NEDOSTOJAN - unworthy - and must be removed before he inflicts this pattern on another parish.

Because make no mistake: if he succeeds in Parma, every financially stable parish in the Diocese becomes a target. Follow the money and you will find the pattern. Follow the pattern and you will find parishes destroyed, not for canonical violations, but for having assets that a bankrupt Diocese covets.

Our Appeal

We are not rebels. We are not schismatics. We are Orthodox Christians defending our church from those who would steal it for money.

We submitted our appeals to the Holy Synod properly. We documented the violations thoroughly. We await your decision respectfully. But while we wait, our Cathedral is occupied by appointees with no legal authority, our elected leaders are locked out, a priest's wife collapsed from the stress and is hospitalized, children watched their mother carried out by paramedics while the lock change continued, and our assets remain one signature away from disappearing into Diocese accounts to cover debts we did not create.

We need emergency intervention, not eventual determination. Because every day that passes, the Bishop creates more facts on the ground that will be harder to reverse.

Tonight, a woman collapsed unconscious from the trauma of her home invasion. Her children watched paramedics take their mother away. Tomorrow, those same appointed individuals will demand access to bank accounts. Next week, transfers could be made that drain years of faithful donations. By the time proper church authority acts, the theft could be complete.

Your Holiness, we are begging you to see through the lie that this is "peaceful." We are begging you to recognize the money motive driving these actions. We are begging you to act before there is nothing left to save.

And we are stating clearly: Bishop Irinej is NEDOSTOJAN - unworthy of his office. Not just for what he has done to our parish, but for the threat he poses to every parish in the Diocese that has assets he might covet.

Remove him. Before more children cry. Before more families are terrorized. Before more parishes are looted.

This is our witness. This is our truth. This is our desperate prayer.