Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: When Church Leadership Creates "News" to Defend the Indefensible

THE SCANDAL

On December 7, 2025, a website called "orthodoxintegrity.org" published an article titled "They Broke the Locks First: The Real Story at St. Sava Cathedral"—a propaganda piece defending Bishop Irinej Dobrijević's December 5 break-in at St. Sava Cathedral and the priest's home in Parma, Ohio.

The article is filled with demonstrable falsehoods, victim-blaming, and canonical misrepresentations.

But here's the real scandal: Bishop Irinej placed this propaganda on the official Eastern American Diocese website.

Not as commentary. Not as opinion. But presented as "news" from an allegedly independent source.

This reveals everything you need to know about Bishop Irinej's desperation—and his integrity.

WHAT THIS REVEALS

1. COORDINATION BETWEEN BISHOP AND FAKE NEWS BLOG

The timeline is damning:

- November 30, 2025: orthodoxintegrity.org domain registered (5 days BEFORE the break-in - proving premeditation)

- December 5, 2025: Bishop's team breaks into St. Sava Cathedral, changes locks, terrorizes Fr. Dragoslav's family; orthodoxintegrity.org domain UPDATED same day (coordination)

- December 7, 2025: Propaganda article "They Broke the Locks First" appears on official Diocese website, crediting orthodoxintegrity.org as source.

This wasn't an independent journalist covering events. This was a coordinated propaganda operation planned in advance to manipulate the faithful into thinking this is legitimate journalism.

2. BISHOP CANNOT DEFEND HIMSELF LEGITIMATELY

If Bishop Irinej's position were strong, he wouldn't need to:

- Create fake news websites

- Write propaganda defending himself

- Post it on his official Diocese website pretending it's independent journalism

Real journalists—the ones who aren't on his payroll or in his network—aren't covering his side. Why? Because his actions are indefensible. So he creates his own "news" and publishes it himself.

This is the behavior of someone who knows he's lost.

3. ABUSE OF CHURCH AUTHORITY

The official Eastern American Diocese website represents the Serbian Orthodox Church. When Bishop Irinej posts propaganda there, he:

- Abuses his ecclesiastical authority

- Manipulates the faithful

- Pretends church imprimatur validates lies

- Turns official church communications into a propaganda ministry

St. Bishop Nikolai Velimirović: "When a bishop uses his authority for politics instead of pastoral guidance, he ceases to be a bishop — he becomes a politician in a cassock." Historical Warning:

Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople (428-431) used his authority to spread delusions. He was deposed at the Council of Ephesus.

Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople (610-638) used his position to deceive the people. He was condemned at the Sixth Ecumenical Council.

St. Archbishop Arsenije I of Serbia (†1266) excommunicated King Stefan Radoslav for manipulating the Church.

If patriarchs and emperors were held accountable for abuses, why shouldn't a bishop? Key Distinction: These historical cases involved dogmatic heresies — they believed in their errors. Bishop Irinej KNOWS he is lying. He consciously creates a fake blog, updates it the same day he conducts the raid, and orders the official website to cite it as a "source." This is not delusion — this is conscious deception.

Using church authority to spread falsehoods is a profound moral failing.

4. THE LIES THEY'RE TRYING TO SELL

Let's examine what "orthodoxintegrity.org" (ironic name) claims, versus reality:

THEIR CLAIM:

"The week prior to December 5, one of the protesters broke locks and locked the front doors—preventing parishioners from entering for worship."

REALITY:

FALSE. No "protester" broke locks. The 120 families standing outside peacefully defend their cathedral from criminal takeover. Police were called six consecutive Sundays and found NO violations by the peaceful families outside.

Evidence: Police reports, photos of peaceful gatherings, testimony of officers who found no disruption.

THEIR CLAIM:

"Father Dragoslav Kosić was canonically dismissed from parish duties on October 29."

REALITY:

FALSE. "Canonical dismissal" requires formal charges, an ecclesiastical trial, right to defense, and a written verdict. NONE of these occurred. Bishop simply removed Fr. Dragoslav by decree, violating canonical procedure.

Evidence: 74 families filed canonical appeals citing lack of due process. No formal charges exist. No trial was held. No verdict issued.

THEIR CLAIM:

"The family remains in the house. No one was placed 'on the street.'"

REALITY:

DELIBERATELY MISLEADING. Changing locks while the family is home, preventing them free access to their own residence and now ANYONE CAN enter their home, IS constructive eviction. This is textbook harassment designed to force them out.

Evidence: Police were present during lock-changing. Family could not freely access home after December 5. This is documented.

THEIR CLAIM:

"The Temporary Trusteeship is the legitimate civil and ecclesial administrator."

REALITY:

VIOLATES NOVEMBER 20, 2025 HOLY SYNOD REGULATIONS. The "Trusteeship" consists of kumovi and family members serving together, explicitly forbidden by Articles 32 & 45 and specifically addressed in the November 20, 2025 Regulations issued by the Holy Synod.

Evidence:

The Kumovi Network Bishop Irinej Installed:

Bishop Irinej is kum to Stanka Nikolić and Rosemary Vectirelis - a spiritual family relationship. The board he installed December 2-3, 2025 consists of Stanka's and his kumovi network and their family members:

Article 32 Violations (Family Members Serving Together):

- Dragan Obrenić (Board President) - Married to Stanka Nikolić's sister (brother-in-law to Stanka)

- Stanka Nikolić (Board Member) - Bishop's kuma, sister-in-law to Board President Dragan Obrenić

- Katarina Derekh & Maryan Derekh (Board Members) - Husband and wife serving together; Katarina was caught lying and falsifying a letter about Nina Marković at the March 8, 2025 meeting, then rewarded with board position

Article 45 Violations (Non-Members on Board):

- Bob Ćosić (1st Vice President) - Not a registered member of the parish, no regular attendance

- Svetlana Ikić (Financial Secretary) - Not a member, known to "move from parish to parish attempting to find one that will bend to her whims"

This board was installed December 2-3, just 15 DAYS after the November 20, 2025 Holy Synod Regulations explicitly prohibited kumovi and family members from serving together on parish boards.

This is Bishop Irinej installing his own spiritual family network - people loyal to him personally, not to the parish.

THEIR CLAIM:

"The video footage shows the priest's wife lying on the ground while her daughter stood over her recording rather than helping."

REALITY:

DISGUSTING VICTIM-BLAMING. A woman experiences medical distress during a traumatic home invasion by church officials, and the propaganda blames her family for documenting the harassment?

The truth:

- One daughter was helping her mother

- Another daughter was filming the intrusion to document the harassment

- Paramedics were called and on their way

- When dealing with intruders terrorizing your family, YES, you film to protect yourself legally

When Bishop's agents break into your home, change locks, and prevent you from accessing your residence while police stand guard, filming the evidence is EXACTLY what you should do. This is documentation. This is evidence. This is how you prove harassment in court.

Blaming a woman in medical distress for being filmed, and attacking her daughters for protecting the family legally, reveals the cruelty of those writing this propaganda.

THEIR CLAIM:

"The rebellious parishioners constitute a large majority. This claim is asserted without evidence."

REALITY:

PURE PROJECTION. We have extensive evidence:

- 150+ families filed formal canonical appeals with the Holy Synod

- 120+ families stand outside every Sunday, in cold and snow

They have:

- A handful of kumovi families who are related to each other

- Repeated police calls on peaceful people (police find no violations)

- A fake news blog created to defend them

- An empty cathedral that requires police presence to function

Who has the majority? The evidence is overwhelming.

THEIR CLAIM:

"When protesters break locks, barricade doors, and prevent the faithful from attending Liturgy, they are attacking tradition."

REALITY:

COMPLETE INVERSION OF TRUTH. It was Bishop's team who:

- Broke in on December 5

- Changed all locks

- Forced, through his shameless and unlawful decisions, 120 families to peacefully defend their cathedral from criminal takeover

- Required police presence for every liturgy because the faithful reject the illegal takeover of the Cathedral

The "protesters" are the FAITHFUL parishioners who were locked out of the cathedral their ancestors built, their donations funded, and Fr. Dragoslav spiritually nurtured for years.

They're not attacking the Church. They're defending it from corrupt leadership.

THE REAL STORY

Here's what actually happened, in chronological order:

2019-2025: Bishop Irinej accumulates $270,000+ tax debt at Marcha Monastery, mismanages Diocese finances, ignores proper procedures.

October 2025: Bishop removes Fr. Dragoslav Kosić as retaliation against parishioners who dared to complain to the Holy Synod about the Bishop's behavior.

November 10, 2025: 150+ parishioners file canonical appeals with the Holy Synod using proper church procedures.

November 20, 2025: Holy Synod issues Regulations explicitly prohibiting kumovi and family members from serving together on parish boards.

November 30, 2025: orthodoxintegrity.org domain registered - propaganda website created 5 days BEFORE the break-in.

December 2-3, 2025: Bishop installs illegal kumovi board at St. Sava, violating regulations issued just 15 days earlier.

December 5, 2025: Bishop's team breaks into St. Sava Cathedral, changes all locks, terrorizes Fr. Dragoslav's family while police provide security for the break-in. orthodoxintegrity.org domain UPDATED same day.

December 7, 2025: Propaganda article appears on official Diocese website, crediting orthodoxintegrity.org as source.

December 8, 2025 - Present: 120+ families stand outside the cathedral every Sunday, peacefully witnessing. Police called repeatedly. Police find no violations. Families continue standing.

MESSAGE TO THE HOLY SYNOD

Your Holiness,

This is the bishop you are protecting.

A bishop who violates your November 20, 2025 Regulations within 15 days of their issuance and creates fake news websites to defend his indefensible actions then publishes these same "news" as propaganda on official church websites. When a bishop abuses ecclesiastical authority to spread lies, he forfeits any claim to moral leadership.

A bishop who terrorizes a priest's family and calls police on faithful people using church authority.

Is this the leadership the Serbian Orthodox Church deserves?

Is this the example you wish to set for other dioceses?

Is this the witness you offer to the Orthodox world?

We hope that 120 families standing outside their cathedral on Christmas morning will not be your answer.

MESSAGE TO THE FAITHFUL

Do not be deceived by propaganda dressed up as journalism.

When Bishop Irinej creates fake news blogs and posts them on official church websites, he reveals his desperation and his dishonesty.

The truth is simple and no amount of propaganda changes these facts. No fake "news" blog erases the evidence. No official church imprimatur makes lies into truth.

Stand firm. Stand peacefully. Stand together.

The Holy Synod is watching. Belgrade is watching. The Orthodox world is watching.

Truth matters.

CONCLUSION

When a bishop must create fake news websites and post propaganda on official church platforms to defend himself, he has already lost.

When a bishop's actions cannot withstand scrutiny from legitimate journalists, so he manufactures his own "journalism," he reveals his guilt.

Bishop Irinej, your desperation is showing.

"orthodoxintegrity.org"?

The irony would be funny if it weren't so tragic.

May God grant repentance to those who lie in His name.

May God grant wisdom to the Holy Synod to remove corrupt leadership.

May God grant strength to the 120 families standing in the cold.

May God grant justice to St. Sava Cathedral before Orthodox Christmas.

Слава Богу за све!