SEVEN WEEKS OF TESTIMONY: Guardians in the Snowstorm

 St. Sava Cathedral, Parma, Ohio – December 14, 2025 (7th week of resistance) Temperature: -19°C (-2°F) Weather: Snowstorm Inside the cathedral: Bishop Irinej's illegal "godparent administration" conducting the Liturgy Outside in front of the cathedral: 120 families REFUSE to enter – standing as witnesses to the truth

THEY ARE NOT LOCKED OUT – THEY CHOOSE TO STAND OUTSIDE

 Let us be absolutely clear about what is happening here: These faithful Orthodox Christians are not locked out of their cathedral. They REFUSE to enter. They refuse to legitimize canonical crime with their presence. They refuse to pray beside an illegally imposed administration. They refuse to pretend everything is normal when their bishop violated Article 45 of the Holy Synod Regulations just twelve days after those regulations were adopted. The doors are open. The police are there. And the faithful choose the snowstorm over complicity. This is not a sacrifice. This is moral courage.

THE SCENE THIS MORNING

Above the entrance to St. Sava Cathedral hangs a magnificent mosaic of St. Sava – the patron of Serbian enlightenment, illumination, and spiritual freedom. The saint who taught that the Church belongs to the people, not to corrupt hierarchs.

Below that holy image today: Three police cars – arriving before 8:00 a.m., waiting for the parishioners. Dragan Knežević stands guard at the stairs to the choir loft, preventing parishioners from going up. Because the bishop's team fears documentation of how few people actually attend his "Divine Liturgy." And inside, behind those doors – a handful of people attend the "Divine Liturgy" led by the imposed "priest" appointed by the Bishop who violated canonical law twelve days after the Holy Synod adopted the regulations that specifically prohibit what he did.

 Outside in front of those doors: Dozens of faithful Orthodox Christians stand in the snowstorm at -19°C, holding signs – REFUSING to enter their own cathedral until canonical order is restored. This is the seventh week they have stood in the cold. Seven weeks choosing testimony over warmth. Seven weeks choosing truth over complicity. Seven weeks defending their church from corruption by refusing to participate in it.

THE "BISHOP'S" RESPONSE TO PEACEFUL TESTIMONY

Police cars are waiting at 8:00 a.m. Not at 10:00 when the service begins. Not after some incident. Before 8:00 a.m. – before the faithful had even arrived. This is the response to peaceful, prayerful testimony: pre-positioned police presence. Not pastoral care. Not dialogue. Not even basic Christian compassion for people who will stand in sub-zero temperatures rather than pray beside a canonical crime. Police cars are waiting as if this is a riot, not a prayer vigil. As if the grandmothers holding icons and grandfathers holding signs are criminals. As if peacefully standing in front of one's own church – by one's own choice – is a threat. Inside: The bishop's imposed "priest" – the one who called us "thieves" while entering with real thieves – conducts the "Liturgy" under police protection.

And the bishop who created all this:

• Accumulated over $270,000 in tax debt

• Removed the priest as retaliation against parishioners who dared appeal to the Holy Synod

• Appointed his kuma and her family and kumovi to the board directly violating Article 45 (adopted November 20, 2025)

• Terrorized Fr. Dragoslav's family during the break-in on December 5

• Positioned police before 8:00 a.m. for people coming to pray

...he doesn't even come. He sends his lackey to do the dirty work while he sits somewhere warm.

Outside at -19°C: The faithful. The real Church. Standing in the snow BY THEIR OWN CHOICE because they refuse to legitimize canonical crime with their presence. This is not persecution. This is exodus. They are leaving Egypt; they are not being driven out of it.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE SHEPHERD BECOMES THE WOLF

St. John Chrysostom warned: "The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of bishops."

Today at St. Sava Cathedral we see why.

 A bishop who: • Cares more about control than souls

• Positions police at 8:00 a.m. for people coming to pray

• Protects his godmother's interests regardless of canonical laws

• Needs a guard to prevent photographing how few people actually attend his "Divine Liturgy"

• Watches the faithful stand at -19°C while he sits warm – and does nothing to address their canonical concerns This is not a shepherd. This is a hireling who sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep. No – worse. This is a wolf in shepherd's clothing. And the faithful? They recognize the wolf and REFUSE to be devoured. That's why they stand outside. Not because they are locked out. But because they are protecting their souls from corruption. _

TO THE FAITHFUL WHO CHOOSE SNOW OVER CORRUPTION

You are the Church. Not the building. Not the bishop. You. Every week you CHOOSE to stand outside in the cold rather than participate in canonical crime, you fulfill Christ's words: "Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." You are not victims. You are victors. You could walk through those open doors right now. Sit in the warmth. Participate in the Liturgy. Pretend everything is normal. But you won't. Because you know it would be spiritual suicide. Because you know participating in an illegal regime would make you complicit in its crimes.

The police cars will leave. The bishop's illegal administration will fall. The violation of Article 45 is documented and undeniable. Dragan Knežević will stop guarding the stairs. But your testimony? It will echo in Serbian Orthodox history forever.

In seventy years, when people ask "Where were you when St. Sava Cathedral needed defenders?" – you will be able to say you stood in the snow BY YOUR OWN CHOICE.

 When they ask "Did anyone stand against corruption?" – you will be able to point to seven weeks (so far) of testimony at -19°C.

 When they ask "Did the Church survive the wolf?" – you will be able to say yes, because WE CHOSE NOT TO BE DEVOURED. We stayed outside the wolf's den. We protected our church by refusing to legitimize its occupation.

A WORD TO BISHOP IRINEJ

Your Grace,

Today you had police cars waiting at 8:00 a.m. for people coming to pray. Not after some incident. Not in response to violence. Before anyone had even arrived. People who built this cathedral. People who paid for that iconostasis. People whose families prayed here for three generations. And you pre-positioned police as if they were criminals. You ordered Dragan Knežević to guard the choir stairs to prevent photographing how few people actually attend your "Divine Liturgy."

St. Sava looks down from that mosaic above the doors. The saint who gave up a crown to serve the Church. The saint who taught that truth is worth more than power. The saint who enlightened the people. What do you think he sees when he looks at you today? A bishop defending canonical order? Or a politician in a mantle who needs police and guards to maintain the illusion of legitimacy? The answer is obvious to everyone except you.

These people are not locked out. They choose to stand outside because entering would make them complicit in your canonical crimes. That choice – their voluntary testimony at -19°C – is the most devastating indictment of your episcopacy imaginable.

CONCLUSION: THE CHURCH WILL SURVIVE THIS

The Church has survived worse than Bishop Irinej Dobrijević. It survived Roman persecution. It survived Ottoman occupation. It survived communist atheism. It will survive one corrupt bishop and his illegal family and kumovi administration.

 What it will not survive is the lie that this is acceptable. What it will not survive is pretending canonical violations don't matter. What it will not survive is the idea that power overcomes truth.

Because outside at -19°C, truth stands firm. With signs. With prayers. With testimony. With seven weeks of voluntary refusal to participate in corruption. They are not locked out. They choose to guard. They are not victims. They are defenders of canonical truth. And truth wins. Because every week, those doors are open – and every week, the faithful CHOOSE the snowstorm over complicity. St. Sava, pray to God for us!

Christ is in our midst!