UOC priest describes his spiritual life in detention center

Church on the prison grounds. Photo: t.me/innocentprisoner

In conditions of isolation and restrictions, UOC priest Archpriest Serhiy Chertylin has been for several months. On the eve of the Peter's Fast, Father Serhiy shared how his spiritual life unfolds behind bars.

For an Orthodox Christian living a church life, it is normal to have a prayer corner, regular prayers, attending services, fasting, preparing for confession and communion. But imagine, writes the priest, that all this collapses at once, and you end up in a place where the only furniture is bunks and a nightstand, at best.

Where you have to choose: icons or necessities? Where you have to learn to pray not in the silence of your room, but surrounded by 20-25 people living their own lives: some sleep, some wake up, some eat, some argue, some exercise, some watch TV. And so it goes around the clock, seven days a week.

In the detention center, it is impossible to attend services, even if there is a church. The rules prohibit it for those not convicted. Inviting a priest, confessing, and receiving communion is also a difficult task.

The author has seen priests twice during his imprisonment, and they might have been Greek Catholics. It is difficult to assess their work and influence on the spiritual life of prisoners, as it is for many other "local residents".

"But agree, coming to the cell, sprinkling water, and running away without any desire to establish contact with a person in need of spiritual care is still necessary," the author is puzzled. "But no, so no."

There are also challenges with fasting and reading spiritual literature, which are hard to judge without being in such a situation. Reading is perhaps the only available entertainment, he shares.

"Someone will say that a priest should enlighten, teach, and guide on the path of correction, as one of the 'local residents' said: 'bring spiritual clarity,'" writes Fr. Serhiy.

But this is an idealized notion. Here, life is subject to different rules, rhythms, and interests. And unfortunately, this is a place where a person loses their individuality. Here, people are not factory directors, priests, judges, or deputies, but simply prisoners.

Over time, it becomes possible to gradually return to your life what was dear to you in freedom.

"First, you learn to pray anew, not before icons, but sitting on the bunks, or in the paddy wagon, or in the cells, and simultaneously answering the questions of fellow inmates: 'Whom, Father, are you praying for?'

Then the first icon comes to you in a parcel, which your cellmates hang in the most visible place so that everyone can pray. Then you consecrate your home, and everyone prays with you.

Eventually, you clear the top of the nightstand and arrange a prayer corner. Over time, others join your prayer, and this becomes the norm, and your neighbors at 9:30 PM remind you of the time for the prayer service for the prisoners," writes the priest.

As he notes, the need for fasting and the understanding of the importance of preparation for confession and Communion comes anew. The archpriest says he is lucky because his "lawyers, Father Nikita and Father Aristarkh, are priests, and the meeting place with the lawyer turns into a mini church, where communication is not only about legal matters, but it is also a place for confession and Communion."

"Looking back, you realize that there is spiritual life even in such conditions. Yes, it is different, but it undoubtedly exists," he concludes. "The most pleasant thing is to cross out from the list the names of people we mention in prayer 'for those in bonds', knowing that they are already free. This gives us hope that the prayer has been heard by God, and the time will come when we will also hear: 'With your belongings, to freedom!'"

In a postscript, Father Serhiy congratulates everyone on the beginning of Peter's Fast and adds: "I am glad to be part of the Church that faithfully keeps its traditions and does not seek to please the world, but strives to please God!"

Previously, as the UOJ wrote about Archpriest Serhiy Chertylin, who described the horrors of being in prison.

Read also