A Catholic Byzantinian priest, Fr. Tikhon Sergey Kulbaka, announced on Facebook last Friday that he will initiate an exorcism on Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose Ukrainian invasion he believes to be inspired by the devil.
The Union of Catholic Asian News highlighted that the Religious Information Service of Ukraine first reported on Kulbaka, who is a native of Donetsk and presently located in the western city of Lviv. Russians are said to be heading to Lviv, renowned for its cultural heritage and architectural beauty, prompting its 700,000 residents to prepare for the worst.
In his post, Kulbaka raised that he will use his priestly ministry to conduct the daily exorcism on Putin. He cited the catechism to explain what an exorcism is, which is a ritual that expels the devil from a person or releases a person from demonic influences through the power given by Jesus Christ to His Church.
"I want to inform you that I have decided in a special way to use my status as a priest of the United, Holy, Cathedral, which I have had the grace and privilege of being 30 years ago. From today on, I commit to perform the Ritual of Exorcism in the intention of Vladimir Putin every day. I believe this person's actions may be inspired by an evil spirit," Kulbaka announced.
Kulbaka, who was previously abducted by separatists in 2014, called on the merciful God to release Putin from the hold of the enemy that has influenced the Russian president "refuse evil and do good." He also cited Paul's letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 5:5) that asks God "to give such Satan to the perishing of the flesh, to save the spirit in the day of the Lord."
The UCAN reported that when Kulbaka was previously taken by separatists, they wanted him to renounce his being a part of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. This way the priest could join the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, which Putin is a part of.
Faithwire elaborated that the exorcism the Ukrainian priest will perform is a minor one, which uses a prayer to break the influence of sin and evil in a person's life. Faithwire said there are two forms of exorcisms the Catholic Church performs--minor and major--depending on the situation of the person inflicted by evil. Major exorcisms are more popular among the public and are used when the person has been determined to be genuinely possessed by the devil.
The United Conference of Catholic Bishop explained that "both forms of exorcism are directed against the power of the devil, the Rite of Major Exorcism is employed only when there is a case of genuine demonic possession, namely, when it is determined that the presence of the devil is in the body of the possessed and the devil is able to exercise dominion over that body."
In ending his post, Kulbaka expressed appreciation for fellow priests who wish to join him in his efforts. He also welcomed the support of the faithful for priests and blessed those who will do so with peace. Kulbaka highlighted his post with a graphic of St. Michael the Archangel defeating Satan, a common iconography used in exorcism.
A similar effort was done in 2015 by an unnamed priest who conducted an exorcism in a helicopter in the hope of expelling evil from an Italian town where several cases of defilement and robbery were done on local churches. The town is particularly in Castellammare di Stabia, which is near Naples.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Orthodox Christian Church Metropolitan Epiphanius I of Ukraine echoed Kulbaka's sentiments on Putin. The Ukrainian Orthodox Christian Church's leader said on Sunday that Putin has the spirit of the AntiChrist.
"The spirit of the Antichrist operates in the leader of Russia, the signs of which the Scriptures reveal to us: pride, devotion to evil, ruthlessness, false religiosity. This was Hitler during World War II. This is what Putin has become today," Metropolitan Epiphanius I of Ukraine said in a statement.
