Pokrov writes to Ukrainian Orthodox Church re: Damian Messires

To: His Beatitude Metropolitan Constantine
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
1803 Sidney Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Fax: (412) 431-0758

Your Beatitude:

We run a website for victims of abuse in the Orthodox Church which offers support and provides education and resources. We also post a list of convicted Orthodox perpetrators. One of these perpetrators, Fr. Damian Messires, is from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Fr. Damian recently showed up at an OCA parish in Florida posing as a subdeacon of Greek descent with a new name. We have included a copy of this update for you.

We are asking that you please inform the Orthodox community at large as to the status of Fr. Damian Messires. Is he still a priest? What disciplinary action has been taken with him and what is his standing in the church? This man poses a serious threat to innocent Orthodox boys.

We would also like to request a copy of the guidelines and procedures for dealing with clergy misconduct in the UOC. Additionally, we have received reports of alleged abuse in the western diocese of the UOC involving a parish in Hammond, IN. We would like to be able to provide guidelines to the individuals who have contacted us so they can follow the correct procedures for reporting the abuse. Of course we have advised them to contact the police