Is American Sister Vassa an Unregistered Foreign Agent? After Communing with Schismatic OCU in Ukraine without Persecution by Ukrainian Authorities, the Former Internet Nun is Defrocked by ROCOR

An American women identifying as Sister Vassa on the internet and presenting herself as a nun in ROCOR while asking for donations was defrocked by ROCOR after a controversial trip to Ukraine. Vassa traveled to Ukraine in early May 2025 and communed with the schismatic OCU. ROCOR is not in communion with the OCU, meaning ROCOR members are NOT allowed to attend services with the OCU.

Vassa interviewed the head of Ukraine’s Ethnopolitics department, which is one of the Ukrainian government entities actively persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (some of which is documented by the UN and in legal cases filed by Robert Amsterdam on behalf of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in international and European courts).

While Ukraine routinely arrests and persecutes Ukrainian Orthodox Christians for alleged associations with the “Russian world” and is actively pursuing laws to ban churches and religious organizations with alleged associations with the Russian Orthodox Church, Vassa was not detained by Ukrainian authorities despite belonging to ROCOR and ROCOR being in communion with the ROC.

ttps://www.hrw.org/news/2024/10/30/ukraine-new-law-raises-religious-freedom-concerns

https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/3894-20/print

Under Ukrainian law, the ROC is considered an “enemy of Ukraine.” Yet Vassa, a foreign citizen publicly declaring membership to the Russian Orthodox Church, was not subject to the enforcement of these laws during her trip.

Met. Nicholas issues a statement during a meeting of ROCOR’s Synod of Bishops:

Met. Nicholas previously condemned Nathanael Kapner, who has appeared on the Alex Jones Show and has expressed neo-Nazi ideology, demonstrating a commitment to weeding out partisans from ROCOR:

IC XC NIKA