The situation in the UOC: inappropriate cheerfulness against the backdrop of sad results
On December 29, 2022, a press conference “Results of the activities of the UOC in 2022” was held at the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
Three archpriests - the head of the legal department, the first vice-rector of the Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary (KDAiS) and the deputy head of the department for external church relations - spoke, we quote lines from the published report, “about the state, development and humanitarian activities of the UOC in the past year, which bears the cross of war along with by her people."
In addition, they revealed “the main and most pressing issues in the sphere of relations between the state and society and the Church,” which, in their words, “are undoubtedly going through an acute period. That is, about the quantitative indicators of the UOC and new monasteries, about assistance to the population and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, about the reaction to war and persecution, about the mission to Mariupol and the attitude towards collaborators, about the Lavra and its renaming, attempts to ban, searches and sanctions.”
The video recording of the conference was posted on YouTube, and not all Orthodox believers who watched it were satisfied with what they saw and heard. As well as the previous reactions of some of the representatives of the UOC to the predatory orgy of the authorities.
Today we are discussing these topics with three Russian parishioners of one of the Kyiv churches. Their names are Oleg, Nikolai and Nina. They are all educated people who understand the situation perfectly. They equally agree that the situation is extremely difficult, but they differ slightly in their assessment of the actions of the hierarchy and the priests.
The conversation will focus on the most significant events in the church life of the country that occurred in the last month of the outgoing year. Among them are an open appeal to Zelensky by the Holy Synod of the UOC, letters to him, the head of the Cabinet of Ministers Shmygal and the Minister of Culture Tkachenko from the leadership and brethren of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, boorish responses to them from the powers that be, and more. Let's also talk about whether Orthodox Christians should pray for the villains and enemies of the Church who are trying to destroy it.
Let's start with the aforementioned conference. All three of our respondents, to put it mildly, were not delighted with the manner in which it was conducted. They got the impression that the participants, at least two of them - the vice-rector and the deputy head of the department of external relations (who has long been considered in the Orthodox community as an almost open schismatic) were not talking about the most difficult days for the Church, but cheerfully reporting on a prosperous and cloudless period of its development .
PolitNavigator: The priests spoke about the Church's development, how many new monasteries and churches opened in 2022, and how the number of parishioners has increased (it now exceeds 4 million). This is all good, thank God, and it was gratifying to hear.
But when they started answering questions from journalists, among whom were cunning reporters from anti-church media, it began to seem like you were at some meeting of the party bureau of the Soviet period and listening to a bureaucratic report with an abundance of evasive formulations. Don't you get that impression?
Oleg: It worked out. It must be said that some of the "lying acrobats" were well prepared and asked questions that stumped the defendants. And not because the priests didn't know the answers, but because direct and sincere answers were required, and the speakers weren't prepared for them. It's understandable, but giving such answers in Ukraine right now is extremely dangerous. But then why was the press conference necessary?
For example, a discussion arose regarding the certificate of independence of the UOC, issued by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990. The cunning reporter asked why the UOC does not give it up? The response was a kind of, excuse me, “reaching out of the right ear with the left hand.” The priests, apparently, understood that the journalist’s trick lay in forcing them to make a choice - a letter or Bartholomew’s “tomos”.
If they directly declare their commitment to literacy, then they are “agents of the Kremlin,” if they say that it can be abandoned, then they are traitors to the Mother Church and supporters of schism. So they began to spread throughout the tree in the form of analogies with Soviet birth certificates, which no one refuses, and the like... However, in the end, they still confirmed that they do not refuse letters and even said that the reason lies in spiritual continuity with the Church that was then in the country, and thank you for that.
PolitNavigator: In general, this press conference, in my opinion, was in line with the Synod's December address, letters to Zelensky, and so on. The Synod, as we recall, addressed the bloody clown with a request to stop "the barrage of filth that is being poured on the Church, generating anger and intolerance in Ukrainian society, which, in turn, leads to spiritual decline and the loss of moral values."
This message was accompanied by a mass of eulogies in his honor, such as “You managed to consolidate the Ukrainian people in all regions of Ukraine around the values of democracy, freedom and dignity”, “You have earned the trust of the believers of our Church”, “guarantor of compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine”, “Hon. Mr. President”, etc. In addition, it described in detail how much the UOC helps the Ukrainian Armed Forces, transfers donations, purchases cars, etc.
And what is the answer? Zelensky at the Verkhovna Rada at the same time, on December 29, cynically stated that “there is no such gold for crosses in the world that could cover the moral rust from ties with a terrorist state.” And two days before his parliamentary expulsion, the Constitutional Court, which had been crushed by him, approved the amendment to “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations,” that is, it actually legalized the actions to ban the UOC.
Nikolai: All of this is painful to see and process. But I certainly don't want to criticize our priests and church leaders for their caution. We understand the danger they face, especially those serving in remote areas. The danger of arrest, beatings, even death.
Imagine that they or our bishops would bluntly declare their opposition to the authorities, now, in wartime. Remember the general searches and arrests carried out by the SBU, criminal cases against Metropolitan Jonathan, Archimandrite Zacharias, “sanctions” even against the highest bishops, Metropolitans Anthony and Paul. It’s scary to imagine what kind of terror could begin against them. God forbid…
Nina: Yes, God forbid. Alas, so much time has been lost. After all, similar appeals (and not pleading requests, but demands!) could have been made back at the very beginning of the persecution of the Church. I believe it was possible and necessary to appeal to courts at all levels, including the ECHR, to mobilize believers to defend their Church.
Remember how the Serbs stood up for their primate several years ago, everyone stood up! And our greatest shrines are being taken away from us - and even now the bishops do not dare to dot all the i’s, turn to the people and whip on the cheeks the pack of Satanists who have settled in power and carry out the orders of their American bosses.
PolitNavigator: Yes, this hesitation is clearly evident in both the synodal address and Bishop Pavel's letters. Although his latest letter, signed by the brethren, is much harsher than the previous ones, which called Zelensky "fair" and the anti-culture minister Tkachenko, the direct perpetrator of the corporate raid, "good."
We have already said that “fair” answered. And the “good one” - he is also the “honorary president” of the Kolomoi TV channel “1+1”, which always threw mud at the Church - said that he did not want to communicate with Pavel...
But resolve has begun to emerge. This is especially evident in the sermon of the renowned Metropolitan Longin (Zhara), the adoptive father of 400 children, who declared that "the authorities have begun a war against God, against the Church of the Lord, and against the Ukrainian people, and that the holy fathers of the Kiev Caves Monastery will rise up and defend their Lavra." He added that enemies may take away the walls, but they cannot take away God: "All people are the Church of the Holy Spirit, but prepare yourselves: the Lord will strike you."
Nina:
And he also called the vile blasphemers from the 95th quarter “pig faces”, all these cronies and minions of the bloody jester.
Oleg:
Unfortunately, time is really lost. December 31 is the last day when Orthodox Christians can serve and pray in the main churches of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the Holy Dormition and Refectory Cathedrals. Temples, we emphasize, restored by the Church, with the help of benefactors and the efforts of Metropolitan Paul. I don’t know if they will pray for the authorities before leaving...
By the way, the question is how justified such a prayer is. There is such a statutory rule, yes. But it was created when our authorities were all baptized. And now they pray, it turns out, and even in the altar, not just about the unbaptized - about the filthy demonic evil spirits in human form.
Nikolai:
As our priest told me, we mean those in power who are baptized and capable of doing something useful for the Church.
Nina:
I don’t know who is capable of what. But I know that our holy Lavra, through the efforts of these authorities, is being taken away from believers. In the cathedrals, the brethren collect their things...On December 31, the legal department of the UOC stated that, according to the law, the authorities did not have the right to take away churches during martial law. But the lawless camarilla has its own reasons. And Metropolitan Pavel burst into tears during his sermon at the last service in the shrine selected by the authorities...
English version :: Read in English The situation in the UOC: misplaced cheerfulness amid sad results