He is sure the monks of the Lavra will remain faithful to God in the Ukrainian Church
Moscow, October 30, 2018
Photo: lavra.kiev.ua The Ukrainian Church is strong and will be able to stand despite the demonic forces against it, and despite the pressure from the government and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, believes His Eminence Metropolitan Paul of Vyshogorod and Chernobyl, the abbot of the Kiev Caves Lavra.
Vladyka Paul spoke of the opposition faced by the Ukrainian Church with reporters in Moscow today, reports Interfax-Religion.
“The wolf is not so fearful. All the forces of hell are against us, but we are with God and we have nothing to fear. We are the canonical, holy, catholic Church, we are in unity with all the Local Churches, and I hope that, with God’s mercy and the support of the entire Church of Christ and you we will persevere,” His Eminence assured.
Last month, His Eminence was added to a Ukrainian government-backed website that compiles personal information on those deemed “enemies of Ukraine.” His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, has also been added to the list, along with several other hierarchs. In the past, certain people appearing on the list have been murdered, but the Ukrainian hierarchs are standing strong and refusing to renounce Christ.
According to the abbot, the threats of nationalists against the Lavra not only do not scare the people, but actually generate even more interest in the canonical Ukrainian Church.
“The more we are harassed, the greater the number of faithful. After the feast of the Protection, when they had threatened us to do something evil, many tours and pilgrims showed up. We were so full of people before, and now it’s even more. The people see very well where is truth and where is falsehood. Only the blind who have never prayed don’t see it: They need their ambitions, their demonic, proud ‘I,’” Met. Paul explained.
In an interview last month, His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa stated that Philaret Denisenko, the head of the schismatic “Kiev Patriarchate” is full of personal ambitions mixed with politics.
Met. Paul also expressed confidence that the monks of the Lavra will remain faithful to the canonical Ukrainian Church headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.
“I can’t say there is any vacillation in our brethren. They are true warriors who have held up the pilings for 25 years… Therefore, I believe, I hope, and I do not doubt that the brothers will remain faithful to the holy Ukrainian Orthodox Church that jointly bears the title of the Russian Orthodox Church,” the Lavra abbot explained.
The Ukrainian hierarch also stated that the Lavra does not need physical protection now, because its weapon is prayer, and the Lord “will not allow the house of the Mother of God to be mocked.”
He also noted that Philaret Denisenko’s claims to being the bishop for the Kiev Caves Lavra is just a manifestation of his inability to let go of his lifelong dream, and that the “Kiev Patriarchate” is not a church at all, but just a political party.
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