Warsaw, April 3, 2023
Photo: spzh.news
Hierarchs from throughout the Orthodox world continue to raise their voices in support of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the persecuted brotherhood of the Kiev Caves Lavra.
Among the latest is His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Poland, who sent a message of support to His Eminence Archbishop Sylvester of Belgorod, rector of the Kiev Theological Seminary and Academy:
The Polish Orthodox Church has always supported the canonicity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. What’s happening today with the Kiev Caves Lavra, other monastic centers, churches and your Academy is an expression of the great enslavement and persecution of the Church. On this occasion, we express our regret, offer prayers≤ and join all those who offer prayers and suffer persecution.
There is none like God! Jesus Christ said, If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you (Jn. 15:20), but remember: I have overcome the world (Jn. 16:33).
We are spiritually united with the monks of the Kiev Caves Lavra and all those who suffer, deeply believing that Christ’s “sun will shine in your window.”
His Eminence Metropolitan Andrei of Gori of the Georgian Orthodox Church also sent a message of support to His Eminence Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye of the UOC, stating:
Having read your written appeal, our heartbreak has intensified even more. The members of the Georgian Church are deeply saddened by the traffic events taking place in Ukraine. War is a universal tragedy that brings evil and destruction, tears and destruction, it is a catalyst for destructive social phenomena and manifestations of base human aspirations…
To our great regret, at the same time, the situation of the multi-million flock of the UOC is aggravated by the severity of the trials of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Many believers draw a parallel with the persecution of the Church of the Bolshevik times…
We believe and hope that in the near future the Orthodox Churches will find a solution in accordance with the spirit and canons of the Church of Christ, since the force exerted on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not acceptable either under spiritual or civil laws.
And His Eminence Archbishop Juraj of Michalovce and Košice of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia also published a statement of support, calling on Ukrainian authorities to come to their senses:
Having visited the Holy Kiev Caves Lavra numerous times both as a priest and a bishop and being well-acquainted with its spiritual importance, I would like to express my support to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and all Ukraine and to all the brotherhood of the Kiev Caves Lavra. I am shocked that in a time of war and attack, the government officials of Ukraine concentrate their strength on provoking internal strife, shamelessly abusing religion. I would like to remind the persecutors of the Church: Today you’re here, tomorrow you may be forgotten. The Church of Christ has survived all the Neros, Diocletians, Mehmeds, Robespierres, Hitlers, and Stalins. Would you like to be counted in their ranks? Please come to your senses before it’s too late, let the monks live and pray in their Lavra! After all, they are human beings, not things to be moved around; they are citizens of Ukraine, not an enemy; their lives are not your property!
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