UOC Primate: A war being waged against the UOC to weaken Ukraine
His Beatitude reminded persecutors of the Church that the Kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.
In his sermon during the Divine Liturgy on January 15, 2023, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Onuphry stressed that along with the external war in the country, an internal, religious war is breaking out, reports the UOC Information and Education Department.
According to the Archpastor, this will weaken the state and make people vulnerable.
"That Kingdom which is divided against itself cannot stand – these are God's words. If someone does not like something, it is not a reason to fight within the country against each other," the Primate said.
His Beatitude noted that it is inherent to all human beings to make mistakes, but the Church has an opportunity for repentance and forgiveness, and this is what distinguishes it from secular organizations and political parties.
"When a person sins and says to God, 'God, forgive me, I have sinned,' then God accepts the person in repentance and we forgive the person. There is no such forgiveness in other institutions: if you have sinned – you are sent to prison, deportation, expulsion from work, fined, and so on. But the Church has forgiveness. We are often asked that if someone has sinned, we should crucify them. We cannot do that. If we listen to those who advise us so, we will destroy ourselves," the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church added.
His Beatitude also reminded the present that we live on earth as long as we can forgive one another, and the best example of this for believers is Christ.
"The Lord came to earth and took our faults and destroyed them on the cross. And this is a great example of how people should forgive one another. When the Lord was crucified, by today's dimension he should have cursed, and said the hardest words, but the Lord said, praying to His Heavenly Father: ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ This is the attitude of a believer to those who today are enemies, who are enemies of God. It is necessary to pray that the Lord will give a clear answer, that man will reform himself and begin to do what is right," said His Beatitude.
As earlier reported, His Beatitude appealed to the Russian authorities to stop killing Ukrainians.
