Metropolitan Luke speaks about life in Zaporizhzhia Eparchy during war
The head of the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy noted that he contacts priests in the occupied territories on a daily basis.
Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol in a talk with journalist Ruslan Kalinchuk described how the eparchy entrusted to him lives during the war.
"My confessor taught me to see the good in everything bad. I said, ‘How can you see anything good in evil?’ He answered me: 'You first understand yourself that it is evil, try to avoid it and do as much good as possible because evil can only be defeated by good,'" said the bishop.
Also, according to the UOC hierarch, since the beginning of the war, the number of people who go to church has greatly decreased.
"People used to go to the church as to a bureau of spiritual services, which gives out something: miracles, health, solutions of questions. Now the Church is really crystallizing, purifying itself. And as in the Gospel, when the Lord said: "Leave your House", many have departed from Him after that sermon, in the same way for us it is a kind of purification of the Church," noted Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol.
80% of the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy is a Russia-occupied territory, but thanks to modern means of communication, the ruling bishop can communicate with priests.
“We gained this experience during the pandemic when I started holding remote conferences. Every evening we call the deans, and they, in turn, are aware of what is happening in the parishes,” the UOC hierarch noted.
As reported, Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol noted that the war divided those who prioritized political or financial interests.
