UOC chancellor: No crimes can be committed in the name of God

UOC Chancellor Metropolitan Anthony. Photo: RBC-Ukraine

Religion cannot be the cause of murder and war, Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, said while commenting on the declaration following the meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, RBC-Ukraine reports.

“An extremely important position was emphasized: no crimes can be committed in the name of God. Religion cannot be the cause of murder and war. And anyone who uses religious ideas as a cover for this goes against God,” Metropolitan Anthony noted.

The hierarch said that one Christian is killed every five minutes in the world. “This shows that Christianity is in danger, that a systematic war is being waged against Christianity,” he said.

According to the bishop, the document paid special attention to the Middle East, since “the situation in this region is dangerous because it could ignite the flames of a world war.” Therefore, the church hierarchs called for an end to the bloodshed.

Metropolitan Anthony said the document also noted that, in addition to the persecution of Christians, the secularization of modern Europe is a cause for concern.

“When the wearing of crosses or other Christian symbols is banned, when people are forbidden to speak, for example, about the Nativity of Christ – this is a very serious challenge. The declaration emphasizes that the soul of Europe is the Christian faith, and everything must be done to preserve the Christian foundations of public life and European civilization itself as Christian,” the UOC Chancellor continued.

The Pope and the Patriarch also addressed issues of social injustice, family values, euthanasia and biomedical reproductive technologies.

“Finally, for us, a very important point of the declaration is that modern Christian mission and evangelization allow no forms of proselytism,” the hierarch concluded.

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