Teachings of Filaret. “On federalization sin”

We know the Church is established by Jesus Christ in order to lead a human to salvation, help him overcome his sins and infirmities. Church pastors teach us that an earthly life with its passions and imperfections is temporary and fleeting, that a Christian should purify his heart of them and prepare himself for a new life in Celestial Jerusalem.

For this end we must continually compare our life to the Gospel and live according to it. In Gospel of Luke there is an episode where Christ speaks about the people who were killed at the order of Pontius Pilate, as well as those who died due to the tumble of Siloam Tower:There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse sinners than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?”

The Lord does not say that those who perished are guilty and thus they deserved such fate. In both cases He tells his listeners: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

But not all those, who call themselves pastors, direct their parishioners toward evangelical values.
Speaking about the aggrieved Donbass residents, chief of the Kiev Patriarchate Filaret affirms they’ve brought their travails on themselves. MOREOVER, THE KIEV PATRIARCHATE CHIEF BELIEVES THEY CAN WASH OUT THEIR FAULT IN BLOOD ONLY.

Yet the most surprising thing, in Filaret’s opinion, is that Donbass Ukrainians committed a completely new sin in the Church history – the sin of federalization. It’s hard not to notice that Filaret Denisenko called a state structure model as a sin. However, it is not clear how it may be related to spiritual life the Church is supposed to take care of.

Read also

Mercy with empty hands

Mercy is not always a warm feeling. Sometimes it is simply an act of will.

The bully who learned to love his enemies

St. Silouan the Athonite bent iron, drank vodka, and nearly killed a man with a single punch. In the end – he became a saint.

The noonday demon – the ancient name for apathy and despair

Sorrow without a clear cause is nothing new to Christians. Fifteen centuries ago, the ascetics of the desert gave this enemy a name and carefully described all of its tricks.

A сure for spiritual nausea

We sometimes mistake the pursuit of Gospel truth for a desire to get even with an offender. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ offers us a sip of living water that brings life back to the soul.

The trap of false patriotism and spiritual courage in an age of persecution

True love for one’s homeland begins with victory over one’s own passions. An Orthodox cleric reflects on faithfulness to God, the tricks of politicians, and the temptations of careerism.

The saint with an unbearable temper

Blessed Jerome of Stridon quarreled with friends, insulted opponents, and lashed out at almost everyone – yet this impossible scholar gave the West the Bible it would read for a thousand years.