Met. Luke comments on the failed meeting of UOC hierarchs with Poroshenko

Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye and Melitopol

Blaming the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for the state’s problems, the Presidential Administration makes itself equal to the persecutors of the Church, said Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye and Melitopol in his comments on the failed meeting of the UOC hierarchs with the head of state, as reported by the press service of the eparchy.

Met. Luke also explains that of the 83 bishops gathered yesterday at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, 82 voted to meet with the President, and 82 voted that the meeting should take place on Church grounds, as had already been agreed upon with Poroshenko.

The hierarch noted that the President “easily meets with Denisenko and his supporters where the latter suggests. He flies to Istanbul with tax money, sends emissaries there to resolve issues that are not within his competence. This is also not difficult for him and does not embarrass him, but to arrive at a meeting with the episcopate of the Church, whose parishioner he hasn’t hesitated to position himself before, is an insurmountable wall for him.”

“Does it seem, from a spiritual point of view, that the saints of the Kiev Caves do not allow someone who has raised his hand against the Mother Church to come to them? Or perhaps, his conscience torments him and doesn’t allow him to look into the eyes of those whom he has publicly insulted, or he is afraid to hear the truth about himself?” Met. Luke reflected.

He added: “Unfortunately, the AP now blames the neighbouring state for all its own failures, but not itself. Perhaps, instead of accusations, the AP should think about its actions and not replicate false press events?” The hierarch of the UOC expressed hope that the opinion of the bishops and the “millions of true parishioners of the UOC” would still be heard.

As the UOJ reported, the Council of Bishops of the UOC, which took place on November 13 at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, made a statement regarding the meeting with Petro Poroshenko: the bishops of the UOC confirmed their readiness to meet with the President of Ukraine, but on the Church grounds. The President did not arrive at the meeting.

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