Met Luke: While the SBU rummages through Bibles, thugs spit into our souls

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko). Photo: press service of the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko) reacted to the blasphemous speech of comedians from Quarter 95, saying that if it remains unpunished in the legal field, then this will be the verdict of all Ukrainian democracy. Vladyka wrote about this in his Telegram channel.

“While the SBU is looking for traces of ‘anti-state activity’ in children’s Bibles and reprint publications from two hundred years ago, while they somehow ‘miraculously’ find ‘DPR’ flags among the underwear of eighty-year-old nuns who had no idea that such symbols even exist, thugs from TV screens spit in the souls of millions of Ukrainians with impunity and incite religious hatred without scruples or fear of any consequences. In turn, the authorities in the pose of an ostrich pretend that everything is done within the law and without prejudice,” said the Metropolitan of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol.

The hierarch added that the artists would certainly agree to the proposal of the UOC priest to repeat their jokes at the bedside of his son, whose arm was torn off by an explosion during the war.

“The only question is how much they will ask for this as a fee from their boss, and how many likes they will receive for it. And so, judging by the expression on their faces, which have grown several times in a short time, these guys are ready for anything. However, there are undoubted benefits in their performance on television. At school, in chemistry lessons, we were shown how to separate salt from sand. To do this, it was necessary to carry out a simple work of two steps. How to separate people who have the salt of faith, which does not allow them to rot from the inside, from those whose souls are rotten and stink of all kinds of impurities? It's pretty easy. You need to take a couple of such artists and ask them to open their mouths to extract the stinking so-called jokes. And then everything is simple. Those who begin to feel sick from such "humor" have salt, and those who like it have already lost all spiritual immunity due to the kinship of their souls with the souls of these so-called jesters. I know people who are far from the Church and even from faith in Christ, but who were nevertheless sick of this speech,” said Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol.

Vladyka stressed that if the bile that the artists poured on the UOC had been expressed against Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Protestants, against any religion, there would follow had the same negative reaction.

“Because there is a concept, as a historically emerged universal morality, which is embedded in the soul of every person who has not yet completely conscience, honor, dignity, and simply elementary decency. If these unfortunate clowns dared such a "humor" in relation to Muhammad (the result is known to everyone), then we know from bitter experience how long they would live on earth. But the Orthodox faith teaches to forgive, pray for enemies and even love them. Yes, this is true, but this does not mean at all that blasphemy against God will go unpunished for such people and their descendants. After all, God Himself said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay’ (Rom. 12:19-21). Well, Zhenya and Sasha (artists of Quarter 95, who made a blasphemous performance aimed to denigrate the UOC), go on laughing and take those who laugh with you, but you should only know that you will ‘grieve, mourn and wail, and your laughter will turn into mourning, and your joy to gloom.’ (James 4:9), whether you like it or not. I sincerely feel sorry for you, and not only you, but also your children and descendants, whose troubles in life will owe your ‘humor’,” emphasized the hierarch of the UOC.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Archpriest Georgy Lashin invited the artists of Quarter 95 to spit in his face and hit him on the right and left cheeks near the bed of his son, who had been wounded in the war.

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