Polish Church bishop: Orthodox Ukrainians carry the cross of Christ today

Archbishop Abel. Photo: UOJ

Archbishop Abel of Lublin and Chełm said in an interview with the Polish resource Ekai that the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church today are having a time of trials and "carrying the historical cross of Christ".

Asked how the war in Ukraine affects the dialogue between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, the bishop said that "the misunderstanding of the nature of canonical discipline, which Orthodoxy in Ukraine is experiencing today has a destructive effect on ecumenical relations between Orthodoxy and Catholicism."

"Russian aggression, characterised by unprecedented levels of brutality, leading to the destruction of Orthodox churches, is causing a radical change in social attitudes and at the same time in political conditions," says the hierarch of the Polish Church. “We are deeply convinced that this difficult period of military brutality in today's secularising world, and especially in Ukraine, is a time of transition and at the same time a period of certain challenge for the person of faith."

He emphasised that "today's experience of the Ukrainian brothers is carrying the historical cross of Christ, which we must look at through the prism of the Resurrection of the Lord". The Archbishop also stressed that "after Good Friday comes the Easter celebration."

As reported, the Polish bishop said that the Russian Orthodox Patriarch's support for the war contradicts the Gospel.

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