Publicist – to authorities: If you persecute UOC, we'll never vote for you!
Prayer standing of believers of the UOC at the Verkhovna Rada. Photo: UOJ
The persecuted believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will never vote again for their persecutors. The Ukrainian writer, poet, publicist and Orthodox Christian Yan Taksiur said this at the round table "The Basic Law of Ukraine and its Application in Relation to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church."
He noted that the majority of those who persecute the Church are non-church people and do not understand: if the temples are taken away from the believers, "the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated in the woods, in the deserts, in the caves ... Christ will find a place for worship because we are His Church."
“I want to say purely pragmatically to those who persecute our Church. You will not be able to implement the project of filling a new religious structure with people instead of ours – you will never succeed: as the OCU was empty, so it will remain empty. The second thing you don’t understand is that these people will never vote for you again, you will not get them to,” said the writer.
Yan Taksiur also emphasized that the persecutors of the Church carry out violence against the immortal human soul. At the same time, they "are also the creatures of God, Who is confessed by those whom they persecute."
“Christ created not only us, but also you, respected or not very respected persecutors,” he recalled.
Recall, according to Yan Taksiur, the authorities are wrong when they think that if they strong-arm the UOC believers, the latter will rush to the OCU.
Read also
Authorities take European Commission President on Lavra tour
Ursula von der Leyen and European leaders were shown the progress of the restoration of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra following a Russian strike.
Odesa RSA sends defenders of St. Alexander Nevsky Church to court
The Odesa Regional State Administration responded to the appeal of the church's parishioners, stating that it would not investigate the legality of the transfer of the church to another community.
Zelensky awards OCU "Metropolitan" Mykhail Zinkevych Order of Merit
On the occasion of Ukrainian Statehood Day, the President signed a decree awarding the head of the Volyn Eparchy of the OCU.
Ukraine to begin search in Poland for remains of WWII victims
Searches for the burial sites of Ukrainian civilians killed in 1944 are expected to begin in the Polish village of Lasków in August.
UGCC cardinal given tour of Lavra’s Far Caves
Ostapenko showed the UGCC cardinal the damage to the Dormition Cathedral.
MP who opposed UOC announces resignation from parliament
MP Poturaiev became known for saying that after the UOC was banned, its privately owned churches could be used to store vegetables, conduct business or open casinos.