UOC priest: "We go to church because it's a step toward the Kingdom of God"

Archpriest Volodymyr Hubka explained why his parishioners chose to remain in the UOC

The rector of St. Nicholas Church in the Sadhora district of Chernivtsi spoke in a video message about why the parishioners of the St. Nicholas community voted to remain faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The video was published on the Facebook page "Faithful of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Eparchy of the UOC."

"On behalf of the parish, I appeal to all who will see this video. I, Archpriest Volodymyr Hubka, together with the parishioners of our church, unanimously testify that we belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the leadership of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry," the priest said.

According to him, "we go to church so that every step toward the church is a step toward the Kingdom of God. We adhere to the canons of Holy Orthodoxy, we submit to the Holy Gospel, we observe the apostolic rules, the rules of the Holy Fathers, and the rules of the seven Ecumenical Councils."

"Despite the fact that among us are people of different nationalities and political views, in church, we offer prayers and the Eucharist to glorify the Name of God. We ask the Lord to strengthen us in the work of our salvation by His mercy. We go to church because we seek eternal salvation. By fulfilling God’s commandments, we also observe the laws of the state. We pray for peace in Ukraine and throughout the world, and we ask the Lord to bring back those who have turned away from the path to God," Father Volodymyr said.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in the Sadhora district of Chernivtsi, parishioners of three churches voted to remain in the UOC.

Read also

Metropolitan Theodosiy: We must defend our churches and show that we exist

The UOC hierarch is confident that the time will come when the country returns to the rule of law, and those now persecuting the Church will be held accountable.