Serbian priest compares persecutors of UOC to communists and Nazis

Serbian priest Strahinja Golijan. Photo: UOJ

The team of the Serbian editorial office of the UOJ conducted an interview with Father Strahinja Golijan in the Church of the Venerable Mother Paraskeva in Surčin regarding the publication of the "Kyiv Caves Patericon" in Serbian. The priest also touched upon the painful topic of the persecution of Orthodox shrines in Ukraine.

"The Kyiv Caves Patericon is a collection of the lives of all the saints whose relics rest in the Kyiv Caves Lavra," explains Father Strahinja. The book tells about the founders of the Lavra – Saints Anthony and Theodosius, as well as other saints who labored in the monastery. It also describes the origin of the Kyiv Caves Lavra itself, which emerges from caves dug in the ground and later turns into "one of the most beautiful gardens of the Most Holy Theotokos."

Father Strahinja recalls the historical example with the holy relics of Venerable Alexander of Svir, which the communists tried to discredit as fake. "When they cut the saint with a scalpel, he opened his eyes. When they sewed his eyes shut and cut him again — blood flowed," the priest recounts.

"Everyone who destroys relics will end up like the communists and Nazis," he warns. "They are all ordinary people and should not play with God and His saints."

In conclusion, the priest addresses a message to the Orthodox people in Ukraine: "Hold on to God, carry Him within you. Protect your life and the lives of your brothers." He reminds that the Ukrainian Orthodox people have survived the Tatars, Mongols, French, Germans, and communists: "Therefore, I believe — they will survive this regime, which is now causing them so much pain and sorrow."

As the UOJ wrote, according to a report by an Austrian institute, the Ukrainian government is conducting a systematic campaign against the UOC with deprivation of citizenship, arrests, and sanctions despite the support of millions of believers.

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