"My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers"
She has faced many difficult trials. The monastery was destroyed, closed.
But throughout its long history, this Great Shrine has always risen from the ashes. It has always shown everyone who tried to fight against it.
That no human evil can overcome the power of God.
Under the Protection of its Mistress, the Most Holy Theotokos, it remains a spiritual beacon for millions of souls.
And always remember the words of St. John Chrysostom:
«There is nothing stronger than the Church of Christ. Whoever wants to fight against it will inevitably lose their strength: it is like waging war against heaven».
Most of those who are now shouting against the UOC, slandering the Church and believers. When all this ends, these same «ideologists» will shout about «priests in Mercedes» and slander the OCU and other denominations. And chase away other Christians.
And all because most of them do not care about the Church and Orthodoxy, and sometimes Christianity as a whole, and they do not care about the Ukrainian Church itself.
Most of them have never been to Church and know nothing about the Church, its teachings, and the meaning of the Church.
Their actions are simply hatred towards the UOC. And often towards faith in general.
Some are just seeking publicity and hype on this topic. Some have listened to propaganda and do not even understand the real state of affairs, and know nothing about the Church and its significance. And they mix it with politics and other things. And 99% of them, you will never even see in Church.
When this ends, they will slander other faiths and those to whom they forced the faithful of the UOC to convert.
The faithful of the UOC will not love Ukraine any less because of these actions and attacks on the Church, they will continue to help and do everything for our state. Because we are all Ukrainians who love our country more than many false patriots. And we will always love and do everything for its good. Just as we love our people and the people.
But we will all draw conclusions about the actions of some people who, during the war, instead of uniting the people, tried to divide it and provoke religious conflicts.
There is no God in their hearts.
The Orthodox Church is the Church of Christ, whose head is the Lord.
Not Ukrainian, not Greek, not Constantinopolitan, not Georgian, not Serbian, not Jerusalem, not Alexandrian, not Antiochian, not Romanian, and certainly not Russian or any other.
Autocephaly is merely an administratively self-governing and independent Church, which is part of the one and only Universal Orthodox Church.
Let's clearly separate the Church from national ideas, politics, worldly things, and other matters.
Being a patriot of your country is necessary. Faith does not forbid loving your country, its people, its culture, its language.
To care for it, to do everything for its good and future.
But there is no need to turn the Church and its mission, where the main goal is the salvation of the soul and life in Christ, into a political, national, or other mouthpiece.
Christ firmly said that He has no «nations», because all are united in Christ.
There is no need to make mistakes and follow the Russian Federation, where the Church has gradually turned into a political sect, with the ideology of the «Russian world», where politics and sycophancy before the authorities and serving them have become higher than the commandments of Christ and serving God.
And political ambitions have become a reason for neglecting the commandments of Christ, where the «patriarch» blesses killings and aggressive occupation war against a neighboring state, and the majority of the people support this. While hiding behind faith and the Church.
Yes, the Ukrainian Church should be with its people, its flock.
Yes, we should have our Ukrainian Church (and we have it). And not have relations with the structure of the Russian Federation, which blesses the war against our state and people.
But even more, the Church should be with God. With His teachings. And carry out the mission for which Christ created it.
And always follow the Lord. No matter what its people do, or any other people and authorities in the whole world.
Only if the Church follows its original and main purpose, will it be the True Church.
If not, then no Autocephalies, patriarchs, and others, and even more so politicians who try to interfere in the affairs of the Church, will make it Christ's.
On the contrary, they may even lead it into the abyss.
And I am surprised by billboards with advertisements: Church of Ukraine... Ukrainian Church... language... nation. And okay, I have nothing against language, national idea, and self-identity of the people. As I wrote above, this is not bad. But the essence is different?
Where is the place for Christ? If it is about the Church!
Why don't you say that the Church should be Christ's? Why not a word about Christ? Why do you turn the Church into a political, national cult? A cult of people!
Where is the place for Christ and His teachings?
Why do you forget about the Commandments and living by faith? Why do you breed hatred and divisions?
Is this the kind of Ukrainian Church you want to create? Where they will hate each other, curse, lie, slander, wish evil?
Then which God do you serve and what are you trying to create, because it will definitely not be the Church of God.
And why have people who have nothing to do with it become concerned with the fate of our Church lately? People of other denominations and religions. People who have «God in their soul», or even atheists.
Do you want to make the Church your toy? For your worldly ambitions.
And which «master» do you serve?
I have one wish.
That our Church remains Christ's to the end.
And that our people live in peace, respect, goodness, faith.
And that all these divisions and hatred are healed. And we have a united Church in Christ in Ukraine.
And that we all understand that only Christ can unite us, like nothing and no one else.
And where Christ is, there is no place for hatred, lies, and other evil.
Read also
About “our own” God on both sides of the war
Two similar “miracles” – and two opposite conclusions about God.
If Christians “moved in” like this
A text with reverse logic about migration and expectations from society.
Three years later: Fresh attempts to recarve the church landscape
Three years after the events in the Lavra, new calls are being heard to revise agreements with the UOC and hand monasteries over to the OCU.
The effort that transforms: Why fasting begins with the simple things
Lately, one idea is heard more and more often: that the main point of fasting is “not to eat each other alive,” and that what’s on your plate doesn’t matter. People repeat that food neither brings you closer to God nor pushes you away from Him, that you should fast “however it works out,” and that all of this is secondary.
When no one receives Holy Communion
Over three and a half years of emigration, we have been in twelve countries. And everywhere we tried to take part in local liturgical life and to receive Communion.
Deep сauses of military failures
The fact that Zaluzhnyi has finally been allowed to speak about the events of past days, I regard as a positive sign. The “expired guarantor” is gradually being squeezed, subtle but unmistakable hints are being sent – even by the British. And this is only a small fraction of what could now be said about the global military miscalculations of the ruling team.